Demolition for Development: A Critical Analysis of Official Urban Imaginaries in Past and Present UK Cities

This article analyses official urban imaginaries of “demolition for development” in two different UK cities and time periods: 1) the City Improvement Scheme in Birmingham (1875–1914) during a time of rapid industrial growth, and 2) a housing‐led neighbourhood regeneration scheme in Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne (2000–2011) during a time of post‐industrial uncertainty. The concept of the “official urban imaginary” is employed to critically examine assumptions of growth, progress and success within “demolition for development” policies across different times and places. Drawing on both historical and sociological qualitative case study methods, this research contributes to a range of debates on urban regeneration, gentrification, creative destruction, comparative methodology, and imagining the city. The article argues that there is a serious need to rethink urban policy trajectories of property‐led regeneration and “planned gentrification”, particularly in the post‐2008 context of recession.     

Infant feeding and post-neonatal mortality in Derbyshire,England, in the early twentieth century

This paper examines influences on post-neonatal mortality in Derbyshire (England) in the early twentieth century, by applying multivariate hazard analysis to a rare individual-level data set. The data allow detailed patterns of breastfeeding and weaning to be examined. The role of feeding is given special attention as a mediator between mortality and the other environmental, social, and demographic factors considered. Twins and illegitimate children were more likely to have been hand-fed, but this could explain only a small fraction of their increased vulnerability. Artificial feeding was associated with increased risks of death from diarrhoea, respiratory disease, and wasting diseases. It is suggested that the link with wasting diseases was predominantly the result of the greater likelihood of congenitally weak children being hand-fed. Most of the variation in post-neonatal mortality, particularly from respiratory disease, was explained by environmental influences - population density, altitude, and the presence of mining.     

Occupational Stress in Social Work

Correspondence to Faith Gibson, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of Ulster at Magee College, Londonderry, Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Summary This article reports the results of a study of occupationalstress undertaken with a large sample of Northern Ireland fieldsocial workers, including both main grade practitioners andfirst line senior social work managers employed as team leaders.This study formed part of a wider interprofessional study ofsocial workers, nurses and teachers; publications for the lattertwo professions along with interprofessional comparisons arein preparation and this present article focuses on the socialworker cohort. The design and methods are described and demographic characteristicsof the social work sample are provided, with their views aboutsocial work. Stressors are identified in both professional andprivate lives. The effects of stress as manifested through theGeneral Health Questionnaire and the Maslach Burnout Inventoryare examined and the social workers' views on various stresscoping strategies are discussed.     

VOTING BEHAVIOR, DISCRIMINATION AND THE NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME

We investigate whether black, Latin, and white major league baseball players receive the same consideration by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in voting for membership into The National Baseball Hall of Fame. The first stage of Heckman's two-step procedure indicates that the probability a black player will ever receive at least one vote is significantly lower than that for his white counterpart. The second stage suggests that race or ethnicity sometimes matter in determining the number of votes a candidate receives for Hall of Fame membership. (JEL J7, D72)     

Neonatal mortality and stillbirths in early twentieth century Derbyshire,England

Neonatal mortality and stillbirths are recognised to be subject to similar influences, but survival after a successful live birth is usually considered in isolation of foetal wastage. Moreover, individual-level data on age-specific influences and causes of death in a historical context are rare. This paper uses an unusual data set to compare the influences on neonatal mortality and stillbirths in early twentieth century Derbyshire, England. Multivariate hazard and logistic analyses are performed to examine the relative roles of various social, environmental, and demographic factors. The influences on and causal structures of neonatal mortality and stillbirths emerge as broadly similar, with previous reproductive history linked to a considerable amount of variation. The clustering of endogenous deaths was much greater than the clustering of exogenous and post-neonatal deaths, probably reflecting the cause-of-death structure and the relatively healthy social and environmental position of early twentieth century Derbyshire.