Knowledge-based Biomedical Data Science 2019

Knowledge-based biomedical data science (KBDS) involves the design and implementation of computer systems that act as if they knew about biomedicine. Such systems depend on formally represented knowledge in computer systems, often in the form of knowledge graphs. Here we survey the progress in the last year in systems that use formally represented knowledge to address data science problems in both clinical and biological domains, as well as on approaches for creating knowledge graphs. Major themes include the relationships between knowledge graphs and machine learning, the use of natural language processing, and the expansion of knowledge-based approaches to novel domains, such as Chinese Traditional Medicine and biodiversity.Comment: Manuscript 43 pages with 3 tables; Supplemental material 43 pages with 3 table

"Governing Europe: The Status and Networking Strategies of Finnish, Estonian and German Regions in Brussels"

[From the introduction]. The paper is structured in three parts. Part I is meant to shortly synthesize how integration theory deals with sub-national actors. In part II we will discuss history and institutionalisation of regional and local level representations in Brussels and reflect on such issues as relations to national level actors, core functions, resources and staffs and their career paths. In part III, we will highlight qualitative differences in strategic foci and networking strategies of regional and local EU offices by discussing such issues as cooperation and lobbying in EU institutions, differences between big and small/old and new member states, networking with other offices, current topics and most pressing problems. The research data stems from 12 structured interviews3, with the topics sent in forehand to the interviewees. All four German interviews were conducted by telephone and took between 45 and 60 minutes each. The Finnish interviews consist of four telephone interviews; each interview took about 40 minutes and one personal interview. The Estonian data stems from one personal interview and one telephone interview, both lasting 45-60 minutes. Instead of conducting a comparative analysis we are interested in the status of different actors and their strategies to position their ideas in the policy-making and law-making procedures by focussing on positions of the actors that are involved in those processes every day

Sub-National Mobilisation, Regional Autonomy, and EU Integration: The Basque Case

Unexplored areas in EU integration literature regarding regional representational channels give impetus to the research. Novelty lies in its concentration on reciprocal regional governmental and EU relations to test the hypothesis that Regions with Legislative Competencies (RLCs) interact in EU policy and decision-making to influence it through both formal and informal means. The work focuses on RLCs because they are able to harness a large degree of power and influence vis-à-vis the nation state, which increases their visibility in EU policy. The Basque Country is the case study due to its high degree of autonomy and resources that maximises its ability to influence EU policy. The period of analysis starts from the Maastricht Treaty negotiations (1991-1992) and concludes with the Basque parliamentary elections (2009). Existing literature explores the regional tier emphasising its involvement in EU decision and policymaking, primarily concerning structural and cohesion funds. Other scholarly contributions identify central governments as the regulators of substate regional participation at EU-level policymaking. The thesis argues that multi-level governance (MLG) offers new insights into examining EU integration and the phenomenon of regional ‘circumvention’ of central governments through informal representational avenues, including interregional organisations and diverse lobbying efforts. A MLG approach is useful because it considers varying levels of influence and jurisdiction of substate, state, and supranational entities within the EU. The thesis argues that the effective representational capability of RLCs depends on formal and informal institutional contacts, and it explores the most effective forms of representation for Euskadi and the policy areas where its activism has an impact. Fieldwork consists primarily of informal semi-structured interviews with EU representatives, the central state, Basque institutions, and interregional organisations. They are essential concerns for the methodology because they form a range of informal and formal representation channels, which have not been thoroughly surveyed in the literature.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The changing geographies of international municipal relations in Europe : a study of British-German town twinning partnerships

Since the end of WWII, the establishment of the very first European town twinning partnerships between the UK and Germany has been followed by thousands of twinning partnerships and millions of citizens travelling across Europe taking part in professional, student, family, project, sport or cultural twinning exchanges. However, surprisingly little is known about the history and contemporary practices of town twinning. Although of great relevance to current debates about European identity creation, global cultures, neoliberalism and entrepreneurial cities, politics of scale and transnational urban networks, only very few geographers have seriously investigated this phenomenon. The aim of this thesis is therefore to analyse the scope of contemporary town twinning practices against the background of the international municipal movement in Europe and to investigate this multi-faceted phenomenon, its organisation, procedures and changing aims from a British-German twinning perspective. More than 60 years after its initiation as a movement for reconciliation and international understanding in Europe, how do current town twinning practices reflect the challenges of a globalised world? The thesis is based on rich empirical research in Bristol, Cardiff, Loughborough, St.Helens, and Hannover, Schwäbisch Hall, and Stuttgart (constituting four British- German town twinning partnerships between them), including interviews with volunteers and professionals involved in town twinning, archival research and participant observation. Themes covered extensively are the usages and impacts of town twinning activities for the creation of European awareness among citizens, and for the promotion of urban competitiveness and cooperation through municipal networking. Since town twinning has developed over the years without a universal definition or guidelines, most municipalities have generated their very own way of doing town twinning, often but not always characterised by dichotomies, such as small towns vs. big cities, citizens vs. local authorities, citizens‟ meetings vs. urban projects, cultural vs. economic objectives, etc. A key parameter for the direction of a twinning partnership is individuals, e.g. mayors or committed citizens, who leave their mark on the partnership's aims, contents, and/or organisation. Hence, the question if town twinning is changing or adapting its aims for a globalised world has to be answered by every municipality individually. However, a general development towards a 'modern' form of town twinning that focuses on economic benefits and short-term inter-municipal projects at the expense of 'traditional' cultural twinning has not been observed. Rather in an increasing number of municipalities, the former complements the latter in a 'contemporary' form of town twinning. This thesis has introduced the 'dark horse' town twinning into the geographical debate, uncovering its history, analysing its current practices, and relating it to relevant social, cultural, urban and political geographical discourses.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

MOTION HANDBOOK: From Overtourism to Innovating Sustainable Solutions in the EU

Erasmus + Programme of the European Union. Project with reference: 2020-1-FI01-KA203-066543

State v. Branigh Clerk\u27s Record v. 4 Dckt. 36427

https://digitalcommons.law.uidaho.edu/idaho_supreme_court_record_briefs/1452/thumbnail.jp

The role of specialised groups in the debate about the European Constitution.

This thesis uses the notion of specialised publics in order to analyse whether the participation of civil society organisations in the European Convention contributed to make European publics more aware of this debate. In particular it asks whether activism by European civil society organisations about participatory democracy has contributed to a stronger linkage between the EU and Spanish and French general publics. The thesis analyses the role of a group of 22 civil society organisations in the agenda setting process where the discourse of the EU about participatory democracy was built ahead the Convention. Furthermore the role of 25 Spanish and French organisations active in the Convention is considered as well. 51 in-depth interviews with members of the Convention, officials of European institutions, European, French and Spanish civil society organisations have been conducted in the frame of the thesis. These provide abundant information about the way in which these organisations were involved in the Convention and more in general about biases in action at EU level between European and national organisations. The analysis of the evolution of the organisations demands and justifications demonstrates that these consultations were an important agenda-setting process where the demands of civil society for institutionalisation were framed as a way to introduce participatory democracy arrangements in the EU. It is found that during the Convention participation was a strong priority for these organisations which had a great impact on article 47 of the TCE on civil society participation. It appears that contrary to expectations the Convention was not a meeting point for European and national organisations and contributed little to the diffusion of this debate beyond European specialised actors. Furthermore it appears that Spanish and French organisations had no motivation to download the Convention debates in the context of the national referenda. European organisations did not need to mobilise their members to meet their objectives, Spanish organisations were stronger at the EU level than in the national debates and French organisations did not share most of the participatory frame elaborated the EU level. However it is found as well that national organisations did not ignore this topic. In this sense Spanish organisations shared it strongly although they had little effect on the national debate, whereas French organisations scepticism on the Convention's commitment to the question of civil society participation contributed to their involvement against the Treaty in the national campaign. In doing so they contributed to frame the French referendum as an occasion for citizens participation in the EU, and thus circulated a version of the European frame. Albeit in an exceptional setting, the thesis finds that civil society organisations have a strong potential to contribute to Europeanising debates and to articulate participation in the EU. These results contribute to a better understanding of the dynamic connections between different publics in the European public sphere by pointing to the importance of considering the political opportunity structure and the institutional barriers to the Europeanisation of general publics