354 research outputs found
Benefit Dependency:The Pros and Cons of Using âCaseloadâ Data for National and International Comparisons
Policy-makers in advanced welfare states have increasingly expressed concerns over large numbers of working-age people claiming social security support. Accordingly, policies aimed at reducing the level of "benefit dependency" have gained prominence. However, such policies rest on shaky empirical evidence. Systematic collections of national "caseload" data are rare, social security programmes overlap and administrative categories vary over time. The internationally inconsistent treatment of national transfer programmes provides a further challenge for cross-national comparisons. This article first identifies and discusses several of these problems, and ways in which they may be addressed. It then employs administrative claimant data from six European countries as a way of illustrating trends over time and across countries. The underlying aim is to explore the scientific potential of benefit recipient numbers as an indicator for welfare state change over time and across countries
Czech Social Reform/Non-reform: Routes, Actors and Problems
In this contribution, the author first considers the characteristics of the Czechoslovak communist welfare state and its theoretical alternatives. Throughout the reform process, dependency on both corporatist and socialist regimes won out, while residualist efforts were promoted in the beginning, but were later held back. The author then considers the possible actors involved in social reforms. In this respect, when proceeding from a general to a more concrete level, thought should first be devoted to the social classes and their ideologies, and second to political parties and their leaders. The author goes on to summarise the particular problems and traps in individual sections of the Czech social system. While no objection to decent standards of social protection and health care could be raised, the poor efficiency of their achievement should evoke concern. The author concludes by reflecting on the possible specificities of Czech social reform in comparison with the other countries undergoing reform and the EU. The current lethargy of the Czech welfare system corresponds to a âfrozen edificeâ, just as in most Western countries. However, such stagnation is apparently acceptable to both the politicians (who mask it in reformist rhetoric) and the population (which learned to master taking advantage of the generous welfare state) and thus is basically sustainable in the long run.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40037/3/wp651.pd
Metropolitaan Kustlandschap 2100. Verkennende en methodologische analyse van de Belgische Kust
De urgentie om op een doordachte manier met ruimte om te gaan is groot. Want de wereld verandert razendsnel. Daarom is het zaak dat de verschillende ruimtelijke entiteiten, zoals wonen, bedrijvigheid, natuur en water, die van belang zijn voor deze maatschappelijke standaarden, op een zo goed mogelijke manier met elkaar in verbinding zijn. Productieve interactie! Vraag is of het huidige planningsinstrumentarium toereikend is om deze urgenties aan te pakken en zo innovatieve ruimtelijke ontwikkelingen tot stand te brengen. Kan het via participatieve processen, of moeten effectievere beleidsinstrumenten worden ontwikkeld? Ontwerpend onderzoek zal in deze ruimtelijke transformaties een grote rol spelen
Clinical translation and implementation of optical imaging agents for precision image-guided cancer surgery
Introduction The field of tumor-specific fluorescence-guided surgery has seen a significant increase in the development of novel tumor-targeted imaging agents. Studying patient benefit using intraoperative fluorescence-guided imaging for cancer surgery is the final step needed for implementation in standard treatment protocols. Translation into phase III clinical trials can be challenging and time consuming. Recent studies have helped to identify certain waypoints in this transition phase between studying imaging agent efficacy (phase I-II) and proving patient benefit (phase III). Trial initiation Performing these trials outside centers of expertise, thus involving motivated clinicians, training them, and providing feedback on data quality, increases the translatability of imaging agents and the surgical technique. Furthermore, timely formation of a trial team which oversees the translational process is vital. They are responsible for establishing an imaging framework (camera system, imaging protocol, surgical workflow) and clinical framework (disease stage, procedure type, clinical research question) in which the trial is executed. Providing participating clinicians with well-defined protocols with the aim to answer clinically relevant research questions within the context of care is the pinnacle in gathering reliable trial data. Outlook If all these aspects are taken into consideration, tumor-specific fluorescence-guided surgery is expected be of significant value when integrated into the diagnostic work-up, surgical procedure, and follow-up of cancer patients. It is only by involving and collaborating with all stakeholders involved in this process that successful clinical translation can occur. Aim Here, we discuss the challenges faced during this important translational phase and present potential solutions to enable final clinical translation and implementation of imaging agents for image-guided cancer surgery.Surgical oncolog
How do tsetse recognise their hosts? The role of shape in the responses of tsetse (Glossina fuscipes and G. palpalis) to artificial hosts
Palpalis-group tsetse, particularly the subspecies of Glossina palpalis and G. fuscipes, are the most important transmitters of human African trypanomiasis (HAT), transmitting .95% of cases. Traps and insecticide-treated targets are used to control tsetse but more cost-effective baits might be developed through a better understanding of the flyâs host-seeking behaviour.Electrocuting grids were used to assess the numbers of G. palpalis palpalis and G. fuscipes quanzensis attracted to and landing on square or oblong targets of black cloth varying in size from 0.01 m2 to 1.0 m2. For both species, increasing the size of a square target from 0.01 m2 (dimensions = 0.1 x 0.1 m) to 1.0 m2 (1.0 x 1.0 m) increased the catch ,4x however the numbers of tsetse killed per unit area of target declined with target size suggesting that the most cost efficient targets are not the largest. For G. f. quanzensis, horizontal oblongs, (1 m wide x 0.5 m high) caught, 1.8x more tsetse than vertical ones (0.5 m wide x 1.0 m high) but the opposite applied for G. p. palpalis. Shape preference was consistent over the range of target sizes. For G. p. palpalis square targets caught as many tsetse as the oblong; while the evidence is less strong the same
appears to apply to G. f. quanzensis. The results suggest that targets used to control G. p. palpalis and G. f. quanzensis should be square, and that the most cost-effective designs, as judged by the numbers of tsetse caught per area of target, are likely to be in the region of 0.25 x 0.25 m2. The preference of G. p. palpalis for vertical oblongs is unique amongst tsetse species, and it is suggested that this response might be related to its anthropophagic behaviour and hence importance as a vector of HAT
Dynvect's overview of the Culicoides surveillance systems in the EU and distribution maps of key species
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