The potential for neighbourhood regeneration in a period of austerity: changing forms of neighbourhood governance in two cities

Localism is an active political strategy, developed in a period of austerity by the UK's coalition government as a justification for the restructuring of state-civil society relationships. The deprived neighbourhood has long been a site for service delivery and a scale for intervention and action, giving rise to a variety of forms of neighbourhood governance. Prior international comparative research indicated convergence with the US given the rise of the self-help conjuncture and the decline of neighbourhood governance as a medium of regeneration. The subsequent shift in the UK paradigm from ‘big’ to ‘small state’ localism and deficit-reducing cuts to public expenditure confirm these trends, raising questions about the forms of neighbourhood governance currently being established, the role being played by local and central government, and the implications for neighbourhood regeneration. Two emerging forms of neighbourhood governance are examined in two urban local authorities and compared with prior forms examined in earlier research in the case study sites. The emerging forms differ significantly in their design and purpose, but as both are voluntary and receive no additional funding, better organised and more affluent communities are more likely to pursue their development. While it is still rather early to assess the capacity of these forms to promote neighbourhood regeneration, the potential in a period of austerity appears limited. Reduced funding for local services increases the imperative to self-help, while rights to local voice remain limited and the emerging forms provide little scope to influence (declining) local services and (still centralised) planning decisions, especially in neighbourhoods with regeneration needs which are likely to lack the requisite capacities, particularly stores of linking social capital. Initial conclusions suggest greater polarity and the further containment of deprived neighbourhoods.

In-situ development of self-defensive antibacterial biomaterials: phenol-g-keratin-EC based bio-composites with characteristics for biomedical applications

Recently, the development of highly inspired biomaterials with multi-functional characteristics has gained considerable attention, especially in biomedical, and other health-related areas of the modern world. It is well-known that the lack of antibacterial potential has significantly limited biomaterials for many challenging applications such as infection free wound healing and/or tissue engineering etc. In this perspective, herein, a series of novel bio-composites with natural phenols as functional entities and keratin-EC as a base material were synthesised by laccase-assisted grafting. Subsequently, the resulting composites were removed from their respective casting surfaces, critically evaluated for their antibacterial and biocompatibility features and information is also given on their soil burial degradation profile. In-situ synthesised phenol-g-keratin-EC bio-composites possess strong anti-bacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains i.e., B. subtilis NCTC 3610, P. aeruginosa NCTC 10662, E. coli NTCT 10418 and S. aureus NCTC 6571. More specifically, 10HBA-g-keratin-EC and 20T-g-keratin-EC composites were 100% resistant to colonisation against all of the aforementioned bacterial strains, whereas, 15CA-g-keratin-EC and 15GA-g-keratin-EC showed almost negligible colonisation up to a variable extent. Moreover, at various phenolic concentrations used, the newly synthesised composites remained cytocompatible with human keratinocyte-like HaCaT, as an obvious cell ingrowth tendency was observed and indicated by the neutral red dye uptake assay. From the degradation point of view, an increase in the degradation rate was recorded during their soil burial analyses. Our investigations could encourage greater utilisation of natural materials to develop bio-composites with novel and sophisticated characteristics for potential applications.

A repeated measures experiment of green exercise to improve self-esteem in UK school children

Exercising in natural, green environments creates greater improvements in adult's self-esteem than exercise undertaken in urban or indoor settings. No comparable data are available for children. The aim of this study was to determine whether so called ‘green exercise’ affected changes in self-esteem; enjoyment and perceived exertion in children differently to urban exercise. We assessed cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m shuttle-run) and self-reported physical activity (PAQ-A) in 11 and 12 year olds (n = 75). Each pupil completed two 1.5 mile timed runs, one in an urban and another in a rural environment. Trials were completed one week apart during scheduled physical education lessons allocated using a repeated measures design. Self-esteem was measured before and after each trial, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and enjoyment were assessed after completing each trial. We found a significant main effect (F (1,74), = 12.2, p<0.001), for the increase in self-esteem following exercise but there was no condition by exercise interaction (F (1,74), = 0.13, p = 0.72). There were no significant differences in perceived exertion or enjoyment between conditions. There was a negative correlation (r = −0.26, p = 0.04) between habitual physical activity and RPE during the control condition, which was not evident in the green exercise condition (r = −0.07, p = 0.55). Contrary to previous studies in adults, green exercise did not produce significantly greater increases in self-esteem than the urban exercise condition. Green exercise was enjoyed more equally by children with differing levels of habitual physical activity and has the potential to engage less active children in exercise.

Self-esteem mediates the relationship between connectedness to nature and body appreciation in women, but not men

Connectedness to nature (i.e., an affective and experiential connection to nature) is known to have a positive effect on psychological well-being, but its specific associations with body image have not been fully examined. To attend to this oversight, we conducted a preliminary investigation of associations between connectedness to nature and body appreciation. A total of 380 British adults completed measures of connectedness to nature, body appreciation, and self-esteem. Bivariate correlations revealed significant positive associations between all variables in women. In men, body appreciation was significantly correlated with self-esteem, but not connectedness to nature. Mediation analysis showed that, in women, self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between connectedness to nature and body appreciation. In men, body appreciation was significantly associated with self-esteem, but not connectedness to nature. These results point to a potential route for improving body image among women through connectedness to nature and self-esteem, but further research is necessary.

Self-organization and social science

Abstract Complexity science and its methodological applications have increased in popularity in social science during the last two decades. One key concept within complexity science is that of self-organization. Self-organization is used to refer to the emergence of stable patterns through autonomous and self-reinforcing dynamics at the micro-level. In spite of its potential relevance for the study of social dynamics, the articulation and use of the concept of self-organization has been kept within the boundaries of complexity science and links to and from mainstream social science are scarce. These links can be difficult to establish, even for researchers working in social complexity with a background in social science, because of the theoretical and conceptual diversity and fragmentation in traditional social science. This article is meant to serve as a first step in the process of overcoming this lack of cross-fertilization between complexity and mainstream social science. A systematic review of the concept of self-organization and a critical discussion of similar notions in mainstream social science is presented, in an effort to help practitioners within subareas of complexity science to identify literature from traditional social science that could potentially inform their research.