Disability activism and the politics of scale

In this paper, we examine the role of spatial scale in mediating and shaping political struggles between disabled people and the state. Specifically, we draw on recent theoretical developments concerning the social construction of spatial scale to interpret two case studies of disability activism within Canada and Ireland. In particular, we provide an analysis of how successful the disability movement in each locale has been at 'jumping scale' and enacting change, as well as examining what the consequences of such scaling-up have been for the movement itself. We demonstrate that the political structures operating in each country markedly affect the scaled nature of disability issues and the effectiveness of political mobilization at different scales

Citizen Participation as Political Ritual: Towards a Sociological Theorizing of ‘Health Citizenship’

This paper examines citizen participation in health research, where funders increasingly seek to promote and define ‘patient and public involvement’ (PPI). In England, the focus of our study, government policy articulates a specific set of meanings attached to PPI that fuse patients’ rights and responsibilities as citizens, as ‘consumers’ and as ‘lay experts’. However, little is known about the meanings those who take part in PPI activities, attach to this participation. Drawing on ethnographic data of PPI in three clinical areas (stroke, cancer and pre-term birth) we investigate citizen participation in health research as political ritual. We identify tensions between policy-driven and ground-level performance of citizenship, and use ritual theory to show how such tensions are accommodated in participatory structures. We argue that the ritual performance of PPI neutralises the transformational potential of citizen participation, and we draw wider sociological implications for citizen participation beyond the health arena

Recent developments in heterocycle labeling with carbon isotopes

International audienceHeterocycles play an essential role in modern pharmaceutical and agrochemical developments, representing a very common structural unit in marketed drugs. Over the 46 new drugs approved in 2017 by the FDA, 25 contain in their structure an heterocyclic core. The development of novel and straightforward labeling strategies for the effective insertion of carbon isotopes into heterocylic scaffolds is an inspiring and vibrant field of research. The use of carbon-11, carbon-13 and carbon-14 isotopes is well established in life science and particularly in pharmaceutical and agrochemical industry. Their introduction into small organic molecules represents a crucial step for the radiochemists. Since the labeling should occur in metabolically stable positions and in the shortest synthetic route, their incorporation into the heterocycles represent a viable solution. This review summarizes recent contributions to this area of research through the analysis of different industrial and academic cases