scholarly journals Can Transport Operator Schemes Deliver Regional Sustainability Benefits? The Case of the UK Northern Powerhouse Region

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1662
Author(s):  
Erica Ballantyne ◽  
Graeme Heron
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Regional Sustainability ◽  
Transport Operator ◽  
The North ◽  
Clean Air ◽  
Local Transport ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities ◽  
The Uk

UK devolved responsibility for planning future transport demands is shared amongst regional and local transport administrations. In Northern England, Transport for the North (TfN) provides a unified transport strategy, encompassing planning for future demand, highlighting the importance of freight transport movements throughout the Northern Powerhouse region. Given the importance of transport in fostering economic growth, this paper demonstrates the applicability of compliance and recognition schemes targeted at the UK’s commercial fleet transport operators for achieving the wider sustainability goals of the Northern Powerhouse. The research investigates the benefits of operator recognition and compliance schemes, and their alignment with strategic agendas, including the implementation of clean air zones. Results explore the extent to which Total Quality Management (TQM) and continuous improvement support regional sustainability agendas through transport operator schemes. This research is based upon surveys and interviews with transport operators from across the UK, including the Northern Powerhouse region. Thematic analysis examined responses relating to the perceived barriers and opportunities around scheme membership and the extent TQM and continuous improvement support regional agendas. Analysis reveals ideal transport operator profiles for deriving the greatest benefit from scheme membership, whilst introducing a set of business readiness conventions for benchmarking transport operator compliance activities.

The UK North Sea: a history of oil and gas

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy King
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Turn Of The Millennium ◽  
The North ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Partial Reversal

AbstractWith a history spanning over 50 years, the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is one of the most explored and mature basins in the world. Over 44 Bbbl of reserves have been recovered from over 450 fields across the UKCS, enabled by continuous improvement in seismic, drilling and development technologies. Starting in 1965 with BP's West Sole discovery in the Southern Gas Basin, every sector of the UKCS has since opened up. But it is not just the discoveries that have characterized this ultra-mature region. It has weathered a turbulent history of oil prices, fiscal changes, an ever-changing corporate environment and the industry's worst offshore disaster, which serves as a reminder of the uncompromising conditions of the North Sea.Production peaked at the turn of the millennium, and it is only since 2013 that there has been a partial reversal of the declining trend. With discoveries getting scarcer and smaller, maintaining the trend will not be easy, especially with the number of companies exiting the region for more prospective global opportunities on the rise. However, with an estimated 10–20 Bbbl yet to find in the basin, there is still a lot to play for in the coming years.

Becoming a Global Producer: Creative and Industrial Change at Post-Studiocanal RED

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-326
Author(s):  
Christopher Meir
Keyword(s):  
Video On Demand ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
Industrial Change ◽  
Export Markets ◽  
Literary Adaptation ◽  
The North ◽  
Industrial Landscape ◽  
Production And Distribution ◽  
Critical Scrutiny ◽  
The Uk

Up until late 2013, RED Production was considered one of the UK's premier independent producers. In December of that year, 51 per cent of the company was sold to Studiocanal, the production and distribution arm of France's Canal+, a pay-television provider with an increasingly global orientation. Although the UK trade press has continued to label RED as an ‘indie’, this article argues that the investment by a much larger multinational corporation marks a watershed moment in RED's history. While the company's trajectory since the takeover shows many artistic continuities with the previous fifteen years – including continuing collaboration with key writers and a dedication to shooting and setting stories in the north of England – there have also been significant changes to some of the company's long-standing practices that require critical scrutiny. The article will document and analyse a number of these, taking as case studies the series created after the investment and distributed by Studiocanal as well as a number of projects reported to be in development since that point. Collectively these changes have seen RED shift from what Andrew Spicer and Steve Presence have called its ‘rooted regionalism’ to being a more globally oriented producer, a change apparent in the settings of some of its shows. It has also seen the company embrace artistic practices – such as literary adaptation and the remaking of existing series and films – that it had long eschewed. The article seeks to explore what has been gained and lost by RED as it has embarked on this global strategy, a strategy that becomes all the more urgent as the industrial landscape of British television is transformed by the importance of international export markets and the growing power of subscription video on demand (SVOD) services such as Amazon Prime and Netflix.

scholarly journals FRI0649-HPR HYDROXYCHLOROQUINE PRESCRIBING AND OPHTHALMOLOGY SCREENING WITHIN RHEUMATOLOGY DEPARTMENTS IN THE NORTH-WEST OF THE UNITED KINGDOM: A PROSPECTIVE REGIONAL AUDIT

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 928.2-929
Author(s):  
S. Juman ◽  
T. David ◽  
L. Gray ◽  
R. Hamad ◽  
S. Horton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Risk Group ◽  
Service Level ◽  
High Risk Group ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Treatment Dosage ◽  
Sd Oct

Background:Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is widely used in the management of rheumatoid arthritis and connective tissue disease. The prevalence of retinopathy in patients taking long-term HCQ is approximately 7.5%, increasing to 20-50% after 20 years of therapy. Hydroxychloroquine prescribed at ≤5 mg/kg poses a toxicity risk of <1% up to five years and <2% up to ten years, but increases sharply to almost 20% after 20 years. Risk factors for retinopathy include doses >5mg/kg/day, concomitant tamoxifen or chloroquine use and renal impairment. The UK Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) 2018 guidelines for HCQ screening recommend optimal treatment dosage and timing for both baseline and follow-up ophthalmology review for patients on HCQ, with the aim of preventing iatrogenic visual loss. This is similar to recommendations made by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (2016).Objectives:To determine adherence to the RCOphth guidelines for HCQ screening within the Rheumatology departments in the North-West of the UK.Methods:Data for patients established on HCQ and those initiated on HCQ therapy were collected over a 7 week period from 9 Rheumatology departments.Results:473 patients were included of which 56 (12%) were new starters and 417 (88%) were already established on HCQ. 79% of the patients were female, with median ages of 60.5 and 57 years for new and established patients respectively. The median (IQR) weight for new starters was 71 (27.9) kg and for established patients, 74 (24.7) kg.20% of new starters exceeded 5mg/kg daily HCQ dose. 16% were identified as high risk (9% had previously taken chloroquine, 5% had an eGFR <60ml/min/m2and 2% had retinal co-pathology). Of the high-risk group, 44% were taking <5mg/kg. In total, 36% of new starters were referred for a formal baseline Ophthalmology review.In the established patients, 74% were taking ≤5mg/kg/day HCQ dose and 16% were categorized as high risk (10% had an eGFR less than 60ml/min/m2, 3% had previous chloroquine or tamoxifen use and 2% had retinal co-pathology). In the high-risk group, 75% were not referred for spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). 41% of patients established on HCQ for <5 years, and 33% of patients on HCQ for >5 years were not referred for SD-OCT. Reasons for not referring included; awaiting 5 year review, previous screening already performed and optician review advised.Since the introduction of the RCOphth guidelines, 29% patients already established on HCQ had an alteration in the dosage of HCQ in accordance with the guidelines. In the high-risk group, 16% were not on the recommended HCQ dose.Conclusion:This audit demonstrates inconsistencies in adherence to the RCOphth guidelines for HCQ prescribing and ophthalmology screening within Rheumatology departments in the North-West of the UK for both new starters and established patients. Plans to improve this include wider dissemination of the guidelines to Rheumatology departments and strict service level agreements with ophthalmology teams to help optimize HCQ prescribing and screening for retinopathy.Acknowledgments:Drs. S Jones, E MacPhie, A Madan, L Coates & Prof L Teh. Co-1st author, T David.Disclosure of Interests:None declared

scholarly journals Evaluating the efficacy of technical measures: a case study of selection device legislation in the UK Crangon crangon (brown shrimp) fishery

2008 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom L. Catchpole ◽  
Andrew S. Revill ◽  
James Innes ◽  
Sean Pascoe
Keyword(s):  
Brown Shrimp ◽  
Crangon Crangon ◽  
Shrimp Fishery ◽  
The North ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Technical Measures

Abstract Catchpole, T. L., Revill, A. S., Innes, J., and Pascoe, S. 2008. Evaluating the efficacy of technical measures: a case study of selection device legislation in the UK Crangon crangon (brown shrimp) fishery. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 267–275. Bycatch reduction devices are being introduced into a wide range of fisheries, with shrimp and prawn fisheries particularly targeted owing to the heavy discarding common in these fisheries. Although studies are often undertaken to estimate the impact of a technical measure on the fishery before implementation, rarely have the impacts been assessed ex post. Here, the efficacy of the UK legislation pertaining to the use of sievenets in the North Sea Crangon crangon fishery is assessed. Three impacts were evaluated: on fisher behaviour (social), on the level of bycatch (biological), and on vessel profitability (economic). An apparent high level of compliance by skippers was identified despite a low level of enforcement. The estimated reduction in fleet productivity following the introduction of the legislation was 14%, equalling the mean loss of Crangon landings when using sievenets calculated from catch comparison trawls. Sievenets did reduce the unnecessary capture of unwanted marine organisms, but were least effective at reducing 0-group plaice, which make up the largest component of the bycatch. Clearly the legislation has had an effect in the desired direction, but it does not address sufficiently the bycatch issue in the Crangon fishery.

scholarly journals Talking the Talk and Fitting In: Troubling the Practices of Speaking? ‘What you are Worth’ in Higher Education in the UK

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Addison ◽  
Victoria ◽  
G. Mountford
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
University Staff ◽  
Cultural Meanings ◽  
The North ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Fitting In ◽  
Uk Higher Education

In this article we raise questions about fitting in pertaining to various classed identities within two UK Higher Education Institutions (HEI). We discuss the pains and privileges attached to accent and ways of speaking worth: Who is able to mobilize and capitalize on inscribed values, as they come to be attached to ways of talking? Accents and ways of talking are part of embodied class identities and whilst some carry connotations of intelligence, other ways of talking are positioned as lacking value, as well as other cultural meanings ( Sayer 2002 ; Spencer, Clegg and Stackhouse 2013 ; Lawler 1999 ; Skeggs 1997 ; Southerton 2002 ; Taylor 2007 ; Macfarlane and Stuart-Smith 2012 ). In this article we discuss our empirical research carried out in two separate qualitative ESRC-funded research projects in the north of England with undergraduate students (Victoria Mountford) and university staff (Michelle Addison). Focusing primarily on white British ways of talking, we examine how embodying particular accents or ways of talking affect classed notions of ‘fitting in’ or ‘standing out’ (Reay et al 2009: 1; Abraham and Ingram 2013 ) in HE. In a climate of uncertainty in Higher Education we are concerned that the importance of demonstrating one's impact, value and worth comes down to more than just productivity, it is becoming demonstrably about being able to ‘talk the talk’. Here we trouble the practices of speaking ‘what you are worth’.

Editorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Eva Cendon ◽  
John Butcher
Keyword(s):  
Further Education ◽  
University Education ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Widening Participation ◽  
The North ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
International Perspectives ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
International Sector ◽  
The Uk

This general edition of the journal provides insights and results of research employing a wide range of approaches and perspectives on widening participation and lifelong learning. Studies from across the UK and international sector utilise different methodological approaches, and as such are particularly interesting, with diverse methods and ways of analysis, including phenomenographic, narrative, and thematic analysis. Overall, the articles range from exploratory case studies and small-scale research to wider range and broad scale studies, highlighting different facets and perspectives. Furthermore, the articles in this volume cover a broad spectrum of institutions and places involved in widening participation, with an emphasis on the (higher) education sector in the UK balanced by international perspectives. The first seven empirical articles are based on research activities in a secondary school, a youth centre, in further education colleges (usually focusing on post-compulsory secondary or pre-university education), in so-called post-92 universities (new(er) universities, formerly Polytechnics and teacher training colleges), and last but not least in a research intensive Russell Group university. They reported challenges from the specific local contexts of different regions in England, from the South (Chichester) to London to the North (Carlisle), and can usefully be framed in the context of international discussions appearing later in the journal.

Economic optimisation of soil testing on commercial farms: space, time and variables

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taro Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Concave Function ◽  
Information Value ◽  
Spatial Sampling ◽  
Soil Testing ◽  
Biological Interactions ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
The North ◽  
Incremental Value ◽  
Commercial Farms ◽  
The Uk

&lt;p&gt;A holistic evaluation of agricultural systems requires mechanistic understanding of physical, chemical and biological interactions both aboveground and belowground, yet obtaining this information on commercial farms is a challenging task. In order to support practical decision making by commercial producers, it is therefore necessary to identify system-wide performance indicators that are observable presently and cost-effectively. Data acquired through commercial soil testing satisfy these conditions; however, the relationship between the density of information &amp;#8212; thus the cost of testing &amp;#8212; and the value of information as a guideline for on-farm managerial changes is not well-understood.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Using high-resolution soil data from the North Wyke Farm Platform in the UK as a case exemplar, this solicited talk discusses theoretical and computational frameworks to quantify the value of an information package defined by soil testing strategies. A bootstrapping experiment revealed that the information value is often a concave function of the spatial sampling frequency, indicating that &amp;#8220;half-hearted&amp;#8221; soil data are unlikely to be able to inform optimal farm management. On the other hand, a high degree of serial correlation as well as atemporal inter-variable correlation resulted in some measurements identified as being redundant, as the incremental value of additional information was often found to be small and occasionally negative. Given the time and budgetary constraints, therefore, it is suggested that more effort should be spent on snapshot spatial sampling of a small number of variables, rather than continuous spot sampling of a large number of variables.&lt;/p&gt;

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