Somewhere Over the Rainbow: On the Use of Psychological Tests to Determine Asylum Seekers’ Sexual Orientation and the Impact on the Right to Private Life (Case C-473/16, 25 January 2018)

This paper covers the problems and dynamics that LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer and Intersex) asylum seekers face when they leave their country of origin and enter countries within the European Union. Only a small percentage of people that claim asylum on the basis of reasonable fear of persecution because of sexual orientation are granted asylum within these EU Member States, or some other form of international protection. The paper scans the relevant legislation that is supposed to protect asylum seekers in general and covers the three most important cases of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) on the treatment and assessment of asylum applications on the basis of fear of persecution because of sexual orientation. The case at hand needs to be seen within this general framework as we know it so far. F v Hungary concerns the case of a Nigerian national claiming asylum on the basis of fear of persecution in his country of origin because of his homosexuality. To determine his general credibility, the Hungarian determining authorities subjected F to three different psychological tests. However, the psychological experts could not confirm or deny F’s sexual orientation based on these tests. Consequently, the determining authorities decided that his general credibility could not be established and his claim for asylum was denied. The Hungarian Appeal Court requested a preliminary ruling before the CJEU. The Court ruled that in these cases it is not always necessary to determine the sexual orientation of an applicant. The CJEU stressed that, when assessing an asylum application, it does not matter whether or not an applicant actually identifies with the particular social group that attracts persecution. Scientific reports from medical, psychological or social experts can certainly be of value throughout the asylum application assessment, but determining authorities cannot be bound by such expert reports. Every case should undergo an in concreto assessment, taking into account the individual circumstances and with respect for human dignity, the right to respect for private and family life, and the right to an effective remedy as guaranteed by Articles 1, 7 and 47 of the EU Charter. Every interference with these rights should be in line with the proportionality principle. Finally, some suggestions are made to shape a future strategy and the development of asylum application assessment

The role of the external accountant in business planning for starters : perspective of the self-determination theory

The objective of this study was to gain more insight into the value of business planning for starters and to better understand the role of the external accountant in the planning stage. In particular, survey research was conducted to capture both the quality of the business plan and its effectiveness as perceived by the starter. To unravel the underlying reasons behind the development of a business plan, the framework of the self-determination theory (SDT) was used and adapted to this context. SDT proposes a continuum that distinguishes four types of motivation, ranging from external motivation (i.e., developing a business plan because of a legal obligation) to intrinsic motivation (i.e., developing a business plan because of a personal interest). The results, based on 283 surveys of Belgian starters, showed a relationship between the type of motivation and the quality of the business plan. Entrepreneurs with high introjected or high identified motivation seem to develop a high-quality business plan. This high-quality business plan enables entrepreneurs to increase their effectiveness. Furthermore, entrepreneurs who consulted an accountant during the business planning stage perceived the quality of their business plan as higher than entrepreneurs who did not get advice from an accountant. These findings presuppose an important challenge for external accountants, as their business advice supports entrepreneurs in anticipating “the unexpected”, which subsequently empowers them to monitor their business effectively

Authentic teachers: Student criteria perceiving authenticity of teachers

Abstract: Authenticity is seen by many as a key for good learning and education. There is talk of authentic instruction, authentic learning, authentic problems, authentic assessment, authentic tools and authentic teachers. The problem is that while authenticity is an often-used adjective describing almost all aspects of teaching and learning, the concept itself is not very well researched. This qualitative study examines-based on data collected via interviews and focus groups-which criteria students in secondary education use when determining if their teachers are authentic. It yielded four criteria learners use: Expertise, Passion, Unicity and Distance

Urban Myths about Learning and Education

In this book, the most common popular myths relating to learning and education are discussed with respect to whether there is any truth in the myth and what good educational and psychological research has to say about them. Examples of such myths range from: learning styles to neuromyths such as left-brain/right-brain and brain-training programs, how large or small classes and schools should be to the explanation why schools do change (no, really!). This book is written in a concise, humorous, and accessible style, but at the same time based on an extensive scientific review of relevant empirical research. By the way, did you know that there are no pyramids in the work of Maslow and that the NTL has no data to back up Dales’ learning pyramid? Not only does the book debunk most of these Urban Legends in Education, it also discloses some interesting facts about learning and education that do have a proven effect. This book is neither progressive nor conservative; it only attempts to get the facts straight and present them in a way that those involved in teaching and education can understand and use them. The book consists of four content-based sections (i.e., groups of chapters), with each chapter examining a particular genre of myth. The four content based sections are: ‘myths about learning’, ‘neuromyths’, ‘myths about technology and education’ and ‘myths about educational policy’. A fifth and final section discusses why these myths are so persistent (i.e., nearly impossible to eradicate) and possible strategies to combat them. Besides the basic ‘need to know’-text, throughout the book, there are also ‘info-clouds’ with ‘nice to know’ information adding background information, additional facts and humorous anecdotes

Model uncertainty and systematic risk in US banking

This paper uses Bayesian Model Averaging to examine the driving factors of equity returns of US Bank Holding Companies. BMA has as an advantage over OLS that it accounts for the considerable uncertainty about the correct set (model) of bank risk factors. We find that out of a broad set of 12 risk factors only the market, real estate, and high-minus-low Fama–French factors are reliably related to US bank stock returns over the period 1986–2010. Other factors are either only relevant over specific subperiods or for subsets of bank holding companies. We discuss the implications of our findings for empirical banking research

Patient-reported outcomes after lateral wall sinus floor elevation : a systematic review

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review is to assess patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) after a sinus lift elevation by means of a lateral approach. Material and Methods: An electronic search was performed to search for eligible publications reporting PROMs after a lateral wall sinus lift procedure. Selected articles were further scrutinized and underwent a quality check before inclusion in a final study pool. Results: The electronic search provided us with 2444 articles of which 98 were further examined through a full-text analysis. Of these 98 studies, 11 were selected based on our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results on a different number of PROMs were examined and compared: pain, edema, ability to eat, ability to work, phonetics, daily activities, bleeding, bruising, ability to sleep, bad breath, patient preference, and Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14). Methods of evaluation were 3-to 5-point scales, visual analog scale scores, and OHIP-14 questionnaires. Evaluation time points differed between 1 single evaluation time to a daily registration during 1 week. Conclusions: A general peak in discomfort could be noticed on day 1 postoperatively with a general decline thereafter. Severe morbidity or discomfort occurred but not in most patients

Designing personal informatics for self-reflection and self-awareness: the case of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

A main challenge in designing for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is to support the learning process of supressing undesired behaviour on daily routines by means of positive feedback and rewards. Personal Informatics (PI) is a model that supports capturing and integration of personal data to facilitate reflection and action that is used as a design platform to support behavioral learning. This paper presents a designdriven research study that illustrates the potential of PI to support selfawareness and self-reflection of ADHD children. Two design approaches are described which aim to support self-behavioral inhibition learning: (a) KITA, a Kinesiofeedback Toy for ADHD, being a Tangible User Interface that measures and assesses children’s activity and provides them with feedback as to whether or not behavior is within appropriate limits; and (b) WRISTWIT, a Wearable device presenting information on attention and time for ADHD to increase ontask behavior. KITA and WRISTWIT were tested in the field with children as design means to implement PI to positively modify children behavior during daily school routines

A 3-year prospective study on a porcine-derived acellular collagen matrix to re-establish convexity at the buccal aspect of single implants in the molar area : a volumetric analysis

Background: Xenogeneic soft tissue substitutes are currently being investigated as an alternative to subepithelial connective tissue grafts (CTG) with the intention to avoid postoperative morbidity associated with autologous grafting. The aim of the present study was to volumetrically evaluate the effectiveness and mid-long-term stability of a porcine-derived collagen matrix (PDCM) (Mucoderm (R), Botiss gmbh, Berlin, Germany) in increasing soft tissue volume at the buccal aspect of molar implant sites. Methods: Periodontally healthy non-smoking patients with a single tooth gap in the molar area were selected for a prospective case series. All sites had a bucco-oral bone dimension of at least 8 mm and demonstrated a horizontal alveolar defect. A wide diameter implant was placed under the elevated buccal flap and a PDCM was applied. The primary outcome was the linear increase in buccal soft tissue profile (BSP) within a well-defined area of interest. This was performed with designated software (SMOP; Swissmeda AG, Zurich, Switzerland) on the basis of superimposed digitalized study casts taken before surgery (T0), immediately after surgery (T1), at three months (T2), one year (T3) and three years (T4). Secondary outcomes were alveolar process deficiency and clinical parameters. Results: Fourteen out of 15 treated patients attended the three-year re-assessment (four females; mean age 51.4 years). Mean linear increase in BSP at T1 was 1.53 mm (p = 0.001). The PDCM showed substantial resorption at T2 (1.02 mm or 66.7%) (p = 0.001). Thereafter, a 0.66 mm volume gain was observed (p = 0.030), possibly due to the installation of a permanent crown displacing the soft tissues to the buccal aspect. This resulted in a linear increase in BSP of 1.17 mm (76.5%) at T4. Alveolar process deficiency significantly reduced over time (p = 0.004). However, 50% of patients still demonstrated a slight (6/14) or obvious (1/14) alveolar process deficiency at study termination. Implants demonstrated healthy clinical conditions. Conclusions: The PDCM demonstrated marked resorption during the early stages of healing. Due to the matrix thickening the tissues, and the permanent crown displacing the tissues, 76.5% of the initial increase in BSP could be maintained over a three-year period. Half of the patients failed to show perfect soft tissue convexity at the buccal aspect