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Environmental regulation motivates producers to adopt greener and more sustainable technologies, fostering innovation in green technology. The study aims to examine the direct impact of environmental regulations (EPY) regulation on green innovation (EINV) to observe the learning effect in Europe. Therefore, this study uses a panel dataset of 25 European nations from 1994 to 2020 and employs the Spatial Durbin model to test the relationships. In addition, the study illuminates the significance of various factors, including environmental taxes, fiscal expenditure, urbanization, foreign direct investment, and research and development expenditures, in shaping the relationship between EPY and EINV. The results indicate that EPY has a significant total impact of 0.636 %, with a direct impact of 0.187 %. This direct effect incorporates both formal and informal EPY impacts on the development of green technologies. It indicates that EPY enhances EINV in Europe significantly. Furthermore, the spatial spillover effect demonstrates a substantially positive coefficient of 0.449 %, representing the learning behavior in European countries. The outcomes suggest that policymakers should consider EPY's direct and indirect effects on EINV when considering policy interventions to promote EINV in Europe. • Study explores EPY's effect on EINV in Europe, notes cross-country learning. • Spatial Durbin model is employed utilizing EU data spanning 1994 to 2020. • EPY affects EINV 0.187 % directly and spillover effect is 0.449 %. • EPY boosts Europe's green innovation formally and informally. • Policymakers evaluate EPY's direct and indirect impacts on ENIV during development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] The sustainable development goal of combating climate change highlights the importance of the transportation sector. This study analyzes the impact of eco-innovations in transportation along with traffic-TRF (road, rail, air), infrastructure development, green finances, trade globalization on demand, transport emissions, and greenhouse gas emissions from 1994 to 2020 in EU25 economies. Furthermore, the policy impact of innovation and taxes and renewables are estimated using their interactions. We employed second-generation approaches, PMG-ARDL, Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) and Granger causality. The results reveal that green transport neutralizes pollutant emissions, and traffic increases emissions by 17.5%, while green taxes limit them to 15.3% and 39.3% in the long and short run. Green taxes are a short-run tool; however, long-run sustainable targets depend on green transport, renewables, and R&D. European economies must revisit their transport and environmental policies, as current progress may not lead toward sustainable transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Over the past decade, evidence-based medicine (EBM) has gained recognition as a means to improve the quality of health care provision. However, little is known about learning opportunities to acquire EBM-associated skills. The EUebm-Unity partnership explored current educational activities for EBM practice for doctors across Europe. Methods We surveyed organizations offering postgraduate EBM courses across Europe inquiring about their course programme, teaching content and strategies, and interest in a Europe-wide curriculum in EBM. Results One hundred and fifty-six organizers in eight European countries reported 403 courses that had started first-time from 1996 to 2006. Despite a steady increase, in absolute terms, the frequency of courses was low and varied from 1 first-time offering of a course per 640 doctors (Spain) to 1 first-time offering per 5600 doctors (Austria) over 10 years. Most adopted the McMaster EBM teaching concept of small group, problem-based learning focussing on interventions, diagnostic tests and guidelines, and included efforts to link EBM to patient care. Teaching staff consisted of doctors from academic and non-academic settings, supported by methodologists. Efforts to formally integrate EBM in postgraduate activities were only partially successful. Most organizations welcomed a standardized European qualification in EBM. A limitation of the survey is the lack of follow-up information about the continuation of courses following the first-time offering. Conclusions All countries offer some EBM courses with varying teaching intensity. Learning opportunities are insufficient to ensure widespread dissemination of knowledge and skills. Most countries welcome more efforts to develop inexpensive and feasible educational activities at a postgraduate level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We developed and evaluated the outcomes of an e-learning course for evidence based medicine (EBM) training in postgraduate medical education in different languages and settings across five European countries. Methods: We measured changes in knowledge and attitudes with well-developed assessment tools before and after administration of the course. The course consisted of five e-learning modules covering acquisition (formulating a question and search of the literature), appraisal, application and implementation of findings from systematic reviews of therapeutic interventions, each with interactive audio-visual learning materials of 15 to 20 minutes duration. The modules were prepared in English, Spanish, German and Hungarian. The course was delivered to 101 students from different specialties in Germany (psychiatrists), Hungary (mixture of specialties), Spain (general medical practitioners), Switzerland (obstetricians-gynaecologists) and the UK (obstetricians-gynaecologists). We analysed changes in scores across modules and countries. Results: On average across all countries, knowledge scores significantly improved from pre- to post-course for all five modules (p < 0.001). The improvements in scores were on average 1.87 points (14% of total score) for module 1, 1.81 points (26% of total score) for module 2, 1.9 points (11% of total score) for module 3, 1.9 points (12% of total score) for module 4 and 1.14 points (14% of total score) for module 5. In the country specific analysis, knowledge gain was not significant for module 4 in Spain, Switzerland and the UK, for module 3 in Spain and Switzerland and for module 2 in Spain. Compared to pre-course assessment, after completing the course participants felt more confident that they can assess research evidence and that the healthcare system in their country should have its own programme of research about clinical effectiveness. Conclusion: E-learning in EBM can be harmonised for effective teaching and learning in different languages, educational settings and clinical specialties, paving the way for development of an international e-EBM course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Scarcity of well-trained clinical tutors is a key constraint in integrating teaching of evidence-based medicine (EBM) into clinical activities. Objectives: We developed a web-based educational course for clinical trainers to confidently teach EBM principles in everyday practice. Its e-learning modules defined the learning objectives and incorporated video clips of practical and effective EBM teaching methods for exploiting educational opportunities in six different clinical settings. Methods: We evaluated the course with clinical tutors in different specialties across six European countries using a questionnaire to capture learning achievement against preset objectives. Results: Among 56 tutors, 47 participants (84%) improved their scores from baseline. The mean pre-course score was 69.2 (SD=10.4), which increased to 77.3 (SD=11.7) post-course (p<0.0001). The effect size was moderate with a Cohen’s d of 0.73. Conclusions: An e-learning approach incorporating videos of applied EBM teaching and learning based on real clinical scenarios in the workplace can be useful in facilitating EBM teaching on foot. It can be integrated in the continuing professional development programmes for clinical trainers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) improves the quality of health care. Courses on how to teach EBM in practice are available, but knowledge does not automatically imply its application in teaching. We aimed to identify and compare barriers and facilitators for teaching EBM in clinical practice in various European countries. Methods: A questionnaire was constructed listing potential barriers and facilitators for EBM teaching in clinical practice. Answers were reported on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from not at all being a barrier to being an insurmountable barrier. Results: The questionnaire was completed by 120 clinical EBM teachers from 11 countries. Lack of time was the strongest barrier for teaching EBM in practice (median 5). Moderate barriers were the lack of requirements for EBM skills and a pyramid hierarchy in health care management structure (median 4). In Germany, Hungary and Poland, reading and understanding articles in English was a higher barrier than in the other countries. Conclusion: Incorporation of teaching EBM in practice faces several barriers to implementation. Teaching EBM in clinical settings is most successful where EBM principles are culturally embedded and form part and parcel of everyday clinical decisions and medical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A plethora of empirical work explored finance-income-environment nexus, aims to investigate high CO 2 emissions determinants, over the last few couples of decades. The prior empirical work assist the idea that finance and income have diverse impacts on the environment. The lack of consensus on finance-income-environment nexus in the Central and Eastern European Countries in the perspective of Belt and Road Initiative need to be examined. Therefore, the present study explores the nexus between financial development, income level, and environmental quality for a panel of eighteen Central and Eastern European Countries, over the period of 1980-2016. The Dynamic Seemingly Unrelated Regression, the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares, and the Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel casualty approaches are employed. The environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis also investigated for both time series panel and country-wise. The Dynamic Seemingly Unrelated Regression long-run panel results reveal that (i) financial development index and income negatively impact on environmental quality; (ii) energy consumption is the key determinant of CO 2 emissions and reduces environmental quality; (iii) urbanization and trade both enhance environmental quality via reduction of carbon emissions; and (iv) the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis supported for the selected panel countries. The country-wise results depict that increase in environmental quality occurs due to increase in financial development (in four countries), income level (in five countries), trade (in five countries), and urbanization (in eight countries). However, the environmental quality decreases due to the increase in financial development (in six countries), income level (in eight countries), energy consumption (in twelve countries), trade (in six countries), and urbanization (in five countries). The environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis supported for five Central and Eastern European Countries. Additionally, the causality results confirmed the presence of feedback relationships among income and environmental quality, and financial development and energy consumption. Thus, we conclude that income level and financial development are the main drivers behind high carbon dioxide emissions in CEECs. The finding of the study opens up new insight for appropriate policymaking.

Background: Over the last years key stake holders in the healthcare sector have increasingly recognised evidence based medicine (EBM) as a means to improving the quality of healthcare. However, there is considerable uncertainty about the best way to disseminate basic knowledge of EBM. As a result, huge variation in EBM educational provision, setting, duration, intensity, content, and teaching methodology exists across Europe and worldwide. Most courses for health care professionals are delivered outside the work context ('stand alone') and lack adaptation to the specific needs for EBM at the learners' workplace. Courses with modern 'adaptive' EBM teaching that employ principles of effective continuing education might fill that gap. We aimed to develop a course for post-graduate education which is clinically integrated and allows maximum flexibility for teachers and learners., Methods: A group of experienced EBM teachers, clinical epidemiologists, clinicians and educationalists from institutions from eight European countries participated. We used an established methodology of curriculum development to design a clinically integrated EBM course with substantial components of e-learning. An independent European steering committee provided input into the process., Results: We defined explicit learning objectives about knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour for the five steps of EBM. A handbook guides facilitator and learner through five modules with clinical and e-learning components. Focussed activities and targeted assignments round off the learning process, after which each module is formally assessed., Conclusion: The course is learner-centred, problem-based, integrated with activities in the workplace and flexible. When successfully implemented, the course is designed to provide just-in-time learning through on-the-job-training, with the potential for teaching and learning to directly impact on practice.