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Nationalism in a post-conflict consociational society: A membership survey of the Social Democratic and Labour Party in Northern Ireland
No full textThe Threat Landscape of Connected Vehicles
No full textAs connected vehicles (CVs) play an increasingly pivotal role in modern transportation, cybersecurity threats targeting these systems have become a critical area of concern. This study systematically identifies and classifies vulnerabilities from the National Vulnerability Database (NVD) and the Automotive Attack Database (AAD) using a semi-automated filtering process. Our analysis identifies a total of 508 vulnerabilities across these databases, which are categorised based on ISO/SAE 21434 impact categories: safety, financial, operational, and privacy. A key finding reveals that 14.6\% of these vulnerabilities have systemic implications, meaning they have the potential to cause widespread disruption across multiple vehicles or the broader transportation network. Furthermore, 45\% of the vulnerabilities are associated with remote attack vectors, significantly increasing the risk of large-scale exploitation. This research contributes an updated database of automotive vulnerabilities, providing a valuable resource for the cybersecurity community. The findings highlight the need to enhance current automotive cybersecurity standards, such as ISO/SAE 21434, to address the complex inter-dependencies and systemic risks within connected vehicle ecosystems
'There Are Only Monsters Here'.:On the Theatrical Uncovering of the No-longer-so-hidden in Current Right-wing Populist Contexts.
No full textAbstractOn 10 January 2024, the media outlet Correctiv published research on a “secret meeting” of far-right protagonists near Potsdam, the so-called Düsseldorfer Forum, which was also attended by representatives of the parties AfD (Alternative für Deutschland/Alternative for Germany) and CDU (Christlich Demokratische Union/Christian Democratic Union). One week later, on 17 January, the Berliner Ensemble (in cooperation with the Volkstheater Wien) hosts a scenic reading of the research (staged by Kay Voges), which can be followed simultaneously as a livestream. With regard to right-wing extremist political statements and their protagonists, a heightened infiltration into political and everyday discourse can be observed: The generally unspeakable or unthinkable monstrous is increasingly taking center stage. The theatrical realization of Correctiv’s report makes such monstrosities visible in a way that renders suppression impossible: the monsters are actually there. The reported “secret meeting” and its staged representation elucidates that the discourse on monsters needs to be expanded, in that monsters act in various locations of the normative spectrum – and intending to disrupt these. The emancipating monsters, empowering the marginalized, the ones not or little seen in society, the ‘other’ and the queer, now seem to find their counterpart: monsters that behave outside of the human and its conventions, unsettling democratic systems by using gaps and loopholes
Wearable Electrocardiogram Sensors for Home Monitoring of Cardiovascular Diseases
No full textWearable electrocardiogram (ECG) sensors represent a transformative advancement for home-based cardiovascular disease (CVD) monitoring. Traditional in-hospital 12-lead ECG systems, whilst comprehensive, are limited by their need for trained operators, cumbersome setup, and patient immobility, making them impractical for long-term, continuous use. Novel wearable ECG technologies, including wrist-worn monitors, textile-based sensors, and patch-based devices, have emerged to facilitate unobtrusive, real-time monitoring. These devices enhance user comfort, encourage consistent usage, and enable data collection under natural daily conditions. Despite these advancements, wearable ECGs must overcome issues related to motion artefacts, data accuracy, and user comfort during prolonged use. Future research is warranted on integrating artificial intelligence and strengthening security measures to enhance diagnostics, device reliability, and seamless healthcare integration
Towards Evidence-Based Vital Sign Reference Ranges:Centile Charts from Discharge Data in a UK Paediatric Hospital
No full textBackground/Aim: To develop age-specific centile charts for respiratory rate, heart rate, and systolic blood pressure at hospital discharge using routinely collected data from a single UK tertiary paediatric centre, and to evaluate their alignment with existing international reference ranges to inform clinical decision-making. Study Design: A cross-sectional study at a large tertiary pediatric hospital in the United Kingdom. Participants included CYP aged 0-19 years old at hospital discharge who had been admitted to paediatric inpatient care due to a range of illnesses/injuries between 2014 and 2019. Routinely collected respiratory rate, heart rate,and blood pressure observations were described and centile charts generated using Quantile restricted cubic splinesregression. Results: The sample included 66,356 admission episodes. New centile charts for vital signs are presented. Advanced PaediatricLife Support (APLS, 6th Ed.) reference ranges for respiratory rate and blood pressure poorly aligned to the centiles derived in this study although the centiles for heart rate align well. Variance was also demonstrated between the study centiles and those from the clinical papers,with the greatest differences seen in the upper centiles. Conclusion:This isthe first-time physiological observations of CYP in a UK Children’s hospitalhave been described and centile charts developed. Relevance to clinical practice: Current widely used reference ranges, especially those for Heart Rate and Respiratory Rate, may not fit for purpose when evaluating whether the vital signs of a child are normal or otherwise.</p
Climate Risk and Foreign Direct Investment Entry Mode
No full textThe paper examines how climate risk impacts the strategic entry mode choices - between greenfield investments and cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) - of multinational enterprises (MNEs) into foreign markets. Our study adds to existing literature through a cross-countries empirical analysis and uses a newly developed dataset, the Multinational Revenue, Employment, and Investment Database (MREID), that accounts for how both physical and transition risks of climate change affect MNEs’ entry mode choice. Physical risk refers to the tangible impacts of climate change such as extreme weather events, while transition risk involves regulatory and policy changes associated with moving towards a low-carbon economy. Using data for 139 source countries and 134 destination countries over the period from 2010 to 2021, we find that an increase in the physical risk of climate change leads to MNEs choosing greenfield investment when entering into a new market while a higher level of transition risk discourages greenfield investment. Physical risk has a negative and significant influence on MNEs’ entry choice of using cross-border M&A. There is a positive and significant correlation between transition risk and cross-border M&A though such a relationship is not robust. Industrial-level evidence shows a similar pattern in the majority of the industries. Our findings provide policymakers with guidelines helping to mitigate the negative impact of climate change on business decisions at the global level
Board structure, R&D intensity and firm value relationship:Evidence from the Anglo-Saxon technology sector
No full textDrawing on resource dependence theory, we examined the role of board structure in shaping firms’ research and development (R&D) intensity and market value within the technology sector in Anglo-Saxon countries. From 2655 firm observations across Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US for the 2002–2021 period, we found that R&D intensity increased firm market value. Additionally, larger and more gender-diverse boards can create synergy in generating value from R&D investments. Counterintuitively, despite its growing importance after the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002, board independence failed to yield a synergy between R&D intensity and firm value. Given the research context, we can infer that excessive board independence may limit managers’ ability to think freely and take risks, which are essential for innovation
Do Multinational Affiliates Globalise Labour Market Decisions of Parent Firms? The Role of Global Value Chains and the Digital Sector
No full textDrawing on a firm-level panel dataset of more than 6000 multinational parent companies and over 20,000 of their foreign subsidiaries, we find a positive and significant effect of foreign subsidiary size on parent company employment, indicating the connectedness of value chains across countries. This result is robust when we use a falsification exercise to rule out a common shock concern in the estimation. We emphasise the positioning of subsidiaries' activities that benefit parent companies in terms of employment effect. Specifically, we find that labour markets are more internationally connected when foreign subsidiaries are part of vertically integrated foreign direct investment. Moreover, the employment effect is more pronounced when companies are in the digital sector, indicating that digitalisation is conducive for companies that operate internationally. Besides, we find that the connectedness of labour markets weakens in times of heightened uncertainty, including the recent global pandemic
Retaining Football Referees: Exploring the Biographical, Motivational and Organisational Challenges for Career Longevity
No full textReferee retention is a significant concern in football, affecting the sport’s integrity and continuity. While research has highlighted the pressures referees face, few studies have examined the biographical, motivational, and organisational factors influencing their career duration. This article explores the determinants of referee retention through a two-step, data-driven analysis of a unique dataset covering football referees in Madrid over three decades. The findings show that starting refereeing at a younger age and balancing family life are associated with longer careers, while the limited number of women referees in the sample reflects their ongoing underrepresentation. In contrast, altruistic motivations, early career aspirations, experiences of aggression, and low remuneration increase dropout likelihood. These results suggest that current referee development programs, which often focus on technical and competitive performance, overlook broader support needs. We argue for reconfiguring institutional strategies to improve retention by recognising referees not only as rule enforcers but also as professionals facing diverse personal and structural challenges
Policy ambition vs. capability:reviewing UK’s readiness for safe deployment of connected and automated vehicles
Full text linkThe UK government’s ambition for the safe deployment of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) is now formalised in the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 (the Act), through the Statement of Safety Principles, which requires that authorised CAVs achieve a level of safety equivalent to, or higher than, that of a “careful and competent” human driver. This paper examines whether the UK’s regulatory, institutional, and technical capabilities are aligned with the ambition for safe CAV deployment and how they compare internationally, by using a policy-capacity framework. A narrative review was conducted using consultation responses to the Law Commissions’ recommendations, stakeholder responses, Transport Committee reports, and associated legislative documents. Findings indicate that the concept of a “careful and competent” driver remains undefined and lacks measurable criteria. While the UK endorses a positive risk balance, there is no consensus on how risk should be quantified or what level of risk is acceptable. For example, should the trade-off between fewer high-risk events and a greater number of low-risk events be acceptable. Although various stakeholders are working toward solutions, there is no harmonised framework to assess whether CAVs meet this safety benchmark or a method to measure real-time risk. Addressing these challenges and closing the gap between ambition and capability requires a solution to determine the risk present in the system. The forthcoming Statement of Safety Principles will be a litmus test of whether the UK can translate ambition into a risk governance model that the public trusts