How Dutch employees experience freedom of learning for work

This article focuses on the perceived freedom of Dutch employees to embark on workplace learning in terms of whether they feel it is“voluntary” or “compulsory”. The paper is based on the findings of a large international explorative survey carried out by the Workplace Learning (WPL) Research Network (RN2) of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Lifelong Learning (LLL) Research Hub. The comparative study focused on employees’ quest for“freedom of learning for work”. This paper reports on the Dutch part of the research, the quantitative results of which seem to indicate that the freedom of learning for work is not as important to Dutch employees as might be expected. In a second phase, to investigate employees’ experiences of work-related learning in more depth, the Dutch researchers added a follow-up qualitative study, involving one-on-one interviews. In order to triangulate the results of the quantitative and qualitative research phases, the authors then added a mixed-methods sequential explanatory analysis. They assessed the quality of the collected data in both distinct phases by identifying converging results, which are useful for refining our understanding of learning for work.The paper draws both on rich insights into workplace learning based on this research as well as on theoretical literature which refers to concepts like motivation,subjectivity, work identity and agency in connection with the quest for freedom of learning

The prodrug activator EtaA from Mycobacterium tuberculosis is a Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase

EtaA is a newly identified FAD-containing monooxygenase that is responsible for activation of several thioamide prodrugs in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. It was found that purified EtaA displays a remarkably low activity with the antitubercular prodrug ethionamide. Hinted by the presence of a Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase sequence motif in the EtaA sequence, we have been able to identify a large number of novel EtaA substrates. It was discovered that the enzyme converts a wide range of ketones to the corresponding esters or lactones via a Baeyer-Villiger reaction, indicating that EtaA represents a Baeyer-Villiger monooxygenase. With the exception of aromatic ketones (phenylacetone and benzylacetone), long-chain ketones (e.g. 2-hexanone and 2-dodecanone) also are converted. EtaA is also able to catalyze enantioselective sulfoxidation of methyl-ptolylsulfide. Conversion of all of the identified substrates is relatively slow with typical kcat values of around 0.02 s-1. The best substrate identified so far is phenylacetone (Km = 61 μM, kcat = 0.017 s-1). Redox monitoring of the flavin cofactor during turnover of phenylacetone indicates that a step in the reductive half-reaction is limiting the rate of catalysis. Intriguingly, EtaA activity could be increased by one order of magnitude by adding bovine serum albumin. This reactivity and substrate acceptance-profiling study provides valuable information concerning this newly identified prodrug activator from M. tuberculosis

The law of evidence in administrative tax fine cases

Bewijsrecht in fiscale bestuurlijke boetezakenHalverwege de jaren tachtig van de 20e eeuw bevestigde de Hoge Raad dat de fiscale bestuurlijke boete een criminal charge is in de zin van artikel 6 van het EVRM. Deze constatering betekent dat een hele reeks strafrechtelijke waarborgen ook bij de fiscale bestuurlijke boeteoplegging van toepassing is. De fiscale bestuurlijke boete is in wezen een strafmaatregel in een bestuursrechtelijk jasje.Daardoor ontstaan belangrijke verschillen met de belastingheffing als zodanig. Soms botsen de regels uit de sfeer van de reguliere belastingheffing met de regels uit de sfeer van de fiscale bestuurlijke boete, soms staan zij er ronduit haaks op. Ook op het terrein van het bewijsrecht bestaan wezenlijke verschillen met de sfeer van de heffing. Een complicerende factor hierbij is dat het fiscale bewijsrecht hoofdzakelijk rechtersrecht is.Dit onderzoek gaat over het bewijsrecht in fiscale bestuurlijke boetezaken. Het bevat een integraal overzicht van het bewijsrecht zoals dat er eind 2023 naar Nederlands recht uitziet voor fiscale bestuurlijke boetes. Alle facetten van het fiscale boeterechtelijke bewijsrecht komen aan de hand van een systematische indeling in deelgebieden aan de orde. Daarnaast geeft het onderzoek antwoord op de vraag of en in hoeverre dit nationale bewijsrecht voldoet aan de vereisten van de fair hearing van artikel 6 EVRM, in welke opzichten dat niet het geval is en in welke richting verbeteringen noodzakelijk zijn om het huidige nationale bewijsrecht in fiscale bestuurlijke boetezaken in overeenstemming te brengen met de eisen van artikel 6 EVRM.The law of evidence in administrative tax fine casesIn the mid-1980s, the Dutch Supreme Court confirmed that the administrative tax fine is a criminal charge within the meaning of Article 6 ECHR. This observation means that a series of safeguards known from criminal law also apply to the administrative tax fine. The administrative tax fine is essentially a criminal law measure wearing an administrative law jacket.This creates important differences from taxation as such. Sometimes the rules from the sphere of regular taxation clash with the rules from the sphere of the fiscal administrative fine, sometimes they are diametrically opposed. Substantial differences also exist in the area of the law of evidence. A complicating factor here is that the law of evidence in tax cases is mainly found in case law.This study deals with the law of evidence in administrative tax fine cases. It contains a comprehensive overview of the law of evidence under Dutch law for administrative tax fines, as applicable at the end of 2023. All facets are discussed on the basis of a systematic division into sub-areas. In addition, the study answers the question whether and to what extent this national law of evidence meets the requirements of the fair hearing of Article 6 ECHR, in which respects it does not, and in which direction improvements are necessary to bring the current national law of evidence in administrative tax fine cases in line with the requirements of Article 6 ECHR

Mild desalination of cooling tower blowdown water with electrodialysis and membrane capacitive deionization: A comparative study

Study towards the feasibility of desalination of cooling tower blowdown water with electrodialysis and membrane capacitive deionization.Sanitary EngineeringWater ManagementCivil Engineering and Geoscience