Unblocking the Lifeline of Talent. CEPS Policy Brief No. 306, 6 December 2013

Against the background of looming demographic decline, the departure of the baby-boom generation from European labour markets and growing economic competitiveness from emerging economies, this CEPS Policy Brief, published jointly with the Bertelsmann Stiftung, looks into the potential benefits of increased intra-EU labour mobility. The authors examine the ‘German case’ on EU labour mobility, digging below the surface of the aggregate data. They offer proposals on how to foster a European fair deal on talent, one that would benefit the EU as a whole. The paper concludes with policy recommendations on how to increase the potential benefits of the freedom of movement for both individual EU citizens and for the EU as a whole

spotlight europe #2013/05 - December 2013: Unblocking the lifeline of talent

Against the background of demographic decline and growing economic competitiveness from emerging economies, this Spotlight published in cooperation with the Centre for European Policy Studies looks into the potential of increased intra-EU labour mobility. It will examine the ‘German case’ on EU labour mobility. It proposes ideas on how to better foster a European fair deal on talent, one that would benefit the EU as a whole. It concludes with a proposal on how to increase the benefits of the freedom of movement

Differential Extinction of Disgust and Anxiety Among Victims of Sexual Traumatization

Emerging evidence suggests that in addition to fear, traumatic event-related disgust reactions may be integral to understanding the sequelae of sexual traumatization. Importantly, evidence broadly suggests compared to fear, disgust may be resistant to extinction. As such, conditioned disgust reactions may not evidence the same pattern of extinction observed with fear-based reactions. This may have important implications for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As such, the current study sought to fill an important gap in the existing literature by examining specific processes and mechanisms that are likely to affect outcomes of exposure-based interventions following sexual traumatization. Specifically, 72 women with a history of sexual victimization completed a laboratory-based assessment of disgust- and fear-based emotional reactivity in response to repeated exposures to disgust- and fear-focused idiographic scripts of their traumatic event. Results demonstrated that initial disgust responding was significantly greater than anxiety responding. Anxiety declined significantly across the course of exposure while disgust did not. However, comparison of slopes in disgust and anxiety did not result in significant differences. Theoretical and practical implications as well as directions for future research are discussed

Diving In . . . Living Waters

Poem about letting go and delve into life

An Empirical Investigation of Emotional Reactivity and Elevated Mental contamination: a Comparison of Sexual and Physical Assault

Although evidence suggests that disgust and disgust-related phenomena such as mental contamination should be associated with the experience of sexual assault, there has been relatively little direct examination of this relation. Consequently, the primary aim of the current study was to conduct a multimodal assessment of disgust and mental contamination-based reactivity to an individualized script-driven imagery procedure. Participants included 27 sexually assaulted, 25 physically assaulted, and 30 non-traumatized control female adults. Subjective reactivity (i.e., ratings of disgust, anxiety, feelings of dirtiness, and urges to wash), physiological reactivity (i.e., electromyogram activity of the right levator labii superioris and medial frontalis regions) and behavioral responding (i.e., hand washing) were assessed following the presentation of both a neutral and traumatic event script (stressful script for the control group). It was hypothesized that sexually assaulted women would demonstrate elevations in subjective, physiological, and behavioral indices of disgust and mental contamination-based reactivity to the traumatic event script relative to the physical assault and control groups. It was further hypothesized that both assault groups would respond with comparably elevated levels of subjective anxious reactivity (i.e., ratings of anxiety) as compared to the non-traumatized control group. Theoretical and practical implications as well as directions for future research are discussed

Intraspecific variation in seed dormancy and germination among populations of Stellaria media and Galium aparine: a modelling approach to investigate the effects of environmental and management factors

Weeds are a substantial threat to arable crop production, reducing crop yields and/or reducing crop quality and market value. Worldwide expenditure on herbicides outstrips that on either insecticides or fungicides. However falling gram prices are causing farmers to reconsider the economics of herbicide use and public concern about countryside conservation and demand for organically produced food is generating increased pressure to minimise pesticide use. With increasing interest in more integrated approaches to weed control there is a need to better understand the ecology and biology of weed species. This thesis therefore aims to describe aspects of tire ecology of two common winter annual weed species, Stellaria media and Galium aparine, in order to support the development of more sustainable weed control measures in arable crops. As effective broad-leaved weed control tends to be associated with early removal of weed seedlings, this thesis adopts a modelling approach to investigate tire potential benefits derived from predications of weed seedling emergenceSeedling emergence can be divided into three stages: seed domrancy, seed germination and seedling pre-enrergence growth. As seed dormancy and germination are particularly variable this thesis focuses on these key processes. Models for the timing and extent of germination for S. media and G.aparine are developed and variability is addressed by investigating the extent of intraspecific variation between populations and according to maternal effects. Intraspecific variation between populations was investigated using contrasting populations selected from a large-scale screening.The seed dormancy and germination models were developed following a review of existing models and identification of data requirements. This initiated field experiments to quantify seasonal changes in S. media seed dormancy and laboratory experiments to quantify the combined effects of temperature and water potential on seed gemination for S. media and G. aparine. Also according to the data requirements identified by review, further laboratory experiments were conducted to analyse the effects of light and nitrate on S. media germination. For G. aparine. additional data were derived, as required, from published literature.For S. media significant variation between populations was recorded in initial and seasonal patterns of seed dormancy, and in the timing and extent of seed germination according to temperature, water potential and light. For G. aparine significant variation was recorded between populations for initial seed dormancy and seed gemination according to temperature and water potential.In general, for both S. media and G. aparine, seed dormancy was released in autumn and induced in early summer. Dormancy induction in the summer for S. media was complete but for G. aparine,restricted germination to a narrower range of temperatures. Optimum temperatures for gemination of S. media tended to 20 °C and for G. aparine to 10 °C (range assessed 5 to 30 °C). Germination extent decreased and the time to gemination increased as water potential decreased, but G. aparine was relatively more resilient to reduced water potential over the range 0 to -0.4 MPa, at optimal and sub- optimal temperatures (range assessed 0 to -0.8 MPa).The timing and extent of germination in the soil seedbank was modelled in terms of the factors influencing dormancy (soil temperature) and germination (temperature and water potential). The dormancy models were developed from existing models for summer annual species. The germination models were developed independently following examination and assessment of existing hydrothermal time models. Both models were developed in a stochastic framework and parameters were estimated separately for the different populations.Maternal effects were not included in the model, but experiments showed this additional variation would also significantly impact on model application. This was illustrated using seeds produced following application of the herbicide, fluroxypyr, at a range of reduced rates. For S. media the effect of fluroxypyr application on subsequent seed germination varied between populations, and higher rates reduced the extent of seed germination for two of the three populations. For G. aparine effects similarly varied between populations, though the higher rates of fluroxypyr application consistently reduced the extent of seed germination and lengthened the timing of germination. For S. media additional experiments investigating the effect of nitrogen environment during seed production showed no significant effects on subsequent seed germination.Variability between populations and variability between seeds produced in different maternal environments complicates tire task of predicting tire extent and timing of S. media and G. aparine germination. However these models do serve a useful role as a research tool in summarising current understanding of how different environmental and management factors may effect weed seed dormancy and germination

Beyond Bandwidth: An Examination of Making Learning Accessible for All Students

The dissertation research examines culturally responsive practices in virtual learning settings in relation to teacher accessibility and is presented in a review and research format. The first paper constitutes a comprehensive scoping literature review that explores the proposition that virtual accessibility is an equity construct in Title 1 urban schools. A constant comparative approach (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) identifies themes in the literature related to how culturally responsive virtual learning components demonstrate support for the argument that connecting with students virtually is more than bandwidth. The review study finds that virtual accessibility is created by centering culture, building and sustaining culturally informed relationships, and fostering care. The second paper is a qualitative case study examining what is known about culturally responsive virtual learning in one second grade elementary Title 1 classroom. Collection and analysis of data occurs in four phases across 12 weeks and included bi-weekly data sets representing non-participant observations of reading or writing lessons, lesson plans, case participant interviews, and analytic memos. A constant comparative approach (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) identifies themes using Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1995a, 2014) Culturally Informed Relationships (Milner, 2006), and an Ethos of Care (Jackson, Sealey-Ruiz, & Watson, 2014) theories. The case study illustrates that culturally responsive practices (CRP) can be part of virtual learning by centering culture through relationships within an intentional virtual learning community. Implications for re-tooling technologies to facilitate virtual CRP are presented

African American Graduates\u27 Experiences of Managing College Debt

Higher education is a means to improve professional status and economic mobility; however, mounting college debt has become a hindrance to college graduates, primarily African Americans. A disproportionate number of these graduates incur significant debt while attending college. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of African American college graduates who were managing debt incurred to pay for their education. Human capital theory and critical race theory provided the conceptual framework. Two research questions motivated this study: How do African American college graduates living in the state of Georgia manage their college debt? What role does college debt play in the career and financial choices of African American college graduates who reside in the state of Georgia? Data collection included semistructured interviews with 20 participants. Data analysis was hand coded to identify 3 themes: pursuit of financial independence, education would improve participants\u27 financial position, and college debt is a burden. A college education has been viewed as the way to improve socioeconomic standing, however, the cost of this education can result in student loan debt that burdens graduates\u27 ability to acquire financial growth, thereby reducing the effect of achieving a college education. Recommendations consisted of two potential areas of improvement: mandatory financial aid counseling for students before high school graduation, and an expansion of the exit interview process for prospective graduates from colleges and universities. Results may contribute to positive social change by enhanced decision-making among college students and their families before graduation, and to improved financial counseling techniques, research methods, and debt decision capabilities

What Are Your Life Quotes and Why?

I don’t mind admitting this, but I am a “quotes” type of person

Talking With Patients: How Hospitals Use Bilingual Clinicians and Staff to Care for Patients With Language Needs

Presents survey findings on bilingual clinicians, staff, interpreters, and volunteers providing language services; training and assessment; hospital policies; and their impact. Recommends explicit policies, robust assessments, and proactive approaches