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Background: The WHO definition of palliative care includes bereavement support as integral to palliative care, yet a previous survey of bereavement support in palliative care in Europe has shown a range of service responses to loss. A rigorous approach to agreeing and implementing a palliative care bereavement framework was required. Aim: The aim of this study was to develop consensus on best-practice recommendations for bereavement care principles, structures, processes and delivery based on current practice and evidence. Design: In accordance with Guidance on Conducting and Reporting Delphi Studies, a consensus-building five-round Delphi technique was performed. A scoping review of research literature informed drafting of 54 statements by the EAPC Bereavement Task Force. Evaluation of the statements was performed by an expert panel using a 5-point Likert scale. ⩾80% agreement were defined as essential items and 75%–79% agreement were defined as desirable items. Items with a consensus rating <75% were revised during the process. Setting/participants: The Delphi study was carried out by an expert panel among membership organisations of the European Association for Palliative Care. Results: In total, 376 email requests to complete Delphi questionnaire were distributed with a response rate of 23% (n = 87) and a follow-up response-rate of 79% (n = 69). Of the initial 54 statements in six dimensions, 52 statements were endorsed with 26 essential statements and 26 desirable statements. Conclusions: The six dimensions and 52 statements agreed through this Delphi study clarify a coherent direction for development of bereavement services in palliative care in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global competition in higher education has facilitated the growth of English‐medium instruction universities in countries where English is not a national language. In Europe, for example, the number of such programs at the bachelor's level has grown from only 55 in 2009 to 2900 in 2017. Colleges of business and management at these universities take a leading role in providing English‐taught programs and courses at undergraduate and graduate levels. A number of management education faculty and administrators encounter challenges related to teaching and course development in English as a second language. One of these challenges is teaching research paper writing. The purpose of this study was to explore how an approach to a research writing course used at a university in an English‐speaking country could be implemented at an English‐medium instruction university. The course involved 153 undergraduate students majoring in management and included seven sessions. To the students and the instructor English was a second language. Data were collected using qualitative and quantitative tools. Overall, the results indicate that a carefully designed course on writing a research paper can increase student writing self‐efficacy in just seven class sessions. We provide implications for instructors and administrators at English‐medium instruction universities and areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Outcome measurement plays an increasing role in improving the quality, effectiveness, efficiency and availability of palliative care. Aim: To provide expert recommendations on outcome measurement in palliative care in clinical practice and research. Methods: Developed by a European Association for Palliative Care Task Force, based on literature searches, international expert workshop, development of outcome measurement guidance and international online survey. A subgroup drafted a first version and circulated it twice to the task force. The preliminary final version was circulated to wider expert panel and 28 international experts across 20 European Association for Palliative Care member associations and the European Association for Palliative Care Board of Directors and revised according to their feedback. The final version was approved by the European Association for Palliative Care Board for adoption as an official European Association for Palliative Care position paper. Results: In all, 12 recommendations are proposed covering key parameters of measures, adequate measures for the task, introduction of outcome measurement into practice, and national and international outcome comparisons and benchmarking. Compared to other recommendations, the White Paper covers similar aspects but focuses more on outcome measurement in clinical care and the wider policy impact of implementing outcome measurement in clinical palliative care. Patient-reported outcome measure feedback improves awareness of unmet need and allows professionals to act to address patients’ needs. However, barriers and facilitators have been identified when implementing outcome measurement in clinical care that should be addressed. Conclusion: The White Paper recommends the introduction of outcome measurement into practice and outcomes that allow for national and international comparisons. Outcome measurement is key to understanding different models of care across countries and, ultimately, patient outcome having controlled for differing patients characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People with intellectual disabilities often present with unique challenges that make it more difficult to meet their palliative care needs. Aim: To define consensus norms for palliative care of people with intellectual disabilities in Europe. Design: Delphi study in four rounds: (1) a taskforce of 12 experts from seven European countries drafted the norms, based on available empirical knowledge and regional/national guidelines; (2) using an online survey, 34 experts from 18 European countries evaluated the draft norms, provided feedback and distributed the survey within their professional networks. Criteria for consensus were clearly defined; (3) modifications and recommendations were made by the taskforce; and (4) the European Association for Palliative Care reviewed and approved the final version. Setting and participants: Taskforce members: identified through international networking strategies. Expert panel: a purposive sample identified through taskforce members’ networks. Results: A total of 80 experts from 15 European countries evaluated 52 items within the following 13 norms: equity of access, communication, recognising the need for palliative care, assessment of total needs, symptom management, end-of-life decision making, involving those who matter, collaboration, support for family/carers, preparing for death, bereavement support, education/training and developing/managing services. None of the items scored less than 86% agreement, making a further round unnecessary. In light of respondents’ comments, several items were modified and one item was deleted. Conclusion: This White Paper presents the first guidance for clinical practice, policy and research related to palliative care for people with intellectual disabilities based on evidence and European consensus, setting a benchmark for changes in policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that defines the optimal palliative care in dementia. The study provides a brief overview about the disease. The study invited 89 experts from 27 countries to evaluate a two-round online survey with feedback. It also suggests the availability of immediate and full consensus on the eight domains, including the recommendations person-centered care, communication and shared decision-making and optimal treatment of symptoms.

The article focuses on the White Paper of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. It mentions White Paper ignoring the extensive experience and substantial body of relevant empirical evidence in jurisdictions that have legalized euthanasia. It states the Canadian palliative care community reflecting on ways of reconciling traditional palliative care values.

Focuses on the publication of the Green Paper on entrepreneurship by the Commission in Europe. Fundamental issues for Europe; Presentation of the nine key actions of the Entrepreneurship Action Plan; Action taken by the European Charter or Small Enterprises on calling the Member States and the Commission to take action to support and encourage small businesses.

Most people who experience trauma want to thrive and often find paths to well-being and healthy functioning. This scoping review explores the existing evidence on adversity and resilience in southeastern European countries, focusing on Kosovo. There is a lack of research on trauma and resilience in cultures outside the US and Western Europe. The paper provides a brief cultural and historical overview of this region and the collectivist cultures found there. We draw from a range of interdisciplinary literatures to identify key strengths that have the potential to improve health outcomes for trauma victims in this region. Overall, 42 papers from PsycInfo and PubMed were identified, using keywords such as "resilience" or "health" and "Kosovo," "Balkans," and "Southeastern Europe." Findings from this scoping review show that different cultural values, norms, and societal ecologies impact resilience within these societies. Some strengths, such as social support and sense of purpose, echoed similar research in the US and Western Europe. There was also evidence that factors such as dignity, family solidarity, social activism, and nationwide meaning-making are strengths associated with resilience for these collectivist societies of southeastern Europe. We also consider the implications of the results for other post-conflict societies. Finally, findings from this review call for culturally sensitive strength-based perspectives in promoting health and well-being after the high dosages of trauma common in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since Converse's paper, opinion constraint has been defined as the degree to which voters hold ideologically consistent opinions across different issues. Yet, scholars have found that opinions departing from the liberal/conservative categories constitute alternative ways of organizing political preferences. This suggests a methodological dilemma: how can we assess the consistency of opinions based on empirical, rather than theoretically predefined, criteria? This article proposes measuring constraint as the extent to which citizens' policy preferences resemble those of their most preferred political parties (a top-down approach). To do so, it relies on data from the 2019 European Election Studies and the 2019 Chapel Hill Expert Survey. Analyses show that a top-down measure of opinion constraint correlates weakly with pre-existing measures of this concept (discriminant validation). Findings also suggest that well-established hypotheses about the predictors and effects of constraint are confirmed when using the top-down measure (nomological validation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The premise of our research paper is that large (by the size of the population) municipalities are more complex to govern and manage, and this, in turn, calls for a more professional and apolitical local government. Using data from the largest European survey of mayors, we analyzed the influence of mayors and chief administrative officers in Europe and checked for correlations with the size of the local government. We present empirical evidence to support that the perceived influence of mayors varies with the size of the municipality regardless of the institutional configuration of power relationships. We found that very large municipalities (80,000 or more inhabitants) had weaker mayors. The presumption that a larger, more complex local (urban) environment calls for more professional leadership has been addressed in numerous publications; however, the answer was usually beyond the reach of the empirical tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research is important internationally, impacting on health service provision and patient benefit. Journals play an important dissemination role, but there may be geographical bias, potentially affecting access to evidence. Aim: To understand if there is a relationship between the continent of journals and that of contributing authors. Design: Bibliometric analysis of journal citation report data (June 2018). Odds ratio of association of an author being from region, region of journal publication, publication model and the number of papers. Setting: Journals specialising in palliative care research, with an impact factor above the median impact factor for their most common indexing category. Results: Five journals: three published in Europe (Palliative Medicine, BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care, and BMC Palliative Care) and two in North America (Journal of Pain and Symptom Management and Journal of Palliative Medicine). Authors were from 30+ countries, but mostly North America (54.18%) or Europe (27.94%). Preliminary sensitivity tests show that the odds of an author being from a North American institution increase 16.4 times (p < 0.01; 95% confidence interval: 12.9, 20.8) if the region of journal publication is North America. The odds of an author being from a European institution is 14.0 times (p < 0.01; 95% confidence interval: 10.9, 17.9) higher if the region of journal publication is Europe. Conclusion: Publishers, editors and authors are concentrated in North America or Europe. North American authors are more present in North American journals and European authors in European journals. This polarised approach, if replicated across readerships, may lead to research waste, duplication, and be sub-optimal for healthcare development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article assesses Will Kymlicka's targeted approach to cultural rights by focusing on the case of the Roma minority in Europe. In Multicultural Odysseys, Kymlicka praises the European management of Roma issues as a promising way to overcome the flaws of the generic approach to cultural rights that dominates European minority rights otherwise. The article intends to evaluate Kymlicka's statement in two ways : it combines an empirical study of the arguments that justify the institutional targeting of the Roma in the Council of Europe and a normative analysis about the specific type of transnational minority that these populations seem to form. The empirical part of the paper casts doubts on the assumption that cultural recognition matters primarily in the case of the Roma. The normative part of the paper argues that the concept of transnational minority gains more normative consistency when it is understood in terms of political mobilization against racial oppression than when it is justified in terms of cultural recognition. It concludes that Iris M. Young's "politics of difference" provides a fruitful normative approach to make sense of the Roma's claims of justice in Europe and that it is as such likely to refine and possibly complete the targeted to approach to multiculturalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on the importance of procedural justice in policing is extensive. Using the context of information sharing in community policing, this paper argues that interactional, procedural and distributive justice are salient in interactions between the police and the public, both online and face-to-face. Structured interviews (n = 161) were conducted with members of young minority groups and intermediaries (who work with minorities and police agencies) across nine countries in Europe. Our analysis of barriers and facilitators to sharing information with the police highlights processes of interactional, procedural and distributive justice in building public confidence. We highlight theoretical and practical implications of relevance to policing internationally. Our findings show that demonstrating aspects of interactional justice (attitude and behaviour, accessibility and communication, personal contact and relationships); procedural justice (responsiveness and efficiency, data protection and security); and distributive justice (outcomes and effectiveness, equity in distribution of policing services) have a role in building public confidence and facilitating information sharing with police online and face-to-face. We conclude that in addition to micro-level interactions, meso-level social processes (e.g. community policing models and data protection and security procedures) can be useful in enhancing public confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particularly in the current context of rapid political change, it is crucial to understand the political participation of young people and what underpins their political engagement patterns as well the as the inequalities that may lie beneath them. While there is a rich literature on youth participation, to date we have lacked the data to carry out detailed subgroup analyses to understand differences in the political participation between different groups of youth cross-nationally. The papers in this Special Issue all examine different aspects of youth participation in the current context. They examine key questions for participation including the inequalities, socialising influences, polarisation, online participation, radical political views, tolerance, life engagement and opportunities for social inclusion. This Special Issue thus provides a contemporary analysis of youth participation in Europe in the current historical juncture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Okun's law is one of the best-known stylized facts in the economic literature, as well as one of the most widely used policy tools. The aim of this paper, which utilizes a comprehensive sample of 265 European regions by using annual observations covering the period from 2000 to 2019, is to deepen our knowledge of Okun's law from two perspectives: on one hand, by checking the existence and intensity of regional differences, and on the other hand, by assessing the factors that explain them. To this end, in the first part, we apply a heterogeneous panel approach that deals with cross-sectional dependence, which allows us to obtain an average coefficient as well as region-specific coefficients. In the second part, a cross-sectional spatial model is used to uncover explanatory factors. Our findings reveal quite remarkable regional differences, as well as a somewhat geographical pattern in them. Moreover, they point out the importance of demographic factors (such as gender and age), labor market variables (share of employment in industry and construction, as well as self-employment and part-time employment and the severity of long-term unemployment), R&D expenditure, and some national institutional factors when it comes to explaining differences across regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how local news organizations seek to strengthen their bond with audiences in French-speaking Europe (Belgium, France, and Switzerland). It does so by suggesting a new methodological approach focusing on the different ways in which this bond can be observed, i.e., the "initiatives" implemented by the news organizations. The study identifies 20 types of initiatives undertaken to (re)connect with audiences and presents a model of audience inclusion in news media in line with the literature on modalities of audience participation in news media. The discussion identifies changes in the positioning of local news organizations and journalists towards audiences regarding existing literature on participatory journalism but also on new practices more rooted in engagement, dialogue, and transparency towards audiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies and services to support informal caregivers vary considerably across countries, This paper examines the role of caregivers and how perspectives on that role may influence the availability of benefits and services in three countries that differ considerably in their care systems - Sweden, Ireland and the United States. We developed a nine-dimensional framework for examining differences, including policies and how the role of caregiver is conceptualized. We found differences in the three countries in how services are organized, which reflected assumptions about the caregiver role. There were also similarities in the three countries. Caregivers held an ambiguous position within each social system and there was little concern for equity in the delivery of support services. Increased clarity about the role of caregivers may facilitate development of policies that more effectively meet their varied needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noise pollution has been impacting negatively on living comfort and working environment for a long time. Acoustic treatment on building façade is one of the effective means to tackle this issue. Numerous articles were published over the past decades to address the acoustic related problems of building façade. However, a systematic review of the research development on façade acoustic technology is lacking. Therefore, this paper examines the published research articles from seven selected journals, in terms of the annual number of articles, citation counts, co-authorships, research locations, and keywords. The analyses show that interest in façade acoustics increased during the last two decades. Researchers from Europe and areas with a high density of tall buildings made significant contributions to this development. Based on keyword analysis, articles are categorized into three groups. These include sound insulation studies, studies on the effect of façade on street noise, and noise reduction techniques. The surveyed research topics comprise numerical modeling, experimental studies, ISO standard development, and analyses on annoyance level. Potential future directions are presented based on a summary of the limitations of the existing research. This paper offers researchers and engineers an in-depth understanding of the state-of-the-art of the current façade acoustic research. Additionally, potential future directions are identified based on the findings and limitations of the previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The activities of the European Educational Research Association (EERA) and the yearly European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) are mainly organised in standing networks. Through the example of the Policy Studies and Politics of Education network, this article takes a closer look at network activity and the ways in which it contributes to the development of educational research. Since most network activity is focused around the yearly conferences, the first part of the article discusses the conference session space, its forms and its links to the broader community of educational researchers. The second part of the article traces the origin and development of the Policy Studies and Politics of Education network, emphasising how the network has provided a space for critical analysis and discussion of education policies and forms of governance being pursued by national and trans-national actors in and beyond Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Solitude is a rising phenomenon in the western world. The share of people affected by solitude has been rising for some time and the Covid-19 pandemic has further brought this trend to the fore. Yet, we know next to nothing about the aggregate subnational economic impact of the rise in solitude. In this paper, we analyse the consequences of solitude on regional economic performance across Europe, distinguishing between two of its key dimensions: alone living, proxied by the regional share of single-person households and loneliness, proxied by the aggregate share of social interactions. We find that solitude has important implications for economic development, but that these go in different directions. While alone living is a substantial driver of economic growth across European regions, high shares of lonely people undermine it. The connection of loneliness with economic growth is, however, dependent on the frequency of in-person meetings, with large shares of the population meeting others socially on a weekly basis, alongside a small percentage of people who never meet others, yielding the best economic returns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper was inspired by empirical encounters with students and teacher-administrators who engaged with an online European education initiative, which raised questions about whether and how their practices were situated as local, transnational, or national(ist) endeavors. The conceptual, theoretical, and methodological resources of social topology and critical border studies guided our inquiry by a focus on bordering practices and how these generate spatiotemporal forms and movements, and evoked a typical national form which is characterized as a singular, stable, linear, and flat "topography." An innovative methodology is deployed to scrutinize how practices with this online, European initiative continue, challenge or complement that typical national form. The findings demonstrate how the use of topographical indexes and tropes (re-)materialized characteristics of these typical national forms, while the combination with topological relations introduced multiplicities and "levels" in these forms. Moreover, spherical forms, bouncing movements, and tunneling movements challenged the singularity, stability, linearity, and flatness of the typical national form. Building on these findings, the paper sets forth the argument that this online European education initiative mainly challenges the enactment of nationalism in classrooms by encouraging learning and thinking through translocalities, which accentuates distances and differences that are being crossed without appealing to the typical imaginary of the "nation" with linear, stable, flat borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on seasonal demand swings in the European natural gas market. We quantify and compare the role of different flexibility options (domestic production, gas storage, and pipeline and LNG imports) to assess European demand fluctuations in monthly resolution. We contribute to the existing literature on seasonal flexibility by addressing the problem with a mathematical gas market optimization model. Our paper provides valuable empirical insights into the decline of gas production in northwestern Europe. Furthermore, we focus on how specific flexibility features differ between pipeline supplies and LNG supplies and between gas imports and storage dispatch. In terms of methodology, we construct a bottom-up market optimization model and publish the complete source code (which is uncommon for gas market models). Furthermore, we propose a new metric--the scaled coefficient of variation--to quantify the importance of supply sources for seasonal flexibility provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major theme of the European Enlightenment was the rationalization of value, the use of reason to determine the value of things, from diamonds to civilizations. This view of the Enlightenment is well-established in the human sciences. It is ripe for extension to the natural sciences, given the rich recent literature on affect, evaluation, and subjectivity in early modern science. Meanwhile, in art history, the new history of connoisseurship provides a model for the historical study of the evaluation of material things. Historians of natural history have already noted the connections between science, Enlightenment, and connoisseurship. The time has come to extend their insights to other areas of Enlightenment science. This means recognizing the breadth of connoisseurship – the social, linguistic, and disciplinary diversity of the practice – as understood in Europe in the eighteenth century and the latter part of the seventeenth century. An outline of the three papers in this special section gives an indication of how this historiographical project might be carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The German offshore wind tender, launched in April 2017, resulted in three out of the four winning projects being delivered with zero subsidies, relying only on the wholesale price. This result has been regarded as a turning point for the industry. This paper analyses the 2017/18 German offshore wind tenders and the bidding strategies of the winning developers. We then propose a re-design of the tenders with the aim of achieving optimality/zero-subsidies and efficiency - two key properties in mechanism design. The paper contributes to the discussion on how to design offshore wind tenders with both a policy and theoretical perspective. This is of particular relevance given the rapid expansion of this type of investment in Europe and the use of auctions to select developers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Papers in this special issue offer a wide range of political economy and sociological perspectives to explain the development and impacts of short-term rentals (STRs) in European cities. Empirically, they provide insights regarding STR providers, socio-spatial impacts, and regulation. Authors reveal the professionalization of the sector vis-à-vis the connection between STRs and the wider financialization of housing. STRs are predominantly supplied by professional property managers as well as by middle-class individuals for which renting on digital platforms is their main professional activity. Furthermore, the increasing professionalization of hosts and the intrinsic competition among them is largely stimulated by the business model of digital platforms which has progressively favoured professional operators. Understanding how STRs are shaped by platform capitalism helps to explain the socio-spatial impacts of this market as well as why current regulations have not mitigated such impacts. In terms of impacts, contributions to this special issue document processes of displacement, gentrification, and how the penetration of visitors in neighbourhoods is experienced by residents as a process of loss and dispossession. However, due to the lobbying campaigns of professional operators and industry players, regulation has led to the legitimization of this new market rather than to the limitation of the activity. Therefore, the special issue challenges the use of a 'sharing economy' and 'peer-to-peer platforms' as analytical categories, and, instead, provides evidence of why the STR market should be seen as part of the wider expansion of platform capitalism, consolidating the neoliberal and financialized urban paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper responds to Reviel Netz's attempt to link modernizing development in Europe to the legacy of the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes. It defends the value of the kind of counterfactual reasoning that underpins Netz's effort and contextualizes his argument within the broader context of the debate about the origins of the 'Great Divergence' between Europe and other parts of the world. The nexus between Archimedean insights and the development of the modern steam engine posited by Netz receives critical attention: we must ask to what extent counterfactual alternative modes of modernization might allow us to dissociate modernization from ancient Greek legacies. Finally, this paper draws attention to the political implications of presenting an exceptionalist vision of developmental features that are held to be uniquely associated with ancient Greece and early modern Europe, concluding that special care needs to be taken in employing this contentious perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the winners of the 2006 Bodycote International Prize Paper Competition. The competition attracted entries from students across the UK, continental Europe and the USA. The first prize winners are M. Esfandiari and H. Dong, for their papers concerning plasma surface engineering of precipitation hardening stainless steels. Y. N. Kok, J. G. Wen, I. Petrov and P. Eh. Hovsepian combined their efforts to win the joint second prize for their papers concerning ion bombardment.

Developed countries in general and European countries in particular devote a substantial share of national resources to income redistribution programs that seek to alleviate and reduce poverty. This Symposium contributes to the analysis of such pro grams. It presents three papers written in a perspective that reflects European concerns with both social policies and analytical rigor. In particular the papers deal with the costs and consequences of anti-poverty programs no only in terms of the effect iveness in achieving poverty reduction but also looking at other impacts on welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates attitudes towards the welfare state measured as government responsibility towards the standard of living of the unemployed and the old. The article focuses on the differences between post-communist countries and the rest of Europe, contextualised using the self-interest theory, specifically economic strain. Data on thirty one European countries gleaned from the European Social Survey collected in 2008 and 2016 are analysed using multilevel methods. The findings show that even though citizens in post-communist countries are purportedly more in favour of government intervention in regard to the welfare state, perceptible differences emerge based on individual characteristics, namely economic strain, combined with whether the respondent lives in a post-communist country. The cross-national differences in welfare support between post-communist countries and the rest of Europe are largely driven by differences in economic strain, with citizens in post-communist countries that struggle financially exhibiting higher support for welfare state provisions in comparison to their peers in countries without a communist legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first European Union Survey on Violence against Women (EU-VAW) released in 2014 revealed the unexpected result indicating that the world's most egalitarian countries have relatively high rates of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women (IPVAW). This phenomenon, referred to as the "Nordic Paradox," revived a heated, intermittently ongoing discussion dating back four decades where several competing hypotheses about the relationship between gender inequality and IPVAW have been proposed, but no consensus has been reached. The main aim of this paper is to revisit the most important of such hypotheses proposed in the last four decades, while proposing a new one that could potentially throw some light on understanding the "Nordic Paradox." Multilevel linear regression models are estimated using data from the EU-VAW survey conducted in 2012, and an alternative operationalization of the Gender Equality Index (GEI) (our measure of gender equality). We did not find any significant effect of gender equality on IPVAW repetition. However, we found that higher country-level status of women and men go together with less IPVAW, with a larger effect of women's status in economic domains compared to the impact of men's economic status, and a larger effect of men's overall status. These findings support the Marxist feminist hypothesis, stating that women's absolute status in the economic and labor domain is critical in lessening IPVAW, as women's real and potential access to resources is key for leaving a violent relationship. At the same time, our results support the "male privilege protection" hypothesis, which states that gains in women's status in certain domains—such as in the economic sphere considering our results for the European Union—would not suppose a threat to men, allowing ameliorative effects. In contrast, if the overall status of men is threatened, backlash effects would be triggered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the 2010s, collateralized loan obligations rapidly became a trillion-dollar industry, mirroring the growth profile and peak value of its cousin—collateralized debt obligations—in the 2000s. Yet, despite similarities in product form and growth trajectory, surprisingly little is known about how these markets evolved spatially and relationally. This paper fills that knowledge gap by asking two questions: how did each network adapt to achieve scale at speed across different jurisdictions; and to what extent does the spatial and relational organization of today's collateralized loan obligation structuration network, mirror that of collateralized debt obligations pre-crisis? To answer those questions, we draw on the global financial networks approach, developing our own concept of the networked product to explore the agentic qualities of collateralized debt obligations and collateralized loan obligations—specifically how their technical and regulatory "needs" shape the roles and jurisdictions enrolled in a global financial network. We use social network analysis to map and analyze the evolving spatial and relational organization that nurtured this growth, drawing on data harvested from offering circulars. We find that collateralized debt obligations spread from the US to Europe through a process of transduplication—that similar role-based network relations were reproduced from one regulatory regime to another. We also find a strong correlation between pre-crisis collateralized debt obligation- and post-crisis collateralized loan obligation-global financial networks in both US$- and €-denominations, with often the same network participants involved in each. We conclude by reflecting on the prosaic way financial markets for ostensibly complex products reproduce and the capacity for network stabilities to produce market instabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to assess the cost-effectiveness of pembrolizumab in first-line for microsatellite-instability-high or mismatch-repair-deficient metastatic colorectal cancer. We have considered the pivotal phase III randomized controlled trial of pembrolizumab in first-line for microsatellite-instability-high mismatch-repair-deficient metastatic colorectal cancer. The last available update of each trial was considered as the original source. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was calculated as the ratio between the difference of the costs in the intervention and in the control groups (pharmacy costs) and the difference between the effect in the intervention and in the control groups (progression-free survival). The costs of drugs are at the Pharmacy of the Mater Salutis Hospital of Legnago (VR, Italy) and are expressed in euros (€). Three hundred and seven patients were considered in the pivotal phase III randomized controlled trial. Pembrolizumab obtained a cost per month progression-free survival gained ranged from 6471 € towards mFOLFOX (5-FU, oxaliplatin and leucovorin) plus cetuximab to 7886 € towards mFOLFOX. To sum up, combining pharmacological costs of drugs with the measure of efficacy represented by progression-free survival, at the actual prize pembrolizumab cannot be considered cost-effectiveness for first-line treatment for microsatellite-instability-high mismatch-repair-deficient metastatic colorectal cancer. A reduction in pharmacological costs is mandatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial Intelligence (AI) carries the potential for unprecedented disruption in radiology, with possible positive and negative consequences. The integration of AI in radiology holds the potential to revolutionize healthcare practices by advancing diagnosis, quantification, and management of multiple medical conditions. Nevertheless, the ever‑growing availability of AI tools in radiology highlights an increasing need to critically evaluate claims for its utility and to differentiate safe product offerings from potentially harmful, or fundamentally unhelpful ones. This multi‑society paper, presenting the views of Radiology Societies in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, defines the potential practical problems and ethical issues surrounding the incorporation of AI into radiological practice. In addition to delineating the main points of concern that developers, regulators, and purchasers of AI tools should consider prior to their introduction into clinical practice, this statement also suggests methods to monitor their stability and safety in clinical use, and their suitability for possible autonomous function. This statement is intended to serve as a useful summary of the practical issues which should be considered by all parties involved in the development of radiology AI resources, and their implementation as clinical tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses why and how public attitudes should matter in regulating asylum and refugee protection in rich democracies, with a focus on Europe. Taking a realistic approach, I argue that public views constitute a soft feasibility constraint on effective and sustainable policies towards asylum seekers and refugees, and that a failure to take seriously and understand the attitudes of the host country's population can have a very damaging effect on refugee protection and migrants' rights in practice. Bringing together insights from political philosophy, the politics of asylum, and research on public attitudes, I develop my argument by discussing why 'what the people think' should matter in asylum and refugee polices; how public views can and should matter given the well-known challenges with measuring attitudes and policy preferences; and what the prevailing public views might mean for the reform of asylum and refugee policies in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last years, European intraday power markets have gained importance for balancing forecast errors due to the rising volumes of intermittent renewable generation. However, compared to day-ahead markets, the drivers for the intraday price process are still sparsely researched. In this paper, we propose a modelling strategy for the location, shape and scale parameters of the return distribution in intraday markets, based on fundamental variables. We consider wind and solar forecasts and their intraday updates, outages, price information and a novel measure for the shape of the merit-order, derived from spot auction curves as explanatory variables. We validate our modelling by simulating price paths and compare the probabilistic forecasting performance of our model to benchmark models in a forecasting study for the German market. The approach yields significant improvements in the forecasting performance, especially in the tails of the distribution. At the same time, we are able to derive the contribution of the driving variables. We find that, apart from the first lag of the price changes, none of our fundamental variables have explanatory power for the expected value of the intraday returns. This implies weak-form market efficiency as renewable forecast changes and outage information seems to be priced in by the market. We find that the volatility is driven by the merit-order regime, the time to delivery and the closure of cross-border order books. The tail of the distribution is mainly influenced by past price differences and trading activity. Our approach is directly transferable to other continuous intraday markets in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Makeshift camps have increasingly become a permanent presence along border areas and in cities around Europe and elsewhere, constituting a 'hidden geography' that is crucial to overland mobilities of thousands of migrants each year and essential to understanding contemporary informal migration. While there is rich and burgeoning scholarship on makeshift camps, substantial gaps remain in the understanding of these informal geographies which have not yet been conceptualized in terms of the key roles they play in the production of informal migration corridors nor the unique forms of daily life en route that they support, as this paper intends to do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines ways of knowing "the Roma" as a category of people. It attends to mobility and its obstructions, and the ways that coincide with bureaucratic, institutional, and everyday modes of sorting and racializing groups of people. Our case study is situated in Romania. Whereas "the Roma" do not exist as a category in the Romanian national registry of citizens, mainstream public discourses regarding "Roma migration" have significantly proliferated over the past decades. Yet, how do authorities come to know "the Roma" and how do they render groups of citizens into racialized populations? We examine two bureaucratic practices in Romania, the census and the registry of citizens, and show how the latter is enacted through various "technologies of vision." We focus on the category of "the Roma" as a material semiotic configuration enacted by various "data" regarding issues such as territorial segregation, phenotypic appearance, smell, and dialect. Situated at the intersection of Border and Surveillance Studies, Romani Studies, and Science and Technologies Studies, this paper contributes to debates about how "the Roma" are rendered visible in practices of identification and migration management in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper summarises the results of an investigation of willingness to pay (WTP) for new vaccines. The vaccines considered are for infections with several subtypes. One option is to cover a broad combination of these within one vaccine although this is associated with additional development complexities. The associated durations of effect of such vaccines are not yet known; therefore the impact of variations in this and the subtype coverage, as well as that of opting for a non-reimbursement status, were among the issues that needed to be assessed. One important group for a determination of WTP is parents, in that they could be paying for vaccination of themselves and/or their children. This paper reports the findings of WTP among this group for their children for alternative outcomes in the vaccine product profile. For reasons of confidentiality, results from only this group in the context of paying for their children are reported. The exact wording of the product features tested have also been changed for the same reason. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since timber frame constructions can help to reduce CO2-emissions and lower the embodied energy of buildings, the market share of timber-based buildings is growing across Europe. Unfortunately, timber frame constructions are found to be susceptible to moisture damage, such as interstitial condensation, mould growth and wood rot. To avoid moisture damage, a correct design of the wall composition is crucial, with special emphasis on the ratio between vapour resistance of wind and vapour barrier. Given that experimental investigations are time-consuming and expensive, numerical tools are common to assess the hygrothermal behaviour of building components. And although timber frame constructions are inherently two- or even three-dimensional due to the embedded wooden elements, most often, 1D-simulations focussing on the basic configuration with insulation between wind and vapour barrier are conducted. This paper investigates to what extent neglecting the embedded wooden elements influences the risk assessment of the wall. Three different wall configurations have been considered and their hygrothermal response, as predicted by 1D- and 2D-numerical simulations, are compared. Variability of the exterior climate is included by using four distinct different climate regions. Contrary to common assumptions, buffering of moisture in wooden elements does not always lower the risk on moisture damage, but might even increase it. While the predicted risk on mould growth was found to be similar between 1D and 2D-simulations, the opposite was found for the risk on interstitial condensation. Mainly for cold climates and wall configurations with hardly any other hygric buffering capacity, levels of interstitial condensation were found to be significantly higher when taking the wooden elements into account in the numerical simulations. Hence, care should be taken when assessing the reliability of timber frame walls based on 1D-simulations only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the Delphi methodology employed to select a final dashboard of 30 indicators on the socio-educative inclusion of refugee and migrant children in Europe. Firstly, a procedure for identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) was carried out, including a specialized scientific literature review, the mapping of previous indicators, and qualitative workshops with key stakeholders at micro, meso, and macro levels in six countries. Then, a Delphi design was implemented to assess, rate, and provide meaningful qualitative improvements to a pool of pre-selected indicators. The Delphi methodology involved a group of international experts on the matters of inclusive education or migration, researchers, NGOs, and public officers. As an alternative to traditional "benchmark-based" consensus, we introduced the use of a) the CARA model and b) an alternative multi-input and mixed-method consensus-building procedure. The results provided a significant contribution to qualitative methods on the one hand and to migration and integration literature on the other. The methodological innovations, the diversity of experts' perspectives involved in the process, and the structured nature of the method constituted significant advantages to improve the robustness of the Delphi methodology for selecting and validating indicators. Future research involving a Delphi methodology can benefit from applying the present procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The objective of this review is to provide a systematic and critical summary of findings regarding empirical studies conducted on commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in Europe. The purpose is to gain an understanding of the characteristics and main topics addressed in European research on CSEC, identify gaps, and give suggestions for future studies. Method: The review was guided by the "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis—Protocols". A comprehensive search on several databases was conducted to identify published and unpublished empirical research on CSEC in Europe, revealing 3,846 documents. In total, 56 research papers that focused specifically on CSEC in European samples were included. Synthesis: Research concerning European studies of CSEC and trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation has developed significantly over the last 20 years but is still rather limited and mainly focused on the UK and Sweden. Most of the studies reviewed suffer from important methodological flaws such as an inaccurate definition of the phenomenon analyzed, small and convenience samples, and nonvalidated and nonspecific instruments. Conclusions: Findings from this study demonstrate the need for greater exploration and research around a number of areas of sexual exploitation of children in Europe. Further work is necessary in terms of capacity building, training, and awareness-raising for society as a whole and, specifically, professionals providing direct support to children and young people at risk of exploitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This conference, organised by the Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining, took place on 9–12 May 2005 at the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, UK and was attended by over 300 delegates from 27 countries. The technical programme covered the full spectrum of electric arc furnace technology, new plant developments and environmental issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An informal electronic European Group for Organizational Studies (EGOS) forum was set-up in September 2000 to bring together Ph.D. students, junior academics and researchers to promote participation and communication among those who are part of the EGOS community. The aim of the EGOS Network is to enable participants - particularly those who are, or feel, new' to EGOS - to become more actively involved in shaping and running events, workshops, discussion groups and similar activities. The question that ran through most of the presentations and returned in the discussion was one of self-reflection. The implication behind the colloquium theme was that organization theorists often discuss people events, and things by focusing on who or what is the case. Organization theorists, even when they take a constructivist or constructionist perspective, usually assume that it is individuals with minds who do the constructing, so constructed products are examined, rather than construction processes. This theme group turned attention to us academics. to our disciplinary communities and to our academic work practices.

On the 25 March 2017, leaders of the EU27 and European Union (EU) institutions ratified the Rome Declaration. They committed to invite citizens to discuss Europe's future and to provide recommendations that would facilitate their decision-makers in shaping their national positions on Europe. In response, citizens' dialogues on the future of Europe were instituted across the Union to facilitate public participation in shaping Europe. This paper explores Ireland's set of dialogues which took place during 2018. Although event organisers in Ireland applied a relatively atypical and more systematic and participatory approach to their dialogues, evidence suggests that Irelands' dialogues were reminiscent of a public relations exercise which showcased the country's commitment to incorporating citizens into the debate on Europe while avoiding a deliberative design which could have strengthened the quality of public discourse and the quality of public recommendations. Due to an absence of elite political will for a deliberative process, as well as structural weaknesses in design, participants' recommendations lacked any clear and prescriptive direction which could shape Ireland's national position on the future of Europe in any constructive or meaningful way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the salient features of the recent populist turn in Europe has been a redefinition of the European. Traditionally, (far) right-wing parties defined themselves as Eurosceptic and focused on national identity. Increasingly, however, they have referred to pan-European heritage, although against the mainstream conceptualization of it. The article looks at the case of Hungary and the image of Europe constructed by the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose rhetoric has become a key reference point for other European populist movements. The past decade his government has witnessed, on the one hand, a tendency to redefine what is European against the dominant and institutionalized interpretations, and, on the other, an attempt to single-out the concept of Central Europe as the locus for maintaining and nurturing European values in contrast to perceived Western decline. This paper examines this discourse through a close reading of major speeches delivered by Orbán on the anniversaries of historical events. Analysis of these speeches reveals the ideological foundations of his political project and presents historical and philosophical interpretations of the European political situation. It seeks to identify how Orbán's discourse evolved across time, by putting the speeches about the past into the present political context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) are ecosystems bolstering European companies to overtake innovation hindrances and drive Europe to become the world leading innovator in the industry digital revolution. Each of such organizations can provide a certain list of services, that can be classified and grouped in five macro-classes according to the Data-driven Business-Ecosystem-Skills-Technology (D-BEST) reference model, able to decode DIHs' service portfolio and to shape collaborative networks in the Industry 4.0 age. However, to support an easier codification of DIH support actions, which also directly entails the engagement of enterprises in the DIH ecosystems, a method able to analyze typical Customer Journeys (CJs) is needed. Therefore, this paper proposes the D-BEST based DIH CJ analysis method, able to configure DIHs' unique value proposition, mapping on the five macro-classes of services of the D-BEST the digital transformation processes of the two main categories of DIH customers (technology end-users and technology providers). The method analyses the service provision process of single DIHs, evidencing their strengths and weaknesses, and is also effective in suggesting possible collaborations and joint service provision in a network of multiple DIHs, being able to unveil the commonalities and complementarities among the different journeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic self-efficacy (ASE) refers to a student's global belief in his/her ability to master the various academic challenges at university and is an essential antecedent of wellbeing and performance. The five-item General Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (GASE) showed promise as a short and concise measure for overall ASE. However, of its validity and reliability outside of Scandinavia is limited. Therefore, this paper aimed to investigate the psychometric properties, longitudinal invariance, and criterion validity of the GASE within a sample of university students (Time 1: n = 1056 & Time 2: n = 592) in the USA and Western Europe. The results showed that a unidimensional factorial model of overall ASE fitted the data well was reliable and invariant across time. Further, criterion validity was established by finding a positive relationship with task performance at different time stamps. Therefore, the GASE can be used as a valid and reliable measure for general ASE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article re-examines the problem of EU subsidiarity in the light of the political economy of federalism and centre–right thinking. It argues that if Christian Democratic, conservative and liberal parties are serious about strengthening subsidiarity, they should urge the EU to take steps in the direction of scenario four of the European Commission's White Paper on the Future of Europe. Misleadingly titled 'Doing less more efficiently', this scenario is in fact about 'delivering more and faster in selected policy areas, while doing less elsewhere', as the subtitle correctly states. A new compact combining the targeted strengthening of key federal policies at the EU level with the EU's gradual disengagement from other policy areas seems the most promising way to take the Union out of the doldrums and strike a compromise between Eurosceptics and Europhiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses discourse analysis to study the continuities in British foreign policy thinking within the Labour party from the 1960s to the present day. Using representative extracts from speeches by Hugh Gaitskell, Harold Wilson, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, it identifies the ideational consistencies in the leaders' attitudes to: Empire; federalism in the EEC/EU; and laying down conditions that have to be met before any constructive engagement with ‘Europe’ can be countenanced. We argue that these consistencies, spanning a 50-year period, exemplify a certain stagnation both within Labour's European discourses and within British foreign policy thinking more widely. We develop the idea that Labour party thinking has been crucially framed by both small ‘c’ conservative and upper-case Conservative ideology, popularised by Winston Churchill in his ‘three circles’ model of British foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the analysis of American citizens travelling to Europe, examining the degree of persistence of the series and testing whether shocks are of a transitory or of a permanent nature. For this purpose, we use a methodology based on fractional integration, including seasonal autoregressions to describe the short-run (seasonal) dynamics underlying the series. We show that the series is highly persistent with an order of integration slightly below one. Moreover, the existence of a unit root cannot be rejected at standard significance levels. In the final part of the paper, we also examine the existence of a structural break, comparing the degree of persistence before and after the September 11th attacks. The results indicate that there has been a substantial reduction in the degree of persistence after the break in 2001.Tourism and Hospitality Research (2009) 9, 3–8. doi:10.1057/thr.2008.38; published online 24 November 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]