Search

The study of female economists during the post-World War II reconstruction of Western Europe is as yet unresearched. A small but substantial collection of publications discusses the role of male economists within the European institutions created after World War II. However, none of them analyzes contributions made by female economists. This paper aims to shed some light on female economists who participated in the reconstruction of Europe through their work in the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), which was created by the Marshall Plan following the Conference of Sixteen (Conference for European Economic Co-operation). Firstly, we searched for names of female economists who served the institution, hoping that some relevant hidden female figures in the OEEC would resurface. Secondly, through oral history archives and personal documents, we reconstructed the biographies of three female economists who contributed, in different ways, to the activities of the OEEC: Miriam Camp, Florence Kirlin, and Vera Cao Pinna. By comparing these three figures, in terms of their educational and social backgrounds, their narrative, as well as their connections with international networks of experts, we defined their similarities and differences in order to identify the main characteristics that allowed them, even if at different levels and with different roles, to participate in international diplomacy and technical support deployed in the construction and diffusion of the idea of the peaceful, united, and prosperous Europe which we live in today. Tracing back the presence of women in OEEC, this article aims to bring some light on: what did being a woman economist entails in the after WWII in the newborn European institutions and what did it mean in terms of the kind of work and experience a woman could be doing within the process of professionalisation of the economics discipline in the international organisations. We are interested in describing the experiences and self-perceptions of women economists working in male dominated international institutions. Female international thinkers and experts, well known in their own time, were largely overlooked and neglected by scholars, politics, and international history later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to summarize the available knowledge on the seroprevalence of T. gondii in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Europe. A computerized literature search of electronic databases (PubMed and CAB abstracts) was performed along with hand searches of library resources for relevant papers, books, abstracts and conference proceedings. A random‐effect model was employed to calculate pooled seroprevalence estimates with 95% confidence intervals, and I2 statistic was used to assess heterogeneity. Further, moderator analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of geographical area on the seroprevalence in roe deer. From a total of 190 studies initially identified, 16 and 8 articles were included for roe deer and red deer, respectively. These comprise 3,913 roe deer and 2,913 red deer from different European countries. The pooled seroprevalence was estimated to be 29% (95% CI: 23%–35%) in roe deer and 15% (95% CI: 10%–20%) in red deer. High heterogeneity was detected in the seroprevalence data within each species. In roe deer, the pooled seroprevalence estimate was significantly different according to geographical area with 40% (95% CI: 31%–49%) in Western Europe, 31% (95% CI: 21%–43%) in Northern Europe, 27% (95% CI: 15%–41%) in Eastern Europe and 21% (95% CI: 14%–28%) in Southern Europe. The present study indicates a moderate exposure to T. gondii in roe deer and red deer in Europe, with very high prevalence in Western Europe. Our results highlight the significant risk associated to the consumption of venison, encouraging proper handling and cooking of game meat to prevent toxoplasmosis in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I argue that the historical change in the organizational logic of the Fair Trade movement, embodied by Fair Trade labeling, has had an important effect on the emergence of ethical consumption in Europe. By establishing Fair Trade labels, the initial movement logic of political influence through education was supplemented and partly abandoned in favor of a market logic. Fair Trade movements in Western Europe differ in the way they organize and market fair traded goods. Drawing on organizational institutionalism and social movement theories of economic opportunity structures, it is elaborated how the emergence of a new organizational form and its underlying logic shape consumption patterns. Hypotheses are empirically tested using a quantitative multilevel design. Organizational data on national Fair Trade movements compiled from an organizational survey of the European Fair Trade Association are combined with individual-level survey data of the 1997 Eurobarometer for 12 European countries. Logistic hierarchical regression models reveal the crucial importance of the Fair Trade labels once diffused into consumer markets, controlling for organizational communication efforts as well as the number of distribution channels for individual Fair Trade consumption. Thus, adopting a market logic has been a powerful force in rendering Fair Trade successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores photographs of children, taken after 1945 by the Swiss photographer Werner Bischof (1916–1954), as visual objects and social agents. In the summer of 1945, Bischof embarked on his first journey through war-ravaged Western Europe – specifically Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands – to visually capture the lives of men, women, and children who had experienced the destruction, cruelties and trauma of World War II. Bischof’s photographic mission focused on children in particular. His ambitions drew upon the power of photography to present, represent, and perform, to make and articulate histories, to evoke emotions, and to relate to and resonate with various audiences. This very agency of photography, which has been argued by Bischof and also serves as a central hypothesis of this paper, is intensified when a photographer works with children and thus enhances and more strongly emphasises photography’s inherent and irreducible agency. The paper looks at how Bischof’s photographs, as performances, not only evoked but also disturbed and disrupted narratives of war-ravaged Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Invasions of alien species form one of the major threats to global biodiversity. Among planarian flatworms many species are known to be invasive, in several cases strongly affecting local ecosystems. Therefore, a detailed knowledge on the biology of an invasive species is of utmost importance for understanding the process of invasion, the cause of its success, and the subsequent ecological impact on native species. This paper provides new information on the biology of introduced populations of the freshwater flatworm Girardia tigrina (Girard, 1850) from Europe. This species is a native of the Nearctic Region that was accidentally introduced into Europe in the 1920s. Since then, numerous records across the European continent bear witness of the invasiveness of this species, although only a few studies focused on the biology of the introduced populations. We report on the morphology of sexualized individuals from a fissiparous Italian population, representing the second record of spontaneous sexualization of fissiparous individuals in this species. A detailed morphological account of the reproductive apparatus of these ex-fissiparous animals is presented. Our results increased the number of morphological groups previously recognized for European populations of G. tigrina, thus corroborating the hypothesis on multiple independent introductions to this continent. Karyological results obtained from our fissiparous Italian individuals revealed a constant diploid chromosome complement of sixteen chromosomes. Further, we document the marked intraspecific variation in several morphological features of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies have shown that childhood circumstances can have long term consequences that persist until old age. To better understand the transmission of early life circumstances, this paper analyses the effects of health and financial situation during childhood on quality of life after retirement as well as the mediating role of later life health, educational level, and income in this association. Moreover, this study is the first to compare these pathways across European regions. The analyses are based on data of 13,092 retirees aged ≥ 60 and ≤ 85 years from the fifth wave of the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) with full information on childhood and later life measures of health, educational level, financial situation, and quality of life as well as relevant covariates. Five European regions are studied: Central-Western Europe (Austria, Germany), Central-Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia), Northern Europe (Denmark, Sweden), Southern Europe (Italy, Spain), and Western Europe (Belgium, France, The Netherlands). Path analysis is used to identify the direct and indirect effects of childhood measures on quality of life. We find retirees’ quality of life to be associated with childhood finances and health in all five European regions. While both the direct and indirect effects of childhood health are rather moderate and homogeneous across regions, especially the direct effects of childhood finances on quality of life after retirement display a distinct North-South gradient being strongest in Southern Europe. Potential explanations for the regional variations are differences in the countries’ welfare systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides evidence on the sources of differences in inequality in educational scores and their evolution over time in four European countries. Using Programme for International Student Assessment data from the 2000 and the 2006 waves, the paper shows that inequality decreased in Germany and Spain (two ‘decentralised’ schooling systems), whilst it increased in France and Italy (two ‘centralised’ systems). The decomposition exercise shows that educational inequality not only does reflect the background related inequality, but also schools' characteristics especially. These characteristics are responsible for the observed evolution over time of inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Prior studies on Roma migration put much emphasis on either structural factors or networks that become key elements for explaining the growing migration flows of a population lacking economic resources and characterized by poor education. Although very relevant for explaining the perpetuation of migration, these studies posit the limit of downplaying migrants' agency and the role of identity markers mediating the influence of structural conditions in both destination and origin countries. Drawing on quantitative data from the Roma Inclusion Barometer (2006) as well as on in-depth interviews with Roma migrants from Eastern Romania, the paper provides a more comprehensive account of contemporary Romanian Roma migration towards Western European countries. The paper challenges the portrayal of the Roma migrant population, as conveyed by many scholars, as a rather passive one and argues that gender, religion and subgroup identities constitute key elements in explaining Roma migrants' agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe displays important variations in the level of internal migration, with a clear spatial gradient of high mobility in northern and western Europe but lower mobility in the south and east. However, cross-national variation in levels of internal migration remains poorly understood, because it is analysed almost exclusively using cross-sectional data and period measures. This paper seeks to advance understanding of cross-national variation in migration levels in 14 European countries by drawing on a recently proposed suite of migration cohort measures, coupled with internationally comparable retrospective residential histories. It shows that differences in migration levels are mainly attributable to variation in the extent of repeat movement, which is underpinned by the differences in mean ages at first and last move that together delineate the average length of migration careers. Cohort analysis provides a robust foundation for exploring the demographic mechanisms underpinning variation in migration levels across countries and over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education became a rallying cry in Luxembourg's general elections of 1974. For the first time in the country's post-war history, the Socialists and Democrats entered the government, with new plans for education. The unbroken rule of almost 30 years by the Christian Democrats was over. New 'global' educational concepts were employed to introduce changes in the national curriculum, the aim being a transformation from an elite to a mass system of participation. One of these changes was the idea of the comprehensive school, which divided the electorates, parties and press respectively. Yet, this fundamental change has received little attention in the academic literature. What were the differences between the parties when it came to education policy? By intersecting politics, globalisation and education, this paper examines the impact of the election events of 1974 on Luxembourg's political discourse. The conclusion points to the central role the parties played in the proliferation of new educational norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lower Palaeolithic site of Menez-Dregan I (Plouhinec, Finistère), located in Brittany at the very tip of western Europe, has been under excavation since 1991. It is an ancient marine cave where the roof has gradually collapsed, and hence partly protected the archaeological living floors from erosion. The fauna has not been preserved due to the acidic environment at the site, leaving only the lithic industry to show the living style of the human groups who settled there and, notably, mastered the very early lighting/control of fire in late MIS 13 or early MIS 12. Recent digging of layer 7 has provided a lithic assemblage comparable to that of the upper layers at the site and is representative of the Colombanian techno-typological facies. This Lower Palaeolithic industry is contemporary with the Acheulean but differs from it as the heavy-duty tools are mostly cobble tools (choppers). The raw materials used were directly collected from the site itself or from the surrounding pebble beaches; from this stage of collection the use of two chaînes opératoires is clearly evident. The flint pebbles/cobbles are preferentially used for flake production. In most of the cases the “SSDA-Clactonian” (système par surface de débitage alternée) method is applied providing flakes with wide striking platforms seldom facetted, prominent bulbs and open angled ventral faces; sometimes flakes are produced by percussion on anvil; they are never Levallois. The small tool kit mainly includes denticulates and notches with a few scrapers. The heavy-duty tools mostly comprised of various types of choppers are shaped on larger cobbles selected for their rather flat, often elongated shape and for their homogenous nature (sandstone or microgranite). This paper presents some specimens yielded by layer 7; although few, they are typical and definitely akin to the Acheulean techno-typological facies, especially two cleavers made on flakes (quartzite and microgranite), and two bifacial tools roughly shaped on cobbles (sandstone and quartzite), with a third one from the top of the underlying layer 8. These findings revive the question of the relationship between the Acheulean and the Colombanian. Moreover the position of the site in a setting where the natural rocks are available in the form of pebbles/cobbles, flint only as small pebbles, questions the influence of raw material on technical traditions. This provides arguments for understanding the Lower Palaeolithic variability and contributes to the debate on the definition of Acheulean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many Western European countries, concern rises that both formal mechanisms of redistribution and informal acts of charity, reciprocity and support are challenged by ethnic and cultural diversity. Against such gloomy perspectives, this paper draws on insights from sociology, geography, pedagogy and political science to argue that four traditional sources of solidarity (interdependence, shared norms and values, struggle and encounter) remain relevant, but require a rethinking of their spatial and temporal framing to capture today's intricate engagements of solidarity. More specifically, we draw on theories from the aforementioned disciplines to claim that our understanding of solidarities grounded in the spatial boundedness of territorial states and the intergenerational continuity of supposedly culturally homogeneous nations should be complemented and enriched with an in-depth knowledge of solidarities developing in an entirely different spatio-temporal register, namely that of the everyday places and practices in which people engage across ethnic and cultural boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper looks at the migrants' occupational integration process. Two main theoretical perspectives are tested: the first one (assimilation view) claims that in the short-run migrants are penalized, but as they settle in the receiving country they get integrated into the host society; the second one (segmented assimilation view) claims that disadvantages persist in the long-run. EU-LFS and ESS data are described and modelled, in order to compare the labour market performances of migrants in four European old-receiving countries (Germany, France, Great Britain and Sweden) and in two new-receiving countries (Spain and Italy) both in a short-term and in a long-run perspective. We find that a) in the short-run, migrants' labour market condition is worst with respect to the natives; b) this gap decreases with older migrants; c) the ethnic penalty disappears with the second generation, when they achieve a level of education comparable to that of the natives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International migration contributes to increasing cultural diversity in many European cities. Historically, migration studies have focused on the integration of immigrants foregrounding race/ethnicity and identity issues, limiting our understanding of intercultural diversity. A new paradigm focusing on relational patterns among groups is emerging, highlighting the importance of mutual relations, interactions and influences among residents of different origins and backgrounds, including the experience of both immigrants and autochthonous populations. The notions of superdiversity and conviviality have significantly contributed to this debate. This paper discusses how both were methodologically operationalized in multi-sited ethnographies carried out in Lisbon and Granada, during 2009–2012. Superdiversity and conviviality are the main theoretical frameworks used to understand how interculturality is lived and experienced at the local level. We reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, unpacking common assumptions about race, ethnicity and culture, specifically looking at the negotiation of difference in intercultural events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the basis of an original survey among native Christians and Muslims of Turkish and Moroccan origin in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria and Sweden, this paper investigates four research questions comparing native Christians to Muslim immigrants: (1) the extent of religious fundamentalism; (2) its socio-economic determinants; (3) whether it can be distinguished from other indicators of religiosity; and (4) its relationship to hostility towards out-groups (homosexuals, Jews, the West, and Muslims). The results indicate that religious fundamentalist attitudes are much more widespread among Sunnite Muslims than among native Christians, even after controlling for the different demographic and socio-economic compositions of these groups. Alevite Muslims from Turkey, by contrast, show low levels of fundamentalism, comparable to Christians. Among both Christians and Muslims, strong religiosity as such is not (among Christians) or only mildly (among Muslims) related to hostility towards out-groups. Fundamentalist believers, however, show very high levels of out-group hostility, especially among Muslims. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• The electricity market in Europe is based on a zonal system. • A minimum of 70% of the cross-zonal capacity will have to be available for trade. • Such a minimum threshold could decrease the socio-economic welfare. • A smart redispatch is needed to avoid a decrease of the socio-economic welfare. The current organization of the internal electricity market in Europe relies on a zonal market system: the European power system is divided in bidding zones, electricity trades within a bidding zone can occur in an unconstrained manner, while electricity trades between bidding zones are limited by cross-zonal capacities. Two approaches can be used to calculate and allocate cross-zonal capacity: the coordinated Net Transmission Capacity (NTC) approach or the flow-based approach. In Central Western Europe, the flow-based approach is implemented for the day-ahead market since 2015. To avoid undue discrimination between internal and cross-border power exchanges, a minimum threshold of 70% on the cross-zonal capacity available for trade will be enforced in a near future. Such a threshold could significantly impact the socio-economic welfare and its distribution between the various actors. However, no assessment of the impacts of such a threshold has been performed so far, in particular because no convincing approach exists to perform such an assessment (e.g. security constraints and redispatch neglected). This paper develops such an approach and demonstrates its applicability on a case study, in order to assess the impact of a minimum threshold on cross-zonal capacity in a flow-based market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]