The Pseudo-Democrat's Dilemma

Cowinner of the International Studies Association’s Chadwick F. Alger Prize, Winner of the American Political Science Association’s Comparative Democratization Section Best Book Award, and Cowinner of the Yale University MacMillan Center’s Gustav Ranis International Book Prize. Why did election monitoring become an international norm? Why do "pseudo-democrats" (undemocratic leaders who present themselves as democratic) invite international observers, even when they are likely to be caught manipulating elections? Is election observation an effective tool of democracy promotion, or is it simply a way to legitimize electoral autocracies? This book uses cross-national data on election observations since 1960 and case studies of Armenia, Indonesia, Haiti, Peru, Togo, and Zimbabwe to explain international election monitoring with a new theory of international norms

Where Is Law & Literature Headed? Roundtable Discussion

This is a roundtable that will discuss the question Where is Law and Literature Headed

Phase transition in the Ising model on a small-world network with distance-dependent interactions

We study the collective behavior of an Ising system on a small-world network with the interaction $J(r) \propto r^{-\alpha}$, where $r$ represents the Euclidean distance between two nodes. In the case of $\alpha = 0$ corresponding to the uniform interaction, the system is known to possess a phase transition of the mean-field nature, while the system with the short-range interaction $(\alpha\to\infty)$ does not exhibit long-range order at any finite temperature. Monte Carlo simulations are performed at various values of $\alpha$, and the critical value $\alpha_c$ beyond which the long-range order does not emerge is estimated to be zero. Thus concluded is the absence of a phase transition in the system with the algebraically decaying interaction $r^{-\alpha}$ for any nonzero positive value of $\alpha$

Understanding dimensionality in health care

In recent years, the quality of non-clinical elements of health care has been challenged in the UK. While dimensions such as the environment, communications, reliability, access, etc., all contribute to making patients feel more at ease during a time when they are at their most vulnerable, they often fall short of what they should be. This paper supports the shift towards greater emphasis on understanding the functional elements of health services in an effort to improve patient experience and outcomes. While there is an abundance of literature discussing the evaluation of service quality, much of this focuses on the SERVQUAL model and, although there is increasing debate about its relevance across sectors, no alternative has been offered. This paper argues that the model lacks substance as a tool to evaluate quality in the complex environment of health care. The study embraced multiple methods to acquire a greater understanding of service quality constructs within the health care sector. It was carried out in three phases. The first comprised critical incident interviews with service users, which highlighted both successes and failings in their care. This was followed by staff interviews and focus groups representing a cross section of the public, providing an insight into how different groups perceive quality. The data was used in the design of a detailed questionnaire which attracted in excess of 1,000 responses. Factor analysis was then used to develop a framework of key elements relevant both to hospital settings and to those services provided in the community such as general practice. The findings provide a four-factor model comprising: trust, access, a caring approach and professionalism, three of which are comprised primarily of human interactions. These findings suggest that although the original SERVQUAL ten-item model does have some relevance, with the adapted five-item model being far too simplistic, neither fully addresses the needs of a sector as unique and high contact as health care. The results point the way for further research to develop a detailed model to evaluate service quality in health care settings

Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Shows Right Parietal Specialization for Number in Pre-Verbal Infants

Bilateral regions of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) appear to be functionally selective for both rudimentary non-symbolic number tasks and higher-level symbolic number tasks in adults and older children. Furthermore, the ability to mentally represent and manipulate approximate non-symbolic numerical quantities is present from birth. These factors leave open whether the specialization of the IPS develops through the experience of learning a symbolic number system or if it is already specialized before symbolic number acquisition. Using the newly emerging technique of functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) over left and right parietal and lateral occipital regions, we show right parietal specialization for number in 6-month-old infants. These results extend the current literature in three ways: by successfully implementing an event-related NIRS design in infants, by showing parietal specialization for number occurs before the acquisition of language, and by suggesting number representation may be initially right lateralized and become bilateral through experience.Psycholog

Coupling online control and inhibitory systems in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: Goal-directed reaching

For children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), the real-time coupling between frontal executive function and online motor control has not been explored despite reported deficits in each domain. The aim of the present study was to investigate how children with DCD enlist online control under task constraints that compel the need for inhibitory control. A total of 129 school children were sampled from mainstream primary schools. Forty-two children who metre search criteria for DCD were compared with 87 typically developing controls on a modified double-jump reaching task. Children within each skill group were divided into three age bands: younger (6–7years), mid-aged (8–9), and older (10–12). Online control was compared between groups as a function of trial type (non-jump, jump, anti-jump). Overall, results showed that while movement times were similar between skill groups under simple task constraints (non-jump), on perturbation (or jump) trials the DCD group were significantly slower than controls and corrected trajectories later. Critically, the DCD group was further disadvantaged by anti-jump trials where inhibitory control was required; however, this effect reduced with age. While coupling online control and executive systems is not well developed in younger and mid-aged children, there is evidence of age-appropriate coupling in older children. Longitudinal data are needed to clarify this intriguing finding. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed

Protocol for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening in Ontario

This document describes the Ontario Infant Hearing Program’s (IHP) protocol for universal newborn hearing screening (UNHS) of newborns and infants. It overrides all previous protocols on this subject provided by the IHP. The primary audience for this protocol is those who conduct newborn hearing screening within the IHP. All newborn and infant hearing screening funded by the Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services (MCCSS) must be carried out in full accordance with this protocol. It is based on continuous review of the best available scientific and clinical evidence and expert consultation complemented by consultation and collaboration with other major Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs in Canada and worldwide

Diagnosis and management of perinatal depression and anxiety in general practice: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies

BACKGROUND: Up to 20% of women experience anxiety and depression during the perinatal period. In the UK, management of perinatal mental health falls under the remit of GPs. AIM: This review aimed at synthesising the available information from qualitative studies on GPs' attitudes, recognition, and management of perinatal anxiety and depression. DESIGN AND SETTING: Meta-synthesis of the available published qualitative evidence on GPs' recognition and management of perinatal anxiety and depression. METHOD: A systematic search was conducted on Embase, Medline, PsycInfo, Pubmed, Scopus, and Web of Science, and grey literature was searched using Google, Google Scholar, and British Library EThOS. Papers and reports were eligible for inclusion if they reported qualitatively on GPs' diagnosis or treatment of perinatal anxiety or depression. The synthesis was constructed using meta-ethnography. RESULTS: Five themes were established from five eligible papers: labels: diagnosing depression; clinical judgement versus guidelines; care and management; use of medication; and isolation: the role of other professionals. GPs considered perinatal depression to be a psychosocial phenomenon, and were reluctant to label disorders and medicalise distress. GPs relied on their own clinical judgement more than guidelines. They reported helping patients make informed choices about treatment, and inviting them back regularly for GP visits. GPs sometimes felt isolated when dealing with perinatal mental health issues. CONCLUSION: GPs often do not have timely access to appropriate psychological therapies and use several strategies to mitigate this shortfall. Training must focus on these issues and must be evaluated to consider whether this makes a difference to outcomes for patients

Protocol for Auditory Brainstem Response-Based Audiological Assessment (ABRA)

This protocol document includes a tabular synopsis of all key protocol elements, followed by expanded sections that may include additional details, rationale, challenges,and solutions for each topic area,plus appendices with selected references and further technical or procedural specifications.There are numerous changes from the 2016 Infant Hearing Program Audiologic Assessment document; the most important areas of change or emphasis are indicated by shading of the topic section number.The following synopsis can stand alone as a summary of the current ABRA protocol including all changes from previous versions.Areas within the 2008 IHP Assessment Protocol that relate to the protocol for Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA) and Conditioned Play Audiometry(CPA) are included in the Protocol for Audiometric Assessment for Children Aged 6 to 60 months

Mass infection is not an option: we must do more to protect our young.

Funder: Medical Research CouncilFunder: Wellcome Trus