Representing religion in the European Union:a typology of actors

For the first time in the history of the acquis communautaire, the Lisbon Treaty institutionalises an ‘open, transparent and regular dialogue’ between European institutions and ‘churches, religions and communities of conviction’. Drawing on a comparative analysis of 120 religious and convictional actors which have been in contact with European institutions from 1957 until today, this article proposes four types of relations between religious/convictional representations and European institutions, namely, private–public, experimental, proactive and institutionalised. It argues that the Lisbon institutionalisation of religious dialogue enhances the public visibility of the European Commission and, most significantly, of the construction of the European political system.

Performance management in the United States and France:four case studies in the retail and airline industries

The profusion of performance measurement models suggested by Management Accounting literature in the 1990’s is one illustration of the substantial changes in Management Accounting teaching materials since the publication of “Relevance Lost” in 1987. At the same time, in the general context of increasing competition and globalisation it is widely thought that national cultural differences are tending to disappear, meaning that management techniques used in large companies, including performance measurement and management instruments (PMS), tend to be the same, irrespective of the company nationality or location. North American management practice is traditionally described as a contractually based model, mainly focused on financial performance information and measures (FPMs), more shareholder-focused than French companies. Within France, literature historically defined performance as being broadly multidimensional, driven by the idea that there are no universal rules of management and that efficient management takes into account local culture and traditions. As opposed to their North American brethren, French companies are pressured more by the financial institutions that fund them rather than by capital markets. Therefore, they pay greater attention to the long-term because they are not subject to quarterly capital market objectives. Hence, management in France should rely more on long-term qualitative information, less financial, and more multidimensional data to assess performance than their North American counterparts. The objective of this research is to investigate whether large French and US companies’ practices have changed in the way the textbooks have changed with regards to performance measurement and management, or whether cultural differences are still driving differences in performance measurement and management between them. The research findings support the idea that large US and French companies share the same PMS features, influenced by ‘universal’ PM models.

Changes in intraocular pressure in study and fellow eyes in the IVAN trial

PURPOSE: To describe changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) in the 'alternative treatments to Inhibit VEGF in Age-related choroidal Neovascularisation (IVAN)' trial (registered as ISRCTN92166560). DESIGN: Randomised controlled clinical trial with factorial design. PARTICIPANTS: Patients (n=610) with treatment naïve neovascular age-related macular degeneration were enrolled and randomly assigned to receive either ranibizumab or bevacizumab and to two regimens, namely monthly (continuous) or as needed (discontinuous) treatment. METHODS: At monthly visits, IOP was measured preinjection in both eyes, and postinjection in the study eye. OUTCOME MEASURES: The effects of 10 prespecified covariates on preinjection IOP, change in IOP (postinjection minus preinjection) and the difference in preinjection IOP between the two eyes were examined. RESULTS: For every month in trial, there was a statistically significant rise in both the preinjection IOP and the change in IOP postinjection during the time in the trial (estimate 0.02 mm Hg, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.03, p<0.001 and 0.03 mm Hg, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.04, p=0.002, respectively). There was also a small but significant increase during the time in trial in the difference in IOP between the two eyes (estimate 0.01 mm Hg, 95% CI 0.005 to 0.02, p<0.001). There were no differences between bevacizumab and ranibizumab for any of the three outcomes (p=0.93, p=0.22 and p=0.87, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents induce increases in IOP of small and uncertain clinical significance.

Diagnosis of retinopathy in children younger than 12 years of age:implications for the diabetic eye screening guidelines in the UK

Aim: To assess whether the current starting age of 12 is suitable for diabetic retinopathy (DR) screening and whether diabetes duration should be taken into account when deciding at what age to start screening patients. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of 143 patients aged 12 years or younger who attended diabetic eye screening for the first time in the Birmingham, Solihull and Black Country Diabetic Eye Screening Programme was performed. Results: The mean age of the patients was 10.7 (7-12) years with 73 out of 143 aged below 12 years and 70 were 12 years of age. 98% had type 1 diabetes and mean diabetes duration was 5 (1 month-11 years) years. For those younger than 12 years, 7/73 (9.6%) had background DR (BDR), of these mean diabetes duration was 7 years (6-8). The youngest patient to present with DR was aged 8 years. In those aged 12 years, 5/70 (7.1%) had BDR; of these mean diabetes duration was 8 years (6-11). No patient developed DR before 6 years duration in either group. Conclusions: The results show that no patient younger than the age of 12 had sight-threatening DR (STDR), but BDR was identified. Based on the current mission statement of the Diabetic Eye Screening Programme to identify STDR, 12 years of age is confirmed as the right age to start screening, but if it is important to diabetic management to identify first development of DR, then screening should begin after 6 years of diabetes diagnosis.