Norm In Europe Research Articles

Natural Climate Protection through Peatland Rewetting: A Future for the Rathsbruch Peatland in Germany

Draining peatlands to create agricultural land has been the norm in Europe, but in the context of climate change and the loss of biodiversity, these rich ecosystems may reactivate their functions as greenhouse gas sinks and retreat spaces for animals and plants. Against this background, the National Moor Rewetting Strategy was put into effect in Germany in 2023, together with the Natural Climate Protection Action Plan. This article examines the methodology of peatland rewetting from scientific, administrative, social, and technical perspectives. The article focuses on an example of moor rewetting in central Germany: the Rathsbruch moor near the municipality of Zerbst, Saxony-Anhalt. To illustrate the importance of rewetting projects for degraded peatlands, five scenarios with different target soil water levels were considered, and the associated greenhouse gas emissions were calculated for a period of five years. For the planning solution, an estimate of the medium-to-long-term development of the habitat types was made based on current use and the dynamics typical of the habitat. The results for the Rathsbruch moor area showed that increasing the water level in steps of 1, 0.8, or 0.5 m has no significant influence on reducing the CO2 emissions situation, while a depth of 0.3 m has a slight influence. When the water was raised to 0.1 m below the surface (Scenario 5), a significant CO2 reduction was observed. The calculated avoided CO2 costs due to environmental damage show that the environmental benefits multiply with every decimeter of water level increase. The rising groundwater levels and extensification favor the establishment of local biotopes. This means that two of the biggest man-made problems (extinction of species and climate change) can be reduced. Therefore, this research is applicable to the development and planning of recultivation work at municipal and regional levels in Germany and beyond within the framework of EU restoration policy.

The European NORM Association (ENA)-promoting radiation protection in the field of norm in Europe.

The European NORM Association (ENA) was founded in 2017, merging previously informal European networks. It has the statute of an International Non-profit Organization established under Belgian Law. The objective of ENA is to promote and advance radiation protection in the context of exposure to NORM. It operates as a European platform and forum for discussion, dissemination and exchange of information, training and education and by supporting scientific knowledge and new directions of research related to NORM issues. A key activity of ENA is to share practical solutions. To this end, ENA gathers radiation protection practitioners, regulators, scientists and industry representatives in order to support the management of NORM in compliance with European standards and according to best practices. Since its foundation, ENA has organized three workshops where topical issues on NORM have been discussed. It has established close working relationships and links with IAEA, HERCA, IRPA and other international initiatives-getting a recognition at international level. ENA has set up working groups on NORM in the industry, in the environment, in building materials and, as recently as in 2021, a working group on decommissioning of NORM facilities. A series of webinars have been organized to present case studies on NORM decommissioning and discuss associated challenges and practical solutions.

БАГАТОМОВНІСТЬ У СУСПІЛЬСТВІ ТА ОСВІТНЬОМУ ПРОСТОРІ УКРАЇНИ

Due to migration and job-related mobility, the communicative effects of globalisation and multilingual societies have become the norm in Europe. Considering the need to respond to the diverse social groups on the educational level, the Council of Europe’s language policy goals are oriented toward plurilingual and pluricultural learner groups (Council of Europe, 2020). The purpose of this paper is to present a thematic literature analysis in order to establish the framework for the project titled «Insights from the CEFR: Multilingual Education and Assessment,» which received funding from the Volkswagen Foundation. The CEFR (Council of Europe 2001) and its Companion Volume (Council of Europe 2020) are cornerstones of this thematic literature analysis. This article aims to present our conceptual understanding of important terms, which will guide our future exploration. Additionally, it analyzes multilingualism in the Ukrainian context, taking into account its multilingual sociocultural realities and language education policy. The study examines the objectives of plurilingual education, with a specific focus on the Ukrainian context, and explores approaches that can be employed to incorporate plurilingual perspectives into language teaching. This progress report is intended to contribute to multilingual teacher education, making teachers aware of their learners’ linguistic resources and the approaches that promote (multi)plurilingualism.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT UNDERSTANDING OF UNREGISTERED COHABITATION CONCEPT

The understanding of traditional families, consisting of husband, wife and children, can still be considered a norm in Europe. However, it is difficult to challenge the claim that it is no longer the only form of family life. Society with family forms understands marriage, registered relationships and unregistered relationships, not only in the traditional sense, but also in relationships between women and men, but also in the same partnership relationship. The aim of the article is to find out the causes of rapid emergence of unregistered cohabitation and the need for the improvement of the existing legal framework and provisory development. The lack of united terminology and unitary definition of unregistered cohabitation in national and international level.

Organizational working time regimes: Drivers, consequences and attempts to change patterns of excessive working hours

A 40-hour working week is the norm in Europe, yet some organizations require 60 or more working hours and in investment banks an alarming 120-hour weeks are known to be worked. What is more, these organizations often require workers to be permanently on call and demonstrate high production rates. Consequences of such practices include frazzled employees, with their families’ and their own health under pressure. This article introduces our special issue of the German Journal of Human Resource Management. It tackles the many reasons behind excessive work hours and failed attempts to change working time arrangements in organizations. It first identifies three core ideas in previous research, namely the dispersed nature of regimes of excessive working hours, their high levels of persistence and their constitution at multiple levels of analysis. It then summarizes the contributions in this special issue. Finally, it proposes avenues for future research, such as focusing on the genesis and the historicity of organizational working time regimes, studying the interrelation of factors across multiple levels of analysis, and probing new theories to explain the extreme persistence of excessive working hours. The overarching aim of our special issue in this core area of human resource management is to contribute to an understanding of organizational working time regimes and the tenacity of excessive working hours in an effort to deepen our knowledge of how to change them.

From popularity to vulnerability

Electoral vulnerability matters for policymakers’ responsiveness to the public. While coalition governments are the norm in Europe, research on government responsiveness to public opinion has studi...

When does religiosity matter for attitudes to immigration? The impact of economic insecurity and religious norms in Europe

ABSTRACTReligious identity and practice has been associated with attitudes to immigration in Europe, but it is not known how this relationship varies between different cultural and economic contexts. Analysing data from seven waves of the European Social Survey (ESS) 2002–2014 we examine the association cross-nationally and over time, in what was a financially unstable period for many European countries and households. We have two main findings. Firstly, it is not religion per se, but rather conformity to national rates of religiosity which is associated with concern about the economic and cultural consequences of immigration. Secondly, the association between religion and anti-immigration is strengthened in contexts of economic uncertainty. These findings suggest that while religion does not predict immigration attitudes uniformly across countries, when religion reflects cultural conformity, it could become an expression national or ethnic group identity in times of economic insecurity.

All is not relative: intergenerational norms in Europe

ABSTRACTIs the sense of obligation we feel towards our parents comparable to the one we feel towards our children? Most studies of normative solidarity measure only filial norms, that is, norms for children’s obligations towards parents, whilst largely ignoring parental norms, that is, norms for parents’ obligations towards children. This article quantitatively investigates parental and filial norms in 20 countries within 5 European regions. The article examines the question of whether the family cultures of North-West Europe can be understood as cultures of descending familialism, that is, cultures in which parental obligations are emphasised over filial obligations, as opposed to cultures of extreme individualism. The article contributes to the literature on family norms theoretically by showing that family cultures should be differentiated not merely by their strength but also by their direction, and methodologically by highlighting the importance of developing precise measures of both parental and filial norms. For the Nordic countries in particular, the analysis shows that the family culture is pluralistic, with the question of intergenerational responsibilities being one likely to provoke discussion in these societies for years to come.

Does Accidental Overcorrection of Symptomatic Hyponatremia in Chronic Heart Failure Require Specific Therapeutic Adjustments for Preventing Central Pontine Myelinolysis?

This review aims at summarizing essential aspects of epidemiology and pathophysiology of hyponatremia in chronic heart failure (CHF), to set the ground for a practical as well as evidence-based approach to treatment. As a guide through the discussion of the available evidence, a clinical case of hyponatremia associated with CHF is presented. For this case, the severe neurological signs at presentation justified an emergency treatment with hypertonic saline plus furosemide, as indicated. Subsequently, as the neurological emergency began to subside, the reversion of the trend toward hyponatremia overcorrection was realized by continuous infusion of hypotonic solutions, and administration of desmopressin, so as to prevent the very feared risk of an osmotic demyelination syndrome. This very disabling complication of the hyponatremia correction is then briefly outlined. Moreover, the possible advantages related to systematic correction of the hyponatremia that occurs in the course of CHF are mentioned. Additionally, the case of tolvaptan, a vasopressin receptor antagonist, is concisely presented in order to underline the different views that have led to different norms in Europe with respect to the USA or Japan as regards the use of this drug as a therapeutic resource against the hyponatremia.

Muslim Bengal writes back: A study of Rokeya’s encounter with and representation of Europe

Despite its exploitative nature, colonialism facilitated continuous cultural exchanges between Muslim Bengal, home of the writer Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, and the European metropolis. Although Rokeya never visited Europe, she was exposed to European literature, overcame sociocultural constraints, and thus became engaged in a complex critique and assessment of European culture in relation to her own environment. This article explores the ways in which, as a writer, educationalist, activist and wife of a civil servant, Rokeya had opportunities to interact directly with European women and indirectly with European men. Importantly, she made available to her readers an interpretative summary of Marie Corelli’s novel The Murder of Delicia (1896), informed them about the Victorian “woman question” and identified comparable gender norms in Europe and India. This article discusses how Rokeya broke through the iron gate of purdah practices prevalent at the time, availed herself of opportunities to explore European culture, and commented on the condition of women.

Survival of the Selfless: The New Norm in Europe

Survival of the Selfless: The New Norm in Europe

Europeanisation in Aid for Trade: the impact of capacity and socialisation

ABSTRACTThis paper explores the extent bilateral adoption of Aid for Trade (AfT) norms in Europe is the result of a Europeanisation process. Using three case study countries (Germany, Ireland, Czech Republic) we examine the level of Europeanisation across policies, polities and politics. We highlight the roles played by socialisation and capacity within this field, which forms an important test case for the Europeanisation of development policies as it blurs the distinction between the European Union (EU)-member state shared competences of development with the EU single competence of trade. We find significant variation in both the depth and speed in adapting the EU AfT norms. Our investigation into the AfT Europeanisation process in Germany, Ireland and the Czech Republic found this variation to be a function of both capacity and socialisation with the caveat that capacity appears as a more influential explanatory factor in the depth of Europeanisation while socialisation may promote a speedier process.

Applying Islamic Norms in Europe: The Example of Bosnian Muslims

Is Islamic law still valid in Europe? This paper argues “yes”—though not in the form of hard “law” but rather in the form of soft “norms” which are not state-sanctioned, but still carry heavy significance for practicing Muslims. The paper examines cases where Islamic moral, ethical and in some cases legal norms can be applied in a secular country without clashing with state laws. It further demonstrates that, based on fatawa issued by Islamic scholars in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Islamic norms may still apply for Muslims living in secular European states, although they are not legally binding. This may be illustrated by classifying norms into religious (God's commandment to fast, pray, give alms), moral–ethical (consumption of alcohol, dressing properly) and Islamic legal norms (marriage, divorce, inheritance). The conclusion is that a vast majority of these norms can be adhered to by Muslims either within the scope of guaranteed religious freedoms in civil society or may otherwise be applied without clashing with secular civil laws.

The European Court of Human Rights, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Right to Abortion: Roe V. Wade on the Other Side of the Atlantic?

This Article analyzes the legal regulation of abortion within the context of Europe’s multilevel system for the protection of fundamental rights. The Article examines the constitutional dynamics and challenges that emerge in the field of abortion law from the overlap between national and supranational norms in Europe, comparing the European multilevel architecture with the United States (U.S.) federal system. To this end, the Article summarizes the main trends in the regulation of abortion in the various European Union (“EU”) countries, assesses the growing impact of the EU and the European Convention on Human Rights in the field of abortion law, and emphasizes how supranational law generates new pressures and creates several inconsistencies within the domestic legal systems of those states which restrict abortion rights. It then explores how analogous dynamics have historically been at play in the U.S. federal system. Finally, the Article evaluates — in light of the U.S. experience — the potential consequences upon the European abortion regime of the most recent developments in the European Court of Human Rights case law and the entry into force of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights via the Lisbon reform Treaty.

Park-and-Ride motivations and air quality norms in Europe

Transport congestion and the quality of the air in cities is a persistent concern for urban planners, and in this context Park and Ride (P+R) facilities have been proposed as an element of urban sustainability strategies in many cities in Europe. In 2008 a European Commission directive aimed at improving local air quality has been introduced, the Directive on air quality and cleaner air for Europe. It seems reasonable to suggest that increased regulatory measures at European level may have spurred interest in developing potential sustainable transport (policy) innovations such as P+R.We test this hypothesis through a survey among 25 cities in North-West Europe. We find that by 2010 perceived regulatory pressure for P+R has indeed increased compared to 2005, although it remains weak and is still not a significant motivation for P+R development. Furthermore, it was found that perceived community pressure has become a significant motivation, possibly because of increased public awareness and attention for global warming and sustainability. Overall we find that framing of P+R among urban planners as well as the cities’ engagement levels have not evolved significantly from 2005 levels and thus that air quality concerns are an increasing but currently not strong motivation for local authorities in North-West Europe to develop P+R.

The Importance of Putting Pain on the Curricula in Medical Schools in Europe

ABSTRACTPain continues to be underdiagnosed and undertreated in Europe. A lack of training in pain medicine among clinicians has been identified as a barrier to optimal pain management. Except for clinicians entering specialized training in pain medicine or a related field, inadequate or nonexistent pain management training is the norm in Europe. A multidisciplinary group of experts, including representatives from the European Federation of IASP (International Association for the Study of Pain) Chapters (EFIC), is launching a pan-European initiative aimed at raising the profile and importance of undergraduate pain education.

Behavioural Finance and Investor Protection Regulations

The article deals with behavioural assumptions in legal norms, in particular with regard to investor protection norms in Europe and Germany as well as court rulings. Whereas traditional legal norms are based on the assumption of rationale behaviour, the financials crisis has demonstrated the pitfalls of the classical notions of economics, thus leading to new insights of behavioural economics. However, it is still unclear how behavioural economics may serve as a means to improve legal protection of investors. Neither a strong paternalism nor a simple extension of information obligation may suffice in the future.

Space, Cyberspace and Interface: The Trouble with Google Maps

Space, Cyberspace and Interface: The Trouble with Google Maps

Conventions on multioperator sites: An efficient risk management tool

AbstractUntil the end of the 20th century, single user sites were the norm in Europe, but in the last 10 years the situation has changed. Today, especially in the chemical industry, sites are operated by several companies with facilities close to one another.Beyond business interests, multioperator sites can offer great advantages to deal with environment, safety, security, and emergency management. But, this change generates new risks because of the interdependence between different companies and calls for a new organization of risk management at site scale.For managing overall risk, it is necessary to define a minimum of common rules. In particular, companies should be encouraged to conclude clear and efficient contracts between themselves. These contracts under private law are very flexible and can be easily updated to accompany the development of sites.The aim of this article is to highlight the main issues brought by this new kind of organization and to present INERIS' conclusions on appropriate contracts between operators (conventions) and efficient risk management on each site. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 2010

Speech by Elliot Morley at the Climate Change and Urban Areas Conference, University College London, 3 April 2006

Professor Lord Hunt, Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to open this important scientific meeting on the impacts of climate change on urban areas. As you know, the overwhelming majority of scientific opinion supports the view that human activities are changing the Earth's climate. There really