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The European Practice Database (EPD) project, developed by the EDTNA/ERCA Research Board, collects data on renal practice at centre level in different European countries. Results presented in this paper focus on the European Practice in Haemodialysis centres from 8 European countries or regions following data collection from 2002 to 2004. These results will enable international comparison in practice and will stimulate further research and the development of new practice recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a study to capture the key roles and activities of nephrology nurses across different countries in Europe. The concept of the study and the need to clarify the activities of the nephrology nurse arose as part of a larger study to develop the European Practice Database (EPD) (1). The Research Board (EDTNA/ERCA) needed to identify key questions that would detect significant differences in the role and responsibilities of nephrology nurses in different countries and monitor the evolution over time of nephrology nursing practice in Europe. It was therefore appropriate to devise a separate small study to generate evidence based questions for the EPD and confirm the reliability and usefulness of the information captured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the situation of teacher education in Europe at the beginning of this century? It is not self-evident that we know all the answers, or at least some of the more important ones, in spite of so many specialised publications dealing with developments in European teacher education. This paper provides some insights into what institutional teacher education measures in the 25 Member States are promoting by way of convergence. Teacher education institutions are far from being the same in structure, professional culture, curriculum development ... across the European Community. There is growing realization of the importance and complexity of the integration of a European dimension in teaching and teacher education. And, no doubt, the development of a European dimension as inherent part of teacher education is now linked by a common professional concern: the making of competent teachers, more transparent structures and educational quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the very beginning of this new century the university has been living paradigmatic changes. Reflecting on new qualifications that can fulfil the new professional demands is not the only issue on discussion. If the European Space of Higher Education (ESHE) really aims to achieve its foundational objectives, it should incorporate in the curriculum some citizenship related subjects. This paper aims to explain what competences should become part of the curriculum so that the university itself contributes in the education of citizens ethically and morally compromised with our society and with the development of a European citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the result of the papers presented in the conference "Communication in Europe, seeking relationships among research and society", which did not pretend to establish a whole overview about communication research in France but, from different kind of indicators, try to organize a first instance cartography about that subject. Thus, a first exploration outline is presented: conditions of this discipline in France; an analysis of the situation of public organizations related to the subject, as well as of the reviews and new concepts about that topic; it finishes with a discussion lists analysis on those research and communication practices which had been carry out in the Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an historic analysis of the classification process of the Scarabaeoidea (Insecta: Coleoptera). The analysis is divided in three periods including 59 authors, beginning with Linné in 1735, and finishing in 2001 with Pretorius and Scholtz. The first period (1735-1856) was chosen, since it encompasses a time period prior to the publication of Darwin's "The Origin of Species", and is therefore a classification process arguably free of any Darwinian evolutionary influences. There was a very quick development, in a relatively short period of time (1735-1796), in the number and type of characters used for classification purposes. On some occasions, certain authors reverted to the pre-Linnean tradition of using ecological characters. Likewise, the hierarchic structure of classifications developed rapidly into systems that any modern taxonomist can relate to. Authors like Linné, Fabricius and Latreille, who worked for long periods of time developing classificatory systems, always revolutionized systematics in their very first study. Later on, they remained conservative and made improvements only to the details of systematics. By 1856, the classification of the scarab beetles looks very akin to any present-day system. It is obvious that classifications similar to modern ones can be approximated without having to rely on Darwinian evolutionary principles. The second period (1869-1955) includes a comparative synthesis on the classification of the Coleoptera Lamellicornia based on faunistic and taxonomic works dealing with species from Central America, Europe, India and Indochina, as well as classic world wide checklists, that are representatives of the taxonomical criteria of 17 authors; the possible influence of Darwin's theories is discussed for each classification. Apparently, the main structure of the classification of scarab beetles during this time does not show substantial changes in relation with the proposals of Burmeister or Lacordaire. A large number of new morphological characters were added to the traditional ones, but the family level characters and their use were nearly the same as in the middle of the XIX century. Male genital capsules, internal organs and structures of the immature stages were cited for the first time as useful taxonomic characters, but as accesories of the traditional adult characters. Relations between the groups were eventually exposed as dendrogrames by Sharp and Muir (1912), Paulian (1948) and Crowson (1955), but without clear references to evolutionary theories. These classifications were more complex than the preceding ones, because of the addition of nearly 11,000 new species discovered along 80 years of world exploration. The third period (1957-2001) resumes and analyzes the classification proposals undertaken by 28 authors, based on monographs, faunal studies, keys for regional fauna, papers on comparative morphology, and studies specifically devoted to the understanding of phyletic relationships and evolutionary processes in Scarabaeoidea, for the whole group or for suprageneric groupings of this superfamily. One can detect the patent influence of organic evolution theories on these studies, as well as a progressive reflection of relationships in the proposed classifications, mainly through the use of cladistic and pheneticist approaches. Lately, molecular approaches have also been recruited; but even with all this technology, the main problem remains that most studies do not consider all the diversity of the Scarabaeoidea in one single analysis. Mention must be made of Endrödi's study (1966), who is the first to consider the whole group in analytic and comparative style, proposing to subdivide the Lamellicornia into five families: Scarabaeidae, Melolonthidae, Trogidae, Passalidae and Lucanidae.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work argues that the recent fall in female fertility, in societies with south European demographic patterns, is caused to a great extent by problems related to marriage and couple formation. These are, in turn, strongly connected to the obstacles found by young people in their attempt to enter the adult world. This interpretation of reproductive levels in southern European societies is based on an empirical exercise in decomposition of the total fertility rate, through two different routes. It persuasively illustrates the well-known argument for a causal connection between nuptiality and fertility. The evidence put forward in this paper, based on data from the Spanish region of Madrid during last century's 80's and 90's, contributes to confirming, with a high degree of certainty, this connection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the First World countries, the industrial evolution of the developing countries is observed with concern. The are considered a strong competence in the international marked and the are held responsible for the decreasing life standard in the United States and in Europe. This is the reason to consider restrictions of the commercial relations which could limit also the Third World productivity. Paul Krugman, a professor of economics at Stanford University en Palo Alto, California, is convinced that this fear doesn't have any real base. He argues, supported by a sequence of models, which present the economic relations between the First and the Third World, that the developing countries really don't influence on the life standard or the developed countries. It shouldn't be necessary to impose import retrictions which only would hinder the economic growth of the Third World nations, and therefore the hope for a decent life standard of millions of human beings who live today in conditions of absolute poverty. Agreeing completely with the author's goals, I present here a critical discussion of the respective paper. My critics are mainly directed to the model's structure. I believe that one can use more realistic structures without modifying Krugman's final final conclusions. Some suggestions are made in this sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latin America's rich intellectual production on questions of media and identity has been largely overlooked outside the region. The aim of this paper is to air the views on the interrelated themes of identity, culture, and communication of some of Latin America's most prominent cultural theorists, and to offer a commentary on these writings from the perspectives of scholars working in Europe and North America. Of particular interest is the extent to which the state is seen as able to or needing to regulate culture and communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides an overview of the forms of scientific communication in the knowledge society, seen in a global context and from a European point of view. Process that typifies gray literature on the Internet and the issue of quality control; Representative tools of the documental typology; Proposal of further study in the area towards a future standardization of the typology of highly specialized documents that contribute to scientific progress.