11. Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 294-306
Author(s):  
Peter John

This concluding chapter presents a summary of the common themes and key points about British politics, which help make sense of current events, such as whether turbulence and instability now characterize British politics, and whether democracy can work well in these conditions. It provides a table containing summaries of each chapter, which relate to the themes of the book: party government and executive power, political turbulence, blunders/policy disasters, and the difficulties of achieving agency. With these and other insights, it is possible to assess whether there is anything left for traditional understandings of British democracy or whether the country is in uncharted waters, without any clearly understood democratic mechanisms and not capable of producing effective policy outcomes. Overall, how does Britain fare as a democracy with its old and new features? The chapter then looks at the debate about the quality of UK democracy.

2005 ◽  
pp. 100-116
Author(s):  
S. Avdasheva ◽  
A. Shastitko

The article is devoted to the analysis of the draft law "On Protection of Competition", which must substitute the laws "On Competition and Limitation of Monopolistic Activity on Commodity Markets" and "On Protection of Competition on the Financial Services Market". The innovations enhancing the quality of Russian competition law and new norms providing at least ambiguous effects on antimonopoly regulation are considered. The first group of positive measures includes unification of competition norms for commodity and financial markets, changes of criteria and the scale of control of economic concentrations, specification of conditions, where norms are applied "per se" and according to the "rule of reason", introduction of rules that can prevent the restriction of competition by the executive power. The interpretation of the "collective dominance" concept and certain rules devoted to antimonopoly control of state aid are in the second group of questionable steps.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (11) ◽  
pp. 2567-2593
Author(s):  
M.V. Pomazanov

Subject. The study addresses the improvement of risk management efficiency and the quality of lending decisions made by banks. Objectives. The aim is to present the bank management with a fair algorithm for risk management motivation on the one hand, and the credit management (business) on the other hand. Within the framework of the common goal to maximize risk-adjusted income from loans, this algorithm will provide guidelines for ‘risk management’ and ‘business’ functions on how to improve individual and overall efficiency. Methods. The study employs the discriminant analysis, type I and II errors, Lorentz curve modeling, statistical analysis, economic modeling. Results. The paper offers a mechanism for assessing the quality of risk management decisions as opposed to (or in support of) decisions of the lending business when approving transactions. The mechanism rests on the approach of stating type I and II errors and the corresponding classical metric of the Gini coefficient. On the ‘business’ side, the mechanism monitors the improvement or deterioration of the indicator of changes in losses in comparison with the market average. Conclusions. The study substantiates the stimulating ‘rules of the game’ between the ‘business’ and ‘risk management’ to improve the efficiency of the entire business, to optimize interactions within the framework of internal competition. It presents mathematical tools to calculate corresponding indicators of the efficiency of internally competing entities.


Author(s):  
Christian Uva

Spectacle, myth, fable. These are the main categories that have traditionally defined Sergio Leone’s cinematic production, but it is necessary to underline how much they are fueled by a profound, layered political interest. Leone’s cinema bears witness to a critical outlook both on the subjects it showcases and on its representational means. Far from any militancy and escaping ideological classifications, Leone’s perspective is problematic and unreconciled: it is grounded in the coexistence of different elements in a state of perennial productive tension and instability. The adjective “political” takes on a deeper meaning when it is used to denote the director’s ability to narrate and interpret key aspects of Italian national identity and history. The abstract quality of his production relies on an original use of different genres, particularly sword-and-sandal and the Spaghetti Western, which allowed Leone to insert frequent symbolic references to both history and then-current events. On the stylistic level, his constant disobedience to classical models and his need to revolutionize forms were motivated by an authorial desire to make films politically, though still within a conception of cinema as an industrial spectacle.


Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 535
Author(s):  
Seung Kim ◽  
Mireu Park ◽  
Eunyoung Kim ◽  
Ga Eun Kim ◽  
Jae Hwa Jung ◽  
...  

We share our experience on the implementation of a multidisciplinary aerodigestive program comprising an aerodigestive team (ADT) so as to evaluate its feasibility. We performed a retrospective chart review of the patients discussed at the monthly ADT meetings and analyzed the data. A total of 98 children were referred to the ADT during the study period. The number of cases increased steadily from 3.5 cases per month in 2019 to 8.5 cases per month in 2020. The median age of patients was 34.5 months, and 55% were male. Among the chronic comorbidities, neurologic disease was the most common (85%), followed by respiratory (36%) and cardiac (13%) disorders. The common reasons for consultation were suspected aspiration (56%), respiratory difficulty (44%), drooling/stertor (30%), regurgitation/vomiting (18%), and feeding/swallowing difficulty (17%). Following discussions, 58 patients received active interventions, including fundoplication, gastrostomy, laryngomicrosurgery, tracheostomy, and primary dilatation of the airway. According to the questionnaire of the caregiver, the majority agreed that the main symptoms and quality of life of patients had improved (88%), reducing the burden on caregivers (77%). Aerodigestive programs may provide comprehensive and multidisciplinary management for children with complex airway and digestive tract disorders.


Author(s):  
Piero Sciavilla ◽  
Francesco Strati ◽  
Monica Di Paola ◽  
Monica Modesto ◽  
Francesco Vitali ◽  
...  

Abstract Studies so far conducted on irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have been focused mainly on the role of gut bacterial dysbiosis in modulating the intestinal permeability, inflammation, and motility, with consequences on the quality of life. Limited evidences showed a potential involvement of gut fungal communities. Here, the gut bacterial and fungal microbiota of a cohort of IBS patients have been characterized and compared with that of healthy subjects (HS). The IBS microbial community structure differed significantly compared to HS. In particular, we observed an enrichment of bacterial taxa involved in gut inflammation, such as Enterobacteriaceae, Streptococcus, Fusobacteria, Gemella, and Rothia, as well as depletion of health-promoting bacterial genera, such as Roseburia and Faecalibacterium. Gut microbial profiles in IBS patients differed also in accordance with constipation. Sequence analysis of the gut mycobiota showed enrichment of Saccharomycetes in IBS. Culturomics analysis of fungal isolates from feces showed enrichment of Candida spp. displaying from IBS a clonal expansion and a distinct genotypic profiles and different phenotypical features when compared to HS of Candida albicans isolates. Alongside the well-characterized gut bacterial dysbiosis in IBS, this study shed light on a yet poorly explored fungal component of the intestinal ecosystem, the gut mycobiota. Our results showed a differential fungal community in IBS compared to HS, suggesting potential for new insights on the involvement of the gut mycobiota in IBS. Key points • Comparison of gut microbiota and mycobiota between IBS and healthy subjects • Investigation of cultivable fungi in IBS and healthy subjects • Candida albicans isolates result more virulent in IBS subjects compared to healthy subjects


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. e051417
Author(s):  
Katie Seaborn ◽  
Mark Chignell ◽  
Jacek Gwizdka

IntroductionThe global COVID-19 pandemic continues to have wide-ranging implications for health, including psychological well-being. A growing corpus of research reviews has emerged on the topic of psychological resilience in the context of the pandemic. However, this body of work has not been systematically reviewed for its quality, nor with respect to findings on the effectiveness of tools and strategies for psychological resilience. To this end, a meta-review protocol is proposed with the following objectives: (1) identify review work on the topic of psychological resilience during COVID-19; (2) assess the quality of this review work using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews; (3) assess the risk of bias in this work; (4) generate a narrative summary of the key points, strengths and weaknesses; (5) identify the psychological resilience strategies that have been reviewed; (6) identify how these strategies have been evaluated for their effectiveness; (7) identify what outcomes were measured and (8) summarise the findings on strategies for psychological resilience so far, providing recommendations, if possible.Methods and analysisA systematic meta-review will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews for Protocols and Joanna Briggs Institute umbrella review guidelines. Electronic searches of general databases, especially Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed, will be conducted. Only results from January 2020 onwards will be considered, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic. Only results in English will be included. Descriptive statistics, thematic analysis and narrative summaries describing the nature of the reviewed work and evaluation of psychological resilience strategies will be carried out.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval is not needed for systematic review protocols. The results of the meta-review will be published in an international peer-reviewed journal. The raw and summarised data will be shared in the journal or other open venues.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42021235288.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7300
Author(s):  
Anna Maria Colavitti ◽  
Alessio Floris ◽  
Sergio Serra

In Italy, after the introduction of the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape in 2004, the Regional Landscape Plan (RLP) has acquired a coordination role in the urban planning system, for the implementation of policies for landscape protection and valorisation. The case study of the RLP of Sardinia is a paradigmatic application to the coastal area of the island, which is considered most vulnerable and subject to settlement pressure. The objectives of preservation and valorisation of the territorial resources should be transferred into local planning instruments by adopting strategies aimed at the preservation of the consolidated urban fabric, at the requalification and completion of the existing built-up areas according to the principles of land take limitation and increase in urban quality. The paper investigates the state of implementation and the level of integration of landscape contents in the local plans that have been adapted to the RLP, using a qualitative comparative method. In addition, the results of the plan coherence checks, elaborated by the regional monitoring bodies after the adaptation process, have been analysed to identify the common criticalities and weaknesses. The results highlight the lack of effectiveness of the RLP, after more than a decade since its approval, considering the limited number of adequate local plans and the poor quality of their analytical and regulative contents in terms of landscape protection and valorisation. Conclusions suggest some possible ways to revise the RLP, focusing on the participation of local communities and the development of a new landscape culture.


Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 557
Author(s):  
Irene Mariñas-Collado ◽  
Elisa Frutos Bernal ◽  
Maria Teresa Santos Martin ◽  
Angel Martín del Rey ◽  
Roberto Casado Vara ◽  
...  

The knowledge of the topological structure and the automatic fare collection systems in urban public transport produce many data that need to be adequately analyzed, processed and presented. These data provide a powerful tool to improve the quality of transport services and plan ahead. This paper aims at studying, from a mathematical and statistical point of view, the Barcelona metro network; specifically: (1) the structural and robustness characteristics of the transportation network are computed and analyzed considering the complex network analysis; and (2) the common characteristics of the different subway stations of Barcelona, based on the passenger hourly entries, are identified through hierarchical clustering analysis. These results will be of great help in planning and restructuring transport to cope with the new social conditions, after the pandemic.


1953 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie Lipson

Britain may fairly be called the classic home of two-party government. This claim is justifiable because of some characteristics for which the system, as employed in Britain, is distinctive. Chief among these is its long duration. Although there is room for disagreement among historians about the time and circumstances of its birth, it would be difficult to deny that two-party government was established earlier, has lasted longer, and at the present time is probably more firmly rooted there than in any contemporary state. Indeed, the practice of simplifying the complexities of politics into a contest for office between a pair of major claimants has endured in Britain through a catalogue of changes which would assuredly have wrecked a less effective system. In that country it has survived the evolution from an oligarchy of aristocrats to a democracy of the whole people; the transfer of power from monarchy to parliament and then from parliament to cabinet; the rise of large-scale industry with its social aftermath; the switch in economic policy from mercantilism to laissez faire and from this to state planning; and withal, the expansion and subsequent shrinkage of Britain's international might.


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