Period In Scotland Research Articles

A New Polyphonic Source from Sixteenth-Century Scotland

ABSTRACT This article discusses a new source of sacred polyphonic music from sixteenth-century Scotland, one which had remained hidden for more than five centuries as marginalia within a printed book. Despite containing only a small amount of music, this source can tell us a great deal about cultures of written and improvised liturgical music in pre-Reformation Scotland, a time and place from which very little notated music survives. The music in this source has no text, title, or attribution. However, we reveal the identity of the music as the tenor part of a faburden on the Office hymn Cultor Dei memento and we determine that it was most likely written down in Aberdeenshire, in the north-east of Scotland. Finally, by analysing the book’s non-musical annotations, we explore a series of likely owners of the book—and what it might have meant to own such an object—during the turbulent period in Scotland from the early sixteenth century to the late seventeenth.

Risk of winter hospitalisation and death from acute respiratory infections in Scotland: national retrospective cohort study.

We undertook a national analysis to characterise and identify risk factors for acute respiratory infections (ARIs) resulting in hospitalisation during the winter period in Scotland. A population-based retrospective cohort analysis. Scotland. The study involved 5.4 million residents in Scotland. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between risk factors and ARI hospitalisation. Between 1 September 2022 and 31 January 2023, there were 22,284 (10.9% of 203,549 with any emergency hospitalisation) ARI hospitalisations (1759 in children and 20,525 in adults) in Scotland. Compared with the reference group of children aged 6-17 years, the risk of ARI hospitalisation was higher in children aged 3-5 years (aHR = 4.55; 95% CI: 4.11-5.04). Compared with those aged 25-29 years, the risk of ARI hospitalisation was highest among the oldest adults aged ≥80 years (aHR = 7.86; 95% CI: 7.06-8.76). Adults from more deprived areas (most deprived vs. least deprived, aHR = 1.64; 95% CI: 1.57-1.72), with existing health conditions (≥5 vs. 0 health conditions, aHR = 4.84; 95% CI: 4.53-5.18) or with history of all-cause emergency admissions (≥6 vs. 0 previous emergency admissions, aHR = 7.53; 95% CI: 5.48-10.35) were at a higher risk of ARI hospitalisations. The risk increased by the number of existing health conditions and previous emergency admission. Similar associations were seen in children. Younger children, older adults, those from more deprived backgrounds and individuals with greater numbers of pre-existing conditions and previous emergency admission were at increased risk for winter hospitalisations for ARI.

ENACT study: What has helped health and social care workers maintain their mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic?

A growing body of research has highlighted the adverse impact of COVID‐19 stressors on health and social care workers' (HSCWs) mental health. Complementing this work, we report on the psychosocial factors that have had both a positive and negative impact on the mental well‐being of HSCWs during the third lockdown period in Scotland. Using a cross‐sectional design, participants (n = 1364) completed an online survey providing quantitative data and free open‐text responses. A multi‐method approach to analysis was used. The majority of HSCWs were found to have low well‐being scores, high levels of COVID‐19 stress, worry, burnout and risk perception scores and almost half of HSCWs met the clinical cut‐off for acute stress (indicative of PTSD). HSCWs with higher scores on adaptive coping strategies and team resilience reported higher scores on mental well‐being. HSCWs were significantly more likely to seek informal support for dealing with personal or emotional problems compared to formal supports. Barriers to formal help‐seeking were identified including stigma and fear of the consequences of disclosure. HSCWs mostly valued peer support, workplace supports, visible leadership and teamwork in maintaining their mental well‐being. Our findings illuminate the complexity of the effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on HSCWs' well‐being and will inform future intervention development seeking to increase positive adaptation and improve staff well‐being. Addressing barriers to mental health help‐seeking among HSCWs is essential. The implications emphasise the importance of lessons learned across health and social care contexts, planning and preparedness for future pandemics.

TeenCovidLife:a resource to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents in Scotland.

TeenCovidLife is part of Generation Scotland's CovidLife projects, a set of longitudinal observational studies designed to assess the psychosocial and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. TeenCovidLife focused on how adolescents in Scotland were coping during the pandemic. As of September 2021, Generation Scotland had conducted three TeenCovidLife surveys. Participants from previous surveys were invited to participate in the next, meaning the age ranges shifted over time. TeenCovidLife Survey 1 consists of data from 5,543 young people age 12 to 17, collected from 22 May to 5 July 2020, during the first school closures period in Scotland. TeenCovidLife Survey 2 consists of data from 2,245 young people aged 12 to 18, collected from 18 August to 14 October 2020, when the initial lockdown measures were beginning to ease, and schools reopened in Scotland. TeenCovidLife Survey 3 consists of data from 597 young people age 12 to 19, collected from 12 May to 27 June 2021, a year after the first survey, after the schools returned following the second lockdown in 2021. A total of 316 participants took part in all three surveys. TeenCovidLife collected data on general health and well-being, as well as topics specific to COVID-19, such as adherence to COVID-19 health guidance, feelings about school closures, and the impact of exam cancellations. Limited work has examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people. TeenCovidLife provides relevant and timely data to assess the impact of the pandemic on young people in Scotland. The dataset is available under authorised access from Generation Scotland; see the Generation Scotland website for more information.

Opportunities and challenges when using record linkage of routinely collected electronic health care data to evaluate outcomes of systemic anti-cancer treatment in clinical practice.

The efficacy and safety of cancer medicines as reported from randomised clinical trials do not always translate into similar benefits in routine clinical practice; hence, post-marketing studies are a useful addition to the evidence base. With recent advances in digital infrastructure and the advent of electronically available health records, linkage of routinely collected data has emerged as a promising evaluation method for these studies. This paper discusses the opportunities and challenges when applying an electronic record linkage methodology with respect to systemic anti-cancer therapy by showcasing exemplar studies conducted over a three-year period in Scotland, and highlights some of the potential pitfalls spanning the entire breadth and depth of the research process. Our experiences as an interdisciplinary team indicate that there is scope to conduct large cohort studies to generate results from routine clinical practice within a reasonable time frame; however, close collaboration between researchers, data controllers and clinicians is required in order to obtain valid and meaningful results.

TeenCovidLife: a resource to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents in Scotland

TeenCovidLife is part of Generation Scotland’s CovidLife projects, a set of longitudinal observational studies designed to assess the psychosocial and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. TeenCovidLife focused on how adolescents in Scotland were coping during the pandemic. As of September 2021, Generation Scotland had conducted three TeenCovidLife surveys. Participants from previous surveys were invited to participate in the next, meaning the age ranges shifted over time. TeenCovidLife Survey 1 consists of data from 5,543 young people age 12 to 17, collected from 22 May to 5 July 2020, during the first school closures period in Scotland. TeenCovidLife Survey 2 consists of data from 2,245 young people aged 12 to 18, collected from 18 August to 14 October 2020, when the initial lockdown measures were beginning to ease, and schools reopened in Scotland. TeenCovidLife Survey 3 consists of data from 597 young people age 12 to 19, collected from 12 May to 27 June 2021, a year after the first survey, after the schools returned following the second lockdown in 2021. A total of 316 participants took part in all three surveys. TeenCovidLife collected data on general health and well-being, as well as topics specific to COVID-19, such as adherence to COVID-19 health guidance, feelings about school closures, and the impact of exam cancellations. Limited work has examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people. TeenCovidLife provides relevant and timely data to assess the impact of the pandemic on young people in Scotland. The dataset is available under authorised access from Generation Scotland; see the Generation Scotland website for more information.

The changing epidemiology of radial head replacement over a 22-year period in Scotland.

Radial head replacement is used to confer joint stability in the management of acute unstable elbow fractures and dislocations associated with instability. We determined the annual incidence of radial head replacement over a 22-year period in a defined population. Hospital episode statistics were collected prospectively at a national level. This database was retrospectively examined to determine the annual incidence of radial head replacement over the study period in adults over 16 years of age. A total of 615 radial head replacements were performed over the 22 years studied. The overall incidence was 0.65/100,000/year (95% confidence interval, CI, 0.50-0.71). The average adult population during the period was 4,270,593. There was a steady and statistically significant increase in the incidence of radial head replacement over the study period (r 2 = 0.816; p < 0.0001). This incidence was significantly greater in women than men (odds ratio 1.46, 95% CI 1.25-1.72; p < 0.001). The peak incidence in men was 0.87/100,000 population/year in the fifth decade of life while in women the peak incidence was in the seventh decade of life (1.38/100,000 population/year). The incidence of radial head replacement has increased steadily over 22 years. We hypothesise that this represents an evolving understanding of the role of radial head replacement in acute trauma in the context of emerging literature during the study period.

Changes in Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep across the COVID-19 National Lockdown Period in Scotland.

We examine the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak and concomitant restrictions (i.e., lockdown) on 24-hour movement behaviors (i.e., physical activity, sitting, sleep) in a purposive sample of people (n = 3230) reporting change recruited online. Participants’ self-reported time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), walking, sitting and sleep prior to lockdown (T1), during the first national lockdown (T2) and as restrictions initially started to ease (T3). For each 24-hour movement behavior, category-shifts are reported (positive, negative or did not change), as well as the percentage of participants recording positive/negative changes across clusters of behaviors and the percentage of participants recording improvement or maintenance of change across time. From T1 to T2 walking decreased, whereas MVPA, sitting and sleep increased, from T2 to T3 levels returned to pre-lockdown for all but MVPA. Participants who changed one behavior positively were more likely to report a positive change in another and 50% of those who reported positive changes from T1 to T2 maintained or improved further when restrictions started to ease. The current study showed that a large proportion of the sample reported positive changes, most notably those displaying initially poor levels of each behavior. These findings will inform salutogenic intervention development.

Patterns of hospital admission in 54 501 patients with epistaxis over a 20-year period in Scotland, UK.

Epistaxis affects most people over their lifetime. It is the commonest ear, nose and throat emergency. Hospital admission and socio-economic deprivation have been associated with mental health disorders, respiratory illness and with emergency hospital admissions. Low socio-economic status has never previously been associated with epistaxis, a common reason for admission to ear, nose and throat departments throughout the UK. Demographics from Information Services Division Scotland were analysed over a period of 20 years. This focused on gender, number of admissions, number of bed days, socio-economic deprivation (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation) and mortality within 1 year. Data from 54 501 patients were assessed. Admission numbers and length of stay have significantly decreased (P < 0.0001). Males are more frequently affected (P = 0.001). Admission numbers were higher for patients in more deprived areas (P < 0.001). Mean duration of stay has decreased by 1 bed day. Surgical intervention of epistaxis has increased significantly (P < 0.001). There is an associated 1-year mortality rate of 9.8% following epistaxis. There has been a significant decrease in hospital admissions and length of hospital stay in patients admitted with epistaxis over the past 20 years. There is a significant association with deprivation and epistaxis admission.

Loch drainage and improvement in Scotland

ABSTRACTThis paper sets out a history of loch (lake) drainage during the Improvement period in Scotland. A range of case studies are presented that trace the practice from before the eighteenth century through the second half of the nineteenth century. Evidence is presented to suggest that drainage was viewed during the Improvement period as essential to new agricultural practices implemented at this time. The importance of loch drainage can be seen in the exhaustive nature of the practice in parts of Scotland. It has been recently shown that different patterns in the intensity and timing of loch drainage occurred across Scotland, but the reasons why some areas saw more intense drainage, even where similar physical geographies exist, remain unexplored. It is suggested here that the framework of interpretation that has been applied to the much better studied practice of enclosure can equally be applied to drainage. Possible motivations and drivers for loch drainage are suggested here that show correlation in the intensity of drainage with areas that suffered particularly severely during a long period of poor harvests, due to cooler and wetter climate at times in the decades leading up to the Improvement period. This paper throws light on loch drainage as an important agrarian practice of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as rural Scotland shifted away from a largely subsistence economy to one characterised by more capitalist production.

Risk factors for young people not being in education, employment or training (NEET): Longitudinal analyses over a 10 year follow up period in Scotland

BackgroundThe high level of young people who are NEET has been an important long-standing issue in Scotland. Having been NEET has several long term detrimental effects. Identifying risk factors of becoming NEET may inform interventions aimed at reducing the overall number of NEETs.&#x0D; DataWe used the Scottish Longitudinal Study (SLS) - a 5.3% sample of Scotland’s population based around the 1991, 2001 and 2011 Censuses. The SLS include vital event data and since 2007, school census data. Census data are available for family members of the SLS sample.&#x0D; We followed two cohorts to age 16-19 years: the first cohort included 6-9 years old at the 1991 census and the second 6-9 years old at the 2001 census.&#x0D; MethodsWe used logistic regression to investigate whether NEET status was associated with individual, family and household characteristics measured 10 years previously, school qualifications and behaviour, local area characteristics and whether they had had a teenage pregnancy.&#x0D; FindingMany factors were associated with the likelihood of being NEET - highest school qualification and behaviour, teenage pregnancy (females), household characteristics and living in an area having a relatively high level of NEETs.

Protocol for a mixed-methods longitudinal study to identify factors influencing return to work in the over 50s participating in the UK Work Programme: Supporting Older People into Employment (SOPIE)

IntroductionIncreasing employment among older workers is a policy priority given the increase in life expectancy and the drop in labour force participation after the age of 50. Reasons for this...

Community Treatment Orders

&lt;p&gt;A community treatment order is now a well-established feature of various common law jurisdictions in North America and Australasia, and in other countries. Its introduction into England and Wales was a central part of the government’s drawn out reform of the Mental Health Act 1983, and it attracted heated debate as part of the Parliamentary process, both in the exchanges between Parliamentarians and the evidence and briefings filed by interested parties. A CTO provision was introduced with a speedier gestation period in Scotland. But there is no single form of “community treatment order”; and there may also be different policy objectives. What is usually central is the desire to provide a regime for patients who are assessed as being able to function in the community so long as they accept medication but who may disengage from treatment and relapse to the extent that they require in-patient treatment: the description “revolving door” is often attached to such patients and was during the course of the debates.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The first question to be explored is whether what emerged in the Mental Health Act 2007 is much different from what already exists in relation to such patients: if it is and it allows community treatment which was previously not available, the further question is whether that is a good thing in light of the experience of other jurisdictions that have CTO regimes. If it is not, there are two further questions: firstly, why has something called a CTO been introduced if it does not amount to a change of substance; and secondly, is it a missed opportunity in light of the information from other jurisdictions – in other words, would a substantive change provide benefits which England and Wales is now missing?&lt;/p&gt;

‘A box of chymical medicines’: an Italian medicine chest presented to Sir John Clerk of Penicuik in 1698

In December 1698 Sir John Clerk, second baronet of Penicuik, visited Cosimo III of Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, while on his Grand Tour of Europe - an essential part of the broader education of the gentleman at this time. The Duke presented him with a wooden medicine chest, in which the original medicines in their labelled containers are still to be found. The chest is Italian in origin, but many of the preparations it contains existed in various forms in European - including Scottish - formulations from that time. This paper outlines the context of the period, the state of medicine and pharmacy in Scotland, and examines the contents of the box. It is rare for such a complete chest to survive from this period in Scotland - most surviving examples date from at least the mid-eighteenth century. It offers a unique opportunity to investigate some of the medicines of the period.

From hard to soft: theory and Neolithic studies in Scotland

The Scottish Theoretical Archaeology Group (STAG) conference organisers expressed some doubts about how far theory has changed, and impacted, archaeological establishment and academia in Scotland. In this paper, I will argue that Scotland is certainly not isolated in a theoretical sense, although in the past, Scottish archaeology could be accused of being theoretically conservative, or at least dependent on ideas and models developed elsewhere. A case-study looking at Neolithic studies will be used to illustrate that despite some recent critical historiographies of the study of the period in Scotland, archaeologists in Scotland and those working with Scottish material have been theoretically innovative and in step with wider paradigm changes. The study of the Neolithic in Scotland, it could be argued, has been shaped by theory more than the study of any other period; we are not isolated, but rather part of wider networks of discourse.

Putative household outbreaks of campylobacteriosis typically comprise single MLST genotypes

During a 15-month period in Scotland a small but important number of human Campylobacter cases (3·2%) arose from 91 putative household outbreaks. Of the 26 outbreaks with known strain composition, 89% were composed of the same MLST which supports the potential use of MLST in public health epidemiology. The number of cases associated with household outbreaks is much larger than general outbreaks and there is some evidence to indicate that there may be secondary transmission, although this is relatively rare.

Rates of and Factors Associated With Delivery-Related Perinatal Death Among Term Infants in Scotland

It is unclear whether the marked increase of cesarean deliveries and other obstetric intervention in recent years has reduced the rates of perinatal and neonatal death associated with intrapartum anoxia or other complications of labor at term. Two previous studies reported that the rates of intrapartum stillbirths attributable to anoxia were reduced but both had methodological and other deficiencies. The aim of this population-based, retrospective cohort study was to determine whether rates of delivery-related perinatal death at term changed over a 20-year period in Scotland and whether there has been a reduction in deaths ascribed to intrapartum anoxia. Data were linked from a registry of births (Scottish Morbidity Record 02) and a registry of perinatal deaths (Scottish Stillbirth and Infant Death Survey) for singleton births between 1988 and 2007. All singleton infants (n = 1,012,266) were delivered at term in a cephalic presentation. Exclusion criteria were antepartum stillbirth or perinatal death due to congenital abnormality. The characteristics of deaths due to intrapartum anoxia were compared with those ascribed to all other causes. Unadjusted logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of delivery-related perinatal death during the study period decreased from 8.8 to 5.5 per 10,000 births; the percentage change was -38%, with a 95% CI of -51% to -21%. With unadjusted analysis according to cause of death, a statistically significant decrease was found in the incidence of death ascribed to intrapartum anoxia from 5.7 to 3.0 per 10,000 births (percentage change, -48%; 95% CI, -62% to -29%), whereas no statistically significant decrease was found in the incidence of death due to other causes (from 3.1 to 2.5 per 10,000 births; percentage change, -19%; 95% CI, -45% to 19%). The unadjusted data showed a comparable decrease in the incidence of deaths ascribed to intrapartum anoxia for intrapartum stillbirth (2.6 to 1.1 per 10,000 births; percentage change, -60%; 95% CI, -75% to -34%) and neonatal death (3.1 to 1.9 per 10,000 births; percentage change, -38%; 95% CI, -59% to -7%). Adjustment for measured changes in maternal, fetal, or obstetric characteristics did not affect the results. These findings demonstrate a reduction in the incidence of intrapartum stillbirth and neonatal deaths over a 20-year period in Scotland. The rate of decrease was significant only for deaths associated with intrapartum anoxia.

Palaeotemperatures and palaeoenvironments during the Younger Dryas: arthropod evidence from Croftamie at the type area of the Loch Lomond Readvance, and significance for the timing of glacier expansion during the Lateglacial period in Scotland

Synopsis This paper reports the results of a study of arthropod remains from an organic deposit located between tills of the Last Glacial Maximum and the Younger Dryas glaciations, at Croftamie in the type area of the Loch Lomond Readvance in western central Scotland. The arthropod fauna shows that the organic deposit was laid down in a shallow freshwater pool surrounded by moss and leaf debris. Quantified palaeotemperature estimates made using the Mutual Climatic Range method on the coleopteran assemblage show that the climate was severe with mean annual temperatures of about −5°C, and by reference to a previously derived radiocarbon date, this temperature is ascribed to the period around 10 560 ± 160 14 C years bp . The results from Croftamie are compared with other sites from Britain and Ireland and it is demonstrated that the Loch Lomond glacier reached its limit at about the middle of the Younger Dryas cold period. The age estimates derived by calibration of the radiocarbon ages may suggest earlier glacier expansion and that the lower boundary of the Younger Dryas in Britain may have been misplaced in the radiocarbon timescale.

Constraints on terminal sounds in the inscriptions of early Scotland

A survey was undertaken of the inscriptions from the early medieval period in Scotland in both Roman and Ogham script which have not been deciphered to the satisfaction of all scholars. It is argued that these inscriptions are linguistic in nature, implying a link between letters and sounds. The inscriptions of this period, excluding ones known to be in Latin or Old Irish, are surveyed, drawing attention to patterns in the distribution of sounds. The occurrence of sounds represented by letters in terminal positions in units of speech is contrasted with the occurrence of sounds in other environments, and it is shown that the terminal sounds conform to a constraint excluding consonantal stops. This is consistent with the behaviour of a single language, reasonably identified as Pictish, in these texts, though it is possible that there is more than one language within these undeciphered inscriptions.

Marian and Jacobean Literature

AbstractLiterature of the late Renaissance period in Scotland is best understood in the light of the two monarchs, mother and son, who governed the nation between 1561 and 1603. Scottish court culture in this period was alternately shaped, inhibited and nurtured by the political fortunes of Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots (1542–87) and James VI (1566–1625). Within four decades, the Catholic queen from a powerful Franco‐Scottish dynasty was first deposed, then beheaded; a succession of Protestant regents reigned calamitously; and the young king, exiled and estranged from his mother, inherited a politically and religiously troubled crown which, after twenty‐four years of relatively successful governance, would find union with England's in 1603. The political vicissitudes of the Marian and Jacobean periods in Scotland charted an erratic path for artistic culture. Perhaps because of this, the idea of a ‘Renaissance’ in Scotland, the counterpart of England's Elizabethan one, has yet to find firm root in the literary historiography of later sixteenth‐century Britain. Yet the conventional meaning of the term, ‘Renaissance’, as ‘rebirth’, accurately sums up the prolific efforts of Scottish poets to create art which had national, as well as aesthetic, currency. This essay begins by exploring literary culture in Mary's reign, suggesting that, despite its relative fragility, the long shadow which it cast over subsequent decades proved the necessary impetus for the ‘Renaissance’ of James VI's reign. That ‘Renaissance’ was relatively short‐lived, since regal union in 1603 dictated the end of Scotland's independent monarchy, and of literary art which had emerged out of the enriching conditions of sovereignty. This survey of the distinctive nature of Scottish literature in the reigns of Mary and James traces the major themes and preoccupations of a culture which was geographically placed at the periphery of Europe but which increasingly sought to prove its artistic centrality in the face of political change.1