Politically motivated former prisoner groups: community activism and conflict transformation

Aims and objectives: This study represents the first sustained quantitative and qualitative attempt to involve both Republicans and Loyalists in an investigation of the impact of imprisonment and the role of politically motivated former prisoners in the process of conflict transformation in Northern Ireland. The overall aim of the project is to examine the ways in which groups of former prisoners are involved in peace-building and conflict transformation work and to evaluate the constraints and impediments placed upon their activities by the effects of the imprisonment process, politically motivated release and residual criminalisation. In pursuing the evaluation of the role of politically motivated former prisoners working within and without their own communities, the research has six specific objectives: To trace the evolution and development of former prisoner groups; To evaluate the impacts of imprisonment and release on the personal lives of former prisoners; To assess the constraints imposed on former prisoners as agents of change by the residual criminalisation arising from their status; To determine the potential of the former prisoner community in challenging intra-community tensions and evaluate their potential and actual contribution to conflict transformation at the inter-community level; To compare and contrast the effectiveness of Loyalist and Republican former prisoners as agents of change within their own communities; To explore the notion of former prisoners as agents of social and communal transformation within broader political processes through grounding the knowledge and practical experience of the former prisoner community within the broader conceptual context of conflict transformation

Estimating the wider value generated by UNESCO’s designations in the United Kingdom

In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a set of objectives related to promoting and supporting sustainable development around the globe through education, human knowledge, communication and culture. These objectives are commonly known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and are an inter-dependent set of 17 goals that 195 Member States have agreed to achieve by 2030. As a specialised agency of the United Nations, and the global lead on education, UNESCO has a vital role to play in delivering the SDGs. UNESCO’s global network of 'designations', including World Heritage Sites, Biosphere Reserves, UNESCO University Chair Programme, and Global Geoparks, also play an essential role in promoting and supporting local sustainable development and achieving the SDGs. However, the different geographic, cultural and political regimes under which UNESCO designations are called to operate, pose significant challenges for the network to effectively be managed and contribute towards the SDGs. Moreover, the heterogeneity of organisational structures and boundaries in terms of efficiency, power and competence, prevents UNESCO designations "value-added" activities from reaching their full potential. We performed a survey of 74 designations in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Drawing from the business model component framework, our research aims to i) identify value generating configurations of organisational structures that transcend designations’ type, ii) estimate the value generated by the designation and their contribution to UNESCO’s SDGs; and, iii) develop a framework that can be used by national governments to make sense of UNESCO’s value generated activities. The framework can help UNESCO’s National Commissions to improve the efficient management of the designation’s global network and allow countries with different levels of economic and societal development to cooperate to tackle contemporary global challenges

A strategic roadmap for BM change for the video-games industry

The global video games industry has experienced and exponential growth in terms of socioeconomic impact during the last 50 years. Surprisingly, little academic interest is directed towards the industry, particularly in the context of BM Change. As a technologically intensive creative industry, developing studios and publishers experience substantial internal and external forces to identify, and sustain, their competitive advantage. To achieve that, managers are called to systematically explore and exploit, alternative BMs that are compatible with the company’s strategy. We build on empirical analysis of the video-games industry to construct a Toolkit that i) will help practitioners and academics to describe the industrial ecosystem of BMs more accurately, and ii) use it a strategic roadmap for managers to navigate through alternatives for entrepreneurial and growth purposes

A Strategic Roadmap for Business Model Change for the Video-games Industry

The global video games industry has experienced and exponential growth in terms of socioeconomic impact during the last 50 years. Surprisingly, little academic interest is directed towards the industry, particularly in the context of BM Change. As a technologically intensive creative industry, developing studios and publishers experience substantial internal and external forces to identify, and sustain, their competitive advantage. To achieve that, managers are called to systematically explore and exploit, alternative BMs that are compatible with the company’s strategy. We build on empirical analysis of the video-games industry to construct a Toolkit that i) will help practitioners and academics to describe the industrial ecosystem of BMs more accurately, and ii) use it a strategic roadmap for managers to navigate through alternatives for entrepreneurial and growth purposes

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Politically motivated former prisoner groups: community activism and conflict transformation

Aims and objectives: This study represents the first sustained quantitative and qualitative attempt to involve both Republicans and Loyalists in an investigation of the impact of imprisonment and the role of politically motivated former prisoners in the process of conflict transformation in Northern Ireland. The overall aim of the project is to examine the ways in which groups of former prisoners are involved in peace-building and conflict transformation work and to evaluate the constraints and impediments placed upon their activities by the effects of the imprisonment process, politically motivated release and residual criminalisation. In pursuing the evaluation of the role of politically motivated former prisoners working within and without their own communities, the research has six specific objectives: To trace the evolution and development of former prisoner groups; To evaluate the impacts of imprisonment and release on the personal lives of former prisoners; To assess the constraints imposed on former prisoners as agents of change by the residual criminalisation arising from their status; To determine the potential of the former prisoner community in challenging intra-community tensions and evaluate their potential and actual contribution to conflict transformation at the inter-community level; To compare and contrast the effectiveness of Loyalist and Republican former prisoners as agents of change within their own communities; To explore the notion of former prisoners as agents of social and communal transformation within broader political processes through grounding the knowledge and practical experience of the former prisoner community within the broader conceptual context of conflict transformation

Developing an innovation ecosystem: Policy, skills and operations

This report builds on previous work aligned with the North East Economic Review (Adonis, 2013), and more specifically the North East Local Enterprise Partnership Economic Strategy (2017)1 that acts as the most recent benchmark of the earlier Economic Review, as well as reports aimed at stimulating North East2 economic growth through initiatives such as promoting the region as an economic corridor3. Using an analysis of wide-scale secondary data, North East firms show proficiency in innovation in some respects, mostly depending upon specific sector and organisational contexts. These innovation indicators are presented in more detail later in the report. Mainly, it is expected that these indicators do not function solely in isolation, but rather in combination will lead to a better predictor of innovation success. An integration of the 2017 Gartner hype cycle of emerging technologies4 with the competencies and industries of the North East is also presented, to look ahead to opportunities and threats to the region’s companies from a rapidly developing, increasingly tech-focused dynamic world marketplace. Findings show that some sectors within the North East are much more affected by this development than others. Where some will be quick to adopt to change, others may need increased support in taking up new technologies in order to survive