Matters of consent: the Withdrawal Agreement does not violate the Good Friday Agreement

John McGarry and Brendan O’Leary write that, contrary to the DUP’s claims, the draft Withdrawal Agreement does not violate the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement when it comes to consent. Instead, the proposals regarding Northern Ireland are reasonable and balanced

Much more than meh: the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly elections

The Northern Ireland Assembly election of May 2022 was transformational, despite small shifts in the magnitudes of seats won by the two dominant blocs. John Garry, Brendan O’Leary and James Pow discuss the results

Why Northern Ireland’s Institutions Need Stability

© The Author(s). Published by Government and Opposition Limited and Cambridge University Press 2014. Northern Ireland's consociational institutions were reviewed by a committee of its Assembly in 2012-13. The arguments of both critics and exponents of the arrangements are of general interest to scholars of comparative politics, power-sharing and constitutional design. The authors of this article review the debates and evidence on the d'Hondt rule of executive formation, political designation, the likely impact of changing district magnitudes for assembly elections, and existing patterns of opposition and accountability. They evaluate the scholarly, political and legal literature before commending the merits of maintaining the existing system, including the rules under which the system might be modified in future.Link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Raman Spectral Signatures of Cervical Exfoliated Cells from Liquid-Based Cytology Samples

It is widely accepted that cervical screening has significantly reduced the incidence of cervical cancer worldwide. The primary screening test for cervical cancer is the Papanicolaou (Pap) test, which has extremely variable specificity and sensitivity. There is an unmet clinical need for methods to aid clinicians in the early detection of cervical precancer. Raman spectroscopy is a label-free objective method that can provide a biochemical fingerprint of a given sample. Compared with studies on infrared spectroscopy, relatively few Raman spectroscopy studies have been carried out to date on cervical cytology. The aim of this study was to define the Raman spectral signatures of cervical exfoliated cells present in liquid-based cytology Pap test specimens and to compare the signature of high-grade dysplastic cells to each of the normal cell types. Raman spectra were recorded from single exfoliated cells and subjected to multivariate statistical analysis. The study demonstrated that Raman spectroscopy can identify biochemical signatures associated with the most common cell types seen in liquid-based cytology samples; superficial, intermediate, and parabasal cells. In addition, biochemical changes associated with high-grade dysplasia could be identified suggesting that Raman spectroscopy could be used to aid current cervical screening tests

BUDGET PERSPECTIVES 2011. RESEARCH SERIES NUMBER 18 October 2010

The Budget Perspectives Conference, co‐hosted annually by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the Foundation for Fiscal Studies provides a forum for discussing key public policy issues of both immediate concern (in upcoming budgets) and longer term concern. In the context of the current fiscal and economic crisis, research insights aimed at making more efficient use of scarce resources are needed now more than ever. Furthermore, research on the allocation of benefits and tax burdens is critical not only for intrinsic reasons but also to ensure that policies are publicly acceptable. It is not enough for policy to promote efficiency and fairness – it must be seen to do so. The research papers presented at this year’s annual Budget Perspectives conference continue in this tradition, providing an opportunity for policymakers, social partners and researchers to engage on some of the major issues that we face today