National attachment and patriotism in a European nation: A British study

This study explores identification with one's national group using two distinct but interrelated concepts: identity content and relational orientation. Theoretical distinctions were drawn between two forms of identity content: traditional-cultural and civic, and between two forms of relational orientation: blind and constructive. The multidimensionality of both identity content and relational orientation and the relationships amongst these components were examined in a British sample: positive relationships were hypothesized between blind orientation and traditional-cultural content and between constructive orientation and civic content. Principal components analyses confirmed the hypothesized factor structures, and the resulting scales were highly reliable. Relationships amongst the resulting factors were explored using regression analyses. The overall results indicate support for the orthogonality of both the two orientation dimensions and the two content dimensions. Moreover, the hypothesized relationships between forms of orientation and content were largely supported. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of looking at the relationship between identity content and relational orientation. The implications of these observations for theory and research are discussed with reference to using categories to

Establishing ex ante public construction supply chain guidelines in the public procurement of Schools' estate

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to explore the formative development of construction supply chain guidelines or proposals in a UK region’s schools’ estates procurement process to more effectively address a forthcoming increase in investment.

Design/methodology/approach – The research approach is interpretive. Using an action research approach, repeated semi-structured interviews and focus groups with a range of stakeholders are conducted.

Findings – The current construction supply chain in schools’ estate procurement has many difficulties, not least given the highly fragmented and disconnected nature of the projects. Synergies are being missed and there is little or no continuous improvement. Drawing on these findings, the research iteratively develops a range of proposals and guidelines to address this situation.

Research limitations/implications – This research adds weight to the current focus on pressing for change in the construction industry. It presents potentially valuable insights into the benefits of partnering arrangements and how these might usefully be incorporated into schools’ estate supply chain.

Practical implications – A set of guidelines is developed to guide the public procurement of schools’ estate in a UK region. These guidelines are set within the context of the Modernising and Rethinking Construction agenda.

Originality/value – The action research approach enabled the researchers to gain a unique insight into how public procurement and contractor personnel interact and to establish effective practical guidelines.

The Reception of Byzantium in European Culture since 1500

Studies on the reception of the classical tradition are an indispensable part of classical studies. Understanding the importance of ancient civilization means also studying how it was used subsequently. This kind of approach is still relatively rare in the field of Byzantine Studies. This volume, which is the result of the range of interests in (mostly) non-English-speaking research communities, takes an important step to filling this gap by investigating the place and dimensions of ‘Byzantium after Byzantium’.
This collection of essays uses the idea of ‘reception-theory’ and expands it to show how European societies after Byzantium have responded to both the reality, and the idea of Byzantine Civilisation. The authors discuss various forms of Byzantine influence in the post-Byzantine world from architecture to literature to music to the place of Byzantium in modern political debates (e.g. in Russia). The intentional focus of the present volume is on those aspects of Byzantine reception less well-known to English-reading audiences, which accounts for the inclusion of Bulgarian, Czech, Polish and Russian perspectives. As a result this book shows that although so-called 'Byzantinism' is a pan-European phenomenon, it is made manifest in local/national versions.
The volume brings together specialists from various countries, mainly Byzantinists, whose works focus not only on Byzantine Studies (that is history, literature and culture of the Byzantine Empire), but also on the influence of Byzantine culture on the world after the Fall of Constantinople.

The European Court of Human Rights and Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is an issue that affects vast numbers of women throughout the world. It seems to constitute a clear violation of at least three articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, however it has only been recognised as being a human rights issue relatively recently. Indeed, until 2007 domestic violence had not been directly addressed by the European Court of Human Rights. However, the Court has now addressed the issue in a series of recent cases. This paper discusses what positive obligations states parties to the Convention now have in relation to the issue of domestic violence. It proceeds to discuss the gaps in the Court’s jurisprudence in this area at present and how the case law of the Court may develop in the future.

Single Laboratory Validation of a Surface Plasmon Resonance Biosensor Screening method for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Toxins

A research element of the European Union (EU) sixth Framework project BioCop focused on the development of a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor assay for the detection of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins in shellfish as an alternative to the increasingly ethically unacceptable mouse bioassay. A biosensor assay was developed using both a saxitoxin binding protein and chip surface in tandem with a highly efficient simple extraction procedure. The present report describes the single laboratory validation of this immunological screening method, for this complex group of toxins with differing toxicities, according to the European Decision 2002/657/EC in conjunction with IUPAC and AOAC single laboratory validation guidelines. The different performance characteristics (detection capability CC beta, specificity/selectivity, repeatability, reproducibility, stability, and applicability) were determined in relation to the EU regulatory limit of 800 mu g of saxitoxin equivalents (STX eq) per kg of shellfish meat. The detection capability CC beta was calculated to be 120 mu g/kg. Intra-assay repeatability was found to be between 2.5 and 12.3% and interassay reproducibility was between 6.1 and 15.2% for different shellfish matrices. Natural samples were also evaluated and the resultant data displayed overall agreements of 96 and 92% with that of the existing AOAC approved methods of mouse bioassay (MBA) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), respectively.