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This paper investigates different uses of the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) in national journal rankings and discusses the merits of supplementing metrics with expert assessment. Our focus is national journal rankings used as evidence to support decisions about the distribution of institutional funding or career advancement. The seven countries under comparison are China, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Norway, Poland, and Turkey—and the region of Flanders in Belgium. With the exception of Italy, top‐tier journals used in national rankings include those classified at the highest level, or according to tier, or points implemented. A total of 3,565 (75.8%) out of 4,701 unique top‐tier journals were identified as having a JIF, with 55.7% belonging to the first Journal Impact Factor quartile. Journal rankings in China, Flanders, Poland, and Turkey classify journals with a JIF as being top‐tier, but only when they are in the first quartile of the Average Journal Impact Factor Percentile. Journal rankings that result from expert assessment in Denmark, Finland, and Norway regularly classify journals as top‐tier outside the first quartile, particularly in the social sciences and humanities. We conclude that experts, when tasked with metric‐informed journal rankings, take into account quality dimensions that are not covered by JIFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective collection and management of personal data of rapidly migrating populations is important for ensuring adequate healthcare and monitoring of a displaced peoples' health status. With developments in ICT data sharing capabilities, electronic personal health records (ePHRs) are increasingly replacing less transportable paper records. ePHRs offer further advantages of improving accuracy and completeness of information and seem tailored for rapidly displaced and mobile populations. Various emerging initiatives in Europe are seeking to develop migrant-centric ePHR responses. This paper highlights their importance and benefits, but also identifies a number of significant ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI) and challenges to their design and implementation, regarding (1) the kind of information that should be stored, (2) who should have access to information, and (3) potential misuse of information. These challenges need to be urgently addressed to make possible the beneficial use of ePHRs for vulnerable migrants in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes whether and how work values differ between European Welfare states and change over time. We proceed in three steps: First, we show that—despite EU harmonization endeavors, for example, via the Europe 2020 strategy—work values still vary substantially between European countries and welfare regimes. Second, by analyzing data from the European Social Survey 2004 and 2010, we show how labor market policies, such as active and passive labor market policies, are associated with work values and how overall levels of work values changed over this period. Third, we discuss potential implications of the heterogeneity of work values for national as well as European labor market policy making. Altogether we are able to show that work values are substantially driven by the economic structure of a country and its labor market policy making. Key Practitioner MessageWork values vary substantially between European countries and welfare regimes.The change of work values is substantially driven by welfare state structures (both labor market policies implemented and industry share).Both European and national labor market policy making has to account for these different work values to be successful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Children born very preterm require additional specialist care because of the health and developmental risks associated with preterm birth, but information on their health service use is sparse. We sought to describe the use of specialist services by children born very preterm in Europe.Method: We analysed data from the multi-regional, population-based Effective Perinatal Intensive Care in Europe (EPICE) cohort of births before 32 weeks' gestation in 11 European countries. Perinatal data were abstracted from medical records and parents completed a questionnaire at 2 years corrected age (4322 children; 2026 females, 2296 males; median gestational age 29wks, interquartile range [IQR] 27-31wks; median birthweight 1230g, IQR 970-1511g). We compared parent-reported use of specialist services by country, perinatal risk (based on gestational age, small for gestational age, and neonatal morbidities), maternal education, and birthplace.Results: Seventy-six per cent of the children had consulted at least one specialist, ranging across countries from 53.7% to 100%. Ophthalmologists (53.4%) and physiotherapists (48.0%) were most frequently consulted, but individual specialists varied greatly by country. Perinatal risk was associated with specialist use, but the gradient differed across countries. Children with more educated mothers had higher proportions of specialist use in three countries.Interpretation: Large variations in the use of specialist services across Europe were not explained by perinatal risk and raise questions about the strengths and limits of existing models of care.What This Paper Adds: Use of specialist services by children born very preterm varied across Europe. This variation was observed for types and number of specialists consulted. Perinatal risk was associated with specialist care, but did not explain country-level differences. In some countries, mothers' educational level affected use of specialist services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Anaesthesia PRactice In Children Observational Trial (APRICOT) in 261 European hospitals revealed a 5.2% incidence of severe critical events in the perioperative period and wide variability in practice.Methods: A sub-analysis of the Scandinavian data was undertaken to investigate differences from the rest of Europe in the incidence and nature of perioperative severe critical events and to attempt to identify areas for quality improvement.Findings: In the Scandinavian cohorts of 1520 paediatric patients out of 31 127 patients, the overall incidence of perioperative severe critical events was lower than the rest of Europe (4.4% (95% CI [3.5-5.6]) vs 5.2% (95% CI [5.0-5.5]); RR 0.57), albeit the incidence varied across countries. There was a lower rate of bronchospasm (0.9%), stridor (1.1%) and cardiovascular instability (0.9%) than the rest of Europe. The proportion of bronchospasm events occurring at induction was 0.13% in Scandinavian cohort which was less than the rest of Europe (1.2%). The proportion of sicker patients where less experienced teams were managing the care was notably lower in Scandinavia than in the rest of Europe (14.4% vs 20.4% of the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Classification System Score (ASA-PS III and 8.3% vs 12.8% of the ASA-PS IV. Cardiovascular instability was lower in Scandinavia (0.92%) compared to Europe (1.9%). The incidence of drug errors was low in both the overall APRICOT (0.2%) and in Scandinavia (0.3%). There were no deaths.Interpretation: This sub-analysis shows that current Scandinavia paediatric perioperative clinical practice compares favourably with the rest of Europe. The lower incidence of cardiovascular and respiratory complications could be partly attributed to more experienced dedicated paediatric anaesthesia providers managing the higher risk groups of patients in Scandinavia. Whether this cohort of anaesthetized children is truly representative of the entire Scandinavia countries is unknown. Areas for quality improvement include: standardisation of the definition of severe critical events, increased reporting, development of evidence-based protocols for the management of severe critical events, development and rational implementation of paediatric perioperative risk assessment scores, implementation of current best practice in the provision of competent paediatric anaesthesia service in Europe, development of specific training and ensuring maintenance skills in paediatric anaesthesia. Furthermore, based on data from the original Apricot paper children under the age of 3 years and ASA-PS III and IV patients should not be anaesthetised without direct supervision of a specialist in paediatric anaesthesia. Given the sample size of the Scandinavian cohort this conclusion cannot be investigated further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within Northern Europe, gendered roles and responsibilities within the family have been challenged through an emergence of different family forms, increasing cultural diversity, and progressive developments in welfare policies. To varying degrees, welfare policies in different countries support a dual‐earner model and encourage men to be more active as fathers by reinforcing statutory rights and responsibilities. In child welfare practice, there has traditionally been a strong emphasis on the mother as primary carer for the child; the father has been less visible. This paper explores, in four national welfare contexts, how child welfare social workers include fathers in practice decisions. Data were collected using focus group interviews with social workers from England, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden. Similarities and differences emerge in relation to services and the focus of social work assessments. However, overall, the research suggests that despite gains in policy and legislation that promote gender equality, fathers remain largely absent in child welfare practice decisions about the parenting of their children. From the research, we raise questions for social work practice and the development of welfare policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To test the hypothesis that higher seizure burden in Dravet syndrome is associated with increased comorbidities and lower quality of life (QoL) in a large cohort of patients with Dravet syndrome and their caregivers in Europe.Method: An extensive survey of caregivers of patients with Dravet syndrome on experiences of diagnosis, seizure burden, management, social and financial impact, and health services use was administered online in 10 languages.Results: The survey received 584 unique responses from caregivers of paediatric (83%) and adult (17%) patients with Dravet syndrome (aged <1-48y). Despite broadly following current treatment guidance, less than 10% of patients were seizure free in the previous 3 months. Nearly all (99.6%) patients aged 5 years or older experienced at least one or more motor, speech, learning, or behavioural impairment. High seizure frequency was related to more reports of emergency treatment, comorbidities, and a lower QoL (as measured by the standardized instrument EQ-5D-5L). If not diagnosed at the first instance, the majority (83%) of adults, but less than 20% of 6- to 11-year-olds were diagnosed after 4 or more years.Interpretation: Patients with Dravet syndrome with the highest current seizure frequency suffer from more comorbidities and have a lower QoL. Therefore, more effective antiepileptic treatments are needed.What This Paper Adds: The survey captured about 15% of all patients with Dravet syndrome in Europe. Less than 10% of patients had current seizure freedom. Patients with a high current seizure burden have more comorbidities and lower quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite that small and medium-sized towns (SMSTs) have been, and continue to be, a central part of the history of Europe, these places have largely been neglected by urban research. The ESPON TOWN project, on which this Special Issue builds, sought to redress this neglect performing a comparative analysis of their position and role across Europe. In this introductory paper we discuss some of the theoretical and methodological challenges when it came to identifying, studying and analysing SMSTs and the theoretical framework developed to inform our understanding of SMSTs. In particular, three themes are discussed. The first one is about the ontological problem of defining a town. Administrative, morphological and functional perspectives are considered. The second one reflects on a wide array of interpretative approaches about the relationship between towns and their regional context. The third one is about the thematic and multi-scalar perspectives that can characterise the policy approach to towns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comparative research on gentrification is on the rise, especially since gentrification is no longer confined to historical, central neighbourhoods in First World countries, but also appeared in rural, new-built areas and Second World countries. In this paper we present our comparative approach to investigate gentrification processes in four European cities (Arnhem, Istanbul, Vienna, Zurich), which differs from previous studies in its use of assemblage theory as research framework. The multi-layered framework discerns three levels: 'metrics', 'interpretations', and 'practices'. We argue that many comparative studies mainly focus on metrics, while researching interpretations and practices instead - and how these three levels influence each other through processes of actualisation and counteractualisation - would enhance our knowledge on gentrification. In doing so, we aim to provide a precise account of the nested relations of different layers of empirical reality and thus respond to various calls in the debate to intensively examine 'geographies of gentrification'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim One of the main gaps in the assessment of biodiversity is the lack of a unified framework for measuring its taxonomic and functional facets and for unveiling the underlying patterns. Location Europe, 25 large river basins. Methods Here, we develop a decomposition of functional β-diversity, i.e. the dissimilarity in functional composition between communities, into a functional turnover and a functional nestedness-resultant component. Results We found that functional β-diversity was lower than taxonomic β-diversity. This difference was driven by a lower functional turnover compared with taxonomic turnover while the nestedness-resultant component was similar for taxonomic and functional β-diversity. Main conclusions Fish faunas with different species tend to share the same functional attributes. The framework presented in this paper will help to analyse biogeographical patterns as well as to measure the impact of human activities on the functional facets of biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we compare species description rates to predict the numbers of undescribed species. These data are used to discuss the merits of various attempts to estimate species richness in the oceans. European marine areas. Predictions of how many species may exist on Earth have lacked an inventory of how many have been described, except for a few small taxa. The ocean is a good place to start an inventory because it includes all but one of the phyla and most classes of life on Earth. The European Register of Marine Species (ERMS) was compiled by taxonomic experts, covered all marine taxa, and accounted for synonyms. Reflecting taxonomic history, Europe's species are the best described in the world. ERMS listed 29,713 species of animals, plants and protists, but excluded bacteria and viruses. An estimated 6500 described species were not included. The best prediction of the number of species remaining to be described was 5613. Plots of years when species were first described showed no decrease in the rate of description for any taxa except birds, mammals and krill. If taxonomic effort has increased, whether due to more resources globally or greater efficiencies of productivity, then description rates per unit effort may be declining and the number of undescribed species may be lower than predicted. However, apart from reduced rates of description during the World Wars, there were no changes in description rates that could be easily attributed to such factors. There are about 36,000 species described from European seas, and we predict that 40,000 to 48,000 may exist. This comprises 15% of the estimated 230,000 described marine species. However, this area is well known compared with other seas and the proportion of species yet to be discovered will be higher elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relatively few comparative studies have focused specifically upon the socio-economic conditions affecting the welfare of older rural Europeans. Such publications as exist are usually confined to single studies. In presenting a European overview of their 'life-world' this paper focuses upon the general conditions of older rural Europeans, living in different types of countryside within a centre-periphery framework. These conditions are largely dependent upon the interconnectivity (nexus) between regional urban centres and the older people's types of settlement. The extent of the global socio-economic flows between urban centres and countrysides is critical, especially for those living in less accessible and remote European areas. Older people's positive and negative outcomes are seen to occur within four possible urban–rural parameters. The first consists of two-way socio-economic urban–rural flows that are more likely to be of benefit to significant numbers of older persons, especially in urban fringe and accessible countrysides. The second parameter arises when there is a long-standing impasse, where the lack of communication between the rural locality and urban centre hampers socio-economic urban–rural flows, isolating older people, particularly in less accessible and remote countrysides. The third occurs when regional and local urban centres block or cut back socio-economic flows to the countryside. The fourth takes place when the rural communities resist socio-economic urban flows that they regard as a threat to their rural idyll. Exemplars within each of the four urban–rural alternatives help to show the applicability and workability of this four-way exploratory approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper reports preliminary results of a pilot study carried out on two samples of females living in two different European countries. The onset of eating disorders is considered to result from females' difficulties in developing a gender-specific identity in a specific social context that provides as supports certain ideals, interpersonal relationships, and attitudes toward them. Thirty-five German females and 20 Bulgarians have been questioned about the way they perceive themselves, the social ideal, the attractivity in women, the problem of individuation and separation, autonomy and social relationship in general. The results indicate that certain social models are more likely to induce identity conflicts in the German sample than in the Bulgarian one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]