A historical perspective on immigration and social protection in the Netherlands

Immigrant access to social protection in the Netherlands has changed quite markedly over time. This paper discusses the changes from an historical perspective and introduces a theoretical framework (the Welfare Pentagon) explaining how immigrants cope with (economic) hardship when they do not have access to formal social protection. The relationship between migrants and social protection in the Netherlands has been and still is marked by asymmetries in entitlements and contributions (taxes). Shifting notions of fairness throughout time to both documented and undocumented migrants are noticed and interpreted.immigration, migration, social protection, social security

Surveillance, big data and democracy: lessons for Australia from the US and UK

This article argues that current laws are ill-equipped to deal with the multifaceted threats to individual privacy by governments, corporations and our own need to participate in the information society. Introduction In the era of big data, where people find themselves surveilled in ever more finely granulated aspects of their lives, and where the data profiles built from an accumulation of data gathered about themselves and others are used to predict as well as shape their behaviours, the question of privacy protection arises constantly. In this article we interrogate whether the discourse of privacy is sufficient to address this new paradigm of information flow and control. What we confront in this area is a set of practices concerning the collection, aggregation, sharing, interrogation and uses of data on a scale that crosses private and public boundaries, jurisdictional boundaries, and importantly, the boundaries between reality and simulation. The consequences of these practices are emerging as sometimes useful and sometimes damaging to governments, citizens and commercial organisations. Understanding how to regulate this sphere of activity to address the harms, to create an infrastructure of accountability, and to bring more transparency to the practices mentioned, is a challenge of some complexity. Using privacy frameworks may not provide the solutions or protections that ultimately are being sought. This article is concerned with data gathering and surveillance practices, by business and government, and the implications for individual privacy in the face of widespread collection and use of big data. We will firstly outline the practices around data and the issues that arise from such practices. We then consider how courts in the United Kingdom (‘UK’) and the United States (‘US’) are attempting to frame these issues using current legal frameworks, and finish by considering the Australian context. Notably the discourse around privacy protection differs significantly across these jurisdictions, encompassing elements of constitutional rights and freedoms, specific legislative schemes, data protection, anti-terrorist and criminal laws, tort and equity. This lack of a common understanding of what is or what should be encompassed within privacy makes it a very fragile creature indeed. On the basis of the exploration of these issues, we conclude that current laws are ill-equipped to deal with the multifaceted threats to individual privacy by governments, corporations and our own need to participate in the information society

Above 15-year follow-up of single machined Brånemark implants

Background: Since the late 1980s dental implants have been used in the indication of single-tooth replacement. Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the radiographical and clinical outcome of single-machined Bra°nemark implants with at least 15 years of follow-up. Methods: Fifty-one patients who received 63 single implants between 1987 and 1994 were randomly selected. In this patient group three implants failed (4.8%), leaving 60 implants to be clinically investigated. Mean interproximal probing depth, bleeding and plaque index were measured around each implant. Peri-apical radiographs were compared for marginal bone level between baseline (¼within 6 months after abutment connection) and 2–4 years, 5–8 years and 15–22 years of follow-up. Mean interproximal bone level was measured from the implant shoulder as a reference point. Overall changes in marginal bone level were analyzed with the Friedman test and 2-by-2 comparison between time points was evaluated with the Wilcoxon signed ranks test. Results: The group consisted of 29 males and 22 females with a mean age of 24 years (range 14.7–57.4) at implant placement. Mean follow-up time was 18.5 years (range 15–22). Mean probing depth was 3.9 _ 1.27mm (range 2–10.3). Bleeding and plaque indices were 1.2 _ 0.81 and 0.2 _ 0.48, respectively. Mean bone level after 15–22 years was 1.7 _ 0.88mm (range _0.8 to 5). There was no correlation found between radiographic bone level and probing depth. The Friedman test indicated a statistically significant change in marginal bone level between time points (P < 0.05). Wilcoxon signed ranks test showed a statistically significant difference between baseline and all other time points. After 2–4 years no statistically significant differences could be found. All but one implants (98.3%) were within the currently accepted success criteria corresponding to a maximum accepted bone loss of 4.3mm after 15 years. If one accepts a mean bone level of 2.1mm from the implant shoulder (¼2nd thread), 81.7% of the implants are successful. If a mean interproximal probing depth of 5mm is accepted, 91.7% of the implants are successful. If both these criteria are combined, 76.7% are successful. Conclusions and clinical implications: The machined Bra°nemark implant used as a single-tooth replacement is a predictable solution with high clinical survival and success rates. In general, a steady state bone level can be expected over decades. New criteria for long-term implant success should be determined

Physician-owned specialized facilities: focused factories or destructive competition?: a systematic review.

Multiple studies have investigated the business case of physician-owned specialized facilities (specialized hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers). However literature lacks integration. Building on the theoretical insights of disruptive innovation, a systematic review was conducted to assess the evidence base of these innovative delivery models. The Institute of Medicine’s quality framework (safe, effective, equitable, efficient, patient-centered and accessible care) was applied in order to evaluate the performance of such facilities. In addition the corresponding impact on full-service general hospitals was assessed. Database searches yielded 6,108 candidate articles of which 47 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Overall the quality of the included studies was satisfactory. Our results show that little evidence exists in support of competitive advantages in favor of specialized facilities. Moreover even if competitive advantages exist, it is equally important to reflect on the corresponding impact on full service-general hospitals. The development of specialized facilities should therefore be monitored carefully

Performance Pressure and Resource Allocation in Washington

Based on interviews with state, district, and school officials, explores how performance pressures have changed resource allocation decisions. Examines reform goals and how Washington's finance system impedes efforts to link resources to student learning

The case for 100 GeV bino dark matter: A dedicated LHC tri-lepton search

Global fit studies performed in the pMSSM and the photon excess signal originating from the Galactic Center seem to suggest compressed electroweak supersymmetric spectra with a $\sim$100 GeV bino-like dark matter particle. We find that these scenarios are not probed by traditional electroweak supersymmetry searches at the LHC. We propose to extend the ATLAS and CMS electroweak supersymmetry searches with an improved strategy for bino-like dark matter, focusing on chargino plus next-to-lightest neutralino production, with a subsequent decay into a tri-lepton final state. We explore the sensitivity for pMSSM scenarios with $\Delta m = m_{\rm NLSP} - m_{\rm LSP} \sim (5 - 50)$ GeV in the $\sqrt{s} = 14$ TeV run of the LHC. Counterintuitively, we find that the requirement of low missing transverse energy increases the sensitivity compared to the current ATLAS and CMS searches. With 300 fb$^{-1}$ of data we expect the LHC experiments to be able to discover these supersymmetric spectra with mass gaps down to $\Delta m \sim 9$ GeV for DM masses between 40 and 140 GeV. We stress the importance of a dedicated search strategy that targets precisely these favored pMSSM spectra.Comment: Published in JHE

Exploring the logic of madness: the utopian unity of violence and dialogue in Robert Walser's "Der Räuber"

With the aid of Deconstruction and Phenomenology, the narrative strategies of paradox and self-reflexivity employed in Walser’s Der Räuber are examined so as to evaluate how they may subvert the literary, social and political universes presented in the novel. Violence is analysed for its pragmatic and performative force, in order to highlight the ethical implications of its representation, as well as what could be considered the democratic potential of the text. The inversion of polar opposites (such as the concepts of good and evil) becomes a central strategy in suggesting alternatives to the apparently monological readings emanating from the narrator’s manipulation of textuality.Mediante la utilización de las teorías de la deconstrucción y la fenomenología, la autora propone una lectura de la obra de Robert Walser, Der Räuber, en la que las estrategias narrativas de la paradoja y la auto-reflexividad textual permiten la subversión del universo literario y socio-político que se presenta en la novela. Los conceptos de lo negativo y lo positivo se invierten para conseguir que el lector, así como los elementos desfavorecidos de la sociedad que se mencionan en la obra, tomen conciencia de su posición, como estadio inicial para superación, en lo que podría considerarse el potencial democrático del texto. Las representaciones de la violencia presentes en la obra se abordan desde una perspectiva pragmática y performativa que revela las implicaciones éticas derivadas de las estrategias textuales empleadas en la novela. De esa manera, se abre la posibilidad de superar las lecturas monológicas que el narrador o el texto pretenden imponer