Increased Microerythrocyte Count in Homozygous α+-Thalassaemia Contributes to Protection against Severe Malarial Anaemia

Karen Day and colleagues show that increased microcytic erythrocyte count may contribute substantially to the protection of α+-thalassaemia-homozygous children against severe malaria anaemia

Involving psychological therapy stakeholders in responsible research to develop an automated feedback tool: Learnings from the ExTRAPPOLATE project

Understanding stakeholders’ views on novel autonomous systems in healthcare is essential to ensure these are not abandoned after substantial investment has been made. The ExTRAPPOLATE project applied the principles of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in the development of an automated feedback system for psychological therapists, ‘AutoCICS’. A Patient and Practitioner Reference Group (PPRG) was convened over three online workshops to inform the system's development. Iterative workshops allowed proposed changes to the system (based on stakeholder comments) to be scrutinized. The PPRG reference group provided valuable insights, differentiated by role, including concerns and suggestions related to the applicability and acceptability of the system to different patients, as well as ethical considerations. The RRI approach enabled the anticipation of barriers to use, reflection on stakeholders’ views, effective engagement with stakeholders, and action to revise the design and proposed use of the system prior to testing in future planned feasibility and effectiveness studies. Many best practices and learnings can be taken from the application of RRI in the development of the AutoCICS system

State-society relations in contemporary Russia: New forms of political and social contention

Much existing analysis of Russian state–society relations focuses on public, active forms of contention such as the “opposition” and protest movements. There is need for a more holistic perspective which adds study of a range of overt, “co-opted”, and hidden forms of interaction to this focus on public contention. A theoretical and empirical basis for understanding state–society relations in today's Russia involves broadening the concept of “contentious politics” to include models of “consentful” as well as “dissentful” contention. A diffused model of contentious politics can situate claim-making along the axes of consentful and dissentful motivations, and compliant and contentious behaviours

"Shared Ideal, Divergent Strategies? Explaining Similarities and Differences in E.U. and U.S. Democracy Promotion"

By the turn of the 21st century liberal democracy and democracy promotion have both become strongly entrenched norms in U.S. and E.U. foreign policies. Despite squabbles over a host of international issues, democracy as a system of government and an ideal is fundamentally shared by Americans and Europeans. Moreover, the erosion of state sovereignty and principles of non-intervention, as well as growing appreciation of the links between substantive democracy and economic development, peace and security, have made the goal of democracy promotion a shared one for Americans and Europeans. We argue that contemporary Europe and the United States are united by a normative commitment to democracy and the objective of supporting and promoting its development outside the transatlantic community. But does this mean that the E.U. and U.S. pursue the same democracy promotion strategies? We suggest that the answer is "sometimes, and sometimes not" and that it is dynamic. At times, and in different contexts, E.U. and U.S. strategies and instruments converge and diverge. Finally, we argue that divergence in strategies can be explained with reference to three key factors: the different histories and formative experiences that have shaped E.U. and U.S. thinking and institutions for promoting democracy abroad; differences in international "actorship"; and differences in conception of power