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In this paper, I analyse the role of shareholder approval and pre-emption rights in protecting shareholders in share issuances by listed corporations in the UK, Belgium and France. In these countries, shareholder approval and pre-emption rights are in principle required for share issuances, but the general meeting can authorise the board of directors to issue shares and disapply pre-emption rights. Proxy advisors and institutional investors have adopted guidelines that signal that they strongly support pre-emption rights and shareholder approval of share issuances. However, I provide empirical evidence that these guidelines are often not followed in France and Belgium, especially for smaller corporations with high levels of insider ownership. I contrast this with the strong impact of the guidelines in the UK. I also offer explanations for these differences, as well as policy options that would give shareholders a larger say on the balance between flexibility and accountability regarding authorisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design of piles in chalk is considered as an important issue for a number of geotechnical applications in Northern Europe. Few methods exist for predicting the ultimate axial pile capacity in chalk, but little guidance can be found regarding the design of driven piles in this complex material as experience is rather limited. This paper aims to study the short and long-term predictive performance of different pile design methods used in France and the UK where chalk is found widespread in the north-west coast and the south-east coast, respectively. Conventional methods used in France and the UK are compared by considering seven full-scale static load tests performed in Paris Basin and extracted from the LCPC pile database. The ratio of the measured vs calculated pile shaft resistance and base resistance value is analysed and the scatter of each method is studied. The comparison shows large differences between results. Extension of the database is of great importance to improve the predictive reliability. The last part discusses the evolution of the long-term capacity of driven piles in chalk due to ageing effects. Results show an increasing trend after driving, following a hyperbolic evolution curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the 1745–46 Jacobite rebellion in Scotland (the last major attempt to restore the Stuart dynasty – in exile since 1689 – to the throne of Britain), and its decades-long aftermath, as a transatlantic problem deeply embedded in the geopolitical and cultural entanglements of inter-imperial rivalry and warfare. Prevailing interpretations of the '45 consider it as primarily a culminating political event centred on dynastic rivalry and the relative security of the Hanoverian establishment, while overlooking more recent geographic insights from the fields Atlantic and New Imperial history. In exploring the long term imperial strategic repercussions of the '45 as understood through the dynamics of a rapidly expanding and interconnected British Atlantic press and public sphere, this paper demonstrates novel and lasting understandings of the connection between inter-imperial rivalry, warfare, and domestic fifth-column rebellions. Such understandings, continuing throughout the mid-eighteenth century wars between Britain and France, and the contemporary anxieties tied to them, disrupt linear narratives of post-'45 British political and cultural integration. The British polity and formations of Britishness and Scottishness were entangled with France to an unprecedented degree as a result of the inter-imperial problem of the '45. This ultimately draws attention to the overlooked historical novelties, continuities, and contingencies of the post-'45 period. This cultural context must be considered and periodized on its own historical terms, rather than as part of a straightforward eighteenth century process of nation-state formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses how gluten was discussed by chemists in the nineteenth century in Great Britain and France as a proxy for both nutritive and baking quality. It examines the role of gluten in the broader quest to measure and render the quality of wheat and flour through a set of objective and quantifiable criteria. The paper also shows how measuring quality proved to be an extremely complex task, and how chemistry was, by itself, unable to reduce the complexity of the wheat grain, and the various demands made upon it, to a simple numerical indicator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Drone technology opens the door to major changes and opportunities in our society. But this technology, like many others, needs to be administered and regulated to prevent potential harm to the public. Therefore, national and local governments around the world established regulations for operating drones, which bans drone use from specific locations or limits their operation to qualified drone pilots only. This study reviews the types of restrictions on drone use that are specified in federal drone regulations for the US, the UK, and France, and in state regulations for the US. The study also maps restricted areas and assesses compliance with these regulations by analyzing the spatial contribution patterns to three crowd-sourced drone portals, namely SkyPixel, Flickr, and DroneSpot, relative to restricted areas. The analysis is performed both at the national level and at the state/regional level within each of the three countries, where statistical tests are conducted to compare compliance rates between the three drone portals. This study provides new insight into drone users' awareness of and compliance with drone regulations. This can help governments to tailor information campaigns for increased awareness of drone regulations among drone users and to determine where increased control and enforcement of drone regulations is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brexit has been a game-changer for Britain, and its key partners. Strategic shifts as well as historic relations have impacted the UK's relationship with France in a number of unexpected ways. This article explores some of the key historical events that have caused both agreement and strife between the two states, looking at the bilateral treaties established to deepen cooperation on security and defence, specifically the Lancaster House agreements, and considers the series of intriguing accords and conventions that have arisen from the mid-1980s, as well as the logistical challenges of the shared border and juxtaposed border controls of Britain and France. Post-Brexit diplomatic forums in which Britain and France are joined by Germany are then explored, before assessing Britain's attempts to forge its new role in relation to long-standing commitments to France and an evolving relationship with the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protecting critical infrastructure against cyber-attacks is a policy challenge arising from the disruptive potential of emerging digital technologies. Governments face difficult choices since cybersecurity is a public responsibility, but often a private task: Should they design their capacities hierarchically or rely on collaboration with private firms? We argue that choices depend on the institutional setting and the nature of the challenge. Our comparison of state-capitalist France with the market-capitalist United Kingdom corroborates our expectations that the former controls intermediaries more hierarchically and that both governments adopt a more assertive role when safeguarding against threats than when managing risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a Weberian ideal-type framework to capture elite strategies for managing hard Euroscepticism and their consequences for EU disintegration. It does so by drawing on policy evolution theory to conceptualise two ideal types representing contrasting strategies: taming Euroscepticism by technocratic adaptation or embracing it. This framework is used to analyse empirical examples that match these two ideal-type approaches respectively: France and the UK between 2004 and 17. The use of this framework is a novel way of explaining the evolution and differences between elite French and UK responses to hard Euroscepticism by showing how and why French EU policy remained intra-paradigmatic as compared to the paradigm shift of Brexit. This approach allows for a better understanding of the process and probability of EU disintegration by linking the latter to strategic policy choices. In a UK context, it also offers a way to anticipate the signals leading to a reversal of disintegration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The guidelines of brain death determination vary across countries. Our aim was to compare diagnostic procedures of brain death determination in adults among five countries. Consecutive comatose patients who received brain death determination from June 2018 to June 2020 were included. The technical specifications, completion rates and positive rates of brain death determination according to criteria of different countries were compared. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of each ancillary test for the identification of brain death diagnosed according to different criteria were investigated. One hundred and ninety nine patients were included in this study. One hundred and thirty one (65.8%) patients were diagnosed with brain death according to French criteria, 132 (66.3%) according to Chinese criteria, and 135 (67.7%) according to criteria of USA, UK and Germany. The sensitivity and PPV of electroencephalogram (92.2% – 92.3%) and somatosensory evoked potential (95.5% – 98.5%) were higher than transcranial Doppler (84.3% – 86.0%). The criteria of brain death in China and France are comparatively stricter than in USA, UK and Germany. The discrepancy in brain death determination between clinical assessments and additional confirmation of ancillary tests is small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An online survey of 691 clinicians who use hypnosis was conducted in 31 countries to gain a broad real-world picture of current practices, views, and experiences in clinical hypnosis. Among 36 common clinical uses, stress reduction, wellbeing and self-esteem-enhancement, surgery preparations, anxiety interventions, mindfulness facilitation, and labor and childbirth applications were the most frequently rated as highly effective (each by ≥70% of raters) in the clinicians' own experience. Adverse hypnosis-associated effects had been encountered by 55% of clinicians but were generally short-lived and very rarely judged as serious. The most common hypnosis approaches used were Ericksonian (71%), hypnotic relaxation therapy (55%), and traditional hypnosis (50%). Almost all respondents reported regularly using other therapeutic modalities alongside hypnosis. Among a range of client variables potentially affecting therapy, most clinicians rated hypnotist-client rapport (88%) and client motivation (75%) as very or extremely important factors for successful hypnotherapy. The majority of respondents had conducted hypnosis treatment via teletherapy, and 54% of those estimated it to be as effective as in-person treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological innovation needs construction of promises and expectations to mobilise resources and supportive networks, yet exaggerated promises risk leading to disappointment and undermining this very support. Drawing on an analysis of secondary literature and press articles, the concepts of hype cycle and Regimes of Economics of Techno-scientific Promises (ETP) are applied to examine the construction of the largely failed promise of the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR), designed to spearhead a French-led 'nuclear renaissance' in the 1990s. The debates on the EPR economics in France and the UK illustrate the country-specific features that condition the ability of an incremental in-between innovation, in an archetypically 'modernist' field of technology, to survive in today's 'presentist' era of shrinking timeframes. The phase of disillusionment depicted in the hype cycle can better be described as two country-specific processes whereby the initial promise was continuously modified and requalified in order to maintain its legitimacy and credibility. As an incremental innovation, the EPR continues to struggle between the contrasting needs of demonstrating radical novelty and experience-based continuity. This tension is accentuated by the country-specific legacies and imaginaries, including the historically shaped ideological trust in the state and the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored patient satisfaction with baricitinib, an oral Janus kinase inhibitor, in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) treated in routine clinical practice. Adults with moderate-to-severe AD treated with baricitinib in clinical practice for ≥4 weeks in France, Germany, and the UK completed a one-time online survey under market research methodologies. Treatment satisfaction was assessed using a Likert scale and abbreviated Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM-9). Patients reported demographic, disease, and treatment information. Data were analyzed descriptively. The survey was completed by 170 patients with a mean age of 39.3 years (SD = 13.5), 59% (n = 101) were female. At baricitinib initiation, 79% rated their AD as "Severe", yet 28% reported body surface area (BSA) involvement ≥10%. Most were "Satisfied" or "Very satisfied" (76%/18%) with baricitinib, with high rates reported for controlling itch (36%/56%). Itch improvements were noted by 97% of patients. Some tapered/stopped (50%/32%) topical corticosteroid use, aligned with reported improvements on the patient global assessment and BSA. Mean TSQM-9 convenience score was 78.0 (SD = 14.0). Satisfaction with itch control was particularly high, reflected in rates of improvement in itch since starting baricitinib. On the TSQM-9, the convenience score was the highest. Many patients tapered/stopped concomitant topicals, indicating baricitinib's effect in controlling AD symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent analyses of international affairs highlight that states are increasingly exploiting the key position of some private industries in critical hubs of global economic networks to gain an advantage over their competitors. The key role of private companies in international competition has also significant implications in the cyber-domain, where private actors are the main owners of data and digital infrastructures. In contrast to those who see a transformative effect of cyber, this article draws on comparative political economy and defense policy to identify two different models of state-industry relations in the governance of cybersecurity. The theoretical framework distinguishes between public and private governance ecosystems and identifies different hypotheses on how states and industries interact in cybersecurity governance in France and in the UK. The French public governance is characterized by the presence of formal and informal relations between state and industries, a high degree of public investment in the private sector and centralized institutions. France has also used the EU mainly to advance its industrial interests. In contrast, the UK private governance is characterized by more arm's length relations between the state and industries and a less centralized system. Moreover, the UK, differently to France, has not used the EU channel to advance its industry-related preferences. These results confirm the macro-differences between public and private governance ecosystems and open new relevant avenues to investigate the interplay between political economy structures and European and international pressures in policy-areas with both economic and security implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the climatic influence on COVID-19 transmission risks in 228 cities globally across three climatic zones. The results, based on the application of a Boosted Regression Tree algorithm method, show that average temperature and average relative humidity explain significant variations in COVID-19 transmission across temperate and subtropical regions, whereas in the tropical region, the average diurnal temperature range and temperature seasonality significantly predict the infection outbreak. The number of positive cases showed a decrease sharply above an average temperature of 10°C in the cities of France, Turkey, the US, the UK, and Germany. Among the tropical countries, COVID-19 in Indian cities is most affected by mean diurnal temperature, and those in Brazil by temperature seasonality. The findings have implications on public health interventions, and contribute to the ongoing scientific and policy discourse on the complex interplay of climatic factors determining the risks of COVID-19 transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, over 8,400 people made their way from France to the UK coast using small vessels. They did so principally in order to claim asylum in the United Kingdom (UK). Much like in other border-zones, the UK state has portrayed irregular Channel crossings as an invading threat and has deployed a militarized response. While there is burgeoning scholarship focusing on informal migrant camps in the Calais area, there has been little analysis of state responses to irregular Channel crossings. This article begins to address this gap, situating contemporary British responses to irregular Channel crossers within the context of colonial histories and maritime legacies. We focus particularly on the enduring appeal of "the offshore" as a place where undesirable racialized populations can be placed. Our aim is to offer a historicized perspective on this phenomenon which seeks to respond to calls to embed colonial histories in analyses of the present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]