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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.)

Children and young people who come into conflict with the law tend to be disengaged with education and learning. This paper reports on research from an EU Erasmus+ project in Spain, Italy, Germany and the UK. The research focused on the impact of Authentic Inquiry (AI) on learners in custodial or youth justice settings and the impact on educators and their pedagogy. Quantitative data (from 82 educators and 73 young people), demonstrated the young people could be re-engaged with education and learning as evidenced in the change in Learning Power profiles. Qualitative data (from 16 educators and 14 young people) showed the greatest impact to be on the emotional component of engagement. The AI had an impact xon educators as learners by improved Learning Power profiles and on their pedagogical approach. Ways to embed the approach into education in youth justice settings in the different country contexts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palm oil is one of the most widely used vegetable oils by the food industry but there is limited information on actual intake. A detailed intake assessment of palm oil for Spain and Germany was conducted. For Spain, mean palm oil intakes ranged from 2.06 g/day in the elderly to 4.54 g/day in children and adolescents, while high-level intakes ranged from 10.34 g/day in the elderly to 20.88 g/day in toddlers. For Germany, mean palm oil intakes ranged from 3.06 g/day in toddlers to 6.22 g/day in the very elderly, while high-level intakes ranged from 13.61 g/day in toddlers to 30.10 g/day in the elderly. For both countries, the main contributing food categories to mean palm oil intake were biscuits, cakes, bread, breakfast cereal and margarine. In summary, the present paper provides a realistic assessment of the intake of palm oil in two EU countries for different population groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission in the scope of its cohesion policy tries to increase competitiveness of the European Union (EU) regions by supporting, beside many other instruments, entrepreneurial activities in the EU sub-national regions. This paper sheds an empirical light on the relationship between entrepreneurial activities and entrepreneurial perceptions on the one hand and the economic performance of regions eligible for EU regional policies in Spain and Germany on the other. Based on empirical data on the NUTS2 level, there will be analysis of whether previous EU support has later had an impact on entrepreneurial activities and/or entrepreneurial perception in the regions. The results show empirical evidence for a relationship between entrepreneurial activities and EU regional policies. However, other determinants such as gender and the role model function have an even stronger impact. Some of the results may help to increase the effectiveness of EC regional policies and of regional policies of the national governments, especially if the interdependence of entrepreneurship support policies and proper regional policies is considered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Past studies on government survival in parliamentary democracies have been limited to national governments. However, most societies live in a multilevel polity where different policies are decided at distinct governmental layers. So far, the conditions triggering sub-national governments' termination have remained unexplored. Our paper makes a twofold contribution to the literature. First, we explicitly focus our analysis on the sub-national government level. Second, we expand the analytical scope by assuming a multilevel setting, in which the survival of sub-national governments is dependent on both the party composition of the national government (vertical congruence) and their sub-national peers (horizontal congruence). We test the impact of both congruence measures on the early termination risk of regional governments. Our analysis is complemented by including "traditional" factors from national government termination literature, such as structural attributes of governments and their bargaining environment, into empirical modelling. Analysing a novel dataset on 494 regional governments in Germany and Spain we find that the risk of sub-national government termination is related to varying levels of vertical congruence. Furthermore, we find interesting explanatory variation between the two countries with regard to the effect size of economic performance, regional authority and congruence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the diversity in patients' experience of biomedicine and contrasts it with the normative view characteristic of health professionals. Ethnographic fieldwork among Polish migrant women in London, Barcelona and Berlin included interviews about their experiences with local healthcare and health professionals. Themes drawn from the narratives are differences between the cities in terms of communication between patients and health professionals, respect for patients' choices and dignity, attitudes to pregnancy and birth (different levels of medicalization), and paediatric care. It is argued that patients continuously negotiate among their own views and expectations based on previous experiences and knowledge from personal communication; internet forums and publications; and the offer of medical services in the countries of their settlement. Patients experience pluralism of therapeutic traditions within and outside bio-medicine. In turn, representatives of bio-medicine are rarely aware of other medical practices and beliefs and this leads to various misunderstandings. By highlighting the pluralism of medical practices in European countries and the increasing mobility of patients, this case study has useful implications for medical anthropologists and health professionals in a broader Western context, such as raising sensitivity to different communication strategies and a diversity of curing traditions and expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-level athletes are accorded deferential treatment by the French state. They enjoy the status of ‘high-performance athletes', which entitles them to assistance from the state and a set of special provisions. This paper provides an overview of the political circumstances in which this status was originated and developed, from its initial recognition under the 1975 Sports Law to the paradoxical social effects that this state policy has had on its beneficiaries: the athletes themselves. The first part of the paper is based largely on a search of parliamentary archives relating to the adoption of this law, known as the Mazeaud law, while the second part is based on a survey and interviews conducted with a number of French athletes who were selected for the 1972 and 1992 Olympic Games in Munich and Barcelona respectively. In addressing these two key phases in the recognition of athlete status, its political development and its subsequent reception, the article illustrates the changes in both status and condition of high-performance athlete, based on very different time scales and inspired by fairly different expectations. Given that the present system aims to improve the position of athletes in terms of their post-competitive lives, the long-term benefit of representing France under these circumstances remains questionable. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the Europeanization of citizenship education policy through a comparative analysis of two European states, Germany and Spain, with strong traditions of regional control of education policy. While previous studies have tended to focus on national responses to and implementation of EU initiatives, they often disregarded the complex relationship regional actors have with national state and supranational actors. Using evidence from interviews and a detailed framing analysis of citizenship education curricula, textbooks, and policy documents, this paper looks specifically at Catalonia and Bavaria to explore the conception of the 'ideal citizen' within and across local education practice(s), regional policy imperatives, central state-level citizenship education policy, German and Spanish federal policy related to citizenship and immigration, and EU educational initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intention of this paper is to analyse why people go to war, despite the, at first sight, divergence between benefits and costs. This paper provides a comparison of the willingness to go to war in different OECD countries using World Values Survey data. The empirical findings in the United States, Switzerland, Spain, Sweden and West Germany, using the willingness to fight as a dependent variable, indicate that such factors as pride, trust, and political ideology significantly influence individuals' willingness to go to war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Working time reduction (WTR) is back on the agenda, but there is no systematic knowledge of key actors in the WTR debate, their motives, the forms of WTR advocated, and their approach. Therefore, this article examines the promotion of WTR in Germany, Spain, and Ireland, countries with different industrial relations regimes. The comparative qualitative content analysis shows that WTR's promotion varies: it is an individual worker issue in Germany, a political initiative in Spain, and a social campaign in Ireland. The primary motive is workers' well-being, with additional emphases on economic, environmental, and societal aspects. These findings have implications for WTR's future prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores participation in higher education in Germany and Spain through two case studies from the RANLHE project. There is one case in each national context (Germany and Spain) based on biographical interviews undertaken between 2008 and 2010. Social, economic and cultural dimensions are explored in order to better understand the German and Spanish contexts. In addition, we look at the comparison of the two cultural and institutional contexts, searching for a more complex description of the processes related to access, retention, completion and learning in higher education from a European and transnational perspective. These issues are connected to social challenges regarding inequalities and social class. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HendersonA., JefferyC., WincottD. and WynJonesR. Reflections on the ‘devolution paradox’: a comparative examination of multilevel citizenship,Regional Studies. This paper addresses a paradox in the literature on federal and decentralized states: citizens want their regional governments to do more and yet seem reluctant to embrace the logical consequences of regional control, namely inter-regional policy variation and limited state-wide intervention in policy provision. Based on a survey conducted in fourteen regions across Austria, France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, the extent of this devolution paradox is clarified and variables that seem to mitigate or exacerbate its presence, including strength of regional identity, regional institutional authority and regional economic wealth, are identified. The analysis helps one to understand where and how multilevel citizenship operates. HendersonA., JefferyC., WincottD. and WynJonesR. 反思“中央权力下放的矛盾”：多层级公民权的比较研究，区域研究。本文着手探究联邦与去中心化国家文献中存在的矛盾：公民们要求 区域政府做更多事，却似乎不愿接受区域控 制的逻辑性后果，亦即跨区域的政策差异，以及国家在全国政策提供方面的有限干预。本文根据在奥地利、法国、德国、西班牙与英国的十四个区域中所进行的调查，釐清此一中央权力下放的矛盾程度，并指认可减缓或深化此一问题的变项，包括区域认同强度、区域制度权威和区域经济财富。本研究有助于理解多层级公民权在何处以及如何运作。 公民权 公共政策 中央权力下放 区域 联邦主义 HendersonA., JefferyC., WincottD. et WynJonesR. Des réflexions sur le ‘paradoxe de la décentralisation’: un examen comparatif de la citoyenneté à plusieurs niveaux,Regional Studies. Ce présent article aborde un paradoxe dans la documentation au sujet des états fédéraux et décentralisés: à savoir, les citoyens veulent que leur administration régionale fasse plus et pourtant sont réticents à s'ouvrir aux conséquences logiques de la tutelle régionale, à savoir la variation de la politique sur le plan interrégional et l'intervention limitée de la politique à l'échelle de l'état. À partir d'une enquête auprès de quatorze régions à travers l'Autriche, la France, l'Allemagne, l'Espagne et le Royaume-Uni, on explique la portée du paradoxe de la décentralisation et on met en lumière les variables qui semblent pallier ou aggraver sa présence, y compris l'importance de l'identité régionale, la tutelle régionale et la richesse économique régionale. L'analyse permet de mieux comprendre où et comment fonctionne la citoyenneté à plusieurs niveaux. Citoyenneté Politique publique Décentralisation Régions Fédéralisme HendersonA., JefferyC., WincottD. und WynJonesR. Überlegungen zum ‘Paradox der Devolution’: eine vergleichende Untersuchung der Staatsbürgerschaft auf mehreren Ebenen,Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag wird ein Paradox in der Literatur über Bundes- und dezentralisierte Staaten untersucht: Die Bürger erwarten von ihren regionalen Regierungen mehr Aktivität, sträuben sich aber zugleich offenbar gegen die logischen Konsequenzen der regionalen Kontrolle, nämlich interregionale politische Schwankungen und eine eingeschränkte staatsweite Intervention in die Politik. Ausgehend von einer Erhebung unter 14 Regionen in Österreich, Frankreich, Deutschland, Spanien und Großbritannien wird das Ausmaß dieses Devolutionsparadoxes geklärt, und es werden Variablen identifiziert, die seine Präsenz offenbar abschwächen oder verstärken, darunter die Stärke der regionalen Identität, die Autorität der regionalen Institutionen und der wirtschaftliche Wohlstand der Region. Die Analyse hilft beim Verständnis der Frage, wo und wie eine Staatsbürgerschaft auf mehreren Ebenen funktioniert. Staatsbürgerschaft Öffentliche Politik Devolution Regionen Föderalismus HendersonA., JefferyC., WincottD. y WynJonesR. Observaciones sobre la paradoja de la descentralización: un análisis comparativo de la ciudadanía de varios niveles,Regional Studies. En este artículo tratamos una paradoja en la literatura sobre los Estados federales y descentralizados: los ciudadanos esperan más actividades de sus Gobiernos regionales y, sin embargo, parecen reacios a aceptar las consecuencias lógicas del control regional, es decir, la variación política interregional y la intervención limitada del Estado en la política. A raíz de un estudio llevado a cabo en catorce regiones de Austria, Francia, Alemania, España y el Reino Unido, aclaramos el alcance de esta paradoja de la descentralización e identificamos las variables que parecen mitigar o exacerbar su presencia, incluyendo la fuerza de la identidad regional, la autoridad institucional regional y la riqueza económica regional. Con este análisis podemos comprender dónde y cómo funciona la ciudadanía de varios niveles. Ciudadanía Política pública Descentralización Regiones Federalismo [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral questions are usually seen as a procedure designed for political conflict. Yet question time may serve other purposes depending on the institutional setting, the political context and the policy field. By comparing the use of oral questions on the defence issue in the national parliaments of four Western democracies, the paper identifies a specific characteristic of questioning in each lower house: political conflict in Germany, internal dissent in the United Kingdom, reward of policy expertise in Spain and local issues in France. Such diverse uses of questioning procedures impact differently on the quality of the accountability process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper questions the view of a narrow connection between global constraints and internal policy choices of European nation states according to which 'Deregulation' and the reduction of state expenditure are seen as the only possibilities that decision-makers in labour market and social policy have at their disposal. Theoretically, it is argued that countries with relatively high taxes can remain attractive for international capital as long as they offer a highly qualified labour force able to produce high quality commodities. Different productivity levels then correspond with a spectrum of post-Fordist growth strategies the ends of which are characterised as 'capital-oriented flexibility' and 'negotiated flexibility'. Empirically, the paper interprets recent reforms of labour markets and welfare states in the Netherlands, the UK, Sweden, Spain, and Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The VAR has introduced a new element to football. Before, a decision to award a penalty kick could not be reversed. The player taking the penalty could take it relatively quickly after the referee called the foul. After the introduction of the VAR, every penalty kick decision is replayed by the VAR and also quite often reviewed on-field. As a consequence, time between the initial decision by the referee and the actual penalty kick has increased substantially. We examined the influence of the time-interval duration between the foul and the actual penalty kick on the conversion probability using a logit model. Also, we assessed the consequences of a VAR intervention, if any. We used data on all 2888 penalties awarded in top leagues in England, Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the UEFA Champions League, over the course of five seasons (2015/2016–2019/2020). We found that the duration between the foul and the moment the penalty is taken does not impact the conversion probability. However, whether or not the VAR intervenes with the referee's decision has a negative effect on the conversion probability of penalty kicks. Football teams and coaches should incorporate this element of uncertainty in training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the competitive effects of the centralised sale of football media rights in Europe, focusing on the "Big Five" countries (England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain). Contrary to the findings of European competition authorities, we consider that there are arguments in favour of the relevant market for domestic media rights being club- or even match-specific. This raises the question of what competition is restricted by the centralised sale if the rights on offer have limited or no substitutability. We conclude that the centralised sale of media rights is unlikely to be anticompetitive and may have procompetitive effects if the media rights of different clubs are complementary instead of substitutable. In addition, there may be efficiency gains from the bundling of media rights. Under a club or match-specific market definition, a no-single-buyer rule likely reduces the benefits from the centralised sale and may harm consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the long-term development of two strategic alliances between major Spanish (RUI and Iberostar) and German (TUI and Neckermann) tourist firms. Our research builds on the literature on foreign direct investment and institutionalism applied to cross-border cooperation, yet using business history research methods. The study aims to understand how the local Spanish context shaped the interaction between foreign and domestic firms and how this interaction influenced the development of the Spanish companies. Our cases suggest that the Spanish institutional framework affected the nature and strength of alliances. Foreign partners were crucial in providing financial and commercial support, brand consolidation, market knowledge and reputation. However, local actors also played an important role as proactive partners eager to develop their domestic business and upgrade their existing capabilities. Ultimately this strategy would contribute to the internationalisation of Spanish firms after 1990. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarisation is often seen as mainly negative for the functioning of democracies, but one of its saving graces could be that it raises the stakes of politics and encourages participation. This study explores the relationship between affective polarisation and turnout using three longitudinal designs. It makes use of three decades of repeated cross-sectional surveys in Germany, a two-wave panel study in Spain, and an eleven-wave panel study in the Netherlands. It tests whether affective polarisation increases turnout using varying operationalizations and specifications, and studies whether any boost in participation extends beyond the most politically sophisticated citizens. The findings suggest a sizeable independent effect of affective polarisation on turnout even when accounting for reverse causality and for the confounding impact of positive partisanship and ideological polarisation. Importantly, this effect might even be somewhat more pronounced among those who are least sophisticated. The concluding section discusses the normative and theoretical implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To describe MDD patients starting antidepressant (AD) treatment by pharmacological approach and identify factors associated with a longer sick leave (SL) duration. Retrospective study on IQVIA German Disease Analyser (specialists) and Spanish Longitudinal Patient Database (general practitioners and specialists). MDD patients initiating AD treatment between July 2016–June 2018 were grouped by therapeutic approach (AD monotherapy vs. combination/switch/add-on) and their characteristics were analysed descriptively. Multiple logistic regression models were run to evaluate factors affecting SL duration (i.e., >30 days). One thousand six hundred and eighty-five patients (monotherapy: 58%; combination/switch/add-on: 42%) met inclusion criteria for Germany, and 1817 for Spain (monotherapy: 83%; combination/switch/add-on: 17%). AD treatment influenced SL duration: combination/switch/add-on patients had a 2-fold and a 4-fold risk of having >30 days of SL than monotherapy patients, respectively in Germany and Spain. Patients with a gap of time between MDD diagnosis and AD treatment initiation had a higher likelihood of experiencing a longer SL both in Germany and Spain (38% higher likelihood and 6-fold risk of having >30 days of SL, respectively). A careful and timely selection of AD treatment approach at the time of MDD diagnosis may improve functional recovery and help to reduce SL, minimising the socio-economic burden of the disease. The major depressive disorder has a substantial impact on work absenteeism. The present study aimed to describe MDD patients starting antidepressant (AD) treatment depending on the pharmacological approach and to identify factors associated with longer sick leave (SL) duration. Patients receiving AD monotherapy had a lower likelihood of having more than 30 days of sick leave than those receiving AD combination/switch/add-on. Patients for whom a gap of time between MDD diagnosis and initiation of AD treatment was observed, showed a higher likelihood of having more than 30 days of sick leave. Because findings from this analysis relied on secondary data, the authors would like to claim the urgency of conducting prospective observational studies that further investigate the effect that different AD therapeutic approaches and timely initiation of treatment might exert on patients' recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reform capacity of welfare states to adapt to the needs of post-industrial labour markets has been a key question of the welfare literature for the last two decades. In a context of austerity, such adaptations (retrenchment or recalibration) are notoriously difficult because of extremely high levels of support for existing policies, particularly old age pensions. We investigate how the recent economic shock caused by the COVID-pandemic has changed social policy preferences in three West European countries (Germany, Sweden, Spain). Relying on original panel data observing the relative support for social policies before and during the crisis, we show that support for old age pensions has dropped substantially relative to other social policies. This drop can be observed in all three countries and among all ideological and age groups. The drop is strongest among current and soon-to-be pensioners who in turn increased support for benefits to the working-age population. At the expense of pensions, the economic shock has especially boosted support for active labour market policies and (in Germany) childcare services. This shift of support from pensions to social investment policies might have opened up a window of opportunity for recalibrating welfare reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are prevalent in Europe but occurrence in primary care and the proportion of treated cases are understudied. This study reports prevalence of AUDs and their treatment in European primary health care settings and compares them with general population estimates.Procedure. We sampled 358 general practitioners (GPs, refusal rate: 56.4%) across six European countries (Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, and Spain) who assessed 13,003 patients including providing AUD diagnoses. A subsample of 8,476 patients (refusal rate: 17.8%) was interviewed subsequently, assessing DSM-IV AUD diagnoses via the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Final AUD diagnoses combined GP and patient interview information.Findings. Past year AUDs were prevalent with 11.8% (95% CI: 11.2–12.5%) across all regions, which is 1.6 times the European general population AUD estimate. Of those diagnosed with AUDs, 17.7% (95% CI: 15.4–20.0%) received professional help. Compared to general population estimates, AUDs and their treatment were more prevalent in primary care settings in most countries, with disproportionally high AUD rates in Italy and Spain and unexpectedly low AUD rates in Hungary.Conclusions. We found higher prevalence and treatment rates of AUDs in primary health care compared to general population surveys, with large variability between the observed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes innovation activities in medium-technology sectors in Germany, Italy and Spain and checks whether cross-country similarities or differences prevail. The results have important implications for the Sectoral Systems of Innovation and the Distance-to-the-Frontier frameworks. While the Sectoral Systems of Innovation predicts the existence of technology-related similarities in innovative patterns in the same sectors across countries, the Distance-to-the Frontier suggests the existence of relevant differences related with the level of technological development of each national sector. Using Community Innovation Survey data and adapting an econometric strategy first devised by Griffith, Huergo, Mairesse and Peters [Innovation and Productivity Across four European Countries,Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 22(4), 483–498, 2006], I test whether similarities or differences prevail across country in different features of innovation activity. The results show that relevant differences between the three countries exist in the intensity of R&D activities and in the economic impact of different types of innovations, providing support to the Distance-to-the-Frontier hypothesis. On the contrary, cross-country similarities emerge among the sources of knowledge used to develop innovations, in line with the Sectoral Systems of Innovation framework. The results highlight the importance to take into account both frameworks for a useful analysis of innovation within sectors and across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Persons with profound intellectual disability (PID) are mostly not able to use assistive technology (AT) independently. Caregivers play an important mediating role in implementing AT in the daily life of persons with PID. Both first-order barriers, extrinsic to caregivers, and second-order barriers, intrinsic to caregivers, influence the attitudes and behaviors of caregivers with regard to AT-use. It could be asked if increased knowledge on and experience with AT may impact the effect of first- and second-order barriers. This study investigated how knowledge and experience influence the professional caregivers' beliefs about which factors may impact the AT use in persons with PID and their intentions to use AT for persons with PID. A questionnaire on the experienced limitations and successes in using AT was developed. The questionnaire was send to professionals working with or responsible for persons with PID in various countries in Europe. In total the answers of 195 respondents were included in this study. This study's results demonstrate that AT is used for various reasons in persons with PID, mostly to support communication and interaction or for fun or relaxation. Based on the answers of the respondents can be concluded that both experience and knowledge of caregivers seem to influence first- and second-order barriers. Besides, a possibility to overcome the second-order barriers is to provide professionals with possibilities to increase their knowledge and experience. AT for persons with PID is mostly used for communication and interaction or for fun and relaxation. Professional caregivers belief that AT-use may positively influence various aspects in the life of persons with PID, especially communication and interaction, active engagement and participation in activities, and self-esteem of the person. Caregivers need to have sufficient experience in order to rate the barriers of AT-use as less limited in the group of persons with PID. In order to overcome the barriers experienced in implementing AT in persons with PID, knowledge of caregivers is essential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is much literature on the Europeanization of social movements, yet work tends not to theorize the influence of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) upon social movements. I examine the extent to which EU-imposed austerity in Southern Europe inspired European protests among German, Spanish and French trade unions. On the basis of an analytic framework which distinguishes between (i) Europeanization and (ii) continuing attachment to national institutions, I contend that degrees of Europeanization are contingent upon position within EMU. Unions in weak positions have incentives to undertake Europeanization, as in the case of Spain, whilst unions within strong positions have less incentive to undertake Europeanization, as in the case of Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Good physician-patient communication is an important aspect of patient-centered care and contributes to positive health outcomes, however, there is a lack of standard European Union (EU) communication training policies for physicians. This study explores the barriers to good communication for both physicians and patients across four EU countries as part of the EU-funded project, Health Communication Training for Health Professionals – H-COM. Method: Focus groups were conducted with 31 patients and 38 physicians from Germany, Greece, Spain, and Cyprus. Two separate discussion guides were constructed for each target group around three themes: perceptions of, barriers to, and needs for health communication. Thematic analysis was used. Results: Commonalities and differences between countries and target groups were identified, with participants discussing attitudinal, emotional, educational, and systemic barriers to good communication. Participants indicated a significant gap in health communication knowledge, skills, and training for physicians, with regional differences. Conclusion: The results imply that there is a need for EU-wide communication training for physicians that would be best addressed by common themes and tailoring to specific regional differences. The results also imply that effective training should encompass a blend of theory and practical methods, and should be delivered via an e-learning platform for maximum accessibility. Training programs that adhere to these suggestions can begin to address the gaps in patient-centered care in the EU. [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: This study describes the psychometric testing of the Achondroplasia Personal Life Experience Scale (APLES): a new disease- and functioning-specific health-related quality of life instrument for young people with achondroplasia, which was developed based on the International Classification of Functioning–Children and Youth Version. Method: The qualitative analysis of focus group statements from German patients and parents using the International Classification of Functioning–Children and Youth Version yielded 59 items, which after cognitive debriefing were included in a pilot-test. Psychometric performance was cross-culturally examined in a field- and re-test in Germany and Spain. Results: Cognitive debriefing and pilot-test results suggested to reduce the 59-APLES version to a 35-items version. Field-test data showed acceptable reliability and validity, which further improved after the APLES was shortened to 21 items. Conclusion: Developing a disease-specific instrument within the framework of the International Classification of Functioning allows the universal assessment and comparison of perceived health. Psychometric analysis showed that the APLES fulfills psychometric quality standards and provides a way to assess health-related quality of life from self- and observer report in young persons with achondroplasia. Further studies may use the instrument in clinical research and practice to understand perceived burden and to optimize care. Health-related quality of life instruments are useful tools to include in clinical research and/or practice to evaluate treatment effects directly from the patient's perspective. Cross-culturally developed health-related quality of life measures that are based on the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health provide the opportunity to assess the health status in a standardized language and to compare it across countries and health professions. All four components of the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health – Child and Youth Version ("Body Functions & Structures", "Activities and Participation", "Environmental Factors", and "Personal Factors") have been shown to be relevant in assessing health-related quality of life and functioning in young achondroplasia patients. Results underline the important aspects associated with disproportionate short stature, emphasizing the benefits of a disease-specific instrument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Alcohol is one of the least intervened risk factors in the management of hypertension at the primary care level. In order to improve alcohol interventions, a better understanding of knowledge, attitudes and clinical practice of lifestyle interventions in the management of hypertension is needed. Method:As a part of a European study (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK), 211 German general practitioners (GPs) were recruited in Bavaria and Hamburg and surveyed via an Internet-based questionnaire. Results were compared with the European sample (n = 2870). Results:One-third of the patients seen by German GPs had hypertension (36.2%, standard deviation (SD): 14.6) and among cases with hypertension, less than half were ever screened for alcohol (4.5 out of 10 patients). The foremost reasons for not screening for alcohol were that alcohol was not considered a major risk factor for hypertension plus the lack of knowledge of appropriate alcohol screening instruments. The majority of German GPs managed patients with hazardous drinking levels themselves or in their practice (71.3%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 64.6–77.2%), but only 42.0% (95% CI: 35.2–49.0%) managed alcohol dependent patients. German screening rates were slightly lower but interventions of screened positive patients higher than the European average. Conclusions:Rates of alcohol screening in patients with hypertension in primary health care may be increased by improving GPs knowledge of alcohol as a major risk factor for hypertension, increasing GPs education on alcohol and screening instruments, and providing reimbursement. This may increase treatment of alcohol problems in patients with hypertension and reduce hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: To examine whether the mix of community and institutional long-term care (ILTC) for people with dementia (PwD) in Europe could be improved; assess the economic consequences of providing alternative services for particular groups of ILTC entrants and explore the transnational application of the ‘Balance of Care’ (BoC) approach. Method:A BoC study was undertaken in Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK as part of theRightTimePlaceCareproject. Drawing on information about 2014 PwD on the margins of ILTC admission, this strategic planning framework identified people whose needs could be met in more than one setting, and compared the relative costs of the possible alternatives. Results:The findings suggest a noteworthy minority of ILTC entrants could be more appropriately supported in the community if enhanced services were available. This would not necessarily require innovative services, but more standard care (including personal and day care), assuming quality was ensured. Potential cost savings were identified in all countries, but community care was not always cheaper than ILTC and the ability to release resources varied between nations. Conclusions: This is believed to be the first transnational application of the BoC approach, and demonstrates its potential to provide a consistent approach to planning across different health and social care systems. Better comparative information is needed on the number of ILTC entrants with dementia, unit costs and outcomes. Nevertheless, the findings offer important evidence on the appropriateness of current provision, and the opportunity to learn from different countries' experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective of this study is to determine whether persons with neuropsychiatric disorders experience a common set of psychosocial difficulties using qualitative data from focus groups and individual interviews.Method: The study was performed in five European countries (Finland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Spain) using the focus groups and individual interviews with persons with nine neuropsychiatric disorders (dementia, depression, epilepsy, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, schizophrenia, stroke and substance dependence). Digitally recorded sessions were analysed using a step-by-step qualitative and quantitative methodology resulting in the compilation of a common set of psychosocial difficulties using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a framework.Results: Sixty-seven persons participated in the study. Most persons with neuropsychiatric disorders experience difficulties in emotional functions, sleeping, carrying out daily routine, working and interpersonal relationships in common. Sixteen out of 33 psychosocial difficulties made up the common set. This set includes mental functions, pain and issues addressing activities and participation and provides first evidence for the hypothesis of horizontal epidemiology of psychosocial difficulties in neuropsychiatric disorders.Conclusions: This study provides information about psychosocial difficulties that should be covered in the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with neuropsychiatric disorders regardless of clinical diagnoses.Implications for RehabilitationEmotional problems, work and sleep problems should be addressed in all the treatments of neuropsychiatric disorders regardless of their specific diagnosis, etiology and severity.Personality issues should be targeted in the treatment for neurological disorders, whereas communication skill training may also be useful for mental disorders.The effects of medication and social environment on patient’s daily life should be considered in all the neuropsychiatric conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banking union challenges the institutional mechanisms that alternative banks use to retain their status, goals, identity and carry out their operations. Yet the impact of banking union on them varies considerably and systematically: those alternative banks that held most closely to the traditional model fared best in the recent financial crises and have been impacted the least by banking union. In contrast, those banks that strayed from the traditional model and sought rapid expansion into new geographic or financial product markets fared much worse under the adverse conditions of recent years and, consequently, ended up under the full weight of banking union provisions. But even where alternative banks hewed to their traditional model and remain a significant part of national financial systems, we find that the crises and subsequent strengthening of the EU’s financial role have reduced the scope for national control over all banks, not just those directly supervised by the ECB. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective:To compare speech reception thresholds (SRTs) in noise using matrix sentence tests in four languages: German, Spanish, Russian, Polish.Design:The four tests were composed of equivalent five-word sentences and were all designed and optimized using the same principles. Six stationary speech-shaped noises and three non-stationary noises were used as maskers.Study sample:Forty native listeners with normal hearing: 10 for each language.Results:SRTs were about 3 dB higher for the German and Spanish tests than for the Russian and Polish tests when stationary noise was used that matched the long-term frequency spectrum of the respective speech test materials. This general SRT difference was also observed for the other stationary noises. The within-test variability across noise conditions differed between languages. About 56% of the observed variance was predicted by the speech intelligibility index. The observed SRT benefit in fluctuating noise was similar for all tests, with a slightly smaller benefit for the Spanish test.Conclusions:Of the stationary noises employed, noise with the same spectrum as the speech yielded the best masking. SRT differences across languages and noises could be attributed in part to spectral differences. These findings provide the feasibility and limits of comparing audiological results across languages. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The progressive education movement was known in Spain from its very inception, and in fact many of its pedagogical theories and practices reached Spain before reaching other European countries. Yet traditional historiography has always maintained that Spain was never integrated in the progressive education movement, a misconception that helps explain the lack of research in the field. Recent historiographical research, however, has shown that numerous Spanish schools served as laboratories for the implementation of progressive education methods in the 1920s and 1930s. The Spanish educational system proved itself to be especially open to international innovation in general and Spain actually enjoyed a privileged position for the study of how innovative pedagogical ideas could be incorporated and appropriated. Proof of this affirmation can be found in the introduction and dissemination throughout Spain of the experimental public school movement of Hamburg known as Gemeinschaftsschulen. This article will focus on the way this movement was received in Spain. We will examine the phenomenon from a double perspective, corresponding to the different positions that scholars found themselves in within the educational panorama of the time. On the one hand we will examine the role of the “grass-roots” educators who wished to change schools “from below”, starting with classroom practices. On the other hand we will take a look at the representatives of “high pedagogy”, who were intent on formulating a pedagogical theory on which to base a political–ideological model that would serve to change the school “from above”. Tensions arising among the different pedagogical groups, along with the ambiguity of the translation into Spanish of the term Gemeinschaftsschulen, led to the different groups appropriating the concept in different ways. The evolution of the term Gemeinschaftsschulen, from its original identification with a localised school experiment in Hamburg to its becoming a symbol for virtually all European school vanguards, will be addressed at the conclusion of the article. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Spanish political economy experienced a profound decadence during the second half of the nineteenth century. Such period of isolation came to an end during the early twentieth century. The most outstanding economists of that period such as Flores de Lemus, Bernis or Torres were persuaded that Spanish economic development was strongly linked to a tax system reform. At the same time, numerous writings on public finance were published by secondary authors and a wide range of foreign handbooks were translated into Spanish. Consequently, public finance became an outstanding channel for the introduction of marginal theory and German Historicism into Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article is concerned with the effects of globalisation on the organisation of family philanthropy. It aims to assess whether the increased visibility and social and economic relevance of foundations connected to entrepreneurial families and family firms, has also involved the adoption of similar organisational models internationally over the last three decades. The article examines the interplay between family philanthropy and its institutional framework in the US, Germany and Spain by identifying two basic models of relationship between the entrepreneurial family, the family foundation, and the family firm: the non-controlling model, which continues to characterise most US foundations; and the controlling model, characteristic of most German foundations. In Spain, where large family foundations have traditionally adopted the controlling model, newer foundations have tended to adopt the non-controlling model. This reveals the mixed effects of globalisation and national cultural and institutional patterns on the organisational structure adopted by family philanthropy across Western countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The written account of Count Béla Széchenyi's 1862 trip to the United States, published in 1863, represents a unique chapter in Hungarian travel writing on the New World. The author was the first-born son of Count István Széchenyi, an iconic figure of Hungary's Age of Reform in the 1820s to 1840s. Following Hungary's defeat in the 1848–9 Revolution and War of Independence against the Habsburgs, István was locked up in a mental asylum outside Vienna, where he committed suicide in 1860. Unlike his father in the 1820s, Béla was allowed to travel to the United States, and his account clearly reflects the time he lived in and the concerns he entertained. Béla had done his Grand Tour in Germany, England, France and Spain, and was an experienced traveller. He sympathised with the more aristocratic South in the Civil War, although he never visited there. His book focuses on issues of slavery and race (Native Americans and African Americans), American democracy (he presents both the US and the Confederate Constitutions, but does so without any commentary), the character of the Yankee, and American progress. He then offers a detailed agenda for the development of Pest-Buda, but, unlike his father, separates issues of progress and national independence, arguing that the former would inevitably bring about the latter. This unique piece of travel writing combines the imperial view of West European travellers in the new world with the highly personal account of a young aristocrat who has just lost his father, and who was trying to come to terms with his loss. Amerikai utam is clearly censored, but in the absence of relevant documents it is impossible to draw the balance between self- and enforced censorship. This little book represents a transition in the history of Hungarian travel writing on the United States between the Age of Reform (which focused on political agendas, especially issues of democracy) and the Dualist period (1867–1918, which discussed American progress and emigration from Hungary). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This collection explores the idea that devolution in European states can provide ‘laboratories of democracy’ as states experiment in different ways to address social and economic problems and engage their citizens. While there is a substantial literature on policy diffusion and learning among US states, and on transfer and learning between countries, there is not much on learning among European federated and devolved governments. This collection fills that gap with a series of studies based primarily on experiences in Germany, Spain and the UK (including a particular focus on Northern Ireland). The introduction sets up the analytical framework, discussing the concepts of learning and transfer, the direction of transfer (for example, from the centre to the devolved territory), the mechanisms involved (from voluntary to coercive) and the degree of transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the provision of shelter is the primary function of housing, it also has important implications for actors from many other sectors such as investment, energy supply, urban design and immigration. The decisions and actions of these actors regarding their specific non-shelter uses of housing must be considered if the question of housing sustainability is to be thoroughly addressed. The institutional regimes approach was used to analyse seven case study housing stocks in Switzerland, Germany and Spain in an international study that sought to gain knowledge about the largely unknown influence of institutional regimes (i.e. the set of public policies, property rights and contracts between parties governing all uses of housing) on the sustainability of multifamily residential buildings. The results reveal the mechanisms by which regimes can motivate housing-related actors to use housing in a sustainable manner and to shape housing stock owners' solution space to achieve sustainable housing. The use of the institutional regimes' analytical framework can provide coherence to the diverse array of regulatory conditions and large number of actors. An integrated regime with a clear alignment of roles and responsibilities is a precondition before actors can be motivated to achieve housing sustainability. Bien que le logement ait pour fonction principale de fournir un abri, il a également d'importantes implications pour les acteurs de nombreux autres secteurs tels que l'investissement, la fourniture énergétique, l'aménagement urbain et l'immigration. Les décisions et les interventions de ces acteurs concernant leurs utilisations particulières non résidentielles des logements doivent être prises en compte si l'on veut traiter en profondeur de la question de la durabilité des logements. L'approche basée sur les régimes institutionnels a été utilisée pour analyser sept études de cas de parcs de logements en Suisse, en Allemagne et en Espagne dans le cadre d'une étude internationale qui visait à acquérir des connaissances sur l'influence largement méconnue des régimes institutionnels (c'est-à-dire de l'ensemble des politiques publiques, droits de propriété et contrats conclus entre les parties qui régit toutes les utilisations du logement) sur la durabilité des immeubles résidentiels multifamiliaux. Les résultats révèlent les mécanismes par lesquels les régimes peuvent inciter les acteurs liés au logement à utiliser le logement d'une manière durable et à formuler un espace de solutions permettant aux propriétaires de parcs de logements de réaliser des logements durables. L'utilisation du cadre analytique de ces régimes institutionnels peut apporter une cohérence à l'éventail divers des conditions réglementaires et au grand nombre d'acteurs. Un régime intégré offrant un alignement clair des rôles et des responsabilités est une condition préalable avant de pouvoir inciter les acteurs à assurer la durabilité des logements. Mots clés: biens et services, logement, régimes institutionnels, stratégies de gestion, politique publique, durabilité [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has three goals. First, we wish to compare three multidimensional approaches to poverty and check to what extent they identify the same households as poor. Second, we aim at better understanding the determinants of poverty by estimating logit regressions with five categories of explanatory variables: size of the household, age of the head of the household, her gender, marital status and status at work. Third, we introduce a decomposition procedure proposed recently in the literature, the so-called Shapley decomposition, in order to determine the exact marginal impact of each of the categories of explanatory variables. Our empirical analysis is based on data made available by the European Community Household Panel (ECHP). We used its third wave and selected five countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section offers world news briefs related to nuclear physics. The 11th conference of the Nuclei in the Cosmos series was held in Heidelberg, Germany, from July 19 to 23, 2010, which brought together cosmochemists, nuclear experimentalists and others interested in scientific questions. The second State of the Art in Nuclear Cluster Physics (SOTANCP) workshop took place at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles in Brussels, Belgium, from May 25 to 28, 2010. The inaugural Azarquiel school of astronomy was held in Granada, Spain, from July 4 to 11, 2010.

This comparative study looks at the international impact of leading economics journals published in Spain, Italy, France and Germany. It also aims to establish whether they play similar roles in these four countries. For this purpose, data were collected on the number of times that articles published in these journals are cited in international journals on the ISI Journals lists. The study focused on the number and characteristics of the citations received during the period 1996 to 2004 by articles published between 1995 and 1999 in a limited number of Spanish, Italian, French and German journals. The international impact of the Spanish journals was found to be similar in size and characteristics to that of Italian publications. However, it differed sharply from the impact of the highest-ranking French and German journals, which received considerably more citations. Moreover, restricting the group of citing journals to the 'blue ribbon journals', the highest-ranking publications in the economics sector, only the leading journals in Germany and France received a significant number of references. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Convergence is reshaping the landscape of journalism in a variety of ways. This comparative study was targeted on integrated newsrooms, which combine at least two platforms: print and online, in some cases also television and radio. Research was conducted in six media companies which are undergoing some degree of newsroom convergence in Austria, Spain and Germany. Descriptors for different levels of cross-media production and the process of convergence were established—avoiding technological determinism and the typical mindset in the industry that regards full integration as the necessary final step of any convergence project. As a result of the transnational comparison of six case studies, a convergence matrix for analysis and comparison of integrated newsrooms was outlined. The matrix is related to four essential areas of development in a media convergence process: project scope, newsroom management, journalistic practices, work organization. Based on this matrix, three models of newsroom convergence were drawn: full integration, cross-media and co-ordination of isolated platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the various ways in which regionalist parties approach the issue of immigration. Drawing on several cases, it compares how regionalist parties 'construct' the territory and how issues of diversity and immigration inform their policy goals. It is shown that mobilisation on immigration varies across regions. Whilst parties in Scotland and Catalonia have encouraged immigration as a way of expanding national membership and bolstering the labour market, those in Bavaria and Northern Italy have viewed immigration as a threat to their culture and economy. This article identifies factors influencing party immigration policies, including party ideology, local party competition, central government policy and other state-wide influences. It also assesses the extent to which European integration has influenced parties' territorial projects, in particular whether parties have responded to pressures to adopt EU norms and common principles, such as diversity and multiculturalism, in order to be perceived as credible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate co-operative innovative activity in four major European countries, France, Germany, Spain and the UK, using internationally comparable firm-level data for manufacturing and service sectors. We examine the roles of knowledge flows, cost- and risk-sharing and public financial support in firms' decisions to collaborate. Our results suggest that firms which place greater value on external information flows are more likely to co-operate with the research base than with other firms and that firms facing appropriability problems are more likely to co-operate with the research base and with upstream and downstream firms than with direct competitors. We find evidence for Spain to suggest that firms collaborate to overcome risks and financial constraints. We also find that receipt of public support is positively related to undertaking collaborative innovation. In line with the focus of policy, this relationship is strongest for co-operation with the research base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cross-country comparison is made of the moves to system integration, at the national level, of electricity supply in several Western European countries. Private electricity business firms were dominant in France, Italy and Spain and large generating enterprises and transporting groups grew through mergers and agreements. In Germany, Scandinavia and the UK, municipalities were more common and were resistant to mergers and network development. Several national networks had emerged by the 1940s but hardly any were nationally managed in the sense of ensuring electricity was everywhere supplied from the lowest cost source. The article considers the economic gains from integration and argues that it developed successfully where central governments became actively involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is aging as fertility and mortality are both decreasing. This article focuses on practical care work for the elderly. Such work is done primarily by women even though a larger portion than previously is paid rather than unpaid. All over the world, most elderly care work is organized within the family, most often unpaid. Men receive more care from partners than women, while women receive more care from female relatives. When care work is paid, the payment is generally low. A comparison between Germany, Spain, and Sweden demonstrates similar gender patterns, even though the role of the state in supporting care differs considerably as do care workers' conditions. The sustainability of today's distribution and organization of care work is questioned as the need for care increases, and the possibility of more equal sharing of care work between women and men is explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key questions in international research addresses the tensions arising from international co-ordination and local adaptation of multinational companies' (MNCs) policies and practices. The German business system encourages MNCs to have a long-term, high-investment orientation, to practise intensive management-labour cooperation and to pursue developmental human resource management (HRM). This study analyses six major German MNCs operating in both Britain and Spain and outlines their reasons for the international co-ordination of HRM. It addresses the issue of central control versus local adaptation by looking at the transfer of German HR policies and practices. The cases show that the MNC's were able to preserve substantial 'German-ness' abroad. However, the results of the transfer of German HRM were not always positive due to a variety of endogenous and exogenous causes. Barriers to transfer from institutionally strong to weak environments are discussed and possible internal HR approaches are suggested to counterbalance the national business system effect. Their success will depend on head office-foreign affiliate relations shaped by factors such as cross-border communication, trust and power distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An 'activism index', combining data on membership of civil associations and societies and the level of activism suggests that, notwithstanding cultural differences, civil activism in European countries could be a great deal higher than its current level. If higher civic participation is to be achieved, each stakeholder group within local governance can play an 'activation' role in relation to citizens, both as individuals and in relation to the voluntary organizations which represent citizens in their collective activities. In practice, different stakeholder groups play this role in widely differing ways in the contexts of Germany, Spain and the UK. In the future, we can expect the lead role in activating civil society in each country to be taken by different stakeholders, depending on the trust currently placed in them by other stakeholders in the community and by the resources which they command. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Offers a look at Spain's military contribution to Nazi Germany during World War II in the 1944-1945 period. Reasons behind Spanish participation in the Nazi war; Casualties in Spain's Blue Division and Legion of soldiers; Source of volunteers for the German military; Stance taken by the Allies on Spain's involvement; Impact of Spain's support for Nazi Germany on its government.