Members of the Scottish Parliament may be even more sensitive than academics about long vacations, with their recess running from July 7 to September 4. But they are working hard to convince seven students from Aberdeen University's department of politics and international relations that summer is not all fun. Funded by the Carnegie Trust, the students are shadowing MSPs. Kirstin McCarty, shadowing Labour's Lewis Macdonald, is researching local transport, while Jennifer Lane, shadowing Labour's Elaine Thomson, is working on a report on housing stock transfer.