Information and Advice about Benefits

This report, based on an extensive review of research findings and a detailed study of the activities of one local office in southern England, assesses how the Agency's local offices undertake that role, and their relationships with information and advice agencies, such as citizens advice bureaux

Impact testing to determine the mechanical properties of articular cartilage in isolation and on bone

The original publication is available at www.springerlink.comNon peer reviewedPostprin

What has Nicaea to do with Canterbury? Creeds, Councils, Tradition, and the Fathers in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion

This article charts the Council of Nicaea's (325) relevance to the Anglican Tradition from the sixteenth century to the present day, as manifested through Anglicanism's engagement with the Nicene Creed, its attitude towards early ecumenical councils, its appeals to ‘the Fathers’ and its approach to ‘tradition’, particularly in relation to Scripture. To that end, this article examines key governing texts in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion – with particular focus on the Book of Common Prayer (BCP 1662) and the Thirty‐Nine Articles – as well as relevant political and theological controversies. The findings include some counterintuitive results in relation to classic maxims of ‘Anglicanism’, including that the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds are second only to Scripture in importance while simultaneously mediating Anglicans' encounter with Scripture and setting the conditions for legitimate Scriptural interpretation

Understanding and protecting vulnerable financial consumers

This article considers how consumer protection law and policy should address the interests of particularly vulnerable financial consumers. Specifically, the article proposes a taxonomy of vulnerability which helps to identify (a) what makes consumers particularly vulnerable, and (b) how consumer protection law and consumer policy (broadly understood) can respond to these causes in a way that provides such consumers with appropriate protection. Changes to economic conditions, legal requirements on traders and our understanding of consumer behaviour make discussion of these issues particularly topical. There is little doubt that finding solutions is extremely difficult. Trade-offs are necessary and some enduring factors that contribute to vulnerability, in particular poverty, sometimes appear intractable. Nevertheless, it is submitted that by identifying clearly both why consumers are vulnerable and how the factors that lead to such vulnerability can be addressed, it is possible to construct an environment which respects consumer choice while ensuring that the most vulnerable are protected appropriately

Factors associated with self-assessed increase in tobacco consumption among over-indebted individuals in Germany: a cross-sectional study

Background Over-indebtedness is an increasing phenomenon in industrialised nations causing individual hardship and societal problems. Nonetheless, few studies have explored smoking among over-indebted individuals. Methods A cross-sectional survey (n=949) on retrospectively assessed changes in tobacco consumption was carried out in 2006 and 2007 among clients of 84 officially approved debt and insolvency counselling centres in Germany (response rate 39.7%). Logistic regressions were performed to explore factors associated with reports of increased smoking after onset of over-indebtedness. Results 63% of all respondents stated daily or occasional tobacco consumption. Almost one fifth reported an increase in smoking after becoming over-indebted. Females were less likely to report increased smoking than men (aOR 0.66, 95% CI 0.44-0.99) whereas respondents who had been over-indebted for more than 10 years were more likely to report increased smoking than those who had been over-indebted for less than five years (aOR 1.66; 95%-CI 1.00-2.76). The odds of increased smoking were also elevated among those who reported that their families and friends had withdrawn from them as a consequence of their over-indebtedness (aOR 1.82; 95%-CI 1.06-3.14). Conclusions The study identifies over-indebted individuals and particularly over-indebted men as a high-risk group of smokers. Low levels of social embeddedness/support were associated with a further increase in smoking after becoming over-indebted. Given recent increases of over-indebtedness, the findings highlight the need to develop appropriate public health policies

Jinn, psychiatry and contested notions of misfortune among East London Bangladeshis

This study examines understandings of misfortune among east London Bangladeshis, particularly with respect to the role of jinn spirits. It reports on the findings of ethnographic interviews among 40 members of this community. Appeal to jinn explanations is commonplace at times of psychological disturbance and unexplained physical symptoms. Resort to traditional healers is frequent. These explanations are contested by different groups in the community. The findings are examined within the context of a discourse on tradition and modernity with particular emphasis on Islam and modernity. Copyright 2008 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution

Work-time underemployment and financial hardship: class inequalities and recession in the UK

The economic crisis that led to recession in the UK in 2008–9 impacted in multiple ways on work and economic life. This article examines changes to the work-time of employees. The UK stood out for its recessionary expansion of work-time underemployment. Working in a job that provides ‘too few’ hours can have serious ramifications for the economic livelihood of workers. Working-class workers are central here. Drawing on analysis of large-scale survey data, the article identifies that workers in lower level occupations experienced the most substantial post-recessionary growth in the proportions working ‘too few’ hours. Did these work-time changes narrow or widen class inequalities in feelings of financial hardship? The article concludes that although middle-class workers also saw their financial positions damaged, this so-called ‘first middle-class recession’ did not erode class inequalities in financial hardship among UK workers

Identifying Mechanisms of Action for Implementation Strategies Using a Retrospective Implementation Mapping Logic Model Approach

Understanding causal mechanisms for implementation strategies is a priority for implementation and health promotion research. Logic models are helpful for understanding and illustrating mechanisms through which implementation strategies operate. Little guidance exists for developing logic models for existing implementation strategies. We demonstrate how to use Implementation Mapping (IM) in a retrospective manner to develop an IMap Logic Model for a social-emotional learning program implemented at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston (BGCGH). To inform logic model development, we used qualitative interview data (from implementers) and conversations with program organizers. To develop the logic model, we specified the most accessible information, beginning with the program and health-related outcomes. We then specified the implementation strategies and implementation outcomes, followed by change methods (i.e., theoretical techniques that influence positive change in determinants), practical applications (i.e., specific techniques for operationalizing change methods), and determinants (factors that influence implementation) and other contextual factors. The effectiveness outcomes for the program were to improve emotion regulation and social skills among youth. Clinician implementers delivered the program and BGCGH club directors and staff supported delivery. The implementation strategies were (1) group leader trainings; (2) implementation guide; (3) BGCGH staff training; (4) needs assessments (via site visits); (5) follow-up meetings; and (6) pilot program check-in meetings. Collectively, the strategies used various practical applications (e.g., scenario discussions, reviewing procedures) to operationalize change methods (e.g., active learning, participatory problem solving) to address determinants (e.g., knowledge, interorganizational relationships). The strategy set out to improve implementation behaviors (e.g., delivering program components as prescribed) and implementation outcomes (e.g., fidelity). The developed IMap Logic Model can be used to inform implementation evaluation efforts by helping identify outcomes, mediators, and moderators. The logic model can also be used to identify gaps that, if addressed, can help ongoing implementation and scale-up efforts

Completability vs (In)completeness

In everyday conversation, no notion of “complete sentence” is required for syntactic licensing. However, so-called “fragmentary”, “incomplete”, and abandoned utterances are problematic for standard formalisms. When contextualised, such data show that (a) non-sentential utterances are adequate to underpin agent coordination, while (b) all linguistic dependencies can be systematically distributed across participants and turns. Standard models have problems accounting for such data because their notions of ‘constituency’ and ‘syntactic domain’ are independent of performance considerations. Concomitantly, we argue that no notion of “full proposition” or encoded speech act is necessary for successful interaction: strings, contents, and joint actions emerge in conversation without any single participant having envisaged in advance the outcome of their own or their interlocutors’ actions. Nonetheless, morphosyntactic and semantic licensing mechanisms need to apply incrementally and subsententially. We argue that, while a representational level of abstract syntax, divorced from conceptual structure and physical action, impedes natural accounts of subsentential coordination phenomena, a view of grammar as a “skill” employing domain-general mechanisms, rather than fixed form-meaning mappings, is needed instead. We provide a sketch of a predictive and incremental architecture (Dynamic Syntax) within which underspecification and time-relative update of meanings and utterances constitute the sole concept of “syntax”