‘Body training’: Investigating the embodied training choices of/for mothers in West London

Framed by the UK Government’s efforts to combat social exclusion by encouraging a shift from welfare to work through (re)training, this paper explores the types of training courses being offered to and taken by women with young children in West London. Drawing upon qualitative research, the paper explores the actual and desired uptake of ‘body training’ courses among mothers, linked, in part, to the current ‘body work’ skills gap in the local economy. The encouragement given to women and the interest they have in engaging in ‘body training’ is, we suggest, linked to the discursive construction and performance of a highly feminised and, often, maternal identity, which emphasises women’s caring role and the caring self. By probing the body/training nexus through the motivations and choices of mothers in West London the paper raises questions about gender identity and stereotyping in relation to training-for-work policies and the role of training in (re)inforcing the woman-body coupling within Western dualistic thought.     

Globalization, polarization and the informal sector: the case of paid domestic workers in London

Considerable debate has occurred over whether 'global cities' are witnessing polarization of their labour forces into highly paid professionals and low paid personal service workers. This paper offers evidence on paid domestic labour in London, some of which occurs in the informal sector, and considers its potential significance for the polarization debate.     

《伦敦公约》正朝向《联合国海洋法公约》接轨

《伦敦公约》(下简称公约)是1972年在伦敦召开的政府间关于海上倾倒废物公约会议上通过的。该公约的问世,是鉴于到本世纪70年代初期,已认识到海洋环境净化人类工业活动废物的能力并不是无限的,海上倾倒作为处置废物的一种手段所带来的弊端,已逐渐引起国际社会的关注,在这种背景情况下召开的特别国际会议,终于通过一项防止海上倾倒造成海洋污染的多边公约。公约自1975年生效以来,已成功地对海上倾倒实施了管理,完善了控制海上倾倒体系,交流处置废物科学方法的信息等方面起到了积极作     

The politics of design: architecture, tall buildings and the skyline of central London

After 2000 a handful of very tall buildings were approved in central London, a circumstance that challenged well-established planning practices in that part of the city. Their promotion by Ken Livingstone, the mayor, but opposition to them by conservation groups, seemed to signal a fierce campaign ahead; in fact, it was all over in an instant. This article examines how this debate was framed to dismiss the arguments and concerns of those who oppose tall buildings. To make tall buildings acceptable, London's mayor drew on the merits associated with iconic architecture and high-profile architects. Under Livingstone's incumbency tall buildings were affirmed by the expertise and clout of global architects who provided legitimacy for mayoral ambitions to reach for the sky. Stressing the significance of high-quality design and iconic architecture helped to wear down deep-rooted antagonism and to channel the debate to improving the aesthetic qualities of London, a goal that enjoys wide consensus.     

Residential Burglaries and Neighborhood Socioeconomic Context in London,Ontario: Global and Local Regression Analysis*

The main aim of this article is to analyze the relationships between the spatial patterns of residential burglaries and the socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods in London, Ontario. Relative risk ratios are applied as a measure of the intensity of residential burglary. The variation in the risks of burglary is modeled as a function of contextual neighborhood variables. Following a conventional (global) regression analysis, spatial variations in the relationships are examined using geographically weighted regression (GWR). The GWR results show that there are significant local variations in the relationships between the risk of residential burglary victimization and the average value of dwellings and percentage of the population in multifamily housing. The results are discussed in the context of four hypotheses, which may explain geographical variations in residential burglary. The practical implication of the GWR analysis is that different crime prevention policies should be implemented in different neighborhoods of the city.     

Fourierism, colonization and discourses of associative emigration

Drawing upon recent discussions in geography, this paper examines the discourses of emigration and colonization put forward by members of the British Fourierist movement. Through a close reading of the Fourierist newspaper, The London Phalanx , this paper explores how a set of ideas that are at face value a failure, when placed in context allow an understanding of nineteenth-century colonial projects.     

A new deal for lone parents? Training lone parents for work in West London

In this paper we explore the impacts of the training programmes offered to lone mothers with young children on the Government's 'New Deal for Lone Parents' in one local labour market: West London. Our research suggests that regulatory workfare policies are (re)producing and reinforcing gendered inequalities in the labour market by encouraging lone mothers to undertake training in feminised occupational areas such as childcare. We will argue that in a local economy such as West London where more childcare workers are desperately needed to enable other more highly skilled workers to take up employment opportunities, such training programmes may be doing little more than exacerbating the already gendered and class-based polarisation of the labour market – embedding low-skilled, poorly qualified lone mothers into low-paid jobs.     

The 2012 Olympic Learning Legacy Agenda – the intentionalities of mobility for a new London model

This paper investigates the emergence of a Learning Legacy Agenda (LLA) in the wake of the London 2012 Olympic Games as a governmental tool for the dissemination of urban development and infrastructure project delivery best practice. Focusing on the inception, coordination and implementation of the LLA we outline the intentionalities of mobility that underpin its formation and appropriation and suggest how this points to the emergence of a new “London model” of development and governance. Three intentionalities of knowledge capture, public duty and extra-local salience are unpacked to demonstrate the range of ways in which the bureaucratically initiated LLA banner has been used by various development actors and organisations to validate their existing practices. The case study of the LLA as an institutionalised governance apparatus is used to analyse the impact of specific forms of social relations on the ways in which “models” are produced, what their content consists of, how dominant agendas and narratives co-evolve with the priorities of an assemblage of actors and the processes of selective abstraction used to curate particular messages and forms of fixed and potentially mobile knowledge, yet dubious claims of “learning”.     

A geological model of London and the Thames Valley,southeast England

Many geological survey organisations have started delivering digital geological models as part of their role. This article describes the British Geological Survey (BGS) model for London and the Thames Valley in southeast England. The model covers 4800 km² and extends to several hundred metres depth. It includes extensive spreads of Quaternary river terraces and alluvium of the Thames drainage system resting on faulted and folded Palaeogene and Cretaceous bedrock strata. The model extends to the base of the Jurassic sedimentary rocks.     

Exposure to extreme climate decreases self-rated health score: Large-scale survey evidence from China

High temperature is a growing threat and impacts public health through different exposure mechanisms. Our study constructs a comprehensive exposure measurement based on temperature variability, duration, and effective influence range. We investigate human responses to high temperatures through self-rated health scores based on individual-level data from China Labor-force Dynamic Survey (CLDS). Results show that higher temperature and temperature variability significantly decrease self-rated health scores. Subjective health risk is most significantly related to the cumulative temperature in the previous two weeks. We also find that the exposure effects at night and on weekdays are more severe. Workers who experience greater exposure from commuting and work environments are negatively impacted by high temperatures. In addition, men, the elderly, middle and low education groups, rural residents are more likely to be impacted by high temperatures.