Political risk in light rail transit PPP projects

Since 2003 public-private partnerships (PPPs) have represented between 10 and 13.5% of the total investment in public services in the UK. The macro-economic and political benefits of PPPs were among the key drivers for central government's decision to promote this form of procurement to improve UK public services. Political support for a PPP project is critical and is frequently cited as the most important critical success factor. This paper investigates the significance of political support and reviews the treatment of political risk in a business case by the public sector project sponsor for major UK-based light rail transit PPP projects during their development stage. The investigation demonstrates that in the early project stages it is not traditional quantitative Monte Carlo risk analysis that is important; rather it is the identification and representation of political support within a business case together with an understanding of how this information is then used to inform critical project decisions

National and Regional Estimates of the Prevalence of Opiate and/or Crack Cocaine use 2008-09: A summary of key findings

<p>This report summarises the results of a follow-up study to a three year project to estimate the prevalence of ‘problem drug use’ (defined as use of opiates and/or crack cocaine) nationally (England only), regionally and locally. The follow-up was carried out two years after the final sweep of the original project, so could therefore be considered as ‘sweep 5’. An overview of the national and regional estimates are presented in this report, as are comparisons with the estimates produced by the third (2006-07) sweep of the study. Estimates for 2007-08 are not available as a study was not commissioned for that year.</p> <p>Information about the number of people who use illicit drugs such as heroin, other opiates or crack cocaine is key to formulating effective policies for tackling drug-related harm as these drugs are associated with the highest levels of harm. It also helps inform service provision at the local level and provides a context in which to understand the population impact of interventions to reduce drug-related harm.</p> <p>Direct enumeration of those engaged in a largely covert activity such as the use of class A drugs is difficult and standard household survey techniques tend to underestimate the extent of such activity. Indirect techniques making use of various data sources offer a more reliable way of calculating prevalence estimates for the use of opiates and/or crack cocaine. The estimates presented in this report are derived using two indirect measurement techniques: the capture-recapture method (CRC ); and the multiple indicator (MIM ) method. These methods are described in detail in Hay et al., 2006 and Hay et al., 2007a. Methodological developments throughout the course of the previous three sweeps are discussed elsewhere (Hay et al., 2007b, Hay et al., 2008). The individuals covered by this study were people aged 15 to 64 and resident in each DAT area, and known to be using heroin, methadone, other opiate drugs or crack cocaine.</p&gt

International market entry mode : a systematic literature review

This paper systematically examines the academic literature on international market entry mode (hereafter MEM). Ever since the first issue of the first volume of the Journal of Strategic Marketing this has been a topic of much discussion and research from scholars interested in strategic marketing issues here and elsewhere (Gannon, M, 1993; Crick and Crick, 2013)

Identification of epidermal Pdx1 expression discloses different roles of Notch1 and Notch2 in murine KrasG12D-induced skin carcinogenesis in vivo

Background The Ras and Notch signaling pathways are frequently activated during development to control many diverse cellular processes and are often dysregulated during tumorigenesis. To study the role of Notch and oncogenic Kras signaling in a progenitor cell population, Pdx1-Cre mice were utilized to generate conditional oncogenic KrasG12D mice with ablation of Notch1 and/or Notch2. Methodology/Principal Findings Surprisingly, mice with activated KrasG12D and Notch1 but not Notch2 ablation developed skin papillomas progressing to squamous cell carcinoma providing evidence for Pdx1 expression in the skin. Immunostaining and lineage tracing experiments indicate that PDX1 is present predominantly in the suprabasal layers of the epidermis and rarely in the basal layer. Further analysis of keratinocytes in vitro revealed differentiation-dependent expression of PDX1 in terminally differentiated keratinocytes. PDX1 expression was also increased during wound healing. Further analysis revealed that loss of Notch1 but not Notch2 is critical for skin tumor development. Reasons for this include distinct Notch expression with Notch1 in all layers and Notch2 in the suprabasal layer as well as distinctive p21 and β-catenin signaling inhibition capabilities. Conclusions/Significance Our results provide strong evidence for epidermal expression of Pdx1 as of yet not identified function. In addition, this finding may be relevant for research using Pdx1-Cre transgenic strains. Additionally, our study confirms distinctive expression and functions of Notch1 and Notch2 in the skin supporting the importance of careful dissection of the contribution of individual Notch receptors

Expression of neurogenin3 reveals an islet cell precursor population in the pancreas

Differentiation of early gut endoderm cells into the endocrine cells forming the pancreatic islets of Langerhans depends on a cascade of gene activation events controlled by transcription factors including the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins. To delineate this cascade, we began by establishing the position of neurogenin3, a bHLH factor found in the pancreas during fetal development. We detect neurogenin3 immunoreactivity transiently in scattered ductal cells in the fetal mouse pancreas, peaking at embryonic day 15.5. Although not detected in cells expressing islet hormones or the islet transcription factors Isl1, Brn4, Pax6 or PDX1, neurogenin3 is detected along with early islet differentiation factors Nkx6.1 and Nkx2.2, establishing that it is expressed in immature cells in the islet lineage. Analysis of transcription factor-deficient mice demonstrates that neurogenin3 expression is not dependent on neuroD1/BETA2, Mash1, Nkx2.2, Nkx6.1, or Pax6. Furthermore, early expression of neurogenin3 under control of the Pdx1 promoter is alone sufficient to drive early and ectopic differentiation of islet cells, a capability shared by the pancreatic bHLH factor, neuroD1/BETA2, but not by the muscle bHLH factor, MyoD. However, the islet cells produced in these transgenic experiments are overwhelmingly α cells, suggesting that factors other than the bHLH factors are required to deviate from a default α cell fate. These data support a model in which neurogenin3 acts upstream of other islet differentiation factors, initiating the differentiation of endocrine cells, but switching off prior to final differentiation. The ability to uniquely identify islet cell precursors by neurogenin3 expression allows us to determine the position of other islet transcription factors in the differentiation cascade and to propose a map for the islet cell differentiation pathway

When rhetoric does not translate to reality: hardship, empowerment and the third sector in Austerity Localism

© The Author(s) 2018Austerity localism powerfully explains dynamics of (dis)empowerment at the local level, especially regarding the autonomy and accountability of local authorities and third sector organisations (TSOs) in the UK. Yet these dynamics at institutional level have also a clear impact on individuals, especially the socio-economically vulnerable. This is especially true in a time of cost-containment and welfare retrenchment. This article addresses a gap in the literature by focusing not only on TSOs but also on the experiences of vulnerable individuals under austerity localism. The discussion is centred on two types of TSOs: foodbanks and advice/advocacy organisations. Drawing upon primary qualitative data from three locations in England and Wales, the article argues that the emphatic rhetoric of empowerment within austerity localism, which others have shown to be problematic at the institutional level, does not translate into real-world empowerment for service users and other vulnerable individuals. In making the argument the article contributes to work on expanding the analytical scope of austerity localism, as well as further exploring the roles and prospects of TSOs in the current long period of austerity in the UK.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio