Moving towards employment insurance: Unemployment insurance and employment protection in the OECD

The report takes issue with the large debate of social security systems and particularly the large expenditure devoted to unemployment insurance in most OECD countries. From the perspective of transitional labour markets we analyse the corresponding welfare regime focusing on employment and unemployment transitions. We propose a restructuring of national social security systems towards an employment insurance system. This entails a considerable reorganisation of most current social security systems mainly unemployment insurance, employment protection, pension systems, household work and life-long learning. We advocate an integrated view of employment protection and unemployment insurance systems which yields three major types of employment insurance systems in the OECD (comprehensive institutional data base in Appendix). Subsequently we discuss major recent changes in unemployment insurance systems throughout the OECD in view of their contribution towards the development of an Employment Insurance. Despite severe financial constraints on national levels, decentralisation and regionalisation of provision gives a new flavour to the ambitious goal of a right to work and its implementation. -- Der Bericht will einen Beitrag leisten zu der Reform der sozialen Sicherungssysteme. Er befasst sich besonders mit den hohen Ausgaben für Arbeitslosenversicherungen in den meisten OECD-Ländern. Ausgehend von der Perspektive der Übergangsarbeitsmärkte untersuchen wir die damit verbundenen Wohlfahrtsregime mit besonderem Blick auf Beschäftigungs- und Arbeitslosigkeitsübergänge. Wir schlagen ein Überdenken der nationalen sozialen Sicherungssysteme im Hinblick auf ein Beschäftigung sicherndes Gesamtsystem vor. Dies würde eine beachtliche Reorganisation der meisten gegenwärtigen sozialen Sicherungssysteme bedeuten, insbesondere der Arbeitslosenversicherung, des Beschäftigungsschutzes, der Alterssicherung, der Haushaltsarbeit und des lebenslangen Lernens. Wir befürworten eine integrierte Betrachtung von Beschäftigungsschutz und Arbeitslosenversicherungssystemen; daraus ergeben sich drei Haupttypen von Beschäftigung sichernden Systemen in der OECD (umfangreiche institutionelle Datenbank im Anhang). Darüber hinaus werden wichtige Veränderungen der Arbeitslosenversicherungssysteme in den letzten Jahren in der OECD diskutiert, besonders im Hinblick auf ihren Beitrag zur Entwicklung eines Beschäftigung sichernden Sozialsystems. Trotz erheblicher finanzieller Engpässe auf nationaler Ebene konnten Dezentralisierung und Regionalisierung dazu beitragen, dem anspruchsvollen Ziel des Rechts auf Arbeit und seiner Verwirklichung eine neue Bedeutung zu geben.

Moving towards employment insurance: unemployment insurance and employment protection in the OECD

"The report takes issue with the large debate of social security systems and particularly the large expenditure devoted to unemployment insurance in most OECD countries. From the perspective of transitional labour markets we analyse the corresponding welfare regime focusing on employment and unemployment transitions. We propose a restructuring of national social security systems towards an employment insurance system. This entails a considerable reorganisation of most current social security systems mainly unemployment insurance, employment protection, pension systems, household work and life-long learning. We advocate an integrated view of employment protection and unemployment insurance systems which yields three major types of employment insurance systems in the OECD (comprehensive institutional data base in appendix). Subsequently we discuss major recent changes in unemployment insurance systems throughout the OECD in view of their contribution towards the development of an employment insurance. Despite severe financial constraints on national levels, decentralisation and regionalisation of provision gives a new flavour to the ambitious goal of a right to work and its implementation." (author's abstract)"Mit diesem Bericht soll ein Beitrag zur Reform der sozialen Sicherungssysteme geleistet werden. Er befaßt sich vor allem mit den hohen Ausgaben für Arbeitslosenversicherungen in den meisten OECD-Ländern. Aus der Perspektive des Konzepts der Übergangsarbeitsmärkte werden die damit verbundenen Wohlfahrtsregime mit besonderem Blick auf Beschäftigungs- und Arbeitslosigkeitsübergänge analysiert. Es wird vorgeschlagen, die nationalen Sozialsicherungssysteme als Element eines beschäftigungssichernden Gesamtsystems zu überdenken. Dies würde eine weitreichende Reorganisation der meisten gegenwärtigen sozialen Sicherungssysteme bedeuten, insbesondere der Arbeitslosenversicherung, des Beschäftigungsschutzes, der Alterssicherung, einschließlich der Einbeziehung von Haushaltsarbeit und lebenslangem Lernen. Plädiert wird für eine integrierte Betrachtung von Beschäftigungsschutz und Arbeitslosenversicherungssystemen. Daraus ergeben sich drei Haupttypen beschäftigungssichernder Systeme in der OECD. Darüber hinaus werden wichtige Veränderungen der Arbeitslosenversicherungssysteme in OECD-Ländern und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Entwicklung eines Beschäftigung sichernden Sozialsystems dargestellt und diskutiert. Trotz erheblicher finanzieller Engpässe auf nationaler Ebene konnten Dezentralisierung und Regionalisierung dazu beitragen, dem anspruchsvollen Ziel des Rechts auf Arbeit und seiner Verwirklichung eine neue Bedeutung zu geben. Umfassende institutionelle Daten sind im Anhang zusammengestellt." (Autorenreferat

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Neue Impulse in der europaeischen Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik Der Verfassungsentwurf des Konvents und die Sicherheitsstrategie von Solana

'Die Entwicklung der europaeischen Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik war selten so widerspruechlich, gleichzeitig aber auch so dynamisch wie im Jahr 2003. Die Irak-Krise hat Europa tief gespalten. Der offen ausgetragene Streit zwischen Befuerwortern und Gegnern einer Intervention im Irak fuegte dem internationalen Ansehen der EU erheblichen Schaden zu. Die Gemeinsame Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik (GASP) erschien zur Bedeutungslosigkeit verurteilt. Gleichzeitig fuehrte die EU jedoch in Bosnien-Herzegowina, Mazedonien und im Kongo zum ersten Mal Kriseneinsaetze unter eigener Fuehrung durch. Obwohl diese Missionen in der Oeffentlichkeit wenig Beachtung fanden, sind sie ein erster wichtiger Beweis fuer die Handlungsfaehigkeit der Europaeischen Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik (ESVP). Noch bedeutender ist die Reformdebatte, die sich seit dem Ende des Irak-Kriegs um die Frage der Zukunft der europaeischen Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik entwickelt hat. Im Mittelpunkt dieser Debatte stehen die Vorschlaege des Konvents fuer einen Verfassungsvertrag der EU und der Entwurf einer europaeischen Sicherheitsstrategie von Javier Solana. Der im Juni 2003 vorgelegte Verfassungsentwurf des Konvents sieht verschiedene Reformen im Bereich der GASP und ESVP vor, insbesondere die Einfuehrung eines europaeischen Aussenministers und die Moeglichkeit von sicherheitspolitischen 'Avantgarden' innerhalb der EU. Fast zeitgleich ergaenzte Solana die Reformdebatte um die bis dahin vernachlaessigte Frage der Strategie europaeischer Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik. Sein Konzept basiert dabei auf drei strategischen Zielen: Das gemeinsame Vorgehen gegen die Bedrohung Europas durch Terrorismus, Massenvernichtungswaffen und 'failed states', die Stabilisierung der Nachbarschaft der EU und die Staerkung einer multilateralen Weltordnung. Die Vorschlaege des Konvents und das Solana-Papier haben der aussenpolitischen Debatte der EU nach den laehmenden Monaten der Irak-Krise einen entscheidenden neuen Impuls verliehen. Ihre Umsetzung bietet die Aussicht auf eine kohaerentere und aktivere europaeische Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik. Gleichwohl, mit einer Stimme sprechen wird die EU in internationalen Fragen in absehbarer Zeit nicht. Die GASP wird auch in Zukunft nur erfolgreich sein, wenn die Mitgliedstaaten ein gemeinsames Verstaendnis fuer die grossen aussen- und sicherheitspolitischen Herausforderungen Europas entwickeln und den politischen Willen aufbringen, diese gemeinsam zu meistern.' (Autorenreferat)SIGLEAvailable from Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V. Abt. Internationaler Dialog, Berlin (DE) / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

A European way of security: the Madrid Report of the Human Security Study Group

In the past five years the European Union has developed the capacity and willingness to intervene in difficult and dangerous locations, to deal with crises, to improve the chances of people to lead peaceful lives and to contribute to regional and international security. This Report is about how the EU has built this global security role so far, and where it should go next. The Barcelona Report of 2004 declared that the most appropriate approach for Europe in the twenty-first century would be to promote human security. This Report spells out what a European Human Security approach means, and addresses the criticisms levelled at it. It looks at five cases where the EU has intervened to deal with political violence and to rebuild societies torn apart by civil war, and shows how a Human Security approach is relevant to those operations. The Report concludes that in the wake of the Reform Treaty and the `Global War on Terror' the EU should now define a distinctive European Way of Security, based on Human Security principles, which would enable it to intervene more effectively in crises, and take forward its foreign and security policies in a way which commands the support of its citizens and addresses the needs of vulnerable communities. Human Security should provide a new operating framework for European Union external action

Mass, volume and velocity of the Antarctic Ice Sheet: present-day changes and error effects

This study examines present-day changes of the Antarctic ice sheet (AIS) by means of different data sets. We make use of monthly gravity field solutions acquired by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) to study mass changes of the AIS for a 10-year period. In addition to "standard" solutions of release 05, solutions based on radial base functions were used. Both solutions reveal an increased mass loss in recent years. For a 6-year period surface-height changes were inferred from laser altimetry data provided by the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). The basin-scale volume trends were converted into mass changes and were compared with the GRACE estimates for the same period. Focussing on the Thwaites Glacier, Landsat optical imagery was utilised to determine ice-flow velocities for a period of more than two decades. This data set was extended by means of high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from the TerraSAR-X mission, revealing an accelerated ice flow of all parts of the glacier. ICESat data over the Thwaites Glacier were complemented by digital elevation models inferred from TanDEM-X data. This extended data set exhibits an increased surface lowering in recent times. Passive microwave remote sensing data prove the long-term stability of the accumulation rates in a low accumulation zone in East Antarctica over several decades. Finally, we discuss the main error sources of present-day mass-balance estimates: the glacial isostatic adjustment effect for GRACE as well as the biases between laser operational periods and the volume-mass conversion for ICESat

Cancer-related fatigue in patients with and survivors of Hodgkin's lymphoma: a longitudinal study of the German Hodgkin Study Group

Kreissl S, Mueller H, Goergen H, et al. Cancer-related fatigue in patients with and survivors of Hodgkin's lymphoma: a longitudinal study of the German Hodgkin Study Group. The Lancet. Oncology. 2016;17(10):1453-1462

Cancer-Related Fatigue in Patients With and Survivors of Hodgkin Lymphoma: The Impact on Treatment Outcome and Social Reintegration

Purpose Cancer-related fatigue occurs frequently in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and has a major impact on their quality of life. We hypothesized that severe fatigue (sFA) might have an impact on patients' treatment outcome and social reintegration. Methods Of 5,306 patients enrolled in the German Hodgkin Study Group's fifth generation of clinical trials in HL (HD13, HD14, and HD15; nonqualified and older [>60 years] patients excluded), 4,529 provided data on health-related quality of life. We describe sFA (defined as a score >= 50 on the 0 to 100 scale from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30) before and up to 9 years after therapy and analyze its impact on treatment outcome and social reintegration. Results The proportion of patients reporting sFA was 37% at baseline and ranged from 20% to 24% during follow-up. Baseline sFA was associated with significantly impaired progression-free survival and a trend to impaired overall survival, which can be overcome in patients receiving highly effective HL therapies as applied in our fifth-generation trials. Our analysis revealed a significant negative association of sFA and employment in survivors: 5 years after therapy, 51% and 63% of female and male survivors, respectively, with sFA were working or in professional education, compared with 78% and 90% without sFA, respectively (P < .001 adjusted for age, sex, stage, baseline employment status, and treatment outcome). sFA was also associated with financial problems and the number of visits to a general practitioner and medical specialists. Conclusion sFA is an important factor preventing survivors from social reintegration during follow-up. This observation underscores the need to address fatigue as a significant diagnosis when treating patients with and survivors of cancer. (C) 2016 by American Society of Clinical Oncolog

Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Longitudinal Analysis of the German Hodgkin Study Group

PURPOSE Many important details of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after diagnosis and treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) are still unknown because large longitudinal studies of HRQoL are rare. Therefore, we analyzed a systematically assessed, comprehensive range of HRQoL domains in patients with HL of all stages from diagnosis up to 5 years of survivorship. PATIENTS AND METHODS We included patients with HL age 18-60 years at diagnosis from the German Hodgkin Study Group trials HD13, HD14, and HD15. We analyzed HRQoL using all functional and symptom scales of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 including deviations from reference values. We estimated the effect of different disease, patient, and treatment characteristics using multiple regression and repeated measures analysis and computed correlations of HRQoL scores. RESULTS We analyzed 4,215 patients with any HRQoL assessment within 5 years after treatment. Higher tumor burden at diagnosis was associated with impaired baseline scores in many HRQoL domains. During survivorship, cognitive, emotional, role, and social functioning and fatigue, dyspnea, sleep, and financial problems were severely and persistently affected. From year 2 on, mean deviations from reference values ranged between 12 and 29 points, with 10 points being a commonly used margin of clinical relevance. In all 3 trials, HRQoL domains 2 and 5 years after therapy were significantly influenced by baseline scores and age but not by randomized treatments. Fatigue was most closely correlated with other symptoms and scales. CONCLUSION Our results show a high and persistent amount of different HRQoL deficits in survivors of HL that are largely independent of the applied chemotherapies. Our analysis underscores the high, unmet medical need of these rather young survivors of HL regarding the psychosocial adverse effects of the cancer experience