The determinants of election to the United Nations Security Council

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11127-013-0096-4.The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the foremost international body responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. Members vote on issues of global importance and consequently receive perks—election to the UNSC predicts, for instance, World Bank and IMF loans. But who gets elected to the UNSC? Addressing this question empirically is not straightforward as it requires a model that allows for discrete choices at the regional and international levels; the former nominates candidates while the latter ratifies them. Using an original multiple discrete choice model to analyze a dataset of 180 elections from 1970 to 2005, we find that UNSC election appears to derive from a compromise between the demands of populous countries to win election more frequently and a norm of giving each country its turn. We also find evidence that richer countries from the developing world win election more often, while involvement in warfare lowers election probability. By contrast, development aid does not predict election

The use of CAM by women suffering from nausea and vomiting during pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Nausea and vomiting during pregnancy (NVP) affects two-thirds of pregnant women to varying degrees and over the years many modalities have been used to try to alleviate this often debilitating condition. There is a paucity of information in the literature about the use or efficacy of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for the treatment of this condition that affects so many women. Our primary objective was to examine the prevalence of CAM usage by women suffering from NVP. Our secondary objective was to ascertain if women had any supervision in the use of these treatments. METHODS: Women who called The Motherisk NVP helpline, were asked after the counseling session to complete a questionnaire, which included demographic data as well as information about their CAM use. RESULTS: Seventy women completed the questionnaire. 61% reported using CAM therapies, of which the three most popular were: ginger, vitamin B6 and acupressure. 21% of those who reported using CAM, had consulted CAM practitioners, 8% their physicians or pharmacists and 71% discussed the usage with family, friends and other allied health professionals. Women who did not use CAM stated they would probably use these modalities if there was more information about the safety in pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women with NVP are mirroring the trend in the general population of the use of CAM. They are also using CAM therapies with little supervision from practitioners experienced in the use of these modalities

Herbal medicine use during pregnancy in a group of Australian women

BACKGROUND: There are limited data on the extent of women's use of herbal medicines during pregnancy, despite the fact that knowledge of the potential benefits or harms of many of these products is sparse, particularly with respect to their use in pregnancy. We aimed to measure the prevalence of herbal medicine use in a group of pregnant women attending a public tertiary maternity hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Secondary aims were to explore why women took the herbal medicine, where they received advice, what form the supplements took and if they perceived the supplements to be helpful. METHODS: Consecutive pregnant women were approached in the antenatal clinic and the birth centre at around 36–38 weeks gestation. A questionnaire was developed and self-administered in English, as well as being translated into the four most common languages of women attending the hospital: Cantonese, Vietnamese, Turkish and Arabic. Back translation into English was undertaken by different professional translators to verify accuracy of both words and concepts. Data collected included demographic information, model of pregnancy care and herbal supplement use. Descriptive statistics were used initially, with stratified and regression analysis to compare sub-groups. RESULTS: Of 705 eligible women, 588 (83%) agreed to participate. Of these, 88 (15%) completed the questionnaire in a language other than English. Thirty-six percent of women took at least one herbal supplement during the current pregnancy. The most common supplements taken were raspberry leaf (14%), ginger (12%) and chamomile (11%). Women were more likely to take herbal supplements if they were older, tertiary educated, English speaking, non-smokers and primiparous. CONCLUSION: Use of herbal supplements in pregnancy is likely to be relatively high and it is important to ascertain what supplements (if any) women are taking. Pregnancy care providers should be aware of the common herbal supplements used by women, and of the evidence regarding potential benefits or harm