The Danish EU Opt-Outs:Their Legal Significance, Past and Present

In June 1992, the Danes voted ‘no’ in a referendum on the approval of the new EU treaty that we know as ‘the Maastricht Treaty’. This meant that the foreseen ‘European Union’ could not be established unless a special solution was found to accommodate the Danish concerns regarding the new EU treaty. Such a solution was agreed in December 1992, and it includes the so-called Edinburgh-decision. The following year, Denmark held a new referendum with a positive outcome and the Maastricht Treaty was subsequently ratified. However, for the 30 years thereafter, Denmark would not participate in certain aspects of four specific areas of EU cooperation within Union Citizenship, the euro, defence cooperation and justice and police cooperation. This thesis forms the first comprehensive legal analysis of these so-called Danish EU opt-outs. It explains how they were designed in the Edinburgh Decision and how they later became integrated into the EU treaties. Moreover, it is explained what exactly the opt-outs mean and how they can be changed. That happened in June 2022, when the Danes voted to abolish the defence opt-out – whereas the other opt-outs are still in force. It may seem strange that legally it is possible for Denmark to enjoy a special position, however this thesis explains the reasons behind it. It then becomes clear why it is difficult to copy the Danish position, which indeed proved to be the case when the United Kingdom sought special arrangements before they ultimately decided to leave the EU altogether

Detection of kimberlitic rocks in West Greenland using airborne hyperspectral data: the HyperGreen 2002 project

Previous investigations by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and exploration companies have demonstrated that some of the kimberlites in West Greenland are diamond bearing, making the region an important target for diamond prospecting. High-resolution hyperspectral (HS) remote sensing data have been successfully used for the location of kimberlitic rocks, e.g. in Australia and Africa. However, its potential as a viable method for the mapping of kimberlite occurrences in Arctic glaciated terrain with high relief was previously unknown. In July–August 2002, GEUS conducted an airborne hyperspectral survey in central West Greenland (Fig. 1) using the commercially available HyMap hyperspectral scanner operated by HyVista Corporation, Australia. Data were processed in 2003, and in 2004 follow-up field work was carried out in the Kangerlussuaq region to test possible kimberlites indicated by the HS data (Fig. 1). The project was financed by the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum, Government of Greenland

2022 Primary Turnout: Trends and Lessons for Boosting Participation

This report examines turnout trends during the 2022 primary elections, conducted in 49 states and the District of Columbia, compared with turnout during the 2010, 2014, and 2018 midterm election cycles (Louisiana holds its primary on Election Day.) The paper also analyzes whether certain policy changes—such as unifying primary dates or adopting open primary or "top-two" or "top-four" formats—can boost voter participation.This paper is a follow-up to BPC's 2018 Primary Turnout and Reform Recommendations report, which found persistently low participation rates across states and over time.Low primary turnout should be an ongoing concern for political parties, policymakers, and the public, given primaries' outsized influence in our representative government. As these trends have intensified and turnout has yet to reach reasonable benchmarks, bold steps should be taken to increase participation in primary contests. Our analysis sheds light on the ability of various proposals to boost turnout

Power Restored: Congressionally Directed Spending in the 117th Congress and Recommendations for Improvement

The 117th Congress (2021-2023) reformed and restored one of the legislative branch's oldest and most basic powers under Article I of the Constitution: the ability of individual members to direct federal funds to priority projects in their local communities. In 2011, through a series of formal and informal policies, Congress placed a moratorium on this mechanism, known as "earmarks." Congress's legislative capacities suffered since it established the moratorium, and the executive branch accumulated additional discretion over where and how federal funds should be invested. Beginning with fiscal year 2022, members could submit funding requests to each chamber's Appropriations Committee, which would consider and approve a portion of those requests before final floor consideration. The annual appropriations bills for FY2022 and FY2023 included directed funds for projects.This report provides a detailed overview of directed spending during the 117th Congress. The report includes background information on the history of directed spending, information about new rules and restrictions meant to improve the process, and a data-driven analysis of the trends that emerged, with comparisons to trends in the pre-moratorium period. The data reflect the requests and approvals as published by the Appropriations Committees before floor consideration and final passage. The report concludes with recommendations for further improving Congress's use of its directed spending authority

What are the most common reasons for return of ethics submissions? An audit of an Australian health service ethics committee

One of the key criticisms of the ethical review process is the time taken to decision, and associated resource use. A key source of delay is that most submissions are required to respond to at least one request for further information or clarification from the Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC). This study audited the request letters of a single Australian public health HREC using content analysis. Twenty-four submissions were analysed, including 355 individual request elements. Most submissions received a single request letter. There was a mean number of 14.2 (SD = 5.5) elements per letter for the first request and a mean of 2.1 (SD = 1.2) for subsequent requests. Administrative errors were the most common source of request for further information, occurring in all submissions. The second most common theme was the content of the Participant Information and Consent Form, occurring in 79% of submissions. Other common themes, present in over 50% of submissions, concerned: data collection and study procedures; general ethical considerations; recruitment and consent; site, setting or patient pool; research design and methodology; and data management and security. In terms of the general purpose of the HREC comments, 44% were direct corrections or specific requests for changes, 42% were asking for more information or clarification of existing information, and 14% were the HREC expressing concerns about an element of the study, without directly suggesting a change. Overall, the study provides some evidence to show that the quality of the submission (ensuring correct attachments, up to date documents, clear information etc.) could account for a significant proportion of the burden and delay associated with ethical review

Drivers and barriers for FSC certification within the supply chain for environmentally certified buildings

Miljöcertifieringar av byggnader blir allt vanligare i Sverige. En av dessa är certifieringssystemet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) som administreras av Sweden Green Building Council. En certifiering av ett projekt genom LEED grundar sig i ett poängsystem där antal poäng avgör vilken nivå certifieringen kommer att ske efter. Användningen av minst 50 procent FSC-certifierade träprodukter ger poäng enligt LEED. Dock är tillgången på FSC-certifierade träprodukter begränsad vilket försvårar arbetet med LEED-certifierade projekt. Detta arbete strävar efter att förstå tillverkande företags förutsättningar för att arbeta med spårbarhetscertifieringar. Deras inställning och attityder till en spårbarhetscertifiering samt hur de upplever att certifieringsarbete fungerar. Detta för att identifiera möjligheter att öka andelen certifierade träprodukter på marknaden. Det teoretiska ramverket utgår ifrån att implementerandet av en certifiering är en del av företags arbete med Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) och användningen ökar bland företag på grund av företagens förväntningar på konkurrensfördelar. Datainsamlingen har skett genom flermetodsforskning, där en kvantitativ enkätstudie riktat till certifierade och icke-certifierade företag samt kvalitativa telefonintervjuer med certifierade företag genomförts. Resultatet indikerar att endast en liten andel av de undersökta företagen innehar ett FSC-spårbarhetscertifikat och att kännedomen om spårbarhetscertifiering av träprodukter och miljöcertifiering av byggnader är i allmänhet låg. Skillnader i attityden till certifiering finns mellan företag i olika storlekskategorier. Studien tyder på att det finns flera fördelar med en spårbarhetscertifiering där tillgång till vissa marknader, riskhantering och förbättrat anseende är några. Nackdelar med en spårbarhetscertifiering är framförallt det administrativa arbetet som krävs. Ett företag måste därför ha vissa förväntningar om konkurrensfördelar för att implementera en spårbarhetscertifiering.Certifications for green buildings are becoming more and more common in Sweden. One of the used certification schemes is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification system, which is administered by Sweden Green Building Council. A certification through LEED is based on a score system where the number of points determines the level of certification. The use of at least 50 percent FSC-certified wood products achieve points in LEED. But the availability of FSC-certified wood products is limited and obstructs the work of LEED-certified projects. This study seeks to understand the company's ability to implement a Chain of Custody certification. But also their approach and attitude to a Chain-of-Custody certification and how they perceive that a certification function in the manufacturing process. The aim is to identify opportunities to increase the proportion of certified wood products on the market. The theoretical framework assumes that implementation of a certification is a form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) where the use is increasing among companies due to corporate expectations on competitive advantage. Data has been collected through a mixed method study, first with help of a quantitative questionnaire survey that aimed to understand certified and uncertified companies attitude and late qualitative telephone interviews with certified companies for their experience with certification. The results indicate that only a small percentage of the surveyed companies are holding an FSC Chain-of-Custody certificate and that awareness of certification for wood products and environmental certification of buildings is generally low. Differences in attitudes to certification exist between firms in different size categories. The study suggests that there are several benefits with a Chain-of-Custody certification where access to certain markets, risk management and improved reputation are some. Disadvantages of a Chain-of-Custody certification are primarily the amount of administrative work that is required. A company must therefore have certain expectations about competitive advantages before implementing a Chain-of-Custody certification

The scatter of research: cross sectional comparison of randomised trials and systematic reviews across specialties

Objective To estimate the degree of scatter of reports of randomised trials and systematic reviews, and how the scatter differs among medical specialties and subspecialties