The politics of prisoner legal rights

The article begins by locating human rights law within the current political context before moving on to critically review judicial reasoning on prisoner legal rights since the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998. The limited influence of proportionality on legal discourses in England and Wales is then explored by contrasting a number of judgments since October 2000 in the domestic courts and European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of the restricted interpretation of legal rights for penal reform and proposes an alternative radical rearticulation of the politics of prisoner human rights

A preliminary cross-cultural study of Hikikomori and Internet Gaming Disorder: the moderating effects of game-playing time and living with parents

Background: Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and Hikikomori (an extreme form of real-life social withdrawal where individuals isolate themselves from society) have both been suggested as mental disorders that require further clinical research, particularly amongst young adult populations. Objective: To add to the extant literature, the present study used a cross-cultural, cross-sectional design to investigate the association between Hikikomori and IGD, and the potential moderating effects of reported game-playing time and living with parents. Method: Two online samples of 153 Australian and 457 U.S.-North American young adult players of Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games were collected. The nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS-SF9), and the Hikikomori Social Withdrawal Scale were administered to dimensionally assess IGD and Hikikomori, respectively. Results: Linear regression analyses confirmed that Hikikomori symptoms are associated with IGD. Additionally, moderation analyses indicated that the association was exacerbated by longer game playing time across both populations. Gamers living with their parents was a significant moderator of the relationship for the Australian sample. Conclusions: Extreme real-life social withdrawal and IGD are related, and this association is exacerbated for those who spend more time playing MMOs per day, and, for Australian participants, living with their parents

Liberal conservatism, ‘boardization’ and the government of civil servants

Drawing inspiration from the loosely coupled genre of studies of governmentality, this article explores the emergence in Britain during the early years of the millennium of a distinctive liberal conservative scheme for the government of civil servants. The term ‘boardization’ has been used to characterize the trend to reproduce the technology of the board of directors in central government. Conservatives currently assign a distinctive role to the work of departmental ‘boards’ in the effective management of the Civil Service. Intimating the costs and risks of the Conservatives’ programme, we explore the role of diverse governmental forces in the emergence of the boards of the Civil Service as an object for action and intervention during the early years of the new millennium. We explore a mutation in the application of practices and techniques drawn from the domain of the business enterprise to the organization of the Civil Service. </jats:p

Is computer aided detection (CAD) cost effective in screening mammography? A model based on the CADET II study

BACKGROUND: Single reading with computer aided detection (CAD) is an alternative to double reading for detecting cancer in screening mammograms. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the use of a single reader with CAD is more cost-effective than double reading. METHODS: Based on data from the CADET II study, the cost-effectiveness of single reading with CAD versus double reading was measured in terms of cost per cancer detected. Cost (Pound (£), year 2007/08) of single reading with CAD versus double reading was estimated assuming a health and social service perspective and a 7 year time horizon. As the equipment cost varies according to the unit size a separate analysis was conducted for high, average and low volume screening units. One-way sensitivity analyses were performed by varying the reading time, equipment and assessment cost, recall rate and reader qualification. RESULTS: CAD is cost increasing for all sizes of screening unit. The introduction of CAD is cost-increasing compared to double reading because the cost of CAD equipment, staff training and the higher assessment cost associated with CAD are greater than the saving in reading costs. The introduction of single reading with CAD, in place of double reading, would produce an additional cost of £227 and £253 per 1,000 women screened in high and average volume units respectively. In low volume screening units, the high cost of purchasing the equipment will results in an additional cost of £590 per 1,000 women screened.One-way sensitivity analysis showed that the factors having the greatest effect on the cost-effectiveness of CAD with single reading compared with double reading were the reading time and the reader's professional qualification (radiologist versus advanced practitioner). CONCLUSIONS: Without improvements in CAD effectiveness (e.g. a decrease in the recall rate) CAD is unlikely to be a cost effective alternative to double reading for mammography screening in UK. This study provides updated estimates of CAD costs in a full-field digital system and assessment cost for women who are re-called after initial screening. However, the model is highly sensitive to various parameters e.g. reading time, reader qualification, and equipment cost

Associations between attention deficit hyperactivity and internet gaming disorder symptoms: is there consistency across types of symptoms, gender and countries?

Background: Videogame addiction has been suggested as a tentative disorder in 2013 by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and was recently officially recognized as a mental health disorder by the World Health Organization (WHO). Although a few studies have identified attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as a key risk factor for Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), the interplay between ADHD and IGD symptoms with gender differences across cultures remains to be further examined. Objective: This study examined the moderating effects of gender in the association between ADHD and IGD across two nations. Method: A cross-sectional online survey was developed to recruit 164 Australian (Mage = 23.01, SD = 3.35, Minage = 18, Maxage = 31, Males n = 121, 73.80%) and 457 U.S.-North American (Mage = 25.25 years, SD = 2.76, Minage = 18 years, Maxage = 29 years, Males = 265, 57.98%) Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) players aged between 18 and 29 years. Results: The hierarchical linear regression, moderation and moderated moderation analyses revealed that participants presenting greater inattention and hyperactivity symptoms exhibited higher levels of IGD-related behaviors in the two samples. Moreover, these associations differed across genders between the two countries. Specifically, more hyperactive-impulsive, as well as inattentive males in the USA presented higher levels of disordered gaming. Conclusion: The results highlight the need for more cross-cultural and symptom-focused research in the broader IGD field

ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Filoviridae.

Members of the family Filoviridae produce variously shaped, often filamentous, enveloped virions containing linear non-segmented, negative-sense RNA genomes of 15-19 kb. Several filoviruses (e.g., Ebola virus) are pathogenic for humans and are highly virulent. Several filoviruses infect bats (e.g., Marburg virus), whereas the hosts of most other filoviruses are unknown. This is a summary of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) Report on Filoviridae, which is available at www.ictv.global/report/filoviridae