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This note draws attention to the recent discovery of the papers of the Chartist and newspaper editor W. E. Adams (1832–1906), summarizes their contents and explains why they are to be found in the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History in Moscow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the use of psychotherapeutic approaches to treat individuals who have committed sex crimes and/or have problematic sexual interests (PSI); including types of psychotherapy used, descriptions of preventive and reintegration programmes, and highlighting specific theoretical controversies. In the second part, experts from Canada, the Czech Republic, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who participated in an International Consensus Meeting held in Prague (2017), summarize treatment programmes in their countries. The comparison revealed some general findings: each country has variability between its own programmes; most countries have different programmes for people who are in custody and who are in the community; the state-directed treatment programmes are primarily focused on criminal individuals, while non-criminal individuals are treated in preventive programmes and/or in special clinics or are untreated; the presence of PSI in patients is acknowledged in most programmes, although specific programmes exclusively for individuals with PSI rarely exist. Studies on effectiveness are difficult to compare due to methodologic, political, and cultural differences. Further communication between more countries to share knowledge about successful treatments and preventive approaches is needed, especially enhanced international collaboration between researchers and clinicians to verify the effectiveness of current clinical and experimental program, rs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an international perspective on the use of medications to treat problematic sexual interests, paraphilic disorders, and sexual preoccupation in men who have committed a sexual offence. Experts from Canada, the Czech Republic (CR), Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States met in Prague, CR in May 2017 to review and compare their treatment approaches. This report is a summary of their discussions, including empirical data from CR and Russia which have not previously been published in the English language. All participants agreed that continuing international collaboration would be very useful for the development of ethical international prescribing guidelines, as well as pooling data from studies on the efficacy and utility of pharmacological and other biological treatments for people who have committed sexual offences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Previous studies using the WHOQOL measures have demonstrated that the relationship between individual items and the underlying quality of life (QoL) construct may differ between cultures. If unaccounted for, these differing relationships can lead to measurement bias which, in turn, can undermine the reliability of results.Methods: We used item response theory (IRT) to assess differential item functioning (DIF) in WHOQOL data from diverse language versions collected in UK, Zimbabwe, Russia, and India (total N = 1332). Data were fitted to the partial credit 'Rasch' model. We used four item banks previously derived from the WHOQOL-100 measure, which provided excellent measurement for physical, psychological, social, and environmental quality of life domains (40 items overall). Cross-cultural differential item functioning was assessed using analysis of variance for item residuals and post hoc Tukey tests. Simulated computer-adaptive tests (CATs) were conducted to assess the efficiency and precision of the four items banks.Results: Splitting item parameters by DIF results in four linked item banks without DIF or other breaches of IRT model assumptions. Simulated CATs were more precise and efficient than longer paper-based alternatives.Discussion: Assessing differential item functioning using item response theory can identify measurement invariance between cultures which, if uncontrolled, may undermine accurate comparisons in computer-adaptive testing assessments of QoL. We demonstrate how compensating for DIF using item anchoring allowed data from all four countries to be compared on a common metric, thus facilitating assessments which were both sensitive to cultural nuance and comparable between countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Countries and cultures differ in their approach to childbirth, as well as in their research practices. This paper examines 10 surveys of women's reports of their labor and birth in seven countries spanning North America and Western Europe and Eastern Europe. Similarities and differences in practice are highlighted, and the methodological difficulties of conducting research in cross-cultural settings are examined. This paper discusses innovative and culturally unique perinatal practices that are not revealed by such surveys and stresses the importance of sharing such ideas globally. ( BIRTH 39:4 December 2012) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thesis of this paper is that governments of some otherwise enlightened states are increasingly fearful of acknowledging the restraints imposed on them by existing international law. They are also reluctant to enter into new commitments by way of international conventions that would expand the reach of international law. The paper asks whether these fears are based on a true understanding of international law or on some distorted view of it. It will draw comparisons and some contrasts between Australia and the United States in their reactions to a number of recent events as well as to some enduring situations of contemporary relevance. Had time (and the limits of my research) permitted, one might also have examined public attitudes toward international law in China, Japan, and Russia in this context, where similar fears appear to be entertained. France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, also enlightened states, appear by contrast to belong to a group more dedicated to international law. As Robert Kagan has recently remarked, the experience of two world wars at close quarters, and the formation of the European Union, have made the European countries more dedicated to process, where the United States is more interested in results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To standardise protocols and knowledge so that they could draw on a borderless workforce, the information technology and telecommunications industries developed a new class of industry certification in the 1990s. As of mid-2000, approximately 2.5 million of these certifications had been earned by approximately 1.65 million people worldwide, half outside the US. These credentials are awarded by third-party examination, with three commercial testing firms operating at 5000 sites in 140 countries. Students prepare for the examinations in a variety of ways, including course work at commercial schools with both physical facilities and virtual presence in dozens of countries. This paper focuses on the status of IT certification in six countries (Australia, France, Germany, Russia, Spain and the UK), and the behaviour of six major certifying authorities (Microsoft, Cisco, SAP, Sun Microsystems, Oracle and Novell). It highlights (1) the ways that these certifying authorities behave in the countries at issue, (2) variations in opportunities for students to prepare for certification, by country, and (3) flexibility in the languages of instruction/preparation and the languages of examination in the IT certification system. Because this certification system lies outside formal tertiary systems, it is not subject to government data-gathering in any country, hence we know little about the backgrounds of those who seek/earn these credentials. The paper suggests and encourages three lines of research inquiry (basic descriptive tasks, comparative curriculum studies and assessment studies) that can enlighten the role of this growing parallel universe in tertiary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the marketing of alcohol to young people in the United Kingdom, but the lessons that emerge have international significance. Alcohol is a global enterprise and recent consolidation means that it is controlled by a decreasing number of expanding multi-nationals. Alcohol companies are able to allocate significant resources to researching consumer preferences, developing new products and promoting them on an international level. Recent years have seen a growth in the value that youth culture attaches to brand labels and symbols and a move away from the healthy-living ethos. The alcohol industry's response to these trends has been to design alcoholic beverages that appeal to young people, using well-informed and precisely targeted marketing strategies. This has led to growing concerns about the implications for public health and a demand for tighter controls to regulate alcohol marketing practices. In the United Kingdom, controls on alcohol are piecemeal and reactive and the current system of voluntary regulation appears ineffective. This paper argues for more research to establish current industry practice and inform the development of a comprehensive regulatory structure and system of monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the concept of social trust to extend the 'institutional economics' of North and Olson, and more specifically Hedlund's 'path dependence' account of Russia's economic development. For this purpose it compares the evolution of Britain and Russia since the eighteenth century. A key determinant of social trust is the relation between the state, money and the population. In Britain trust was mobilised through state fiscal policies, public credit, and the rule of law. In Russia (and the USSR) trust was also placed in a strong state, but one which operated rather through personal patronage and the joint responsibility of local institutions. This crucial difference explains why in the 1990s Russia adapted so poorly to market economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how the Excellence Model® developed by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) can be used and applied within higher education, with practical examples accompanying the Model in a Russian University to raise management quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Lenin in School in Moscow trained British Communists for leadership positions from 1926 to 1937. This article relates the school and its programmes to their context, the development of Stalinism in Russia and the Russification of the Third International and its affiliates. It explores thc organization and regime of the school, its proposes, pedagogy and curriculum. It provides for the first time a detailed listing of British students and explores their background and experience before entering the school. It proceeds to sketch the subsequent careers of a sample of the graduates. The paper pays particular attention to women students. The conclusion is that the training was far from successful in creating Marxist theorists or leaders. But it had a substantial impact in cementing loyalty to the British party and the Russian regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper describes British efforts to map the Russian influenza outbreaks of the early 1890s and describe the timing and course of the epidemic waves. Drawing on two surveys conducted by Britain''s Local Government Board (LGB), the paper shows how, in a pre-virological era, the board was able to establish that influenza was an intensely infectious disease. Its key observation, however, was that Russian influenza had taken the form of three, and possibly four, distinct waves of infection, with the second wave in the spring of 1891 proving more lethal than the first wave, and the third wave in the winter of 1892 proving almost as lethal again. Most of this mortality was due to excess deaths from respiratory disease, particularly in the middle age ranges, but while these insights could and, arguably, should have aided the public health response, British health authorities preferred to advocate cautious preventive measures that did little to alleviate the pandemic''s impact. The policy would prove especially costly in 1918–1919 when the LGB missed the opportunity to provide extra nursing cover for influenza convalescents following the initial summer wave of the 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]