From Economic Crisis to Political Crisis?: Changing Middle Class Political Attitudes in Moscow and St. Petersburg, 2008-2012

This paper examines why the middle class of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, suddenly began protesting in large numbers during the 2011-2012 electoral cycle by assessing longer-term changes in the political attitudes of the professional middle class. This study analyzes three interrelated hypotheses to address this question: the impact of the global financial crisis, attitudes about liberal-democratic concerns, and views on government effectiveness. These trends are examined using data of responses to the survey question “What is the most important problem for the country?”, in 9 surveys conducted between March 2008 and March 2012. Corruption and red tape, the standard of living, housing and utilities, healthcare and education were of increasing concern to middle class groups in this period. The concerns of the middle class were not significantly different from those of the general population, but the middle class and particularly residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg were more critical when assessing all problems. Comparison with additional data demonstrates that participants in the 2011-2012 protests in the major cities shared similar concerns with the general population, but for most, participation in the protests made them significantly more interested in democracy

The transition from mobility ownership to mobility usership : Is EU consumer law pushing the brakes?:A comparative legal study

The growing call for ecologically responsible consumer choices, driven by greater awareness of the environmental and social consequences, is impacting consumer rights. This study explores the rights of consumers amid the mobility transitionfrom ownership to usership within the circular economy. By means of an analysis of specific EU directives and their implementation in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France, this study analyses whether, and to what extent, the protection of consumers of mobility usership is equivalent to that of consumers in traditional sales contracts. Furthermore, it includes an empirical analysis of the level of self-regulation within the Member States, consisting of a comprehensive analysis of the general terms and conditions of providers of mobility usership.The findings suggest that inequivalent protection exists for consumers of mobility usership due to both the ratione personae and ratione materiae scope of the directives. Although inequivalences may not necessarily pose significant problems, a mutatis mutandis assessment of the rules is important to consider the ratio legis of the legal rule, while ensuring that the rule remains proportional and practically possible. Furthermore, empirical findings show that the mobility usership sector sometimes enhances protection to levels comparable to those for traditional sales.This study sheds light on consumer rights and the mobility transition from ownership to usership in the circular economy and its results could be valuable for academics in the field of consumer law, policymakers involved in the transition from ownership to usership, and providers and consumers of mobility usership

Living till the End: Cancer Patients in the Last Phase of Life

In this thesis, two main subjects are addressed: quality of life of cancer patients in their last phase of life (part 1 of the thesis) and end-of-life care and medical decision making (part 2 of the thesis). The first part of the thesis includes studies on the psychological status and feelings of cancer patients after they have been informed of their diagnosis of incurable cancer, and on the quality of life of these patients during their last year of life. The second part explores the content and evaluation of end- of-life care, and patients care needs. This part also addresses the attitudes of cancer patients toward medical end-of-life decision making and differences in dying at home or in an institution

Connecting the Vehicle with the Environment - Trends and Challenges

Innovations in automotive electronics have become increasingly complex, resulting in high-end vehicles containing more than 70 electronic control units and offering a variety of functions to the driver. In-vehicle telematics and infotainment systems provide services like digital radio, broadcast services, television, and MP3 audio. Future applications and services will integrate information sources available outside and inside the car, requiring vehicle systems connected with in-vehicle Consumer Electronics devices and the outside world. In order to realized the vision of an intelligent networked car, connected with the environment and providing the driver with information according to his demands, common efforts towards car manufacturer and supplier spanning standards for data exchange are required. The paper discusses possible approaches and future challenges