Interpreting the Labour Party: Approaches to Labour politics and history

Interpreting the Labour Party consists of twelve essays on some of the principal thinkers and schools of thought concerned with the political and historical development of the Labour Party and the wider labour movement. It examines the major methodologies and approaches in Labour studies and critically evaluates much of the most interesting scholarship in this area of study. The essays are written by contributors who have devoted many years to the study of the Labour Party, the trade union movement and the various ideologies associated with them. The collection begins with chapters that examine Labour's ideological journey and assess the impact of the "new political history" on views of the party. Later contributions focus on how the problematic concept of "Labourism" has been applied to the party by the New Left and analyse how Labour's union link has been conceptualised. Key thinkers analysed include Henry Pelling, Ross McKibbin, Ralph Miliband, Lewis Minkin, David Marquand, Perry Anderson and Tom Nairn. Each chapter situates its subject matter in the context of a broader intellectual legacy, including the works of Sidney and Beatrice Webb, Theodore Rothstein, Stuart Hall and Samuel Beer, among others. The book will be of interest to undergraduate students of British politics and political theory, and to academics concerned with Labour politics and history, trade union history and politics, research methodology and political analysis

A NICER look at the Aql X-1 hard state

We report on a spectral-timing analysis of the neutron star low-mass X-ray binary (LMXB) Aql X-1 with the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) on the International Space Station (ISS). Aql X-1 was observed with NICER during a dim outburst in 2017 July, collecting approximately 50 ks of good exposure. The spectral and timing properties of the source correspond to that of a (hard) extreme island state in the atoll classification. We find that the fractional amplitude of the low-frequency (<0.3 Hz) band-limited noise shows a dramatic turnover as a function of energy: it peaks at 0.5 keV with nearly 25% rms, drops to 12% rms at 2 keV, and rises to 15% rms at 10 keV. Through the analysis of covariance spectra, we demonstrate that band-limited noise exists in both the soft thermal emission and the power-law emission. Additionally, we measure hard time lags, indicating the thermal emission at 0.5 keV leads the power-law emission at 10 keV on a timescale of ∼100 ms at 0.3 Hz to ∼10 ms at 3 Hz. Our results demonstrate that the thermal emission in the hard state is intrinsically variable, and is driving the modulation of the higher energy power-law. Interpreting the thermal spectrum as disk emission, we find that our results are consistent with the disk propagation model proposed for accretion onto black holes.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Neutron Star Interior Composition ExplorerUnited States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Astrophysics Research and Analysis Progra

The third international stroke trial (IST-3) of thrombolysis for acute ischaemic stroke

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) is approved for use in selected patients with ischaemic stroke within 3 hours of symptom onset. IST-3 seeks to determine whether a wider range of patients may benefit.</p> <p>Design</p> <p>International, multi-centre, prospective, randomized, open, blinded endpoint (PROBE) trial of intravenous rt-PA in acute ischaemic stroke. Suitable patients must be assessed and able to start treatment within 6 hours of developing symptoms, and brain imaging must have excluded intracerebral haemorrhage. With 1000 patients, the trial can detect a 7% absolute difference in the primary outcome. With3500 patients, it can detect a 4.0% absolute benefit & with 6000, (mostly treated between 3 & 6 hours), it can detect a 3% benefit.</p> <p>Trial procedures</p> <p>Patients are entered into the trial by telephoning a fast, secure computerised central randomisation system or via a secure web interface. Repeat brain imaging must be performed at 24–48 hours. The scans are reviewed 'blind' by expert readers. The primary measure of outcome is the proportion of patients alive and independent (Modified Rankin 0–2) at six months (assessed via a postal questionnaire mailed directly to the patient). Secondary outcomes include: events within 7 days (death, recurrent stroke, symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage), outcome at six months (death, functional status, EuroQol).</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCTN25765518</p

Cooperativas No Agropecuarias : The Emergence of a New Form of Social Property in Cuba

Cuba's ongoing economic reform programme includes a significant development of non-agricultural cooperatives that has received little comment in spite of the priority accorded to this officially preferred form of non-state activity. The article notes the ambiguous treatment of cooperatives in historical socialist debates in general and Cuban debates in particular. Non-agricultural cooperativism, although seen as bringing efficiency and income gains, is now being theorised with a greater emphasis than in the past on self-management and non-alienated forms of labour. Since the enabling legislation in 2012, the creation of such cooperatives has been rapid, mainly due to the conversion of small-scale state workplaces in the service sector, but such cooperatives, so far, remain a small component of the wider shift of workers into non-state employment. Nevertheless, economic, social, educational and media institutions are adapting to the economic, cultural and representational needs and challenges of the new cooperativism. The legislation addresses lessons from experience elsewhere by limiting the exploitation of hired labour by profit-sharing cooperative members. The article concludes by considering factors influencing the rise of the new cooperativism and its potential for rekindling a socialist consciousness of work