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A previous review of research on the practice of offender supervision identified the predominant use of interview-based methodologies and limited use of other research approaches (Robinson and Svensson, 2013). It also found that most research has tended to be locally focussed (i.e. limited to one jurisdiction) with very few comparative studies. This article reports on the application of a visual method in a small-scale comparative study. Practitioners in five European countries participated and took photographs of the places and spaces where offender supervision occurs. The aims of the study were two-fold: firstly, to explore the utility of a visual approach in a comparative context; and secondly, to provide an initial visual account of the environment in which offender supervision takes place. In this article, we address the first of these aims. We describe the application of the method in some depth before addressing its strengths and weaknesses. We conclude that visual methods provide a useful tool for capturing data about the environments in which offender supervision takes place and potentially provide a basis for more normative explorations about the practices of offender supervision in comparative contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural tube defects ( NTDs) annually affect an estimated 320 000 newborns worldwide. Folic acid ( FA), provided through supplementation and fortification, is an effective primary-prevention strategy for NTDs if consumed in the periconceptional period. However, the potential impact of FA supplementation is tempered by low compliance. Countries that mandate FA fortification of wheat flour report an average reduction of 46% in NTD birth prevalence and favourable benefit : cost ratios of 12-48:1. Despite the well-documented benefits of fortification and the new evidence that provides a better understanding of purported risks associated with FA, European countries have yet to embrace this public health initiative. Viable primary-prevention strategies are needed given that an estimated 4500 NTDs occur in the 27 countries of the European Union annually, of which 72% end in terminations. Many existing factors will facilitate the success of FA flour fortification programs in the region: widespread consumption of wheat-based products, a technologically advanced milling industry, experience adhering to and monitoring food safety measures, and familiarity with mandatory food fortification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores internet-related parent–child relationships across twenty-five European countries. Parent–child dyads are analysed in terms of parental mediation, digital competence, and communicative proximity, in order to answer the following research questions: Which types of parent–child relationship with respect to internet use can be found? How do they coincide with developmental, social, and cultural patterns? And how are they distributed across European Union countries? Using data from the EU Kids Online survey, four types of parent–child relationship were identified. The types are shaped by several factors on the level of child, family, and country, with the child's age and internet use being the most important predictors. Based on the prevalence of these family types, six country clusters were identified, which represent technical, social, and cultural contexts shaping the type of internet-related parent–child relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Children's growing use of the Internet creates both opportunities and risks. Collecting and comparing empirical findings on risks and opportunities experienced across 20 different European countries shows significant differences between them. Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), this article investigates which factors contribute towards a high degree of online risk experienced by children across these countries. The research shows that patterns of similarities and differences do not seem to coincide with regional, political, and historical divides across European Union countries. The findings seem to endorse the multilayered approach of multi-stakeholder governance, which stresses the co-responsibility in securing children's online safety. However, one of the most important country conditions explaining high risk appears to be the lack of positive online content provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sources: Landsskogtakseringen, 1933/NIBIO; BFW; BMLRT. [Display omitted] • Early wood shortage in European history caused the need to explore and plan the utilisation of wood resources. • Current NFI methods reflect country-specific conditions, inventory traditions and information needs. • Harmonisation of European NFIs provides internationally comparable growing stock estimations. • Ongoing NFI innovations integrate remote sensing for higher spatial and temporal resolution. • Emerging data requirements relate to forest resilience and stability of growing stocks. Wood resources have been essential for human welfare throughout history. Also nowadays, the volume of growing stock (GS) is considered one of the most important forest attributes monitored by National Forest Inventories (NFIs) to inform policy decisions and forest management planning. The origins of forest inventories closely relate to times of early wood shortage in Europe causing the need to explore and plan the utilisation of GS in the catchment areas of mines, saltworks and settlements. Over time, forest surveys became more detailed and their scope turned to larger areas, although they were still conceived as stand-wise inventories. In the 1920s, the first sample-based NFIs were introduced in the northern European countries. Since the earliest beginnings, GS monitoring approaches have considerably evolved. Current NFI methods differ due to country-specific conditions, inventory traditions, and information needs. Consequently, GS estimates were lacking international comparability and were therefore subject to recent harmonisation efforts to meet the increasing demand for consistent forest resource information at European level. As primary large-area monitoring programmes in most European countries, NFIs assess a multitude of variables, describing various aspects of sustainable forest management, including for example wood supply, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity. Many of these contemporary subject matters involve considerations about GS and its changes, at different geographic levels and time frames from past to future developments according to scenario simulations. Due to its historical, continued and currently increasing importance, we provide an up-to-date review focussing on large-area GS monitoring where we i) describe the origins and historical development of European NFIs, ii) address the terminology and present GS definitions of NFIs, iii) summarise the current methods of 23 European NFIs including sampling methods, tree measurements, volume models, estimators, uncertainty components, and the use of air- and space-borne data sources, iv) present the recent progress in NFI harmonisation in Europe, and v) provide an outlook under changing climate and forest-based bioeconomy objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a ranking of economics departments in Europe and we discuss the methods used to obtain it. The JEL CD-ROM serves as a database for a period covering ten years. Journals are ranked using a combination of expert opinions and citation data to produce a scale from 1 to 10. The publication output and habits of fifteen European countries plus California are then compared. Individuals with a contribution greater than a predetermined minimum level are regrouped into departments which are ranked according to their total scores. A standard deviation is provided to underline the uncertainty of this ranking. (JEL: I29, D63, C12, C14) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]