“Public Policy is Like Having a Vaudeville Act”: Languages of Duty and Difference among Think Tank-Affiliated Policy Experts

This research note uses in-depth interviews, ethnographic observations, and archival records to examine the self-understandings of think tank-affiliated policy experts. I argue that policy experts draw on a series of idioms—those of the academic scholar, the political aide, the entrepreneur, and the media specialist—to construct a unique albeit synthetic professional identity. The essence of the policy expert’s role lies in a continuous effort to balance and reconcile the contradictory imperatives associated with these idioms. An analysis of the policy expert’s mixed “professional psyche” offers a useful point of entry into the objective social structure of the think tank

Effects of pseudoephedrine on parameters affecting exercise performance: a meta-analysis

Background Pseudoephedrine (PSE), a sympathomimetic drug, commonly used in nasal decongestants, is currently banned in sports by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), as its stimulant activity is claimed to enhance performance. This meta-analysis described the effects of PSE on factors relating to sport performance. Methods All included studies were randomised placebo-controlled trials and were conducted in a double blind crossover fashion. All participants (males and females) were deemed to be healthy. For the primary analysis, standardised mean difference effect sizes (ES) were calculated for heart rate (HR), time trial (TT) performance, rating of perceived exertion, blood glucose, and blood lactate. Results Across all parameters, effects were trivial with the exception of HR, which showed a small positive increase in favour of PSE ingestion (ES = 0.43; 95% confidence interval: − 0.01 to 0.88). However, subgroup analyses revealed important trends. Effect sizes for HR (increase) and TT (quicker) were larger in well-trained (VO2 max (maximal oxygen consumption) ≥ 65 ml/kg/min) and younger (170 mg) resulting in small (ES = − 0.24) and moderate (ES = 0.85) effect sizes respectively for these variables. Conclusions We conclude, however, that the performance benefit of pseudoephedrine is marginal and likely to be less than that obtained from permitted stimulants such as caffeine

The 'knowledge politics' of democratic peace theory

How do academic ideas influence US foreign policy, under what conditions and with what consequences? This article traces the rise, ‘securitisation’ and political consequences of democratic peace theory (DPT) in the United States by exploring the work of Doyle, Diamond and Fukuyama. Ideas influence US foreign policy under different circumstances, but are most likely to do either during and after crises when the policy environment permits ‘new thinking’, or when these ideas have been developed through state-connected elite knowledge networks, or when they are (or appear paradigmatically congenial to) foreign policymakers’ mindsets, or, finally, when they become institutionally-embedded. The appropriation of DPT by foreign policymakers has categorised the world into antagonistic blocs – democratic/non-democratic zones of peace/turmoil – as the corollary to a renewed American mission to make the world ‘safer’ through ‘democracy’ promotion. The roles of networked organic intellectuals – in universities and think tanks, for instance – were particularly important in elevating DPT from the academy to national security managers