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Drawing on the fieldwork undertaken on behalf of the Austrian Geological Survey in the 19th century, I should like to analyse those practices that may be understood as 'administration procedures'. Using a variety of selected handwritten materials that were produced during fieldwork in the context of the geological mapping project (1848-1867) of the Habsburg Monarchy, commissioned by the Royal Imperial Geological Survey in Vienna, I should like to examine the route from subjective observation to written documentation, the conceptualization of experience and the strategies of writing, and also the procedures for standardization. Through this perspective, fieldwork becomes a procedure that is materialized on paper. Every piece of fieldwork involves, in principle, countless administrative acts and procedures. These are preceded by the instructions which, in functional terms, occur at two different levels. One level provides a methodology for the acquisition of knowledge; the other level concerns the bureaucracy, or the organizational framework, within which the fieldwork takes place. On the one hand the investigator is seeking to optimize the acquisition of knowledge, whilst on the other hand the checking of both the subject and the object of the investigation is a concomitant feature of both levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Social Work is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Palliative care is insufficiently integrated in the continuum of care for older people. It is unclear to what extent healthcare policy for older people includes elements of palliative care and thus supports its integration. Aim: (1) To develop a reference framework for identifying palliative care contents in policy documents; (2) to determine inclusion of palliative care in public policy documents on healthcare for older people in 13 rapidly ageing countries. Design: Directed documentary analysis of public policy documents (legislation, policies/strategies, guidelines, white papers) on healthcare for older people. Using existing literature, we developed a reference framework and data extraction form assessing 10 criteria of palliative care inclusion. Country experts identified documents and extracted data. Setting: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, England, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain. Results: Of 139 identified documents, 50 met inclusion criteria. The most frequently addressed palliative care elements were coordination and continuity of care (12 countries), communication and care planning, care for family, and ethical and legal aspects (11 countries). Documents in 10 countries explicitly mentioned palliative care, nine addressed symptom management, eight mentioned end-of-life care, and five referred to existing palliative care strategies (out of nine that had them). Conclusions: Health care policies for older people need revising to include reference to end-of-life care and dying and ensure linkage to existing national or regional palliative care strategies. The strong policy focus on care coordination and continuity in policies for older people is an opportunity window for palliative care advocacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In some countries, far-reaching 'lockdown' measures to contain the spread of coronavirus were implemented early in 2020. In Austria, these early measures were met with a high degree of compliance among the country's population. In this paper, we draw upon qualitative interviews, and ask how people made sense of the restrictions imposed during the first lockdown in April 2020 and what shaped their compliance. Empirical research has so far tried to explain compliance by means of people's disposition and motivations as well as demographic and social characteristics. Instead of focussing on who is compliant, we aim to understand how people practice compliance. We do this by approaching compliance through the concepts of values and practice. First, our findings indicate that people assess whether measures are suitable and legitimate in relation to the values of science, the law, and morality. Second, people assign additional personal value to compliance by stressing its positive implications on their own lives. By adopting a nuanced perspective on compliance as inextricably linked to peoples' values and practices, our paper critically contributes to the political and scholarly discussion of pandemic public health measures. Understanding compliance through the lens of values shows how people make sense of the measures in the context of their everyday lives, helping us to move away from a binary understanding of (non-)compliance that has become morally charged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paradigmatic shift from traditional flood defense toward integrated flood risk management has widened the sectors and policies affected and has spurred a growing interest of scholars to understand cross-sectoral flood policy integration. In this paper we argue that the cross-sectoral goal relationship—ranging from complementary to conflictual policy goals—is a useful conceptual framework to understand (1) the policy integration challenge at hands and (2) in particular the unfolding policy integration from a processual perspective. For our empirical analysis we identify three policy subsystems that are highly important for sectoral interplay in flood risk management: agriculture, hydropower generation, and spatial planning. Using Austria as a case study we illustrate the goal relationships and sectoral policy integration challenges in each of these fields of interaction. Based on 45 expert interviews in the selected policy sectors we provide useful insights into the current processes of flood policy integration. The empirical findings from our case studies show that sectoral goal relationships and the nature of the policy integration challenge drive flood policy integration. More pronounced land use conflicts are more strongly reflected in different actor interests, policy frames, policy goals, and the choice of policy instruments. Sectoral goal relationships are an important factor to explain the unfolding policy integration process. Complementary policy goals result in rather informal, harmonious integrative negotiations on strengthening synergies by using soft policy instruments. On the contrary, conflictual policy goals lead to more formal negotiations among the affected sectors relying on hard, regulative instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A sustainable energy system based on renewables, energy-efficiency, decentralisation of energy generation and synergies between different sectors requires new energy planning methods and policies. Energy transition and climate change mitigation achievement can no longer be seen only through top-down activities from a national government. Local and regional governments have a crucial role in delivering public policies relevant to such endeavour. Therefore, the implementation of multilevel governance (MLG) has become a priority for fostering local and regional development more inclusively. Paper analyses the existing energy planning governance in Austria throughout the MLG structure by focusing on the alignment between the local energy and climate initiatives and the national and EU goals. Also, the paper examined the effectiveness of the current MLG structures and outlined the fields where improvements are needed. The successfulness of the MLG approach is shown on Judenburg city case study. Desk research is enhanced by a series of interviews with energy policy experts and implementation of case study measures in TIMES model. Results: The MLG analysis showed the solid alignment of different governance levels. In contrast, the comparison of the energy and climate initiatives on the local level outlined recommendations for the design of more effective energy planning approach. Four areas of action are identified for further improvement: territorial fragmentation, data availability, spatial energy planning and new integrated MLG. The remaining non-conventional biomass potential of the Murtal region is enough to increase the share of district heating for the residential buildings of the Judenburg city from 16.3 to 30.8% while the building refurbishment increases district heating share to 32%. Conclusion: Application of MLG analysis demonstrated the alignment of energy targets in Austrian policy on different governance levels. The general willingness of Austrian municipalities to take part in local energy actions was shown through the local initiatives' analysis. It is argued that strengthening the listed areas of work is necessary to raise the effectiveness of the local initiatives. The case study for the city of Judenburg developed in the TIMES model confirmed that coordinated actions from different levels of governance lead to effective implementation of measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Year-end spend-downs have received a lot of attention in public policy and public administration, and a number of budgeting and accounting reforms have been made to tackle this issue. While carry-overs have been thought to be a remedy, their effect remains empirically under-investigated. This paper applies a mixed-method approach to provide empirical evidence for year-end spending surges, and to analyse the effect of changing carry-over rules in Austria. The authors uncover the reasons behind spend-downs: uncertainty about carry-overs and their use, and the risk of losing unspent appropriations and efficiency savings seem to explain year-end spend-downs. The findings offer support for prior calls in the academic literature to take time and volume limitations into account when designing and implementing carry-over rules. The evidence presented here has important implications for policy-makers and managers. Using the case of Austria, this paper investigates year-end spend-downs in government, and one of the most common 'remedies'—carry-overs. Unrestricted carry-overs are likely to jeopardize aggregate fiscal targets, and highly restrictive rules about carry-over can lead to a loss of trust between central government entities and the ministry of finance. Surprisingly, carry-over rules themselves have led to year-end spend-downs. The authors explain the criteria/limitations that policy-makers, treasury officials, and financial directors and managers in central government departments and agencies need to consider when designing and implementing carry-over rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst the link between young people's well‐being and the creative arts is strengthening, there is a lack of research which focuses on the roles that artists play to help teachers and parents engage young people in the creative arts. This paper explores the benefits of and barriers to artists working in education in six European countries (England, Iceland, Germany, Greece, Italy and Austria). Using the '5A's model of creativity' and a view of professional development taking place within 'landscapes of practice', the data were analysed in order to explain how creativity is operationalised in the different contexts. Our study highlights the need for policy at a national and transnational level to value the creative arts in order to help teachers cross boundaries and utilise the full potential of the creative arts in schools. Our study also highlights that further research is needed into how artists shape teaching and curriculum and how schools engage parents in the creative arts in order to build an evidence‐base relating to young people's positive mental health that can affect policy at these levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main purpose of this paper is to identify the impact of public spending on education and research and development (R&D) on the formation of gross domestic product (GDP) in nine Central European countries, which are divided into two clusters -- "old" and "new" EU members. The study took into account official Eurostat data of both the EU and national statistical organizations for the period 2010--2019. The analysis of this impact was carried out using a system approach, statistics and econometric framework including panel data regression, Wald, Breusch-Pagan, Hausman tests. The main finding of the present study is the identification of additional income in terms of GDP in Euro per capita for selected countries, which is obtained from adequately spent public funds for education and R&D. Our results showed that the strongest influence of these expenditures for the "old" members was in Germany and Austria, and for the "new" -- in Slovenia and Czechia. It is proved that this impact is different in individual countries and is determined by the public financial policy of national governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation is usually regarded as a good practice in environmental policymaking, but its effects on policy strategies are unclear. Based on literature research, surveys, and interviews with participants, the present paper assesses whether decisional participation in formulating Austria's National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) was worth the effort. Assessed against the goals of the participation process, we find that it raised awareness for adaptation and facilitated an exchange among the participants and that it improved the content of the NAS. However, regarding the goal of enhancing the acceptance of and commitment to the NAS, we find that this has been achieved among those who participated but not among high-level policymakers who are responsible for implementing the NAS. We conclude that (decisional) participation has its benefits in formulating comprehensive policy strategies but that it is most likely not able to overhaul their well-documented weaknesses, among them weak political commitment and implementation failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Austria legally recognized Islam in 1912 and has thus been characterized as a “liberal” country regarding the inclusion of Muslims. But when the law was revision in 2015, it was largely criticized as discriminatory, anti-constitutional, and authoritarian towards the Muslim minority. The paper asks how a number of different social movement organizations and networks have framed their political participation, protest, and activism. It asks what demands were expressed regarding justice, criminalization, alienation, discrimination, and other contested issues. The paper also ponders the implications of political inclusion versus distance from the system for Muslim agency, as the protest movement ranged very widely from state-affiliated institutions to state-independent individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Austria continues to be one of the most attractive countries for asylum seekers among all EU countries. The main objective of this paper is to identify how the current political status of refugees and asylum seekers influences the Austrian economy. This study has shown that oil shocks had highly negative consequences for migrants in Austria. When accessing the Austrian labor market, some of the most striking features that affect the participation of migrants are discrimination based on restricted accessibility to high-wage sectors and pay gaps and discrimination in recruitment. However, the econometric analysis shows that immigration flows have a positive effect on the economic growth of the country. On the other hand, the results showed that there was prejudice and incorrect reporting, which increased the illegalization of asylum seekers. All of these factors create obstacles for immigrants to properly integrate into the labor market. However, the results of the panel data analysis among European countries has shown that the immigration flow has had a positive impact on GDP growth. Labor market conditions for immigrants become crucial from this point of view. It can be concluded that the national asylum policy in Austria was progressively limiting and outweighed Austrian humanitarian interests. A more inclusive policy could contribute to the economic growth of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal caregiving for older family members is increasingly recognized and encouraged by public policies. This is even more the case in familialistic countries such as Austria. This article aims to examine the role of the family in the care culture of a familialistic care regime through the experiences of care dyads combining upwards intergenerational family care and formal care services. The analysis is based on framework analysis of 48 face-to-face interviews, almost all conducted separately, with 24 care dyads of older care users (average age 86 years old with moderate to high care needs) and their main informal carers in Austria combining formal and informal care. A quarter of caregivers and care receivers were male. We identified four different ideals (family care, preferences, involvement, gendered care) which were distributed across different groups of Socio-Economic Status (SES) and described by women and men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2021, the federal government of the United States expanded a set of income transfers that led to strong reductions in child poverty. This research note uses microdata from more than 50 countries and U.S. data spanning more than 50 years to place the 2021 child poverty rate in historical and international perspective. We demonstrate that whether using the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), relative poverty measures, or an absolute poverty measure, the U.S. child poverty rate in 2021 was at its lowest level since at least 1967. The U.S. tax and transfer system reduced the 2021 SPM child poverty rate by more than 75% relative to the pre-tax/transfer child poverty rate; this reduction was three times the mean reduction effect between 1967 and 2019. These policy changes improved the country's standing from having a relative poverty rate twice that of Germany's in 2019 to the same as Germany's in 2021. Moreover, the U.S. progressed from reducing child poverty at less than half the rate of Norway in 2019 to a rate comparable to Norway in 2021. However, the U.S. success was temporary: after the expiration of the 2021 income provisions, the child poverty rate doubled and returned to being higher than in most other high-income countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Lien Social et Politiques is the property of Institut National de Recherche Scientifique (INRS) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The COVID-19 Pandemic, which has necessitated a global struggle, started a period of uncertainty in countries. The current uncertain situation has precipitated discussions on which policies should be implemented in combating the Pandemic. Different policies have been implemented in different countries to slow and prevent the COVID-19 epidemic. While evaluating the effectiveness of national policies, drawing lessons from successful examples, and adopting them have become critical. On the other hand, policies can also be reviewed through policy failures. Within this study’s scope, a case study was conducted on Austria and Slovakia, which have both been successful in Central Europe in combating the Pandemic. Some of the lessons from these examples will contribute to Türkiye’s fight against the Pandemic. Thus, policy recommendations that can be adopted in Türkiye have been scrutinized. In this context, Austria’s, Slovakia’s, and Türkiye’s policies against COVID-19 were evaluated within the framework of different policy areas, and policy proposals were sought to be developed on Türkiye’s behalf. Firstly, the theoretical framework was discussed in this study through policy transfer and lesson-drawing. Then, Austria’s and Slovakia’s anti-COVID-19 policies were examined, and some recommendations were developed for Türkiye. This study reveals that lesson)drawing in the Pandemic process will provide countries with efficient and functional. In this way, policy practices were examined, try to provide policy recommendations for and from Türkiye. The schools selected within the scope of the study were not evaluated in a wide range of areas from health investments, transportation, socio-cultural activities to economy, education to security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted global interdependencies, accompanied by widespread calls for worldwide cooperation against a virus that knows no borders, but responses were led largely separately by national governments. In this tension between aspiration and reality, people began to grapple with how their own lives were affected by the global nature of the pandemic. In this article, based on 493 qualitative interviews conducted between 2020 and 2021, we explore how people in Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Ecuador, Ireland, Italy and Mexico experienced, coped with and navigated the global nature of the pandemic. In dialogue with debates about the parameters of the 'global' in global health, we focus on what we call people's everyday (de)bordering practices to examine how they negotiated (dis)connections between 'us' and 'them' during the pandemic. Our interviewees' reactions moved from national containment to an increasing focus on people's unequal socio-spatial situatedness. Eventually, they began to (de)border their lives beyond national lines of division and to describe a new normal: a growing awareness of global connectedness and a desire for global citizenship. This newfound sense of global interrelatedness could signal support for and encourage transnational political action in times of crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success and longevity of coalition governments depends on the ability to keep conflicts between coalition members at bay. The risk of such conflicts is often assessed by drawing on proxy measures, such as the ideological heterogeneity among government parties. This article presents a new approach to measuring the atmosphere between government parties. The 'coalition mood' is a time-varying measure that draws on applause patterns between coalition partners during legislative debates. The article exemplifies the measurement approach based on automated analyses of over 105,000 plenary debates in Germany and Austria. The article then assesses the measure's face, concurrent and predictive validity. It finds the measure well aligned with qualitative evidence, shows that the coalition mood is correlated with poll ratings of the government parties and helps to predict the duration of legislative processes. The conclusion highlights future applications of the coalition mood for research on coalition politics and public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Populist radical right parties (PRRPs) not only seek to influence public policies with (re-)distributive implications to attract voters; they also try to reshape economic governance to weaken their opponents. We develop a theoretical model suggesting that the institutional reform strategies of PRRPs depend in large part on the degree of Social democratic party–union ties. When organizational ties between centre-left parties and trade unions are strong, PRRPs are protagonists of attacks on institutional union power and unite with centre-right parties in alternating long-term power relationships. By contrast, when Social democratic party–union ties are weak, PRRPs turn into consenters to the centre-right's institutional reform proposals and act in accordance with short-term electoral and coalitional concerns. We research our argument in two primary case studies of Austria and Denmark, and control for alternative explanations with reviews of the institutional reform agendas pursued by radical right parties in Sweden and Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current COVID-19 pandemic has come to impact all areas of life involving the health, psycho-social and economic wellbeing of individuals, as well as all stages of life from childhood to old age. Particularly, the frail elderly have had to face the gravest consequences of the disease; while reporting measures tend to differ between countries making direct comparisons difficult, national statistics worldwide point to a disproportionate and staggering share of COVID-19 related mortality coming from residential long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Still, the severity of the impact on the institutionalized elderly has not been uniform across countries. In an effort to better understand the disparities in impact on Europe's elderly living in LTCFs, we review data on mortality outcomes seen during the first wave of the pandemic (months March to June 2020). We then set out to understand the role played by the following two factors: (1) the infection rate in the general population and (2) member state adherence to policy recommendations put forth by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) targeting the LTC sector. Regarding the latter, we compare the content of national policy measures in six countries – Austria, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Sweden – with those of the ECDC. Our findings establish that infection rates in the general population accounted for most of the variation in mortality among member states, however adherence to EU policy helped to explain the residual variation between cases. This suggests that in order to best protect the institutionalized elderly from infectious disease of this kind, countries need to adopt a two-pronged approach to developing measures: one that aims at reducing transmission within the general population and one that specifically targets LTCFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the spring 2020, measures introduced across Europe to limit the spread of COVID-19 included, among others, the temporary closure of borders. For Romanian and Slovakian live-in carers, this meant they were no longer able to commute between the Austrian households they work in and their respective countries of origin. Due to the relatively short cyclical rotas of 2–4 weeks, travel restrictions heavily affected cross-border live-in care between the three countries, which makes them a particular case for studying the effects of pandemic-related measures on transnational care arrangements. Drawing on media reports, relevant laws and policies, and interviews with representatives of care workers' interests, the article examines how live-in care as a whole and care workers in particular were affected by the pandemic and related policy responses such as specific travel arrangements and financial incentives for workers. It shows that while live-in carers were deemed critical workers and essential for the long-term care system, the inequalities and dependencies already existing in transnational care arrangements were deepened. Care workers' wants, needs and interests were subordinated to the interests of care recipients, agencies and sending and receiving countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the recent increase in the inflows of refugees to Europe, governments have made considerable investments in public policies aimed at facilitating the labour market integration of refugees. Despite these efforts, the labour market participation of refugees remains low. This situation raises the question of whether employers actually appreciate these public policies and whether refugees' participation in specific active labour market policies (ALMPs), such as work practice or wage subsidies, increases their likelihood of being hired. In this article, we take a novel approach and combine employers' evaluations of specific ALMPs with their attitudes towards refugees. We argue that these labour market policies can only be successful when employers hold positive attitudes towards refugees in the first place. We investigate this question by means of a factorial survey experiment with employers in Austria, Germany and Sweden. Our results show that, indeed, employers' evaluations of fictional refugee candidates who participated in ALMPs are influenced by their attitudes towards this group. Participation in these policy measures is regarded positively only by those employers who already hold positive attitudes towards refugees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River floods usually do not stop at administrative borders. The respective location of municipalities along a river creates different options and dependencies, commonly referred to as upstream–downstream relations. This regional dimension of flood risk calls for catchment‐based approaches in flood risk management as advocated by the EU Flood Directive. In this article, we present and assess the case of an intermunicipal cooperation in Austria which aims to alleviate flood risk and coordinate planning activities based on a catchment approach. The authors apply an established model of water governance to characterise the governance features and to assess the governance qualities and governance capacities of the intermunicipal cooperation. Findings show that the selected case qualifies as a suitable governance instrument to address the main policy objectives. Existing functional ties, shared (flooding) experiences, and mutual trust mark key success factors, indicating that proximity – in its many different forms – is crucial to overcome power asymmetries and spatial misfits in catchment‐based flood risk management. However, intermunicipal cooperation is weak when it comes to ensuring binding land use regulations, showing the need for a complementary use of governance arrangements and formal instruments of regional land use planning in flood risk management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Negative campaigning presents parties with a collective action problem. While parties would prefer to have their competitors attacked, potential backlash effects from negative messages mean that individual politicians typically lack the incentives to carry out such attacks. We theorize that parties solve this problem by implementing a division of labour that takes into account the incentives of individual office holders, their availability for campaign activity, and media relevance. Drawing on these arguments we expect that holders of high public office and party leaders are less likely to issue attacks, leaving the bulk of the 'dirty work' to be carried out by party floor leaders and general secretaries. Examining almost 8000 press releases issued by over 600 individual politicians during four election campaigns in Austria, we find strong support for our theoretical expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation is an essential part of social assistance schemes. This article provides an insight into the implementation of activation in the Austrian social assistance scheme by analyzing the work requirements and support offered in two provinces, Upper Austria and Styria. The main questions addressed include: Does social assistance require everyone to look for employment? What kind of requirements do social assistance offices set, what support do they offer and to whom? To what extent do those activation measures lead to a job search? The analysis draws on survey results for 1,071 claimants and recipients in the two provinces. It is shown that social assistance does not require all respondents to search for employment, and that activation actually depends on province as well as personal circumstances. Items are formed by identifying low and high conditionality in terms of support and pressure based on 11 questions. Current practice incorporates supportive forms of activation to a lesser degree than efforts to force people to find work, due to pressures from the caseworker. Although high conditionality is not found to affect the job search activity, the job search requirement itself fosters people's search for employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liberal cosmopolitanism provides a set of norms that calls for the openness of borders. Freedom of movement, equality in opportunity and hospitality define a liberal framework for a state’s ruling over the access of foreigners to the territory. However, in states’ execution of border and immigration control these normative ideals seem not to apply. Accounts of border and immigration policy and discourse document a bias towards exclusion, restriction and securitization. It looks as if this normative political theory has no bearing on the real world. This is the starting point for an exploration into the public discourse on liberal cosmopolitan norms and the border. The study finds that most collective actors consider the application of the norms to be utopian. Still, they heavily draw on these norms as a means to critique domestic policies that attempt to regulate global mobility. These are considered to be morally wrong or insufficient for providing equality in opportunities, solidarity, or protection. Actors’ interpretation of key norms such as equality, hospitality and social justice varies significantly which calls for empirical as well theoretical work on the often Janus-faced implications of putting cosmopolitan norms into practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background This study examines short- and long-run effects of a new—stricter—road traffic law on traffic accident-related fatalities in the Czech Republic. The law introduced tougher punishments through the introduction of a demerit point system and a manifold increase in fines, together with augmented authority of traffic police. Methods Identification is based on difference-in-differences methodology, with neighbouring countries serving as a control group. Results There was a sharp, 33.3%, decrease in accident-related fatalities during the first three post-reform months. This translates into 127 saved lives (95% confidence interval: 51, 204). The decline was, however, temporary; the estimates of the effects going beyond the first year are around zero. Unique data on traffic police activity reveal that police resources devoted to traffic law enforcement gradually declined. Conclusions Tougher penalties have significant, but often short-lived effects. Weaker enforcement in the aftermath of such reforms may explain the absence of long-run effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study identifies changes in selected ('unplanned') socio-demographic and economic factors as well as in (planned) political measures that are most strongly correlated with changes in alcohol consumption and alcohol consumption-related harm between 1961 and 2006 in Austria. During the period of investigation consumption increased until the early 1970s, dropped during the next decade and have leveled off since. Increasing urbanization, female employment and average age of mothers at their child births are associated with the best time series model for the interpretation of consumption changes. The results regarding alcohol control policies and their impact on consumption were paradoxical. Study limitations were noted pointing up the necessity to improve indicators and concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on morality does not present a clear picture regarding religious effects on abortion and same-sex partnership policies. An examination of the level of permissiveness in the two policy fields across Western European countries reveals that Catholic states do not significantly differ from their Protestant counterparts in terms of policy outputs. Our descriptive analysis of the reform processes in the two fields from 1960 to 2010 shows that Catholicism has no direct impact on morality policy outputs, but may slow down the pace of reforms. The delaying effect, however, is contingent upon the presence of additional conditions. In order to inductively develop theoretical insights into this relationship, particular emphasis is placed on the case of Austria, which was quick to liberalise abortion but a laggard in introducing legal recognition of same-sex couples. The Austrian case reveals that the influence of the Catholic Church may impede reforms so long as institutional and cultural opportunity structures do not promote secular efforts to politicise the issue and build consensus for policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article is based on research on preschool childcare services and analyses the issues of its provision in Russia in comparison to Western and Eastern European countries. A micro-level cross-sectional data analysis of the first waves of the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) is performed. The results show that variations in using childcare services can be partly explained by the age and number of children in the family, mother’s education and characteristics of her employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]