Social capital and political participation: understanding the dynamics of young people's political disengagement in contemporary Britain

Only 37 per cent of young people voted at the 2005 British General Election, seemingly confirming the oft-cited view that this generation is becoming increasingly disconnected from the political process. Results from a nationwide survey however, indicate that their withdrawal from formal politics is more a result of their scepticism of the way the political system operates, than apathy. Furthermore, they are diverse in their political (dis)engagement. Results from an examination of the relative effects of socio-economic location and social capital are inconclusive, although the data indicate that government social policy aimed at mobilising social capital and addressing socio-economic issues may increase civic engagement

Social capital and political participation: understanding the dynamics of young people's political disengagement in contemporary Britain

Only 37 per cent of young people voted at the 2005 British General Election, seemingly confirming the oft-cited view that this generation is becoming increasingly disconnected from the political process. Results from a nationwide survey however, indicate that their withdrawal from formal politics is more a result of their scepticism of the way the political system operates, than apathy. Furthermore, they are diverse in their political (dis)engagement. Results from an examination of the relative effects of socio-economic location and social capital are inconclusive, although the data indicate that government social policy aimed at mobilising social capital and addressing socio-economic issues may increase civic engagement

Pressed into Party Support? : Media Influence on Partisan Attitudes during the 2005 UK General Election Campaign

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Simulating Intestinal Transporter and Enzyme Activity in a Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Model for Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate

Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF), a prodrug of tenofovir, has oral bioavailability (25%) limited by intestinal transport (P-glycoprotein), and intestinal degradation (carboxylesterase). However, the influence of luminal pancreatic enzymes is not fully understood. Physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling has utility for estimating drug exposure from in vitro data. This study aimed to develop a PBPK model that included luminal enzyme activity to inform dose reduction strategies. TDF and tenofovir stability in porcine pancrelipase concentrations was assessed (0, 0.48, 4.8, 48, and 480 U/ml of lipase; 1 mM TDF; 37°C; 0 to 30 min). Samples were analyzed using mass spectrometry. TDF stability and permeation data allowed calculation of absorption rates within a human PBPK model to predict plasma exposure following 6 days of once-daily dosing with 300 mg of TDF. Regional absorption of drug was simulated across gut segments. TDF was degraded by pancrelipase (half-lives of 0.07 and 0.62 h using 480 and 48 U/ml, respectively). Previously reported maximum concentration (Cmax; 335 ng/ml), time to Cmax (Tmax; 2.4 h), area under the concentration-time curve from 0 to 24 h (AUC0–24; 3,045 ng · h/ml), and concentration at 24 h (C24; 48.3 ng/ml) were all within a 0.5-fold difference from the simulated Cmax (238 ng/ml), Tmax (3 h), AUC0–24 (3,036 ng · h/ml), and C24 (42.7 ng/ml). Simulated TDF absorption was higher in duodenum and jejunum than in ileum (p<0.05). These data support that TDF absorption is limited by the action of intestinal lipases. Our results suggest that bioavailability may be improved by protection of drug from intestinal transporters and enzymes, for example, by coadministration of enzyme-inhibiting agents or nanoformulation strategies

Political communication

Political communicatio

Selling socialism: the marketing of the 'very old' British Labour Party

The present incarnation of Britain’s leading social democratic party as ‘New’ Labour underlines the relevance and importance of marketing to politics. Management discourse now permeates the modern electoral process. During the 1990s leader Tony Blair aided by key acolytes such as Philip Gould and Peter Mandelson used marketing techniques and thinking to recreate a brand identity in keeping with their cautious programme for government. In doing so they followed on from their previous work on behalf of Blair’s predecessor, Neil Kinnock. During the Kinnock era the party had undergone a fundamental change akin to a business evolving from a sales to a marketing driven strategic approach. Key contemporary accounts of Labour have tended to reinforce the politicians’ emphasis on the novelty and radical departure involved in their respective projects of organisational reform (Hughes and Wintour,1990; Gould,1998). This, however, is to ignore the role and work played by marketing techniques, personnel and thinking in earlier incarnations of what has often been portrayed as a traditional, conservative organisation

Political marketing and Party development in Britain: a 'secret' history

During the 1992 general election analysts took great interest in scrutinising the work of once largely neglected party strategists. On one occasion a routine ITN lunchtime news item featuring presenter John Suchet and experienced Westminster based journalists Julia Langdon and Michael White ended a discussion on the now imminent campaign alluding to the supposed ability of the ‘marketing men’ to dictate the likely course of events. By no means an isolated event, such interchanges help highlight the way in which some of the most informed political commentators now view the modern electoral process. Nevertheless this view is not necessarily shared by the candidates, at least in public. Dennis Kavanagh has noted that leading politicians are often loathe to admit the important strategic role that marketing plays less it detracts from their own status or else upsets influential elements in the party[1]. For these and other reasons the history of political marketing in Britain cannot necessarily be found in official party sources

From mass propaganda to political marketing: the transformation of Labour Party election campaigning

The rise and growing importance of political marketing is self-evident in many of the major western democracies. The innovative Conservative party campaign effort of 1979 is sometimes referred to as a major watershed in the development of the phenomenon in Britain. Results of that election proved a vital component in the respective success of both the agency and client organisation. Victory heralded the beginning of three Thatcher led majority governments as well as the start of a period of commercial success for the party's consultants