Toward a better understanding of implementation performance in the EU multi-level system

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis (Routledge)via the DOI in this record.The results of this collection allow for preliminary conclusions about the nuanced interplay between Europeanization and domestication forces in European Union (EU) implementation, which await testing in different contexts. Some policies lend themselves more to a strategy allowing for extensive domestication than others; but to be effective, decentralized implementing actors need both power and capabilities. Europeanization dynamics strongly influence the direction of domestication of EU policy, but if EU requirements are incompatible with national political preferences domestication trumps Europeanization. Domestication equally prevails if the relationship between EU and national policy is ambiguous and frontline implementers have high discretion. The trend toward the Europeanization of direct EU enforcement challenges its legitimacy. This has implications for EU researchers and practitioners, and suggests methodological challenges and future research trajectories for a performance perspective on EU implementation. More comparative research is needed about the trade-offs between conformance, diversity, and performance in EU multilevel governance

Moving beyond legal compliance: Innovative approaches to EU multilevel implementation

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Research on implementation in the European Union (EU) is characterized by a strong focus on legal conformance with EU policy. However, this focus has been criticized for insufficiently accounting for the implications of the EU’s multilevel governance structure, thus providing an incomplete picture of EU implementation, its diversity and practice. The contributions of this collection represent a shift toward a more performance-oriented perspective on EU implementation as problem-solving. They approach implementation fundamentally as a process of interpretation of superordinate law by actors who are embedded within multiple contexts arising from the coexistence of dynamics of Europeanization, on the one hand, and what has been termed ‘domestication’, on the other. Moving beyond legal compliance, the contributions provide new evidence on the diversity of domestic responses to EU policy, the roles and motivations of actors implementing EU policy, and the ‘black box’ of EU law in action and its enforcement.Eva Thomann gratefully acknowledges financial support by the Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung [grant numbers P2BEP1-162077 and P300P1_171479]

Relaxation Methods for Mixed-Integer Optimal Control of Partial Differential Equations

We consider integer-restricted optimal control of systems governed by abstract semilinear evolution equations. This includes the problem of optimal control design for certain distributed parameter systems endowed with multiple actuators, where the task is to minimize costs associated with the dynamics of the system by choosing, for each instant in time, one of the actuators together with ordinary controls. We consider relaxation techniques that are already used successfully for mixed-integer optimal control of ordinary differential equations. Our analysis yields sufficient conditions such that the optimal value and the optimal state of the relaxed problem can be approximated with arbitrary precision by a control satisfying the integer restrictions. The results are obtained by semigroup theory methods. The approach is constructive and gives rise to a numerical method. We supplement the analysis with numerical experiments

Excretion of Cannabinoids in Urine after Ingestion of Cannabis Seed Oil

Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) quantitation of 25 cannabis sed oils determined Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentrations from 3 to 1500 µg/g oil. In a pilot study, the morning urine of six volunteers who had ingested 11 or 22 g of the oil, which contained the highest THC content (1500 µg/g), was collected for six days. The urine samples were screened by immunoassay, and the content of 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-THC (THCCOOH) was determined by GC-MS. Urine samples were found cannabis positive for up to six days with THCCOOH-equivalent concentrations up to 243 ng/ml, by the Abuscreen OnLine immunoassay and THCCOOH contents from 5 to 431 ng/mL by the GC-MS method. All subjects reported THC-specific psychotropic effect

Serving Many Masters: Public Accountability in Private Policy Implementation

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via the DOI in this record.In recent decades, the introduction of market principles has transformed public service delivery into a hybrid. However, little is known about how these changes are reflected in the attitudes of private implementing agents: The hybridization literature neglects individuals, and street-level bureaucracy research has disregarded hybridization. This article extends Hupe and Hill's (2007) accountability regimes framework to introduce the market as an additional accountability regime alongside state, profession, and society. Using a configurational approach, the article explores how public and private food safety inspectors in Switzerland perceive the multiple norms for behavior stemming from their environment. Results suggest that the plural accountabilities of for-profit street-level bureaucrats can increase the dilemmas involved in their work. Under certain circumstances, for-profit street-level bureaucrats have particular difficulties reconciling rule pressure with market incentives and client demands. The extended accountability regimes framework fruitfully captures such dilemmas and helps identify suitable governance responses

Confronting theories of European integration: A comparative congruence analysis of veterinary drugs regulations in five countries

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis (Routledge) via the DOI in this record.This study moves beyond current perspectives of European Union implementation research to paint a comprehensive picture of the fine-tuning of domestic regulations beyond compliance. It compares the hitherto unexplored veterinary drug regulations of four member states, France, Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom, with those of the non-member Switzerland. It links causal mechanisms back to three differing theoretical assumptions about European integration. These theories are confronted using congruence analysis in a comparative case study design. Evidence is found for historical institutionalism and for the domestic politics hypothesis. The assumption of a neo-functionalist development of regulations is only weakly supported

Experimental interactive luminous ballet outfit

In dance shows, notably classical ballet, the costumes are considered as an important element for the success of the performance [1]. The costumes contribute to the transmission of the narrative of the show and the identification of the characters within the plot. Like the scenography design, its design expands the media related to the performance and atmosphere of the show. The textile surface design and the shape of the suit traditionally constitute the material elements of the garment that promote communication. However, with the exponential increase in production capacity, consumption and competition, the design thinking and the culture of innovation become intrinsic concerns to the scenario of this segment. As a result, textile designers are continually striving to develop new concepts in the segment [2], and some of them seek to break paradoxes through transdisciplinary experiments involving design, engineering, electronics, fashion and art. Wearable technologies, e-textiles, electronic textiles and smart fabrics are terms that indicate the application of electronic and other technologies, aiming to offer additional functions to worn objects, e.g. clothing and accessories [3]. The advance of researches in this area is growing and has close relationship with the wide development of computing, its miniaturization, democratization and multiple applications at individual and customized levels. This article aims to present the development of an experimental product design based on interactive surface design, which proposes the broadening of dance communicability by the design of clothing in technological scenarios. Integrating, by means of sensors located in the shoes, the movements of the dance to the aesthetic and luminous answers on the surface of the costumes.This project is financed by FEDER funds through the Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade - COMPETE and by National Funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology under the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Thermo-rheological-kinetical Study of Compression Molding of Fibre-reinforced Composites

International audienceTo improve the modeling of fiber reinforced composites, we present in this work numerical methods able to compute both fiber-reinforced composites deformation in squeeze flow and thermal-kinetic evolution. The rheology is given by an homogeneous orthotropic model for fiber composites which describes the anisotropy of the in-plane fiber. The thermics is then extended accounting for the reaction here formulated by the Bailleul's model. Both physics are related since the kinetic evolution as well as the temperature profile modify the rheology of the composites, giving raise to the thermo-rheological-kinetical coupling by means of the viscosity temperature dependence. A study case is presented, where the mold temperature is set to 150 • C with a composite sample at 40 • C. Thermal transfer begins as well as sample compression at constant speed. We present the evolution of the reaction, temperature and viscosity at the core and the surface. Reaction in the core of the material is much quicker than in the surface. Which means that a mapping of viscosity values is presented during the reaction modifying the mechanical response

Street-level bureaucrats and new modes of governance – how conflicting roles affect the implementation of the Swiss ordinance on veterinary medicinal products

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.Lipsky’s seminal concept of street-level bureaucrats (SLB) focuses on their role as public servants. However, in the course of new modes of governance, private actors have gained an additional role as implementation agents. We explore the logic of private SLBs during the implementation of the Swiss Ordinance on Veterinary Medicinal Products (OVMP) where veterinarians are simultaneously implementing agents, policy addressees, and professionals with economic interests. We argue that, because of contradictory reference systems, it is problematic for the output performance if an actor is simultaneously the target group of a policy and its implementing agen