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The paper studies the relation between different national cost-sharing models and how students from different socio-economic backgrounds finance their higher education in six different European countries: the Czech Republic, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Spain. The findings reveal considerable differences both between the countries and also between different socio-economic groups of students within each country. Even though there are only small social differences in the students' level of income, there are considerable social differences in the students' sources of income. The findings are discussed related to the country's specific policy and higher education funding structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a study of quality perceptions and attitudes towards farmed cod amongst 90 chefs in up-market restaurants in England, Norway and Spain. Findings show that the chefs perceived the quality of farmed cod as favourable. More specifically, survey results show that product attributes such as freshness, texture of flesh, skin colour, odour and flavour received high scores, albeit with some variation across the three countries. Qualitative interviews confirm the positive assessment, but also show that stability in supply and freshness are valued quality dimensions. The qualitative interviews also revealed that several of the chefs discovered that the farmed cod needs less cooking time than wild cod. Further, negative attitudes towards fish farming were found. Despite this, 65 percent said they were likely or very likely to purchase farmed cod in the future. Findings are discussed and marketing implications highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If children in child protection cannot be cared for by their natural parents, should they be adopted or live in foster home? Results from a study of representative samples of populations (n = 12 330), in eight European countries—Austria, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway and Spain—and California, USA, reveal that people would recommend adoption over foster care, if a child in public care cannot grow up with their natural parent(s). There are cross‐country differences between populations, and examining if institutional context such as type of child protection system explains differences, we find that child maltreatment‐oriented systems are more supportive of adoption than other types of systems. Citizens having little confidence in the child protection system were only weakly correlated with preference for adoption. In conclusion, people prefer adoption as placement options for children in care are more than foster homes, and possible this finding reflects a sort of refamalialization of children into the private sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Experience of certain material deprivation pattern varies significantly across the world. • Children from Europe have almost no likelihood of belonging to the Extreme Deprivation class. • Children living in MENA are more likely to experience housing and mobile deprivation. • Children living in Africa are more likely to experience lack of access to digital resources in addition to deficit of basic necessities. • Children living in Eastern Europe are more likely to experience transportation deprivation. Current research suggests that poverty affects children at different rates across the world (OECD, 2018; Unicef Innocenti Research Center, 2007). Additionally, poverty affects children differently – from deprivation of basic needs (ex. lack of food, clothing) to lack of access to digital technology. Previous studies of child poverty and its impact on children have predominantly approached this topic using income-based measures of poverty. This paper employs a material deprivation approach to study child poverty in different cultural contexts. Therefore, this study answers the following questions: Does child material deprivation have different patterns across world regions? If so, what characteristics do these patterns of material deprivation have? Are these patterns of material deprivation more likely to affect certain world regions? This paper utilizes data from the International Survey of Child Well-Being. The data includes children at the age of 12 from Norway, Germany, England, Spain, Malta, Estonia, Romania, Algeria, Israel, Turkey, Ethiopia, and South Africa. The analyses were based on the items available in the Child Material Resource Index. Latent class analysis and multinomial logistic regression were utilized to explore patterns of material deprivation. Findings suggest five patterns of child material deprivation, ranging from extreme to no deprivation. The distribution of these patterns varies significantly across world regions. This study suggests that the distribution of resources to eliminate poverty should be based not only on income-based indicators but should also include an assessment based on perceived deprivation scales, especially in international contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: To examine the association between registered nurses' (referred to as "nurses" for brevity) shifts of 12 hr or more and presence of continuing educational programmes; ability to discuss patient care with other nurses; assignments that foster continuity of care; and patient care information being lost during handovers. Background: The introduction of long shifts (i.e., shifts of 12 hr or more) remains controversial. While there are claims of efficiency, studies have shown long shifts to be associated with adverse effects on quality of care. Efficiency claims are predicated on the assumption that long shifts reduce overlaps between shifts; these overlaps are believed to be unproductive and dangerous. However, there are potentially valuable educational and communication activities that occur during these overlaps. Design: Cross‐sectional survey of 31,627 nurses within 487 hospitals in 12 European countries. Methods: The associations were measured through generalised linear mixed models. The study methods were compliant with the STROBE checklist. Results: When nurses worked shifts of 12 hr or more, they were less likely to report having continuing educational programmes; and time to discuss patient care with other nurses, compared to nurses working 8 hr or less. Nurses working shifts of 12 hr or more were less likely to report assignments that foster continuity of care, albeit the association was not significant. Similarly, working long shifts was associated with reports of patient care information being lost during handovers, although association was not significant. Conclusion: Working shifts of 12 hr or more is associated with reduced educational activities and fewer opportunities to discuss patient care, with potential negative consequences for safe and effective care. Relevance to clinical practice: Implementation of long shifts should be questioned, as reduced opportunity to discuss care or participate in educational activities may jeopardise the quality and safety of care for patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study illustrates the huge untapped potential of quantifying the impact of culture in making meaningful comparisons across groups. Our focus is on cross‐national differences in nurses' reports of their relations with physicians, and how the measurement of this complex construct and the evaluation of true differences are related to dimensions of national culture. Design: We examine across 14 European countries the association between indices of national culture from the seminal work of Hofstede and 39,435 nurses' ratings of their relations with physicians. Multilevel confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate strong factorial invariance across countries and to examine the influence of power distance and masculinity. Findings: There was wide variation across countries in nurses' reports of their relations with physicians. Strong factorial invariance was shown for a one‐factor model, which confirmed that across countries the seven survey items measure a common factor of physician‐nurse relations. This model showed no country bias for any of the seven survey items, which suggests that differences across countries reflect true differences. These true differences were significantly associated with variation in country values of power distance, which showed a significant negative correlation with physician–nurse relations. Conclusions: Continuously pursuing a better understanding of characteristics that impact the studied indicators, such as national culture, is elementary to better understand the construct under study. In this application, country values of power distance negatively impacted nurse‐reported relations with physicians, which strongly varied across countries. Clinical Relevance: Better nurse‐reported relations between nurses and physicians link to higher nurse job satisfaction, lower emotional exhaustion, better nurse‐perceived quality of care, and lower patient mortality. The Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index is an excellent instrument to characterize variation in working relations between nurses and physicians as well as physicians' professional posture towards nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]