scholarly journals A Crucial Decade for European Digital Sovereignty

2021 ◽  
pp. 219-225
Author(s):  
George Metakides
Keyword(s):  
Internal Market ◽  
Developing Strategy ◽  
Digital Ecosystem ◽  
Financial Framework ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Digital Governance ◽  
Geopolitical Context

AbstractThe current decade will be critical for Europe’s aspiration to attain and maintain digital sovereignty so as to effectively protect and promote its humanistic values in the evolving digital ecosystem. Digital sovereignty in the current geopolitical context remains a fluid concept as it must rely on a balanced strategic interdependence with the USA, China, and other global actors. The developing strategy for achieving this relies on the coordinated use of three basic instruments, investment, regulation, and completion of the digital internal market. Investment, in addition to the multiannual financial framework (2021–2027) instruments, will draw upon the 20% of the 750 billion recovery fund. Regulation, in addition to the Digital Governance Act and the Digital Market Act, will include the Data Act, the new AI regulation, and more that is in the pipeline, leveraging the so-called Brussels effect. Of key importance for the success of this effort remains the timing and “dovetailing” of the particular actions taken.

scholarly journals How students perceive educational support through Facebook

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miroslav Šebo ◽  
◽  
Alena Hašková ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
World Wide ◽  
University Education ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Educational Support ◽  
Digital Ecosystem ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Faculty Of Education ◽  
The One ◽  
New Education

Since the beginning of the 21stcentury social media has expanded world-wide in all aspects of human lives. Mainly for the youth they have been a natural part of their “digital ecosystem”. As the results of the surveys of social media use by teens, carried by the Pew Research Centre, showed, in 2014 in the USA 71 % of teens reported being Facebook users and no other platform was used by a clear majority of the interviewed. In 2018, three further online platforms, other than Facebook, have been reported by the significant majority of the teens. These were YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. As to Facebook, “only” 51 % of the respondents stated to be Facebook users. Furthermore, smartphone ownership has become a ubiquitous element of teen life. Up to 95 % of teens have reported they have a smartphone or access to one, and 45 % of teens have proclaimed they are online on a near-constant basis. Even more important, they are becoming more and more used, in the time of the world-wide corona pandemic and the need for connection in social quarantine. As for teachers and their opinions on social media, on the one hand they are aware of their usefulness as regards to sharing information or organizing school tasks. But on the other hand, they identify social media as a reason for the pupils and students` low attention during classes at school. But since the youth devote a lot of time to social media, there is no point of not using these means also in education, as shown by the current efforts to organize education processes during the corona pandemic. At the Faculty of Education, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, we have been aware of the significance of the social media in relation to different aspects of education and pedagogical communication. That is why for several years, attention has been paid to this new education phenomenon. The paper presents the authors experiences with the use of Facebook as a mean of support for education while the main focus is given to the results of a questionnaire survey which examined students` opinions and attitudes towards Facebook (before the pandemic situation), in comparison with Moodle, as a new phenomenon in university education.

scholarly journals A Sure Start?

Intersections ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Judit Zsuzsanna Keller ◽  
Alexandra Szőke
Keyword(s):  
Social Investment ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Doctoral Research ◽  
Spatial Inequalities ◽  
Financial Framework ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Anthropological Fieldwork ◽  
Rural Places ◽  
Early Childhood Prevention ◽  
Unequal Opportunities

Early childhood prevention programs, fueled by the idea of social investment, have been the focus of policy making for a few decades in Europe and the USA. Amongst these, the Sure Start program in Hungary has evolved into a nationwide service incorporated into the child welfare system. The program aims to combat social exclusion and compensate unequal opportunities related to socio-spatial inequalities through providing assistance, developmental intervention, and social activities to families. The article examines the socio-spatial consequences of the program by bringing together an analysis of the current regulatory and financial framework and the everyday working of several Sure Start houses in different parts of the country. The analysis relies on the findings of two post-doctoral research projects (NRDIO PD 112659 and Premium PD 3300405), combining sociological and anthropological fieldwork in three settlements. The study reveals that the current institutional structure is based on structural deficiencies and institutional asymmetries characterized by the disproportionate allocation of resources and obligations for Sure Start houses. This results in large differences regarding the implementation of the program in different localities, which are largely influenced by the positionality of the settlements, as well as the resources that the maintainers of the service can draw on. The article argues that in its current form the program appears to strengthen rather than alleviate socio-spatial inequalities, as it is exactly the most disadvantaged remote rural places that lack the resources that would be needed to compensate for their multiple disadvantages.

scholarly journals “This Content is not Available in your Country” A General Summary on Geo-Blocking in and Outside the European Union

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-183
Author(s):  
Ondrej Hamuľák ◽  
Lilla Nóra Kiss ◽  
Tomáš Gábriš ◽  
Hovsep Kocharyan
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Location ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Internal Market ◽  
Single Market ◽  
Legal Environment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Proper Functioning ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The One

Summary The phenomenon of geo-blocking is one of the new challenges of the digital era. Geo-blocking is a modern form of discrimination that differentiates between consumers on the basis of their geographical location. The phenomenon ultimately affects the situation of the citizen concerned and may also constitute an obstacle to the single market. Digital time has put a number of issues to be resolved on the legislator’s table in recent years, one of which is the phenomenon of geo-blocking. Already in 2015, the European Commission led by Juncker (2014–2019) adopted the Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy, which marked the European Union’s (EU) path towards innovation by creating a new digital dimension of the Single Market. In order to achieve the DSM strategy and the digital objectives, a number of legislative acts have been put in place to address the elements of the DSM and exploit the benefits of technological modernisation. The geo-blocking phenomenon is presented in this study, partly in terms of practical aspects and partly with regard to the geo-blocking regulation. The Ursula von der Leyen-led Commission (2019–2024) identifies “a Europe fit for the digital age” among its six priorities. Among the priorities, the “promotion of a European way of life”, must be linked to the digital priorities, as our smart tools and our digital presence are becoming an integral part of our lives – and our common way of life – especially at this time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovation has also been accelerated by the current exceptional situation, the health emergency caused by COVID-19, forcing us to work remotely, remote contacts and the constant use of our smart tools. The realisation of digital well-being is therefore also an integral part of our lifestyle. In the intersection of digitalisation and development and the promotion of a common European way of life, we can find a single market in which we can experience a significant aspect of our European way of life – the free movements and cross-border transactions – even through our online presence. The internal market is the dimension for the proper functioning of which the Union institutions can adopt a legislative act. In addition, measures taken to remove barriers and remove obstacles are essential for the functioning of the internal market. Joint action against geo-blocking as an internal market barrier will also play a role in creating digital prosperity by promoting the proper functioning of the internal market by promoting e-commerce and electronic content access. The aim of the study on the one hand is to present issues related to geo-blocking in a brief and descriptive manner from the perspective of the social, economic and legal environment linked to the internal market. On the other hand, the study briefly presents the legal environment of geo-blocking in the USA, Russia, China and Japan.

The outcome of laparoscopic fundoplication for reflux disease in communlity practice in the USA

2001 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. A16-A16 ◽  
Author(s):  
N VAKIL ◽  
S TREML ◽  
M SHAW ◽  
R KIRBY
Keyword(s):  
Reflux Disease ◽  
Laparoscopic Fundoplication ◽  
The Usa

Of Frames and Cultures - A Cross-Cultural Comparison of TV Newscasts

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 160-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Senokozlieva ◽  
Oliver Fischer ◽  
Gary Bente ◽  
Nicole Krämer
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Comparison ◽  
Explorative Study ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
Tv News ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. TV news are essentially cultural phenomena. Previous research suggests that the often-overlooked formal and implicit characteristics of newscasts may be systematically related to culture-specific characteristics. Investigating these characteristics by means of a frame-by-frame content analysis is identified as a particularly promising methodological approach. To examine the relationship between culture and selected formal characteristics of newscasts, we present an explorative study that compares material from the USA, the Arab world, and Germany. Results indicate that there are many significant differences, some of which are in line with expectations derived from cultural specifics. Specifically, we argue that the number of persons presented as well as the context in which they are presented can be interpreted as indicators of Individualism/Collectivism. The conclusions underline the validity of the chosen methodological approach, but also demonstrate the need for more comprehensive and theory-driven category schemes.

Measurement Invariance of a Universal Behavioral Screener Across Samples From the USA and Germany

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gino Casale ◽  
Robert J. Volpe ◽  
Brian Daniels ◽  
Thomas Hennemann ◽  
Amy M. Briesch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Student Behavior ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
School Based ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Universal Screener ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa

Abstract. The current study examines the item and scalar equivalence of an abbreviated school-based universal screener that was cross-culturally translated and adapted from English into German. The instrument was designed to assess student behavior problems that impact classroom learning. Participants were 1,346 K-6 grade students from the US (n = 390, Mage = 9.23, 38.5% female) and Germany (n = 956, Mage = 8.04, 40.1% female). Measurement invariance was tested by multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) across students from the US and Germany. Results support full scalar invariance between students from the US and Germany (df = 266, χ2 = 790.141, Δχ2 = 6.9, p < .001, CFI = 0.976, ΔCFI = 0.000, RMSEA = 0.052, ΔRMSEA = −0.003) indicating that the factor structure, the factor loadings, and the item thresholds are comparable across samples. This finding implies that a full cross-cultural comparison including latent factor means and structural coefficients between the US and the German version of the abbreviated screener is possible. Therefore, the tool can be used in German schools as well as for cross-cultural research purposes between the US and Germany.

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