‘It's true,I'm English… I'm not lying’: essentialized and precarious English identities

This article explores relationships between Englishness and racialization in order to consider the potential for English identities that are progressive in anti-essentialist or multicultural terms. The article draws on data from interviews in which people from a South London area talk about Englishness. I will examine how English identities are understood by participants who are white and participants who are not white. While white participants experience Englishness as a taken-for-granted identity, for participants who are not white English identities are a more calculated, precarious performance. I will then examine discussions of ‘who can be English’. While most participants argue that ‘anyone can be English’ in principle, this is not necessarily the case in practice. It will be suggested that talk of Englishness is particularly constrained by relationships between Englishness, whiteness and ancestry, but that for those who experience Englishness as precarious there are signs that this is not necessarily the case.     

Large-Scale Analysis of Zipf’s Law in English Texts

Despite being a paradigm of quantitative linguistics, Zipf’s law for words suffers from three main problems: its formulation is ambiguous, its validity has not been tested rigorously from a statistical point of view, and it has not been confronted to a representatively large number of texts. So, we can summarize the current support of Zipf’s law in texts as anecdotic. We try to solve these issues by studying three different versions of Zipf’s law and fitting them to all available English texts in the Project Gutenberg database (consisting of more than 30 000 texts). To do so we use state-of-the art tools in fitting and goodness-of-fit tests, carefully tailored to the peculiarities of text statistics. Remarkably, one of the three versions of Zipf’s law, consisting of a pure power-law form in the complementary cumulative distribution function of word frequencies, is able to fit more than 40% of the texts in the database (at the 0.05 significance level), for the whole domain of frequencies (from 1 to the maximum value), and with only one free parameter (the exponent).     

中国霜霉属-新记录种(English)

InverstigationofthediseasesofcultivthedRosa‘hybrida’InagreenhousenearthecampusofShenyangAgriculturalUniversityinNovember,1996hasresultedinthediscoveryofaperonosporaspeciespreviouslyunrecordedinChina.Thefunguscausedseriousdamagetosome2000roseplants．ItwasidentifiedasPeronosporaSparsaBerk．exBerk．＆Broome．peronosporasparsaBerk.exBerk.exBerk.＆Broome;Gard.ChronSer.1.14：308,1862;Saccardo.Syll.Fung.7:263,188aDelowerfeatesnn13t）tsealing山sCdbmdiemons,leafspotslrregulapchlorosls,lat…     

Going native? Flower use by bumblebees in English urban gardens

Background and Aims

Although urban gardens provide opportunities for pollinators in an otherwise inhospitable environment, most garden plants are not native to the recipient biogeographical region and their value to local pollinators is disputed. This study tested the hypothesis that bumblebees foraging in English urban gardens preferentially visited sympatric Palaearctic-range plants over species originating outside their native range.

Methods

Twenty-seven surveys of flower availability and bumblebee visitation (Bombus spp.) were conducted over a 3-month summer period. Plants were categorized according to whether they were native British, Palaearctic or non-Palaearctic in origin. A phylogeny of the 119 plant species recorded was constructed and the relationship between floral abundance and the frequency of pollinator visits investigated by means of phylogenetically independent contrasts. Differentiation in utilization of plant species by the five bumblebee species encountered was investigated using niche overlap analyses.

Key Results

There was conflicting evidence for preferential use of native-range Palaearctic plant species by bumblebees depending on which plants were included in the analysis. Evidence was also found for niche partitioning between species based on respective preferences for native and non-native biogeographical range plants. Two bumblebees (Bombus terrestris and B. pratorum) concentrated their foraging activity on non-Palaearctic plants, while two others (B. hortorum and B. pascourum) preferred Palaearctic species.

Conclusions

The long-running debate about the value of native and non-native garden plants to pollinators probably stems from a failure to properly consider biogeographical overlap between plant and pollinator ranges. Gardeners can encourage pollinators without consideration of plant origin or bias towards ‘local’ biogeographical species. However, dietary specialist bumblebees seem to prefer plants sympatric with their own biogeographical range and, in addition to the cultivation of these species in gardens, provision of native non-horticultural (‘weed’) species may also be important for pollinator conservation.     

Palaeolimnology in the English Lakes — some questions and answers over fifty years

In a review of work on 10 of the very numerous lakes of the English Lake District — work which involved co-operation between palaeolimnologists from different disciplines and between palaeo- and neolimnologists — the questions asked by the researchers are listed and it is shown which kind of lake has provided constructive answers. Complete and conformable sediment profiles covering the last ca 14 000 years are found in these lakes, but no single profile is optimal for study of the whole period. Knowledge of the pattern of sediment accumulation is necessary before the record in microfossils and changing sediment composition can be interpreted with confidence. The demonstration that the sediment-source material of these open lakes must have been largely allochthonous established the importance of the sediment column as a record of changes through time in the composition and stability of the soils of each catchment. These changes illustrate the influence of:

Population dynamics of Ceratium spp. in three English lakes, 1945–1985

Changes in the annual population densities of Ceratium spp. in three adjacent English lakes, Windermere, Esthwaite Water and Blelham Tarn, are summarised over the 41 year period 1945–1985. In these lakes the genus is represented by two species, C. hirundinella (O.F. Müll) Bergh. and C. furcoides (Levander) Langhans. Although the species have not been distinguished over the entire study period, they have been shown by examination of preserved samples to undergo marked changes of relative abundance in Esthwaite Water. Both long-term (years) and short-term (within year) changes of populations densities of Ceratium spp. are considered in relation to possible controlling factors including recruitment of the inoculum, nutrient enrichment, physical stability and fungal epidemics. Given an early inoculum, the relative success of Ceratium populations in these lakes decreases along gradients of increasing mixed depths, increasing turbulence and decreasing retention times. The potential for good population growth is regulated by energy inputs, lake bathymetry and hydraulic characteristics. The realisation of such growth is governed by nutrient availability and microbial grazing. The significance of large between-year differences of populations of Ceratium spp. for general lake metabolism is illustrated for summers of contrasting production in Esthwaite Water.     

Are Social Inequalities Widening in Generalised and Abdominal Obesity and Overweight among English Adults?

Background

Obesity is now more common in lower socioeconomic groups in developed nations, but the socio-economic patterning of obesity has changed over time. This study examines the time trends in the socioeconomic patterning of generalised and abdominal obesity and overweight in English adults.

Methods

Data were from core annual samples of the Health Survey for England 1993–2008, including 155 661 participants aged 18–75 years. The prevalence of generalised and abdominal obesity and overweight was reported as crude and age-adjusted estimates. Binomial regression was used to model measures of obesity and overweight with age, sex, survey years, and two indicators of socioeconomic position: Registrar General’s Social Class (manual and non-manual occupational groups) and relative length of full time education. Trends in socioeconomic patterning were assessed by formal tests for interactions between socioeconomic position measures and survey periods in these models.

Results

The prevalence of generalised and abdominal overweight and obesity increased consistently between 1993 and 2008. There were significant differences in the four outcomes between the two socioeconomic position (SEP) groups in men and women, except for generalised and abdominal overweight with social class in men. The prevalence of obesity and overweight across the whole period was higher in subgroups with lower SEP (differences of 0.2% to 9.5%). There was no significant widening of the socioeconomic gradient of most indicators of greater body fat since the early 1990s, except for educational gradient in generalised obesity in men and women (P = 0.001).

Conclusions

Substantial social class and education gradients in obesity and overweight are still present in both sexes. However, there is limited evidence that these socioeconomic inequalities have changed since 1993.     

Ethnicity and class identity: The case of French‐ and English‐speaking Canadians*

This study addresses the racial and religious contexts of identity formation among Lebanese immigrants to the United States of America and Somali immigrants to Canada. Each enters with a different racial status: Lebanese as white; Somalis as black/visible minority. Ethnographic interviews explore the strategies of adaptation and identity development within these groups. Specifically, we compare and contrast the Lebanese and Somali experience through an analysis of ethnic relations in the country of origin, the conditions of immigration, and through accounts of their encounters and identity negotiation with the host society. We demonstrate the strategies each group implements to negotiate both race and religion in identity development. Our findings reveal that each group attempts to make their religious identity evident, however, Somali immigrants must negotiate the effects of ‘othering’ processes with both race and religion, while Lebanese immigrants build a religious identity from privileges afforded to them by virtue of their white racial status.     

Towards understanding: antisemitism and the contested uses and meanings of ‘Yid’ in English football

This article addresses an omission in the currently brief body of work on antisemitism in football and contributes to and advances wider sociological debates in the sub-disciplines of race and ethnicity, religion, linguistics and sport. The article examines antisemitic discourse in English football and in doing so, explains the different uses and meanings of ‘Yid’ in the vernacular culture of fans. While many conceive of ‘Yid’ as an ethnic epithet, fans of Tottenham Hotspur – Gentiles and Jews – have appropriated and embraced the term, using it to deflect the antisemitic abuse they are targeted with due to their ‘Jewish identity’. The study maps the contested uses of ‘Yid’ on a continuum to explain and demarcate between the nuanced forms of antisemitism in football. It makes central the cultural context in which ‘Yid’ is used, together with the intent underpinning its use, since epithets and slurs are not simply determined by their lexical form.     

Pneumonia Incidence and Mortality in Mainland China: Systematic Review of Chinese and English Literature, 1985–2008

Background

Pneumonia is a leading infectious disease killer worldwide, yet the burden in China is not well understood as much of the data is published in the non-English literature.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We systematically reviewed the Chinese- and English-language literature for studies with primary data on pneumonia incidence and mortality in mainland China. Between 1985 and 2008, 37 studies met the inclusion criteria. The quality of the studies was highly variable. For children <5 years, incidence ranged from 0.06–0.27 episodes per person-year and mortality ranged from 184–1,223 deaths per 100,000 population. Overall incidence and mortality were stable or decreased over the study period and were higher in rural compared to urban areas.

Conclusions/Significance

Pneumonia continues to be a major public health challenge in young children in China, and estimates of pneumonia incidence and mortality vary widely. Reliable surveillance data and new prevention efforts may be needed to achieve and document additional declines, especially in areas with higher incidence and mortality such as rural settings.     

An epidemiological needs assessment of carotid endarterectomy in an English health region. Is the need being met?

Objective: To compare the level of provision of carotid endarterectomy (an intervention of proved efficacy for prevention of stroke in patients with symptomatic high grade carotid artery stenosis) with estimates of need. Design: Comparison of regional, district, and age-sex specific operation rates derived from hospital episode statistics with estimates of need based on demographic and epidemiological data; interviews with regional vascular surgeons and a joint provider-purchaser workshop to discuss implications. Setting: Former Wessex Regional Health Authority, 1991-2 to 1995-6. Subjects: All residents covered by Wessex region treated for carotid artery reconstruction. Main outcome measures: Regional, district, and age-sex operation rates as three year average 1993-6 (use) compared with respective estimates of need for carotid endarterectomy among those who presented with symptomatic carotid disease—transient ischaemic attack or minor stroke. Results: The operation rate more than doubled between 1991-2 and 1995-6, from 35 to 89 per million population, compared with an estimated level of need in the region’s general population of 153 per million population (transient ischaemic attack 77, minor stroke 76). The ratio of use to need was 0.47 (95% confidence interval 0.4 to 0.54); district ratios were 0.28 (0.19-0.38) to 0.81 (0.62 to 1.06). The annual use:need ratio rose over the three years 1993-6 from 0.38 to 0.59. Use:need ratios were lower in elderly and female patients. Providers were keen to develop guidelines for referral and to increase access to diagnostic facilities; purchasers were more reluctant, given the limited impact of this intervention on the incidence of stroke and the relatively high cost of the operation. Conclusion: Although treatment rates increased in Wessex there is still unmet need. Further research is needed to determine the referral pathways of patients with symptomatic carotid disease for diagnosis and operation and to evaluate strategies to improve access to diagnostic facilities.

Key messages

• Robust evidence exists that carotid endarterectomy is an effective intervention for patients with symptomatic carotid disease and who have 70-99% stenosis
• Operation rates increased in one English region after the production of national guidelines but were still half the estimate of population need
• The ratio of operation rates to estimated need varied considerably by district health authority and was lower in elderly and female patients
• Providers wanted to address this underprovision by improving referral and access to diagnostic ultrasound; purchasers emphasised the limited impact of carotid endarterectomy on the incidence of stroke in the general population
• Even when agreement exists about the strength of evidence for an intervention, getting it into practice may not be straightforward when it is costly and dependent on complex pathways for diagnosis and treatment

     

Are Scores on English and French Versions of the PHQ-9 Comparable? An Assessment of Differential Item Functioning

Background

Medical research increasingly utilizes patient-reported outcome measures administered and scored in different languages. In order to pool or compare outcomes from different language versions, instruments should be measurement equivalent across linguistic groups. The objective of this study was to examine the cross-language measurement equivalence of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) between English- and French-speaking Canadian patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods

The sample consisted of 739 English- and 221 French-speaking SSc patients. Multiple-Indicator Multiple-Cause (MIMIC) modeling was used to identify items displaying possible differential item functioning (DIF).

Results

A one-factor model for the PHQ-9 fit the data well in both English- and French-speaking samples. Statistically significant DIF was found for 3 of 9 items on the PHQ-9. However, the overall estimate in depression latent scores between English- and French-speaking respondents was not influenced substantively by DIF.

Conclusions

Although there were several PHQ-9 items with evidence of minor DIF, there was no evidence that these differences influenced overall scores meaningfully. The PHQ-9 can reasonably be used without adjustment in Canadian English- and French-speaking samples. Analyses assessing measurement equivalence should be routinely conducted prior to pooling data from English and French versions of patient-reported outcome measures.     

Pragmatism, Patronage and Politics in English Biology: The Rise and Fall of Economic Biology 1904–1920

The rise of applied biology was one of the most striking feature of the biological sciences in the early 20th century. Strongly oriented toward agriculture, this was closely associated with the growth of a number of disciplines, notably, entomology and mycology. This period also saw a market expansion of the English University system, and biology departments in the newly inaugurated civic universities took an early and leading role in the development of applied biology through their support of Economic Biology. This sought explicitly to promote the application of biological knowledge to economically important problems and especially to agriculture. The impact of Economic Biology was felt most strongly within Zoology, where it became synonymous with entomology. The transience of Economic Biology belies its significance, for example, in providing a means for the expansion of biology at the civic universities. More broadly, it opened up new research and employment opportunities within the life sciences. In late Edwardian Britain, newly available state funds for agriculturally relevant biological disciplines transformed the life sciences. This paper examines the impact of these funds - mobilized either under the 1909 Development Act, or under the auspices of colonial interests - on Economic Biology and the institutionalization of applied biology. The rise and fall of Economic Biology casts new light on the way in which institutional and political alignments profoundly shaped the development of British biology.     

Is Social Capital a Determinant of Oral Health among Older Adults? Findings from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

There are a number of studies linking social capital to oral health among older adults, although the evidence base mainly relies on cross-sectional study designs. The possibility of reverse causality is seldom discussed, even though oral health problems could potentially lead to lower social participation. Furthermore, few studies clearly distinguish between the effects of different dimensions of social capital on oral health. The objective of the study was to examine the longitudinal associations between individual social capital and oral health among older adults. We analyzed longitudinal data from the 3^rd and 5^th waves of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Structural social capital was operationalized using measures of social participation, and volunteering. Number of close ties and perceived emotional support comprised the functional dimension of social capital. Oral health measures were having no natural teeth (edentate vs. dentate), self-rated oral health and oral health-related quality of life. Time-lag and autoregressive models were used to explore the longitudinal associations between social capital and oral health. We imputed all missing data, using multivariate imputation by chained equations. We found evidence of bi-directional longitudinal associations between self-rated oral health, volunteering and functional social capital. Functional social capital was a strong predictor of change in oral health-related quality of life – the adjusted odds ratio of reporting poor oral health-related quality of life was 1.75 (1.33–2.30) for older adults with low vs. high social support. However in the reverse direction, poor oral health-related quality of life was not associated with changes in social capital. This suggests that oral health may not be a determinant of social capital. In conclusion, social capital may be a determinant of subjective oral health among older adults rather than edentulousness, despite many cross-sectional studies on the latter.     

The ‘shock period’: dynamics of phytoplankton during the spring–summer transition of a stratifying English lake

The spring to summer transition in a productive English lake is considered with respect to phytoplankton and its environmental conditions. Salient environmental changes include the onset of temperature/density stratification that is usually accompanied by a clear-water phase associated with a maximum of grazing Daphnia and a minimum of phytoplankton in the 0â€5 m zone. Below this zone, as thermal stratification progresses, a deep maximum of phytoplankton can develop under strong thermal/density gradients and enhanced light penetration. Examples are resolved by estimations of chlorophyll-a , beam attenuance in situ and cell counts. Attributed origins are by sedimentation of diatoms, migration of flagellates, and depth-adjusted buoyancy of a gas-vacuolate cyanophyte. The transition period involves a decline of spring-associated diatom populations and a rise of summer-associated species. The generally low algal abundance within the transition phase has at least four origins †prior nutrient (Si) depletion, sedimentation, grazing, and low inoculum levels of successor species. It can be augmented by the re-growth of species abundant in spring, by early extensions of normally summer species, by seasonally characteristic colonial chrysophytes, and by other phytoflagellates of small size that are seasonally less specific (opportunistic) and probably critical for Daphnia grazing with consequent generation of the clear-water phase.     

The incidence of ΔF508 CF mutation,and associated haplotypes,in a sample of English CF families

Summary Data are presented for ΔF508 screening and KM19/XV2c haplotype analysis of 195 cystic fibrosis (CF) chromosomes from the British Caucasian population. We report the frequency of ΔF508 in this group to be 80% and find pronounced disequilibrium between the deletion and the KM 2, XV 1 haplotype. Haplotype analysis of 71 normal chromosomes is also presented. We report one individual who had meconium ileus and who does not have the ΔF508 mutation on either chromosome.