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The paper compares the profiles of Bulgarian migrants travelling to Switzerland by two different means of transport - airway and bus. It provides evidence in respect of the question "Which are the socio-demographic factors that differentiate the subsample of the airway travellers from the bus passengers?". The study shows how observations allocated to different social strata, approached by altered sampling methods, raise diverse assumptions about important migration issues such as employment, education and networking models. In terms of occupation shifts, results from a survey of Bulgarians residing in Switzerland shows an overall pattern of diminishing level of required qualification when moving from Bulgaria to Switzerland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article assesses the extent and specifics of return and circular migration in Bulgaria, a South-eastern European country that joined the European Union in 2007. After defining return migration and reviewing the main theories contemplating return (and circular) migration, the principal section of the article deals with the current Bulgarian migration scenario. It draws from quantitative research data as well as insights from semi-structured interviews carried out in the country in summer 2014 for the research project "Migration and Transnationalism Between Switzerland and Bulgaria". At the end, a typical biography of a return and circular migrant is presented and compared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the debate regarding sex education in France and Switzerland at the beginning of the 20th century. Topics mentioned include the role played by the Société française de prophylaxie sanitaire et morale (French Society for Health and Moral Prophylaxis, or SPSM), the work of physicians educating people regarding venereal diseases, and the different projects that took place in Switzerland with more ease than in France.

Information about the annual meeting of the Association for Medical Education (GMA), themed "Innovative Together," held in Switzerland on September 14-17, 2016 is presented. Topics discussed include patient centering and assessment, further education, and innovation in educational systems. Recipients of the GMA Project Prize for the Development of Teaching, GMA Prize for innovative teaching projects, and Publication Prize of the GMS Journal for Medical Education 2016 are also featured.

The article discusses the Stakeholder Dialogue for Sustainability initiated by the Swiss Federal Council between November 2014 and May 2015 from the Swiss Academic Society for Environmental Research and Ecology (saguf) point of view. Topics discussed include Sustainable Development Strategy as a guiding document for implementation of sustainable development in Switzerland, actions of the strategy such as urban development; and personal invitations in the mode of recruitment.

The media discourse is significant in terms of the spread of Nordic skiing in Europe. The term sport, however, was an imprecise translation of the Nordic ‘Idraet’. Idraet meant the combination of sportsman and scholarship. The book The First Crossing of Greenland can be seen as a trigger for the so-called ‘Nansen-Feaver’, which spread Idraet after 1890. German-speaking magazines amalgamated it with ‘Wilhelminian’ Nordic enthusiasm. It was the birth of ski clubs everywhere. A German student, Wilhelm Paulcke, intended to copy Nansen's style. Subsequently, a successful alpine winter trip stylised him to the Central European Nansen. His goal was to build a Central European ski association and to unite all German-speaking skiers. But, Swiss Ski Association (SSV) was founded one year before the Central European Ski Association (MESV) consisting of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. And the Swiss would only have joined the MESV when their magazine SKI became the association's official publication. A few German clubs were opposed and renounced. They did not want to accept neither French-speaking members nor articles. Paulcke finally accepted the SKI, but later, the SSV decided to choose their independent way and leave the MESV. A national sport was growing up. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the Thirteenth European Congress of Trauma and Emergency Surgery (ESTES) which organized several international postgraduate courses, which was held in Basel, Switzerland on May 12-15, 2012.

The article examines the transnational ties of Turkish immigrants from the towns of Mardin and Bozlu, Turkey, in Europe in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Focusing on these immigrants' hometown associations (HTAs), the author seeks to develop a theoretical framework for the study of transnational migration that takes account not only of migrants' national origins and ethnic identities but also of their regional and local affiliations. She presents the examples of the ARPAD association of people from Bozlu in Berlin, Germany, and the Mutual Aid Association of Karfo (from province Mardin) in Switzerland. Other issues addressed include methodological problems in migration studies, urban sociology, and supranationalism.

The article offers updates on the developments in the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA). Alexander McLin has been named executive director of the association. The young practitioners' group of ASA called ASA below 40 has intended to facilitate contact and the exchange of views of experiences among young arbitration practitioners in the country and other nations in an informal way.

This article describes a five-week module on 'Switzerland as a multi-ethnic society' intended to counteract the popular image of Switzerland as a homogenous country concerned mostly with tourism, chocolate, and watches. Instead, the module treats Switzerland through topics such as the definition of identity in a multi-ethnic society, the politics of immigration for a largely service-based economy, and the strains that migration puts on a modern society shaped by political will. The unit seeks to familiarize students with contemporary multi-ethnic Switzerland through a number of different texts (including film and music), compare the Swiss debates of migration and integration to those in the United States, and move students toward deep reflection on the larger issue concerning migration and national identity. The module is versatile in that it can be taught as part of a course on Switzerland, or of a broader course on migration in the German-speaking countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on several conferences to be held in July, 2012 including the conference of American Society for Cybernetics and the Bateson Idea Group to be held in California, conference of System Dynamics Society to be held in Switzerland and conference on Management and Service Science to be held in Shanghai, China.

This section offers news briefs on International Planetarium Society (IPS) affiliate associations. The Fondation de la Porte des Etoiles (Foundation for the Port of the Stars) or Stargate, has developed an astronomy center at Chalet-à-Gobet, near Lausanne, Suisse Romande, Switzerland. The Ignazio Danti Planetarium in Perugia presented a theoretical-practical activity introduced by an examination of the light's composition based on experiments by Newton, Bunsen and Father Angelo Secchi.

The article offers information on several events related to behavioral science in 2012 including the joint conference of the Bateson Idea Group (BIG) and the American Society for Cybernetics (ASC) in Asilomar, California on July 9-13, the 16th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics (WMSCI 2012) in Orlando, Florida on July 17-20, and the 2012 International Conference of the Systems Dynamics Society in St. Gallen, Switzerland on July 22-26.

The notion of civil society associations as schools of democracy has resulted in models of political participation that place an emphasis on membership in civic associations as a means of developing personal skills that are conducive to political participation. These suppositions seem well established. It is still contested, however, to what extent the particular characteristics of the associations that offer such membership have an impact on civic engagement. Expanding recent research that mainly builds on group characteristics aggregated from the characteristics of the associations' members, we apply the Swiss part of a unique multi-level data set, the CID-data, which provides information about approx. 1000 activists from about 400 associations. This data allows us to measure group characteristics, such as the function of an association and its connection to the local elite, directly and thus provides us with a special opportunity for a multi-level analysis of activists nested in organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of transculture suggests that we need to stay outside of a culture in order to understand the peculiarities of its identity. This paper attempts to find traces of this idea within the narrative of both insiders and outsiders. Interviews both in the academic sphere and among in- and outsiders in a semi-rural Swiss village are carried out and evaluated by objective hermeneutics. The empirical analysis indicates that even in pre-designed contexts it is hard to trace transcultural approaches because people are not yet ready to give up the clear-cut distinctions between what is inside and outside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts on topics related to trauma and emergency surgery including studies on the role of laparoscopy in an acute care surgery, another on the use of advanced trauma life supports in initial poly-trauma care, and another on the neuroprotective effects of riluzole on traumatic brain injury in rats.

The article discusses an annual congress held on April 25-27, 2012 at the Centre de Congrès Le Régent in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, where several Swiss medical societies specializing in respiratory and pulmonary diseases and thoracic surgery met including the Société Suisse de Pneumologie and the Société Suisse de la Chirurgie Thoracique. Some of the featured topics include non-invasive ventilation, tuberculosis, and sleep apnea.

Information on the meeting of Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA) on September 8, 2011 in Zurich, Switzerland is presented. The association's president Michael E. Schneider shares the message of the editors who invite the ASA members aimed at communicating information and documents from arbitration practice as well as comments on awards and arbitration related court decisions. A prepared design for the association's website is also tackled with enhanced search tool for arbitrators.

According to numerous politicians, reforming the welfare state in aging societies has become increasingly necessary in spite of the growing influence of advocacy groups that have made reforms more difficult to realize. Studying the preferences of seniors' organizations is therefore crucial to comprehending future welfare state policies. In this paper, I will examine recurrent variables that researchers working on seniors' organizations stud), in order to explain the type of framing or political discourse that these organizations use. Using FARES/VASOS, the largest seniors' organization in Switzerland, as a case stud),, I will show how common explanations (especially the ones that refer to the importance of the context or of the political opportunities structure), if the), work, can also be seen as too incomplete or limited. We will see that focusing on how leaders are selected, their activism, and their reasons for involvement provides interesting data to help us understand the goals and political battles of this organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers updates related to the Swiss Arbitration Association (ASA). The ASA Geneva Group held a session on May 12, 2011 which featured several discussions on the application of arbitration in specific fields including maritime, commodities and shipping. The ASA below 40 group continues to facilitate experiences among young Swiss and foreign arbitration practitioners.

Purpose - Academic research on public affairs which aims to reconstruct the rationale for the involvement in public affairs, and the possible outsourcing thereof, focuses mainly on the perspective of the principal. Even though consultants are undoubtedly increasing in importance, their relevance as agents is often downplayed. This study seeks to empirically supplement the perspective of the consultant in order to identify potential inimitable functions that could explain why public affairs work is often contracted-out. Design/methodology/approach - A nation-wide survey about public affairs consultants in Switzerland is based on an inductive empirical research design, which facilitates questions regarding which services consultants actually perform and what indispensable functions they claim to provide. Findings - The results highlight lobbying, political PR, and [referendums and election] campaigns as the main areas of service. These services are associated with different functions. Lobbyists in particular define themselves as partisan players closely involved in political decision making. In contrast, political PR and campaigning are understood in terms of horizontal or vertical boundary-spanning. A somewhat technical justification for contracting out, referring to a special infrastructure and costs issues, is downplayed. Instead, the independent outside view facilitating innovation forms the most important generalizable frame when explaining the unique added value consultants have to offer. Originality/value - The paper shows that the real or supposed independence of the consultant vis-à-vis the client constitutes an inimitable resource. The outsider-status facilitates the successful fulfilment of public affairs functions such as innovation, boundary-spanning, access and legitimising. Thus, it is vitally important for consultants to build up a reputation. When it comes to contracting-out decisions, impression management theories are capable of enriching public affairs theories that focus on cost-benefit-calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Associations and foundations are typical legal forms of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Switzerland. During the past years, several transformations of associations into foundations can be observed. This study analyzes the legal and managerial aspects and consequences of CSO transformations. It highlights the differences in the governance structures, and displays the changes in terms of members' rights, control, and accountability. The managerial analysis gives a preference to the foundation governance structure according to coordination, decision-making, and innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the activities of the European Structural Integrity Society (ESIS) in 2008-2009. It states that the 17th European Conference on Fracture (ECF17) was held on September 2-5, 2009, in Brno, Czech Republic which was organized by ESIS Czech Chapter. It mentions that Griffith Medal was presented to Professor A. Carpinteri during the Social Dinner. It adds that the ESIS TC4 meeting on Polymers, Adhesives and Composites was held on September 11-12, 2008 in Switzerland.

The article offers information related to the joint meeting of the Society for Microcirculation and Vascular Biology (GfMVB) and the Swiss Society for Microcirculation (SSM) held in Bern, Switzerland on October 8-10, 2009. It provides details about the program, which features sessions on intravital microscopy, redox-signalling, and tumorangiogenesis. It also presents a list of the meeting's organizing committee and participants. Abstracts of articles discussed during the meeting are also cited.

The article provides information related to the first workshop of the Program for the Evaluation of High-Resolution Precipitation Products (PEHRPP) held in Geneva, Switzerland from December 3-5, 2007. Topics include the assessment of the status and requirements for high-resolution precipitation products (HRPPs), type of HRPPs, and their applications. Three working groups also presented recommendations on how to facilitate the evaluation and improvement of HRPPs during the workshop.

The following abstracts were presented at the 95th Annual Congress of the Swiss Society of Surgery. The meeting, held in Basel 28-30 May 2008, is organized for the sixth time in collaboration with the Swiss Society of Thoracic, Heart and Vascular Surgery. To view the abstracts from this meeting, please click the pdf link on this page. Copyright © 2008 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

John Calvin (1509–1564) founded a College and Academy in Geneva in 1559, the latter of which, through the efforts of many of its scholars, was finally declared to be a genuine university, the University of Geneva, in 1872. Meanwhile, thanks to the outstanding achievements of the rich, patrician Genevan scientists, in particular during the 18th century, Geneva secured a prominent place in European learned society. With the appointment of Charles-Eugène Guye (1866–1942) to the University of Geneva in 1900, Genevan research entered resolutely into 20th-century physics, particularly relativity, and continued to gain momentum before and after the Second World War when, in 1953, Geneva was chosen as the site of one of the most prestigious scientific laboratories in the world, CERN. I sketch these developments, pointing out many of the locations where they occurred in Geneva. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents various reports of activities organized by the SVTC (Swiss Society for Textile and Chemistry). Topics include the general meeting held 23 May 2007 in Motlingen, Switzerland, jointly with the SVT (Swiss Society of Textile Professionals), the 2006 annual report, as well as the budget, activities and election plans for 2007.

The author reflects on the liberation theology in developing countries discussed at the 1966 World Conference on Church and Society held in Geneva, Switzerland. She notes that the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians has been seeking and providing theology that would support its struggle for liberation. She states that the World Council of Churches (WCC) was involved in racism and social change in Africa. She stresses that the churches' attitudes to social problems became prophetic from revolutionary.

The article reports developments related to the European Neurological Society (ENS) in Riehen, Switzerland. It provides information on the society's new executive committee members including professor Ovidiu Bajenaru, professor Yesim Parman, and professor Marie Vidailhet. It also offers information on the 16th annual meeting of ENS on May 27-31, 2006 and announces that ENS offers free subscription to the "Journal of Neurology."

The article provides announcements from the European Neurological Society (ENS). It updates recent development in the ENS and the American Academy of Neurology's joint membership project. It informs neurologists around the world about the ENS 2006 Preliminary Program in Lausanne, Switzerland. It suggests on the vertical integration of the teaching courses with scientific communications in selected topics.

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Focuses on the concept of analytical psychology established by Carl Jung. Characteristics of Jung; Views of Jung about the aesthetic principle; Commitment of Jung to the formation of psychotherapeutic societies.

Comments on an article by Arend Lijphart on consociational democracy and the case of divided societies in Switzerland. Cross-cultural characteristics of social forces in the country; Contribution of Lijphart's theory to democratic theory.

The article focuses on the Swiss Energy Strategy 2050 which aims to provide a cost-effective, reliable, and environmentally sustainable energy supply in strengthening the position of Switzerland as a marketplace for energy technology. Topics discussed include the energy transition in Switzerland provided by the swiss academic society for environmental research and ecology (saguf) interdisciplinary working group, International Foresight Academic Seminar, and the energy research in the country.

The article offers organist news briefs as of 2012. Organist Benjamin Righetti has been named the resident organist at Saint-François in Lausanne, Switzerland. Orgue en France, a new national association of organists, has been formed in France. A multidisciplinary conference in honor of harpsichordist Kenneth Gilbert will be held at McGill University in Montréal, Québec on June 15-17, 2012.

Information on the European Society for Biomaterials (ESB) conference held from September 7 to 11, 2009 in Lausanne, Switzerland is presented. The conference was hosted by the Swiss Society for Biomaterials (SSB) and 1201 attendees from 44 countries participated in the conference. The author opines that the conference had an impressive scientific program with renowned plenary speakers and presenters and the activities of the participants made the ESB 2009 a very successful and rewarding meeting.

The article presents the membership report from the 46th annual meeting of the Swiss-American Historical Society, held on October 10, 2009 in New York City, detailing several aspects of the association's constituency. Commentary is given discussing the overall health and size of the association, both in the United States and in Switzerland. Multiple charts are also included breaking down the statistics of the society's membership, including the number of members per country, per state, and highlighting several member status changes.

The article presents the vice president's report from the 46th annual meeting of the Swiss-American Historical Society (SAHS), held on October 10, 2009 in New York City, detailing the status and activities of the association's foreign chapter in Switzerland. Subjects discussed within the report include the membership characteristics of the Swiss chapter, the Annual Social event which the chapter held in Zurich on July 24, 2010 and comments on the continued financial logistics of the Swiss chapter.

The article discusses the highlights of several meetings of the Audio Engineering Society (AES) Swiss Section from December 4, 2008 to April 3, 2009. The section discussed new digital sound processor (DSP) technologies at the Haute Ecole d'Ingénierie du Canton de Vaud in Yverdon. On January 9, music producer Omid Bürgin gave an overview of his career in the music industry in a Zurich meeting. Another meeting in Gurten became a graduation ceremony for graduates of the Sound Technician Federal Diploma.