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As humanity reaches the 5.0 industrial revolution, education plays a critical role in boosting the quality of human resources. This paper reports bibliometric research on emerging TiP during 1993-2022 in the educational field to analyse its development on any level of education during the last three decades. This study employed a Scopus database. The findings are that the trend of TiP publication in educational fields has tended to increase every year during the past three decades and conference paper became the most published document type, the USA is the country which produces the most publications; "Students" being the most occurrences keyword and total link strength. The publication of the TiP is ranked to the Quartile 1, which implies that a publication with the cited performance is a publication with credibility because the publisher has a good reputation. Researchers can find the topics most relevant to other metadata sources such as Web of Science, Publish, and Perish.

This paper discusses why there is a need for a more profound analysis of the European SMEs in the context of knowledge transfer within the state of generational change of the managing board. This paper forms basis for a doctoral thesis on this topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In Europe, more than 15 million people live with heart failure (HF). It imposes an enormous social, organizational and economic burden. As a reaction to impending impact on healthcare provision, different country-specific structures for HF-care have been established. The aim of this report is to provide an overview and compare the HF-care approaches of Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK, and to open the possibility of learning from each other's experience. Methods A mixed methods approach was implemented that included a literature analysis, interviews and questionnaires with HF-patients and caregivers, and expert interviews with representatives from healthcare, health service research and medical informatics. Results The models of HF-care in all countries analyzed are based on the European Society of Cardiology guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of HF. Even though the HF-models differed in design and implementation in practice, key challenges were similar: (i) unequal distribution of care between urban and rural areas, (ii) long waiting times, (iii) unequal access to and provision of healthcare services, (iv) information and communication gaps and (v) inadequate implementation and financing of digital applications. Conclusion Although promising approaches exist to structure and improve HF-care, across the four countries, implementation was reluctant to embrace novel methods. A lack of financial resources and insufficient digitalization making it difficult to adopt new concepts. Integration of HF-nurses seems to be an effective way of improving current models of HF-care. Digital solutions offer further opportunities to overcome communication and coordination gaps and to strengthen self-management skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Burden of comorbidities are largely unknown in JIA. From 2000, national and international patient registries were established to monitor biologic treatment, disease activity and adverse events in patients with JIA. The aim of this analysis was to investigate in parallel, for the first time, three of the largest JIA registries in Europe/internationally—UK JIA Biologic Registers (BCRD/BSPAR-ETN), German biologic registers (BiKeR/JuMBO), multinational Pharmachild—to quantify the occurrence of selected comorbidities in patients with JIA. Methods Information on which data the registers collect were compared. Patient characteristics and levels of comorbidity were presented, focussing on four key conditions: uveitis, MAS, varicella, and history of tuberculosis. Incidence rates of these on MTX/biologic therapy were determined. Results 8066 patients were registered into the three JIA registers with similar history of the four comorbidities across the studies; however, varicella vaccination coverage was higher in Germany (56%) vs UK/Pharmachild (16%/13%). At final follow-up, prevalence of varicella infection was lower in Germany (15%) vs UK/Pharmachild (37%/50%). Prevalence of TB (0.1–1.8%) and uveitis (15–19%) was similar across all registers. The proportion of systemic-JIA patients who ever had MAS was lower in Germany (6%) vs UK (15%) and Pharmachild (17%). Conclusion This analysis is the first and largest to investigate the occurrence of four important comorbidities in three JIA registries in Europe and the role of anti-rheumatic drugs. Combined, these three registries represent one of the biggest collection of cases of JIA worldwide and offer a unique setting for future JIA outcome studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives To measure changes in prevalence and predictors of home smoking bans (HSBs) among smokers in four European countries after the implementation of national smoke-free legislation. Design Two waves of the International Tobacco Control Policy Evaluation Project Europe Surveys, which is a prospective panel study. Pre- and post-legislation data were used from Ireland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Two pre-legislation waves from the UK were used as control. Participants 4634 respondents from the intervention countries and 1080 from the control country completed both baseline and follow-up and were included in the present analyses. Methods Multiple logistic regression models to identify predictors of having or of adopting a total HSB, and Generalised Estimating Equation models to compare patterns of change after implementation of smoke-free legislation to a control country without such legislation. Results Most smokers had at least partial smoking restrictions in their home, but the proportions varied significantly between countries. After implementation of national smoke-free legislation, the proportion of smokers with a total HSB increased significantly in all four countries. Among continuing smokers, the number of cigarettes smoked per day either remained stable or decreased significantly. Multiple logistic regression models indicated that having a young child in the household and supporting smoking bans in bars were important correlates of having a pre-legislation HSB. Prospective predictors of imposing a HSB between survey waves were planning to quit smoking, supporting a total smoking ban in bars and the birth of a child. Generalised Estimating Equation models indicated that the change in total HSB in the intervention countries was greater than that in the control country. Conclusions The findings suggest that smoke-free legislation does not lead to more smoking in smokers' homes. On the contrary, our findings demonstrate that smoke-free legislation may stimulate smokers to establish total smoking bans in their homes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzed elementary teacher education (hereafter 'TED') programs in the top performing European (TIMSS) countries to help inform future elementary TED policy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methodological emphasis revolved around how much emphasis should be placed on general content knowledge (GCK), as opposed to general pedagogical knowledge (GPK), as opposed to methodological pedagogical knowledge (MPK). This study explored these questions while analyzing the elementary TED programs of Germany, Finland, and the U.K. relying mainly on peer-reviewed literature on these topics published between 2000 and 2016 in the English language. Three theoretical frames of reference, aside from TIMSS, were also analyzed during this process: whether the programs were consecutive or concurrent, the model of partnership followed between universities and institutions where field experiences took place, and the overall status and role of teachers in the society as categorized by career-based or position-based. It was found that the top performing European TIMSS countries usually: have consecutive and concurrent options; attract the top academic achievers into their programs; have strict filters for admission; provide very intensive TED experiences to their students focusing on practical and diverse field experiences; enforce students to major in at least one academic subject and place more emphasis on academic subject expertise than pedagogy; have challenging criteria (including exams and portfolios) for graduation from the program; have national accreditation institutes for unifying standards; their sponsor countries enforce various types of induction and professional development once in the field; and lastly these countries offer salaries competitive with other professions that require the same amount of years and training since they are usually career-based positions.

Background In responding to Covid-19, governments have tried to balance protecting health while minimizing gross domestic product (GDP) losses. We compare health-related net benefit (HRNB) and GDP losses associated with government responses of the UK, Ireland, Germany, Spain and Sweden from UK healthcare payer perspective. Methods We compared observed cases, hospitalizations and deaths under 'mitigation' to modelled events under 'no mitigation' to 20 July 2020. We thus calculated healthcare costs, quality adjusted life years (QALYs), and HRNB at £20,000/QALY saved by each country. On per population (i.e. per capita) basis, we compared HRNB with forecast reductions in 2020 GDP growth (overall or compared with Sweden as minimal mitigation country) and qualitatively and quantitatively described government responses. Results The UK saved 3.17 (0.32–3.65) million QALYs, £33 (8–38) billion healthcare costs and £1416 (220–1637) HRNB per capita at £20,000/QALY. Per capita, this is comparable to £1455 GDP loss using Sweden as comparator and offsets 46.1 (7.1–53.2)% of total £3075 GDP loss. Germany, Spain, and Sweden had greater HRNB per capita. These also offset a greater percentage of total GDP losses per capita. Ireland fared worst on both measures. Countries with more mask wearing, testing, and population susceptibility had better outcomes. Highest stringency responses did not appear to have best outcomes. Conclusions Our exploratory analysis indicates the benefit of government Covid-19 responses may outweigh their economic costs. The extent that HRNB offset economic losses appears to relate to population characteristics, testing levels, and mask wearing, rather than response stringency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current context of globalization, firms have concentrated their efforts on the development of international brands. As a result, international brand portfolios have been restructured, and many successful local brands have been eliminated. This article's objective is to improve the understanding of local brand differences and competitive advantages relative to international brands. To achieve this, the authors reanalyzed the Young & Rubicam database Brand Asset Valuator and examined more than 744 brands across the four largest countries in Europe: the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy. The authors discuss the managerial implications of the findings for international marketers as they develop their ideal international brand portfolios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Obesity is increasing worldwide and weight-control strategies, including the consumption of plant food supplements (PFS), are proliferating. This article identifies the herbal ingredients in PFS consumed for weight control and by overweight/obese dieters in six European countries, and explores the relationship between their consumption and their self-reported BMI. Methods: Data used were a subset from the PlantLIBRA PFS Consumer Survey 2011-2012, a retrospective survey of 2359 PFS consumers. The survey used a bespoke frequency-of-PFS-usage questionnaire. Analyses were performed in two consumer subsamples of 1) respondents taking the products for "body weight reasons", and 2) "dieters for overweight/obesity", to identify the herbal ingredients consumed for these reasons. The relationship between the 5 most consumed herbal ingredients and self-reported BMI in groups 1 and 2 is explored by comparing BMI proportions of consumers vs. non-consumers (using Chi-squared test). Results: 252 PFS (8.8 %) were consumed for "body weight reasons" (by 240 PFS consumers); 112 PFS consumers (4.8 %) were "dieting for overweight/obesity". Spain is the country where consuming herbal ingredients for body weight control and dieting were most popular. Artichoke was the most consumed herbal ingredient. Considering only the 5 top products consumed by those who responded "body weight", when using the total survey sample, a greater proportion of BMI ≥ 25 was observed among consumers of PFS containing artichoke and green tea as compared to non-consumers (58.4 % vs. 49.1 % and 63.2 % vs. 49.7 % respectively). Considering only the 5 top products consumed by "dieters" and using only the "dieters" sample, a lower proportion of BMI ≥ 25 was observed among pineapple-containing PFS consumers (38.5 % vs. 81.5 %); however, when using the entire survey sample, a greater proportion of BMI ≥ 25 was observed among artichoke-containing PFS consumers (58.4 % vs. 49.1 %). Conclusions: A comparison of results among the scarce publications evaluating the use of weight-loss supplements at the population level is limited. Nevertheless every hint is important in finding out which are the self-treatment strategies used by overweight/obese individuals in European countries. Although limited by a small sample size, our study represents a first attempt at analysing such data in six EU countries. Our findings should encourage the conduction of further studies on this topic, long-term and large sample-sized studies, ideally conducted in the general population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the impact of multimorbidity on the frequency of participation of older people in Europe in social leisure activities. Topics include the use of data from the European Project on Osteoarthritis (EPOSA), the concept of multimorbidity, and the individual and environmental factors that predict social leisure activity participation among the elderly. It also discusses the continuity theory of Robert Atchley.

Background: Strong primary care systems are believed to have an important role in dealing with healthcare challenges. Strengthening primary care systems is therefore a common policy goal for many countries. This study aims to investigate whether the Netherlands, the UK and Germany have strengthened their primary care systems in 2006-2012. Method: For this cross-sectional study, data from the International Health Policy surveys of the Commonwealth Fund in 2006, 2009 and 2012 were used. The surveys represent the experiences and perspectives of primary care physicians with their primary care system. The changes over time were researched in three areas: organization of primary care processes, use of IT in primary care and use of benchmarking and financial incentives for performance improvement. Results: Regarding organization of primary care processes, in all countries the use of supporting personnel in general practice increased, but at the same time practice accessibility decreased. IT services were most advanced in the UK. The UK and the Netherlands showed increased use of performance feedback information. German GPs were least satisfied with how their system works across the 2006-2012 timeframe. Conclusion: All three countries show trends towards stronger primary care systems, although in different areas. Coordination and comprehensive care through the assignment of assisting personnel and use of disease management programs improved in all countries. In the Netherlands and the UK, informational continuity is in part ensured through better IT services. All countries showed increasing difficulties upholding primary care accessibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lowering energy (calorie) intake is essential in managing a healthy weight. One method of doing this is substituting sugar with low/no-calorie sweeteners. The safety of sweeteners has been debated, but little is known about how they are perceived by professionals responsible for weight management advice. We sought to explore dietitian perceptions of sweeteners and to identify the practical advice they provide about them. Methods: We collected data in France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal and the United Kingdom. We used face-toface interviews and a novel online tool designed to engage people with online content in a way that approximates everyday processes of making sense of information. Results: We identified four approaches to sweeteners that dietitians took: (1) sweeteners should not be used, (2) they should be limited and used primarily as a transitional product, (3) sweetener use was decided by the client and (4) sweeteners should be recommended or at least allowed. Where dietitians are reticent to recommend sweeteners this is because they feel it is important for consumers to reduce their attachment to sweet tastes and of evidence linking the consumption of sweeteners to increased appetite. There is also uncertainty about the possible negative health effects of sweeteners. Conclusions: Dietitians' perceptions about sweeteners are uncertain, ambivalent and divergent, sometimes explicitly being linked to fears about adverse health effects. Clear and authoritative guidance is required on scientific evidence around sweeteners as well as the ways in which they can be used in dietetic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different front-of-pack (FOP) labelling systems have been developed in Europe by industry and organisations concerned with health promotion. A study (n 2068) was performed to establish the extent to which inclusion of the most prevalent FOP systems – guideline daily amounts (GDA), traffic lights (TL), GDA+TL hybrid (HYB) and health logos (HL) – impact consumer perceptions of healthiness over and above the provision of a FOP basic label (BL) containing numerical nutritional information alone. The design included within- and between-subjects factors. The within-subjects factors were: food (pizzas, yogurts and biscuits), healthiness of the food (high health, medium health and low health) and the repeated measurements under BL and test FOP label conditions. The between-subjects factors were: the system (GDA, TL, GDA+TL hybrid, HL), portion size (typical portion size and a 50 % reduction of a typical portion) and country (the UK, Germany, Poland and Turkey). Although the FOP systems tested did result in small improvements for objective understanding under some conditions, there was little difference between the provision of an FOP label containing basic numerical nutritional information alone or between the various systems. Thus, any structured and legible presentation of key nutrient and energy information on the FOP label is sufficient to enable consumers to detect a healthier alternative within a food category when provided with foods that have distinctly different levels of healthiness. Future research should focus on developing greater understanding of the psychological and contextual factors that impact motivation and the opportunity to use the various FOP systems in real-world shopping settings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Despite the ban on misleading descriptors such as light or mild cigarettes in Europe, there are still widespread misperceptions of the relative harmfulness of different brands of cigarettes among smokers. This study examined the extent to which smokers in three European countries believed that some cigarette brands are less harmful and why, using data from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Europe surveys. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were completed among nationally representative samples of 4,956 current smokers (aged ≥ 18) from Germany (n = 1,515), France (n = 1,735) and the United Kingdom (n = 1,706) conducted between September 2006 and November 2007. Logistic regression models examined whether outcomes, including beliefs that some cigarettes could be less harmful than others, varied by socio-demographic and country of residence. Findings: Around a quarter of smokers in the UK and France, and a third in Germany believed some cigarettes are less harmful than others. Overall, of smokers who falsely believed that some cigarettes are less harmful, 86.3% thought that tar/nicotine yields, 48.7% taste, and 40.4% terms on packs such as ‘smooth’ or ‘ultra’ indicated less harmful brands. About a fifth of smokers across all countries chose their brand based on health reasons, and a similar proportion gave tar yields as a reason for choosing brands. Conclusions: Our research suggests that the current European Tobacco Products Directive is inadequate in eliminating misperceptions about the relative risk of brand descriptors on cigarettes. There is therefore an urgent need to protect smokers in Europe from these misperceptions via stronger measures such as plain packaging regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Debates surrounding the approach to and distinctiveness of contemporary history qua history that had been simmering ever since the professionalization of history in the late nineteenth century re-emerged with vigour after 1990. This article attempts to identify what characterizes and distinguishes (the history of) our present time, by comparing the evolution of what has been labelled ‘contemporary history’ in France, Germany and Britain over the last 90 years. In discussing some of the conceptual problems and methodological challenges of contemporary history, it will be revealed that many in Europe remain stuck in an older, ‘national’ (and transnational) fixation with the second world war and the nazis’ atrocities, although working in medias res today appears to point to the investigation of events and phenomena that are ‘global’. The article will seek to make a fresh suggestion of how to delimit ‘contemporariness’ from the older ‘past’ and end with some comments on the significance of the role of contemporary history within the broader historical discipline and society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Drawing on panel data from the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), we compare the economic performance of immigrants to Great Britain, West Germany, Denmark, Luxembourg, Ireland, Italy, Spain and Austria to that of the respective indigenous population. The unit of analysis is the individual in the household context. This allows us to define immigrants’ state of integration into the host society at the family level taking into account issues such as immigrant/native intermarriage. Economic performance is measured in terms of the country-specific pre-government income position and change in the relative income position due to redistribution processes within the respective tax and social security systems. Our work is based on the premise that countries may be categorized - similarly to existing categorizations based on the type of welfare regime - according to the nature of their immigration policy. From an economic point of view, a successful and integrative immigration policy should result - at least when controlling for background characteristics such as education - in a non-significant differential between the economic performance of immigrants and that of the indigenous population. At first glance, our results indicate that this “ideal” is not attained in all of the countries analysed, particularly not in Germany and Denmark, where the economic performance of immigrants is much lower than that of the indigenous population. However, results from GLS random-effects models show that immigrants to these countries improve their economic situation rapidly with increasing duration of stay in the host country. This implies that these countries also do fairly well in fostering in the economic integration of immigrants. Our empirical results further reveal that the substantial cross-country differences in the immigrant/native-born performance differential persist even when controlling in detail for socioeconomic characteristics of the household and for indicators of the state of the immigrants’ integration, such as years since migration and immigrant/native intermarriage. This suggests that not only the conditions of entry to a country impact on immigrants’ economic performance, but also country-specific institutional aspects such as restrictions on access to the labour market and parts of the social security system that are related to citizenship or immigrant status. There still is a great deal of heterogeneity across EU member states in this respect. This should be taken into account when working towards the harmonization of national EU immigration policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an update on environmental management in Europe as of September 2000. Actions taken by European countries on the growing public protests against fuel prices; Steps taken by Germany to meet its climate change obligations; Drop in the greenhouse gas emissions of Great Britain between 1991 and 1999.

The hypothesis that country and industry differences influence the structure of the characteristics which distinguish between non-exporters and exporters was verified. After a series of interviews and pre-studies, a four-part questionnaire was designed including 194 independent variables. In summer 1982, it was sent to a random sample of 1,500 managing directors of British and German food-processing and mechanical engineering firms. The industries were selected for their contrasting characteristics. In the present research, a further refinement was introduced by adding the industry dimension as a control factor. As two industries were analysed, mechanical engineering and food processing, the number of discriminant analyses doubled compared to the previous country-specific analysis. For example, British exporters are now further divided into those stemming from the British mechanical engineering industry and those belonging to the British food-processing industry. The results of the analysis showed that the extent of the differences is smaller than anticipated. This is because most of the differences can be viewed as facets of six key dimensions. They apply in differing strength to all established export behavior profiles and lend support to a wide range of contributions in the export behavior literature.

Background Support for the return to work of working-age adult cancer survivors is a major theme for occupational health professionals in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: Migraine is a distinct neurological disease that imposes a significant burden on patients, society, and the healthcare system. This study aimed to characterize the incremental burden of migraine in individuals who suffer from ≥4 monthly headache days (MHDs) by examining health-related quality of life (HRQoL), impairments to work productivity and daily activities, and healthcare resource utilization (HRU) in the EU5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom).Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study used data from the 2016 National Health and Wellness Survey (NHWS; N = 80,600). Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey, version 2 (SF-36v2) physical and mental component summary scores (PCS and MCS), Short-form-6D (SF-6D), and EuroQoL (EQ-5D), impairments to work productivity and daily activities (Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire (WPAI), and HRU were compared between migraine respondents suffering from ≥4 MHDs (n = 218) and non-migraine controls (n = 218) by propensity score matching using sociodemographic characteristics. Chi-square, T-tests, and Mann-Whitney tests were performed to determine significant differences between the groups after propensity score matching.Results: HRQoL was lower in migraine individuals suffering from ≥4 MHDs compared with non-migraine controls, with reduced SF-36v2 PCS (46.00 vs 50.51) and MCS (37.69 vs 44.82), SF-6D health state utility score (0.62 vs 0.71), and EQ-5D score (0.68 vs 0.81) (for all, p < 0.001). Respondents with migraine suffering from ≥4 MHDs also reported higher levels of absenteeism from work (14.43% vs 9.46%; p = 0.001), presenteeism (35.52% vs 20.97%), overall work impairment (38.70% vs 23.27%), and activity impairment (44.17% vs 27.75%) than non-migraine controls (for all, p < 0.001). Additionally, HRU was significantly higher for individuals with ≥4 MHDs compared to their matched controls. Consistently, migraine subgroups (4-7 MHDs, 8-14 MHDs and CM) had lower HRQoL, greater overall work and activity impairment, and higher HRU compared to non-migraine controls.Conclusions: Migraine of ≥4 MHDs was associated with poorer HRQoL, greater work productivity loss, and higher HRU compared with non-migraine controls. The findings of the study suggest that an unmet need exists among individuals suffering from ≥4 MHDs in the EU5 suggesting the need for effective prophylactic treatments to lessen the humanistic and economic burden of migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]