The Structure of Opportunity: Middle-Class Mobility in England, 1548-1689

Models that allow the decomposition of mobility into its structural and exchange components are used to identify the structure, and consequences, of middle-class intergenerational mobility in preindustrial (1548-1689) Norwich, England. Dramatic shifts in the mobility opportunities of sons over time are seen to yield distinct political outcomes. Political stability is associated with almost universal upward mobility in the period from 1548 to 1589, while from 1590 to 1639 structural processes leading to massive downward mobility are associated with increased radicalization and participation in the English civil war. From 1640 to 1689, strata persistence in an unstable political context prevailed

The Principled Case for Employing Private Military and Security Companies in Humanitarian Interventions and Peacekeeping

The possibility of using private military and security companies to bolster the capacity to undertake humanitarian intervention has been increasingly debated. The focus of such discussions has, however, largely been on practical issues and the contingent problems posed by private force. By contrast, this paper considers the principled case for privatising humanitarian intervention. It focuses on two central issues. First, is there a case for preferring these firms to other, state-based agents of humanitarian intervention? In particular, given a state’s duties to their own military personnel, should the use of private military and security contractors be preferred to regular soldiers for humanitarian intervention? Second, on the other hand, does outsourcing humanitarian intervention to private military and security companies pose some fundamental, deeper problems in this context, such as an abdication of a state’s duties? © Deane-Peter Baker and James Pattison. All rights reserved. This paper may be freely circulated in electronic or hard copy provided it is not modified in any way, the rights of the author not infringed, and the paper is not quoted or cited without express permission of the author. The editors cannot guarantee a stable URL for any paper posted here, nor will they be responsible for notifying others if the URL is changed or the paper is taken off the site. Electronic copies of this paper may not be posted on any other website without express permission of the author

The dual diagnosis capability of residential addiction treatment centres: Priorities and confidence to improve capability following a review process

Abstract Introduction and Aims. The Dual Diagnosis Capability of Addiction Treatment (DDCAT) index is used to assess the capacity of substance abuse services to work with individuals with co-occurring mental health problems. The current study aimed to: (i) examine the dual diagnosis capability of residential substance abuse programs in Australia; (ii) identify managers’ perceptions regarding both priorities and confidence for change following the completion of the DDCAT; and (iii) to examine the usefulness of the DDCAT to residential substance abuse programs. Design and Methods. The DDCAT was completed across 16 residential substance abuse units.An external researcher administered and scored the DDCAT.A Unit Manager from each site completed the Comorbidity Priorities and Confidence Survey following the completion of the DDCAT review. This survey examined the usefulness of the DDCAT, and the unit’s priorities to improve its capability, and confidence to improve its DDCAT score. Results. Across the services, program structure and staff training were the DDCAT domains that required the most improvement.While training was the highest endorsed priority area for improvement, program structure was the lowest priority. Overall the Unit Managers reported positive attitudes towards use of the DDCAT and were confident that their unit could improve their DDCAT scores. Discussion and Conclusions. DDCAT scores of Australian residential substance abuse programs are comparable with previous published results.However, there is still substantial work required to improve the capability of these programs. Future research should examine strategies to promote sustained improvements in the capability of residential substance abuse programs. [Matthews H, Kelly PJ, Deane FP. The dual diagnosis capability of residential addiction treatment centres: Priorities and confidence to improve capability following a review process. Drug Alcohol Rev 2010

Research Integration Using Dialogue Methods

Research on real-world problems—like restoration of wetlands, the needs of the elderly, effective disaster response and the future of the airline industry—requires expert knowledge from a range of disciplines, as well as from stakeholders affected by the problem and those in a position to do something about it. This book charts new territory in taking a systematic approach to research integration using dialogue methods to bring together multiple perspectives. It links specific dialogue methods to particular research integration tasks. Fourteen dialogue methods for research integration are classified into two groups: 1. Dialogue methods for understanding a problem broadly: integrating judgements 2. Dialogue methods for understanding particular aspects of a problem: integrating visions, world views, interests and values. The methods are illustrated by case studies from four research areas: the environment, public health, security and technological innovation

HLA-DM Stabilizes the Empty MHCII Binding Groove:A Model Using Customized Natural Move Monte Carlo

MHC class II molecules bind peptides derived from extracellular proteins that have been ingested by antigen-presenting cells and display them to the immune system. Peptide loading occurs within the antigen-presenting cell and is facilitated by HLA-DM. HLA-DM stabilises the open conformation of the MHCII binding groove when no peptide is bound. While a structure of the MHCII/HLA-DM complex exists, the mechanism of stabilisation is still largely unknown. Here, we applied customised Natural Move Monte Carlo to investigate this interaction. We found a possible long range mechanism that implicates the configuration of the membrane-proximal globular domains in stabilising the open state of the empty MHCII binding groove

Benchmarking in the non-government sector

[extract] A Question to Ponder - How does your service compare to other similar services in the industry? How would knowing this help your organisation

Private military companies and civil-military relations theory.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, [2008].Abstract not available

ENSO related fluctiations of rainfall and their consequences for some rodent populations in North Central Chile

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is evaluated for its effects on rainfall in semi-arid Chile. Daily precipitation records are used to identify biologically important rainfall events. Events are evaluated by crossing theory to derive estimates of the probability distributions of the number of events, dates of their annual first and last occurrence, and length of the critically important biologically wet season for three phases of ENSO. Biologically important rainfall events are most frequent during warm phases and least frequent during cold phases. Cold phases produce the earliest onset of the wet season, while neutral phases delay it. The importance of variation in rainfall and its association with rodent populations is discussed extensively

Benchmarking across sectors: Comparisons of residential dual diagnosis and mental health programs

[extract] A Question to Ponder: How does your service compare to other similar services in the industry? How would knowing this help your organisation