Scottish National Research Articles

Performance Management Practices in the Sport Sector: An Examination of 32 Scottish National Sport Organizations

Although many studies state the benefits of performance management systems within the sport sector, there has been little research regarding the practical application and suitability of these systems. This study aims to answer this gap by analyzing national sport organizations' performance management models and practices. A qualitative analysis of 32 Scottish national sport organizations’ strategic plans has been undertaken followed up by four interviews of governing body’s representatives and one focus group including eight participants within the Scottish sport system. Ten common performance dimensions, twenty strategic objectives and forty-two key performance indicators were identified. Findings show that the performance management practices of Scottish national sport organizations were affected by institutional pressures, making the use of performance management systems an institutionalized practice. Though, national sport organizations showed pragmatic autonomy by ordinating their behaviors and practices for their own organizational gain, taking advantage of their dependent position when opportunities present themselves such as securing funding.

Storytelling of the Haggis. Construction, Narration and Negotiation of a Scottish National Symbol

This article aims to analyse the way television has created or recirculated the haggis as the Scottish national dish. It draws on cultural studies analyses of food and TV as sources of nation building, Appadurai’s account of the construction of a national cuisine and Belasco’s insight into the way national food cultures are created for political reasons. The article textually, visually and symbolically analyses accounts of the Scottish haggis constructed by celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver, the Hairy Bikers and Gordon Ramsay, and by videos on the web.The results show that the haggis is represented in two ways: on the one hand, it contributes to constructing Scotland as an ancestral nation based on tough nature; on the other hand, the dish is depicted as a tool for measuring the degree of Scottishness of people or as a passport which allows people coming from other countries to feel more Scottish.

Whatever Happened to the Progressive Case for the Union? How Scottish Labour’s Failure to Subsume a Clearly Left of Centre Identity with a Pro-Union One Helps to Explain Its Decline

Abstract This article presents an original account of the tactical options available to political parties in multi-level settings. It applies that framework to the case of post-devolution Scotland via an analysis of First Minister’s Questions sessions in the Scottish Parliament. It shows how Scottish Labour adopted a less left-leaning justification for its stance on the constitutional issue in the years after the party lost power at Holyrood to the Scottish National Party. Consequently, the party failed to present itself as a clearly left of centre alternative to the SNP and downplayed the progressive case for Scotland remaining in the UK.

Real-world effectiveness and safety of ustekinumab for the treatment of Crohn's disease: the Scottish ustekinumab cohort.

Ustekinumab is a monoclonal antibody that targets interleukin-12/23. In Scotland, it was approved for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn's disease in 2017. The objective of this study was to establish the real-world effectiveness and safety of ustekinumab in the treatment of Crohn's disease. We conducted a retrospective study of patients receiving ustekinumab across eight Scottish National Health Service health boards between 2017 and 2019. Inclusion criteria included a diagnosis of Crohn's disease with symptoms attributed to active disease plus objective signs of inflammation at baseline (C-reactive protein≥5mg/L or fecal calprotectin≥250μg/g or inflammation on endoscopy/magnetic resonance imaging) and completion of induction plus at least one clinical follow-up at 8weeks. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to establish 12-month cumulative rates of clinical remission, mucosal healing, deep remission, and perianal fistula response. Rates of serious adverse events were described quantitatively. Our cohort consisted of 216 patients (female sex, 37.9%; median age, 39.0years, interquartile range [IQR] 28.8-51.8years; disease duration, 9.9years, IQR 6.0-16.5years; prior biologic, 98.6%) with a median follow-up of 35.0weeks (IQR 17.4-52.0weeks). Twelve-month cumulative rates of clinical remission, mucosal healing, and deep remission (clinical remission plus mucosal healing) were 32.0%, 32.7%, and 19.3%, respectively. In patients with active perianal disease (n=37), the 12-month cumulative perianal response rate was 53.1%. The serious adverse event rate was 13.6 per 100 patient-years of follow-up. Ustekinumab is a safe and effective treatment for the treatment of complex Crohn's disease.

Health-related quality of life and sagittal balance at two to 25 years after posterior transfixation for high-grade dysplastic spondylolisthesis.

AimsHigh-grade dysplastic spondylolisthesis is a disabling disorder for which many different operative techniques have been described. The aim of this study is to evaluate Scoliosis Research Society 22-item (SRS-22r) scores, global balance, and regional spino-pelvic alignment from two to 25 years after surgery for high-grade dysplastic spondylolisthesis using an all-posterior partial reduction, transfixation technique.MethodsSRS-22r and full-spine lateral radiographs were collected for the 28 young patients (age 13.4 years (SD 2.6) who underwent surgery for high-grade dysplastic spondylolisthesis in our centre (Scottish National Spinal Deformity Service) between 1995 and 2018. The mean follow-up was nine years (2 to 25), and one patient was lost to follow-up. The standard surgical technique was an all-posterior, partial reduction, and S1 to L5 transfixation screw technique without direct decompression. Parameters for segmental (slip percentage, Dubousset’s lumbosacral angle) and regional alignment (pelvic tilt, sacral slope, L5 incidence, lumbar lordosis, and thoracic kyphosis) and global balance (T1 spino-pelvic inclination) were measured. SRS-22r scores were compared between patients with a balanced and unbalanced pelvis at final follow-up.ResultsSRS-22r domain and total scores improved significantly from preoperative to final follow-up, except for the mental health domain that remained the same. Slip percentage improved from 75% (SD 15) to 48% (SD 19) and lumbosacral angle from 70° (SD 11) to 101° (SD 11). Preoperatively, 35% had global imbalance, and at follow-up all were balanced. Preoperatively, 63% had an unbalanced pelvis, and at final follow-up this was 32%. SRS-22r scores were not different in patients with a balanced or unbalanced pelvis. However, postoperative pelvic imbalance as measured by L5 incidence was associated with lower SRS-22r self-image and total scores (p = 0.029).ConclusionIn young patients with HGDS, partial reduction and transfixation improves local lumbosacral alignment, restores pelvic, and global balance and provides satisfactory long-term clinical outcomes. Higher SRS-22r self-image and total scores were observed in the patients that had a balanced pelvis (L5I < 60°) at two to 25 years follow-up.Cite this article: Bone Jt Open 2021;2(3):163–173.

Research on the Formation of Scottish National Identity from the Perspective of Identity Politics

Although the lack of such obvious defining signs as language, ethnicorigin and religion, Scotland, as a nation different from England, has been widelyrecognized by various countries and regions including Britain. Combining the views ofnativism and constructivism, this paper discusses the formation of Scottish nationalidentity from four aspects: common region, common history, common others andintellectual elite creation. The establishment of Scottish national identity failed to bringabout the rise of Scottish nationalism, which, to some extent, showed that theestablishment of national identity was not consistent with the desire for politicalnationalism.

Shades of solidarity: Comparing Scottish and Flemish responses to Catalonia

ABSTRACT On 1 October 2017, Catalans went to the polls to vote on independence. Catalan independentists called for international, particularly European, support. EU leaders remained wary, but representatives of Europe’s sub-state nationalist parties flocked to Barcelona to express their solidarity. In this article, we show that the Scottish National Party’s support was both less cohesive and less intense than the more assertive expression of solidarity from the Flemish Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie. We consider party interactions in the European context through the lens of transnational solidarity. We find that solidarity is refracted through intra-party dynamics, domestic policy debates, and the historical trajectories of parties in the European context. Existing international relationships provide arenas for interaction, but ultimately domestic opportunities conditioned parties’ responses to the Catalan referendum. This meaningful, albeit contingent, solidarity between sub-state nationalists is worthy of exploration in the context of ongoing Catalan and Scottish independence processes.

John Cash: former director of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, who warned against imported blood products

Credit: Keith Breeden, Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh John Cash, whose persistent warnings about the dangers of imported blood products largely fell on deaf ears, has died aged 84....

Young Scottish National Party Members’ Perceptions of Scotland and the United Kingdom

This paper explores young Scottish National Party (SNP) members’ views of Scotland and the United Kingdom. It is based on the analysis of the results of an online survey and interviews with young SNP members about their political engagement and their understanding of national identity, which we carried out from 2018 to 2020. Our study focuses especially on how the members of Young Scots for Independence (YSI) and SNP Students, the youth and student wings of the SNP, perceive the Scottish nation and the UK. This paper reflects upon the way these young people define Scottishness and Scottish society. It also discusses the role of national identity in their campaign for independence. Do they want Scotland to leave the Union because they see themselves, and Scottish people as a whole, as different from other British people? Do they consider their relationship with people in the rest of the United Kingdom as a kind of ‘Us vs. Them’ dichotomy? What does living together mean for them? The present paper shows that most of the members of the SNP youth and student wings do not feel British. A huge majority of them see the UK as a union of ‘un-equals’, which is exclusive, not progressive, and where Scotland’s voice is not heard enough. Besides self-determination, it is in the name of social democratic values that they campaign for Scottish independence. Significantly, social democracy is at the heart of their definition of the Scottish nation.

SNP proposes NHS agency to manufacture its own generic medicines

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has pledged to set up a pharmaceutical agency to oversee medicines supply chains and manufacture medicines “where necessary”, as part of its election manifesto. This forms part of a wider commitment in the manifesto to spend an additional £2.5bn on the NHS over the duration of the next parliament. The […]

ІСТОРІЯ НАЦІОНАЛЬНИХ РУХІВ ШОТЛАНДІЇ ТА УЕЛЬСУ: ПОРІВНЯННЯ Й АНАЛІЗ

The article addresses the history of the Scottish and Welsh approaches towards nationalism within the United Kingdom and features inherent in them. Similarities and differences between the Scottish and Welsh independence movements have been shown. Analysis of historical underpinnings of the creation of the Scottish National Party and the Party of Wales has been conducted. Influence of the Scottish and Welsh nationalism’s unique characteristics on the parties’ electoral performance has been analyzed. Research on the Scottish and Welsh independence movements from the perspective of Anglo–Scottish and Anglo–Welsh relations has been carried out. Influence of the British colonial empire on the suppression of the nationalistic tendencies in Scotland in Wales has been demonstrated. Scottish and Welsh societies’ special features concerning the differences between the independence movements in these countries have been analyzed. Causes of the relative success of the Scottish independence movement and reasons behind the relatively low popularity of nationalism in Wales have been identified. Based on the tendencies in the Scottish and Welsh societies, an analysis of future outlook of the Scottish National Party and the Party of Wales has been conducted. Special attention is paid to the 1979 and 1997 referendums on the restoration of the Scottish Parliament and creation of the National Assembly of Wales. Research on the causes of the referendums has been carried out, electoral preferences have been demonstrated, differences between the Scottish and Welsh national movements and different levels of home rule support among the Scottish and Welsh have been shown. It is argued that independence movements in Scotland and Wales are different in their nature, from which stem the Scottish national party’s and Plaid Cymru’s contrasting electoral results. It is demonstrated that the causes of such electoral performances are not only the historical underpinnings that have shaped both countries throughout centuries, but also the differences in Scotland’s and Wales’ economic development and the ideological distinctions within the Scottish and Welsh independence movements.

New chairs and vice chairs elected to RPS national pharmacy boards

Cheryl Way, Thorrun Govind and Andrew Carruthers have been elected as the new chairs of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS’s) Welsh, English and Scottish National Pharmacy Boards, respectively. Votes were held on 22 June 2021, during an open session of the three national pharmacy board meetings. The meetings marked the first time that the new […]

Fatal COVID-19 Outcomes are Associated with an Antibody Response Targeting Epitopes Shared with Endemic Coronaviruses

It is unclear whether prior endemic coronavirus infections affect COVID-19 severity. Here, we show that in cases of fatal COVID-19, antibody responses to the SARS-COV-2 spike are directed against epitopes shared with endemic beta-coronaviruses in the S2 subunit of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. This immune response is associated with the compromised production of a de novo SARS-CoV-2 spike response among individuals with fatal COVID-19 outcomes.Funding: This work was supported by the Georg and Emily von Opel Foundation, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) [award CO-­‐CIN-­‐01], the Medical Research Council [grant MC_PC_19059], ME was supported by The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust on May 31, 2021 for the project titled, "ICARUS –IBD: International study of COVID-­‐19 Antibody Response Under Sustained immune suppression in Inflammatory Bowel Disease. RP also supported by funds provided under Professor RW Snow’s Wellcome Trust Principal Fellowship (# 212176). Meso Scale Diagnostics (USA) provided loan of equipment, reagents and technical support. JSB was supported by funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) [grant number BB/M011224/1]. CPT was funded by an ERC research grant UNIFLUVAC’ and two MRC CiC grants (Ref: BR00140). ALM is funded by a NIHR Research Capability Funding grant. HJK is supported by The Future of Humanity Institute at the University of Oxford DPhil Scholarship program. DE is funded by the Robertson Foundation. The funders played no role in the design, execution or reporting of the study.Declaration of Interest: DE declares lecture fees from Gilead. CPT and SG hold funding from Blue Water Vaccines. All others have nothing to disclose. Ethical Approval: Ethical approval was obtained for the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) anonymous archive -­‐ IRAS project number 18005. SNBTS blood donors gave fully informed consent to virological testing, donation was made under the SNBTS Blood Establishment Authorisation and the study was approved by the SNBTS Research and Sample Governance Committee.

Pharmacist appointed as minister for public health, women's health and sport

Pharmacist Maree Todd has been appointed as minister for public health, women’s health and sport in the new Scottish government. Todd worked as a mental health pharmacist in Inverness for 20 years before being elected as Scottish National Party (SNP) MSP on the regional list for the Highlands and Islands in May 2016. In 2017, […]

Digital group developments in Acute Psychology Services

Dr Rachel Atherton,Consultant Clinical Psychologist Scottish National Residential Pain Management Programme (SNRPMP) &amp;Dr Ross Shearer,Consultant Clinical Psychologist Specialist Weight Management Service (SWMS) both with NHS Greater Glagsow &amp; Clyde share the practical aspects of moving a pain management group online.

‘Anything Westminster can do we can do better’: the Scottish climate change act and placing a sub-state nation on the international stage

ABSTRACT In 2009, Scotland passed, at the time, the world’s most ambitious climate change legislation, gaining significance due to its high-reaching targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and a complex bureaucratic set-up. It was the most complex legislation to pass through the Scottish Parliament since its inception, and a landmark bill of the Scottish National Party’s first term in government. Based on documentary research and interviews with policymakers and stakeholders, I use the Multiple Streams Model against the context of multi-level governance to analyse the emergence of the Climate Change Act in Scotland and what factors influenced its form, analysing problem, policy, and politics streams as well as structural and cultural-institutional entrepreneurship. The Act’s creation was tied up in attempts to position Scotland, a sub-state nation, on the international stage, with the legislation framed not only as necessary in the face of climate change, but an opportunity for Scotland.

Initial impact of COVID-19 on paediatric spinal services in Scotland

COVID-19 has affected many National Health Service Scotland services. Our aim is to describe this impact on the Scottish National Spine Deformity Service (SNSDS). All referrals to the SNSDS from...

Orwellian codes of behaviour exploring ideological power in education research policy

Conceptions of education research as independent and serving the interests of truth have come to represent freedoms that emerge from the application of intellectual inquiry. Critiques of education research and its relevance to the enhancement of education, coupled with neoliberal market-led pragmatism, have contributed to the erosion of an enlightenment heritage. In this nexus, empowerment is replaced by control. There is an absence of analysis of the Scottish National Party’s education research policy which means its regime of governance through logics of quantification productive of asymmetries of power has gone unrecognized. It is argued this policy produces a metrification of teaching and research which constructs teaching and research as servile to external discourses. These encroachments into autonomy and professionalism are intellectually clandestine as they operate through assumptive worlds holding that evidence is value-free rather than the outcome of constructivist processes driven by choice. Orwell’s dystopian vision of a subjugated society informs the meaning of the argument in the paper—that technologies of control and surveillance re-shape teacher autonomy and instrumentalize research such that its power to arbitrate is emasculated.

On The Cusp Of Maximalist Incorporation of Children’s Rights in Scotland

Children’s rights have long featured in Scottish politics and have been a particular focus of the Scottish National Party’s platform since it became the majority governing party in 2011. In April 2019 the leader of Scottish Government pledged that the government would incorporate the CRC into national law during this parliamentary term, which ends in March 2021. This chapter explores the way in which this pledge and previous Scottish implementation efforts have supported a commitment to children’s rights. It begins with a brief overview of the legal settlement between the Scottish and UK governments and the growing attention on children’s rights post devolution. This is followed by an overview of key legal and non-legal measures implementing various aspects of the CRC in Scotland, including points of tension. How these measures have impacted judicial protection of children’s rights will then reveal the gaps that persist in Scots law. The chapter then moves on to consider the potential for further entrenchment of the CRC in Scotland through direct, maximalist incorporation as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill that was introduced in Scottish Parliament on 1 September 2020.

Social deprivation in Scottish populations with pulmonary hypertension secondary to connective tissue disease and chronic thromboembolic disease.

Socioeconomic factors have been shown to have an adverse impact on survival in some respiratory diseases. Studies from the USA and China have suggested worse survival in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension in low socioeconomic groups. We looked at the effect of deprivation on the outcomes in patients with connective tissue disease-associated pulmonary hypertension (CTDPH) and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) in a retrospective observational study.Data were obtained from 232 patients with CTDPH and 263 with CTEPH who were under the care of the Scottish Pulmonary Vascular Unit, Glasgow, UK. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to assess for a relationship between deprivation and survival.We found no difference in survival across deprivation quintiles in the CTDPH (p=0.26) or CTEPH cohorts (p=0.18). We constructed multivariate models using enrolment time, age, sex and body mass index, with no significant change in findings. There was no difference between expected and observed population distribution of CTDPH (p=0.98) and CTEPH (p=0.36). Whilst there was no difference in presenting functional class in the CTDPH group, the CTEPH patients in more deprived quintiles presented in a worse functional class (p=0.032). There was no difference between quintiles of CTEPH patients who had distal or proximal disease (p=0.75), or who underwent surgery (p=0.5).Increased social deprivation is not associated with worse survival in patients with CTDPH and CTEPH managed in the Scottish National Health Service. Whilst there is no evidence of referral barriers in CTDPH, this may not be the case in CTEPH, as lower deprivation was associated with worse functional class at presentation.