We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
To save content items to your account,
please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies.
If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account.
Find out more about saving content to .
To save content items to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org
is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings
on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part
of your Kindle email address below.
Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations.
‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi.
‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
The theory of quiet politics has two propositions; first, that business interests prefer to engage with governments in ‘quiet’ arenas shielded from the media and the day-to-day political fray, and second that business interests exert power over governments in quiet politics. We counter the second proposition, arguing that business generally exercises influence rather than power in quiet politics. One precondition for the successful exercise of influence is the acceptance by business of certain protocols of behavior in interactions with governments. In this paper we underline the importance of such protocols by exploring the dynamics of a conflict between the east coast gas industry and the federal government in Australia amidst steep rises in domestic gas prices and supply restrictions in 2022. The gas industry behaved badly in the economy and in politics and did not abide by the relevant protocols of engagement with the government. The government responded aggressively and quiet politics failed. The paper underlines the importance of the behavioral pre-conditions for business influence in quiet politics and what can go wrong if this fails.
We argue that the everyday language distinction drawn between power and influence is meaningful and significant. There is good reason to believe that much corporate lobbying activity which is currently described under the heading of business power is better understood as attempts to secure negotiated agreements based on exerting influence rather than power and that the latter is usually used only when attempts to use influence have failed. We develop an analytical distinction between influence, understood as successful efforts at persuasion, and power using Keith Dowding’s work on power. Drawing upon findings from interviews with corporate professionals operating at the coalface of business and government interaction in Australia, we show that lobbyists generally seek “quiet” behind-the-scenes accommodations with governments via attempts to exert influence rather than power.
Psychological therapies can be effective in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety in people living with dementia (PLWD). However, factors associated with better therapy outcomes in PLWD are currently unknown.
Aims
To investigate whether dementia-specific and non-dementia-specific factors are associated with therapy outcomes in PLWD.
Method
National linked healthcare records were used to identify 1522 PLWD who attended psychological therapy services across England. Associations between various factors and therapy outcomes were explored.
Results
People with frontotemporal dementia were more likely to experience reliable deterioration in depression/anxiety symptoms compared with people with vascular dementia (odds ratio 2.98, 95% CI 1.08–8.22; P = 0.03) or Alzheimer's disease (odds ratio 2.95, 95% CI 1.15–7.55; P = 0.03). Greater depression severity (reliable recovery: odds ratio 0.95, 95% CI 0.92–0.98, P < 0.001; reliable deterioration: odds ratio 1.73, 95% CI 1.04–2.90, P = 0.04), lower work and social functioning (recovery: odds ratio 0.98, 95% CI 0.96–0.99, P = 0.002), psychotropic medication use (recovery: odds ratio 0.67, 95% CI 0.51–0.90, P = 0.01), being of working age (recovery: odds ratio 2.03, 95% CI 1.10–3.73, P = 0.02) and fewer therapy sessions (recovery: odds ratio 1.12, 95% CI 1.09–1.16, P < 0.001) were associated with worse therapy outcomes in PLWD.
Conclusions
Dementia type was generally not associated with outcomes, whereas clinical factors were consistent with those identified for the general population. Additional support and adaptations may be required to improve therapy outcomes in PLWD, particularly in those who are younger and have more severe depression.
Consideration of individual differences in recovery after concussion has become a focus of concussion research. Sex and racial/ethnic identity as they may affect reporting of concussion symptoms have been studied at single time points but not over time. Our objective was to investigate the factors of self-defined sex and race/ethnicity in reporting of lingering concussion symptoms in a large sample of adolescents.
Participants and Methods:
Concussed, symptomatic adolescents (n=849; Female=464, Male=385) aged 13-18 years were evaluated within 30 days of injury at a North Texas Concussion Registry (ConTex) clinic. Participants were grouped by self-defined race/ethnicity into three groups: Non-Hispanic Caucasian (n=570), Hispanic Caucasian (n=157), and African American (n=122). Measures collected at the initial visit included medical history, injury related information, and the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-5 Symptom Evaluation (SCAT-5SE). At a three-month follow-up, participants completed the SCAT-5SE. Pearson’s Chi-Square analyses examined differences in categorical measures of demographics, medical history, and injury characteristics. Prior to analysis, statistical assumptions were examined, and log base 10 transformations were performed to address issues of unequal group variances and nonnormal distributions. A three-way repeated measures ANOVA (Sex x Race/Ethnicity x Time) was conducted to examine total severity scores on the SCAT-5SE. Bonferroni post-hoc tests were performed to determine specific group differences. SPSS V28 was used for analysis with p<0.05 for significance. Data reported below has been back transformed.
Results:
A significant interaction of Time by Race/Ethnicity was found for SCAT-5SE scores reported at initial visit and three-month follow-up (F(2, 843)=7.362, p<0.001). To understand this interaction, at initial visit, Race/Ethnicity groups reported similar levels of severity for concussion symptoms. At three month follow-up, African Americans reported the highest level of severity of lingering symptoms (M= 3.925, 95% CIs [2.938-5.158]) followed by Hispanic Caucasians(M= 2.978, 95% CIs [2.2663.845]) and Non-Hispanic Caucasians who were the lowest(M= 1.915, 95% CIs [1.6262.237]). There were significant main effects for Time, Sex, and Race/Ethnicity. Average symptom levels were higher at initial visit compared to three-month follow-up (F(1, 843)=1531.526, p<0.001). Females had higher average symptom levels compared to males (F(1, 843)=35.58, p<0.001). For Race/Ethnicity (F(2, 843)=9.236, p<0.001), Non-Hispanic Caucasians were significantly different than African Americans (p<0.001) and Hispanic Caucasians (p=0.021) in reported levels of concussion symptom severity.
Conclusions:
Data from a large sample of concussed adolescents supported a higher level of reported symptoms by females, but there were no significant differences in symptom reporting between sexes across racial/ethnic groups. Overall, at three-months, the African American and Hispanic Caucasians participants reported a higher level of lingering symptoms than Non-Hispanic Caucasians. In order to improve care, the difference between specific racial/ethnic groups during recovery merits exploration into the factors that may influence symptom reporting.
Brazilian peppertree (Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi) is an aggressive shrub that infests more than 280,000 ha in Florida. Individual plant treatments (IPT), including basal bark and cut stump application with triclopyr butoxyethylester and triethylamine formulations, respectively, have been used for decades. While they are both effective, resprouting can occur, which requires retreatment for control. Recent research on other woody invasive plants has indicated additional non-crop herbicides used in natural areas can be effective with these IPT techniques and therefore warrant testing on S. terebinthifolia. In 2018 and 2019, basal bark and cut stump studies were conducted at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in natural areas infested with S. terebinthifolia. In the basal bark application studies, we found aminocyclopyrachlor applied at 12 and 24 g L−1 and triclopyr acid applied at 34 and 69 g L−1 each provided 100% defoliation of multistemmed S. terebinthifolia individuals with a mean root collar diameter up to 20.2 cm at 360 d after treatment (DAT). These were not different from triclopyr ester applied at 96 g L−1. Imazamox applied at 30 g L−1 resulted in 86% defoliation at 360 DAT. However, we observed formulation incompatibility when imazamox was mixed with basal bark oil which may limit its utility. In cut stump studies, we found aminocyclopyrachlor and aminopyralid each individually applied at 6, 12, and 24 g L−1, resulted in stump mortality that was not different from the commercial standard triclopyr amine applied at 180 g L−1. Similar results were found for a triclopyr acid formulation applied at 86 and 172 g L−1 and imazamox applied at 60 g L−1. For both treatment techniques, we found that alternative treatments provided control at lower herbicide concentrations than triclopyr ester and amine commercial standards. These results advance our understanding of IPT and expand access to additional effective herbicide options for S. terebinthifolia management.
Brazilian peppertree (Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi) is a multistemmed shrub or small tree from South America that is invasive in Florida, Texas, Hawaii, and Australia. It forms multistemmed trunks with spreading branches that create dense thickets. State agencies in Florida manage it at annual costs of over $3 million, and individual plant treatment (IPT) techniques are widely used for control. Recent research testing novel hack and squirt approaches with aminopyralid and aminocyclopyrachlor and basal bark treatment with a new triclopyr formulation has shown these treatments are highly effective. However, they have not been evaluated at larger scales, which would be useful to land managers. Therefore, our objective was to compare the reduced hack and squirt technique using aminopyralid and aminocyclopyrachlor herbicides to basal bark treatment with triclopyr on a field scale. We used two contractor crews to apply treatments to twenty-four 0.2-ha plots. Treatments included aminocyclopyrachlor (120 g L−1) or aminopyralid (120 g L−1) applied with the reduced hack and squirt technique and triclopyr ester (108 g L−1) and triclopyr acid (34 g L−1) formulations applied with two basal bark treatment techniques. We confirmed that reduced hack and squirt significantly reduced the amount of herbicide and carrier applied compared with the basal bark treatments. By 540 d after treatment, aminocyclopyrachlor more effectively controlled S. terebinthifolia than aminopyralid with reduced hack and squirt and resulted in control comparable to that seen with either triclopyr basal bark treatment. These results verify reduced hack and squirt treatment with aminocyclopyrachlor and basal bark treatment with triclopyr acid as alternatives to basal bark treatment with triclopyr ester. Both resulted in significantly less herbicide use with comparable efficacy. This operational research approach has accelerated our understanding of novel IPT strategies and their implementation in the field.
Avian endoparasites play important roles in conservation, biodiversity and host evolution. Currently, little is known about the epidemiology of intestinal helminths and protozoans infecting wild birds of Britain and Ireland. This study aimed to determine the rates of parasite prevalence, abundance and infection intensity in wild passerines. Fecal samples (n = 755) from 18 bird families were collected from 13 sites across England, Wales and Ireland from March 2020 to June 2021. A conventional sodium nitrate flotation method allowed morphological identification and abundance estimation of eggs/oocysts. Associations with host family and age were examined alongside spatiotemporal and ecological factors using Bayesian phylogenetically controlled models. Parasites were detected in 20.0% of samples, with corvids and finches having the highest prevalences and intensities, respectively. Syngamus (33%) and Isospora (32%) were the most prevalent genera observed. Parasite prevalence and abundance differed amongst avian families and seasons, while infection intensity varied between families and regions. Prevalence was affected by diet diversity, while abundance differed by host age and habitat diversity. Infection intensity was higher in birds using a wider range of habitats, and doubled in areas with feeders present. The elucidation of these patterns will increase the understanding of parasite fauna in British and Irish birds.
Depression is an important, potentially modifiable dementia risk factor. However, it is not known whether effective treatment of depression through psychological therapies is associated with reduced dementia incidence. The aim of this study was to investigate associations between reduction in depressive symptoms following psychological therapy and the subsequent incidence of dementia.
Methods
National psychological therapy data were linked with hospital records of dementia diagnosis for 119808 people aged 65+. Participants received a course of psychological therapy treatment in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services between 2012 and 2019. Cox proportional hazards models were run to test associations between improvement in depression following psychological therapy and incidence of dementia diagnosis up to eight years later.
Results
Improvements in depression following treatment were associated with reduced rates of dementia diagnosis up to 8 years later (HR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.83–0.94), after adjustment for key covariates. Strongest effects were observed for vascular dementia (HR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.77–0.97) compared with Alzheimer's disease (HR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.83–1.00).
Conclusions
Reliable improvement in depression across psychological therapy was associated with reduced incidence of future dementia. Results are consistent with at least two possibilities. Firstly, psychological interventions to improve symptoms of depression may have the potential to contribute to dementia risk reduction efforts. Secondly, psychological therapies may be less effective in people with underlying dementia pathology or they may be more likely to drop out of therapy (reverse causality). Tackling the under-representation of older people in psychological therapies and optimizing therapy outcomes is an important goal for future research.
Individual plant treatment (IPT) techniques (e.g., basal bark, cut stump, hack and squirt) are used for woody invasive plant management and often rely on small trigger-pump spray bottles as an economical and efficient way to deliver a herbicide to the target species. Worldwide, plastic suppliers produce many models and designs with a wide range of uses, including pesticide application. However, spray bottle performance has rarely been examined in relation to IPT techniques for operational invasive plant management. We tested 10 commonly available spray bottles for trigger output and variation over repeated strokes. We also examined sustained trigger sprayer performance over a 6-wk period for spray bottles containing water or basal oil carriers blended with amine and ester formulations of triclopyr, respectively. In the first study, we found significant differences in spray output per stroke between almost every bottle tested. Almost all spray bottle brands yielded outputs greater than 1.0 ml per stroke, which exceeds the maximum application amount specified for hack and squirt. Several bottles produced an output of greater than 2.5 ml per stroke. In the second study, the output per stroke was reduced for basal oil mixes, with significant reductions measured for two brands by 21 d and for all three brands tested by 42 d after mixing. These results indicate that consumer-grade trigger sprayers are likely to depreciate rapidly with routine operational use without proper hygiene maintenance. Even then it is likely that these application devices may need to be replaced several times annually. Trigger-pump spray bottles are an economical and practical solution for remote field operations and volunteer weed control activities. These sprayers are most suitable for spray-to-wet techniques such as basal bark and cut-surface treatments but may potentially be less suited for hack and squirt application, which often requires sub-milliliter precision.
Since 2016, the European Region has experienced large-scale measles outbreaks. Several measles outbreaks in England during 2017/18 specifically affected Romanian and Romanian Roma communities. In this qualitative interview study, we looked at the effectiveness of outbreak responses and efforts to promote vaccination uptake amongst these underserved communities in three English cities: Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 33 providers involved in vaccination delivery and outbreak management in these cities. Interviews were analysed thematically and factors that influenced the effectiveness of responses were categorised into five themes: (1) the ability to identify the communities, (2) provider knowledge and understanding of the communities, (3) the co-ordination of response efforts and partnership working, (4) links to communities and approaches to community engagement and (5) resource constraints. We found that effective partnership working and community engagement were key to the prevention and management of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks in the communities. Effective engagement was found to be compromised by cuts to public health spending and services for underserved communities. To increase uptake in under-vaccinated communities, local knowledge and engagement are vital to build trust and relationships. Local partners must work proactively to identify, understand and build connections with communities.
Up-converting thermographic phosphors are of significant interest due to specific advantages for temperature measurement applications over traditional contact-based methods. Typically, infrared excitation stimulates visible fluorescence only from the target phosphor and not the surrounding medium. This is in contrast to ultraviolet excitation which may also produce interfering luminescence from cells and other biological tissue in the vicinity, for instance. When traversing a material, usually infrared losses due to scattering and absorption are less than for ultraviolet wavelengths. An example is human skin. This investigation follows logically from earlier efforts incorporating thermographic phosphors into elastomers and aerogels and their function as a reusable temperature sensor has been previously demonstrated by the authors. Layered phosphor/PDMS/aerogel composites are also currently under investigation by the authors for heat flux sensing. For maximum utility and understanding; physical, optical and thermal properties are characterized over a wide range of temperatures. Y2O2S:Yb,Er and La2O2S:Yb,Er up-converting phosphor composites with a fixed doping concentration were synthesized for this study and fully characterized as a function of temperature. The excitation/ emission characteristics of the powder alone and the prepared composites were investigated between -50 °C and +200 °C in an environmental chamber and the decay behavior of each sample type was measured. Here, the authors report on decay behavior and emission intensity of the PDMS composites as a function of temperature. Results were compared with powder –only parameters and are reported here.
This chapter focuses on how business associations in Australia engage in public policy analysis and how this role has evolved over recent decades. Business associations in Australia are voluntary associations that rely on subscriptions from member firms or subordinate associations to pursue their roles. Such associations range from industry-specific or sectoral associations servicing or representing a particular industry, to broader cross-sectoral or umbrella associations covering a wider range of industries or businesses across the whole economy. Business associations offer information, services and advice to members to help improve company performance and regulatory compliance in a competitive economy. Business associations also operate in the political and public policy arena, and research and monitor political and policy developments of relevance to members. In their policy advocacy role, they also attempt to influence government policymakers, as well as the wider public and the media. Business associations also act as governance interlocutors with governments. They offer policy advice and sometimes assist governments with policy formulation and implementation. They sometimes play a key intermediary role in industry self-regulation schemes (Bell, 1995; Bell and Hindmoor, 2009). Business associations also often work with firms or other business associations or interest groups in pursuing their activities.
For much of the 20th century in Australia, the ‘bread and butter’ work of many leading business associations was derived from service-to-member functions, especially in helping members deal with the complexities of two of the country’s major public policy frameworks: the centralised industrial relations system and the tariff system. These policy regimes have now been substantially wound back, a process that began in the 1980s. Bell (1994) has argued that business associations have since attempted to reorient themselves by expanding member services in areas such as taxation advice, trade promotion and industrial relations, skills and training. Another avenue of expanded endeavour has been to boost public policy capacities, both in policy analysis and in advocacy and lobbying. Firms sometimes engage unilaterally in politics. However, firms often prefer to join together and work collectively under the auspices or leadership of a business association. In policy advocacy, firms may also seek to reduce their exposure to potential political counter-attack by working collectively and hence more anonymously through an association.
This overview explains antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinaemia and offers guidance on the management of this common and underestimated problem in general psychiatric practice.
We present the results of an approximately 6 100 deg2 104–196 MHz radio sky survey performed with the Murchison Widefield Array during instrument commissioning between 2012 September and 2012 December: the MWACS. The data were taken as meridian drift scans with two different 32-antenna sub-arrays that were available during the commissioning period. The survey covers approximately 20.5 h < RA < 8.5 h, − 58° < Dec < −14°over three frequency bands centred on 119, 150 and 180 MHz, with image resolutions of 6–3 arcmin. The catalogue has 3 arcmin angular resolution and a typical noise level of 40 mJy beam− 1, with reduced sensitivity near the field boundaries and bright sources. We describe the data reduction strategy, based upon mosaicked snapshots, flux density calibration, and source-finding method. We present a catalogue of flux density and spectral index measurements for 14 110 sources, extracted from the mosaic, 1 247 of which are sub-components of complexes of sources.
This article extends a recent line of research arguing that the power and capacity of political actors (including states) is not just the product of particular fixed attributes but is also the outcome of political relations between key interlocutors, including ideational relations. State elites, especially government leaders, have persisted with a mindset that still values the economic centrality of a large and complex banking sector. This way of thinking has conditioned the relationship between, on the one hand, the US and UK governments and, on the other, Wall Street and the City of London and has led to a form of ‘dysfunctional embeddedness’. Government leaders may have been able to win high-profile policy victories over the banking sector in the post-crisis period, but in accepting a large, complex and constantly evolving financial system with high levels of systemic risk, they have unwittingly placed themselves at a continuing disadvantage in the regulatory arena.
The population-based Northern Survey of Twin and Multiple Pregnancy (NorSTAMP, formerly the Multiple Pregnancy Register) has collected data since 1998 on all multiple pregnancies in North of England (UK) from the earliest point of ascertainment in pregnancy. This paper updates recent developments to the NorSTAMP and presents some early mortality data from the first 10 years of data collection (1998–2007). Since 2005, mothers have been asked to give explicit consent for their identifiable data to be held by the survey, in line with changing guidance and legal frameworks for identifiable data. In 2009, regional standards of care for multiple pregnancies were developed, agreed, and disseminated. During 1998–2007, 4,865 twin maternities (pregnancies with at least one live birth or stillbirth) were registered, with an average twinning rate of 14.9 per 1,000 maternities. The overall stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates in twins were 18.0/1,000 births and 23.0/1,000 live births respectively. Stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates were significantly higher in monochorionic than dichorionic twins: 44.4 versus 12.2 per 1,000 births (relative risk [RR] 3.6, 95% Confidence Intervals [CI] 2.6–5.1), and 32.4 versus 21.4 per 1,000 live births (RR 1.5, 95% CI 1.04–2.2) respectively. There was no significant improvement during this period in either stillbirth or neonatal mortality rates in either chorionicity group. This population-based survey is an important source of data on multiple pregnancies, which allows monitoring of trends in multiple birth rates and pregnancy losses, providing essential information to support improvements in clinical care and for epidemiological research.
Several problems plague contemporary thinking about governance. From the multiple definitions that are often vague and confusing, to the assumption that governance strategies, networks and markets represent attempts by weakening states to maintain control. Rethinking Governance questions this view and seeks to clarify how we understand governance. Arguing that it is best understood as 'the strategies used by governments to help govern', the authors counter the view that governments have been decentred. They show that far from receding, states are in fact enhancing their capacity to govern by developing closer ties with non-government sectors. Identifying five 'modes' of government (governance through hierarchy, persuasion, markets and contracts, community engagement, and network associations), Stephen Bell and Andrew Hindmoor use practical examples to explore the strengths and limitations of each. In so doing, they demonstrate how modern states are using a mixture of governance modes to address specific policy problems. This book demonstrates why the argument that states are being 'hollowed out' is overblown.