Regional inequalities and transnational solidarity in the European Union

Amid the eurocrisis, scholars and policy makers sought to establish an EU-wide layer of social policy, aiming to ensure common standards through the EU and to provide a degree of common social protection. While public support for European social policy has been extensively studied, we don't know how regional (i.e., subnational) inequalities relate to preferences for European social policy. We analyse the effect of regional differences in socio-economic and institutional contexts on public preferences for European social policy in general and support for European unemployment insurance in particular. Combining original survey data collected in 2018 in 12 European countries with regional-level economic and political indicators, we find that regional-level self-interest impacts individual preferences but that the effect is not always clear-cut. Contrary to expectations, people in richer regions are more supportive of EU social policy than people in poorer regions, while citizens of politically more autonomous regions tend to have a generally more positive view of EU social policy. A conjoint experiment on support for different policy variants of European unemployment insurance sheds light on these counterintuitive findings: Citizens in richer regions are indeed more supportive of EU-level social policy, but only when it has limited redistributive implications and instead affects standards; conversely citizens in poorer regions are willing to forego their opposition to EU social policy for redistributive programs

Regional inequalities and transnational solidarity in the European Union

Amid the eurocrisis, scholars and policy makers sought to establish an EU-wide layer of social policy, aiming to ensure common standards through the EU and to provide a degree of common social protection. While public support for European social policy has been extensively studied, we don’t know how regional (i.e., subnational) inequalities relate to preferences for European social policy. We analyse the effect of regional differences in socio-economic and institutional contexts on public preferences for European social policy in general and support for European unemployment insurance in particular. Combining original survey data collected in 2018 in 12 European countries with regional-level economic and political indicators, we find that regional-level self-interest impacts individual preferences but that the effect is not always clear-cut. Contrary to expectations, people in richer regions are more supportive of EU social policy than people in poorer regions, while citizens of politically more autonomous regions tend to have a generally more positive view of EU social policy. A conjoint experiment on support for different policy variants of European unemployment insurance sheds light on these counterintuitive findings: Citizens in richer regions are indeed more supportive of EU-level social policy, but only when it has limited redistributive implications and instead affects standards; conversely citizens in poorer regions are willing to forego their op- position to EU social policy for redistributive programs

Not so far east? The impact of Central-Eastern European imports on the Brexit referendum

We explore the effect of the UK’s economic links with Central-Eastern Europe and China in the case of the Brexit referendum. First, we replicate and independently verify the Colantone and Stanig findings (2018a) on the effect of globalization on Brexit. Then, we extend their original analysis and demonstrate that although both Chinese and Central-Eastern European imports were significant causal determinants of the referendum’s outcome, exposure to Central-Eastern European imports was up to three times more important than exposure to Chinese imports. This may be due to cultural correlates of trade. Our analysis reveals that differences in media coverage between Central-Eastern European and Chinese economic news, as well as migrant population shares from these two regions, might have played a decisive role. Overall, the article also suggests that the import-shock method, as currently applied in the literature, is ill-suited to compare shocks with diverse origins

Designing a Portable Museum Display of Native American Stone Projectile Points (Arrowheads) to Ensure Accessibility and Tactile Quality

Two archaeologists and one engineering professor designed a prototype of a traveling museum exhibit that is inclusive to both blind and sighted visitors. While three dimensional (3D) replicas provide tactile information to people who are blind or have low vision, they can also be appreciated by sighted people. This paper describes the process of creating 3D replicas of stone projectile points (spear tips and arrowheads) that are found in the collections of the Maryland Archaeological and Conservation Laboratory. We define the design considerations related to (1) scanning artifacts to acquire accurate data with which to produce high-quality replicas, and (2) ensuring that visitors can retrieve information about these artifacts, including electronic braille and audio-text descriptions accessed through quick response (QR) codes on a common web-enabled smartphone

Analytical approximation for the sphere-sphere Coulomb potential

A simple analytical expression, which closely approximates the Coulomb potential between two uniformly charged spheres, is presented. This expression can be used in the optical potential semiclassical analyses which require that the interaction be analytic on and near the real r-axis.Comment: 4 pages including 3 figures and 1 tabl

Jugulotympanic paragangliomas in southern Finland : a 40-year experience suggests individualized surgical management

Treatment of jugulotympanic paragangliomas (JTPGLs) remains challenging with no clear guidelines for management or follow-up. The aim of this retrospective case-note study was to assess long-term results of operatively and conservatively managed JTPGLs between years 1974-2013. A total of 36 patients with JTPGLs were identified. Clinical characteristics and management outcomes of patients were reviewed. Data were extracted on demographics, symptoms, timing of diagnosis, tumor location and size, embolization, and management, including pre- and post-operative imaging, analysis of operative techniques, and follow-up. Pulsatile tinnitus and hearing loss were the most common presenting symptoms. Thirty-four (94 %) patients were treated with primary surgical therapy and two (6 %) with radiotherapy. The surgical approaches included endaural approach for Fisch Class A tumors and a variety of approaches for Fisch Class B-D tumors with an increasing predilection for function-preserving surgery. Eight (24 %) patients received subtotal resection. Five (15 %) patients had a local recurrence within 10 years after primary surgery. Two (6 %) patients suffered a permanent cranial nerve (CN) deficit after primary surgery. We advocate radical surgery when tumor resection is possible without compromising CNs. Function-preserving surgery with at least a 10-year follow-up for Fisch Class B-D tumors should be considered if CNs are in danger.Peer reviewe

Intracranial Suppurative Complications of Sinusitis

Peer reviewe