Florian Otto - Böcker

What does it take for warnings about violent conflict and war to be listened to, believed and acted upon? Why are warnings from some sources noticed and largely accepted, while others are ignored or disbelieved? These questions are central to considering the feasibility of preventing harm to the economic and security interests of states. Challenging conventional accounts that tend to blame decision-makers' lack of receptivity and political will,  the authors offer a new theoretical framework explaining how distinct 'paths of persuasion' are shaped by a select number of factors, including conflict characteristics, political contexts, and source-recipient relations. This is the first study to systematically integrate persuasion attempts by analysts, diplomats and senior officials with those by journalists and NGO staff. Its ambitious comparative design encompasses three states (the US, UK, and Germany) and international organisations (the UN, EU, and OSCE) and looks in depth at four conflict cases: Rwanda (1994), Darfur (2003), Georgia (2008) and Ukraine (2014).

What does it take for warnings about violent conflict and war to be listened to, believed and acted upon? Why are warnings from some sources noticed and largely accepted, while others are ignored or disbelieved? These questions are central to considering the feasibility of preventing harm to the economic and security interests of states. Challenging conventional accounts that tend to blame decision-makers' lack of receptivity and political will,  the authors offer a new theoretical framework explaining how distinct 'paths of persuasion' are shaped by a select number of factors, including conflict characteristics, political contexts, and source-recipient relations. This is the first study to systematically integrate persuasion attempts by analysts, diplomats and senior officials with those by journalists and NGO staff. Its ambitious comparative design encompasses three states (the US, UK, and Germany) and international organisations (the UN, EU, and OSCE) and looks in depth at four conflict cases: Rwanda (1994), Darfur (2003), Georgia (2008) and Ukraine (2014).

This Recent Results in Cancer Research volume provides an up-to-date overview of the multidisciplinary management of locally confined rectal cancer as well as colorectal cancer with synchronous resectable liver metastases. The contents comprise the majority of the invited contributions from the Second St. Gallen EORTC Gastrointestinal Cancer Conference, held on 6-8 March 2014 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Written by some of the world’s leading experts in the imaging, endoscopy, pathology, molecular biology, surgery, radiotherapy and medical oncology of rectal cancer and liver metastases, the chapters offer a comprehensive view on the latest recommendations in diagnosis and multidisciplinary treatment. Every clinician involved in the care of patients with rectal cancer will find this book interesting and helpful.

This Recent Results in Cancer Research volume provides an up-to-date overview of the multidisciplinary management of locally confined rectal cancer as well as colorectal cancer with synchronous resectable liver metastases. The contents comprise the majority of the invited contributions from the Second St. Gallen EORTC Gastrointestinal Cancer Conference, held on 6-8 March 2014 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Written by some of the world’s leading experts in the imaging, endoscopy, pathology, molecular biology, surgery, radiotherapy and medical oncology of rectal cancer and liver metastases, the chapters offer a comprehensive view on the latest recommendations in diagnosis and multidisciplinary treatment. Every clinician involved in the care of patients with rectal cancer will find this book interesting and helpful.

More than 180 participants and experts from 31 countries met for the fifth time in 10 years in St. Gallen, Switzerland for a 3-day conference to discuss important current issues of clinical cancer prevention. The meeting was again organized and co-sponsored by St. Gallen Oncology Conferences (SONK). While SONK has been extremely successful in organizing large international c- gresses on “Primary Therapy of Early Breast Cancer” as well as “Supportive Care in Cancer” for more than 20 years, the idea of promoting interdisciplinary, clinically oriented meetings on cancer prevention is a more recent and not yet generally accepted and w- comed concept in modern oncology. Since today’s medical expenses are soaring and me- cal research budgets are stagnating or even being cut, neither politicians nor industry is willing to risk an additional unpredictable channel of expenses, such as that demanded by clinical cancer prevention efforts! In Switzerland—and we fear in many other parts of the globe—some 97%–98% or even a greater percentage of health budgets is spent for curative and palliative/rehabilitative m- icine. Since a meager 2%–3% of national health budgets is for preventive medicine, even less than that proportion is specifically allocated for cancer prevention. When the money for “curing and caring” for the diseased populace runs short, there is likely not much left for partly controversial disease prevention in the (still) healthy part of the population.

More than 180 participants and experts from 31 countries met for the fifth time in 10 years in St. Gallen, Switzerland for a 3-day conference to discuss important current issues of clinical cancer prevention.

This book is based on presentations by some of the world’s leading experts at the Sixth International Conference on Clinical Cancer Prevention, held in St. Gallen, Switzerland, during March 2010. The main themes are the latest advances in the prevention of breast and prostate cancer and the role of infection in the development of liver and gastric cancer. Special emphasis is given to perspectives on the chemoprevention of breast cancer, as the conference included an international consensus meeting on this subject. New research findings are presented and potentially more effective cancer prevention strategies are discussed, with careful consideration of controversies. The expertise of the contributors encompasses genetics and microbiology, epidemiology, and health economics, as well as clinical cancer prevention. This book will be of interest to all who wish to learn about the most recent progress in combating the development of cancer.

This book is based on presentations by some of the world’s leading experts at the Sixth International Conference on Clinical Cancer Prevention, held in St. Gallen, Switzerland, during March 2010. The main themes are the latest advances in the prevention of breast and prostate cancer and the role of infection in the development of liver and gastric cancer. Special emphasis is given to perspectives on the chemoprevention of breast cancer, as the conference included an international consensus meeting on this subject. New research findings are presented and potentially more effective cancer prevention strategies are discussed, with careful consideration of controversies. The expertise of the contributors encompasses genetics and microbiology, epidemiology, and health economics, as well as clinical cancer prevention. This book will be of interest to all who wish to learn about the most recent progress in combating the development of cancer.

This Recent Results in Cancer Research volume contains the majority of the invited expert contributions from the First St. Gallen EORTC Gastrointestinal Cancer Conference, held on 22-24 March 2012 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Written by some of the world’s leading experts in the field, the volume constitutes a comprehensive update on recent developments in the imaging, molecular biology, pathology, and multidisciplinary management of early cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. The latest recommendations regarding diagnosis and treatment are provided, and areas of consensus and controversy, identified. While the principal focus is on esophageal and gastric cancer, advances in the treatment of colorectal and pancreatic cancer are also discussed in some detail. This book will be of interest to every clinician involved in the care of patients with gastrointestinal malignancies.​

This Recent Results in Cancer Research volume contains the majority of the invited expert contributions from the First St. Gallen EORTC Gastrointestinal Cancer Conference, held on 22-24 March 2012 in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Written by some of the world’s leading experts in the field, the volume constitutes a comprehensive update on recent developments in the imaging, molecular biology, pathology, and multidisciplinary management of early cancer of the gastrointestinal tract. The latest recommendations regarding diagnosis and treatment are provided, and areas of consensus and controversy, identified. While the principal focus is on esophageal and gastric cancer, advances in the treatment of colorectal and pancreatic cancer are also discussed in some detail. This book will be of interest to every clinician involved in the care of patients with gastrointestinal malignancies.​