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• Drivers on slip roads want vehicles on the target lane to decelerate. • Drivers in target lanes rate the behaviour of vehicles on slip roads ambiguously. • AVs are rated identically or even more positively than MVs with identical behaviour. • No different safety distance is kept from automated vehicles. • Results show that cross-border traffic between Germany and UK with AVs is feasible. • Intercultural aspects must still be considered in the development of AVs. To ensure safe and uninterrupted traffic flow, (semi-)automated vehicles must be capable of providing comprehensible and agreeable implicit communication cues to human drivers. This driving simulator study investigated the assessment of implicit communication at a motorway slip road through longitudinal driving dynamics (acceleration, deceleration, and maintaining speed). The second aim of the study was to determine whether expectations of automated vehicles are different from those of human drivers. And thirdly, we investigated whether these findings are country-specific or can be (partially) generalised to other countries. The perception of three means of communication in connection with the presence of a labelling as an automated vehicle (eHMI) was examined in two samples in Germany and England. 27 participants drove from a slip road onto the motorway and interacted with another vehicle. After a stretch on the motorway, they passed a second slip road on which there was a vehicle merging onto the participants lane. This was repeated six times to test all variables. After each situation, the perceived cooperativity and criticality was recorded, as well as the time headway (THW) to the other vehicle. This paper presents the findings from the UK sample and compares them with the German results, which were previously published. Results show, that when the cooperating vehicles are on the slip road, participants from both countries prefer this vehicle to decelerate. However, when participants themselves are on the slip road, expectations for vehicles on the target lane are ambiguous in the UK sample. Except for one aspect (perceived cooperativity of decelerating vehicles on the slip road), the perception of automated vehicles is similar to those of manual drivers. Also, UK participants do not maintain a different safety distance from these vehicles, while this is the case in the German sample. This paper contributes valuable insights into the cross-cultural evaluation of driving dynamics, shedding light on implications for the development and acceptance of automated vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using long panels of industry-specific offshoring information and subjectively reported well-being datasets mainly from Germany, which is also supported by datasets from the UK and Australia, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between offshoring and workers' subjective well-being in the source country. We employ panel data fixed-effects models with time-variant personality measures and industry-specific measures to alleviate the bias stemming from the non-random sorting of individuals in industries. Our findings suggest that offshoring negatively relates to workers' subjective well-being. The result is unexceptionally consistent across Germany, the UK, and Australia, and the effect is larger in business services and among high-skilled workers. We extensively discuss how contextual "fear-factors" prevailing in the source countries interact with the angst generated by the negative framing of offshoring. To single out such angst, we first show that objective and subjective job security concerns, job characteristics, and labor market conditions only marginally relate to the well-being effect of offshoring. Then, we investigate how the effect of offshoring on well-being is amplified by a larger set of contextual factors pertaining to temporary economic shocks, negative narratives about offshoring during electoral cycles, partisan political preferences, and high immigration rates. Finally, we show that a recent skill upgrade significantly diminishes the negative effect of offshoring on well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions in the healthcare system today involve an important new set of actors: evaluative health platforms (EHPs). These platforms are not neutral intermediaries, but active moderators of how patients express opinions, choose providers, and consume health-related information. This paper adds to our understanding of the varied and evolving commercial interests of EHPs and the implications these have for patient voice. We analyze 71 platforms in the USA, UK, and Germany and identify five ideal types: subscribers, analyzers, advertisers, regulators, and scammers. Each platform type enacts a unique competitive strategy through an evaluative infrastructure which constrains but also generates possibilities for patient voice. Based on our typology, we develop three contributions. First, we nuance universalizing claims about the consequences of platform capitalism by specifying the diverse strategies underpinning competition between EHPs in different countries, and showing how each strategy leads evaluative infrastructures to develop in ways that impact patient voice. Second, we show how patients can navigate the challenges of a complex EHP space by exercising their ability to choose between platforms. Finally, we outline the conditions platforms need to fulfil to become empowering. Overall, this study highlights the varied and complex relationship between platform business models and user voice, which exists not only in healthcare, but also in many other fields. • Typology of evaluative health platforms (EHPs) in the US, the UK, and Germany. • EHP business models and content moderation techniques vary considerably. • EHPs have a wide range of implications for patient voice. • More transparency and competition can help platforms increase patient empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the experience of Europe's three most liberalised railways - Sweden, Germany and Britain - in opening-up rail passenger services to competition by means of competitive tendering, and seeks to draw lessons for countries that are just starting the process, such as France. It also comments on experience of competition in the market in these and other countries (this form of competition has been taken furthest in other countries - notably Italy and the Czech Republic, as well as on a single route in Austria). The paper fills an important gap in the literature - that has so far focused on econometric modelling of the impact of rail reforms - by considering how competition can best be introduced in practice. This investigation is important and timely given the requirements of EU legislation (4th Railway Package) which will require competition to be introduced into passenger rail services (by 2020 for commercial services, and 2023 for public transport contracts) across the whole of the EU. It finds evidence that competitive tendering has helped increase demand for and reduce subsidies to the rail passenger sector, but that there are many decisions that have to be taken as to how it is to be implemented. Short gross cost contracts may work well for regional services where the tendering authority takes the lead in planning and marketing such services. If services where ticket revenue recovers a larger share of costs – "more commercial services" – are to be tendered, long net cost contracts may make more sense. An alternative is to leave them operated by the incumbent but with open access for competitors to enter the market. Two particular issues face countries starting on the liberalisation process. Firstly, if existing rolling stock is owned by the incumbent rather than the franchising authority or an independent company; that remains a major barrier to entry. The second is the position of existing staff. If new operators are required to take them on at existing wages and conditions; that is a barrier to improved efficiency, but for new operators to recruit their own staff may also be problematic, particularly where the pace of change is fast. • In all three liberalised countries (GB, Sweden and Germany) there has been rapid growth in demand for regional services. • Subsidies per train-km and passenger-km have also fallen in all three countries, though in GB unit costs rose post-reforms. • Gross-cost contracts useful where regional body controls marketing/services; otherwise net-cost contracts may be preferred. • Where large-scale competition introduced for first time, treatment of rolling stock and existing staff biggest issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Paper highlights the role of wider extra-regional factors in regional path creation. • Develops an analytical framework based on the interplay between four factors. • Adopts an international comparative approach, covering Germany, the UK and Norway. • Outlines the qualitative characteristics of the paths created. • Emphasises the role of national states in the strategic coupling process. The question of how regions and nations develop new sources of industrial growth is of recurring interest in economic geography and planning studies. From an evolutionary economic geography (EEG) perspective, new growth paths emerge out of existing economic activities and their associated assets and conditions. In response to the micro-economic and endogenous focus of much EEG research, this paper utilises a broader evolutionary perspective on path creation which stresses the dynamic interplay between four sets of factors: regional assets; key economic and organisational actors; mechanisms of path creation; and multi-scalar institutional environments and policy initiatives. Reflecting the importance of extra-regional networks and institutions, this framework is also informed by the Global Production Networks (GPN) approach, which highlights the process of strategic coupling between firms and regions and its political and institutional mediation by state institutions at different spatial scales. We deploy this framework to investigate regional path creation in the context of renewable energy technologies, focusing specifically on the offshore wind industry. We adopt a comparative cross-national approach, examining the evolution of offshore wind in Germany, the UK and Norway. Of the three cases, Germany has developed the most deep-rooted and holistic path to date, characterised by leading roles in both deployment and manufacturing. By contrast, path creation in the UK and Norway has evolved in more partial and selective ways. The UK's growth path is developing in a relatively shallow manner, based largely upon deployment and 'outside in' investment, whilst Norway's path is emerging in an exogenous, 'inside-out' fashion around a fairly confined set of actors and deployment and supply functions. In conclusion, the paper emphasises the important role of national states in orchestrating the strategic coupling of regional and national assets to particular mechanisms of path creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, there has been growing focus on the intergroup influences of acculturation preferences, and in particular majority members' perceptions of how minority members want to acculturate. This paper contributes to this emergent literature by examining the extent to which majority members in the UK perceive that minority members' preferences for heritage culture maintenance and majority culture adoption are conflicting, and whether this is moderated by perceived threat. One hundred and sixty-three participants who self-reported being white British completed an online survey. Participants were asked about their perceptions of minority acculturation preferences for two target groups living in the UK: Pakistani and German minority groups. Overall, perceived culture maintenance and perceived culture adoption were weakly negatively associated for both groups. Moreover, results confirmed the pre-registered hypotheses, but only for the Pakistani target group. At higher levels of perceived threat, perceived culture maintenance was related to less perceived culture adoption. However, when threat was low, there was no association between perceived heritage culture maintenance and perceived culture adoption. For the German target group, threat did not moderate the relationship between perceived culture maintenance and perceived culture adoption. Findings suggest that depending on levels of perceived threat and the minority group in question, majority members perceiving that minority members maintain their heritage culture has different consequences. Results are discussed in relation to implications for integration, intergroup relations in culturally plural societies, and the need to focus on specific minority groups when studying acculturation processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, ovarian cancer mortality in Europe has been decreasing, but disparities in trends were observed. In this paper, we analysed ovarian cancer mortality trends in Europe over the period 1990–2020 and predicted the number of deaths and rates by 2025. We extracted population and death certification data from ovarian cancer in women for 31 European countries, between 1990 and 2020 from the World Health Organization database. We computed age-standardised mortality rates (ASMR) per 100,000 women-years, based on the world standard population. We also obtained predictions for 2025 using a joinpoint regression model and calculated the number of avoided deaths over the period 1994–2025. Over the observed period, mortality from ovarian cancer showed a favourable pattern in most countries. In the EU-27, rates declined by 5.9% from 2010–2014 to 2015–2019, reaching an ASMR of 4.66/100,000. During the same period, the decline in ovarian cancer mortality was more pronounced in the EU-14 countries (−7.0%) compared to Transitional countries (−2.1%). Declines were also observed in the United Kingdom, to reach an ASMR of 5.29. Decreases in mortality from ovarian cancer are predicted until 2025, to 4.17/100,000 for the EU-27. Favourable trends in ovarian cancer mortality are expected to persist in Europe and can be mainly attributed to the increased use of oral contraceptives in subsequent generations of European women. Decreased use of menopausal Hormone Replacement Therapy and improved diagnosis and management may also have played a role. • Ovarian cancer mortality decreased over the last decade in most European countries. • Favourable trends will continue in the next 5 years. • Less favourable epidemiological situation was observed in Transitional countries. • The largest decrease of mortality in 2025 is predicted to be in Germany. • Until 2025 nearly 131,000 deaths from ovarian cancer would be avoided in EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The UK's and Germany's coal phase-out pathways diverge in timing and measures. • Different powers of actor groups contribute to diverging trends in UK and Germany. • Influential German coal corporations and unions slow down coal's decline. • Energy security concerns, domestic mining and economic dependence create resistance. • Reducing the influence incumbents have on policy making might enable coal phase-out. Political decisions and trends regarding coal use for electricity generation developed differently in the UK and Germany, despite being subject to relatively similar climate protection targets and general political and economic conditions. The UK agreed on a coal phase-out by 2024. In Germany, a law schedules a coal phase-out by 2038 at the latest. This paper investigates reasons for the different developments and aims to identify main hurdles and drivers of coal phase-outs by using the Triple Embeddedness Framework. The comparative case study approach reveals that policy outcomes regarding coal consumption are deeply influenced by several actor groups, namely, coal companies, unions, environmental NGOs, and the government. The most discussed aspects of a coal phase-out in both countries are energy security concerns, whether coal is mined domestically, (regional) economic dependence, as well as the relative power of actors with vested interests in coal consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasingly efficient use of scarce resources is a central theme in the gradual transition towards a circular economy. Hazardous materials represent a category of resources that is often difficult—and potentially risky—to transport, store, or neutralize. As a result, hazardous materials are rarely included in closed material loops. The present paper analyzes HorsePower, a business concept centered around an innovative way of utilizing horse manure. Horse manure is generated in millions of tons in horse-rich countries such as the UK, Germany, and France. It is a hazardous resource, as it may spread diseases, and cannot be disposed of or landfilled economically. The content analysis of 21 semi-structured interviews carried out with different business actors participating in the HorsePower business network reveals that the success of HorsePower stems from its ability to combine the complementary capabilities and material needs of a relatively complex network of business actors including stables, sawmills, logistical service providers, and heat and power plants. Each actor receives added value; the benefits from participation are greater than the sacrifices of participation. Furthermore, the findings show that certain types of hazardous resources, when combined with resources produced by another actor, may be burned efficiently and safely in specific power plants, reducing the need for other types of fuel. The observations imply that novel approaches for effectively sharing ideas and resource needs across organizational boundaries are needed to facilitate the development of additional innovative CE business concepts, leveraging both actor-specific capabilities and intra-actor resource dependencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affecting millions of Europeans, energy poverty is increasingly high on the political agenda. This paper compares space and water heating demand at household level in Germany and in the United Kingdom (UK) between 1991 and 2015. The elasticities of consumption of space and water heating with respect to price, income and heating degree days (HDD) are examined using non-parametric models. Domestic heating consumption is highly elastic with HDD in both countries and HDD elasticities are found to be higher in the UK. From a certain income threshold, heating demand decreases as income increases in German households whereas demand rises with higher incomes in the UK. High price elasticities indicate that UK households are very responsive to energy conservation measures, therefore implying that a pricing policy will effectively reduce heating consumption. However, in Germany, the impact of pricing policies is unclear. Thus, the most effective policy measure to decrease domestic heating consumption in Germany in the long-run should be one which targets improvements of building envelope performance levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study estimates total, inland, water and air transport net forward, backward and internal carbon linkages of EU's top seven emitters from 1995 to 2011. Moreover, it also reports direct emissions and intensities. Direct emissions of the seven for all four sectors mostly increased with varying proportions, while direct intensities followed a downward trend. Total, inland, water and air net backward emissions were reasonably stable excluding Germany who's total and inland net backward emissions sharply declined during 2000 while water and air emissions increased sharply. Although some nations witnessed a decrease, overall total, inland and air transport net forward emissions increased. While water transport net forward emissions had huge fluxes in the middle, stabilised towards the end. Total, inland, and air transport internal emissions for most of the nations increased over time. However, water transport internal emissions except for the UK were reasonably stable. 'Electricity, Gas and Water Supply' was the top source of German; Polish; Italian; British and Dutch net backward emissions. France and Spain's highest carbon imports were from 'Coke, Refined Petroleum and Nuclear Fuel.' Highest destinations of net forward emissions keep changing over time. The paper also discusses policy implications. Image 1 • Extended modified hypothetical extraction model to time series and cross-regional analysis. • Estimated total, inland, water and air transport carbon linkages of EU's top seven emitters from 1995 to 2011. • Also reported direct emissions and intensities. • On average forward and internal linkages increased while backward linkages marginally decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The performance of on-line vis-NIR for estimating soil organic carbon was evaluated. • Predictions for three datasets single field, UK with spiking, and UK were compared. • Random forest (RF) regression and spiking technique were used. • The best results obtained with the spiked UK dataset. Accurate on-line visible and near infrared (vis-NIR) spectroscopy prediction of soil organic carbon (OC) is essential for food security and environmental management. This paper aims at using on-line vis-NIR spectra coupled with random forest (RF) modelling approach for the prediction of soil organic carbon (OC), comparing between single field (SF), non-spiked UK multiple-field (NSUK) and spiked UK multiple-field (SUK) calibration models. Fresh soil samples collected from 6 fields in the UK (including two target fields) were scanned with a fibre-type vis-NIR spectrophotometer (tec5 Technology for Spectroscopy, Germany), with a spectral range of 305–2200 nm. After dividing spectra into calibration and independent validation sets, RF was run on the calibration set to develop calibration models for OC for the three studied datasets. Results showed that the model prediction performance depends on the dataset used and varies between fields. Less accurate prediction performance was obtained for the on-line prediction compared to laboratory (samples scanned in the laboratory under non-mobile measurement) prediction, and for non-spiked models compared to spiked models. The best model performance in both laboratory and on-line predictions was obtained when samples from the SF were spiked into the UK samples, with coefficients of determination (R2) values of 0.80 to 0.84 and 0.74 to 0.75, root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) values of 0.14% and 0.17 to 0.18%, and ratio of prediction deviation (RPD) values of 2.30 to 2.5 and 1.98 to 2.04, respectively. Therefore, these results suggest that RF modelling approach when coupled with spiking provides high prediction performance of OC under both non-mobile laboratory and on-line field scanning conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: It is a little over 30 years since Jim Callaghan''s Labour Government passed the 1978 Inner Urban Areas Act. The following year marked a shift in power to Margaret Thatcher''s Conservative Government and a very different approach to urban regeneration. These developments established and shaped the approach to urban regeneration in England for a generation. The economic context and the urban changes of the 1970s and 1980s and the nature of these responses put England at the forefront of the evolution of this type of urban policy in Europe. It is therefore timely to reflect on 30 years of urban regeneration and to do so from a comparative perspective, setting the English experience alongside that of Germany and France. In this paper the authors compare the experiences of these three countries. The great benefit of international comparison is that it allows the observer to step outside their own institutions and context, to compare with other countries and to look back at their own country from a new, foreign, perspective. The emphasis of this paper is on the contingent and contextualised nature of actions designed to foster urban regeneration. This reinforces the rationale for studying the evolution of this policy field in different nation-state settings. One of the commonly cited advantages of cross-national comparative research as a means of generating understanding and explanations of different social phenomena, is its ability to account for the influence of context in moulding societal responses to different issues. Accordingly, following an introduction, the second part of this paper provides an account of the different national socioeconomic and physical contexts which obtain in each country. This is in turn followed by an explanation of the evolution of urban regeneration policies in each country. Informed by this evidence the paper then offers a comparative discussion of the changing aims, mechanisms and achievements of urban regeneration, and the extent to which policy in each country is path dependent. Through this analysis the paper makes a qualitative contribution to the general theory of urban regeneration rather than offering precise advice on the details of policy and its implementation. Whilst the authors would claim some degree of internationality, there is no doubt that the strongest perspective brought to bear in this comparative study is a English perspective. The strongest conclusions compare English experiences with those of Germany and France, rather than between the latter two countries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper documents the impact of welfare states that provide alternative sources of income on stratification outcomes in Great Britain, West Germany and Sweden for the post-World War II period. The paper gives a detailed individual-level analysis of alterations of market based income. The magnitude of policy effects along with the policy mix available to individual households and the extent of reliance on the market as a result of that policy mix have been compared. This paper directly challenges the logic of industrialization approach as an explanation of welfare policy development. The paper analyses a set of welfare policies that intervene in the market-determined consumption of privately produced income goods and services in Great Britain, West Germany and Sweden. Due to various developments in the post-World War period the state no longer simply provided legal, physical and political supports to market actors but began to intervene directly in altering market based distributional outcomes. The paper stresses on shifting sociological study of the welfare state away from analyses of expenditure levels or policy events.

This paper discusses the transformations occurring in the economic, political and social spheres of most older industrial countries and the fundamental changes in the social and spatial relations of cities. New patterns of consumption and forms of social division have been recognized and have been accompanied by debates on the emergence of the "new poor" in the "multiply-divided" city. Within the framework of Regulation theory, this paper will consider processes of social marginalization and discrimination and their spatial manifestation in the post-Fordist city. By focussing on the construction of the boundaries of citizenship and the interrelation between the social relations of class, race and gender it is possible to highlight the multidimensional nature of inclusion and exclusion occuring over time and across national boundaries. This paper will concentrate on developments in Britain and Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socioeconomic inequalities in childhood Body Mass Index (BMI) are becoming increasingly more pronounced across the world. Although countries differ in the direction and strength of these inequalities, cross-national comparative research on this topic is rare. This paper draws on harmonized longitudinal cohort data from four wealthy countries—Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US)—to 1) map cross-country differences in the magnitude of socioeconomic inequalities in childhood BMI, and 2) to examine cross-country differences in the role of three energy-balance-related behaviors—physical activity, screen time, and breakfast consumption—in explaining these inequalities. Children were aged 5–7 at our first timepoint and were followed up at age 8–11. We used data from the German National Educational Panel Study, the Dutch Generation R study, the UK Millennium Cohort Study and the US Early Childhood Longitudinal-Kindergarten Study. All countries revealed significant inequalities in childhood BMI. The US stood out in having the largest inequalities. Overall, inequalities between children with low versus medium educated parents were smaller than those between children with high versus medium educated parents. The role of energy-balance-related behaviors in explaining inequalities in BMI was surprisingly consistent. Across countries, physical activity did not, while screen time and breakfast consumption did play a role. The only exception was that breakfast consumption did not play a role in the US. Cross-country differences emerged in the relative contribution of each behavior in explaining inequalities in BMI: Breakfast consumption was most important in the UK, screen time explained most in Germany and the US, and breakfast consumption and screen time were equally important in the Netherlands. Our findings suggest that what constitutes the most effective policy intervention differs across countries and that these should target both children from medium as well as low educated families. • All countries showed substantial socioeconomic inequalities in childhood BMI. • In all countries, inequalities in BMI steepen over course of primary school. • Protective factors among the most advantaged seem to mainly drive inequalities. • Across most countries, underlying mechanisms for inequalities in BMI are similar. • The relative contribution of each mechanism to BMI inequalities differs per country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the important question of how institutional structures matter to the delivery of climate change policy for urban transport. It examines the strategic goals, policy tools in operation and initial progress towards carbon emission reduction in seven cities across the UK and Germany where different institutional structures exist. The UK has the presence of a strong national carbon target and strong hierarchical national–local government relationships whilst Germany has a more integrated system of local transport provision in a context where local and regional government is stronger. Our findings show that the carbon agenda has made very little difference to what is happening on the ground in the cities. Across all sites, progress is being made but largely through technological improvements which are being almost completely offset by population growth. Even in the more integrated city environments there has not be an additional stimulus to manage the demand for travel. Contrary to previous research therefore, we cannot conclude that institutional structures are paramount in delivering effective carbon reduction policies. The institutional structures in the UK and in Germany are not perfectly aligned to carbon management but, given the cross policy impacts of most transport interventions, this is perhaps inevitable. We can clearly conclude however that “better” structures are not sufficient to achieve the implementation of more effective carbon policies. Whilst institutional structures must matter, it is the broader governance environment and the resources and politics involved in transport policy that currently seem to dominate the importance of the carbon agenda and implementation paths that emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on SEA applied in the wind energy sector in the UK and Germany. Based on a review of 18 SEAs, it is found that the quality of SEA documentation is variable, with over a third of them being deemed unsatisfactory. Furthermore, SEA processes are conducted to varying degrees of effectiveness, with scoping a strength but impact prediction and mitigation weaknesses. Generally speaking, the influence of SEA on German wind energy plan making was found to be low and the influence of SEA on UK plans deemed to be moderate. The German plans had a low influence mainly because of a perceived high environmental performance of the underlying plans in the first instance. Substantive outcomes of SEA are not always clear and the influence of SEA on decision making is said to be limited in many cases. Finally, a lack of effective tiering between SEA and project level EIA is also observed. In addition, our findings echo some of the weaknesses of SEA practice found in previous studies of SEA effectiveness, including poor impact prediction and significance sections and a lack of detailed monitoring programmes for post plan implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been medicalized in the United States since the 1960s. Primarily used in North America until the 1990s, ADHD diagnosis and treatment have increasingly been applied internationally. After documenting the expansion of ADHD in a global context, this paper presents five brief international examples examining ADHD usage and expansion: the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Brazil. We then identify and describe several vehicles that facilitate the migration of the ADHD diagnosis: the transnational pharmaceutical industry; the influence of western psychiatry; moving from ICD to DSM diagnostic criteria; the role of the Internet including the related advent of easily accessible online screening checklists; and advocacy groups. Finally, we discuss what this globalization of a diagnosis reflects about the potential global medicalization of other conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyzes the impact of WLAN technologies for incumbent MNOs based on an empirical cross-country study of the players in the public WLAN-hotspot market using the theory of disruptive innovation and theoretical extensions for the industry- and country-level. The main research question to be analyzed is whether and why PWLAN has shown a disruptive or sustaining impact trend for incumbent MNOs in the hotspot markets of Germany, the UK, and the USA in recent years. The results imply that incumbent MNOs and new entrants have taken advantage of the opportunity provided by PWLAN, but the market success of both types of players varies between the countries analyzed. Incumbent MNOs dominate in Germany but not in the UK and the USA. The reasons for these country-specific differences were further investigated, and the results suggest that the analysis of disruptive potential in telecommunications needs to include country- and firm-specific factors, which are, again, largely influenced by the local regulation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Legal requirements in context of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive require increased trans-national cooperation on environmental effects induced by marine uses to achieve Good Environmental Status by 2020. Interactions between offshore wind farms and seabirds represent a valuable example of how a changed spatial perspective might influence the assessment of environmental impacts. This paper addresses the potential consequences of offshore wind farm development at the North Sea scale on selected seabird species with high relevance in context of national approval procedures. It provides a new methodology to estimate the cumulative habitat loss due to ongoing and planned offshore wind farm construction activities within the North Sea''s exclusive economic zones of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom. In addition to providing information on the seasonal distribution of important species and initial estimates of potential seabird habitat exclusion due to offshore wind farming, this study highlights the need for increased trans-national cooperation among riparian states and harmonization of conservation approaches to successfully implement the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper analyses the dynamics of the credit default swap (CDS) market of PIIGS, France, Germany and the UK for the period of 2005–2010. The study is performed on the basis of the Datastream and DTCC data on CDS spreads and the BIS data on cross-border exposures. The analysis of the data shows that sovereign risk mainly concentrates in the EU countries. The EWMA correlation analysis and the Granger-causality test demonstrate that there was contagion effect since correlations and cross-county interdependencies increased already after August 2007. Furthermore, the IRF analysis shows that among PIIGS the CDS markets of Spain and Ireland have the biggest impact on the European CDS market, whereas the CDS market of the UK does not cause a big distress in the Eurozone. The adjusted correlation analysis confirms that Greece and other PIIGS (even Spain and Italy) have lower capacity to trigger contagion than core EU countries. Besides, Portugal is the most vulnerable country in the sample, whereas the UK is the most immune to shocks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper examines the macroeconomic consequences of the diversion of migration flows away from Germany towards the UK in the course of the EU''s Eastern Enlargement. The EU has agreed transitional periods for the free movement of workers with the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe. The selective application of migration restrictions during the transitional periods has resulted in a reversal of the pre-enlargement allocation of migration flows from the new member states across the EU. Based on a forecast of the migration potential under the conditions of free movement and of the transitional arrangements, we employ a CGE model with imperfect labour markets to analyse the macroeconomic effects of this diversion process. We find that EU Eastern enlargement has increased in the GDP per capita in the UK substantially, but that the diversion of migration flows towards the UK has reduced wage gains and the decline in unemployment there. The effects of the EU Eastern enlargement are less favourable for Germany, but the diversion of migration flows has protected workers there against a detrimental impact on wages and unemployment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper studies the relations between bilateral FDIs and immigrant networks of France, Germany, UK, Italy and Spain, and the emigrant diasporas of Italy and Spain. It focuses on skilled and unskilled immigrants and on ties with developing and developed countries. Results evidence two different network models: FDIs of UK, Germany and France are prompted by the ties of skilled immigrants, while those of Italy and Spain are only influenced by their respective diasporas. The disparity may stem from history. Differently from the findings of previous literature, the effects of networks with developing countries are similar to those with rich economies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper highlights the distinctive discursive framing of transport policy in Germany and the UK. Using an analysis of the introduction of the ‘scrappage bonus’ in both countries, against the background of the financial crisis, we show how distinct nationally specific discourses and political cultures are expressed within these. The German government was an early adopter of the policy, but the UK government was relatively late in introducing its own scheme. While the German scrappage scheme was introduced officially as an environmental bonus, the UK scheme did not make any reference to environmental concerns. We argue that these differences are important in the context of a wider research aim, to identify nationally specific mobility regimes and to develop an understanding of different possible pathways towards more environmentally friendly transport futures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Domestic express coach services in Germany have long been heavily restricted by regulation, although offerings comparable to countries like, for example, Great Britain or Sweden bear substantial opportunities for competition, the environment, and mobility. In this paper, we motivate market entry in the German express coach market for local public and integrated transport companies by high profitability rates in other countries and the availability of bus facilities and skills. This is followed by the evaluation of supply and demand. Supply is represented by an analysis of external and internal costs showing that express coaches have significant cost advantages that are intensified by the possible internalization of external costs. Demand is represented by a survey of customers that is evaluated with a conjoint analysis. Our results suggest a market share for express coach services in Germany of at least 5.3%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Conventional wisdom on party systems in advanced industrial democracies holds that modern electorates are dealigned and that social cleavages no longer structure party politics. Recent work on class cleavages has challenged this stylized fact. The analysis performed here extends this criticism to the religious-secular cleavage. Using path analysis and comparing the current electorates of the United States, Germany, and Great Britain with the early 1960s, this paper demonstrates that the religious-secular cleavage remains or has become a significant predictor of conservative vote choice. While the effects of the religious-secular cleavage on vote choice have become largely indirect, the total of the direct and indirect effects is substantial and equivalent to the effects of class and status. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reviews the traditional approach to sediment budget studies in geomorphology, new approaches and more specifically the potential impact of new methodological advances. Each component of the budget is discussed including the spatial and volumetric estimations of erosion, deposition and storage and the precision and accuracy of flux rate estimation. Examples are used from recent work in Germany, The Netherlands and the UK and include the pedogenic approach to erosion estimation, remote sensing (LiDAR), geophysics and sediment-based dating techniques for flux rate estimation. The precision and accuracy of catchment sediment flux estimates based upon sediment storage is not only dependant upon volumetric accuracy but also on the precision and accuracy of sediment dating. In this area there has been a revolution with direct sediment dating techniques (TL, OSL, ESR) freeing budget studies from the constraints and biases of radiocarbon. Of particular importance is the use of cosmogenic nuclides for dating but which can also be used to derive long-term erosion rates but only using a steady state assumption. Finally a tentative initial application of the sediment budget approach to Pleistocene terrace staircase in unglaciated basins is discussed. It is argued that only now do we have the techniques available to be able to produce accurate sediment budget estimations at spatial scales greater than that of zero order basins and over time periods greater than that covered by direct observations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Using merged data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) and the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), this paper applies a parametric difference-in-differences approach to assess the real effects of the introduction of the euro on subjective well-being. A complementary nonparametric approach is also used to analyze the impact of difficulties with the new currency on well-being. The results indicate a loss in well-being associated with the introduction of the new currency, with the predicted probability that a person is contented with his/her household income diminishing by 9.7 percentage points. We calculate a compensating income variation of approximately one-third. That is, an increase in post-government household income of more than 30% is needed to compensate for the clear decline in well-being. The reasons for the negative impact are threefold. First, perceived inflation overestimates the real increase in prices resulting in suboptimal consumption decisions. Second, money illusion causes a false assessment of the budget constraint. Third, individuals have to bear the costs from the conversion and the adjustment to the new currency. Moreover, it is thought that losses are higher for persons who have difficulties with the new currency. However, the impact of difficulties in using and converting the new currency is rather small, and the initial problems were overcome within one year of the introduction of euro cash. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper addresses the question of what constitutes an appropriate evaluation strategy for national foresight activities in different situations. The variety of rationales for foresight is explored, ranging from a desire to set priorities through to participation-oriented goals and building new networks around common visions and strategies. A generational model of foresight is used to show the evolution of key evaluation issues. The generic motivations for evaluation of accountability, justification and learning are discussed in the context of foresight. Evaluation grounded in the concept of behavioural additionality and the systems failure rationale is shown to be more suited as a rationale for foresight as public policy. Assessing the effects of foresight requires an understanding that it is only one of several influences on public policy. To be effective it needs to be tuned into the strategic behaviour and cycles of policy and economic actors. Cases are presented of evaluation of foresight programmes in the United Kingdom, Germany and Hungary. It is concluded that there is no “one-size-fits-all” evaluation approach and that the method selected is conditioned by motivation, timing and the level of aggregation. Foresight cannot be fully evaluated independently from its context. Foresight is being strengthened by the emergence of rigorous and systematic knowledge to assist learning and improvement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The recently developed network-wide real-time signal control strategy TUC has been implemented in three traffic networks with quite different traffic and control infrastructure characteristics: Chania, Greece (23 junctions); Southampton, UK (53 junctions); and Munich, Germany (25 junctions), where it has been compared to the respective resident real-time signal control strategies TASS, SCOOT and BALANCE. After a short outline of TUC, the paper describes the three application networks; the application, demonstration and evaluation conditions; as well as the comparative evaluation results. The main conclusions drawn from this high-effort inter-European undertaking is that TUC is an easy-to-implement, inter-operable, low-cost real-time signal control strategy whose performance, after very limited fine-tuning, proved to be better or, at least, similar to the ones achieved by long-standing strategies that were in most cases very well fine-tuned over the years in the specific networks. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: This paper presents an application of object-oriented techniques for habitat classification based on remotely sensed images and ancillary data. The study reports the results of habitat mapping at multiple scales using Earth Observation (EO) data at various spatial resolutions and multi temporal acquisition dates. We investigate the role of object texture and context in classification as well as the value of integrating knowledge from ancillary data sources. Habitat maps were produced at regional and local scales in two case studies; Schleswig-Holstein, Germany and Wye Downs, United Kingdom. At the regional scale, the main task was the development of a consistent object-oriented classification scheme that is transferable to satellite images for other years. This is demonstrated for a time series of Landsat TM/ETM+ scenes. At the local scale, investigations focus on the development of appropriate object-oriented rule networks for the detailed mapping of habitats, e.g. dry grasslands and wetlands using very high resolution satellite and airborne scanner images. The results are evaluated using statistical accuracy assessment and visual comparison with traditional field-based habitat maps. Whereas the application of traditional pixel-based classification result in a pixelised (salt and pepper) representation of land cover, the object-based classification technique result in solid habitat objects allowing easy integration into a vector-GIS for further analysis. The level of detail obtained at the local scale is comparable to that achieved by visual interpretation of aerial photographs or field-based mapping and also retains spatially explicit, fine scale information such as scrub encroachment or ecotone patterns within habitats. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Germany and Great Britain are traditionally two of the most important sources of tourism for Greece. The purpose of this paper is to investigate changes in the long-run demand for tourism to Greece by these two countries. In order to explain the demand for tourism, we are using a number of leading macroeconomic variables, including income in origin countries (Germany and Great Britain), tourism prices in Greece, and transportation cost and exchanges rates between the three countries. Annual data from the three countries, covering the period from 1960 to 2000, are employed. Augmented Dickey–Fuller test for unit root is examined in the univariate framework and Johansen''s maximum likelihood procedure is used to test the cointegration method and to estimate the number of cointegrating vectors of VAR model. Error correction models are estimated to explain German and British demand for tourism to Greece. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Clinical trials for the treatment of schizophrenia now often include cognitive assessments in addition to clinical ratings of symptoms. Recently, these trials have included cross-national assessments. It is not clear if translated psychological tests produce consistent results across different languages. This paper presents the results of a study of the comparability of the results of cognitive assessments in different English-speaking countries and a number of countries where tests were translated into other languages. Performance on tests of executive functioning, verbal and visuo-spatial learning and memory, language skills, psychomotor speed, and vigilance was compared across the first episode patients with schizophrenia (n=301) assessed in six different languages (English, French, Finnish, German, Hebrew, and Afrikaans), including two different countries where patients were assessed in English and other languages: Canada (French) and South Africa (Afrikaans). The variance in performance across the sites tested in English was as large as the variance between English and non-English speakers when all tests were considered. Performance differences across English and other languages were found only for executive functions, vigilance, and psychomotor speed, with executive functioning differences nonsignificant when education was considered. No differences were found between English and non-English speakers in Canada. These results suggest that the translation of tests of memory and verbal skills can lead to consistent results across translated versions of the tests. Differences between countries were greater than differences between languages, suggesting the need to consider representativeness of patient samples in terms of local educational attainment. In general, these data support the validity of cross-national neuropsychological assessments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the stock exchanges for a large set of countries (20 in total) before and after the subprime crisis, identifying which markets are the most central and if the linkage pattern changed after the crisis. We started by calculating the correlations between stock markets' returns, using the ρ DCCA, in order to identify if there is some variation in the scale between the links in the different stock markets of the network, in both periods. Additionally, a cross-correlation filtering process will be performed with the intention of identifying which countries have stronger relationships according to the used time scales. The results show the central role of European markets among the world's main financial markets, mainly France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Moreover, after the subprime crisis we find the formation of two large communities, one of European and American countries and the other formed by Asian countries plus Australia, while in the pre-crisis period three communities could be identified. It is possible to conclude that after the 2008 crisis the connectivity and integration of the network for the whole set of analyzed timescales increased. • We analyze the stock exchanges for 20 countries. • We build a multiscale network identifying the linkages between markets. • Results show the central role of European stock markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]