Britain, Bulgaria and benefits:the political rhetoric of European (dis)integration

This chapter considers the political controversy in Britain over the lifting of restrictions of freedom of movement on European Union (EU) citizens from Bulgaria and Romania in January 2014. The response of the then Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government centred on altering the rules on the payment of welfare benefits to potential new EU immigrants such that they would not be entitled to claim these benefits for 3 months after entry to the United Kingdom. This policy led to a split in the coalition, with the Liberal Democrat leadership claiming that it was a panicked move by the majority Conservative coalition partner, and moreover that it was a blatant attempt to appeal the electorate in an effort to be seen to be doing something to stop the welfare benefit system from being abused by ‘foreigners’. The backdrop to this political fracas centred on the economic contribution of East European immigrants to Britain and the claim and counterclaim over the issues jobs, welfare benefits and services such as English language support in schools. These contentious issues are examined in terms of an analysis of online comments to posted in reaction to a political interview with Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat business secretary, who claimed that the Conservatives were attempting to placate public disquiet over immigration as a response to the rising popularity of the United Kingdom Independence Party

Factores asociados con la intención de fumar y el inicio del hábito tabáquico en escolares: resultados del estudio ESFA en Barcelona

ResumenObjetivoDescribir los factores asociados con el consumo de tabaco y la intención de fumar en el futuro en una muestra representativa de escolares de primer curso de educación secundaria en Barcelona.Sujetos y métodosSe seleccionaron 37 escuelas al azar para participar en la evaluación de un programa europeo de prevención del tabaquismo (European Smoking prevention Frame Approach, proyecto ESFA). En estas escuelas 1.041 alumnos de primer curso de Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO) contestaron a un cuestionario diseñado por la Universidad de Maastricht para estudiar las actitudes y conductas relacionadas con diversos comportamientos, incluyendo el consumo de tabaco.ResultadosEl 9,8% de los chicos y el 12,6% de las chicas manifestaron fumar de forma regular u ocasional. Entre los no fumadores, un 61,4% de los chicos y un 73,3% de las chicas declararon tener intención de fumar en el futuro. En los chicos, los determinantes del consumo son la norma social (odds ratio [OR] = 2,5; intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%, 1,2–5,2), el consumo de tabaco por parte de los hermanos (OR = 2,4; IC del 95%, 1,1–5,2), las actitudes contrarias al consumo (OR = 0,3; IC del 95%, 0,1–0,6), la práctica de deporte en el tiempo libre (OR = 0,3; IC del 95%, 0,1–0,7) y el dinero semanal disponible (OR = 3,2; IC del 95%, 1,5–6,8), mientras que la intención únicamente se asoció de forma significativa a las actitudes contrarias (OR = 0,3; IC del 95%, 0,2–0,5). Para las chicas, el consumo se asoció a la presión (OR = 2,5; IC del 95%, 1,2–5,0) y el consumo (OR = 6,0; IC del 95%, 2,4–15,4) por parte de los amigos, y las actitudes contrarias (OR = 0,2; IC del 95%, 0,1–0,4), mientras que la intención se halla asociada a las actitudes contrarias (OR = 0,4; IC del 95%, 0,2–0,6) y pasar tiempo libre en la calle (OR = 2,1; IC del 95%, 1,3–3,5).ConclusionesLos resultados corroboran la necesidad de abordar simultáneamente los distintos factores relacionados con el inicio del tabaquismo, incluyendo las actitudes, la influencia de las personas del entorno inmediato y la utilizacion del tiempo libre.SummaryObjectiveTo describe the factors asssociated with smoking and intention to smoke among a representative sample of firstgrade pupils of secondary education (12–13 years old) in Barcelona.Subjects and methods37 secondary schools were randomly selected to evaluate the impact of a European-wide smoking prevention program (European Smoking prevention Frame Approach, ESFA project). In these schools, 1041 pupils of first grade of secondary education responded to a questionnaire designed at the University of Maastricht to study life-style attitudes and behaviours, mainly smoking.Results9.8% of boys and 12.6% of girls declared to smoke either regulary or ocasionally. Among the no-smokers, 61.4% of the boys and 73.3% of the girls reported to have the intention to smoke in the future. Among the boys, factors associated with smoking included social norms (odds ratio [OR] = 2.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2–5.2), smoking by siblings (OR = 2.4; 95% CI, 1.1–5.2), attitudes against smoking (OR = 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1–0.6), practicing some sports in the leisure time (OR = 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1–0.7) and having more available pocket money (OR = 3.2; 95% CI, 1.5–6.8). Intention to smoke was only related to attitudes (OR = 0.3; 95% CI, 0.2–0.5). Among girls, smoking was associated to perceived pressure to smoke (OR = 2.5; 95% CI, 1.2–5.0), consumption by friends (OR = 6.0; 95% CI, 2.4–15.4) and attitudes against smoking (OR = 0.2; 95% CI, 0.1–0.4), while intention was only associated to attitudes (OR = 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2–0.6) and hanging out in the street in the leisure time (OR = 2.2; 95% CI, 0.3–3.5).ConclusionsThe results stress the need to deal simultaneoulsy with the different factors associated to smoking initiation and attitude shaping, including cognitive factors, environmental factors, and patterns of leisure time utilization

Mycobacterium abscessus strain variability in preclinical drug development:does it really matter?

Background:New treatment options for Mycobacterium abscessus infections are urgently needed. Since a correlation between MICs and clinical outcomes is not clearly established, potency of novel drugs needs to be evaluated using additional in vitro drug activity assays. Preclinical drug activity assays generally use the M. abscessus type strain ATCC 19977. However, M. abscessus complex entails a genetically and morphologically diverse group, and it is questionable whether drug activity observed against ATCC 19977 is representative of drug activity against clinical M. abscessus isolates.Objectives: To assess whether the relationship between MIC and the quantitative antimycobacterial activity of amikacin, imipenem and clofazimine differs between the ATCC 19977 strain and clinical M. abscessus isolates.Methods: Experiments were performed with M. abscessus ATCC 19977 and a subset of six clinical isolates covering the three M. abscessus subspecies and the smooth and rough morphotypes. Cultures were exposed to the drugs at 4-fold increasing, MIC-standardized concentrations, and the mycobacterial load was assessed over time.Results: Concentration- and time-dependent activity of amikacin, imipenem and clofazimine against the six clinical isolates was similar. Only slight variations in drug activity were observed between ATCC 19977 and clinical isolates.Conclusions: Time- and concentration-dependent drug activity against the ATCC 19977 strain seems indicative for in vitro drug behaviour against M. abscessus complex clinical isolates. Including one clinical smooth morphotype isolate alongside ATCC 19977 seems appropriate for reliable interpretation of this particular in vitro drug activity assay as part of the M. abscessus preclinical drug development pipeline

The PopuList: A Database of Populist, Far-Left, and Far-Right Parties Using Expert-Informed Qualitative Comparative Classification (EiQCC)

Abstract With a proliferation of scholarly work focusing on populist, far-left, and far-right parties, questions have arisen about the correct ways to ideologically classify such parties. To ensure transparency and uniformity in research, the discipline could benefit from a systematic procedure. In this letter, we discuss how we have employed the method of ‘Expert-informed Qualitative Comparative Classification’ (EiQCC) to construct the newest version of The PopuList (3.0) – a database of populist, far-left, and far-right parties in Europe since 1989. This method takes into account the in-depth knowledge of national party experts while allowing for systematic comparative analysis across cases and over time. We also examine how scholars have made use of the previous versions of the dataset, explain how the new version of The PopuList differs from previous ones, and compare it to other data. We conclude with a discussion of the strengths and limitations of The PopuList dataset.</jats:p

Bekend en onbemind; Het beeld van Duitsland en Duitsers onder jongeren van vijftien tot negentien jaar

The establishment and working of political institutions and democratic processe

Small States in the Rearview Mirror: Legitimacy in the Management of Economy and Society

Small States in World Markets is about political efficacy and legitimation rather than scoring who is ahead in the economic sweepstakes. Its case for democratic corporatism rests on norms, particularly stability, rather than on narrow measures of economic efficiency. But stability and the efficacious management of the economy and social problems requires a degree of technocracy that undermines the legitimacy of the management process itself by helping to produce populist revolts

Populism and nationalism in a comparative perspective: a scholarly exchange

The purpose of the Exchange feature is to publish discussions that engage, advance and initiate new debates in the study of nations and nationalism. This Exchange article is on the subject of ‘Populism and Nationalism’. Each contributor addresses the following four questions on the subject: (1) What is populism and what role does it play within the context of democratic politics? (2) Does populism cut across left-right lines? (3) What is the relationship between nationalism and populism? (4) Are contemporary populist movements across Europe and the West comparable? Our aim is to generate a thought- provoking conversation with regards to the rise of populism in Europe and the West