Britons Research Articles

Real-World Data of a Group-Based Formula Low Energy Diet Programme in Achieving Type 2 Diabetes Remission and Weight Loss in an Ethnically Diverse Population in the UK: A Service Evaluation.

(1) Background: Formula low energy diets (LED) are effective at inducing weight loss and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) remission. However, the effect of LED programmes in ethnic minority groups in the UK is unknown. (2) Methods: A service-evaluation was undertaken of a group-based LED, total diet replacement (TDR) programme in London, UK. The programme included: a 12-week TDR phase, 9-week food reintroduction and a 31-week weight maintenance phase and was delivered by a diabetes multi-disciplinary team. (3) Results: Between November 2018 and March 2020, 216 individuals were referred, 37 commenced the programme, with 29 completing (78%). The majority were of Black British (20%) ethnicity with a mean (SD) age of 50.4 (10.5) years, a body mass index of 34.4 (4.4) kg/m2 and a T2DM duration of 4.2 (3.6) years. At 12 months, 65.7% achieved T2DM remission, with a mean bodyweight loss of 11.6 (8.9) kg. Completers lost 15.8 (5.3) kg, with 31.4% of participants achieving ≥15 kg weight loss. Quality of life measures showed significant improvements. (4) Conclusions: This service evaluation shows for the first time in the UK that a group-based formula LED programme can be effective in achieving T2DM remission and weight loss in an ethnical diverse population.

Minimizations and denials of racism by UK residents from Zimbabwe as occasioned linguistic practice

ABSTRACT This paper argues that talk about racism produced by UK residents from Zimbabwe during life history interviews conducted in 2011 should be regarded as occasioned linguistic practice rather than a means of accessing their experiences or views about racism. Firstly, I show that interviewees downplayed racism in the UK to emphasize that Zimbabwe has a far greater problem with forms of structural inequality. This was part of a broader attempt to construct Zimbabwe as an undesirable place and thereby justify their presence in the UK. Secondly, I explore ways interviewees tried to ensure their talk about racism did not position them as victims. This paper focuses on appropriated oppression, a dimension of racism neglected by scholars, particularly those studying migrants. It seeks to demonstrate that appropriated oppression is a form of mediated action rather than a psychological state.

Polygenic risk for type 2 diabetes, lifestyle, metabolic health, and cardiovascular disease: a prospective UK Biobank study

BackgroundFew studies have examined associations between genetic risk for type 2 diabetes (T2D), lifestyle, clinical risk factors, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to investigate the association of and potential interactions among genetic risk for T2D, lifestyle behavior, and metabolic risk factors with CVD.MethodsA total of 345,217 unrelated participants of white British descent were included in analyses. Genetic risk for T2D was estimated as a genome-wide polygenic risk score constructed from > 6 million genetic variants. A favorable lifestyle was defined in terms of four modifiable lifestyle components, and metabolic health status was determined according to the presence of metabolic syndrome components.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 8.9 years, 21,865 CVD cases (6.3%) were identified. Compared with the low genetic risk group, participants at high genetic risk for T2D had higher rates of overall CVD events, CVD subtypes (coronary artery disease, peripheral artery disease, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation/flutter), and CVD mortality. Individuals at very high genetic risk for T2D had a 35% higher risk of CVD than those with low genetic risk (HR 1.35 [95% CI 1.19 to 1.53]). A significant gradient of increased CVD risk was observed across genetic risk, lifestyle, and metabolic health status (P for trend > 0.001). Those with favorable lifestyle and metabolically healthy status had significantly reduced risk of CVD events regardless of T2D genetic risk. This risk reduction was more apparent in young participants (≤ 50 years).ConclusionsGenetic risk for T2D was associated with increased risks of overall CVD, various CVD subtypes, and fatal CVD. Engaging in a healthy lifestyle and maintaining metabolic health may reduce subsequent risk of CVD regardless of genetic risk for T2D.

Economic nostalgia: the salience of economic identity for the Brexit campaign

AbstractThe rise of ‘new populism’ is commonly explained by two opposing approaches known as cultural backlash and economic deprivation. Their antagonism perpetuates a dichotomous understanding of economy versus identity. This article contributes to scholarly attempts to overcome this dichotomy by introducing the concept of economic identity. It suggests to bring ‘the economic’ back into culturalist explanations as a discursive motif that can be charged with identity and tradition. I argue that shared assumptions about what economic practices, institutions and conventions appear appropriate for the nation can serve the purpose of national identification. A qualitative discourse analysis of almost 400 Brexit campaign documents shows that those in favour of withdrawal and often considered ‘populist’ did not neglect economic arguments. But instead of relying on brute economic calculus, they referred to Britain’s economic traditions and images of a glorious economic past. By linking economic critique of the EU to issues of British heritage, Leave made Brexit a question of national economic identity—a discursive strategy particularly resonating with those economically deprived.

Brexit And British Expatriates in The British Newspapers

The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of Brexit on national identities. Particular focus is on British expatriates prior to and in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum held in June 2016 in the sense that Britain’s withdrawal from the EU raised concern about their identities in Europe. The paper uses media framing as a methodological tool in order to gain a better understanding of the way British daily newspapers represented British expatriates’ worries about Brexit. Corpus of the study, consisting in a selection of 200 articles from the Sun and the Daily Mail, is qualitatively analyzed in a bid to find out the way such newspapers framed Brexit in relation to British expatriates. Media frames are also juxtaposed to Ipsos Mori and YouGov polls dealing with Brexit and related issues to gain a better insight into media effects. Results of the study reveal that media frames seemed to have had a major impact on British expatriates, increasing their concern about their national identity to the extent that some of them decided to apply for another citizenship within the EU to keep their rights as EU citizens.

Northern Memories and the English Middle Ages

Northern Memories and the English Middle Ages

Cultural Hybridity, Discordant Relationships, and Critical Perspectives

Cultural Hybridity, Discordant Relationships, and Critical Perspectives

Matrimonial Causes & Choice of Law under Private International Law

The institution of marriage is succumbed to yield many causes giving birth to legal action arising from this single relation called ‘marriage’. From time immemorial people have been interacting across the border and hence there have been marriages between individuals crossing the territorial boundary of country. Every country has its own legal system usually different from the legal system based on distinguish cultural, religious or political identity. In this situation if a dispute out of marriage will arise wherein parties are from different legal systems, the court will have to decide about according to which particular law and legal system such conflicting situation relating to marriage would be adjudicated. Private international law is a path to guide judicial courts encountering such situations and this paper is all about how judges have to exercise jurisdiction and private international law and further according to which set of law/s such matrimonial disputes/causes should be addressed.
 Person having different domicile, residence or nationality may enter into matrimonial relationship. At the time of marriage no one speculate any matrimonial dispute but emotion, relation and compatibility between emotion and relation is quite different things. Therefore, there is always risk/chance of fractions in every marriage. If parties to marriage are from the same legal system, then their dispute will be adjudicated according to their local substantive and procedural laws of their land. But, if such parties to marriage belong from different legal systems and further if they have married away from their own place viz. a third country, then the jurisdiction and the law to be applied in matrimonial disputes would be looked from the lenses of the private international law.
 Thereafter these relations can also culminate into matrimonial disputes which take its legal effect through various matrimonial causes. This research paper mainly aims to analyse the various matrimonial causes present in a matrimonial dispute involving a foreign element which shall come under private international law and various choices oflaw rules, with special emphasis on nullity of marriage. This paper shall also briefly discuss the concept and validity of marriage. This paper shall analyse the concept of matrimonial causes in conflict of law through the Indian perspective. As India is a common law country which is of a shared British heritage and developed in England so the various concepts as aforementioned shall also include comparison with the English law. This paper shall conclude with authors’ observations and suggestions.

The Expressive Use of Adjectives in Metropolitan Anthony Bloom’s Religious Discourse

An overwhelming personality of the 20th century, Metropolitan Anthony Bloom was the spiritual head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Great Britain (1948-2003) who really raised the British people’s awareness of what Orthodoxy meant. He provided the realm of religious discourse with a particular outlook on Christianity (mainly sprung from his own revelation of the risen Christ), which he expressed in a perfectly natural and unsophisticated manner. Interestingly enough, Anthony Bloom and C. S. Lewis can be viewed as “kindred spirits”, as not only did they embrace Christianity after being non-believers, but their writing styles are also similar in that “both have an uncanny ability to explain difficult concepts with simple and engaging language” (“Beginning to Pray (A. Bloom)” [book review]). In Metropolitan Anthony’s view, Christian life represents the personal encounter with God. His discourse is in fact a place of encounters; it is where Eastern Orthodoxy meets Western spirituality, where the sacred realm meets the secular realm and, perhaps most importantly, where the metropolitan’s inner world meaningfully interacts with his addressees’ spiritual searches. We hereby examine the ways in which adjectives contribute to creating an image of a particular world in the following books: Living Prayer (1999a), School for Prayer (1999b), Meditations on a Theme: A spiritual journey (2003). Our approach relies on the Jakobsonian model (1960/1987) of language functions, Kinneavy’s (1980) Theory of Discourse, van Eemeren’s (2002) pragma-dialectical theory of argumentation and various studies on religious discourse. The current paper reveals such discourse constants as the triadic pattern of adjectival constructions, the abundant use of the adjectives “real” and “true”, as well as the presence of adjectives in parallelism and repetition. All these expressive uses of adjectives contribute to the creation of a complex network in which the world of the Gospel, the discursive ethos (conveying the author’s attitude in its diversity) and the reader’s image intermingle in a most harmonious manner.

Migrants' primary care utilisation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in England: An interrupted time series analysis.

SummaryBackgroundHow international migrants access and use primary care in England is poorly understood. We aimed to compare primary care consultation rates between international migrants and non-migrants in England before and during the COVID–19 pandemic (2015–2020).MethodsUsing data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) GOLD, we identified migrants using country-of-birth, visa-status or other codes indicating international migration. We linked CPRD to Office for National Statistics deprivation data and ran a controlled interrupted time series (ITS) using negative binomial regression to compare rates before and during the pandemic.FindingsIn 262,644 individuals, pre-pandemic consultation rates per person-year were 4.35 (4.34–4.36) for migrants and 4.60 (4.59–4.60) for non-migrants (RR:0.94 [0.92–0.96]). Between 29 March and 26 December 2020, rates reduced to 3.54 (3.52–3.57) for migrants and 4.2 (4.17–4.23) for non-migrants (RR:0.84 [0.8–0.88]). The first year of the pandemic was associated with a widening of the gap in consultation rates between migrants and non-migrants to 0.89 (95% CI 0.84–0.94) times the ratio before the pandemic. This widening in ratios was greater for children, individuals whose first language was not English, and individuals of White British, White non-British and Black/African/Caribbean/Black British ethnicities. It was also greater in the case of telephone consultations, particularly in London.InterpretationMigrants were less likely to use primary care than non-migrants before the pandemic and the first year of the pandemic exacerbated this difference. As GP practices retain remote and hybrid models of service delivery, they must improve services and ensure primary care is accessible and responsive to migrants’ healthcare needs.FundingThis study was funded by the Medical Research Council (MC_PC 19070 and MR/V028375/1) and a Wellcome Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship (206602).

Exploring the demographic and situational characteristics of older British people experiencing loneliness as positive within the BBC loneliness experiment

Objectives The aim of this study is to increase the understanding of loneliness experienced as positive, by exploring the demographic and situational characteristics of older people who experience loneliness as positive. Method Two binary logistic regressions were conducted using data from those aged 60+ from the BBC Loneliness Experiment (N = 5250). Results The first binary logistic regression compared participants who experience loneliness always as positive (N = 219) to those participants who never experience loneliness as positive (N = 3004). Spending time alone did not emerge as relevant to experiencing loneliness as positive, but enjoying time alone was important (OR = 1.561 (95% CI = 1.313 − 1.856)). The lonelier older people were, the less likely they experienced loneliness as positive (OR = 0.708 (95% CI =0.644 − 0.779)). Men were more likely to experience loneliness as positive compared to women (OR = 1.734 (95% CI = 1.269 − 2.370)). Lastly, the experience of loneliness as positive was likely to decrease when older people had more years of education (OR = 0.887 (95% CI = 0.853 − 0.921)) but increased with age (OR = 1.067 (95% CI = 1.037 − 1.098)). The results of the second binary logistic regression comparing participants who indicated loneliness purely as positive with those participants indicate to experience loneliness sometimes as positive (N = 2027), are in line with the first regression analyses. Conclusion The results are critically discussed by emphasizing the role of norms and cultures, gerotranscendence, and severity of loneliness, which might influence the experiences of loneliness. Further qualitative research is needed to elucidate the meanings of these positive experiences of loneliness.

Ethnic inequalities in multiple comorbidities among people with psychosis

IntroductionStudies have shown ethnic inequalities in health, with a higher incidence of illnesses among people of some minoritised ethnic groups. Furthermore, it has been observed that people with severe mental illnesses have a higher risk for multimorbidity. However, no study has investigated ethnic disparities in comorbidity in people with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder.ObjectivesThis study investigates potential ethnic disparities in physical health comorbidity in a cohort of people with psychosis.MethodsUsing a cross-sectional design, we identified service-users of the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust who were diagnosed with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder between 2007 and 2020. We assessed the prevalence of asthma, bronchitis, diabetes, hypertension, low blood pressure, overweight or obesity, and rheumatoid arthritis. Latent class analyses were used to investigate distinct profiles of comorbidity. Multinomial regression was then used to investigate ethnic disparities in these profiles. The regression model was adjusted for gender, age, neighbourhood deprivation, smoking and duration of care.ResultsOn a sample of 23,418 service-users with psychosis, we identified two classes of comorbidity: low comorbidity and multiple comorbidities. Compared to the White British ethnicity, a higher risk for multiple comorbidities was observed for people with any Black background, Indian, Pakistani, Asian British, and mixed-race ethnicities. Furthermore, Black African women had a significantly higher risk for multiple comorbidities than their male counterparts.ConclusionsEthnic disparities are observed in multiple comorbidities among people with psychosis. Further research is needed to understand the impact of these disparities, especially in relation to mortality.DisclosureNo significant relationships.

Four-Week Supplementation of Water-Soluble Tomato Extract Attenuates Platelet Function in Chinese Healthy Middle-Aged and Older Individuals: A Randomized, Double-Blinded, and Crossover Clinical Trial.

Background and AimsPlatelets are linked to atherosclerotic development and pathological thrombosis. Single dose of water-soluble tomato extract (WTE) which is a natural extraction can exert anti-platelet effects after 3 or 7 h in British healthy people. However, the effects of WTE supplementation on platelet function in Chinese healthy middle-aged and older individuals have not been studied, and the effects or safety of 4-week WTE supplementation also remain unclear. The present study aims to determine the effects of WTE on platelet function, and explore the safety of 4-week WTE supplementation in Chinese healthy middle-aged and older individuals.MethodsA randomized, double-blinded, and crossover clinical trial was conducted. Firstly, 105 individuals were randomly divided into two groups that received WTE (150 mg/day) or placebo for 4 weeks. Then, after a washout period of 2 weeks, two groups exchanged groups and continued for another 4-week intervention. Platelet aggregation, P-selectin, activated GPIIbIIIa, plasma platelet factor 4 (PF4), β-thromboglobulin (β-TG), and thromboxane B2 (TXB2) were tested at baseline, 4, 6, and 10 weeks.ResultsCompared with the placebo group, 150 mg/day WTE supplement for 4 weeks significantly reduced ADP-induced or collagen-induced platelet aggregation (−10.8 ± 1.8 or −3.9 ± 1.5%, P < 0.05), ADP-induced or collagen-induced platelet P-selectin expression (−6.9 ± 1.5 or −6.6 ± 1.3%, P < 0.05), ADP-induced or collagen-induced activated GPIIbIIIa (−6.2 ± 2.0 or −3.8 ± 2.0%, P < 0.05). Besides, 4-week intervention of 150 mg WTE per day also resulted in significant reductions in plasma PF4 (−120.6 ± 33.2 ng/mL, P < 0.05) and β-TG (−129.7 ± 27.5 ng/mL, P < 0.05) and TXB2 (−42.0 ± 4.0 ng/mL, P < 0.05), while had no effects on coagulation function and liver or renal function. Interestingly, 2-week washout period is enough to reverse the inhibitory effect of 4-week WTE supplementation on platelet function.ConclusionWTE supplementation for 4 weeks could moderately reduce platelet activation, aggregation, and granule secretion in Chinese healthy middle-aged and older individuals, and these effects are safe. After 2-week washout period, the inhibitory effect of 4-week WTE on platelet function can be eliminated.Clinical Trial Registration[http://www.chictr.org.cn/], identifier [ChiCTR-POR-17012927].

The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Suicidal Thoughts in the United Kingdom

AimsBackground: The impact of the pandemic and resultant restrictions on suicidal thoughts may vary across populations, geographical areas, between high and low socio-economic groups and vulnerable populations. Aim: To investigate the psychological impact of COVID-19 and resultant restrictions on suicidal thoughts in the United Kingdom.MethodsThe study group conducted a cross sectional survey using a questionnaire based on published approaches (Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7, Patient Health Questionnaire 9, Impact of Events Scale-Revised) to understand the psychological impact of COVID-19 and the resultant restrictions on suicidal thoughts. The study was conducted in 3 phases to capture the different phases of the pandemic restrictions: Phase 1: 1st May 2020 to 31st July 2020Phase 2: 12th November 2020 to 12th February 2021Phase 3: 1st July 2021 to 30th September 2021Inclusion: All individuals above 16 years of age who wanted to participate were eligible.Analysis strategy: Descriptive analysis and logistic regression is applied in this study.ResultsThe study recruited 29133 participants in phase 1; 83851 participants in phase 2 and 75204 participants in phase 3. The largest age group of participants was 45–64 years. About two thirds of respondents were female. Majority of participants were of White British ethnicity. 31% participants in phase 1, 30% in phase 2 and 19% in phase 3 reported suicidal thoughts.The preliminary regression analysis indicates that younger and male participants reported more suicidal thoughts among other findings which will be reported in the presentation.Limitations: The non-probability sample design and time limited surveys meant that longitudinal changes were not possible to elicit.ConclusionThere is mixed evidence on whether rates of suicidal thoughts increased during the pandemic. The results of this study will add to the evidence base and influence future pandemic planning and efforts to developing resilience and good mental health in society.

Differences in Remote Mental Healthcare: Minority Ethnic Service User Experiences and Perceptions During COVID-19

AimsCOVID-19 has resurfaced health inequalities but also provides new opportunities for remote healthcare. Minority ethnic service users (SUs) are substantially under-represented in secondary mental health services due to gaps in understanding needs of this priority group. We aimed to assess and identify any differences in characteristics and acceptability, with a focus on minority ethnic mental health SUs.MethodsA prospective, online feedback questionnaire was developed with the help of SUs. This was built into video consultations (VCs), using the secure Attend Anywhere platform through a survey link. We present results between July 2020 and January 2022, during which, a total of 2,565 SUs completed the online questionnaire after VCs. SPSS (version 27) was used for descriptive statistical analysis. Chi-squared test, using 5% level of significance, was conducted to test differences between the two (minority Vs majority ethnic) SU groups.ResultsOf 2,565 SUs, 119 (4.6%) were from minority ethnic groups (Asian British, Mixed/multiple, Black British, and Other), 2,398 (93.5%) were White British, and 48 (1.9%) preferred not to disclose. A higher percentage of SUs were females from both minority (55.6%) and White British (66.1%) ethnic groups (ϰ2=5.476, p &lt; 0.05). By age group, almost half (48.7%) of minority ethnic SUs were less than 25 years old, compared with those from White British ethnicity (29.2%). In contrast, only 2.5% minority ethnic SUs were aged ≥65 years with none ≥80 years old (ϰ2 Likelihood Ratio = 27.11, p &lt; 0.001).No significant differences were found for video technical quality, such as waiting area, joining the video call, sound, and video quality. Similar findings were observed for video care delivery aspects with no significant differences between (minority ethnic and White British) SUs. Overall, both groups felt comfortable during the video call (ϰ2=0.137, p &gt; 0.05), their needs were met (ϰ2=0.384, p &gt; 0.05) and felt supported (ϰ2=0.164, p &gt; 0.05). However, according to care team, a significantly higher percentage of minority ethnic SUs (43%) had remotely consulted Specialist (Eating disorders, Well-being/IAPT) services compared with those of majority ethnicity (29%) (ϰ2 Likelihood Ratio = 21.936, p &lt; 0.05).ConclusionBoth minority ethnic and White British SUs found video care to be acceptable, with positive experiences. A significantly high proportion of minority ethnic SUs was younger and had remotely consulted Specialist services, with none in the 80-plus age group. These findings highlight priority areas to address among this massively underrepresented group in mental healthcare services.

Response to Perinatal Psychosis in West Essex During COVID-19 Pandemic

AimsThe aim of this audit is to look at the presentation of women who were pregnant or less than one-year post-partum presenting with psychotic symptoms in the A&amp;E Department, general hospital and calls to crisis line, particularly with the fact that the pandemic impact remains on the nation. Our aim was to ensure that all referred patients were assessed within the first 24 hours, all the assessments were completed face-to-face, a biopsychosocial assessment was completed for each patient and an outcome was agreed on and clearly documented in the notes.MethodsAll referrals to West Essex access and assessment team from the A&amp;E department, the general hospital and calls logged to crisis line were included. Data were collected prospectively over a six-month period from mid-November 2020 to mid-April 2021. For the purpose of this audit, an identification form was designed and disseminated to access and assessment and crisis teams to identify illegible patients. Our data collectors then used the main audit tool to gather the data.ResultsIn total, our sample included sixteen patients who met our criteria over the six months period. There was only one patient who was out of area. Most of the patients were of white British ethnicity (ten out of sixteen) and other six patients were five white other and one of Asian origin. The mean maternal age in our sample was 27.3 years old and the majority of the referrals came from the labour ward in Princess Alexandra hospital (57%). The two main outcomes of our audit were to check the response time and the way the initial assessment was carried over. Our results show that the team responded to all referrals on the same day with no delays. All the assessments were carried out in a face-to-face fashion in the general hospital apart from one assessment that came through the crisis line and this was carried out in the patient's home.ConclusionFrom our data we can identify that the access and assessment team met the standards we set for this audit. This fulfills the recommendations of MBRRACE-report and the RCPsych. One of our recommendations was to provide educational sessions to the emergency department in the general hospital to raise awareness on psychotic presentation during perinatal period.

Observational and Genetic Associations of Modifiable Risk Factors with Aortic Valve Stenosis: A Prospective Cohort Study of 0.5 Million Participants.

Background: Observational studies have shown that modifiable risk factors are associated with aortic valve stenosis (AVS). However, the causality behind these associations remains largely unknown. Objectives: To explore the associations of modifiable risk factors, including metabolic factors, biochemical measures, education, and lifestyles with AVS and their potential causal associations. Methods: We enrolled 361,930 British white people with genetic data in the UK biobank. Cox proportional risk regression models were used to estimate the hazard ratios between 28 modifiable risk factors and AVS. We used genetic instruments for modifiable risk factors to determine the potential causal relationships using a one-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach. Results: A total of 1602 participants developed AVS during an 8.4-year follow-up. Observational analyses showed higher adiposity, blood pressure, heart rate, low-density lipoprotein, urate, C-reactive protein, creatinine, albumin, and glycated hemoglobin, but lower serum vitamin D, and education, unhealthy lifestyle, and poor sleep quality were related to a higher risk of AVS after adjusting for the Bonferroni correction (p < 0.0013). Genetically predicted 1-SD higher levels of body mass index [HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.03 to 1.16], body fat percentage (1.17, 1.03 to 1.33), triglyceride (TG) [1.08, 1.00 to 1.16], low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (1.15, 1.08 to 1.21) and serum total cholesterol (TC) (1.13, 1.02 to 1.25) were associated with a higher risk of AVS, respectively. Genetically determined per category higher insomnia (1.32, 1.13 to 1.55) was also associated with AVS. The abovementioned genetic associations with the incident AVS showed an increasing relationship pattern. Conclusions: This study provides strong evidence for the potential causal roles of cardiometabolic factors in developing AVS, highlighting that an idea of metabolic status through a healthy lifestyle may help prevent AVS.

The Dark and The Uncanny in the selected Short Stories of RUSKIN BOND

Ruskin Bond, a prolific Indian writer, is inspired by the literature of British descent. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award for his work of literature by the Indian Academy of Letters in 1962. For a list of some of his notable works, check out Blue Umbrella, A Flight of Pigeons and Funny Side Up. His work has been adapted into TV series and films. BBC's television series is based on his debut novel, The Room on The Roof. His short story, later extended into a novella, "Susanna's Seven Husbands" was adapted into a film as 7 Khoon Maaf and the film Junoon is inspired by his A Flight of Pigeons. The characters in the stories of Ruskin Bond are sometimes dark and uncanny and this paper is attempted to explore such characters.

Appraising the Origins of British Language and the Challenges of Business Communication

The English language has shown the same history and development as Anglo-Saxon and British peoples. English ancestors were great warriors and business people. They showed great achievements in Germanic, Scandinavian, Greek, Roman ,French ,English and American wars ,and other activities. This makes English a relevant and suitable language for Wars, social and economic activities; hence the sociolinguistic origins and dimensions of English and business. Nevertheless, this well-known and important language is challenged by business demands that shape and reshape English for communication in the direction of modernity and globalization. The purpose of this analysis is to use structuralism criticism to revisit the diachronic and synchronic aspects of the language to demonstrate connections and interconnections between the origins of the language ,its development and the use of business communication for the promotion of social, political and economic activities. Languages promotion and business development or success are then interdependent for sustainable development

Rhoticity in English, a Journey Over Time Through Social Class: A Narrative Review.

Rhoticity in English refers to the pronunciation of the consonant /r/ in all r position contexts, while non-rhoticity refers to the dropping of the /r/ sound in particular r positions. In this context, the two English varieties, classified as rhotic and non-rhotic can be found both in British and American English-speaking people, but also in other English-speaking countries. The most updated information about rhoticity, related history of classes in the English-speaking people have been retrieved from the most important database such as ScienceDirect and Scopus. Society and language are strictly related, especially in rhoticity changes that occurred over time in the English-speaking people. In fact, rhoticity is a dynamic sociolinguistic phenomenon as it was influenced by social class changes during centuries, and even now it is constantly evolving. Rhoticity is also connected to social mobility in English-speaking countries and is also an indicator of social displacement from one social class to another. In fact, class, language, and social differentiation are only the terms of an inseparable social equation. In conclusion, in the dynamics of class, rhoticity and non-rhoticity seem are related to socio-anthropological issues that confirm an intimate connection with the process of social differentiation.