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Career research has focused on the changing structures of careers, mainly in the private sector. Recent literature on employment patterns in the public sector suggests that career structures are evolving, gradually moving away from their signature traditional structures to contemporary ones. However, empirical evidence of this change is scarce and inconclusive. This qualitative study examines the changes currently unfolding in the career structure of the civil service by eliciting the experiences and views of senior Foreign Offices (FOs) staff in four countries: 198 state ambassadors from the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, and Denmark were interviewed about their career trajectories. The data were analyzed using a thematic analysis framework. The findings revealed a gradual breakdown of the structures and policies that support traditional careers, and the emergence of new principles and practices that characterize contemporary careers. However, as they were captured midway through the process of change, all FOs display a combination of traditional and contemporary career structures at this point. The findings offer unique insights into the drivers of this evolution and highlight some of the consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neogene sediments in the northern Chilean forearc display a wide range of near syndepositional structures. Analysis of the origin and distribution of these structures in space and time offers new insights into the development of the forearc basins. The structures are described in detail and show many features associated with soft-sediment deformation, pseudo-diapirism and slope failure. Synsedimentary deformation reached a peak in the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene while the sediments were saturated in a largely plastic state, and many of the structures were probably triggered by seismic shock. Late-stage tilting of the forearc generated shear stresses in the sediments leading to slumping and sliding. Base-level revision and drainage incision led to sediment bypass and cessation of lacustrine sedimentation that was not necessarily linked to climate change. Compaction and dewatering of the basins caused transition of the sediments from a plastic to a brittle state. The age and distribution of structures associated with seismicity appears to correlate with increasing subduction erosion and westward drift of South America but not with basin subsidence, shortening rates or plate convergence. This suggests that upper crustal deformation is at least partly decoupled from plate movement.

Aims: Population pharmacokinetic (PK) models are increasingly applied to perform individualized dosing of factor VIII (FVIII) concentrates in haemophilia A patients. To guarantee accurate performance of a population PK model in dose individualization, validation studies are of importance. However, external validation of population PK models requires independent data sets and is, therefore, seldomly performed. Therefore, this study aimed to validate a previously published population PK model for FVIII concentrates administrated perioperatively. Methods: A previously published population PK model for FVIII concentrate during surgery was validated using independent data from 87 children with severe haemophilia A with a median (range) age of 2.6 years (0.03–15.2) and body weight of 14 kg (4–57). First, the predictive performance of the previous model was evaluated with MAP Bayesian analysis using NONMEM v7.4. Subsequently, the model parameters were (re)estimated using a combined dataset consisting of the previous modelling data and the data available for the external validation. Results: The previous model underpredicted the measured FVIII levels with a median of 0.17 IU mL−1. Combining the new, independent and original data, a dataset comprising 206 patients with a mean age of 7.8 years (0.03–77.6) and body weight of 30 kg (4–111) was obtained. Population PK modelling provided estimates for CL, V1, V2, and Q: 171 mL h−1 68 kg−1, 2930 mL 68 kg−1, 1810 mL 68 kg−1, and 172 mL h−1 68 kg−1, respectively. This model adequately described all collected FVIII levels, with a slight median overprediction of 0.02 IU mL−1. Conclusions: This study emphasizes the importance of external validation of population PK models using real‐life data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article draws on interviews with 198 state ambassadors and applies an interpretivist lens to provide a more nuanced conceptualization of diplomacy. In doing so, we seek to project a closer fit between scholarly definitions of the term and how diplomacy is understood by practitioners. We contribute to the literature by proposing a more refined understanding of the term, presented here as five distinct (though not mutually exclusive) 'meanings' of diplomacy: (1) The actors taking part in modern diplomacy; (2) the objectives of diplomacy; (3) the mechanisms of diplomacy; (4) diplomacy as a skill; and (5) diplomacy as a profession. We find that drawing on the full range of the diplomatic experience is particularly important given the growing challenges to negotiation as the primary agency of diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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