Nation of twits

Nation - building

Nations stay together when citizens share enough values and preferences. Homogeneity amongst people can be built with education, teaching a common language to facilitate communication, but also by brute force such as prohibiting local cultures. Democracies and dictators have different incentives when it comes to choosing how much and by what means to homogenize the population. We study and we c...

The health of the nation.

Seize the opportunity Will the government's white paper The Health of the Nation (p 135)'2 turn out to be the most important measure for improving the health of the English people since the birth of the NHS or just so much hot air? Following strong leads from the World Health Organisation,'4 it sets out an ambitious programme for shifting the focus of the health service from sickness to health....

The health of the nation.

ISBN 978-1-906837-78-5 Cover design: lukejefford.com E ach day seems to bring fresh warnings of the pressuresbearing down on the NHS. As resources fail to keep trackof demand, the principle of universal healthcare is under threat as never before. Excessive waiting times, the rationing of new drugs, ambulances queuing up outside A&E, staff shortages, the list goes on. What has brought the NHS to...

The fructose nation.

There is growing miasma in our national correspondence over the increasing heft and metabolic dysfunction of everyday Americans. The origin of this mounting poundage has many parents, not the least of which is our appetite for nutritive (read caloric) sweeteners in processed foods and beverages. The culprit derivatives taking most heat today are various formulations of added fructose. Bray et a...

A nation divided.