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Purpose: The digital age requires people of all ages to communicate and organise their lives through digital technologies. The project EQualCare investigates how the growing population of older people living alone is managing this transition, how it shapes their (non-)digital social networks and what changes on a local level need to be brought about. This paper aims to give insight into the process of participatory action research (PAR) with older people in the community across four countries and reflects on experiences made by academic and co-researchers. Design/methodology/approach: Following the emancipatory underpinnings of PAR, which aims to reduce inequalities through collaboration and co-design, EQualCare involved nine teams of co-researchers across Finland, Germany, Latvia and Sweden making older people the centre of policy development. Co-researchers were involved in formulating research aims, collecting data, reflecting on data, formulating and disseminating recommendations for local policy stakeholders. Findings: Co-researchers' motivation to invest considerable time and effort was driven by a desire to create a more equal future for older people living alone. Moreover, they were keen to involve marginalised older people and became frustrated when this proved difficult. Power dynamics played a role throughout the process but became productive as roles and responsibilities were renegotiated. Doing PAR with older people can be emotionally challenging for co-researchers when negative feelings around ageing are encountered. Originality/value: The paper advances understanding on the process of PAR in ageing research by reflecting on the social, cultural and political contexts of doing PAR with diverse sets of older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at providing empirical content for the theoretical concept of the ‘acceptability of operations’ as an indicator of corporate social performance (CSP) through a qualitative field study. The data were gathered at four mills belonging to a Scandinavian-based pulp and paper company located in four countries, China, Finland, Germany and Portugal. An experimental acceptability model was formulated on the basis of summaries for the individual countries. Issues such as importance of the mill for the local economy and environmental impacts were the most important elements of the acceptability concept at the local level, while the reputation of the entire sector was one of the major factors influencing the concept at the national and global levels. In addition, the level of social participation and discussion in society served well to indicate the extent and depth of the acceptability concept in the societies studied. The results suggest that the acceptability of operations is a good indicator of corporate social performance. However, it is recommendable to study further the applicability of the stakeholder approach in this kind of context. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several northern European countries have announced ambitious plans to become carbon neutral already before the year 2050. Recent research has, however, highlighted how potential bottlenecks in raw material and resource availability could significantly delay or hinder wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) expansion and continued biomass usage in parts of Europe. To address this issue, this paper assesses how exposed the national energy and climate plans (NECPs) of Finland, Estonia, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark are to resource limitations and techno-economic risks by reviewing and analysing 2030 NECP targets compared to statistical energy use data in these countries. The results indicate that the NECPs of Denmark and Germany are particularly exposed to risks related to global raw material availability, as Denmark plans to rapidly grow the share of wind and solar PV in electricity generation to 81% and 13% by 2030, respectively, followed by Germany, which outlines a 39% and 16% share of wind and solar PV in its national climate strategy. The NECPs of Finland and Germany are also shown to be vulnerable to limitations in biomass availability, as there is a significant disparity between the projected biomass usage and legally binding European Union (EU) targets for land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector emissions in 2030 in these countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metso Paper will supply almost €40 million worth of equipment for groundwood pulp and paper making processes to Myllykoski Group''s paper mills in Germany, Finland and the USA. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents news briefs relevant to the operations of the Helsinki, Finland-based papermaking machine manufacturer, Metso Paper compiled as of January 2006. The Metso Paper-supplied Paper Machine Number six containerboard making line at the Papierfabrik Palm in Germany has set a speed world record for containerboard machines. The company has also announced the modernization of its Paper Machine Number six finishing line at the UPM mill in Finland.

Focuses on the asset restructuring initiatives of Stora Enso of Helsinki, Finland. Plan for the construction of an uncoated magazine paper machine at Kvarnsveden, Sweden; Expected closure of Paper Machine 9 at the Swedish mill when the super-calendared machine starts up; Plan to rebuild Paper Machine 6 at the Maxau Mill, Germany.

Purpose: This paper studies the usability of LG financial statements as perceived by local councillors. By drawing on a comparative view of two countries with different periods of accrual accounting use in the public sector, the authors investigate how local councillors assess the usability of LG financial statements in order to question accounting reform success. Determinants that influence the usability assessment are explored. Design/methodology/approach: Exploratory design: data were collected from questionnaires with 24 local councillors from five Finnish local governments (LGs) and 30 local councillors from six German LGs. An adjusted variant of the system usability scale was analysed with descriptive statistics and non-parametric group comparisons. Findings: In both countries, the usability assessment of financial statements seems to be positive, indicating a successful reform process. In Finland, where the accrual government accounting reform has had a longer time to settle in, councillors seem to assess usability only partially better than German councillors. Several determinants of the usability assessment were detected, such as size and debt level of the LG as well as local councillors' gender, political orientation and education. Generally, councillors need more assistance and training in using financial statements. Originality/value: The study is the first to conduct a quantitative assessment of the usability of LG financial statements as perceived by councillors. The system usability scale was adjusted to a public sector reporting context. The paper adopts a transnational comparative approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports that Helsinki, Finland-based papermaking machinery manufacturer Metso Paper Inc. received an order from Italy-based Sofidel for a tissue production line at its mill in Stendal, Germany.

Aim: The goal of this paper is to analyze the COVID-19 policies of 10 European countries, including Sweden, Finland, Norway, Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Hungary, with a time-series policy analysis tool. Subject and methods: The results of the COVID-19 policy analysis are based on a single time-series indicator, or daily population mortality rate: the number of COVID-19 daily cumulative deaths divided by the population in millions. The lower the score, the better the policy. Although many experts believe that the COVID-19 policy outcome analysis is premature, time series analysis is an excellent analysis that can provide information on the progress and transition of policy outcomes. In other words, the proposed time series analysis tool allows policymakers to identify and quantify when mistakes were made during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Results: The COVID-19 policy analysis discovered many useful facts. Sweden failed due to the herd immunity approach. Hungary made a fundamental mistake in COVID-19 tactics. Countries such as Sweden, Hungary, Belgium, and Poland showed time-series changes that differed from the others. Conclusion: Public health interventions can play a key role in mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed policy analysis tool, hiscovid demonstrated the effectiveness of the time-series score behavior for discovering when policymakers made mistakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to identify the most prolific countries in the field of special education and to discuss the widespread impact of their papers by taking into account the country's h-index. Through a bibliometric analysis, the data were collected in the Web of Science Core Collection category "Education, Special" in the Social Science Citation Index during 2011-2020. The 25 most prolific countries in the field of special education were determined in terms of paper productivity, and it was seen that the leading country was undisputedly the USA (54.42%). Meanwhile, a strong positive correlation was found between the h-index and the number of papers published by the countries (r=0.864). On the other hand, when the ranking in terms of the number of papers was reconfigured by the h-index, it was relatively changed. The possible reasons for this change for the countries with the most changing rankings were discussed by considering some definitive criteria such as the journal quartiles, the percentage of international and domestic, and the percentage of open access papers. This study reports a positive correlation between the quality and quantity in the field of special education for the publications of countries. It has been shown that where the positive correlation deviates, then especially, the journal quartiles, the percentage of international collaboration and the percentage of open access papers have a significant effect. The bibliometric findings may be useful to enrich the discussion about the widespread impact of papers and debate whether the use of h-index is acceptable for cross-national comparisons.

Middle-class parents' strategies of reproduction and social closure and their role as a driver of school segregation are already well-reported. Our two independent research projects in Finland and Germany have additionally revealed a somewhat surprising and not yet fully understood tendency of certain middle-class parents to actively avoid the most reputable schools. Using these findings as a starting point, the paper investigates the motives and reasoning behind middle-class parents' avoidance strategies in the cities of Espoo (Finland) and Mülheim an der Ruhr (Germany). The analysis shows that in educational transitions where choice is not constrained by a risk of children being left behind, some families with high educational resources and imbued with a certain ethos give precedence to 'ordinary' schools over highly selective elite schools. If this ethos can be skilfully integrated into urban educational policies, it may help develop effective equality strategies supported by parents and seen as justified by them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executive governmental authorities contribute a discourse, making-up, outlining and configuring the consumer. The objective of this paper is to elaborate on the discursive construction of the consumer provided by governmental institutions. Exemplified by Finnish and German policy documents, this paper tries to provide an insight on the consumer as the subject that is governed by politics. Thus, a discourse analytic approach reveals according to what rationale the consumer is discursively constructed on a dichotomous sovereignty-vulnerability-continuum. Hence, this paper provides actors and institutions that are involved in consumer policy deliberate basic principles for the understanding of consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During voluntary work, volunteers acquire valuable new knowledge and skills, but they often do not recognize these newly developed competencies, cannot apply them in further education, and fail to make others, including potential employers, aware of them. The classification and validation of these competencies can help to facilitate the transfer of volunteers' competencies within the volunteer and labor markets; however, the required steps for validation of the acquired competencies are frequently complicated or unclear for volunteers. Additionally, accepted ways of validating are lacking in labor market. This paper starts by presenting the value and benefits of volunteering, especially in a business education context. Thereafter, the authors present a European partnership project--the Grundtvig Learning Partnership's Volunteering Validation Highway (VVH). The partnership aimed to facilitate the validation and transfer of volunteers' experience. The following paper discuss volunteering as important part of society and a business education approach integrating volunteering. To support the idea of integration, the authors present a study concerning volunteers' competencies, the benefits of volunteering, and the usefulness in business education of competencies gained through volunteering. The study used data from a questionnaire and group discussions. Regarding different countries, the partners expected different understandings of volunteering; therefore, the researchers conducted mixed-nationality group discussions to develop a mutual understanding of volunteering. The researchers also developed a questionnaire according to the group discussion categories (inductive) and included both open-ended and multiple-choice questions. The results support the idea of integrating volunteering experiences in business education. First, the results showed benefits for society and for the volunteers themselves. Second, the volunteers gain on the one hand professional competencies that were relevant to the labor market, like delegating tasks to other people. On the other hand, the volunteers mentioned social and process-oriented competencies, including communication and technical skills. Third, the researchers identified two major advantages of volunteering: volunteers learn networking and communicating, and volunteers experience opened new occupational fields. The authors presented in a fourth step opportunities to integrate volunteering into business education. Business education can therefore be a service learning or a social entrepreneurship education course.

Interest in higher education institutions (HEIs) as instruments for development has increased in recent years. The main objective of this paper is to address the contribution of HEIs to development through their missions, models, and challenges. With this purpose, we perform a historical analysis and characterise higher-education systems through the perspective of university models and missions, noticing relevant aspects regarding the evolution of this institution over time, as well as the transformations undergone. We also consider the main challenges that current higher education systems face in the 21st century. As methodological approaches, we carry out a literature review complemented by a comparative analysis based on data from the higher education systems of ten European countries. The findings show that HEIs can contribute to development through their missions, which are related to the models of higher education. Their first mission (teaching) contributes to improving human capital and attracting highly qualified people to their regions; the second mission (research) improves scientific knowledge which can foster innovative activities; and the third mission (community service) acts as a link between research and business, including patents, business incubators, and collaboration agreements. We also conclude that the challenges of higher education in the 21st century can be categorised essentially in three main areas: (1) globalisation and massification of higher education, as well as the internationalisation of HEIs' missions and diversification of the educational supply to attract new students; (2) new technologies related to the digitalisation of teaching and distance learning; and (3) higher education entrepreneurship, showing the importance of university-company relationships. This paper provides a global setting for a reflection on the role of HEIs in the 21st century, given their connection with society and the need for a more effective contribution to socio-economic development.

School-home communication is a growing research field in social sciences, particularly in education sciences and communication studies. While previous studies have paid much attention to the importance of school-home interaction in supporting primary academic socialisation and progress of elementary school pupils, the role of teacher-parent communication and collaboration in influencing the development of children's and adolescents' digital skills remains an under-researched area. This paper employed thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with education experts in six European countries, providing an insight into their opinions and views on the problems in communication between homes and schools. The analysis identified main problems in and obstacles to school-home collaboration on children's digital skills development, and the changes the COVID-19 pandemic brought along in this field of education. The paper provides five policy recommendations for enhancing school-home collaboration on digital skills development.

This paper makes available to the broader educational community the instruments which have been originally designed and validated within the European project "CLIL for all: Attention to diversity in bilingual education" ("ADiBE") to determine how diversity is being catered to across a broad array of CLIL contexts in European Secondary Education (Austria, Finland, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom). They include three sets of questionnaires, interviews, and observation protocols and are qualitative and quantitative instruments whose design has been based on the latest research and which have undergone a carefully controlled double-fold pilot process for their validation (external ratings approach and pilot phase with a representative sample of 264 subjects). The questions included in the three sets of instruments are initially characterized, together with their format and main categories. The paper then details the steps undertaken for their research-based design and the double-fold pilot process followed for their validation. The questionnaires and interview and observation protocols are then presented in a format which is directly applicable in any CLIL classroom in order to determine the accessibility of bilingual programs for all types of achievers and to identify the chief difficulties and best practices in promoting inclusion in bilingual education.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to introduce a tool for mapping how consumers' past experiences influence the consumer's present corporate brand image. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative approach was used for analysing in-depth conversational interviews collected on three IKEA markets (Sweden, Finland, and Germany). Findings - The study shows that the tool gives an understanding of how past and present brand experiences are inter-dependent. Practical implications - The paper gives management an insight into consumers' perspectives of their corporate brand. Originality/value - The value of the paper is that it offers a practical tool for mapping the roots of companies' current corporate brand images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many developed countries lone parent families face high rates of child poverty. Among those lone parents who do get child maintenance there is a hidden problem. States may retain all, or a proportion, of the maintenance that is paid in order to offset other fiscal costs. Thus, the potential of child maintenance to alleviate poverty among lone parent families may not be fully realized, especially if the families are also in receipt of social assistance benefits. This paper provides an original comparative analysis exploring the effectiveness of child maintenance to reduce child poverty among lone parent families in receipt of social assistance. It addresses the question of whether effectiveness is compromised once interaction effects (such as the operation of a child maintenance disregard) are taken into account in four countries Australia, Finland, Germany and the UK using the LIS dataset (2013). It raises important policy considerations and provides evidence to show that if policy makers are serious about reducing child poverty, they must understand how hidden mechanisms within interactions between child maintenance and social security systems can work as effective cost recovery tools for the state, but have no poverty reduction impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that in order for strategic environmental assessment (SEA) to be effectively applied in transport policy, plan and programme making, the existence of certain context elements is essential. However, currently, these are only partly in place. Elements revolve around formal requirements and clear provisions for SEA, the existence of transparent and consistent value frames, the consideration of traditional decision making approaches, systematic tiering, a willingness to cooperate, an acknowledgement of uncertainties and appropriate funding, time as well as support. Focusing on transport case studies from the Netherlands, Finland, Germany and the U.K., the paper provides some empirical evidence for the importance of these context elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The emergence of COVID-19 resulted in a substantial loss of education because of global school closures. Face masks are a potential measure to restrain the COVID-19 spread; therefore, this paper evaluated the effectiveness of face masks in reducing COVID-19 incidence in school settings. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted by searching the literature in the Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register and the World Health Organization COVID-19 global literature. Data were summarized in tabular forms, and the findings were presented as narrative synthesis. RESULTS: A total of 15,709 records were retrieved. The screening and selection led to the inclusion of 12 observational and 2 quasi-experimental studies. Nine studies were conducted in different states, counties, or districts of the United States, and the remaining 5 were reported from Germany, Finland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The results of 10 out of 14 studies favored mask use in reducing school COVID-19 incidence. Three studies found no link between mask use and COVID-19 incidences, whereas 1 quasi-experimental study noted a higher COVID-19 incidence with mask use in students aged 6-11 years than no use of mask among preschool children aged 3-5 years. CONCLUSION: Mask mandates may lessen the incidence of respiratory infectious diseases in school settings during a pandemic; more well-designed studies are warranted to clarify further the evidence regarding mask use in school settings.

This study aims to identify the literacy skills of individuals whose highest level of education was in the field 'teacher training and educational sciences'. The study sample comprised 10,618 individuals in the field of teacher training and educational sciences, selected from 31 countries (participating in the International Adult Skills Assessment Programme during the 2014-2015 survey) using a multi-stage sampling method. The study employed multi-level latent class analysis and three-step analysis in order to determine both the number of multi-level latent classes of educators' literacy scores as well as the selected independent variables' success in predicting those latent classes. The analysis revealed that educators in Germany constituted the group with the highest literacy skills while educators from Singapore comprised the group with the lowest literacy skills. [This study was presented at the 9th International Congress of Educational Research. Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey.]

What is it about afterschool that gives it so much potential to powerfully influence educational best practices around the world? This paper will explore what truly defines "afterschool" beyond the time- and location-based pedagogy of the term and will make the case for the use of "expanded learning" or "expanded opportunities" as the terms that most clearly describe this critical time of youth learning and development. This paper will explore the cultural and bureaucratic differences countries have that influence how young people spend their time and what those differences say about a country's views on child development and its aspirations for its youth. Beyond an exploration of cultural differences, this paper will also discuss the trends that are influencing our international efforts to shift the view of expanded learning programs beyond a safe place to keep children occupied while their parents work, toward a fundamental space for child development and educational innovation.

Pension participation during self-employment is receiving increasing attention in aging populations. The self-employed are known to participate in pension insurances to a lesser degree than employees. As a result, fears abound that they run an increased risk of old-age poverty, now that life expectancies increase. This article adopts the life-course perspective to shed new light on this topic. The life-course perspective underlines that, for many, self-employment is only a phase in a working career that is otherwise spent as an employee. Micro-level data from Finland and Germany are analyzed. These two countries have very different pension regulations for the self-employed: Finland has wide mandatory coverage, whereas Germany has a fragmented system with low mandatory coverage. Findings show that during self-employment, the Finns have much higher participation rates in both the public and private pension pillars. However, when pension-pillar participation throughout the entire working career is considered, the picture changes considerably. From this perspective, the self-employed in both countries have very high participation rates in the public pension pillar, and Germany also shows a considerable increase in occupational pillar participation. The findings suggest that the self-employed should not be treated as a distinctive social group. Rather, self-employment should be viewed as a phase during a person’s working careers. Accordingly, policymakers seeking to improve the pension participation of the self-employed might benefit from focusing on how employment and self-employment can best be combined across working careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores endogeneity problems in multilevel estimation of education production functions. The focus is on level 2 endogeneity which arises from correlations between student characteristics and omitted school variables. Theses correlations are mainly the result of student stratification between schools. From an econometric point of view, the correlations between student and school characteristics imply that the omission of some variables may generate endogeneity bias. Therefore, an estimation approach based on the Mundlak [20] technique is developed in order to tackle bias and to generate consistent estimates. Note that our analysis can be extended to any multilevel-structured data (students nested within schools, employees within firms, firms within regions, etc). The entire analysis is undertaken in a comparative context between three countries: Germany, Finland and the UK. Each one of them represents a particular system. For instance, Finland is known for its extreme comprehensiveness, Germany for early selection and the UK for its liberalism. These countries are used to illustrate the theory and to prove that the level of bias arising from omitted variables varies according to the characteristics of education systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the results of an assessment made as a part of the research project, Applied Multi-Risk Mapping of Natural Hazards for Impact Assessment (ARMONIA). The aim was to identify which aspects in the so-called disaster management cycle are covered by spatial planning in planning practice in the European Union's member states of Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK. In contrast to the initial hypothesis, the analysis of planning practice has shown that the role of spatial planning in risk assessment and management in many ways has been overestimated. The results have shown that spatial planning is only one of many actors in risk management and that it is, in general, not involved in risk assessment. Further, multi-risk assessment approaches are not used in planning practice, risk indicators are hardly used and vulnerability indicators are not at all used. The paper will interpret these surprising results and will answer the question of the role of spatial planning in natural risk assessment and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of Esping-Andersen's and Pierson's landmark publications, comparative welfare state research has revolved around the retrenchment of social policy and the transformation of welfare state regimes. One of the chief problems of these studies is the treatment of time. Very often, changes are incremental and their real impacts are not immediately visible but take years or even decades before the consequences fully materialize. The purpose of this paper is to discuss those incremental processes—that consist of series of smaller “not-system-shifting changes”—which may gradually change central features of a welfare state. Pension programmes, spanning long time periods, provide a good example. Only in some rare cases were pension schemes reformed in one step and in such a way that one can definitely ascertain a system shift. Most changes, however, are gradual, and recurrently enacted minor adjustments seem to leave the basic principles of the scheme intact. In this paper pension reform policies in Germany and Finland will be used to answer the question of when a change is big enough to be labelled as a system shift. It is argued that small “not-system-shifting” changes of the last two decades will eventually alter the basic characteristics of old-age security in both countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the variables having impact on the student motivation have been analyzed based on the articles, conference papers, master's theses and doctoral dissertations published in the years 2000-2017. A total of 165 research papers were selected for the research material and the data were collected through qualitative research techniques through document review and content analysis. According to the research results, the most important factors affecting student motivation are the fields of teacher, teachers' classroom management skills and their teaching methods. In this research, factors having less influence on the student motivation are parental communication, student characteristics and study fields. In addition, relational search type was used more than others, mostly students were selected as the study group and most researches were conducted in USA and Turkey.

Purpose: Scholarly interest in interorganizational learning (IOL) has spiked in the past decade because of its potential to absorb, transfer and create valuable knowledge for enhanced innovative performance and sustained competitive advantage. However, only a handful of review studies exists on the topic. The evolution of IOL has not been studied explicitly and there is a lack of understanding of the field trends. To fill this gap, this paper aims to comprehensively review the literature on IOL and map its evolution and trends using bibliometric techniques. In particular, the authors use visualization of science mapping freeware to systematize the findings and interpret the results. Design/methodology/approach: The authors synthesize the findings using "evaluative bibliometric techniques" to identify the quality and quantity indicators of the IOL research and use "relational bibliometric techniques" to determine the structural indicators of the IOL field such as the intellectual foundations and emerging research themes of IOL research. Findings: Through an analysis of 208 journal publications obtained from the Scopus database, the authors determine the leading authors, countries, highly cited papers and their contributions to the IOL literature. By identifying the key hotspots, intellectual foundations and emerging trends of IOL, the authors provide promising avenues in IOL research. Originality/value: To the best of the knowledge, this study is the first to systematically review the IOL literature and provide future research directions.

This paper explores the leadership styles of fourteen elected female politicians in executive government positions, as communicated through the official Instagram accounts that were in use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Seven of them are, or were, heads of government, six are or were mayors, and one is the president of an autonomous region in Spain. These women are Angela Merkel (Germany), Jacinda Ardern (New Zealand), Sanna Marin (Finland), Mette Frederiksen (Denmark), Erna Solberg (Norway), Katrin Jakobsdottir (Iceland), Tsai Ing-Wen (Taiwan), Anne Hidalgo (Paris), Virginia Raggi (Rome), Ada Colau (Barcelona), Claudia López (Bogotá), Claudia Sheinbaum (Mexico City), London Breed (San Francisco) and Isabel Díaz Ayuso (Madrid Region). A comparative content analysis of 2,330 units was conducted over a 6-month period. The study analyses the hard or soft leadership style conveyed by the women politicians selected in relation to four variables: political ideology, generational affiliation, level of government and techniques used in communication. The results show that the values of the variables affect leadership styles; therefore, the assumption that all female politicians have a single leadership style is erroneous and related to gender stereotyping.

The synergy, or lack thereof, between large-scale and classroom assessment has been fiercely debated in both academic and policy spheres for decades around the world. This paper seeks to explicate how different countries are utilizing large-scale testing and test results at the classroom level. Through country profiles, this paper analyzes contemporary developments on the tensions and synergies between large-scale assessment and classroom teaching, learning, and assessment observed across seven international jurisdictions: United States, Canada, Australia, England, Germany, Finland, and Singapore. The paper concludes with an analysis of international trends leading to a synthesis of root causes contributing to the current limited uptake of large-scale assessment results at classroom levels.

This paper presents a compilation of personal reflections from 66 contributors on the impact of, and responses to, COVID-19 in accounting education in 45 different countries around the world. It reveals a commonality of issues, and a variability in responses, many positive outcomes, including the creation of opportunities to realign learning and teaching strategies away from the comfort of traditional formats, but many more that are negative, primarily relating to the impact on faculty and student health and well-being, and the accompanying stress. It identifies issues that need to be addressed in the recovery and redesign stages of the management of this crisis, and it sets a new research agenda for studies in accounting education.

This paper compared technical/vocational education in: Germany, Australia, Finland, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and Nigeria, and found that technical/vocational education was given proper attention in countries considered except Nigeria, where it was handled with laissez faire attitude. Set-Up of Technical/Vocational Schooling, Curriculum, Mode of Training and Conduct of Final Examination, Financing and Motivating Factor was the basis for comparison, and Nigeria lagged behind in these. Amongst the lessons for Nigeria's technical/vocational education sector are that her technical/vocational education sector be dual, while students should be appropriately motivated. Schools should collaborate with registered organizations (work-integrated learning) to train the students. The paper recommended that there should be national conference strictly on the status of technical/vocational education in Nigeria, so that necessary solutions could be proffered to the problems facing this part of the education sector. Finally, manufacturing organizations, etc. should be involved in the drafting of curriculum of the technical/vocational education in the country, while taking into consideration peculiarities of Nigeria as a sovereign nation.

Self-regulation in the governance of higher education systems is often assumed to improve institutional performance, accountability, and responsiveness. Although studies of higher education governance have addressed the extent of self-regulation across national systems, there has been less investigation of the links between self-regulation and quality and equity. Nevertheless, the universal adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) commits all countries to equal access to affordable and quality education, including higher education, by 2030. To assess the relationship between self-regulation, quality, and equity, this paper presents a novel higher education self-regulation index trialed using the cases of England, Finland, France, and Germany. The index compares self-regulation, based on the respective national legal and policy frameworks, in core higher education functions: control and evaluation, funding, strategy and structure, personnel, and teaching and research. Each area is analyzed using six conditions reflecting the level of autonomy of an institution which could be met in full, in part or not met and assigned to a proxy number ranging from 0, 0.5 and 1 respectively. Each of these areas is summarized with a level that is either High, Medium, or Low and these are the levels then shown in the composite index. The impact of varying levels of self-regulation in a higher education system on quality and equity is then analyzed. Whereas higher levels of self-regulation do appear to have some impact on quality, the study found that a mix of policy steering, and institutional initiatives are needed to improve equity. Further refinement and testing of the self-regulation index would improve its utility as a tool to support governments and institutions to enhance higher education governance in support of the SDGs.

• A framework to differentiate systemic from non-systemic intermediation is proposed. • Three levels of systemic intermediation are conceptualised. • Empirical cases from Finland, Germany, and Sweden are analysed. • Intermediary roles are heterogenous and exist on multiple levels. • Systemic intermediation is proposed to describe this heterogeneity. This article contributes to the literature on sustainability transitions, innovation systems, and eco-innovation by addressing conceptual challenges regarding the systemic activities of intermediaries. Specifically, the article addresses a research gap pertaining to the ways in which the systemic activities of (eco-)innovation intermediaries can be conceptualised and empirically demonstrated. Empirically, the paper examines selected intermediaries in the context of support systems for eco-innovators in three regions across Finland, Germany, and Sweden. Drawing from our empirical findings and the literature on intermediaries, we conceptualise three system levels within which intermediation occurs: (i) in-between entities in a network, (ii) in-between networks of entities, and (iii) in-between actors, networks, and institutions. Our discussion suggests a heterogeneity of roles that individual intermediaries take at multiple system levels, complementing an emerging, more nuanced perspective of intermediaries in sustainability transitions. Thus, we suggest the term systemic intermediation for describing the system-level activities of intermediaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020, not only did the Sars-Cov-2 virus become a global pandemic, but public life also changed in the wake of various infection control measures. Increased use of masks was one of the first clearly visible changes. With the masks came stories about masks. Who wore them, where people should wear them, and why? It quickly became clear, however, that stories about 'the facemask' also have a metaphorical content, negotiating not only problems of the pandemic as a social crisis, but also other social issues amalgamated through the use of masks and the surrounding narratives. Thus, masks not only prevented infection, but also fed and materialised the public imaginary of the pandemic and its challenges. From this perspective, we explore three exemplary cases from Germany and Finland in 2020 in which the mask played different roles as a socio-material phenomenon, linking theoretical perspectives on materiality and metaphors. Additionally, the analysis presents illustrations done by a visual artist. These illustrations capture the key content of the analysis in the form of drawings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For over two decades now, the application of Citizen Science to Education has been evolving, and fundamental topics, such as the drivers of motivation to participate in Citizen Science projects, are still under discussion. Some recent developments, though, like the use of Artificial Intelligence to support data collection and validation, seem to point to a clear-cut divergence from the mainstream research path. The objective of this paper is to summarise the development trajectory of research on Citizen Science in Education so far, and then shed light on its future development, to help researchers direct their efforts towards the most promising open questions in this field. We achieved these objectives by using the lens of the Affordance-Actualisation theory and the Main Path Analysis method.

Abstract: The consumption of wood pellets grew rapidly during the last decade. In this paper we compare the development of the production factors for wood pellet markets in Finland, Germany, Sweden, Norway and the US; we analyze how domestic market prices for pellet production factors as well as domestic market prices for pellets vary among the countries. The analyses are based on two model plants. The first represents common technologies for small scale pellet production based on dry residues from sawnwood production, while the second represents large scale production based on a blend of dry and wet materials. The results show how differences in costs of feedstock, energy and labor affect the profitability of pellet production and hence the development of pellet production in the analyzed countries. Pellet producers in the US have lower feedstock costs than producers in the analyzed European countries. The economic sustainability for European pellet producers depends to a large extent on their domestic markets as internationally traded pellets are priced lower than their production costs. Future pellet production will, to a greater extent, be based on wet feedstock such as roundwood and wet sawdust. These feedstocks are also demanded by wood-based industries (pulp and paper, particle- and fiber-board) as well as for traditional fuelwood. The transition from smaller pellet plants using dry feedstock to larger plants using wet feedstock in future pellet production, can be expected to follow comparative advantages regarding feedstock and energy costs, but also with respect to economies of scale. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, we test the hypothesis of parent-child time as a form of human capital investment in children using a propensity score treatment effects approach that accounts for the possible endogenous nature of time use and human capital investment. We broaden the human capital investment notion and focus on shared time in eating, housework, leisure, and TV/video time. Furthermore, we investigate the extent to which the levels and composition of parent-child time varies across three countries: Finland, Germany, and the United States (as social democratic, conservative and liberal welfare regime). Our results reveal some cross-national differences in human capital investment and they provide mixed support for the hypothesis that non-care related parent-child time is human capital enriching. But our results also provide similarities across countries, indicating that family core functions may be common irrespective of welfare regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. The increasing incidence of cancer combined with prolonged survival times seen throughout the western world increases the need for rehabilitation. Diagnosis and treatment for cancer may have substantial effects on the patients' physical, psychological, social and existential well-being. The aim of this paper is to describe the current situation in cancer rehabilitation in the Nordic countries, the Netherlands and Germany. Material and methods. Description of the current situation in cancer rehabilitation in the Nordic countries and literature review. Results. Rehabilitation as defined by multiple organizations covers a multidimensional view on chronic disease and its effect on the patient's life. The rehabilitation systems in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands differ depending on the differing social security and health-care systems, but rehabilitation provided is largely based on a similar, multidimensional and multidisciplinary understanding of cancer rehabilitation. Research on rehabilitation efforts in European countries indicates that there is substantial evidence with regard to single interventions which can be part of cancer rehabilitation. Discussion. In order to assure patients and families continuing quality of life, rehabilitation should be an integral and continuous part of all cancer care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores connections between identity and language use in lingua franca contexts by investigating identity construction among Finnish users of English as revealed in interviews conducted both before and after a period spent in Germany. The focus is on the users' own stories of their language use and learning, and on the discursive construction of identities. The study draws on poststructuralist theories of identity construction, combining them with research that focuses on language learners' identity construction or on identity issues in contexts with English as a lingua franca. This paper illustrates how language users actively draw on different discourses in constructing their identities as foreign language users. Artikkelissa tarkastellaan identiteetin ja kielen käytön suhdetta tilanteissa, joissa englantia käytetään lingua francana. Identiteetin rakentumista tutkitaan haastattelemalla suomalaisia englannin kielen käyttäjiä sekä ennen heidän muutaman kuukauden mittaista oleskeluaan Saksassa että sen jälkeen. Tavoitteena on tarkastella kielenkäyttäjien omia käsityksiä kielenkäytöstä ja kielen oppimisesta sekä diskursiivista identiteettien rakentumista. Tutkimus pohjautuu poststrukturalistisiin teorioihin identiteettien rakentumisesta. Niitä yhdistetään tutkimuksiin, joissa käsitellään kielenoppijoiden identiteettityötä tai englannin kieltä lingua francana. Artikkeli osoittaa, että kielen käyttäjät ammentavat aktiivisesti erilaisista diskursseista rakentaessaan identiteettejään vieraan kielen käyttäjinä. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employee's ability to exercise influence over their work tasks has long been seen as a critical aspect of the quality of work. Using comparative representative surveys, the paper examines how well the contrasting power resource and production regime theoretical perspectives account for the empirical differences between countries – taking Denmark, Finland, Germany, the United Kingdom and Sweden as paradigmatic cases of different regime types. It examines individual task discretion, collective team decision-making and consultative influence through management. It reveals the distinctively high level of influence at work of employees in the Nordic countries, a pattern that is most consistent with power resources theory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The large difference in the level and variance of student performance in the 2000 PISA study between Finland and Germany motivates this paper. It analyses why Finnish students showed a significantly higher performance by estimating educational production functions for both countries, using a unique micro-level dataset with imputed data and added school type information. The difference in reading proficiency scores is assigned to different effects, using Oaxaca–Blinder and Juhn–Murphy–Pierce decomposition methods. The analysis shows that German students and schools have on average more favorable characteristics except for the lowest deciles, but experience much lower returns to these characteristics in terms of test scores than Finnish students. The role of school types remains ambiguous. Overall, the observable characteristics explain more of the variation in test scores in Germany than in Finland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the European Employment Strategy benchmarking and learning from good practices are main mechanisms to improve national performance. This is also the case for WLB strategies which are reinforced because of economic reasons to increase employment and population growth. The paper asks for the main criteria for public policies to promote WLB and whether or under which conditions such policies are transferable between the successful Nordic countries and the less successful conservative countries like Austria and Germany. Denmark and Finland are used as ‘good practice’ examples. The analysis shows that childcare leave regulations are an important instrument to encourage mothers for continuous working careers. But the consequences of these regulations concerning employment turn out to be quite different, even in measures with similar orientation. What we can learn from the Nordic countries is that the consistency of welfare state regulations and institutions are an important precondition for a successful WLB. This calls for an interplay of different fields and means that the imbalance of family and work and family reconciliation can hardly be solved by flexible working contracts or longer parental leave possibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In European societies there are some differences in the way and extent of women's integration into the labour market due to different economic development, political ideas and cultural traditions. In this paper two countries are compared, namely Finland and Germany, which differ considerably concerning women's employment patterns, employment prospects and their life orientations. While most Finnish women are participants of the labour force in full-time jobs, the working pattern of German women is of rather discountinous nature, depending on their chosen intimate relationships in private life, implicating their role as unpaid carers. As there is no sufficient provision of public care services, many German women are dependent on a male breadwinner while leaving their jobs for family purposes. In contrast, Finnish mothers return to their full-time jobs after maternity leave as the welfare state provides enough public care services for children and the dependent elderly. Thus it appears that Finnish women have gained financial autonomy and economic independence, a pre-requisite for living in democratic, individualized intimate relationships with equal decision power. Even if, during the last decades, empirical evidence has revealed the transformation of the well known breadwinner model to a modernized version, or partially a shift to an 'adult worker model', in Germany there is still no evidence for a general trend to a fully individualized life pattern of women with children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Imported green e-H 2 is more expensive than e-H 2 produced in Germany and Finland. • Local supply of e-H 2 found to be more economical across all scenarios and years. • Transportation costs constitute 29–63% of the total imported e-H 2 cost. • Pipeline transmission may be cheaper than shipping for distances of 2000–2500 km. Widely available and low-cost solar photovoltaics and wind power can enable production of renewable electricity-based hydrogen at many locations throughout the world. Hydrogen is expected to emerge as an important energy carrier constituting some of the final energy demand; however, its most important role will be as feedstock for further processing to e-fuels, e-chemicals, and e-steel. Apart from meeting their own hydrogen demand, countries may have opportunities to export hydrogen to countries with area limitations or higher production costs. This paper assesses the feasibility of e-hydrogen imports to Germany and Finland from two case regions with a high availability of low-cost renewable electricity, Chile and Morocco, in comparison to domestic supply. Special attention is paid to the transport infrastructure, which has a crucial impact on the economic viability of imports via two routes, shipping and pipelines. This study has found that despite lower e-hydrogen production costs in Morocco and Chile compared to Germany and Finland, additional transportation costs make imports of e-hydrogen economically unattractive. In early 2020s, imported fuel costs are 39–79% and 34–100% higher than e-hydrogen produced in Germany and Finland, respectively. In 2050, imported e-hydrogen is projected to be 39–70% more expensive than locally produced e-hydrogen in Germany and 43–54% in the case of Finland. e-Hydrogen may become a fuel that is mostly produced domestically and may be feasible for imports only in specific locations. Local e-hydrogen production may also lower dependence on imports, enhance energy security, and add jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper gives an overview of the most relevant policy developments (1999-2001) regarding higher education in a number of Western European countries. The focus is on Austria, Denmark, Finland, Flanders, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The following issues are addressed. Firstly, which issues are major issues in these countries in this three-year period? Secondly, can we explain why these issues are on the agenda? Thirdly, do the policy developments suggest increasing convergence in policies? We maintain that current policy issues reflect the existence or emergence of five global trends in and around higher education. The ubiquitousness of these trends explains why Western European governments are considering similar policy issues. However, this does not necessarily imply that governments in practice are offering similar policy solutions. It would be more accurate to state that the similar trends challenge governments to find policy solutions most suitable to reach specific national solutions in specific national contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epidemiological evidence suggests that regular physical activity (PA) positively impacts individuals' mental health (MH). The PA-MH relationship may be critical among immigrants owing to psycho-social-cultural influences. This scoping review of 61 studies employed a holistic bio-psycho-socio-cultural framework to thoroughly investigate the complex relationship between PA (across life domains) and immigrants' MH in Western countries. A systematic search of five electronic databases (Medline, PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and Anthropology Plus) was conducted to locate relevant articles. No limitations were applied to study design, age, gender, home country, MH condition or PA type. A bio-psycho-socio-cultural-informed conceptual model guided the analysis of the multi-domain PA-MH relationship. Immigrant PA-MH studies were conducted and reported most commonly in the USA (38%), Australia (18%), and Canada (11%). Overall, PA was positively related to MH. Each domain-specific PA appeared to be associated with unique MH-promoting pathways/mechanisms. Leisure-related PA may support MH by enhancing self-agency and minimizing risky behaviors, whilst travel- and domestic-related PA may promote self-accomplishment and physical engagement. Ethnic sports appeared to enhance resilience. Occupational-related PA was associated with either positive or negative MH, depending on the type of occupation. A bio-psycho-socio-cultural-informed model is required to gain an encompassing and integrated understanding of immigrants' health. The first iteration of such a model is presented here, along with an illustration of how the model may be used to deepen analysis and understanding of the multi-domain PA-MH relationship among immigrants and inform public health planners and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Job satisfaction is a key factor for the successful transition of newly graduated nurses (NGNs) and for retaining NGNs in their workplaces. However, there is limited evidence of the relationship between satisfaction regarding the nursing education program and NGNs' job satisfaction in the first year after graduation. Therefore, this study aims to examine the association of the nursing education related factors and NGNs' job satisfaction. Methods: A cross-sectional study design with the utilization of data collected from the same respondents one year earlier as educational factors was applied. The data were collected from NGNs (n = 557) in 10 European countries using an electronic survey between February 2019 and September 2020, and analyzed in detail for four countries (n = 417). Job satisfaction was measured with three questions: satisfaction with current job, quality of care in the workplace, and nursing profession. Nursing education related factors were satisfaction with nursing education program, level of study achievements, nursing as the 1st study choice, intention to stay in nursing, and generic nursing competence. The data were analyzed statistically using logistic regression. Results: Most of the NGNs in the 10 countries were satisfied with their current job (88.3%), the quality of care (86.4%) and nursing profession (83.8%). Finnish, German, Lithuanian and Spanish NGNs' satisfaction with the nursing education program at graduation was statistically significantly associated with their job satisfaction, i.e., satisfaction with their current job, the quality of care, and the nursing profession. Moreover, NGNs who had fairly often or very often intention to stay in nursing at graduation were more satisfied with their current job, with the quality of care, and with the nursing profession compared with NGNs who had never or fairly seldom intention to stay in nursing at graduation. Conclusions: Nursing education plays a significant role in NGNs' job satisfaction one year after graduation, indicating the importance to start career planning already during nursing education. Both nursing education providers and healthcare organizations could plan in close collaboration a transition program for NGNs to ease the transition phase and thus increase the NGNs' job satisfaction and ultimately the high-quality care of the patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]