The MMR debate in the United Kingdom: vaccine scares, statesmanship and the media

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Stöckl ◽  
Anna Smajdor
Keyword(s):  
Health Policy ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Vaccine Scares

This chapter discusses the MMR vaccination controversy in the UK following the publication of a paper in Lancet which linked the MMR triple jab to childhood autism. We discuss the response of the British media to the paper’s claims, and its subsequent retraction, and the way that the actions of the then Prime Minister contributed to the debates. We analysed media reports from that time and draw on policy papers on science communication in order to show how a combination of events before and after the publication of Wakefield’s paper influenced public debates on science, trust and personal responsibility for health protection, and thus also had an impact on public health policy making. We follow a historical thread on actions of public figures on health policy issues and situate the debate in the context of British science policy in general to better understand vaccine controversies and debates in the British context.

scholarly journals The impact of symptoms on quality of life before and after diagnosis of coeliac disease: the results from a Polish population survey and comparison with the results from the United Kingdom

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Majsiak ◽  
Magdalena Choina ◽  
Dominik Golicki ◽  
Alastair M. Gray ◽  
Bożena Cukrowska
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Coeliac Disease ◽  
Gluten Free Diet ◽  
Gluten Free ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background Coeliac disease (CD) is characterised by diverse clinical symptoms, which may cause diagnostic problems and reduce the patients’ quality of life. A study conducted in the United Kingdom (UK) revealed that the mean time between the onset of coeliac symptoms and being diagnosed was above 13 years. This study aimed to analyse the diagnostic process of CD in Poland and evaluate the quality of life of patients before and after CD diagnosis. In addition, results were compared to the results of the original study conducted in the UK. Methods The study included 2500 members of the Polish Coeliac Society. The patients were asked to complete a questionnaire containing questions on socio-demographic factors, clinical aspects and quality of life, using the EQ-5D questionnaire. Questionnaires received from 796 respondents were included in the final analysis. Results The most common symptoms reported by respondents were bloating (75%), abdominal pain (72%), chronic fatigue (63%) and anaemia (58%). Anaemia was the most persistent symptom, with mean duration prior to CD diagnosis of 9.2 years, whereas diarrhoea was observed for the shortest period (4.7 years). The mean duration of any symptom before CD diagnosis was 7.3 years, compared to 13.2 years in the UK. CD diagnosis and the introduction of a gluten-free diet substantially improved the quality of life in each of the five EQ-5D-5L health dimensions: pain and discomfort, anxiety and depression, usual activities, self-care and mobility (p < 0.001), the EQ-Index by 0.149 (SD 0.23) and the EQ-VAS by 30.4 (SD 28.3) points. Conclusions Duration of symptoms prior to the diagnosis of CD in Poland, although shorter than in the UK, was long with an average of 7.3 years from first CD symptoms. Faster CD diagnosis after the onset of symptoms in Polish respondents may be related to a higher percentage of children in the Polish sample. Introduction of a gluten-free diet improves coeliac patients’ quality of life. These results suggest that doctors should be made more aware of CD and its symptoms across all age groups.

scholarly journals Politics and the media in Australia and the United Kingdom: parallels and contrasts

2018 ◽  
Vol 167 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-40
Author(s):  
Ivor Gaber ◽  
Rodney Tiffen
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
British Broadcasting Corporation ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
The Media ◽  
British Press ◽  
Media Systems ◽  
The Uk

Australia and Britain share many common aspects in their democratic political and media systems, but there are also important differences. Perhaps the single most important media difference is that television has been a much more important element in the UK political communication system than it has been in Australia. The British Broadcasting Corporation is a much bigger and more central institution than the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and commercial TV in Britain has a much stronger public service mandate. The British press has a national structure which can give it a substantive collective role, although its right-wing dominance means it has been a less-than-benign influence on public life. Both countries are facing rapid changes, with partisan political divisions in flux and the digital environment disrupting traditional media models. In this article, we seek to interrogate the commonalities and differences between the media and political systems operating in Australia and the United Kingdom. After tracing some important differences in their institutional structures, the dominant theme of our later analysis is that in both systems, and in both countries, the overarching narrative is one of disruption. And we pose the question – Will the current disruptions widen or narrow these differences?

scholarly journals Responding to Richard: Celebrity and (mis)representation of science

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 535-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Johnson ◽  
Elaine Howard Ecklund ◽  
Di Di ◽  
Kirstin R.W. Matthews
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Science And Religion ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Practice Of Science

Drawing on 48 in-depth interviews conducted with biologists and physicists at universities in the United Kingdom, this study examines scientists’ perceptions of the role celebrity scientists play in socially contentious public debates. We examine Richard Dawkins’ involvement in public debates related to the relationship between science and religion as a case to analyze scientists’ perceptions of the role celebrity scientists play in the public sphere and the implications of celebrity science for the practice of science communication. Findings show that Dawkins’ proponents view the celebrity scientist as a provocateur who asserts the cultural authority of science in the public sphere. Critics, who include both religious and nonreligious scientists, argue that Dawkins misrepresents science and scientists and reject his approach to public engagement. Scientists emphasize promotion of science over the scientist, diplomacy over derision, and dialogue over ideological extremism.

scholarly journals The Reception Process in Ireland and the United Kingdom

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samantha Besson
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

This chapter examines the reception of the ECHR in the UK and Ireland both before and after incorporation. Both countries incorporated the ECHR using roughly the same model. One might have assumed that the mode of incorporation into a dualist legal order would largely determine outcomes. In Ireland and the UK, however, the impact of acts of incorporation was heavily mediated by pre-existing constitutional structure and practice.

scholarly journals ‘I’d like to report a suspicious looking tree’: Public concern, public attention and the nature of reporting about ash dieback in the United Kingdom

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Fellenor ◽  
Julie Barnett ◽  
Clive Potter ◽  
Julie Urquhart ◽  
J. D. Mumford ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Public Concern ◽  
Public Attention ◽  
Ash Dieback ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Phone Calls ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Policy Attention

‘Public concern’, a ubiquitous notion used in descriptive and explanatory modes by policy makers, academics and the media, is often presented as axiomatic. However, the variability with which it is deployed in different contexts, for example, as justification for policy attention or having equivalence with what is considered ‘newsworthy’, belies this status. This article presents an empirical analysis of emails and phone calls from the UK public to UK government agencies, reporting suspected cases of ash dieback disease – a tree health issue which attracted intense media and policy attention in the United Kingdom in 2012. We challenge the view that public attentiveness is necessarily indicative of public concern, or that media attention can be taken as its proxy. Examination of concern at macro and micro levels reveals heterogeneous processes with multiple dimensions. Understanding the nature of public concern is crucial in enabling more effective policy development and operational responses to risk-related issues.

scholarly journals Constructing immigrants in UK legislation and Administration informative texts: A corpus-driven study (2007–2011)

2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascual Pérez-Paredes ◽  
Pilar Aguado Jiménez ◽  
Purificación Sánchez Hernández
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Immigration Policies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Integration Policies ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Official Information

Research has shown that immigrants tend to be negatively constructed in the discourse of the media. In the context of the European Union (EU), British newspapers reportedly offer largely negative or partial constructions of these individuals. These representations contribute to jeopardizing the integration of this group of people, as their social construction reflects and influences the attitudes of EU citizens and the immigration policies. Our research examines the collocational profile of the lemma ‘migrant’ in the UK legislation and UK Administration informative texts from 2007 to 2011. While our results show that the UK Administration avoids an explicit negative construction of immigrants coming to the United Kingdom, we have found that they are partially constructed as a homogeneous, well-categorized group through an extremely limited set of lexical items that tend to prime their adscription to tiers. We argue that the representation of immigrants in the legislation points to the fact that UK laws and official information during the period 2007–2011 were more focused on legitimating the control over this group of individuals than on creating the conditions for better integration policies.

scholarly journals Clinical impact of high-profile animal-based research reported in the UK national press

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. e100039
Author(s):  
Jarrod Bailey ◽  
Michael Balls
Keyword(s):  
Animal Research ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Preclinical Research ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Scientific Papers ◽  
The Media ◽  
Human Use ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Uk

ObjectivesWe evaluated animal-based biomedical ‘breakthroughs’ reported in the UK national press in 1995 (25 years prior to the conclusion of this study). Based on evidence of overspeculative reporting of biomedical research in other areas (eg, press releases and scientific papers), we specifically examined animal research in the media, asking, ‘In a given year, what proportion of animal research “breakthroughs”’ published in the UK national press had translated, more than 20 years later, to approved interventions?’MethodsWe searched the Nexis media database (LexisNexis.com) for animal-based biomedical reports in the UK national press. The only restrictions were that the intervention should be specific, such as a named drug, gene, biomedical pathway, to facilitate follow-up, and that there should be claims of some clinical promise.Main outcome measuresWere any interventions approved for human use? If so, when and by which agency? If not, why, and how far did development proceed? Were any other, directly related interventions approved? Did any of the reports overstate human relevance?ResultsOverspeculation and exaggeration of human relevance was evident in all the articles examined. Of 27 unique published ‘breakthroughs’, only one had clearly resulted in human benefit. Twenty were classified as failures, three were inconclusive and three were partially successful.ConclusionsThe results of animal-based preclinical research studies are commonly overstated in media reports, to prematurely imply often-imminent ‘breakthroughs’ relevant to human medicine.

Misconceptions and Misrepresentation: Challenging UK Media Reports of Recent Visits of UN Special Procedures

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhona Smith
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Press Coverage ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Special Procedure ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Uk

Abstract With headlines referencing ‘U.N.ACCEPTABLE Clueless UN official’, ‘“loopy” UN inspector’ and ‘UN meddler’, it is clear that UN special procedure mandate holders can be subjected to negative national press coverage when visiting the United Kingdom. Indeed, some media outlets border on vitriolic in their coverage of mandate holders’ visits and reports. This paper argues that a number of misconceptions and misunderstandings explain some of this media coverage. UN special procedure mandate holders are not employed by the UN, nor are they dispatched by the UN to investigate the UK. Rather they are independent and receive no payment for their time or work. Actual visits are funded from the UN general budget and the UK is not alone being examined and critiqued. In explaining some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings, the paper clarifies the role of special rapporteurs and the contribution they make to the UN.

scholarly journals Corporate disclosures on curbing bribery and the UK Bribery Act 2010: evidence from UK companies

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Azizul Islam ◽  
Shamima Haque ◽  
Sharon Henderson ◽  
Michael John Jones ◽  
Homaira Semeen
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
News Media ◽  
Stock Exchange ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Media Reports ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Corporate Disclosures

PurposeThis study aims to investigate whether United Kingdom (UK)-based companies have changed their voluntary disclosures on curbing the bribery of foreign officials in response to the UK Bribery Act 2010, and if so whether and how such disclosure changes substantively reflected allegations of bribery of foreign officials by news media.Design/methodology/approachBy using the notions of institutional pressure and decoupling and applying content and thematic analysis, the authors examined, in particular, disclosures on curbing bribery by the largest 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange in periods before and after the Bribery Act (2007–2012). News media reports covering incidents of bribery of foreign officials and related corporate disclosures before and after the Act were thoroughly examined to problematise corporate anti-bribery disclosure practices.FindingsThe study finds a significant change in disclosure on curbing bribery before and after the enactment of the UK Bribery Act, consistent with the notion of institutional coercive pressure. However, decoupling is also found: organisations' disclosures did not substantively reflect incidents of bribing foreign public officials, mostly from underprivileged developing nations.Research limitations/implicationsThis study acknowledges a limitation stemming from using media reports that focus on bribery incidents in identifying actual cases or incidents of bribery. As some of the incidents identified from news media reports appeared to be allegations, not convictions for bribery, companies could have defensible reasons for not disclosing some aspects of them.Practical implicationsRegulators should think why new or more regulations without substantive requirement are not helpful to curb corporate decoupling and injustice. The regulators should address the crisis that multinational companies (MNCs) being suppliers of bribery are much more harmful for the underprivileged communities in developing nations. Accordingly, this paper provides practical insights into how stakeholders ought to critically interpret MNCs' accounts of their involvement in bribery.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the accounting literature by problematising MNCs' operations in underprivileged countries. The findings suggest that not only public officials in developing countries as creators of bribery but also Western-based MNCs as the suppliers of bribery contribute to perpetuating unethical practices and injustices to the underprivileged communities in developing countries. This research is imperative as this is one of the first known studies that provides evidence of the actions including disclosure-related actions companies have taken in response to the UK Bribery Act.

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