Een jaar Wet open overheid (Woo): Hoe doet de overheid het volgens journalisten?: onderzoek in opdracht van het Adviescollege Openbaarheid en Informatiehuishouding (ACOI)

Journalisten zijn niet tevreden over de afhandeling van Woo-verzoeken. Deze duurt vaak lang, levert soms weinig op en de communicatie kan volgens hen beter. Dit blijkt uit een onderzoek waaraan 256 journalisten deelnamen. Uit het onderzoek wordt duidelijk dat veel winst valt te behalen wanneer nauwer wordt samengewerkt tussen Woo-behandelaars en journalisten. Vertrouwen en tijdig (open) overleg zijn daarbij basisvoorwaarden.Het onderzoek is uitgevoerd door het onderzoeksinstituut Centerdata, in opdracht van het Adviescollege Openbaarheid en Informatiehuishouding (ACOI) en in samenwerking met de Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten (NVJ) en de Vereniging van Onderzoeksjournalisten (VVOJ). Onderdeel van het onderzoek was een dialoogtafel met journalisten en Woo-behandelaars. Daaruit is gebleken dat ook ambtenaren behoefte hebben aan beter contact én een beter resultaat.De belangrijkste bevindingen:Actieve openbaarmaking is nog niet verbeterd volgens journalisten.Journalisten zien de meerwaarde van de Woo, maar hebben niet altijd vertrouwen in een zorgvuldige afhandeling van hun informatieverzoeken.Onderzoeken hoe besluitvorming achter de schermen tot stand is gekomen, is de voornaamste reden van een informatieverzoek.Journalisten zijn niet tevreden over de medewerking van de overheid bij de afhandeling van het verzoek.Journalisten vermoeden bewuste, politiek gemotiveerde vertragingen wanneer de wettelijke termijn om een verzoek af te handelen niet wordt gehaald zonder vervolgafspraken.Journalisten denken dat de overheid uitzonderingsgronden niet altijd terecht toepast.Journalisten zien vooral verbetermogelijkheden in een nauwe samenwerking met Woo-behandelaars bij de overheid.Op basis van het onderzoek concludeert het Adviescollege dat veel winst valt te halen uit een nauwere samenwerking die is gebaseerd op vertrouwen en praktische afspraken tussen behandelaars van Woo-verzoeken en journalisten. Het Adviescollege doet op dit punt alvast vijf concrete aanbevelingen voor overheidsorganisaties:Voer tijdig en open overleg met de journalist.Geef Woo-behandelaars mandaat en vertrouwen om afspraken te maken met verzoekers.Zorg voor ondersteuning door informatie- en dataspecialisten.Volg een transparante werkwijze voor de behandeling van Woo-verzoeken.Organiseer de dialoog ook los van Woo-verzoeken.Het onderzoeksrapport is gepubliceerd op de website van het ACOI.The Legitimacy and Effectiveness of Law & Governance in a World of Multilevel Jurisdiction

"It Takes Two To Tango", A Research About The Risks And Control Measures For The Management Of A Performance Contract For Regular Maintenance Of Rail Infrastructure.

A research about the risks and the administrative measures during the management of a performance contract for the regular maintenance of rail infrastructure. In the sector of rail infrastructure output-contracts, in which the contractor is judged on achieved performances, are getting more in use. The assumption is that this will lead to a more efficient and innovative execution of the maintenance, because the parties involved in the contract have less contact and thus need to take more responsibilities for their proper tasks. Unknown however is how to manage such a contract: What are the risks a contracting partner is confronted with during the term of the contract and how could these risks be managed? This article will discuss a method that will provide answers to these questions. The method consists of a matrix of the possible risks and control measures that the management level of both the sourcing partner and the contractor should discuss. These are cooperation risks and not the safety and availability risks. Within HTM, the bus and tram company of The Hague, this method is used to give direction for a new maintenance contract. It was concluded that management based on performances not always means that contracting partner and contractor have less contact but that it resulted in another behavior and cooperation both for the contracting partner as the contracting party.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

What are the prospects for intensifying soil fertility management in the Sahel? A case study from Sanmatenga, Burkina Faso

Available from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:5359.2826(no 22) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Alarming signs and symptoms in febrile children in primary care: An observational cohort study in The Netherlands

__Abstract__ Context: Febrile children in primary care have a low risk for serious infection. Although several alarming signs and symptoms are proposed to have predictive value for serious infections, most are based on research in secondary care. The frequency of alarming signs/symptoms has not been established in primary care; however, in this setting differences in occurrence may influence their predictive value for serious infections. Objective: To determine the frequency of alarming signs/symptoms in febrile children in primary care. Design: Observational cohort study. Clinical information was registered in a semi-structured way and manually recoded. Setting: General practitioners' out-of-hours service. Subjects: Face-to-face patient contacts concerning children (aged ≤16 years) with fever were eligible for inclusion. Main outcome measures: Frequency of 18 alarming signs and symptoms as reported in the literature. Results: A total of 10,476 patient contacts were included. The frequency of alarming signs/symptoms ranged from n = 1 (ABC instability; 40°C as reported by the parents; 12.9%) to 8,647 contacts (parental concern; 82.5%). Conclusion: Although the prevalence of specific alarming signs/symptoms is low in primary care, ≥50% of children have one or more alarming signs/symptoms. There is a need to determine the predictive value of alarming signs/symptoms not only for serious infections in primary care, but as well for increased risk of a complicated course of the illness

Identifying a nasal gene expression signature associated with hyperinflation and treatment response in severe COPD

Hyperinflation contributes to dyspnea intensity in COPD. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying hyperinflation and how inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) affect this important aspect of COPD pathophysiology. To investigate the effect of ICS/long-acting β2-agonist (LABA) treatment on both lung function measures of hyperinflation, and the nasal epithelial gene-expression profile in severe COPD. 117 patients were screened and 60 COPD patients entered a 1-month run-in period on low-dose ICS/LABA budesonide/formoterol (BUD/F) 200/6 one inhalation b.i.d. Patients were then randomly assigned to 3-month treatment with either a high dose BDP/F 100/6 two inhalations b.i.d. (n = 31) or BUD/F 200/6 two inhalations b.i.d. (n = 29). Lung function measurements and nasal epithelial gene-expression were assessed before and after 3-month treatment and validated in independent datasets. After 3-month ICS/LABA treatment, residual volume (RV)/total lung capacity (TLC)% predicted was reduced compared to baseline (p < 0.05). We identified a nasal gene-expression signature at screening that associated with higher RV/TLC% predicted values. This signature, decreased by ICS/LABA treatment was enriched for genes associated with increased p53 mediated apoptosis was replicated in bronchial biopsies of COPD patients. Finally, this signature was increased in COPD patients compared to controls in nasal, bronchial and small airways brushings. Short-term ICS/LABA treatment improves RV/TLC% predicted in severe COPD. Furthermore, it decreases the expression of genes involved in the signal transduction by the p53 class mediator, which is a replicable COPD gene expression signature in the upper and lower airways.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov registration number NCT01351792 (registration date May 11, 2011), ClinicalTrials.gov registration number NCT00848406 (registration date February 20, 2009), ClinicalTrials.gov registration number NCT00158847 (registration date September 12, 2005)

Resting and Post Bronchial Challenge Testing Carbon Dioxide Partial Pressure in Individuals with and without Asthma

Objective: There is conflicting evidence about resting carbon dioxide levels in asthmatic individuals. We wanted to determine if transcutaneously measured carbon dioxide levels prior and during bronchial provocation testing differ according to asthma status reflecting dysfunctional breathing. Methods: We investigated active firefighters and policemen by means of a validated questionnaire on respiratory symptoms, spirometry, bronchial challenge testing with methacholine (MCT) and measurement of transcutaneous blood carbon dioxide partial pressure (PtcCO 2) at rest prior performing spirometry, one minute and five minutes after termination of MCT. A respiratory physician blinded to the PtcCO2 results assigned a diagnosis of asthma after reviewing the available study data and the files of the workers medical screening program. Results: The study sample consisted of 128 male and 10 female individuals. Fifteen individuals (11%) had physiciandiagnosed asthma. There was no clinically important difference in median PtcCO 2 at rest, one and five minutes after recovery from MCT in asthmatics compared to non-asthmatics (35.6 vs 35.7 mmHg, p = 0.466; 34.7 vs 33.4 mmHg, p = 0.245 and 37.4 vs 36.4 mmHg, p = 0.732). The median drop in PtcCO2 during MCT and the increase after MCT was lower in asthmatics compared to non-asthmatics (0.1 vs 3.2 mmHg, p = 0.014 and 1.9 vs 2.9 mmHg, p = 0.025). Conclusions: PtcCO2 levels at rest prior and during recovery after MCT do not differ in individuals with or without physicia