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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.

Background: This paper describes a participatory methodology that supports investigation of the synergistic collaboration between communities affected by infectious disease outbreak events and relevant official institutions. The core principle underlying the methodology is the recognition that synergistic relationships, characterised by mutual trust and respect, between affected communities and official institutions provide the most effective means of addressing outbreak situations.Methods: The methodological approach and lessons learned were derived from four qualitative case studies including (i) two tick-borne disease events (Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in Spain, 2016, and tick-borne encephalitis in the Netherlands, 2016); and (ii) two outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis (norovirus in Iceland, 2017, and verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli [VTEC] in Ireland, 2018). An after-event qualitative case study approach was taken using mixed methods. The studies were conducted in collaboration with the respective national public health authorities in the affected countries by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The analysis focused on the specific actions undertaken by the participating countries' public health and other authorities in relation to community engagement, as well as the view from the perspective of affected communities.Results: Lessons highlight the critical importance of collaborating with ECDC National Focal Points during preparation and planning and with anthropological experts. Field work for each case study was conducted over one working week, which although limiting the number of individuals and institutions involved, still allowed for rich data collection due to the close collaboration with local authorities. The methodology enabled efficient extraction of synergies between authorities and communities. Implementing the methodology required a reflexivity among fieldworkers that ackowledges that different versions of reality can co-exist in the social domain. The method allowed for potential generalisability across studies. Issues of extra attention included insider-outsider perspectives, politically sensitivity of findings, and how to deal with ethical and language issues.Conclusions: The overall objective of the assessment is to identify synergies between institutional decision-making bodies and community actors and networks before, during and after an outbreak response to a given public health emergency. The methodology is generic and could be applied to a range of public health emergencies, zoonotic or otherwise. [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]

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the comparative study of youth transitions. National and international studies have analysed the role of individual and institutional (education and labour market) factors in shaping the transition from school to the labour market. Using data drawn from a cross-national database of secondary school leavers and multilevel modelling, this paper aims to improve upon the existing research through the analysis of the effect of school factors (as well as individual factors) on pupils' post-school outcomes. Results show that school variations in pupils' post-school outcomes are mainly accounted for by curriculum type in the Netherlands, individual factors in Scotland and a mix of individual and school factors in Ireland. [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.

Background: Patient and public involvement (PPI) is a critical priority in research, policy, academia and advocacy organizations. PPI in dementia research is gaining momentum. However, these efforts are missing in international projects aimed at those living with advanced dementia in long‐term care (LTC) homes. Additional complexities can arise in enacting PPI within the context of integration of a palliative approach to care and experiences around end‐of‐life in (EOL) dementia. The mySupport study involved implementing the Family Carer Decision Support (FCDS) intervention for care partners of those living with advanced dementia in LTC in six countries. Research Design and Objective: An interpretive description study was conducted to explore the perspectives of international researchers from six countries on engaging people with lived experiences of dementia and EOL care in research processes. The findings from this study informed the development of a PPI strategy and a subsequent toolkit for the FCDS intervention. Findings: Thirty‐eight interviews were completed with project researchers: 12 from the United Kingdom, 8 from Canada, 7 from Ireland, 4 each from Italy and The Netherlands and 3 from the Czech Republic. Four broad themes describe international researchers' perspectives on advancing methods of engagement for people with lived experiences of dementia and EOL in international PPI activities: (1) Groundwork to engage in research; (2) planning for research activities is key; (3) focus on meaningful engagement and (4) having foresight for practical issues shaping PPI. Discussion and Implications: International projects that involve PPI can present many sources of challenges. The findings in this study highlight important considerations for foundational work for incorporating PPI in international projects. Learning from world leaders and those with lived experiences in various regions can be insightful and help share tools and resources. Patient or Public Contribution: PPI was envisioned as a critical part of conducting the mySupport study. The findings from this study informed the development of a PPI strategy and an international Strategic Guiding Council that included family carers of those living with advanced dementia in LTC homes in six countries. This manuscript focused on the perspectives of researchers on their engagement with people with lived experiences of dementia and EOL. The perspectives of persons with lived experiences on engaging in the mySupport research study will be reported in a forthcoming manuscript. [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.

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.

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]

The phenomenon of families separated across continents is a result of migratory flows in a globalised world. Transnational families occur because one or both parents migrate internationally requiring children to be raised in transnational child-raising arrangements, with the help of caregivers. This study examines the health and the emotional well-being of Nigerian migrant parents living in Ireland and the Netherlands, using comparative analyses based on a survey of close to 300 migrant parents in each host country. Half of the sample in each country is living in transnational families the other half are not. This paper adds to the existing literature on transnational families by including control groups (migrants who are not separated from their children) and comparing migrant parents from the same origin country who live in different host countries, allowing us to identify the significance of migratory context and legal regimes in shaping the emotional well-being and health of parents. The results indicate that the factors that drive the health and emotional well-being of migrant parents are not solely related to their separation from their children but rather to other mediating variables such as legal status, socio-economic status, and the normative contexts. While Nigerian child fostering norms ease the influence of separation in both contexts, separate analyses of the Irish and the Netherlands sample show the more pronounced consequences of the mediating factors in the Irish sample, highlighting the differences in the migratory trajectories of Nigerian parents in Ireland and the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. To date, there has been no attempt to describe or compare physical therapy as practiced globally, nor any evidence that an international data set exists to support this effort. It is known that research evidence can be used in strategic and tactical ways, especially within the highly politicized context of the policy arena. The International Private Practitioners Association recognized the potential value a global evidence base could have in influencing policy and supporting professional development in a number of countries, yet it lacked a mechanism to achieve these aims. Objectives. The purposes of this study were: (1) to identify and test an international data set, definitions, and means of data collection and (2) to establish views in relation to the value of international collaborations. Design. A mixed, prospective design was used in the study. Method. Phase 1 (2006-2007) involved the development of a data set, definitions, and Web-based and paper-based data collection options involving 98 physical therapists from 68 physical therapy practices in 7 countries. Phase 2 (2008-2009) involved testing of the data set in 34 practices involving 3,195 patient episodes and included physical therapist feedback of experience, local relevance of the data set, and value of international collaborations. Results. Testing confirmed the relevance and reliability of the data set and definitions and a preference for Web-based data collection (74.0%). Physical therapist feedback supported these findings. Most respondents (60.0%-100.0%) reported the value of further international collaborations for their profession nationally or internationally. Limitations. Although a true international collaboration, the limited sample size should be recognized. Conclusions. It is possible to develop an agreed-upon international data set and means of data collection. Testing appears to support its acceptability and relevance for use in practice. Participants highly valued the opportunity to undertake international collaborations that may benefit their profession nationally and internationally. Further testing and use of the data set are advocated before final validation is sought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing people requires ongoing living in a harmony and to educate citizens who would support this status. It is not easy to continue the existence of management which can perform different cultures. The different management style is different educational systems. The management style also directly affects the country's educational philosophy. Countries have differences in respect to economic, social and educational boundaries. In addition, globalization affects countries' management styles. Thus, governments of different cultures and educational systems need to recognize their own education system to compete with the world. In this study, Malta, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Finland, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Turkey, of which the educational systems structuring, financing, training programs, the school principal to choose the format of formal education objectives, admission requirements and funding are compared. In this study, education and training related to different education system managers will be introduced, and it is intended to gain different perspectives. (Contains 4 footnotes, 6 tables, and 7 figures.) [This paper was presented at XIV WCCES "Bordering, Re-Bordering and New Possibilities in Education and Society" Istanbul June 14-18, 2010.]

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]

Background the mySupport advance care planning intervention was originally developed and evaluated in Northern Ireland (UK). Family caregivers of nursing home residents with dementia received an educational booklet and a family care conference with a trained facilitator to discuss their relative's future care. Objectives to investigate whether upscaling the intervention adapted to local context and complemented by a question prompt list impacts family caregivers' uncertainty in decision-making and their satisfaction with care across six countries. Second, to investigate whether mySupport affects residents' hospitalisations and documented advance decisions. Design a pretest–posttest design. Setting in Canada, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK, two nursing homes participated. Participants in total, 88 family caregivers completed baseline, intervention and follow-up assessments. Methods family caregivers' scores on the Decisional Conflict Scale and Family Perceptions of Care Scale before and after the intervention were compared with linear mixed models. The number of documented advance decisions and residents' hospitalisations was obtained via chart review or reported by nursing home staff and compared between baseline and follow-up with McNemar tests. Results family caregivers reported less decision-making uncertainty (−9.6, 95% confidence interval: −13.3, −6.0, P  < 0.001) and more positive perceptions of care (+11.4, 95% confidence interval: 7.8, 15.0; P  < 0.001) after the intervention. The number of advance decisions to refuse treatment was significantly higher after the intervention (21 vs 16); the number of other advance decisions or hospitalisations was unchanged. Conclusions the mySupport intervention may be impactful in countries beyond the original setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Existing studies have explored the association between workplace training and wages suggesting that training participation may have a positive association with wages. However, we still know very little about whether this association varies between men and women. Through its potential positive association with wages, training may balance wage differences between men and women. In addition, the gender wage gap varies across the wage distribution. Differences in the association between training participation and wages for men and women across the earnings spectrum may offer an explanation as to why the discrepancy in female/male earnings is larger at some point of the wage distribution compared to others. Approach: Using data from the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and unconditional quantile regression, this paper examines whether the association between workplace training and wages differs between men and women at different points of the wage distribution across 14 European countries. To partly control for endogeneity in training participation, detailed measures of cognitive skills have been included in the models. Findings: Findings show gender differences in the association between training and wages across the wage distribution. In most countries, results indicate larger training coefficients for women than men at the lower end of the wage spectrum whereas they are larger for men at the top. This pattern holds across most countries with the only exception of Liberal ones, where women benefit less than men across the entire wage spectrum. Conclusions: The findings of this work reveal that distributional variations in returns to workplace training follow a similar pattern across industrialized countries, despite their different institutional settings. Moreover, differences in training coefficients of men and women at different parts of the wage distribution suggest that training could reduce gender wage differences among low earners and potentially widen the gap in wages among individuals at the top of the wage distribution.

Preschool education is an education process that prepares children for primary education, provides the training and upbringing conditions in the home and also aims to remove the inequalities in terms of language and society in the early period. The audit is to evaluate learning and all the factors that affect learning and also prepare the environment and conditions for effective learning. The purpose of this research was to develop a comprehensive point of view for preschool education audit in the world and our country. Document analysis that is one of the qualitative research methods were utilized in this paper as the method. The documents related to the systems in France, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Russia, China, Israel, America, Saudi Arabia, Japan, India Jordan, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Kosovo and Turkey were researched out within the scope of this study.

Many institutions are making the move from pen and paper to online examinations, but the literature offers relatively few critical reflections on the ramifications of such a shift. This research presents evidence of the ways in which the social and human practices of online exams are deeply entangled with the material and technological, and cautions against the reinscribing of essentialist or instrumentalist assumptions about technology in assessment practices. Through semi-structured interviews with eight practitioners in Norway, the Netherlands, the UK and Ireland, it analyses the impact, dimensions and limitations of two main discourses: "migration," whereby exam technologies are assumed to be neutral instruments used independently by humans to realise their preordained intentions; and "transformation," whereby the essential and inalienable qualities of technologies can be released to 'transform' or 'enhance' assessment. Its findings indicate that: (1) exam technologies are neither inherently neutral nor essentially transformational; (2) implementation projects underpinned by the migration discourse can be much more complex and resource-intensive than anticipated; and (3) 'transformative' change may be value-laden and driven by assumptions. Given the complex and entangled nature of online exams, practitioners are encouraged to think creatively about how assessment strategies align with educational goals, to consider the limitations of current discourses and to analyse critically the relational and performative roles of digital technologies.

Background: Oral health, coupled with rising awareness on the impact that limited dental care coverage has on oral health and general health and well-being, has received increased attention over the past few years. The purpose of the study was to compare the statutory coverage and access to dental care for adult services in 11 European countries using a vignette approach. Methods: We used three patient vignettes to highlight the differences of the dimensions of coverage and access to dental care (coverage, cost-sharing and accessibility). The three vignettes describe typical care pathways for patients with the most common oral health conditions (caries, periodontal disease, edentulism). The vignettes were completed by health services researchers knowledgeable on dental care, dentists, or teams consisting of a health systems expert working together with dental specialists. Results: Completed vignettes were received from 11 countries: Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Germany, Republic of Ireland (Ireland), Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden. While emergency dental care, tooth extraction and restorative care for acute pain due to carious lesions are covered in most responding countries, root canal treatment, periodontal care and prosthetic restoration often require cost-sharing or are entirely excluded from the benefit basket. Regular dental visits are also limited to one visit per year in many countries. Beyond financial barriers due to out-of-pocket payments, patients may experience very different physical barriers to accessing dental care. The limited availability of contracted dentists (especially in rural areas) and the unequal distribution and lack of specialised dentists are major access barriers to public dental care. Conclusions: According to the results, statutory coverage of dental care varies across European countries, while access barriers are largely similar. Many dental services require substantial cost-sharing in most countries, leading to high out-of-pocket spending. Socioeconomic status is thus a main determinant for access to dental care, but other factors such as geography, age and comorbidities can also inhibit access and affect outcomes. Moreover, coverage in most oral health systems is targeted at treatment and less at preventative oral health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Assisted human reproduction (AHR) treatment is not regulated in Ireland although it has been practiced since 1987. Thus, Ireland is one of the only European countries without any form of AHR specific regulation. This literature review research aimed to provide a comprehensive and comparative overview of AHR regulation and any associated literature to compare Ireland and other developed countries. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in several databases (Google Scholar, Web of Science, MEDLINE, SCOPUS and official government websites) utilising search strings in relation to AHR legislation for each country under review. A final review of 155 research articles were eligible after screening related to legislation in each country for inclusion. The findings were synthesised and summarised by legislation in each country. Results: Different countries offer different levels of ART and IVF provision and services in terms of the type of services allowed, financial support, age, sex and eligibility of recipients. The UK's oversight legislation combined with the Netherlands financial legislation section provides as being most effective hybrid model of best practice for adoption in Ireland. Conclusions: This research concluded that there is no AHR legislation in any country that can be described as all-encompassing in terms of the services allowed, financial support and age of recipients. It was concluded that significant changes need to be made to the Irish draft legislation which is in limbo with the government for the last 3 years in order to meet Irish patient needs. Plain language summary: Ireland is one of the only European countries without any form of assisted human reproduction specific regulation. This research aimed to review of assisted human reproduction regulations to compare Ireland with other developed countries. There is no assisted reproduction legislation in any country that can be described as perfect. The UK's legislation combined with the Netherlands financial legislation section is concluded as being most effective hybrid model of best practice for adoption in Ireland. It was concluded that significant changes need to be made to the Irish draft legislation which is in limbo with the government for the last 3 years. [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]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer a comparison of how human expertise is perceived by human resource development (HRD) scholars across several Western European countries and in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative, exploratory approach using electronic mail was used for this study. In total, 36 leading HRD scholars from 11 different countries were interviewed. Findings: There is a propensity of several countries to converge towards common themes. Based on this fact, a European-US definition of expertise is offered: expertise is the combination of knowledge, experience, and skills held by a person in a specific domain. Research limitations/implications: One major limitation is the selection of "experts" to describe "expertise". Second, although all but one European interviewee spoke fluent English, the questions were asked in English. Third, virtual ethnography coupled with traditional interviewing is known to be best. Fourth, the research is deeply embedded in one field. Finally, the rather small sample size underrepresented some countries. Practical implications: The findings provide HRD practitioners with a better understanding of training and development practices and give additional ground for employee development. They shed light on cultural differences and on cross-national communication. As organizations increasingly expand worldwide and outsource, understanding expertise across nations can provide insights into selection and hiring procedures and help with cross-cultural training for expatriates. Expertise can also be used as a performance measure to develop employees for optimal performance. Originality/value: The paper explores a training and development construct internationally. (Contains 1 table.)

The article offers news briefs related to computer music. The 2011 Linux Audio Conference was held in Maynooth, Ireland on May 6-8, 2011. The Studio for Electro-Instrumental Music (STEIM) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands partners with Sonology department at the Royal Conservatory in Hague to provide new masters program named Instruments and Interfaces. The Contemporary Computer Music Concert (CCMC) series which featured electroacoustic works was held in Tokyo, Japan in February 2527, 2011.

The article deals with the recent widespread increase in marriage rates in the Western world. A convenient method of studying aspects of the recent history of marriage is provided by easily available data regarding the proportion of single persons at various dates. The article uses these data to disentangle two effects in the marriage boom: the extent to which the cohorts whose marriages have formed the main contribution to the marriage boom are marrying more, i.e. whether the proportion who will ultimately remain single is likely to be lower than in previous generations, the extent to which the mean age at marriage of these generations is likely to fall below that of their predecessors. The raw material for the computations to be presented consists of the proportions single at two recent dates for each of thirteen countries used in the study. The countries included in the study are Czechoslovakia, Denmark, England and Wales, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. The study from the proportion single shows that both reduction in the age at marriage and an increase in the proportion marrying at least once in the course of their lives is occurring in several countries.

Background: Psychological safety is a dynamic team-level phenomenon which exists when team members believe that it is safe to take interpersonal risks. In healthcare teams, the presence of psychological safety is critical to delivering safe care. Scholars have highlighted a need for alternative measures which compliment survey-based measures of psychological safety in healthcare teams.Methods: The exploratory phase of this study raised concerns about whether current survey measures could provide a sufficient understanding of psychological safety within healthcare teams to inform strategies to improve it. Thus, previously validated psychological safety surveys and a meeting observation measure were adapted for use in healthcare teams. First, two group feedback sessions were held with 22 healthcare professionals, as well as a systematic literature review. Then, the members of eleven healthcare teams in Ireland and The Netherlands (n = 135) took part in the pilot test of the adapted composite measure.Results: The final composite measure has two parts: a team meeting observation measure and an adapted survey. The observation measure has 31 observable behaviours fitting seven categories: voice, defensive voice, silence behaviours, supportive, unsupportive, learning or improvement-oriented and familiarity type behaviours. The survey part consists of 19 items in three sub-dimensions related to; the team leader, other team members and the team as a whole. Three additional items capture the perceived representativeness of the observed team meeting compared to other similar meetings. Final adaptations were made in order to integrate the observation and survey measure.Conclusions: The resulting composite measure combines the strengths of observational and survey measures and is tailored for use in healthcare teams. It is uniquely co-developed with healthcare professionals and grounded in the psychological safety and healthcare literature. This composite measure can enable longitudinal research on psychological safety and inform future research to develop and test interventions to improve psychological safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Tobacco-control policies have been suggested to reduce smoking among adolescents. However, there is limited evidence on the real-world costs of implementation in different settings. In this study, we aimed at estimating the costs of school smoking bans, school prevention programmes and non-school bans (smoking bans in non-educational public settings, bans on sales to minors and bans on point-of-sale advertising), implemented in Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Portugal, for 2016. Methods We retrospectively collected costs related to the inspection, monitoring and sanctioning activities related to bans and educational activities related to smoking prevention programmes. We used an 'ingredients-based' approach, identifying each resource used, quantity and unit value for one full year, under the state perspective. Costs were measured at national, regional, local and school-level and were informed by data on how these activities were performed in reality. Results Purchasing power parities adjusted-costs varied between €0.02 and €0.74 (average €0.24) per person (pp) for bans implemented outside schools. Mean costs of school smoking bans ranged from €3.31 to €34.76 (average €20.60), and mean costs of school educational programmes from €0.75 to €4.65 (average €2.92). Conclusions It is feasible to estimate costs of health policies as implemented in different settings. Costs of the tobacco control policies evaluated here depend mainly on the number of person-hours allocated to their implementation, and on the scale of intervention. Non-school bans presented the lowest costs, and the implementation of all policies cost up to €36 pp for 1 year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an exploratory analysis of the funding mechanisms for higher education across sixteen countries which builds upon existing work on educational institutions, educational outcomes, and welfare regimes. We focus upon the current financing dilemma within the Irish higher education system, seeking potential solutions within an international comparison. Our quantitative analysis identifies four clusters of countries: the Nordic, Continental-Europe, Mediterranean and English-Speaking; all of which are strongly correlated to economic and structural characteristics based on welfare state literature. Each education regime is associated with institutional, economic, and political factors. Our analysis presents evidence that Ireland does not possess the characteristics of a country that could benefit from an income-contingent lending structure to fund university education due to inherent sovereign characteristics. Further, Ireland could be better served through the introduction of free fee structures such as that found in Norway and Scotland or through the generation of state-sponsored lending facilities through private institutions like those already in place in Finland, Germany, and Sweden.

In this paper, I examine whether generalized trust and education, as well as social security policies of welfare state institutions matter for cross-national differences in subjective well-being (SWB), because knowledge on this issue is still lacking. For this purpose I integrated the insights of two sociological theories: Social Function Production theory and Actor-Centred Institutionalism. Based on these theoretical notions we derived several hypotheses, which I tested using multilevel analysis of the data from the European Social Survey (2006), in a sample of 37,237 respondents from 22 European countries. My findings indicate that various extensiveness of social security policies matter for the level of SWB, and for the impact of education on SWB. I found negative impact of low education on SWB in all countries, except in Northern and Western European countries. This might suggest that social security policies of the latter countries have diminished the negative impact of low education on SWB. Moreover, my findings indicate positive relationship between individual education and generalized trust; as well as between generalized trust and SWB in countries with all five types of social security policies.

Background Decreasing gender differences in mental health are found largely in countries in which the roles of men and women have improved in terms of opportunities for employment, education, child care and other indicators of increasing gender equality. In this study, we examine how European welfare regimes influence this association between mental health and the social roles that men and women occupy. Methods The EU-World Mental Health data are used, which covers the general population in 10 European countries (n = 37 289); Countries were grouped into four welfare regions: Liberal regime (Northern Ireland), Bismarckian regime (Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and France), Southern regime (Spain, Italy, Portugal) and Central-Eastern regime (Romania and Bulgaria). The lifetime prevalence of mood, anxiety and alcohol disorders was determined by using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview 3.0. Overall prevalence rates along with odds ratios by means of bivariate logistic regression models are calculated to compare the presence of common mental disorders in women versus men per welfare regime. Results Overall prevalence of common mental disorders is highest in the Liberal regime and lowest in the Central/Eastern regime. The gender gap in mental disorders is largest in the Southern regime and smallest in the Liberal regime. Marital status and certain employment positions help to explain variation in mental disorders across and within welfare regimes. Conclusion Most prominent pathways linking gender to mental ill-health being are related to marital status and certain employment positions. However, these pathways also show substantial variation across welfare regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Over the past few decades, higher education institutions worldwide have experienced substantial changes, including: massification, internationalisation and increasing demands for exceptional instructional quality and research quantity in environments that have also seen heightened competition for students, faculty and resources. Accordingly, these changes have contributed to a highly demanding academic employment climate that pose challenges for personal and professional development in post-secondary faculty (i.e. university or college research and teaching academics), as well as potential negative impacts on student learning and, ultimately, institutional productivity. Purpose: Given the emergent nature of scattered existing research on faculty burnout, the present paper attempts to synthesise and critically examine published empirical findings concerning the various correlates, antecedents and outcomes of faculty burnout as informed by the Job Demands-Resources model (Demerouti et al. 2001). Design and method: Existing empirical research on faculty burnout was identified through a rigorous search of English language, peer-reviewed articles across relevant databases (e.g. ERIC, Psycinfo, Scopus) resulting in 36 quantitative, cross-sectional studies, satisfying detailed a priori inclusion criteria. Results: The review revealed multiple themes across studies with respect to mixed effects of demographic background factors on burnout levels, as well as clear detrimental effects of adverse job demands (e.g. workload, task characteristics, value conflict) and lack of resources (e.g. social support, rewards, control) on faculty burnout. Additionally, both personal characteristics (e.g. motivation, optimism) and stressors outside the workplace (e.g. family stressors and lack of support) were found to contribute significantly to faculty burnout, with greater burnout, in turn, having consistent adverse consequences for performance and commitment (e.g. reduced work activities, turnover intentions) as well as psychological and physical health (e.g. ill health, depression) in faculty. Conclusions: The findings presented underscore the importance of faculty burnout and the challenges it presents in terms of faculty well-being as well as student development and institutional performance. Findings also provide further insight into the ways in which intervention efforts and resources targeting faculty burnout may prove effective.