Delivering Flagship Projects in an Era of Regulatory Capitalism: State-led Privatization and the London Olympics 2012

Much of the urban studies literature on the London Olympics has focused on its social legacies and the top-down nature of policy agendas. This article explores one element that has been less well covered — the contractual dynamics and delivery networks that have shaped infrastructure provision. Drawing on interviews and freedom of information requests, this article explores the mechanisms involved in the project's delivery and their implications for broader understandings of urban politics and policymaking. It assesses contemporary writings on regulatory capitalism, public–private networks and new contractual spaces to frame the empirical discussion. This article argues that the London Olympic model has been characterized by the prioritization of delivery over representative democracy. Democratic imperatives, such as those around sustainability and employment rights, have been institutionally re-placed and converted into contractual requirements on firms. This form of state-led privatization of the development process represents a new, and for some, potentially more effective mode of governance than those offered by traditional systems of regulation and management

Community strategies in England: reshaping spaces of governance?

The preparation of Community Strategies (CS) has been required of LSPs and Local Authorities in England since the passing of the Local Government Act 2000. This paper examines the process and content of two Community Strategies in southern England as part of an ongoing project to understand their impact and explore ways that CSs may be carried through in a meaningful and effective manner. The paper concludes that the two CSs studied illustrate the challenge faced by LSPs in producing Strategies that are meaningful, inclusive and which follow the spirit of the government CS guidance. LAs and LSPs are also posed with a difficult challenge of seeing through an implicitly required transition from a traditional representative democratic structure/process with a more fluid participatory model. Thus we detect that at least two forms of conflict may arise – firstly with elected councillors threatened by a loss of power and secondly between communities and the LAs who are encouraged to problematise local policy and service delivery in the context of limited resource availability

Usefulness of image guidance in the surgical treatment of petrous apex cholesterol granuloma

The petrous apex is a pyramid-shaped structure, located medial to the inner ear and the intrapetrous segment of the internal carotid artery. Lesions of the petrous apex can be surgically treated through different surgical routes. Because of the important neurovascular structures located inside the temporal bone, anatomical 3D knowledge is paramount. For this reason, image-guided surgery could represent a useful tool. We report the case of a young woman who came to our observation for a trigeminal neuralgia due to a petrous apex cholesterol granuloma. The lesion was treated through the placement of a drainage tube via an infracochlear approach, with the aid of neuronavigation and intraoperative MRI. Preoperative CT scan images and intraoperative MRI images were fused for surgical planning. The accuracy of the neuronavigation system has proved to be good, and the safety of the procedure was enhanced. Therefore, neuronavigation and intraoperative MRI, though not available in all neurootological centres, should be considered useful tools in these challenging procedures

Pneumoventricle of Unknown Origin. A Personal Experience and Literature Review of a Clinical Enigma

Pneumocephalus (PC) is an uncommon and life-threatening neurological condition. Air within the ventricular system of the brain is also known as Pneumoventricle (PV). It requires emergency treatments to prevent catastrophic neurological outcomes. Head injury is the most common cause of PV, but there are other well-recognized etiologies in case there is no clear radiological evidence of skull discontinuity. Although this clinical entity has been well described in Literature, our report presents the unique feature of describing a purely ventricular PC without evidence of skull base or cranial vault fracture. Therefore, this case presentation explores mysterious causes of fistulous connections with the atmosphere that may lead to air trapped in and around the cranial vault. The aim of the present paper is to report a case of post-traumatic PV without radiological signs of skull base or convexity fracture in a 72-years-old man, underlining the diagnostic and clinical features, and review the relevant Literature

Community Strategies in England: Reshaping Spaces of Governance?

The preparation of Community Strategies (CS) has been required of LSPs and Local Authorities in England since the passing of the Local Government Act 2000. This paper examines the process and content of two Community Strategies in southern England as part of an ongoing project to understand their impact and explore ways that CSs may be carried through in a meaningful and effective manner. The paper concludes that the two CSs studied illustrate the challenge faced by LSPs in producing Strategies that are meaningful, inclusive and which follow the spirit of the government CS guidance. LAs and LSPs are also posed with a difficult challenge of seeing through an implicitly required transition from a traditional representative democratic structure/process with a more fluid participatory model. Thus we detect that at least two forms of conflict may arise – firstly with elected councillors threatened by a loss of power and secondly between communities and the LAs who are encouraged to problematise local policy and service delivery in the context of limited resource availability.

'Divercities': place-focused public policy and its impact on perceptions of diversity

What does diversity actually mean to citizens in different places, and how are these views influenced by policy choices? Mike Raco focuses on the importance of place in diversity politics and explains why public policy should focus far more on the creation of effective communities

Anterior-to-Posterior Migration of a Lumbar Disc Sequestration. Surgical Remarks and Technical Notes about a Tailored Microsurgical Discectomy

Extrusion of disc material within the spinal canal complicates up to 28.6% of lumbar disc herniations. Due to the anatomical "corridors" created by the anterior midline septum and lateral membranes, relocation occurs with an anterior and anterolateral axial topography. Posterior migration is an extremely rare condition and anterior-to-posterior circumferential migration is an even rarer condition. Its radiological feature can be enigmatic and since, in more than 50% of cases, clinical onset is a hyperacute cauda equina syndrome, it may imply a difficult surgical decision in emergency settings. Surgery is the gold standard but when dealing with such huge sequestrations, standard microdiscectomy must be properly modified in order to minimize the risk of surgical trauma or traction on the nerve roots

The Politicisation of Diversity Planning in a Global City: Lessons from London

This paper explores the politics of diversity plan ning in one of Europe’s most socially and economically divided and globally-oriented cities, London. The analysis draws on Latour’s writings on modes of politicisation to examine the processes an d practices that shape contemporary urban governance. It uses the example of diversity planni ng to examine the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of urban politics. It shows that on the one hand diversity i s represented in pragmatic, consensual, and celebratory terms. Under prevailing conditions of c ontemporary global capitalism, the ‘what’ of diversity has been politicised into an agenda for l abour market-building and the attraction of ‘talented’ individuals and foreign investment. Howe ver, at the same time this celebratory rhetoric represents part of a wider effort to deflect politi cal attention away from the socially and economically divisive impacts of global models of e conomic growth and physical development. There is little discussion of the ways in which pla nning frameworks, the ‘how’ of diversity policy, ar e helping to generate new separations in and beyond t he city. Moreover, despite claiming that policy is pragmatic and non-ideological, the paper shows h ow diversity narratives have become an integral part of broader political projects to orientate the city’s economy towards the needs of a relatively small cluster of powerful economic sectors. The pap er concludes with reflections on the recent impacts of the vote for Brexit and the election of an openly Muslim London Mayor. It also assesses the broader relevance of a Latourian framework for the analysis of contemporary urban politics

Museum Kayu Di Woloan “Eco-Tech”

Museum adalah lembaga, tempat penyimpanan, perawatan, pengamanan dan pemanfaatan benda-benda bukti materiil hasil budaya manusia serta alam dan lingkungannya guna menunjang upaya perlindungan dan pelestarian kekayaan budaya bangsa. Museum di Indonesia terus berkembang seiring perkembangan zaman. Kesan historik masih sangat kental pada museum di Indonesia, sehingga museum yang sebenarnya memiliki fungsi edukatif yang sangat baik menjadi kurang diminati. Di antara banyaknya jenis museum yang ada di Indonesia Museum kayu yang memiliki fungsi konservatif perlu diadakan agar kelestarian kayu dapat terjaga, selain itu juga dapat mempermudah kita dalam menklarifikasi jenis-jenis kayu termasuk fungsi, kualitas, kegunaan dan pembudidayaannya. Museum kayu di Indonesia terdapat didaerah Waduk Panji Sukarame, Kutai Kartanegara, Kalimantan Timur yaitu Museum Kayu Tuah Himba. Di dalam Museum Kayu ini terdapat beragam jenis kayu-kayu yang ada di Pulau Kalimantan. Di daerah Sulawesi Utara terdapat beberapa museum seperti museum Kebudayaan Sulawesi Utara, museum budaya waruga dll. Masih banyak hal di Sulawesi Utara yang memiliki potensi yang perlu di museumkan, salah satunya yaitu kayu. Woloan adalah salah satu kelurahan di kota Tomohon yang terkenal dengan produksi Rumah Panggung. Sejak dahulu Woloan telah melakukan produksi rumah kayu yang sudah di eksport sampai luar negeri. Rumah panggung sendiri adalah salah satu hasil budaya daerah Sulawesi Utara. Hal tersebut mendukung daerah ini sebagai tempat dibangunnya Museum Kayu karena punya nilai historis dan kebudayaan yang mendukung. Dengan dibangunnya Museum Kayu ditempat ini diharapkan dapat turut menjadi sarana konservasi bagi pelestarian dan pengolahan kayu di Sulawesi Utara. Dengan Menggunakan Suatu pendekatan tematik yaitu “Eco-Tech” Objek rancangan dapat lebih diaplikasikan sesuai dengan maksud dan tujuan Museum Kayu yaitu menjadi sarana Edukatif, Rekreatif dan Konservasi. Pemanfaatan pengolahan lahan yang disesuaikan dengan ekologi daerah Woloan dan penggunaan Teknologi pendukung dalam desain diharapkan mampu menciptakan Mueum Kayu yang sesuai fungsi, menari dan punya nilai lebih terutama bagi daerah dibangunnya Museum Kayu.

Awake intradural spinal tumour resection

Background Meningioma is a common slow growing spinal tumour with a predilection for intradural occurrence. Patients usually present with pain followed by ataxia and sensory and sphincter problems. The gold standard treatment in these cases is gross total microsurgical resection under general anaesthesia. However, there exist high anaesthetic risk patients unsuitable for general anaesthesia. Performing spinal surgeries under local anaesthesia and sedation has been reported albeit rarely for mostly minimally invasive procedures but not for open intradural pathologies. Case description We report a 63-year-old woman with critical aortic stenosis, coronary artery disease and severe chronic obstructive airways disease (COAD) who presented with ten months’ history of worsening back pain and bilateral leg pains, ataxia, hyperreflexia in lower limbs as well as altered lower limb sensation. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a contrast enhancing intradural lesion at T6/7 with severe spinal cord compression. However, the patient was ASA class IV and her cardiac disease was not amenable to intervention. She underwent thoracic laminectomy and excision of the tumour under local anaesthesia and sedation with no significant complications and clinical improvement. Conclusion Our illustrative case and literature review suggest that utilising local anaesthesia and sedation to perform spinal surgeries including intradural tumours is possible even in high-risk patients with good outcome. Our ASA class IV patient tolerated the surgery well with gross total tumour resection and subsequent resolution of the symptoms