Global Standards: Recent Developments betweend the Poles of Privacy and Cloud Computing

The development of the Internet has made it possible to transfer data ‘around the globe at the click of a mouse’. Especially fresh business models such as cloud computing, the newest driver to illustrate the speed and breadth of the online environment, allow this data to be processed across national borders on a routine basis. A number of factors cause the Internet to blur the lines between public and private space: Firstly, globalization and the outsourcing of economic actors entrain an ever-growing exchange of personal data. Secondly, the security pressure in the name of the legitimate fight against terrorism opens the access to a significant amount of data for an increasing number of public authorities.And finally,the tools of the digital society accompany everyone at each stage of life by leaving permanent individual and borderless traces in both space and time. Therefore, calls from both the public and private sectors for an international legal framework for privacy and data protection have become louder. Companies such as Google and Facebook have also come under continuous pressure from governments and citizens to reform the use of data. Thus, Google was not alone in calling for the creation of ‘global privacystandards’. Efforts are underway to review established privacy foundation documents. There are similar efforts to look at standards in global approaches to privacy and data protection. The last remarkable steps were the Montreux Declaration, in which the privacycommissioners appealed to the United Nations ‘to prepare a binding legal instrument which clearly sets out in detail the rights to data protection and privacy as enforceable human rights’. This appeal was repeated in 2008 at the 30thinternational conference held in Strasbourg, at the 31stconference 2009 in Madrid and in 2010 at the 32ndconference in Jerusalem. In a globalized world, free data flow has become an everyday need. Thus, the aim of global harmonization should be that it doesn’t make any difference for data users or data subjects whether data processing takes place in one or in several countries. Concern has been expressed that data users might seek to avoid privacy controls by moving their operations to countries which have lower standards in their privacy laws or no such laws at all. To control that risk, some countries have implemented special controls into their domestic law. Again, such controls may interfere with the need for free international data flow. A formula has to be found to make sure that privacy at the international level does not prejudice this principle.

Demographic situation in operative medicine in Switzerland - time to react?

Objective: The decreasing proportion of physicians of Swiss origin and the increasing number of part-time jobs in operative medicine might lead to a shortage of physicians in operative disciplines in Switzerland. The objective of the present study was to analyze the current demographic situation in operative medicine in Switzerland. Methods: During the summer of 2011, a 19-item anonymous electronic questionnaire was mailed to all directors of departments in operative medicine in Switzerland. The questionnaire was designed to gather data about the characteristics of the participating departments, the demographics (including the appointment (consultant, attending or resident), the proportion of female and foreign physicians, the latter’s origin, and the number of part-time jobs with a working time between 20 and 90%), and the proportion of vacant posts. Results: Of 775 questionnaires mailed to all directors of departments in operative medicine in Switzerland, 183 (24%) were returned. Overall, 40% were female, and 42% foreign physicians. The proportion of part-time jobs amounted to 17%. Vacant posts were found in 2%. Conclusions: An expansion of study places at the medical universities and of the incentives for the incumbents in operative medicine is necessary to avert a shortage of physicians in Switzerland.

Towards science-based sediment quality standards-Effects of field-collected sediments in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

Sediments can act as long-term sinks for environmental pollutants. Within the past decades, dioxin-like compounds (DLCs) such as polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have attracted significant attention in the scientific community. To investigate the time- and concentration-dependent uptake of DLCs and PAHs in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and their associated toxicological effects, we conducted exposure experiments using suspensions of three field-collected sediments from the rivers Rhine and Elbe, which were chosen to represent different contamination levels. Five serial dilutions of contaminated sediments were tested; these originated from the Prossen and Zollelbe sampling sites (both in the river Elbe, Germany) and from Ehrenbreitstein (Rhine, Germany), with lower levels of contamination. Fish were exposed to suspensions of these dilutions under semi-static conditions for 90 days. Analysis of muscle tissue by high resolution gas chromatography and mass spectrometry and of bile liquid by high-performance liquid chromatography showed that particle-bound PCDD/Fs, PCBs and PAHs were readily bioavailable from re-suspended sediments. Uptake of these contaminants and the associated toxicological effects in fish were largely proportional to their sediment concentrations. The changes in the investigated biomarkers closely reflected the different sediment contamination levels: cytochrome P450 1A mRNA expression and 7-ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase activity in fish livers responded immediately and with high sensitivity, while increased frequencies of micronuclei and other nuclear aberrations, as well as histopathological and gross pathological lesions, were strong indicators of the potential long-term effects of re-suspension events. Our study clearly demonstrates that sediment re-suspension can lead to accumulation of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in fish, resulting in potentially adverse toxicological effects. For a sound risk assessment within the implementation of the European Water Framework Directive and related legislation, we propose a strong emphasis on sediment-bound contaminants in the context of integrated river basin management plans.

Participatory modelling to support decision making in water management under uncertainty: Two comparative case studies in the Guadiana river basin, Spain.

A participatory modelling process has been conducted in two areas of the Guadiana river (the upper and the middle sub-basins), in Spain, with the aim of providing support for decision making in the water management field. The area has a semi-arid climate where irrigated agriculture plays a key role in the economic development of the region and accounts for around 90% of water use. Following the guidelines of the European Water Framework Directive, we promote stakeholder involvement in water management with the aim to achieve an improved understanding of the water system and to encourage the exchange of knowledge and views between stakeholders in order to help building a shared vision of the system. At the same time, the resulting models, which integrate the different sectors and views, provide some insight of the impacts that different management options and possible future scenarios could have. The methodology is based on a Bayesian network combined with an economic model and, in the middle Guadiana sub-basin, with a crop model. The resulting integrated modelling framework is used to simulate possible water policy, market and climate scenarios to find out the impacts of those scenarios on farm income and on the environment. At the end of the modelling process, an evaluation questionnaire was filled by participants in both sub-basins. Results show that this type of processes are found very helpful by stakeholders to improve the system understanding, to understand each others views and to reduce conflict when it exists. In addition, they found the model an extremely useful tool to support management. The graphical interface, the quantitative output and the explicit representation of uncertainty helped stakeholders to better understand the implications of the scenario tested. Finally, the combination of different types of models was also found very useful, as it allowed exploring in detail specific aspects of the water management problems.

Time's Social Metaphors: An empirical research

The article addresses the analysis of time images furnished by a qualitative research made in Spain on the relations of working time and family/personal time. The analysis focuses on three widespread time metaphors used in day-to-day speeches by social agents. The first one is the metaphor of time as resource for action. Its value is equally economical, moral and political. Used in different context of action, it may mean something that can be either invested, donated generously to others, appropriated for caring for oneself, or spent without purpose with others. The second metaphor represents time as an external environment to which action must adapt. This metaphor shows many variants that represent time as a dynamic/static, repetitive/innovative, ordered/chaotic environment. In this external environment, the agents must resolve the problems of temporal embeddedness, hierarchy and synchronization of their actions. The third metaphor shows time as a horizon of action intentionality where the agents try to construct the meaning of their action and identity. Within this horizon the construction of a significant narrative connecting past and present experiences with future expectations is possible.

The valuation of travel time savings in least developed countries:theoretical and empirical challenges and results from a field study

In developed countries travel time savings can account for as much as 80% of the overall benefits arising from transport infrastructure and service improvements. In developing countries they are generally ignored in transport project appraisals, notwithstanding their importance. One of the reasons for ignoring these benefits in the developing countries is that there is insufficient empirical evidence to support the conventional models for valuing travel time where work patterns, particularly of the poor, are diverse and it is difficult to distinguish between work and non-work activities. The exclusion of time saving benefits may lead to a bias against investment decisions that benefit the poor and understate the poverty reduction potential of transport investments in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This is because the poor undertake most travel and transport by walking and headloading on local roads, tracks and paths and improvements of local infrastructure and services bring large time saving benefits for them through modal shifts. The paper reports on an empirical study to develop a methodology for valuing rural travel time savings in the LDCs. Apart from identifying the theoretical and empirical issues in valuing travel time savings in the LDCs, the paper presents and discusses the results of an analysis of data from Bangladesh. Some of the study findings challenge the conventional wisdom concerning the time saving values. The Bangladesh study suggests that the western concept of dividing travel time savings into working and non-working time savings is broadly valid in the developing country context. The study validates the use of preference methods in valuing non-working time saving values. However, stated preference (SP) method is more appropriate than revealed preference (RP) method.

Time and professional work in public sector organisations: an examination of four occupational groups in education and medicine

The aim of this thesis is to examine the experience of time of four professional occupational groups working in public sector organisations and the factors affecting this experience. The literature on time and work is examined to delineate the key parameters of research in this area. A broad organisation behaviour approach to the experience of time and work is developed in which individual, occupational, organisational and socio-political factors are inter-related. The experience of secondary school teachers, further education lecturers, general medical practitioners and hosoital consultants is then examined. Multiple methods of data collection are used: open-ended interviews, a questionnaire survey and the analysis of key documents relating to the institutional settings in which the four groups work. The research aims to develop our knowledge of working time by considering the dimensions of the experience of time at work, the contexts in wlhich this experience is generated and the constraints these contexts give rIse to. By developing our understanding of time as a key feature of work experience we also extend our knowledge of organisation behaviour in general. In conclusion a model of the factors relating the experience of time to the negotiation of time at work is presented.

Development of a co-culture model of the human lungs for toxicity testing and identification of biomarkers of inhalation toxicity

The airway epithelium is the first point of contact in the lung for inhaled material, including infectious pathogens and particulate matter, and protects against toxicity from these substances by trapping and clearance via the mucociliary escalator, presence of a protective barrier with tight junctions and initiation of a local inflammatory response. The inflammatory response involves recruitment of phagocytic cells to neutralise and remove and invading materials and is oftern modelled using rodents. However, development of valid in vitro airway epithelial models is of great importance due to the restrictions on animal studies for cosmetic compound testing implicit in the 7th amendment to the European Union Cosmetics Directive. Further, rodent innate immune responses have fundamental differences to human. Pulmonary endothelial cells and leukocytes are also involved in the innate response initiated during pulmonary inflammation. Co-culture models of the airways, in particular where epithelial cells are cultured at air liquid interface with the presence of tight junctions and differentiated mucociliary cells, offer a solution to this problem. Ideally validated models will allow for detection of early biomarkers of response to exposure and investigation into inflammatory response during exposure. This thesis describes the approaches taken towards developing an in vitro epithelial/endothelial cell model of the human airways and identification biomarkers of response to exposure to xenobiotics. The model comprised normal human primary microvascular endothelial cells and the bronchial epithelial cell line BEAS-2B or normal human bronchial epithelial cells. BEAS-2B were chosen as their characterisation at air liquid interface is limited but they are robust in culture, thereby predicted to provide a more reliable test system. Proteomics analysis was undertaken on challenged cells to investigate biomarkers of exposure. BEAS-2B morphology was characterised at air liquid interface compared with normal human bronchial epithelial cells. The results indicate that BEAS-2B cells at an air liquid interface form tight junctions as shown by expression of the tight junction protein zonula occludens-1. To this author’s knowledge this is the first time this result has been reported. The inflammatory response of BEAS-2B (measured as secretion of the inflammatory mediators interleukin-8 and -6) air liquid interface mono-cultures to Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide or particulate matter (fine and ultrafine titanium dioxide) was comparable to published data for epithelial cells. Cells were also exposed to polymers of “commercial interest” which were in the nanoparticle range (and referred to particles hereafter). BEAS-2B mono-cultures showed an increased secretion of inflammatory mediators after challenge. Inclusion of microvascular endothelial cells resulted in protection against LPS- and particle- induced epithelial toxicity, measured as cell viability and inflammatory response, indicating the importance of co-cultures for investigations into toxicity. Two-dimensional proteomic analysis of lysates from particle-challenged cells failed to identify biomarkers of toxicity due to assay interference and experimental variability. Separately, decreased plasma concentrations of serine protease inhibitors, and the negative acute phase proteins transthyretin, histidine-rich glycoprotein and alpha2-HS glycoprotein were identified as potential biomarkers of methyl methacrylate/ethyl methacrylate/butylacrylate treatment in rats.

Measuring Organisational Innovation – The Example of the European Community Innovation Survey (CIS)

In the last decade, non-technological and particularly organisational innovations have gained more and more importance and research focus. However, there is no consensus among the academic community either about the definition or about the broader theoretical and methodological foundations of this phenomena. In the present study the authors intend to partly improve this knowledge deficiency syndrome by analysing the most important theoretical contributions of organisational innovation and by reviewing the development in the methodological tools aimed to measure organisational innovation on a European level. By doing so, the authors will focus on the various waves of the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) as an employer-oriented and of the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) as an employee-oriented survey. Finally, they will formulate some remarks for further empirical research streams.

Female employment from the household. Towards a comprehensive analysis of work-life articulation

Research on women’s employment has proliferated over recent decades, often under a perspective that conceptualizes female labour market activity as independent of male presences and absences in the productive and reproductive spheres. In the face of these approaches, the article argues the need to focus on the couple as the unit of analysis of work-life articulation. After referring to the main theoretical arguments that, from a gender perspective within labour studies, have pointed out the relevance of placing the household as the central space for the analysis of the sexual division of labour, the article reviews different empirical contributions that have incorporated such perspective in the international literature. Next, the state of the art in the Spanish literature is presented, before arguing the desirability of applying such framework of analysis to the study of employment and care work in Spanish households, which are at present undergoing major transformations.

Migrant domestic workers, vulnerability and the law: immigration and employment laws in Cyprus and Spain

The intersection of gender, welfare and immigration regimes has been one of the main focus of a rich scholarship on paid domestic work in Europe. This article brings into the discussion the nexus of employment and immigration law regimes to reflect on the role of legal regulation in structuring and reducing the vulnerability of domestic workers. I analyse this nexus by looking at the cases of Cyprus and Spain, two states falling under the cluster of Southern Mediterranean welfare regimes, that share certain characteristics in terms of immigration regimes, but have substantially different employment law regulation models. The first part sketches the debate on the employment law regulation of domestic work. The second part starts by giving an overview of the immigration regimes of Cyprus and Spain in relation to migrant domestic workers and then proceeds to analyse the two countries’ models and substance of employment law regulation in domestic work. The comparison of these two divergent approaches informs the debate on how the legal regulation of domestic work should be best structured. In Spain there have been recent dynamic legislative changes in the employment law regulation of domestic work. The final part of the article traces these changes and reflects on why such processes have not taken place in Cyprus.

Directive Cadre sur l’Eau : les pressions anthropiques et leur impact sur les indicateurs de l’état écologique des masses d’eau littorales de la façade Manche-Atlantique. Synthèse bibliographique

Within the European water framework directive (WFD), the status assessment of littoral waters is based both on the chemical quality and on the ecological quality of each water body. Quality elements enabling to assess the ecological status of a water body are, among other things, biological quality elements (phytoplankton, macroalgae, angiosperms, benthic invertebrates, fish), for each of which the member states have developed quantitative indicators. This document is one of the deliverables of a multi-annual study intended to characterize the sensitivity of these biological indicators towards the various anthropogenic pressures exerted on the French Atlantic and Channel coast: ultimately, the goal is to establish a quantitative and predictive relationship, statistically robust, between the WFD indicators used along the French channel and Atlantic coastline, and various anthropogenic pressures acting on these coasts. The aim of the WFD is indeed to restore or maintain a good chemical and biological quality of coastal waters, and thus to limit the impact of human activities potentially responsible for the degradation of ecosystems. This understanding of the linkages and interactions existing between anthropogenic pressures and ecological status of water bodies is therefore essential to identify priorities for action (challenges, substances ...), prioritize actions to implement within restoration programs (technical, fiscal, financial), but also to be able to communicate constructively and persuasively in talks between managers and the various stakeholders of coastal regions. Using the DPSIR methodology, this literature analysis has permitted to identify, for each WFD biological quality element (except fish), which pressures (or pressure types) are potentially relevant in the light of their impact on the indicators of the ecological status of water bodies. Some metrics and indicators of anthropogenic pressures used in the literature to characterize the sensitivity of the biological quality elements, within quantitative approaches, were also identified. It is also clear from this review that the biological quality elements can be particularly sensitive to intrinsic environmental conditions, and therefore to certain changes related to natural phenomena occurring at large scales (e.g. climate change, paroxysmal climate episode...). Therefore, when one is interested in the sensitivity of biological indicators to different anthropogenic pressures, two factors can complicate the analysis and are likely to weaken the resulting statistical relationships: on the one hand, the variability of biological responses depending on the natural context and, on the other hand, interactions (so called synergistic effects) between different types of anthropogenic pressures and the alterations they can generate.

Directive Cadre sur l’Eau : les pressions anthropiques et leur impact sur les indicateurs de l’état écologique des masses d’eau littorales de la façade Manche-Atlantique - Développement d’une base de données quantitatives sur les pressions anthropiques littorales

Within the European water framework directive (WFD), the status assessment of littoral waters is based both on the chemical quality and on the ecological quality of each water body. Quality elements enabling to assess the ecological status of a water body are, among other things, biological quality elements (phytoplankton, macroalgae, angiosperms, benthic invertebrates, fish), for each of which member states have developed quantitative indicators. This document compiles three deliverables of a multi-annual study intended to characterize the sensitivity of these biological indicators regarding the various anthropogenic pressures exerted on the French Atlantic and Channel coast: ultimately, the goal is to establish a quantitative and predictive relationship, statistically robust, between the WFD indicators used along the French channel and Atlantic coastline, and various anthropogenic pressures acting on these coasts. These three deliverables are the following : - The reports of various interviews performed with French national referents for the biological quality elements used within the littoral part of the WFD in Channel and Atlantic (phytoplankton, subtidal and intertidal macroalgae, opportunistic blooming macroalgae, angiosperms and benthic invertebrates). These interviews aimed to specify, for each metric constitutive of the BQE indicator (if multi-metric), the "relevant" pressures, as well as the trend of this impact, - Sheets describing the "pressure" and "environment" data available, in order to characterize spatially and quantitatively these "relevant" anthropogenic pressures acting on French Channel and Atlantic coast, - A progress report dealing with the development of a database tool, for archiving quantitative data characterizing "relevant" littoral anthropogenic pressures.

Ciclos económicos, capital bancario y nuevas opciones de política económica

El objetivo de este trabajo es utilizar algunos hechos estilizados de la "Gran recesión", específicamente la drástica caída en el nivel de capitalización bancario, para analizar la relación entre los ciclos financieros y los ciclos reales, así como la efectividad de la política monetaria no convencional y las políticas macroprudenciales. Para esto, en el primer capítulo se desarrolla una microfundamentación de la banca a partir de un modelo de Costly State Verification, que es incluido posteriomente en distintas especificaciones de modelos DSGE. Los resultados muestran que: (i) los ciclos financieros y los ciclos económicos pueden relacionarse a partir del deterioro del capital bancario; (ii) Las políticas macroprudenciales y no convencionales son efectivas para moderar los ciclos económicos, pero son costosas en términos de recursos e inflación.

Cruzeiros maritimos como opção de lazer

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física