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This paper compares the business judgment rule as developed in the US (specifically the state of Delaware) and adapted by Germany, with the Netherlands' regime for directors' liability. In the Netherlands, judicial review of directors is considered marginal, because courts will only intervene where it is sufficiently clear by objective measures that a director has used their administrative freedom in such a way that it does not deserve to be respected. The burden of proof, which is considered to be high, rests on the plaintiff, pursuant to general procedural law. Regarding the US business judgment rule, the threshold of proof is lower. The rule is both a 'shield' for directors (since plaintiffs must initially rebut a presumption in the director's favor) and a 'sword' for plaintiffs (since the burden of proof then moves to the director, who must show the decision made was fair). This paper proposes that the Netherlands make an exception to the general rule that the burden of proof rests upon the plaintiff suing a large company, considering the special responsibility that larger companies, particularly in the finance sector, should have towards society as a whole. This is supported by an analysis of Dutch directors' internal liability cases, which shows that, had the Delaware business judgment rule been applied, it is the threshold of proof factor that would have prompted a different outcome. [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.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on everyone's life. Like many other professionals, social workers have been forced to adapt to these new working conditions and new challenges in order to support clients during the pandemic, as new needs have arisen. Together with professional associations from three nations (Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands), we used a coordinated approach to explore the consequences of the pandemic for social work professionals. This study was conducted during the most severe contact and hygiene restrictions of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the winter of 2020/2021. The data addresses the changes perceived by social work professionals in relation to their contact and communication with clients, the use of digital technology in the context of work, the professional response in terms of innovation, the working conditions and the psychosocial risks they face. Methods: Cross-sectional data was collected from 7,241 social workers in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands through online surveys. Results: The results show an increase in the workload of professional social workers and compounding problems of clients, together with a negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communication and contact with clients. All of this takes place within the framework of changing working conditions and contexts. Our data shows that the use of digital technologies does not cause bigger problems for most of the participating social workers. It should in fact be noted that professionals have many positive associations with the use of digital technology in general. Conclusions: There are both remarkable and alarming results concerning the mental health of social workers and their working conditions, as well as the position of the social work profession in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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.

In some institutions of higher learning, one of the approaches to successful governance is through student assessment of teachers, dubbed Student Assessment of Faculty or Student Evaluation of Teaching and extensively used in the United States of America (USA). In schools and colleges, the usual largest bloc and primary stakeholders are the students. Students should therefore assess teachers for the purpose of improving the system for all stakeholders including themselves. Teaching is a service in a marketing framework and where it is offered, the buyer is in the best position to assess the offering for better performance. This paper advocates for student assessment of their teachers at the end of each teaching cycle and suggests a basket of approaches to reduce the dissonance that accompanies the exercise where applied. A template is suggested in the paper.

Dominant discourses on telecare technologies often celebrate the erasure of distance and place. This paper provides a critical intervention into these discourses by investigating how spaces still matter, despite the move from physical to virtual encounters between healthcare professionals and patients. I argue that science and technology studies (STS) research on telecare, as well as other technologies, can be enriched by including a focus on place to understand the dynamic interactions between people and things. Adopting insights of human geographers, I show how places in which technologies are used affect how technologies enable or constrain human actions and identities. Whereas some spaces may facilitate the incorporation of technologies, others may resist technologies. A focus on how places matter is important for understanding how telecare technologies reorder and redefine healthcare. Although other healthcare technologies are also important actors in transforming healthcare, telecare technologies do this in a very specific way: they redefine the spatial dimensions of healthcare. To capture and further explore this changing spatial configuration of healthcare, I introduce the notion of technogeography of care. This concept provides a useful heuristic to study how places matter in healthcare. Although telecare technologies introduce virtual encounters between healthcare providers and patients, the use of telecare devices still largely depends on locally grounded, situated care acts. Based on interviews with users of several cardiac telecare applications, including healthcare professionals and patients in Germany and the Netherlands, the paper shows how patients’ homes and public spaces are important for shaping the implementation and use of telecare technologies, and vice versa. Last, but not least, telecare devices are implicated as well. The paper emphasizes the place-dependency of the use and meaning of technical devices by showing how the same technological device can do and mean different things in different places. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of the paper is to assess the theory that the downside risk insurance provided by more generous welfare states generates long run efficiency gains, which counterbalance the short run efficiency losses caused by work disincentives in these states (Feldstein 1974, 1976; Sinn 1995, 1996). Testing downside risk theory requires long term data, so the paper makes use of the three longest running national socio-economic panel surveys. These are the American Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID, 1968-), the German Socio-Economic Panel (1984-) and the Dutch Socio-Economic Panel (SEP, 1984-). The paper focusses on prime age households (heads 25–59) and assesses their participation in and returns to adult education and job training. Our results indicate some support for the theory in so far as Dutch and German prime age adults, living in more generous welfare states, were much more likely than Americans to take the risk of foregoing current earnings and investing in additional education. In all three countries returns on investment were substantial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies procyclical productivity growth at the industry level in the United States and three European countries (France, Germany and the Netherlands). Industry-specific demand-side instruments are used to examine the prevalence of non-constant returns to scale and unmeasured input utilization. For the aggregate US economy, unmeasured input utilization seems to explain procyclical productivity. However, this correction still leaves one in three US industries with procyclical productivity. This failure of the model can also be seen in Europe and is mostly concentrated in services industries. [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]

Integrating enormous quantities of wind energy into the electrical system requires precise planning and forecasting. This paper presents a novel framework for wind power forecasting, which establishes a new standard for accuracy and reliability. It uses advanced deep neural networks and a stacking ensemble mechanism to make probabilistic forecasts. These forecasts address wind speed volatility and variability, which continue to be key issues in producing consistently accurate wind power forecasts despite advances in deep learning. Base learners generate forecasts that include lower and upper bounds, as well as median prediction intervals. The Huber regressor, also known as the Meta-learner, combines projections from many models to reduce susceptibility to extreme values. Expanding window cross-validation is used in performance evaluation, with a focus on Mean Absolute Error, Mean Squared Error (MSE), Symmetric Mean Absolute Percentage Error, Prediction Interval Coverage Probability, and Average Interval Width for one, two, and three step ahead predictions. The model's stability is measured by the standard deviation of MSE throughout each validation window. Additionally, the Diebold–Mariano test is used to validate the Meta-learner's predictive accuracy in contrast to other advanced models and the seasonal naïve benchmark. This study found that the meta model outperformed all other models in eight of the nine forecasts tested, indicating its effectiveness in medium-range forecasting. In Germany, it exceeded Temporal Fusion Transformer by two and three steps ahead, with 22% and 34% improvements, respectively. Indeed, this study not only provides a reliable prediction tool, but also lays foundations for efficient and effective energy management and policy planning in the renewable energy industry. • Deep neural network architectures are applied to probabilistic wind power forecasting. • Transformer and artificial neural network approaches combined with conformal prediction intervals is proposed. • A window cross-validation scheme on wind power forecasting is evaluated. • Wind power data from Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands are used for forecasting purposes. • SHAP and LIME analyses perform the explanatory analysis of the variables in the meta-learner's predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two middle school educators earned a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching fellowship. A Fulbright Finland Foundation inter-country travel grant provided the grantees with a unique opportunity to connect and collaborate at the University of Helsinki. Within this research, they described their inquiry experiences. The research included examining authentic student-centered learning continuums and phenomenon-based learning in Finland and teachers' adaptability in relation to meeting the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse math classrooms in the Netherlands. This paper summarizes how cross-cultural dialogues, classroom observations, and informal interviews with educators, students, and thought leaders informed each grantee's discovery of how student-centered learning is structured, delivered, and valued in Finland and the Netherlands. This article (1) describes how communication empowers middle school mathematics students, (2) analyzes the learning-to-learn framework, and (3) provides insights into how to utilize language diversity in a mathematics classroom.

This paper examines practices of teaching and learning in the era of digitalization. More specifically, it addresses practices of teaching and learning for students with professional experience who work alongside their studies. Based on the assumption that digitalization is a means of allowing more open and flexible pathways for teaching and learning in higher education, the paper focuses on the perspectives and perceptions of both students and teachers in digital supported teaching and learning environments as forms of blended learning. It brings together findings from two qualitative empirical studies: one focused on students' perspectives of their development over the course of their studies; the second addressed teachers' perspectives and their teaching strategies and activities. Based on the findings of these two research studies, the paper outlines future perspectives for teaching and learning and the role of digitalization, with a particular emphasis on programs of lifelong learning at universities.

The expansion of opportunity in higher education and the recognition of the influence of academic research on economic development have motivated policy reforms in many national systems of higher education including Japan. Many of these national reforms involve facilitating market forces in higher education, which is a new context for many universities. What has been learned about the impacts of these policies on the university sector? This paper will review research on the three primary policy instruments for creating market competition in a sector: policies altering the basic conditions of a market -- the framework laws and values within which universities operate; policies affecting market structure -- the number of buyers and sellers, the pricing of goods and services, freeing and simulating markets; and policies directly affecting the conduct of buyers and sellers -- government regulation and the provision of information. Given the recent regulatory developments in Japanese higher education, the paper will particularly focus on the design of quality assurance policies in the university sector.

Studies looking at flood risk analysis and assessment (FRA) reviews are not customary, and they usually approach to methodological and spatial scale issues, uncertainty, mapping or economic damage topics. However, most of these reviews provide a snapshot of the scientific state of the art of FRA that shows only a partial view, focused on a limited number of selected methods and approaches. In this paper, we apply a bibliometric analysis using the Web of Science (WoS) database to assess the historic evolution and future prospects (emerging fields of application) of FRA. The scientific production of FRA has increased considerably in the past decade. At the beginning, US researchers dominated the field, but now they have been overtaken by the Chinese. The Netherlands and Germany may be highlighted for their more complete analyses and assessments (e.g., including an uncertainty analysis of FRA results), and this can be related to the presence of competitive research groups focused on FRA. Regarding FRA fields of application, resilience analysis shows some growth in recent years while land planning, risk perception and risk warning show a slight decrease in the number of papers published. Global warming appears to dominate part of future FRA production, which affects both fluvial and coastal floods. This, together with the improvement of economic evaluation and psycho-social analysis, appear to be the main trends for the future evolution of FRA. Finally, we cannot ignore the increase in analysis using big data analysis, machine learning techniques, and remote sensing data (particularly in the case of UAV sensors data). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the limitations of harmonised sampling designs for survey research on immigrants in Germany and the Netherlands. Although the concepts for immigrants are largely similar in both countries, there are severe constraints when it comes to comparable sampling designs. While in the Netherlands a sample can be drawn from a national population register by Statistics Netherlands, this is impossible in Germany due to the decentralised setup of the population register and legal restrictions on merging existing databases. Harmonisation of immigrant statistics is thus less a problem at the concept level than in the implementation. Achieving a harmonised data collection on immigrants for Germany and the Netherlands will be a major challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, several checklists systematically assessed factors that affect the transferability of cost-effectiveness (CE) studies between jurisdictions. The role of the threshold value for a QALY has been given little consideration in these checklists, even though the importance of a factor as a cause of between country differences in CE depends on this threshold. In this paper, we study the impact of the willingness-to-pay (WTP) per QALY on the importance of transferability factors in the case of smoking cessation support (SCS). We investigated, for several values of the WTP, how differences between six countries affect the incremental net monetary benefit (INMB) of SCS. The investigated factors were demography, smoking prevalence, mortality, epidemiology and costs of smoking-related diseases, resource use and unit costs of SCS, utility weights and discount rates. We found that when the WTP decreased, factors that mainly affect health outcomes became less important and factors that mainly effect costs became more important. With a WTP below €1,000, the factors most responsible for between country differences in INMB were resource use and unit costs of SCS and the costs of smoking-related diseases. Utility values had little impact. At a threshold above €10,000, between country differences were primarily due to different discount rates, utility weights and epidemiology of smoking-related diseases. Costs of smoking-related diseases had little impact. At all thresholds, demography had little impact. We concluded that, when judging the transferability of a CE study, we should consider the between country differences in WTP threshold values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- As the interest in talent management (TM) gathers momentum, this paper aims to unravel how talent is managed in multinational corporations, what factors mediate the talent management process and what computerised systems may contribute to the management of talent. Design/methodology/approach -- The study employs a single case study but multiple units of analysis approach to elucidate the factors pertaining to the transmission and use of talent management practices across the German and Irish subsidiaries of a US multinational corporation. Primary data for this study derive from a series of in-depth interviews with key decision makers, which include managers at various levels in Germany, Ireland and The Netherlands. Findings -- The findings suggest that the diffusion of, and success of, talent management practices is contingent on a combination of factors, including stakeholder involvement and top level support, micro-political exchanges, and the integration of talent management with a global human resource information system. Furthermore, the discussion illuminates the utility and limitations of Cappelli's "talent on demand" framework. Research limitations/implications -- The main limitation of this research is the adoption of a single case study method. As a result, the findings may not be applicable to a wider population of organisations and subsidiaries. Additional research will be required to substantiate the relevance of these findings in the context of other subsidiaries of the same and other corporations. Practical implications -- This paper accentuates a number of practical implications. Inter alia, it highlights the complex nature of institutional factors affecting the talent management process and the potential efficacy of a human resource information system in managing talent globally. Originality/value -- The paper extends the body of knowledge on the transfer of talent management practices in the subsidiaries of multinational corporations. The discussion presented herein may engender further academic debate on the talent management process in the academic and practitioner communities. The link between talent management and the use of human resource information systems established by this research may be of particular interest to human resource practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Was the crisis of historicism an exclusively German affair? Or was it a “narrowly academic crisis,” as is sometimes assumed? Answering both questions in the negative, this paper argues that crises of historicism affected not merely intellectual elites, but even working-class people, not only in Germany, but also in the Netherlands. With an elaborated case study, the article shows that Dutch “neo-Calvinist” Protestants from the 1930s onward experienced their own crisis of historicism. For a variety of reasons, this religious subgroup came to experience a collapse of its “historicist” worldview. Following recent German scholarship, the paper argues that this historicism was not a matter of Rankean historical methods, but of “historical identifications,” or modes of identity formation in which historical narratives played crucial roles. Based on this Dutch case study, then, the article develops two arguments. In a quantitative mode, it argues that more and different people suffered from the crisis of historicism than is usually assumed. In addition, it offers a qualitative argument: that the crisis was located especially among groups that derived their identity from “historical identifications.” Those who suffered most from the crisis of historicism were those who understood themselves as embedded in narratives that connected past, present, and future in such a way as to offer identity in historical terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper uses household economic panel data from five countries—Australia, Britain, Germany, Hungary and The Netherlands—to provide a reassessment of the impact of economic well-being on happiness. The main conclusion is that happiness is considerably more affected by economic circumstances than previously believed. In all five countries wealth affects life satisfaction more than income. In the countries for which consumption data are available (Britain and Hungary), non-durable consumption expenditures also prove at least as important to happiness as income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper is a cross-national study of the incidence of part-time work. The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the difference between Germany and The Netherlands can be explained from the demand side of the labour market. Design/methodology/approach - Several motives of employers for the introduction of part-time jobs are distinguished. Their relevance is tested by means of firm-level data for the two countries within the framework of a multivariate analysis. Findings - The study finds that, in The Netherlands, part-time jobs are more widespread than in Germany. The reasons for this difference are diverse: the difference in industrial structure (more manufacturing in Germany, more services in The Netherlands), less working students in Germany, and probably more reluctance on the side of German employers to meet the preferences of their workers. Originality/value - The paper fills a gap in the literature on part-time work, especially about the importance of institutions differing between the countries. This evidence may be useful in designing policies to increase the incidence of part-time work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses why in Germany and The Netherlands the share of apprentices in the business service sector is lower than in other economic sectors. A theoretical introduction surveys the potential reasons that could be responsible for this. The subsequent empirical analysis shows that the level of skill apprentices gain is the main explanation for the relatively low supply of apprenticeships in German business service enterprises. In The Netherlands, the option to hire skilled employees from fill- time schools instead of training apprentices seems to be crucial. For these reasons, this paper proposes to offer obligatory extra formal training in areas such as IT skills and foreign languages for the apprentices in business service firms in Germany in order to increase the attractiveness of the dual apprenticeship system for prospective apprentices as well as business service firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) is a more student-centered approach to mathematics teaching that is recommended by many policy and curriculum documents across Europe. However, it is not easy for teachers to change from a more teacher-centered way of teaching to inquiry-based teaching as this involves a change of their role in class. Professional development courses are one way to help teachers with this endeavor. Within the discussion of effective professional development, beliefs are often named as an important influencing factor. In this respect, much research has been carried out on how beliefs on mathematics teaching impact the outcomes of the course. However, there has been much less research on what beliefs mathematics teachers develop on inquiry-based learning and how this might impact their (perceived) classroom teaching. Therefore, this paper presents an international research study carried out within the European Project Primas, in which professional development courses on inquiry-based learning were conducted in 12 countries. Using the case-study approach, this paper aims at answering the following questions: 1. What kind of beliefs about IBL do mathematics teachers across Europe develop? 2. How do these beliefs relate to teachers' perceived enactments of IBL?

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.

This article maps the scientific production and the contents associated with the sustainable development goals and their integration with universities during the past 21 years. Although many of the topics related to sustainable development goals (SDGs) have been addressed in different studies for decades, it is since 2015 onwards that they gained greater prominence due to the inclusion of higher education as an important actor in the fulfillment of the 2030 agenda and the United Nations SDGs. For the purpose of this paper, a bibliometric analysis of 871 papers, 535 documents in Scopus, and 336 in Web of Science (WoS) from 1998 to 2019 was performed, and the Bibliometrix analysis tool was used. The objective of this mapping is to answer the following research question: Is the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals and Universities a field of study? An analysis of the network of collaborators and trend topics in Scopus and WoS allows us to identify the concurrence and relationships of some keywords, such as sustainable development, sustainability and planning, and some background words, such as humans and global health. In another analysis, the word "higher education" is related to change. This article suggests that the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals in Universities is becoming a field of study under exploration, with a peak of production in 2016 and that has remained stable in the last three years, but thanks to the leading role assigned to Universities, intellectual production should increase in the following years.

This paper presents an agent-based model that explores the conditions for ongoing participation in community gardening projects. We test the effects of Ostrom's well-known Design Principles for collective action and use an extensive database collected in 123 cases in Germany and two case studies in the Netherlands to validate it. The model uses the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework and integrates decision mechanisms derived from the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). This allows the analysis of volunteer participation in urban community gardens over time, based on the garden's institutions (Design Principles) and the volunteer's intention to join gardening. This intention is influenced by the volunteer's expectations and past experiences in the garden (TRA). We find that not all Design Principles lead to higher levels of participation but rather, participation depends on specific combinations of the Design Principles. We highlight the need to update the assumption about sanctioning in such systems: sanctioning is not always beneficial, and may be counter-productive in certain contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Cabbage whitefly (Aleyrodes proletella) is a destructive sucking insect pest of brassica crops, particularly white cabbage and kale. Its importance has been increased over the last decade in many geographic regions, particularly in European countries. The control of cabbage whiteflies largely relies on the application of synthetic insecticides to protect yield if populations reach economic damage thresholds. One class of insecticides to control this pest are cyclic ketoenols targeting acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), an enzyme involved in fatty acid biosynthesis. In 2019, reduced efficacy of ketoenol insecticides at recommended label rates were reported. Subsequently, we collected field samples of A. proletella in different European countries and confirmed the presence of ketoenol resistance in laboratory bioassays. The resistance allele was shown to be an autosomal dominant trait in crossing experiments between susceptible and resistant individuals. RNA sequencing and subsequent analysis revealed a mutation, an amino acid substitution, at the ketoenol binding site in ACC. The mutation has been previously functionally validated to confer high levels of ketoenol insecticide resistance in cotton whiteflies, too. A molecular screening of 49 populations revealed the presence of the mutations in several countries. We recommend the implementation of resistance management strategies for sustainable cabbage whitefly control. Cabbage whitefly, Aleyrodes proletella L., is an invasive hemipteran pest of cruciferous plants, particularly field brassica crops. Its importance has been increased over the last decade, particularly in European countries. The control of cabbage whiteflies largely relies on the application of synthetic insecticides, including tetronic and tetramic acid derivatives such as spiromesifen and spirotetramat (cyclic ketoenol insecticides), acting as insect growth regulators targeting acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC). In 2019, reduced efficacy against cabbage whiteflies of ketoenol insecticides at recommended label rates has been reported. Subsequently we collected field samples of A. proletella in different European countries and confirmed the presence of ketoenol resistance in laboratory bioassays. Reciprocal crossing experiments revealed an autosomal dominant trait, i.e., heterozygotes express a fully resistant phenotype. Transcriptome sequencing and assembly of ACC variants from resistant strains revealed the presence of an ACC target-site mutation, A2083V, as previously described and functionally validated in Bemisia tabaci (A2084V in A. proletella). Next, we employed a molecular genotyping assay to investigate the geographic spread of resistance and analyzed 49 populations collected in eight European countries. Resistance allele frequency was highest in the Netherlands, followed by Germany. Finally, we provide a proposal for the implementation of appropriate resistance management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, this paper compares the earnings premium and employment share of jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) across 11 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The results reveal that the STEM wage premium is higher in the United States than in any of the other comparison countries, despite the fact that the U.S. has a larger share of workers in STEM jobs. We also find evidence that the premium varies significantly across STEM sub-fields and education levels, and that the premium tends to be higher in countries with lower unionization rates, less employment protection, or a larger share of employment in the public sector.

Background: Patient safety in primary care is an emerging field of research with a growing evidence base in western countries but little has been explored in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC) including the Sultanate of Oman. This study aimed to review the literature on the safety culture and patient safety measures used globally to inform the development of safety culture among health care workers in primary care with a particular focus on the Middle East. Methods: A systematic review of the literature. Searches were undertaken using Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Scopus from the year 2000 to 2014. Terms defining safety culture were combined with terms identifying patient safety and primary care. Results: The database searches identified 3072 papers that were screened for inclusion in the review. After the screening and verification, data were extracted from 28 papers that described safety culture in primary care. The global distribution of the articles is as follows: the Netherlands (7), the United States (5), Germany (4), the United Kingdom (1), Australia, Canada and Brazil (two for each country), and with one each from Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The characteristics of the included studies were grouped under the following themes: safety culture in primary care, incident reporting, safety climate and adverse events. The most common theme from 2011 onwards was the assessment of safety culture in primary care (13 studies, 46%). The most commonly used safety culture assessment tool is the Hospital survey on patient safety culture (HSOPSC) which has been used in developing countries in the Middle East. Conclusions: This systematic review reveals that the most important first step is the assessment of safety culture in primary care which will provide a basic understanding to safety-related perceptions of health care providers. The HSOPSC has been commonly used in Kuwait, Turkey, and Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a bibliometric analysis of the investigations of the last 54 years focused on the teaching of topology and its applications in the learning of other areas of knowledge was carried out. The articles that appear in the SCOPUS database were taken into account under the search criteria of the words topology and teaching, connected with the Boolean expression AND in the search field ABS. As a result, 329 articles were obtained which, based on the PRISMA methodology, were reduced to 74 papers. In them publication trends, impact of publications, citation frequencies, among others, were compared. In addition, its use was identified for learning topology at different levels of training, areas of knowledge where this discipline is most applied and strategies used to teach these applications.

Background The European Union has used Healthy Life Years (HLY) as an indicator to monitor the health of its aging populations. Scholarly and popular interest in HLY across countries has grown, particularly regarding the ranking of countries. It is important to note that HLY is based on self-assessments of activity limitations, raising the possibility that it might be influenced by differences in health reporting behaviours between populations, a phenomenon known as differential item functioning (DIF). Methods We estimated DIF-adjusted HLY at age 50 for Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden to determine the extent to which differences in HLY might be influenced by reporting heterogeneity across countries. We used anchoring vignettes, taken from the 2004 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, to estimate DIF-adjusted prevalence rates of activity limitations measured by the Global Activity Limitations Indicator (GALI). The Sullivan method was used to calculate DIF-adjusted HLY. Results Changes in HLY before and after adjustment ranged from a 1.20-year decrease for men in Italy to a 1.61-year increase for women in Spain. Adjustment for DIF produced changes in the rankings of the countries by HLY, with upward and downward movements of up to three positions. Conclusion Our results show that DIF is likely to affect HLY estimates, thereby posing a challenge to the validity of comparisons of HLY across European countries. The findings suggest that HLY should be used to monitor population health status within a country, rather than to make comparisons across countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet usage is a salient developmental factor in adolescents' lives. Although relevant correlates of Internet use have been documented earlier, there is a lack of information on lower socioeconomic status groups. This is important, as these adolescents have increased risk of negative online experiences. The current survey aimed to explore Internet use and parental involvement amongst adolescents from areas of socio-economic disadvantage in 30 urban schools across five European countries. A total of 2594 students participated, of whom 90% were 14–16 years. Virtually all adolescents of socioeconomic disadvantage had Internet access, with 88.5% reporting spending more than two hours per day online, often on apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Almost one-third of adolescents did not talk with their parents about their Internet use and almost two-thirds indicated that their parents were only a little or not interested in their Internet use. A consistent finding across countries was that girls more often talked with their parents about their Internet use and more often reported that their parents were interested in their Internet use than boys. The results suggest that parents have an important task in explicitly showing interest in their adolescents' Internet use, with special attention needed for boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information communication and technology (ICT) has been used in various fields. The use of teleconference for teaching and learning activities is currently not a new topic in global world. In Indonesia, through IMHERE Program from Directorate of Higher Education, some universities have been connected with a network of teleconference as a medium of disseminate knowledge. However, when compare to university, the use of teleconference is not yet well-known in schools in Indonesia. This paper aims at presenting the experiences on the use of Teleconference as a medium of teaching secondary school pupils new information on different subjects they discovered in international learning environment. This activity is carried out by Indonesian students who study abroad e.g. students who study in Germany, Japan, Canada, Australia and USA. This paper will also analyse the feedback from the beneficiaries of the teleconference program, to gather opinion about the prospect, challenges in the administration, organisation, and the pedagogy implication of the use of information communication and technology in schools in Indonesia. The author will also give suggestions or recommendations on the best strategies of improving the use of information technology in schools. This is important to further promote and establish the e-Global-learning-system in Indonesia.

Communication is an indispensable part of international cooperation and it requires managing different cultures. Being prepared to see and understand different values, trying to understand contrasting views in a consortium, can decrease the potential of misperception which otherwise may act as a real barrier to cooperation. This is why international cooperation necessitates negotiation across cultures. In the case of collaboration, parties come together for a joint work which itself may create common values/understanding, besides the set goals. This is because collaboration requires strong we-feeling and commitment. The purpose of this paper is to focus on cross-cultural communication and collaboration in the area of Open and Distance Learning (ODL), concentrating on the communication processes in project management. Cross-cultural studies point to different communicative behaviours of individuals in multinational work environments e.g. the cultural characteristics affect the preferences towards the use of the media. For the purposes of this paper, the authors make a phenomenological-oriented case study of project management based on interviews with partners of a multilateral Grundtvig (adult learning) project, affiliated with distance education institutions in eight different countries. The authors test their assumptions for constructive and cooperative communication in e-Learning projects; delineating the effects of different cultures as regards the expectations from (1) international projects and (2) communication media.

In times of increasing skills shortage, regions and particularly non-core regions, need to attract highly-skilled workers. It is better for these regions to (re)attract highly-skilled workers that gained knowledge and contacts elsewhere and because they once lived in the region for study have already ties to the university region than trying to attract outsiders without such ties. In general, social networks can contribute to nurturing a "warm place" perception among potential workers. This paper looks at special kinds of social networks. It focuses on higher education alumni networks and discusses their role in retention and (re)attraction for increasing the highly skilled workforce in their university regions. Being part of a university community means that alumni networks are able to maintain continuous contact with their alumni and have a positive effect on students remaining in the region. This can occur through co-operation with the regional economy. However, the current study found that the analysed alumni networks were set up primarily as communication instruments for graduates and alumni and not for regional economy purposes. If elements of retention and (re)attraction are found in the network activities, this is more an unintentional side effect than a purposeful attempt to contribute to the regional economy. This paper argues that alumni networks could take on such a retention and (re)attraction function if they broadened their scope of activities and reorganized their management structure. Alumni networks are an untapped potential, which can be activated for regional purposes.

Introduction: Health care systems are struggling to deal with the increasing demands of an older population. In an attempt to find a solution to these demands, there has been a shift towards integrated care supported by information and communication technologies. However, little is understood about the role played by incentives and reimbursement schemes in the development of integrated care and information and communication technologies uptake. The objective of this paper is to investigate this question, specifically as regards telehealthcare. Methods: In order to identify the deployment of telehealthcare applications and their role in supporting integrated care, a case study approach was used. A clustering exercise was carried out and eight European countries were selected for in-depth study: Denmark, Estonia, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. In total, 31 telehealthcare initiatives across eight countries involving over 20,000 patients were investigated. Results: Reflecting on specific examples in each initiative, drivers promoting integrated care delivery supported by telehealthcare mainstreaming and associated incentive mechanisms were identified. Attention was also paid to other factors which acted as barriers for widespread deployment. Discussion and conclusions: Trends towards telehealthcare mainstreaming were found in Denmark, the UK, and in some regions of Spain, Italy and France. Mainstreaming often went hand-in-hand with progress towards integrated care delivery and payment reforms. A general trend was found towards outcomes-based payments and bundled payment schemes, which aimed to promote integrated care supported by telehealthcare deployment. Their effectiveness in achieving these goals remains to be seen. In addition, a form of outpatient diagnostic-related group reimbursement for telehealthcare services was found to have emerged in a few countries. However, it is questionable how this incentive could promote integrated care delivery on its own. This research suggests that incentives which align social, primary and hospital care are rare and there is a need to design new payment paradigms. Finally, eHealth penetration, interoperability, governance, availability of evidence and reorganisation of services represent additional factors which can act as drivers or barriers for integrated care delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite was launched in November 2009 and delivers now brightness temperature and soil moisture products over terrestrial areas on a regular three-day basis. In 2010, several airborne campaigns were conducted to validate the SMOS products with microwave emission radiometers at L-band (1.4 GHz). In this paper, we present results from measurements performed in the Rur and Erft catchments in May and June 2010. The measurement sites were situated in the very west of Germany close to the borders to Belgium and The Netherlands. We developed an approach to validate spatial and temporal SMOS brightness temperature products. An area-wide brightness temperature reference was generated by using an area-wide modeling of top soil moisture and soil temperature with the WaSiM-ETH model and radiative transfer calculation based on the L-band Microwave Emission of the Biosphere model. Measurements of the airborne L-band sensors EMIRAD and HUT-2D on-board a Skyvan aircraft as well as ground-based mobile measurements performed with the truck mounted JÜLBARA L-band radiometer were analyzed for calibration of the simulated brightness temperature reference. Radiative transfer parameters were estimated by a data assimilation approach. By this versatile reference data set, it is possible to validate the spaceborne brightness temperature and soil moisture data obtained from SMOS. However, comparisons with SMOS observations for the campaign period indicate severe differences between simulated and observed SMOS data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The genesis and spread of COVID-19 around the world since 2020 have caused severe impacts in every aspect of people's lives, from work life to recreation, social activities to physical health. Higher education has not been excluded. Universities have altered curriculum, changed delivery methods, provided more counseling, purchased new technology, and altered attendance policy for classroom, athletic, social and artistic events (Hamlin, 2021). To assess the impacts of these changes on college students, the authors created a questionnaire to ask students about their perceptions of these COVID-related impacts on their own personal lives. The survey had 56 questions about how the virus affected their academic, social, financial, physical and emotional lives. Over 800 students responded with objective input and subjective comments. Due to the volume of data, the authors have split the study into two parts. The survey results for the first part, academic and social aspects of the survey, were published in "Understanding the Impact of Covid-19 on College Student Academic and Social Lives," Research in Higher Education Journal Volume 41 (see http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/213347.pdf). It will sometimes be referred to herein to provide clarity to the reader. The actual survey itself can also be found at that site. This paper focuses on the impact of the coronavirus on student financial and physical well-being, which have become major stressors to this age group and have contributed to higher levels of anxiety and depression. It also examines how the virus has affected their social and emotional well-being. Lastly, recommendations are made to help educators understand the severity of the problem, and to take action to provide assistance for those students who have been adversely affected.

Objective This paper examines how negative experiences with the health-care system create a lack of confidence in receiving medical care in seven countries: Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Methods The empirical analysis is based on data from the Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey 2007, with nationally representative samples of adults aged 18 and over. For the analysis of the experience of cost barriers and confidence in receiving medical care, we conducted pairwise comparisons of group percentages as well as country-wise multivariate logistic regression models. Results Individuals who have experienced cost barriers show a significantly lower level of confidence in receiving safe and quality medical care than those who have not. This effect is most pronounced in the United States, where people who have foregone necessary treatment because of costs are four times as likely to lack confidence as individuals without the experience of cost barriers (adjusted odds ratio 4.00). In New Zealand, Germany, and Canada, individuals with the experience of cost barriers are twice as likely to report low confidence compared with those without this experience (adjusted odds ratios of 1.95, 2.19 and 2.24, respectively). In the Netherlands and UK, cost barriers are only a marginal phenomenon. Conclusions The fact that the experience of financial barriers considerably lowers confidence indicates that financial incentives, such as private co-payments, have a negative effect on overall public support and therefore on the legitimacy of health-care systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Culture is becoming increasingly important in relation to end of life (EoL) care in a context of globalization, migration and European integration. We explore and compare socio-cultural issues that shape EoL care in seven European countries and critically appraise the existing research evidence on cultural issues in EoL care generated in the different countries. Methods: We scoped the literature for Germany, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Portugal, carrying out electronic searches in 16 international and country-specific databases and handsearches in 17 journals, bibliographies of relevant papers and webpages. We analysed the literature which was unearthed, in its entirety and by type (reviews, original studies, opinion pieces) and conducted quantitative analyses for each country and across countries. Qualitative techniques generated themes and sub-themes. Results: A total of 868 papers were reviewed. The following themes facilitated cross-country comparison: setting, caregivers, communication, medical EoL decisions, minority ethnic groups, and knowledge, attitudes and values of death and care. The frequencies of themes varied considerably between countries. Sub-themes reflected issues characteristic for specific countries (e.g. culture-specific disclosure in the southern European countries). The work from the seven European countries concentrates on cultural traditions and identities, and there was almost no evidence on ethnic minorities. Conclusion: This scoping review is the first comparative exploration of the cultural differences in the understanding of EoL care in these countries. The diverse body of evidence that was identified on socio-cultural issues in EoL care, reflects clearly distinguishable national cultures of EoL care, with differences in meaning, priorities, and expertise in each country. The diverse ways that EoL care is understood and practised forms a necessary part of what constitutes best evidence for the improvement of EoL care in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the Netherlands and Germany have added themselves to the ever-growing number of countries opting for the creation of an international commercial court. The Netherlands Commercial Court (NCC) and the German Chambers for International Commercial Disputes (Kammern für internationale Handelssachen, KfiH) will conduct proceedings entirely in English and follow their own, diverging rules of civil procedure. Aspiring to become the future venues of choice in international commercial disputes, the NCC law and the legislative proposal for the establishment of the KfiH allow parties to agree on their jurisdiction and entail detailed provisions regulating such agreements. In particular, the NCC requires the parties' express and in writing agreement to litigate before it. In a similar vein, the KfiH legislative proposal requires in some instances an express and in writing agreement. Although such strict formal requirements are justified by the need to safeguard the procedural rights of weaker parties such as small enterprises and protect them from the peculiarities of the NCC and the KfiH, this article questions their compliance with the requirements upon choice of court agreements under Article 25 (1) Brussels Ibis Regulation. By qualifying agreements in favour of the NCC and the KfiH first as functional jurisdiction agreements and then as procedural or court language agreements this article concludes that the formal requirements set by the NCC law and the KfiH proposal undermine the effectiveness of the Brussels Ibis Regulation, complicate the establishment of these courts' jurisdiction and may thus threaten their attractiveness as future litigation destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]