Search

Background: Spoken discourse impairments post‐traumatic brain injury (TBI) are well‐documented and heterogeneous in nature. These impairments have chronic implications for adults in terms of employment, socializing and community involvement. Intervention delivered by a speech–language pathologist (SLP) is recommended for adults with discourse impairments post‐TBI, with an emphasis on context‐sensitive treatment. The developing evidence base indicates a wide array of treatment components for SLPs to evaluate and implement within their clinical practice. However, there is limited insight into how SLPs are currently treating discourse impairments and the rationales informing clinical practice. Aims: To explore the under‐researched area of clinical practice for spoken discourse interventions with adults post‐TBI, including treatment components and clinician rationales, and to contribute towards a shared knowledge base. Methods & Procedures: Participants were recruited via purposeful sampling strategies. Six SLPs participated from Australia, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). Semi‐structured interviews were conducted via Zoom. Interviews were manually transcribed, coded and analysed via a qualitative content analysis approach. Outcomes & Results: :Participants described discourse treatment practices across various settings and TBI recovery stages. Results indicated that SLPs used numerous treatment activities, resources and outcome measures. Intervention approaches primarily targeted social communication skills, strategy development/utilization and insight‐building. Clinical practice conformed to available guidelines where possible, reflected best practice and incorporated components of the research literature. Participants reported using individualized treatment activities aimed at addressing client‐specific factors and rationales prioritized tailored, context‐sensitive and goal‐directed treatment. Conclusions & Implications: This study provided insight into a previously under‐researched area. It highlighted a wide range of treatment activities and factors informing current SLPs' treatment of spoken discourse impairment post‐TBI. Overall, clinical practice and rationales discussed in this study were aligned with best practice and emphasized a contextualized, individualized approach to discourse treatment across service settings and stages of recovery. Participants identified areas requiring further support, including access to training, resources and research, and the challenge of finding suitable outcome measures. Further investigation into discourse management post‐TBI, from initial assessment to outcome measurement, may help inform clinical decision‐making and the transfer of research to practice. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Spoken discourse impairments occur in dialogic and monologic productions post‐TBI. Interventions targeting both genres are detailed within the research literature; however, studies exploring clinical practice and decision‐making for discourse interventions post‐TBI are limited. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study provides new insight into the current treatment targets, activities, resources and outcome measures employed by clinicians supporting adults with discourse impairment post‐TBI. It details the factors that influence clinical decision‐making for this caseload and identifies an emphasis on client priorities and the value of clinician experience. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: This study identifies the broad and complex considerations required to deliver context‐sensitive discourse intervention post‐TBI. It indicates the need for an in‐depth review from assessment to treatment outcomes to better understand and support this area of practice and to direct future research. This study also highlighted the role of clinician experience in discourse intervention and the value of sharing clinical knowledge and resources within and across the profession to support all levels of clinician experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Impaired discourse production is commonly reported for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Discourse deficits can negatively impact community integration, return to employment and quality of life. COVID‐19 restrictions have reduced in‐person assessment services for people with communication impairments. Advances in telehealth may help speech and language therapists (SLTs) to assess monologic discourse more systematically and improve access to services for patients who may find it difficult to attend in‐person. Aims: To examine the feasibility of telehealth administration of narrative and procedural discourse tasks with individuals with TBI and matched controls. Methods & Procedures: A total of 20 individuals with TBI and 20 healthy controls, aged 18–55 years, were directly recruited from the UK and indirectly recruited from the US. For participants with TBI, time post‐injury was at least 3 months with no diagnosis of aphasia. Control participants were matched for sex and as closely as possible for age. Feasibility of measures was based upon the time to administer both narrative tasks, the report of any technological problems, and participant feed. Discourse samples were transcribed verbatim and analysed using story grammar analysis (for narrative discourse) and identification of propositions (for procedural discourse). Interrater reliability was calculated using percentage agreement for 50% of the data. Non‐parametric analyses were used to analyse the performance of the two groups. Outcomes & Results: Narrative and procedural discourse samples were collected via telehealth in approximately 10 min with no reported technical difficulties or complaints from any participants. For narrative discourse performance, there were significant differences for the TBI and control groups for measures of complete episodes (p < 0.001) and missing episodes (p = 0.005). No significant group differences were noted for any of the procedural discourse measures. Conclusions & Implications: Results support the feasibility of collecting discourse samples via telehealth. Although the participants' discourse performance distinguished the TBI and control groups on the narrative task, no differences between the groups were noted for the procedural task. The narrative discourse task may have been more difficult than the procedural task, or video cue support reduced the cognitive load of the procedural task. This finding suggests the use of more complex procedural tasks without video cue support may be needed. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject: Although little research has explored the feasibility of administering discourse assessments for individuals with TBI via telehealth, some studies have found that discourse interventions can be feasibly administered via telehealth. It is also well established that individuals with TBI struggle with the supra‐structural and macro‐linguistic elements of discourse production. Both procedural and narrative discourse tasks have been found to differentiate individuals with TBI from healthy controls. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: Few studies have investigated the feasibility of, and procedures for, administering discourse tasks via telehealth. Additionally, the inclusion of multiple types of discourse tasks to parse cognitive–communication abilities is lacking in the current literature. Findings from this study support that narrative and procedural discourse can be feasibly sampled via telehealth and that international collaboration for research on this topic can facilitate such studies. Individuals with TBI performed more poorly on three measures of narrative discourse. No differences between groups were identified for the procedural task. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Telehealth assessment for discourse provides flexibility for both the individual with TBI and the speech–language therapist and does not compromise the quality of data collected. The administration of discourse tasks and collection of data was not time‐consuming and was well accepted by the study participants. Additionally, international research collaboration not only expands potential participation in research but increases the opportunity to recruit and study more diverse groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Study: Technology‐supported learning environments, act as significant observational and enabling indicators for evaluating and encouraging the digital revolution of education, are of vital importance in current educational research. Keeping track of the dynamics of technology‐supported learning environment research allows for the enrichment of theoretical studies and a prompt innovation of talent‐training environments. Objectives: The present study carried out a bibliometric analysis of the core collection of WoS database over the last two decades. Method: This study is a bibliometric research. We applied CiteSpace and VOSviewer for co‐occurrence and evolution analysis. In addition, we extracted the fundamental ideas and thoughts through reading and analysis. Results: First, the study found that technology‐supported learning environment research is in a growth phase, with core journals such as Interactive Learning Environments or Computers & Education. The findings show that a core research team comprised of such scholars as Hwang Gwo‐Jen, Lester James C. and Wong Lung‐Hsiang. Key nations of publishing and research strength are from China, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Second, the hot topics in research on technology‐supported learning environments were virtual learning environments, technology‐enabled learning environments and interactive learning environments. Nine study specifics were derived from these three topics such as moulding function, generating scenario, stimulating sensation, effect verification, design idea, research reflection, inquiry and research, virtual community, and mixed environment. Lastly, the frontier evolution offers a pattern of development from enhancing performance to changing mode to incorporating experience. Conclusion: Looking ahead, our research recommendations for the field of technology‐supported learning environments include a multifaceted approach. We should aim to enhance research designs and methodologies, develop contemporary guiding theories and strive for a balanced representation across various educational domains, expanding our scope to encompass all academic disciplines. In terms of practical application, it is imperative to focus on the design and implementation of technology‐supported learning environments from three critical perspectives: "change‐demand," "student‐learning" and "online‐offline." These approaches will collectively ensure that technology‐supported learning environments are both innovative and responsive to the diverse needs of the educational landscape. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Technology‐supported learning environments are currently a focal and hot research topic in the field of education.Although numerous studies have been conducted on the learning environment of technical support, there has yet to be a systematic and comprehensive review of the related research. What this paper adds: This study provides a comprehensive review of research on the technology‐supported learning environments over the past two decades.This study primarily presents an overview of research on the technology‐supported learning environments over the past two decades, focusing on main literature, research strength, hot topics and frontier evolution. Implications for practice and/or policy: Researchers need to further advance research on technology‐supported learning environments by enriching research designs and methods, constructing up‐to‐date guiding theories and achieving a balance across different educational domains while extending the reach to all disciplines.Educational practitioners need to pay attention to the design and implementation of technology‐supported learning environments from the three viewpoints of "change‐demand," "student‐learning" and "online‐offline." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: In celebration of the journal's 50th anniversary, the aim of the study was to review the whole collection of Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (CDOE) publications from 1973 to 2022 and provide a complete overview of the main publication characteristics. Methods: The study used bibliometric techniques such as performance and science mapping analysis of 3428 articles extracted from the Scopus database. The data were analysed using the 'Bibliometrix' package in R. The journal's scientific production was examined, along with the yearly citation count, the distribution of publications based on authors, the corresponding author's country and affiliation and citation count, citing source and keywords. Bibliometric network maps were constructed to determine the conceptual, intellectual and social collaborative structure over the past 50 years. The trending research topics and themes were identified. Results: The total number of articles and average citations has increased over the years. D Locker, AJ Spencer, A Sheiham and WM Thomson were the most frequently published authors, and PE Petersen, GD Slade and AI Ismail published papers with the highest citations. The most published countries were the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil and Canada, frequently engaging in collaborative efforts. The most common keywords used were 'dental caries', 'oral epidemiology' and 'oral health'. The trending topics were healthcare and health disparities, social determinants of health, systematic review and health inequalities. Epidemiology, oral health and disparities were highly researched areas. Conclusion: This bibliometric study reviews CDOE's significant contribution to dental public health by identifying key research trends, themes, influential authors and collaborations. The findings provide insights into the need to increase publications from developing countries, improve gender diversity in authorship and broaden the scope of research themes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper involves an examination of skilled manual work in the modern paper industry. The data were collected at five mills in three countries -- the UK, Australia and the USA. The questions were formulated in order to probe four theories of skilled work. The results suggest that the distinction between skilled and nonskilled work is a fundamental feature of occupational differentiation in all five plants. They also reveal that there are intra-skilled conflicts over relative pay and demarcation lines and that these are affected by the wider socio-political environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Online knowledge translation (KT) approaches are becoming increasingly prevalent within healthcare due to their accessibility and facilitation of international support networks. Online platforms enable timely and far‐reaching dissemination of current evidence and best‐practice recommendations. Although there is potential to improve the uptake of rehabilitation guidelines, it is essential to consider the acceptability of online approaches to healthcare professionals to ensure their successful integration within everyday clinical settings. Aims: To establish the prospective acceptability of a theoretically informed online intervention for speech pathologists, Aphasia Nexus: Connecting Evidence to Practice, that aims to facilitate the implementation of aphasia best practice. Methods & Procedures: A mixed‐methods multinational electronic survey based on the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA) completed by aphasia researchers and clinicians. Outcomes & Results: A total of 43 participants completed the survey with 91% (n = 39) indicating that they would use Aphasia Nexus. Understanding the intervention and how it works (intervention coherence as per the TFA) was the key factor influencing the likelihood of integration within everyday clinical practice. Participants identified potential areas where the intervention could influence service change and also recommended further design and content changes to improve the intervention. Conclusions & Implications: Aphasia Nexus is an acceptable platform for further feasibility testing in the form of a pilot trial within an Australian‐based health service. The study progresses the theory of TFA as it was a valuable framework facilitating the identification of prominent factors influencing acceptability. The study also informs further intervention refinements in preparation for the next stage of research. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject: Online strategies have the potential to enhance KT and promote the uptake of rehabilitation guidelines. An online intervention, however, can only be effective if implemented well. For this reason, it is essential to establish the acceptability of online interventions to the intended recipients and therefore increase the likelihood of successful implementation. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This study used a theoretically based framework to establish the acceptability of an online implementation intervention, Aphasia Nexus, to multinational aphasia clinicians and researchers. It demonstrated the value in identifying the prominent factors influencing acceptability to inform further intervention refinements and warrant continuing research. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Speech pathologists should use online platforms to drive the implementation of best practice on an international scale. It is important for clinicians to have an in‐depth understanding of online interventions and how they work to enhance their successful uptake into routine clinical practice. Aphasia Nexus is an acceptable online platform for implementing best practice in aphasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has found that music brings back more vivid and emotional autobiographical memories than various other retrieval cues. However, such studies have often been low in ecological validity and constrained by relatively limited cue selection and predominantly young adult samples. Here, we compared music to food as cues for autobiographical memories in everyday life in young and older adults. In two separate four‐day periods, 39 younger (ages 18–34) and 39 older (ages 60–77) adults recorded their music‐ and food‐evoked autobiographical memories in paper diaries. Across both age groups, music triggered more frequent autobiographical memories, a greater proportion of involuntary memories, and memories rated as more personally important in comparison to food cues. Age differences impacted music‐ and food‐evoked memories similarly, with older adults consistently recalling older and less specific memories, which they rated as more positive, vivid, and rehearsed. However, young and older adults did not differ in the number or involuntary nature of their recorded memories. This work represents an important step in understanding the phenomenology of naturally occurring music‐evoked autobiographical memories across adulthood and provides new insights into how and why music may be a more effective trigger for personally valued memories than certain other everyday cues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we seek to understand feminization of the dentist workforce moving beyond previous research that has looked at gender in isolation. We contend that little consideration has been given to how gender interacts with other important social identities such as race/ethnicity to influence the opportunities and barriers that female dentists encounter during their dental career. We argue that the scholarly debate about the feminization of the dentistry has not acknowledged the intersectionality of women's lives. Intersectionality describes how multiple social identities (such as race/ethnicity, gender, and class) overlap and interact to inform outcomes, creating disadvantages and/or privileges. Our thesis is that the increasing feminization of the dentist workforce is complicated and paradoxical, creating both opportunities for women and gender imbalances and blockages within the profession. To support our thesis, we critically reviewed the literature on feminization and analysed UK and US workforce data. While the female dentist workforce in both the UK and the US has increased significantly over the past decade, the growth in the number of female dentists was not equal across all racial/ethnic groups. The largest increase in the number of female dentists was among White and Asian women. Viewing the feminization of the dentist workforce through an intersectionality lens exposes the multiple and complex experiences of women, as well as the power dynamics in dentistry. Feminization in dentistry demonstrates the importance of presence, privilege, and power. Based on our assessment of the dentist workforce, dentistry may be less inclusive, despite being perceived as more diverse. Further research should explore how power and privilege may operate in dentistry. Dentistry should embrace intersectionality to provide an inclusive evaluation of equity in the workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The involvement of speech and language therapists (SLTs) within paediatric palliative care (PPC) settings has been recognized within the extant literature. However, there is little understanding of SLT's specific roles and practices when working with this vulnerable cohort of children and their families. As part of a larger body of work to develop consensus‐based recommendations for SLTs working in PPC, it is important to investigate demographic and caseload characteristics. Aims: This exploratory study aimed to gather previously undocumented international demographic data pertaining to SLT service provision, caseload and training in PPC. Additionally, it sought to ascertain the current treatment and assessment approaches of SLTs, and if variations exist in beliefs and practices. Methods & Procedures: An anonymous cross‐sectional survey was designed and reported according to the Checklist for Reporting Results of Internet E‐Surveys (CHERRIES). The online survey consisted of 40 items spanning four domains: (1) demographic information, (2) caseload information, (3) service provision and (4) training and education. SLTs from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland and the United States were recruited using a purposive snowball sampling approach. Descriptive analysis of closed‐ended survey responses and content analysis of open‐ended responses are presented. Outcomes & Results: A total of 52 respondents completed the survey. SLTs worked in a variety of PPC settings, with patients of varying age and disease groups. Over 50% of participants reported working in PPC for ≤ 4 years. Genetic disorders (34%), oncology (27%) and neurological conditions (21%) made up a significant portion of respondents' caseloads. Reported treatments and assessment approaches used by SLTs are not unique to a PPC population. Barriers and enablers for practice were identified. A portion of participants did not feel trained and prepared to assess (19.2%) or treat (15.4%) PPC clients. Conclusions & Implications: This study confirms that SLTs internationally have a role in the management of communication and swallowing impairments in a PPC context. However, whether current training and resources adequately support SLTs in this role remains questionable. This paper helps to provide SLTs, administrators, professional associations and tertiary institutions with foundational data to help inform workforce planning, advocacy efforts and training priorities. What this paper addsWhat is already known on the subjectThe published multidisciplinary literature has identified that SLTs have a role in PPC. However, there has been no targeted research investigating the professional characteristics of clinicians in this context, nor any detailed information regarding associated clinician beliefs or management approaches.What this paper adds to existing knowledgeThis study is a snapshot of attributes, practice patterns and beliefs of SLTs who work with a PPC population. It highlights SLT perspectives of education and training, as well as meta‐perceptions of themselves within the multidisciplinary team.What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?Data presented in this paper will help to enable SLTs, organizations and associations to augment service provision and determine future professional development priorities within the field of PPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chemical restraint (CR) (also known as rapid tranquilisation) is the forced (non‐consenting) administration of medications to manage uncontrolled aggression, anxiety, or violence in people who are likely to cause harm to themselves or others. Our population of interest was adults with mental health disorders (with/without substance abuse). There has been a growing international movement over the past 22 years towards reducing/eliminating restrictive practices such as CR. It is appropriate to summarise the research that has been published over this time, identify trends and gaps in knowledge, and highlight areas for new research to inform practice. Aims: To undertake a comprehensive systematic search to identify, and describe, the volume and nature of primary international research into CR published since 1995. Methods: This paper reports the processes and overall findings of a systematic search for all available primary research on CR published between 1 January 1996 and 31 July 2018. It describes the current evidence base by hierarchy of evidence, country (ies) producing the research, CR definitions, study purpose, and outcome measures. Results: This review identified 311 relevant primary studies (21 RCTs; 46 non‐controlled experimental or prospective observational studies; 77 cross‐sectional studies; 69 retrospective studies; 67 opinion pieces, position or policy statements; and 31 qualitative studies). The USA, UK, and Australia contributed over half the research, whilst cross‐country collaborations comprised 6% of it. The most common research settings comprised acute psychiatric wards (23.3%), general psychiatric wards (21.6%), and general hospital emergency departments (19.0%). Discussion A key lesson learnt whilst compiling this database of research into CR was to ensure that all papers described non‐consenting administration of medications to manage adults with uncontrolled aggression, anxiety, or violence. There were tensions in the literature between using effective CR without producing adverse events, and how to decide when CR was needed (compared with choosing non‐chemical intervention for behavioural emergencies), respecting patients' dignity whilst safeguarding their safety, and preserving safe workplaces for staff, and care environments for other patients. The range of outcome measures suggests opportunities to standardise future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyse the conditions under which the COVID‐19 pandemic will lead either to social order (adherence to measures put in place by authorities to control the pandemic) or to social disorder (resistance to such measures and the emergence of open conflict). Using examples from different countries (principally the United Kingdom, the United States, and France), we first isolate three factors which determine whether people accept or reject control measures. These are the historical context of state‐public relations, the nature of leadership during the pandemic and procedural justice in the development and operation of these measures. Second, we analyse the way the crisis is policed and how forms of policing determine whether dissent will escalate into open conflict. We conclude by considering the prospects for order/disorder as the pandemic unfolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose Physiotherapy or Physical Therapy (PT) is the most commonly practised allied health discipline globally. International PT workforce reforms are underway to deal with increasing patient numbers, shrinking medical and nursing workforces and lengthy waiting lists. It is timely to consider international differences in PT, with the aims of identifying opportunities for shared learning and forming stronger international alliances to support consistent and evidence-based workforce reforms. Methods This paper synthesizes freely available information on PT training and service delivery across the UK, Australia and United States (California). The paper considers differences in roles, workplaces, training, legislation and registration, continuing professional development, and accountability. Results There are similarities between UK, Australia and United States (California) in many areas of PT roles, training, registration, legislation and professional practice. However, none has a standard national mechanism by which to demonstrate PT accountability, patient safety or quality care. Moreover, there are different approaches to workforce reforms. There is considerable duplication in physiotherapy governance. Conclusion There are opportunities for targeted international collaborations regarding workforce reforms such as extending scope of practice, and determining and implementing internationally agreed ways of demonstrating PT accountability. The findings of this review have significant policy implications, and identify areas for collaborative research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non‐motor symptoms (NMS) are integral to Parkinson's disease (PD) and have a detrimental effect on patients and their caregivers. Clinical quantification has been aided by the development of comprehensive assessments such as the Non‐Motor Symptoms Questionnaire (NMSQuest) and Scale (NMSS). The NMSS has been widely used in clinical studies and trials; however, since its validation in 2007, our understanding of NMS has changed substantially. With the support of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (IPMDS), after a detailed peer review an initiative to develop an updated version of NMSS, the MDS‐NMS was launched in 2015. Objective: This paper encapsulates the data from the pre‐validation phases carried out under the auspices of the IPMDS Non‐Motor PD Study Group. Methods: Item selection and wording (formatted as a rater‐based tool) were based on the NMSS, literature review, and expert consensus. Neurologists, PD patients, and healthy controls were included in the cognitive pretesting and administration of the preliminary version of the MDS‐NMS. Primary data on acceptability and reliability were obtained. Results: The pilot study, carried out in English in the United Kingdom and the United States, demonstrated that the preliminary version of the MDS‐NMS was comprehensive, understandable, and appropriate. Data quality was excellent; moderate floor effect was present in patients for most MDS‐MNS domains, with some components showing weak internal consistency. The results led to additional instrument modifications. Conclusion: Qualitative and quantitative research results have led to an updated NMSS, the definitive version of the MDS‐NMS, which is currently being validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is a psychoanalytic reading of recent electoral events in Greece, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with the help of the Lacanian theory of the decline of the father and the concepts of jouissance and the sinthome. The case of Greece, where the radicalization of people's electoral and political choices took place in the framework of an unprecedented crisis, is studied emphatically, to highlight the different characters of this phenomenon's two main strands. The first, represented by the incumbent prime minister of the radical left in a coalition with a party of the populist right, is compared with a sinthomatic solution. The second, viewed in the atrocities of the neo‐Nazi party Golden Dawn, is described as the choice for pure violence. With regards to similar cases, such as Brexit Britain or Trump's America, psychoanalysis can highlight the significance of contingency, which could allow the emergence of such solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus on patient autonomy in American and increasingly British medicine highlights the importance of choice. However, to truly honour patient autonomy, there must be both understanding and non‐control. Fifty‐eight semi‐structured in‐depth interviews were conducted with internal medicine physicians at three hospitals in the US and one in the UK. At hospitals where autonomy was prioritised, trainees equated autonomy with giving a menu of choices and felt uncomfortable giving a recommendation based on clinical knowledge as they worried that that would infringe upon patient autonomy. Employing Habermas's Theory of Communicative Action, this paper explores how physician trainees' communication practices of using purposefully graphic descriptions of resuscitation to discourage that choice prevent greater understanding and compromise non‐control. Central to this problem are also issues of colonisation of the life‐world by the system. Physicians are fully inculcated in their respect for autonomy but unintentionally resort to strategic forms of communication that prevent patients from adequately understanding their situation because trainees feel constrained against making recommendations. However, if the ideal of autonomy is to be realised, physicians might have to move towards practices that embrace a more authentic autonomy that fosters open communication that allows for co‐creation of consensus between doctors and patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a personal memoir of historical work at the Addiction Research Unit, in particular the genesis of the book Opium and the People. This topic had policy significance for US drug policy and a competing US study was funded. The development of the substance use history field is surveyed, and its expansion in recent times through a focused professional association and a critical mass of researchers in the area, covering a wide range of topics. The politics of using history in this area can be problematic. History now sits at the policy table more easily, but there is still a tendency for professionals in the field to use (and misuse) it, rather than calling on the interpretive and challenging approach they would obtain from professional historians. The paper calls for historians and others to move beyond a substance specific focus and to avoid the tendency for 'naive history' implicit in using only digitized industry archives as the sole source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments in the UK and many other countries have long sought to promote the diversity of their higher education institutions. However, diversity is hard to define, harder to measure and even more difficult to compare between countries. Most empirical analyses of the diversity of higher education systems use categorical variables, which shape the extent of diversity found. This study examines continuous variables of institutions' enrolment size and proportions of postgraduate, fulltime and international students to find the extent of variation amongst doctoral granting and all higher education institutions in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia. The study finds that there is less variety amongst all higher education institutions in the United Kingdom than in Australia, which in turn has much less variety than the United States. The paper argues that the extent of government involvement in higher education is not so important for institutional variety as the form that it takes. More tentatively, the paper suggests that the more limited the range of institutions for which government funding is available the stronger government involvement is needed to have variety among the limited range of institutions for which government financial support is available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hegemonic accounts of urban homelessness, focusing on attempts to restrict homeless people's presence in public space, stress the punitive nature of current homelessness policy. In contrast, in this paper we explore the 'messy middle ground' of the UK homeless services system. Examining Stacey Murphy's (2009) ( Antipode 41(2):305-325) arguments regarding a shift to a 'post-revanchist' era in San Francisco, we chart the apparent similarities between developments in San Francisco and changes to the management of street homelessness bought in to effect by the New Labour government in the UK, and assess the extent to which such developments might be read as holding in tension more obviously punitive and supportive trends usually viewed as necessarily oppositional. In the final part of the paper we present a re-reading of recent changes to the management of street homelessness in the UK through a postsecular lens. We suggest that this lens provides the possibility for a much more optimistic reading of homeless services and of the grammars of homelessness and urban (in)justice more broadly, and make the case for an alternative mode of academic attentiveness open to sometimes subtle and smaller-scale yet nonetheless important examples of different ways of understanding and doing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The governments of Britain, France, and the United States are seeking to promote renewed investment in nuclear power through metagovernance. Metagovernance describes the way governments can leverage state power and resources to shape the behavior of networked actors to advance policy goals. To metagovern, governments use a variety of policy tools but the factors shaping the design of these policy tools remains unclear. Grid-group cultural theory is used to show that the design of the policy tools used in metagovernance reflects both an underlying cultural bias within government and prevailing institutional circumstances. The paper demonstrates the utility of cultural theory in the study of metagovernance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT A huge change has occurred in the way people obtain weather information in the last few years and a large percentage of the population now get weather forecasts on their mobile phones. There is currently a wide range of smartphone weather apps available: in 2014, iTunes App Store alone offered 5043 active applications in the weather category. The rapid penetration of new broadcasting technologies strongly affects the way weather forecasts are communicated to, and used by, people. Portability, permanent connectivity and geolocalization allow location-specific and time-sensitive weather forecasts to be provided. This paper explores the main features emerging in the 39 most popular weather apps in the United States, United Kingdom and Italy, and focuses on the implications in the communication of uncertainty. The results show that even if the advances in mobile communication technologies could, in principle, improve the effectiveness of weather communication enormously, the expectations created around weather forecasts appear to be inconsistent with current forecasting capabilities, particularly with their inherent uncertainties in space and time, as well as in the nature of the predicted weather events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim The successful development and maintenance of professional identity is associated with professional development and retention in the health workforce. This paper explores students' perspectives on the ways pre-entry experiences and curricula content shape professional identity. Methods An online cross-sectional survey was sent to students enrolled in the final year of entry-level programmes in five countries. Descriptive statistical analyses of data were completed. Results The results reflect the perceptions of 319 respondents from five countries. Respondents identified professional education (98%) and professional socialisation during placement (92%) as curricula components with the greatest influence on professional identity formation. Discipline-specific knowledge such as, occupation-focussed models and occupational science were ranked lower than these aspects of practice. The students' length of programme and level of entry-level programme did not impact on these results. Conclusion When designing curricula educators need to be mindful that students perceive practice education and professional socialisation have the greatest affect on professional identity formation. The findings reinforce the need for curricula to provide students with a range of practice experiences, which allow the observation and application of occupation-based practices. It highlights a need for educators to provide university-based curricula activities, which better prepare students for a potential dissonance between explicit occupation-based curricula and observed practice education experiences. The study indicates the need for further research into the role curricula content, and in particular practice education, plays in the multidimensional formation of professional development within entry-level programmes. [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]

This paper looks at the current challenge facing higher education by exploring the historical relationship between higher education funding and long economic cycles in the UK, USA and France. It examines the consequence of the transformation of public-private income in higher education that followed the 1970s downturn, questioning whether the rise of private resources acted as additional or substitutive resources for public spending. The paper suggests that there is a risk that the cost-sharing strategy could be turned into a policy of public-private substitution of funding and provision, leading to a transfer rather than an increase of resources with strong implications on quality and equity. However, the Kondratiev cycle suggests an alternative route by designating the impact of the 1970s economic downturn on education as unique. Previous economic crises were contemporary of accelerations of public funding towards education which in fact contributed to economic recovery. The current crisis could represent an opportunity to revive counter-cyclical policy by looking not only at efficient public spending but also at developing fairer taxation. A revival of public funding complemented by an additional rather than substitutive diversification of income would rebalance the public-private structure of funding and drive a sustainable higher education system capable of playing a key part in these counter-cyclical transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BURRELL B and TRIP H. Nursing Inquiry 2011; : 174-183 In this paper we provide a post structural analysis of the theoretical shifts informing changes to service delivery over the past 150 years in relation to people with intellectual disability. We utilise the New Zealand experience of reform as it reflected global knowledge at any given period. Firstly, we address the historical modes of treatment and care, with reference to the eugenics movement, the concepts informing 'Prisons of protection' and moral treatment. Secondly the paper traces reforms commencing in the 1960s where changes from institutional care to community care were informed by humanistic ideals, a key driver being the concept of normalisation. Theorists offered competing discourses that formed the bases of arguments for the status quo whilst resistant voices advocated change. Covering such significant changes leads us to assess the state of de-institutionalisation' as it stands today and how it may be perceived in the future. We assert that Foucault's genealogical approach provides analytic tools to uncover the dynamics of changing attitudes and approaches to service delivery. In applying a Foucauldian lens to the trajectory of reforms concerning institutionalisation to de-institutionalisation we question whether a form of re-institutionalisation may be occurring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their apparently pervasive reach and relevance, the geographies of branded commodities and their branding have been unevenly recognised and under-researched. This paper presents a way of conceptualising and analysing brand and branding geographies. Focusing upon goods and services, the notion of geographical entanglements is developed to understand the spatial associations and connotations that unavoidably ensnare brands and branding. Second, it examines how such attachments shape and are shaped by brand and branding agents, including producers, circulators, consumers and regulators. Last, the placing of the geographical entanglements of brands and branding is developed as a means of lifting their 'mystical veils' and prompting reflections upon their politics and relationships to uneven development. Situating branding genealogies in geographical context, the empirical analysis comprises a socio-spatial biography of Newcastle Brown Ale (NBA). It explains how NBA's geographical entanglements have been (re)constructed in its contrasting survival in the UK and growth in the US. As a way of thinking about brand and branding geographies, the paper seeks to broaden the reach of economic geographies at their intersections with cultural economy approaches and to stimulate debate about their politics and alternatives to uneven development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this paper was to increase international collaboration on end of life care (EoLC) in critical care. Objectives included highlighting key challenges for critical care nurses in EoLC through a transcribed interview between a clinician, an educationalist and a researcher who all hold an EoLC focus. Background: EoLC continues to hold high profile within international health care arenas, including critical care units. Whilst end of life care remains well debated, it still presents many challenges for everyday practitioners. Dialogue with international colleagues and disciplines may provide opportunity for further understanding of this complex and sensitive area. Conclusions: A key issues to arise from this venture of shared learning was that futility of treatment is problematic for all. This is further complicated in the USA where the concept of (family) autonomy strongly shapes EoLC decision making. Relevance to clinical practice: This paper demonstrates that there are opportunities for nurses within health care teams which could be addressed through education and professional development initiatives. Furthermore, knowledge from other disciplines can provide a useful lens through which to improve our understanding of EoLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adds to earlier reviews by the author of the changing roles and identities of contemporary professional staff in UK higher education, and builds on a categorisation of professional staff identities as having bounded, cross-boundary and unbounded characteristics. Drawing on a study of 54 professional managers in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, it describes a further category of blended professionals, who have mixed backgrounds and portfolios, comprising elements of both professional and academic activity. The paper goes on to introduce the concept of third space as an emergent territory between academic and professional domains, which is colonised primarily by less bounded forms of professional. The implications of these developments for institutions and for individuals are considered, and some international comparisons drawn. Finally, it is suggested that third space working may be indicative of future trends in professional identities, which may increasingly coalesce with those of academic colleagues who undertake project- and management-oriented roles, so that new forms of third space professional are likely to continue to emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines and comments papers published within the issue, which describe different perspectives regarding sedation and analgesia for children in Great Britain and U.S. He provides historical perspectives from the U.S. and then examines the papers to see how authors compare with current U.S. practice.

Based on the Body Mass Index (BMI, kg/m2), most men in nations such as the UK and USA are reportedly overweight or obese. This is authoritatively defined as a massive and growing problem. Drawing from embodied sociology, critical obesity literature and qualitative data generated during an Economic and Social Research Council funded project on masculinities and weight-related issues, this paper offers a critical realist contribution to the obesity debate. Rather than endorsing the institutionalised war on fat, and correcting so-called ‘laymen’ who dismiss medicalised weight-for-height recommendations, the following presents and honours men's justificatory accounts for levels of body mass that medicine labels too heavy (implicitly or explicitly too fat). Men's critical understandings, which are connected to their displays of moral worth, are considered under three headings: the compatibility of heaviness, healthiness and physical fitness; looking and feeling ill at a supposedly ‘healthy’ BMI; and resisting irrational standardisation. By empirically ‘bringing in’ men's meanings, sensibilities and culturally informed aesthetics, this paper casts a different light on medicalised measures that support potentially corrosive obesity epidemic psychology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents evidence of the effects of OPEC policy decisions on the US and UK stock markets, as well as on oil prices, during periods of conflict and non-conflict from 1986 to 2004. The outcomes of this study are potentially valuable in assessing future strategies for OPEC policy decisions on oil production targets for its Members. This paper also adds to the strong body of evidence supporting the hypothesis that market returns are influenced by factors that affect business conditions, such as oil price shocks. The key findings are that there are asymmetric reactions to OPEC policy decisions during conflict periods for the US and UK stock markets. During conflict periods, oil markets require time to incorporate OPEC decisions. Conversely, in non-conflict periods the evidence suggests that the oil markets incorporate OPEC decisions efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical geopolitics, despite its radical ambitions, has been reluctant to shift its emphasis from the figure of the geopolitical tactician, ‘decisive’ events and the agency of the military-state. This paper, in common with recent work on ‘popular geopolitics’, offers a different agenda. It takes up the story of Britain and America's first nuclear missile – the US-made ‘Corporal’– through the testimony of a self-described ‘space-daft’ schoolboy who, in 1959, travelled alone across Scotland to witness the first British testing of the missile. However, unlike much of the literature on popular geopolitics, this paper is concerned with the more-than-representational question of observant practice. Addressing recent calls for a more empirical enquiry into the relationship between geography and visual culture, the paper examines how geopolitical power operates through sights and spectacles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the UK press coverage of genetically modified crops within the EU and explores how the theme of nationalism is utilized within the genetic modification (GM) debate. The way in which the EU is represented shifts, depending on whether it is being described in relation to the UK or the rest of the world (usually the USA). The EU is placed either as a threat to the UK, forcing genetically modified organisms into the country, or as a barrier, protecting UK citizens from the corrupt forces of the USA. This paper focuses on how countries and continents are constructed as being free of genetically modified organisms and how notions of nationalism and purity are used to achieve this. It argues that the way in which genetic modification is discussed often leads to an inherent but unintended xenophobic discourse. It is not just the mixing of genes that we are told to fear; the mixing of peoples is also alluded to. This paper explores the ways in which risks can be merged, as genetic modification specifically becomes linked to the asylum debate. Finally, the paper will discuss the dangers of contaminating the genetic modification debate with xenophobic arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a critique of attempts in the field of political communication to explain apparent voter apathy and declining electoral turnout. The response of many commentators is either to blame the media for the problem or to see the media as the solution to any problem that might exist. First, the paper examines the 'blame the media' school of thought -- as exemplified by liberal commentators in the UK and the USA. Secondly, the paper focuses on the 'optimists' who argue that the spin/ media nexus is either morally neutral or may actually be improving citizen involvement. The paper argues that both approaches are flawed at the level of conceptualisation and of methodology. The narrow conceptualisation of the field means that even in the unusual cases where scholars look beyond the question of elections, the research agenda is still fixed at the level of media power and not on how the media fit into a wider system of power relations. Most obviously, the field tends to avoid the question of political and economic outcomes. The paper ends by suggesting that the problem of disengagement from formal politics is a response to the crisis of legitimacy in the institutions of democracy in the USA and UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental justice is both a vocabulary for political opportunity, mobilization and action, and a policy principle to guide public decision making. It emerged initially in the US, and more recently in the UK, as a new vocabulary underpinning action by community organizations campaigning against environmental injustices. However, as the environmental justice discourse has matured, it has become increasingly evident that it should play a role in the wider agendas for sustainable development and social inclusion. The links between sustainability and environmental justice are becoming clearer and more widely understood in the UK by NGOs and government alike, and it is the potential synergy between these two discourses which is the focus of this paper. This paper argues that the concept of ‘just sustainability’ provides a discourse for policymakers and activists, which brings together the key dimensions of both environmental justice and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that legality is hot enough and chat sound public affairs underpins the legitimacy of a political system. It examines the impact of lost legitimacy on Tony Blair, President Bush and America's foreign policy. The author draws historical comparisons between Britain in the Middle East in the 1920s and the USA's problems today and suggests that the fundamental problem is the lack of legitimacy in the region's politics. The paper concludes by asserting that the legitimacy of the EU political system will be endangered while public understanding of its institutions remains limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper draws on interviews with 'manager-academics' (Pro-Vice Chancellors, Deputy Vice Chancellors and Heads of Department) in UK universities to examine their views on their preparation, training and support for their roles. Following a brief description of the ESRC-funded study, the paper describes manager-academics' reported career trajectories, motivations and initial experiences, and the training they received: their views both of training and of less formal learning are ambivalent and often hesitant. However, the interviews reveal processes and contexts that manager-academics consider beneficial to their own learning and development, and this analysis suggests both theoretical understanding and practical guidelines. Manager-academics' learning occurs through engagement in practice and through social interaction, and is context-specific. Institutions can foster learning and good management by acknowledging these characteristics and promoting opportunities for self-critical reflection, peer feedback and collective articulation and sharing of experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A repeated dose of an oral triptan has been shown in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to be ineffective as a treatment for no or partial response 2 hours after initial dosing but effective as treatment for headache recurrence. In the official prescription information in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Denmark repeated dosing of all seven oral triptans are recommended for headache recurrence but some triptans are also recommended for no or partial response, a use of a triptan deemed to be not beneficial in European and Canadian migraine guidelines. In summary, not all recommendations are based on evidence from RCTs. In addition, some recommendations are ambiguous and patients need clearer instructions. An example of such a clear British instruction in a patient leaflet instruction is presented at the end of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article suggests that the Shakers attracted ever less well prepared entrants, and were unable to solve the second generation problem of convincing young members to persist in the sect. The life cycle of a religious movement is driven by both an internal dynamic and external factors. The experience of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing (Shakers) presents an opportunity to apply some of the perspectives of the "new religious paradigm to the growth and decline of this indigenous American sect. The study of the Shakers is also undergoing a paradigm shift, from descriptive work emphasizing their material culture to revisionist studies based on manuscripts that often use quantitative methods. This paper uses detailed population records of one Shaker community to examine the characteristics of members, both those who were "Believers" for life, and the rarely studied apostates, and how these changed over time. A community with equal distribution of reasonably plentiful resources and a vibrant communal spiritual life might be expected to attract free riders. This paper finds three sources of problems among converts to the New Lebanon Church Family. First, over time the community drew a greater proportion of its entrants from the largest urban areas of the United States and Britain.

The concept of proportionality has been central to the retributive revival in penal theory, and underlies desert theory's normative and practical commitment to limiting punishment. Theories of punishment combining desert-based and consequentialist considerations also appeal to proportionality as a limiting condition. In this paper we argue that these claims are founded on an exaggerated idea of what proportionality can offer, and in particular fail properly to consider the institutional conditions needed to foster robust limits on the state's power to punish. The idea that appeals to proportionality as an abstract ideal can help to limit punishment is, we argue, a chimera: what has been thought of as proportionality is not a naturally existing relationship, but a product of political and social construction, cultural meaning-making, and institution-building. Drawing on evolutionary psychology and comparative political economy, we argue that philosophers and social scientists need to work together to understand how the appeal of the idea of proportionality can best be realised through substantive institutional frameworks under particular conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is an increasingly complex and global environmental issue. As a result, scholars have begun to compare the efforts of specific countries such as the UK and the USA in dealing with climate change. However, missing within this comparative literature is a discussion of the important role that administrative agencies play in implementing climate change policy through rulemaking. More specifically, it is unclear how administrative processes may impact or explain variations in the policy implemented within a given country. In fact, it has been over 25 years since Vogel's work compared the regulatory processes of the USA and UK. As a result, this paper's interviews with agency rule writers in both countries provide an updated comparison of their rulemaking processes, which is essential to understanding why countries may vary in the climate change policy they implement. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many scholars have argued that social programs are marked by a logic of 'increasing returns' that makes change difficult. Yet over the past decades, reformers across industrialized countries have introduced substantial administrative reforms in these services, even as entitlement reform remains politically difficult. This paper explains these shifts by breaking apart the logic of 'increasing returns' into three distinct 'costs to change': technical, political, and expectations. Decreases in a particular type of costs produce different logics of institutional change-back end, informal, and front end-that privilege the state, professionals or private, or political actors in distinct ways. I support these claims by reexamining three cases that were considered exemplars of stability but that ultimately had major entitlement reform: health care in the United Kingdom and United States and welfare programs in the United States. I show that even before radical reforms occurred, reformers introduced distinct logics of administrative change that underpinned later changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents comparison between the associations of British and American voluntary associations. The development of postwar research on the structure and functioning of voluntary associations has been uneven, and there have been marked differences between British and American research in this field. This paper offers a narrow definition of voluntary associations. It defines voluntary associations as groups in which membership is in no sense obligatory, which have a formal constitution, but which do not have paid officials at the local level. The next section of this paper places the subsequent analysis in context by pointing briefly to the very substantial similarities between research in Great Britain and the U.S. The third section discusses differences in the research environments of the two countries, and suggests their relevance to the main problem. The fourth section assesses the differences in research orientations between the two countries, as it has influenced the study of voluntary associations. The final section considers the effect of these differences upon the functional analyses that have been made.

The article discusses a meeting organized by the Food and Health Forum of the Royal Society of Medicine that was held in Great Britain on March 27, 2014. At the meeting various papers on dietary guidelines are presented by several professors including Jayne Woodside, Tom Sanders and Peter Aggett. It also informs that attendees at the conference are welcomed by Anthony Mander, President of the Food and Health Forum.

Aim The aim of this study was to explore what is known about food literacy programmes targeting adolescents, including identification of the constituents of food literacy addressed, assessment of programme effectiveness, and description of programme design or delivery specific to adolescents. Methods A review of the peer-reviewed literature surrounding adolescent food literacy was conducted using scholarly electronic databases. Programme reports were identified in the grey literature using online searching and cross-referencing to support the research aim. Programmes from 2000 to 2012 targeting adolescents aged 13-17 years were included. Results A total of 19 peer-reviewed papers and four grey literature programmes met the search criteria. Interventions focused on practical cooking and/or food preparation skills and targeted younger adolescent age groups. Programmes were most commonly held in schools and community settings. The majority of programmes (n = 16/23) did not use a theoretical basis for their development. Programme evaluation encompassed the use of pre- and post-intervention questionnaires and focus groups. Only nine studies included a dietary behaviour-based outcome measure. Although 19 of the 23 studies reviewed reported positive changes related to the intervention, these did not include significant changes in diet quality or cooking frequency at home. Conclusions Few existing adolescent food literacy programmes have demonstrated a positive impact on dietary behaviours to date. Adolescent target groups present unique challenges in programme development and delivery. However, the physical, social and emotional health needs of this age group and potential to influence lifelong behaviours highlight the need to design effective and age-appropriate adolescent food literacy programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of recovery has been an influence on addicted individuals for many decades. But only in the past 15 years has the concept had a purchase in the world of public policy. In the USA, federal and state officials have promulgated policies intended to foster 'recovery-oriented systems of care' and have ratified recovery-supportive laws and regulations. Though of more recent vintage and therefore less developed, recovery policy initiatives are also being implemented in the UK. The present paper describes recovery-oriented policy in both countries and highlights key evaluations of the recovery-oriented interventions. [Humphreys K, Lembke A. Recovery-oriented policy and care systems in the UK and USA. Drug Alcohol Rev 2014;33:13-18] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Government has recently abolished Imprisonment for Public Protection, a highly controversial form of indeterminate sentence. Yet, at the time of writing, nearly 6,000 inmates are still serving such sentences, all of whom will have to convince a Parole Board that detention is no longer necessary for the protection of the public. This paper evaluates recent European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence which considered the legality of post-tariff detention in the absence of suitable rehabilitative provision. The Court held that there would be a violation of Article 5(1) if prisoners were held without access to such provision. Consideration is given to the implications of this ruling for those serving such sentences and, more broadly, to the impact it may have on risk-based sentencing policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While nurses can and do behave as intentional political agents, claims that nurses collectively do (empiric), should (normative) or must (regulatory) act to advance political objectives lack credibility. This paper challenges the coherence and legitimacy of political demands placed upon nurses. It is not suggested that nurses ought not to contribute to political discourse and activity. That would be foolish. However, the idea that nursing can own or exhibit a general political will is discarded. It is suggested that to protect and advance political discussion, to aid explanatory adequacy and clarity, the form in which nursing associates itself with political claims merits critical appraisal. Thus significant numbers of nurses probably reject or disagree with many of the political claims that attach to them - claims often made on their behalf. More specifically, the individual beliefs and goals of nurses can be in conflict with the political pronouncements of nursing scholars and organizations (group agents). It is proposed that nurses need not share substantive normative beliefs/goals and, if this proposal holds, group descriptors such as 'nurses' and 'nursing' cannot meaningfully or easily attach to political claims. Shared value theory is linked to the fallacy of composition and the concept of collective ascription error is introduced to explore the implausibility of using group descriptors such as 'nurses' and 'nursing' to refer to the beliefs/goals of all nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capacity to provide satisfactory nursing care is being increasingly compromised by current trajectories of healthcare funding and governance. The purpose of this paper is to examine how well Marxist theories of the state and its relationship with capital can explain these trajectories in this period of ever-increasing austerity. Following a brief history of the current crisis, it examines empirically the effects of the crisis, and of the current trajectory of capitalism in general, upon the funding and organization of the UK and US healthcare systems. The deleterious effect of growing income inequalities to the health of the population is also addressed. Marx's writings on the state and its relation to the capitalist class were fragmentary and historically and geographically specific. From them, we can extract three theoretical variants: the instrumentalist theory of the state, where the state has no autonomy from capital; the abdication theory, whereby capital abstains from direct political power and relies on the state to serve its interests; and the class-balance theory, whereby the struggle between two opposed classes allows the state to assert itself. Discussion of modern Marxist interpretations includes Poulantzas's abdication theory and Miliband's instrumentalist theory. It is concluded that, despite the pluralism of electoral democracies, the bourgeoisie do have an overweening influence upon the state. The bourgeoisie's ownership of the means of production provides the foundation for its influence because the state is obliged to rely on it to manage the supply of goods and services and the creation of wealth. That power is further reinforced by the infiltration of the bourgeoisie into the organs of state. The level of influence has accelerated rapidly over recent decades. One of the consequences of this has been that healthcare systems have become rich pickings for the evermore confident bourgeoisie. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of popular and political pressure, governments have been compelled to regulate 'excessive' executive compensation and search both a policy and political solution. In this paper, I seek to establish the mechanisms of policy learning, competition, and emulation by examining American and British regulatory policies of executive compensation that show evidence of reciprocal diffusion, i.e. from the US to the UK and vice versa. The evidence suggests that during the past two decades, the extent of reciprocal policy diffusion varied and was primarily driven by policy learning. Using published government reports, press releases, public hearings, newspaper articles, and interviews, I demonstrate that reciprocal learning occurred because one country's policymakers and practitioners explicitly discussed and/or referred to the practices in the other country when deciding to adopt a specific policy solution to the problem of excessive executive pay. I discuss the implications for the literature on diffusion and point out avenues for future research. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total water intake is seldom reported in dietary surveys and hydration status is rarely measured. Although adequate intake (AI) levels have been suggested by the European Food Safety Authority, the World Health Organization and the Institute of Medicine, uncertainties and confused messages abound regarding optimum intake. This paper reviews data on water intake internationally and examines associations with beverage consumption habits of adults in the UK, as determined from secondary analysis of individual diet records. On average, total water intake among British adults was equivalent to the European AI (2 l/day for women, 2.5 l/day for men) and 75% of this was derived from beverages. Factors that correlated with high total water intake included the consumption of a variety of beverages and drinking in the evening. Total water intake (and the contribution from soft drinks) is markedly higher in the USA than in Europe. Beverage consumption habits and trends were also reviewed. In the past 10 years, water beverages have become more popular and as such the overall energy contribution from beverages has declined slightly. Most people could be encouraged to drink a variety of beverages to maintain adequate hydration and to balance the energy content according to their needs. However, further work is needed to refine recommendations for water intake, as basing these on observational epidemiological data is essentially a circular argument. A standardized measurement tool, validated against biomarkers of hydration status, would be a step forward in assessing the adequacy of water intakes at a population level. Research may also be warranted to explore the context of drinking occasions (including time of day, weekdays weekends, lifestyle and meal patterns) as these may have an impact on water intake, hydration and also energy balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]