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Preliminary considerations and an initial proposal are made for the harmonisation of different statistical disclosure limitation procedures at European level. Here we present the case of microdata file but the same approach could be successfully applied to other types of releases as well. The proposal is based on two pillars: in the methodological part, contrary to the proposal of Pérez-Duarte (2009), the harmonisation concept is defined by means of a set of minimal requirements on both the input and the output of the anonymisation process. In the organisational part, the burden is shared among actors in the European Statistical System. A proposal for a possible implementation of both the methodological and procedural/organisational framework is sketched. Issues related to the release of multiple files from the same survey i.e. from the same original dataset, are sketched. The release of multiple files is a new feature at European level stemming from the introduction of the public use file (PUF) concept in the new regulation on European statistics. This implies that for the same survey both a public use file and a microdata file for scientific purposes might be available: care must be taken in designing such files in order to avoid incoherence. Finally, the problem of the impact on the coherence of an anonymisation procedure of the release of a system of surveys is briefly explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This chapter provides a selective review of nine skeletal and dental lesions that have been used to construct the skeletal database employed in the development of the health index. These lesions are described within a biosocial framework. Change in length of subadult long bones can identify differences in nutrition and health. Linear enamel hypoplasias provide information on the severity and temporal pattern of stress during infancy and childhood. Porotic hyperostosis is a lesion of the skull associated with iron deficiency. Bony responses to bacterial infections are associated with differences in contact with bacteria and the levels of resistance. Patterns of healed fractures indicate activities that include livingon difficult terrain, hazardous occupations, and the extent of warfare and interpersonal violence. Osteoarthritis indicates the degree of regular strenuous activity and quality of life. Dental decay and tooth loss have functional significance for nutritional status. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE Analyses of skeletal remains are providing a unique window onto patterns of health in past human populations. Until very recently the surviving human tissues, most often bones and teeth (and less often skin, hair, and fluids, such as blood), have usually been ignored in historical and prehistoric research, or at best, their analysis was relegated to appendixes of archaeological site reports (Buikstra, 1991). However, archaeologists and historians have begun to realize that human remains are the most direct means for assessment of past biologies and how these biologies interacted with social, political, and economic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]