Deprivation, social class and social mobility at Big Four and non-Big Four firms

Using the work of Bourdieu and Savage, this paper investigates social class and social mobility among chartered accountants who qualified with The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland in 2009. We find that these accountants tend to come from privileged backgrounds and that those who qualified with Big Four firms possess more economic, social and cultural capital than those who qualify with other firms. Our study provides fresh insights into how elements of social class interact with social background. In contrast with the prevailing view that there is limited social mobility in the accountancy profession, we find some evidence of social mobility, suggesting that current debates are based on contestable assumptions. We also find that chartered accountants from more deprived backgrounds as indicated by childhood postcode often have a father who has a professional or managerial occupation, so are not deprived on all measures. Where those from more deprived backgrounds accessed chartered accountancy careers, this was at the expense of people whose parents held lower rather than higher professional or managerial jobs. This suggests that the most advantaged maintain access to chartered accountancy but those from more middling professional homes are displaced when those from more deprived backgrounds gain access

Adding 6 months of androgen deprivation therapy to postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of short-course versus no androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised controlled trial

Background Previous evidence indicates that adjuvant, short-course androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves metastasis-free survival when given with primary radiotherapy for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the value of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy is unclear. Methods RADICALS-HD was an international randomised controlled trial to test the efficacy of ADT used in combination with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to radiotherapy alone (no ADT) or radiotherapy with 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT), using monthly subcutaneous gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue injections, daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as distant metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. Standard survival analysis methods were used, accounting for randomisation stratification factors. The trial had 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 80% to 86% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·67). Analyses followed the intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00541047. Findings Between Nov 22, 2007, and June 29, 2015, 1480 patients (median age 66 years [IQR 61–69]) were randomly assigned to receive no ADT (n=737) or short-course ADT (n=743) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 121 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 9·0 years (IQR 7·1–10·1), metastasis-free survival events were reported for 268 participants (142 in the no ADT group and 126 in the short-course ADT group; HR 0·886 [95% CI 0·688–1·140], p=0·35). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 79·2% (95% CI 75·4–82·5) in the no ADT group and 80·4% (76·6–83·6) in the short-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 121 (17%) of 737 participants in the no ADT group and 100 (14%) of 743 in the short-course ADT group (p=0·15), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Metastatic disease is uncommon following postoperative bed radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy. Adding 6 months of ADT to this radiotherapy did not improve metastasis-free survival compared with no ADT. These findings do not support the use of short-course ADT with postoperative radiotherapy in this patient population

Duration of androgen deprivation therapy with postoperative radiotherapy for prostate cancer: a comparison of long-course versus short-course androgen deprivation therapy in the RADICALS-HD randomised trial

Background Previous evidence supports androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with primary radiotherapy as initial treatment for intermediate-risk and high-risk localised prostate cancer. However, the use and optimal duration of ADT with postoperative radiotherapy after radical prostatectomy remains uncertain. Methods RADICALS-HD was a randomised controlled trial of ADT duration within the RADICALS protocol. Here, we report on the comparison of short-course versus long-course ADT. Key eligibility criteria were indication for radiotherapy after previous radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen less than 5 ng/mL, absence of metastatic disease, and written consent. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to add 6 months of ADT (short-course ADT) or 24 months of ADT (long-course ADT) to radiotherapy, using subcutaneous gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (monthly in the short-course ADT group and 3-monthly in the long-course ADT group), daily oral bicalutamide monotherapy 150 mg, or monthly subcutaneous degarelix. Randomisation was done centrally through minimisation with a random element, stratified by Gleason score, positive margins, radiotherapy timing, planned radiotherapy schedule, and planned type of ADT, in a computerised system. The allocated treatment was not masked. The primary outcome measure was metastasis-free survival, defined as metastasis arising from prostate cancer or death from any cause. The comparison had more than 80% power with two-sided α of 5% to detect an absolute increase in 10-year metastasis-free survival from 75% to 81% (hazard ratio [HR] 0·72). Standard time-to-event analyses were used. Analyses followed intention-to-treat principle. The trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN40814031, and ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT00541047 . Findings Between Jan 30, 2008, and July 7, 2015, 1523 patients (median age 65 years, IQR 60–69) were randomly assigned to receive short-course ADT (n=761) or long-course ADT (n=762) in addition to postoperative radiotherapy at 138 centres in Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the UK. With a median follow-up of 8·9 years (7·0–10·0), 313 metastasis-free survival events were reported overall (174 in the short-course ADT group and 139 in the long-course ADT group; HR 0·773 [95% CI 0·612–0·975]; p=0·029). 10-year metastasis-free survival was 71·9% (95% CI 67·6–75·7) in the short-course ADT group and 78·1% (74·2–81·5) in the long-course ADT group. Toxicity of grade 3 or higher was reported for 105 (14%) of 753 participants in the short-course ADT group and 142 (19%) of 757 participants in the long-course ADT group (p=0·025), with no treatment-related deaths. Interpretation Compared with adding 6 months of ADT, adding 24 months of ADT improved metastasis-free survival in people receiving postoperative radiotherapy. For individuals who can accept the additional duration of adverse effects, long-course ADT should be offered with postoperative radiotherapy. Funding Cancer Research UK, UK Research and Innovation (formerly Medical Research Council), and Canadian Cancer Society

Accounting at school: the impact of policy, teachers and class on the ethical construction of accounting and business in Scottish secondary schools

Drawing on Bourdieu, this paper begins from the assumption that significant progress in developing the ethical proclivities of accountants and business people more generally requires greater understanding of, and engagement with, the way business and accounting is experienced by pupils within their primary and secondary education. The paper draws on interviews with teachers, student group observations and a large questionnaire survey, in order to critically explore three broad questions. Firstly, what broader policy agendas are impinging on the way business and accounting is being constructed within secondary schools in Scotland? Secondly, how do teachers of business and accounting view the broader social and ethical dimensions of their subject? And thirdly, what is the impact of both the broader policy agendas and teacher's perspectives on the way accounting and business are constructed and experienced by students from different socio-economic backgrounds? The paper concludes with a call for greater critical engagement in policy agendas in primary and secondary education.Bourdieu; high school; accounting education; business education; ethics; Scotland; secondary schools; teachers; policy agendas; socio-economic backgrounds; secondary education; primary education.

'Pill-in-the-pocket’ Oral Anticoagulation Guided by Daily Rhythm Monitoring for Stroke Prevention in Patients with AF: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Aims: In patients with a low AF burden and long periods of sinus rhythm, ‘pill-in-the-pocket’ oral anticoagulation (OAC) may, taken as needed in response to AF episodes, offer the same thromboembolic protection as continuous, life-long OAC, while reducing bleeding complications at the same time. The purpose of this study is to systematically summarise available evidence pertaining to the feasibility, safety and efficacy of pill-in-the-pocket OAC. Methods: Medline and Embase were searched from inception to July 2022 for studies adopting a pill-in-the-pocket OAC strategy in AF patients guided by daily rhythm monitoring (PROSPERO/CRD42020209564). Outcomes of interest were extracted and event rates per patient-years of follow-up were calculated. A random effects model was used for pooled estimates. Results: Eight studies were included (711 patients). Daily rhythm monitoring was continuous in six studies and intermittent in two (pulse checks or smartphone single-lead electrocardiograms were used). Anticoagulation criteria varied across studies, reflecting the uncertainty regarding the AF burden that warrants anticoagulation. The mean time from AF meeting OAC criteria to its initiation was not reported. Adopting pill-in-the-pocket OAC led to 390 (54.7%) patients stopping OAC, 85 (12.0%) patients taking pill-in-the-pocket OAC and 237 (33.3%) patients remaining on or returning to continuous OAC. Overall, annualised ischaemic stroke and major bleeding rates per patient-year of follow-up were low at 0.005 (95% CI [0.002–0.012]) and 0.024 (95% CI [0.013–0.043]), respectively. Conclusion: Current evidence, although encouraging, is insufficient to inform practice. Additional studies are required to improve our understanding of the relationships between AF burden and thromboembolic risk to help define anticoagulation criteria and appropriate monitoring strategies

'Pill-in-the-pocket' oral anticoagulation guided by daily rhythm monitoring for stroke prevention in patients with AF: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Aims: in patients with a low AF burden and long periods of sinus rhythm, ‘pill-in-the-pocket’ oral anticoagulation (OAC) may, taken as needed in response to AF episodes, offer the same thromboembolic protection as continuous, life-long OAC, while reducing bleeding complications at the same time. The purpose of this study is to systematically summarise available evidence pertaining to the feasibility, safety and efficacy of pill-in-the-pocket OAC. Methods: Medline and Embase were searched from inception to July 2022 for studies adopting a pill-in-the-pocket OAC strategy in AF patients guided by daily rhythm monitoring (PROSPERO/CRD42020209564). Outcomes of interest were extracted and event rates per patient-years of follow-up were calculated. A random effects model was used for pooled estimates. Results: eight studies were included (711 patients). Daily rhythm monitoring was continuous in six studies and intermittent in two (pulse checks or smartphone singlelead electrocardiograms were used). Anticoagulation criteria varied across studies, reflecting the uncertainty regarding the AF burden that warrants anticoagulation. The mean time from AF meeting OAC criteria to its initiation was not reported. Adopting pill-in-the-pocket OAC led to 390 (54.7%) patients stopping OAC, 85 (12.0%) patients taking pill-in-the-pocket OAC and 237 (33.3%) patients remaining on or returning to continuous OAC. Overall, annualised ischaemic stroke and major bleeding rates per patient-year of follow-up were low at 0.005 (95% CI [0.002–0.012]) and 0.024 (95% CI [0.013–0.043]), respectively. Conclusion: current evidence, although encouraging, is insufficient to inform practice. Additional studies are required to improve our understanding of the relationships between AF burden and thromboembolic risk to help define anticoagulation criteria and appropriate monitoring strategies