Advancing our understanding of the EU sports policy: the socio-cultural model of sports regulation and players’ agents

This paper explains the development of the socio-cultural dimension of the European Union (EU) sports policy over the course of the decade from 2005 to 2015. By adopting the theoretical lenses of the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), the paper firstly offers a novel perspective on the belief systems of the members of the socio-cultural advocacy coalition that operates within the EU sports policy subsystem. A set of empirical policy core beliefs of the coalition actors reflecting their concerns regarding to sport’s integrity and economic welfare that affect its healthy development is presented and explained as the basic causes of the policy problem, i.e., threats that undermine sport’s specific characteristics. In this light, the paper then illustrates that the coalition members have perceived the issue of players’ agents, in particular problems in the activities of agents in European football, to be detrimental to the integrity of sport. As a result, the issue has been the subject of a considerable policy activity by the coalition actors with a view to establishing an alternative regulatory framework to effectively govern players’ agents. Consequently, the paper elucidates the evolving nature of the socio-cultural model of sports regulation that not only promotes the social role of sport in Europe but now also addresses the problems that affect its well-being and clear image. The paper’s principal method of investigation is based on the content analysis of official policy documents and statements of the coalition actors

After the epidemic: Zika virus projections for Latin America and the Caribbean

Background: Zika is one of the most challenging emergent vector-borne diseases, yet its future public health impact remains unclear. Zika was of little public health concern until recent reports of its association with congenital syndromes. By 3 August 2017 ~217,000 Zika cases and ~3,400 cases of associated congenital syndrome were reported in Latin America and the Caribbean. Some modelling exercises suggest that Zika virus infection could become endemic in agreement with recent declarations from the The World Health Organisation. Methodology/Principal findings: We produced high-resolution spatially-explicit projections of Zika cases, associated congenital syndromes and monetary costs for Latin America and the Caribbean now that the epidemic phase of the disease appears to be over. In contrast to previous studies which have adopted a modelling approach to map Zika potential, we project case numbers using a statistical approach based upon reported dengue case data as a Zika surrogate. Our results indicate that ~12.3 (0.7–162.3) million Zika cases could be expected across Latin America and the Caribbean every year, leading to ~64.4 (0.2–5159.3) thousand cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome and ~4.7 (0.0–116.3) thousand cases of microcephaly. The economic burden of these neurological sequelae are estimated to be USD ~2.3 (USD 0–159.3) billion per annum. Conclusions/Significance: Zika is likely to have significant public health consequences across Latin America and the Caribbean in years to come. Our projections inform regional and federal health authorities, offering an opportunity to adapt to this public health challenge