The social consequences of broken urban structures: a case study of Belfast

This article explores how the design and layout of the urban environment can have significant social impacts on working class communities whose access to employment and other necessary services depends largely on public transport and safe walk-able streets. It does so by considering a case study of Belfast. Although Belfast has a distinctive recent history as the site of political violence and territorial division, it also has a spatial configuration that emerged out of a modernising roads and redevelopment programme in the 1960s and 1970s. However, an understanding of contemporary Belfast, particularly its urban structure and form, requires n analysis of how the social impacts of such ubiquitous regional and urban planning practices were not addressed. The article argues that a culture of ‘politically safe’ bureaucratic inaction developed during the ‘war years’ has been sustained in the ‘new democracy’. In turn, this has had significant consequences for the functioning of the city. Major areas of derelict land around the city core together with the impediments created by regional road infrastructure have combined to create a doughnut city that, on the one hand, facilitates a commuting middle class, while on the other, discriminates against the poorest inner city communities. The article goes on to examine how an activist urban design group, known as the Forum for Alternative Belfast, has responded to these challenges. It focuses particularly on action-research undertaken during its 2010 Summer School which aimed to address issues of disconnection in inner North Belfast that affect some of the most territorialised and deprived communities in the city.

Spatial and temporal ecology of Scots pine ectomycorrhizas

Spatial analysis was used to explore the distribution of individual species in an ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungal community to address: whether mycorrhizas of individual ECM fungal species were patchily distributed, and at what scale; and what the causes of this patchiness might be. Ectomycorrhizas were extracted from spatially explicit samples of the surface organic horizons of a pine plantation. The number of mycorrhizas of each ECM fungal species was recorded using morphotyping combined with internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing. Semivariograms, kriging and cluster analyses were used to determine both the extent and scale of spatial autocorrelation in species abundances, potential interactions between species, and change over time. The mycorrhizas of some, but not all, ECM fungal species were patchily distributed and the size of patches differed between species. The relative abundance of individual ECM fungal species and the position of patches of ectomycorrhizas changed between years. Spatial and temporal analysis revealed a dynamic ECM fungal community with many interspecific interactions taking place, despite the homogeneity of the host community. The spatial pattern of mycorrhizas was influenced by the underlying distribution of fine roots, but local root density was in turn influenced by the presence of specific fungal species.

The social construction of illness:Key insights and policy implications.

The social construction of illness is a major research perspective in medical sociology. This article traces the roots of this perspective and presents three overarching constructionist findings. First, some illnesses are particularly embedded with cultural meaning--which is not directly derived from the nature of the condition--that shapes how society responds to those afflicted and influences the experience of that illness. Second, all illnesses are socially constructed at the experiential level, based on how individuals come to understand and live with their illness. Third, medical knowledge about illness and disease is not necessarily given by nature but is constructed and developed by claims-makers and interested parties. We address central policy implications of each of these findings and discuss fruitful directions for policy-relevant research in a social constructionist tradition. Social constructionism provides an important counterpoint to medicine's largely deterministic approaches to disease and illness, and it can help us broaden policy deliberations and decisions.

The effects of winter ice cover on the trophic ecology of whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus L.) in subarctic lakes

Lakes in Arctic and subarctic regions display extreme levels of seasonal variation in light, temperature and ice cover. Comparatively little is known regarding the effects of such seasonal variation on the diet and resource use of fish species inhabiting these systems. Variation in the diet of European whitefish Coregonus lavaretus (L.) during periods of ice cover in this region is often regarded as 'common knowledge'; however, this aspect of the species' ecology has not been examined empirically. Here, we outline the differences in invertebrate community structure, fish activity, and resource use of monomorphic whitefish populations between summer (August-September) and winter (February-March) in three subarctic lakes in Finnish Lapland. Benthic macroinvertebrate densities did not exhibit measurable differences between summer and winter. Zooplankton diversity and abundance, and activity levels of all fish species (measured as catch per unit effort) were lower in winter. The summer diet of C. lavaretus was typical of a generalist utilising a variety of prey sources. In winter, its dietary niche was significantly reduced, and the diet was dominated by chironomid larvae in all study sites. Pelagic productivity decreases during winter, and fish species inhabiting these systems are therefore restricted to feeding on benthic prey. Sampling time has strong effect on our understanding of resource utilisation by whitefish in subarctic lakes and should be taken into account in future studies of these systems. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Social determinants of older adults' awareness of community support services in Hamilton, Ontario

Community support services (CSSs) have been developed in Canada and other Western nations to enable persons coping with health or social issues to continue to live in the community. This study addresses the extent to which awareness of CSSs is structured by the social determinants of health. In a telephone interview conducted in February-March 2006, 1152 community-dwelling older adults (response rate 12.4%) from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada were made to read a series of four vignettes and were asked whether they were able to identify a CSS they may turn to in that situation. Across the four vignettes, 40% of participants did name a CSS as a possible source of assistance. Logistic regression was used to determine factors related to awareness of CSSs. Respondents most likely to have awareness of CSS include the middle-aged and higher-income groups. Being knowledgeable about where to look for information about CSSs, having social support and being a member of a club or voluntary organisations are also significant predictors of awareness of CSSs. Study results suggest that efforts be made to improve the level of awareness and access to CSSs among older adults by targeting their social networks as well as their health and social care providers. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The spatial ecology of the whiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus) at the western extreme of its range provides evidence of regional adaptation

Although widespread, the ecology of the whiskered bat, Myotis mystacinus in Europe remains poorly understood. Ireland is positioned at the most western extreme of this species' range. To ascertain the ecology of M. mystacinus at its geographic range extreme, the roosting behaviour, home range and habitat use of females in a maternity roost in Ireland was investigated by radio-tracking. M. mystacinus were active in a diversity of habitats: namely, mixed woodland, riparian vegetation, arable land and rough grassland. However, only mixed woodland and riparian habitats were selected as core foraging areas. This is in contrast to a previous study from Britain where only pasture was utilised but is in agreement with data from Slovakia, where woodland was also selected, whilst riparian areas were also utilised by this species in Germany. A high degree of overlap in the foraging areas of individuals was observed. A total of seven roosts were utilised by tracked bats and roost switching behaviour was observed. We discuss our contrasting results in respect to range limitations, regional variability in landscape structure and the composition of bat communities. The present results have implications for the conservation of M. mystacinus within Ireland and other parts of its range, highlighting the need for range wide ecological studies. Regional variability in the ecology of bats related to landscape factors is an important consideration for bat conservation and therefore must be incorporated into future management plans. (C) 2012 Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Saugetierkunde. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Social effects of collaborative learning in primary schools

There is conflicting evidence on whether collaborative group work leads to improved classroom relations, and if so how. A before and after design was used to measure the impact on work and play relations of a collaborative learning programme involving 575 students 9e12 years old in single- and mixed-age classes across urban and rural schools. Data were also collected on student interactions and teacher ratings of their group-work skills. Analysis of variance revealed significant gains for both types of relation. Multilevel modelling indicated that better work relations were the product of improving group skills, which offset tensions produced by transactive dialogue, and this effect fed through in turn to play relations. Although before intervention rural children were familiar with each other neither this nor age mix affected outcomes. The results suggest the social benefits of collaborative learning are a separate outcome of group work, rather than being either a pre-condition for, or a direct consequence of successful activity, but that initial training in group skills may serve to enhance these benefits.