scholarly journals Comparison of the European Union Disease Surveillance Networks’ websites

2006 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 13-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Lenglet ◽  
G Hernández Pezzi
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Public Access ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Case Definitions ◽  
Surveillance Networks ◽  
Surveillance Network ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
Basic Set ◽  
Disease Case

Currently the surveillance of infectious disease in the European Union (EU) is supported by the Basic Surveillance Network (BSN) and other disease specific surveillance networks (DSNs). Each network has its own website. The objective of the current study was to describe the information presented with public access on each website from the perspective of its usefulness for the surveillance of an EU member state. The BSN and the DSNs cited in Decision 2003/542/CE were included. Each website was reviewed and assessed on the inclusion of characteristics from three broad categories: 1) general information, 2) procedures for data collection and 3) data presentation. Ten surveillance network websites were reviewed during the week of 5 December 2005. At least 80% of the 10 networks included a list of participating countries, the contact addresses for the coordinator of the network and the participating country gatekeepers and the network’s objectives. Only one network specified the source and coverage of the data of each country on its website, and seven presented the disease case definition. Raw data were shown on eight websites and only two networks included presentation of elaborated data for the whole of the EU. Four networks included no reports on their websites. The periodicity of presentation for both raw data and elaborated data varied greatly between networks. The publicly available information on the 10 network websites studied was not homogeneous. We recommend that all networks present a basic set of characteristics on their websites, including case definitions, procedures used for data collection and periodic reports covering elaborated data for the entire EU.

ICTs, Public Access to Documents, and Transparency in the European Union

2014 ◽  
pp. 192-200
Author(s):  
Marios Papandreou
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Public Access ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Access To Documents

This chapter examines the relationship between Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and transparency in the public sphere. The link between the two is rather easy to conceive: ICTs facilitate flow and management of information, which is crucial to achieve openness and accountability and advance public debate. In this chapter, the issue is examined in the context of the European Union (EU), from the point of view of public access to documents and the role of the European Ombudsman (EO). The author presents the applicable legislative framework and discusses the role of the EO in facilitating and promoting public access to documents, with emphasis on the EO's mandate, the procedure followed, and its possible outcomes. The last part of the chapter examines the decision of the EO on a recent case concerning public access to documents of interest to a wide public, whereby it is illustrated that ICTs, by facilitating access to documents and information, advance openness, transparency, good governance, and accountability.

Play culture across makerspaces: Connecting into a global makerspace online

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-247
Author(s):  
Louisa Haugaard Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Early Years ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Primary Level ◽  
Municipal Schools

This article is based on a school experiment of three local makerspaces that connected and turned into a global makerspace online. The three municipal schools were from Australia, United Kingdom and Denmark and participated in the Global Makerspace project, which was a part of the European Union project Makerspaces in the early years: Enhancing digital literacy and creativity. The Global Makerspace project was conducted over 4 days in the Autumn 2018. The schools’ participating teachers and pupils belonged to the first years of primary level. In this article, the Danish experiences from the project are explored. The data collection analysed draws on a micro-ethnographic study of the experiences from the Danish makerspace completed by the Danish facilitator from the project Makerspaces in the early years: Enhancing digital literacy and creativity. The article identifies the teachers’ and pupils’ maker activities out from a play cultural point of view and reckon making as connecting to describe how offline maker communities connected into one online maker community. The baseline of the school experiment was to explore and stress the potential of how communities like teachers and pupils across time and space in collaboration can transform and develop play cultures with different combinations of technologies by sharing local maker activities into global activities online.

BETWEEN EXCLUSION AND FAMILIARITY: AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE MEDITERRANEAN MISSING PROJECT1

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 28-31
Author(s):  
Giorgia Mirto
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
The State ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Ethnographic Analysis ◽  
Future Work

Abstract For decades, migrants have continued to die or go missing in the Mediterranean, while the European Union and Italy continue to exhibit a policy vacuum around the issue of the missing, despite the duties on states imposed by human rights law. The investigation of deaths is inadequate, the Italian judicial authorities demonstrate disinterest to proceed with investigations in the identification of deceased migrants, and the inefficient post-mortem data collection seriously compromise every effort to restore names and dignity to the dead. This attitude seems to confirm the theory of “necropolitics,” which views the state as a racist and excluding sovereign entity. But ethnographic analysis of the work of some of the involved actors reveals recognition of the deceased and missing migrants based on a sense of familiarity and closeness. Here, the experience of the Mediterranean Missing Project is discussed, with an emphasis on future work prospects for both academia and practitioners.

scholarly journals Conquering Corruption: An Evaluation of the European Union's Efforts in Ukraine

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Callie Burklew
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Aid Effectiveness ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Vital Importance ◽  
Factors Influencing

Even after the Revolution of 2014, reducing the level of corruption within Ukraine has remained a challenging goal. Ukraine’s border conflict makes adequately addressing the roots of its corruption without unduly undermining state capacity especially challenging. Despite this delicate situation, the establishment of a stable, lawful, and democratic Ukraine is of vital importance to the European Union given its geopolitical significance. Certain arguments in the literature provide a possible solution to both reducing levels of corruption by expanding civil society and thus improving levels of generalized social trust and social accountability. Accordingly, this paper explores the extent and effect of the EU’s support for civil society and anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine.  It also examines any counterproductive results from this assistance, such as fueling public cynicism and distrust. With the limited data available, the preliminary findings of this paper suggest that while the factors influencing corruption are complex and interrelated, civil society and anti-corruption efforts may increase aid effectiveness. For more conclusive findings in the future, it will be necessary for more comprehensive and consistent data collection by the European Union and civil society organizations in Ukraine.

scholarly journals Decreasing and stabilising trends of antimicrobial consumption and resistance in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in segmented regression analysis, European Union/European Economic Area, 2001 to 2018

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (46) ◽  
Author(s):  
Germán Peñalva ◽  
Liselotte Diaz Högberg ◽  
Klaus Weist ◽  
Vera Vlahović-Palčevski ◽  
Ole Heuer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Segmented Regression ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Antimicrobial Consumption ◽  
Surveillance Network ◽  
The Public ◽  
Early Indication ◽  
Health Agenda

Investments to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the European Union have been made, including efforts to strengthen prudent antimicrobial use. Using segmented regression, we report decreasing and stabilising trends in data reported to the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption Network and stabilising trends in data reported to the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network. Our results could be an early indication of the effect of prioritising AMR on the public health agenda.

scholarly journals Comprehensive analysis of existing endurance testing methods of flexible dowel crutches of composite reinforced concrete road bridges according to the standards of a number of countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolai Kozak
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Reinforced Concrete ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Steel Reinforced Concrete ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Basic Set ◽  
Endurance Testing ◽  
The Usa

In the article, the author considers the verification issue of the endurance of the venture elements of steel-reinforced concrete spans of bridges, in particular, flexible dowel crutches («Nelson’s anchors»). According to the existing domestic regulatory framework, the endurance test of the flexible dowel crutches for road bridges is not required; at the same time, the survey’s results of the operated superstructures indicate the presence of problems associated with the insufficient endurance of these elements. The article presents comprehensive (qualitative and quantitative) comparative analysis results of the world’s existing approaches to testing the endurance of the venture elements. At the stage of qualitative analysis, the author considered methods of checking the endurance of elements in general according to the norms of 8 countries and regions (Russia, the European Union, the USA, Ukraine, Australia, Canada, Japan, China) and highlighted a basic set of methods for checking the endurance of the venture elements (Russia, the European Union, USA, Ukraine). The models of the basic set were subjected to a detailed qualitative analysis according to the criteria of the models used and the parameters included in them. The quantitative analysis of the selected basic set techniques, carried out in relation to the existing bridge, included an analysis of the effects of moving loads on the venture elements, direct elements verification using the considered methods, as well as the design damage comparison of the elements obtained by the Palmgren-Miner linear summation hypothesis. Based on the obtained values of design damage, the values of the use of endurance reserves were determined and analyzed for each of the considered methods and the conditional load model. Based on the results of the qualitative and quantitative analysis, the author draws conclusions based on the comparison of various methods and highlights the rational directions for improving the existing domestic methodology.

scholarly journals Hepatitis A outbreak disproportionately affecting men who have sex with men (MSM) in the European Union and European Economic Area, June 2016 to May 2017

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (33) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Ndumbi ◽  
Gudrun S Freidl ◽  
Christopher J Williams ◽  
Otilia Mårdh ◽  
Carmen Varela ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Hepatitis A ◽  
Hepatitis A Virus ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Case Definitions ◽  
European Economic ◽  
Economic Area ◽  
Sex With Men

Between 1 June 2016 and 31 May 2017, 17 European Union (EU) and European Economic Area countries reported 4,096 cases associated with a multi-country hepatitis A (HA) outbreak. Molecular analysis identified three co-circulating hepatitis A virus (HAV) strains of genotype IA: VRD_521_2016, V16–25801 and RIVM-HAV16–090. We categorised cases as confirmed, probable or possible, according to the EU outbreak case definitions. Confirmed cases were infected with one of the three outbreak strains. We investigated case characteristics and strain-specific risk factors for transmission. A total of 1,400 (34%) cases were confirmed; VRD_521_2016 and RIVM-HAV16–090 accounted for 92% of these. Among confirmed cases with available epidemiological data, 92% (361/393) were unvaccinated, 43% (83/195) travelled to Spain during the incubation period and 84% (565/676) identified as men who have sex with men (MSM). Results depict an HA outbreak of multiple HAV strains, within a cross-European population, that was particularly driven by transmission between non-immune MSM engaging in high-risk sexual behaviour. The most effective preventive measure to curb this outbreak is HAV vaccination of MSM, supplemented by primary prevention campaigns that target the MSM population and promote protective sexual behaviour.

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