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This monograph provides for the first time a combined overview of all classes of metal body armour from the European Bronze Age in a holistic perspective, combining discussion of both traditional typo-chronologies and aspects of manufacture and use. The earliest metal body armour recovered comes from Dendra, Greece, and dates to the first half of the 15th century BC. However, the majority of metal body armour, including helmets, cuirasses and greaves, derives from the European Late Bronze Age, c. 1200-950 BC. This armour has been found from Iberia in the west to Cyprus in the east, and from Sicily in the south to Denmark in the north, as well as in the Near East. It thus derives from a wide geographical study area. Nevertheless, only around 30 cuirasses, 75 greaves and 120 helmets have so far been recovered. The development, manufacture and use of this metal body armour across Europe remains unclear, even after more than a century of research. Earlier studies were largely concerned with typo-chronological aspects of this armour, whilst topics such as manufacturing techniques, efficacy and technological observations were rarely addressed. This volume therefore brings together both traditional artefact and metallurgical studies, as well as reconstructions of manufacturing techniques, technological developments and innovations and use-wear analysis. The monograph also provides much-needed detail concerning material characterisation, in the form of alloy composition and microstructure analysis of a significant sample of the original finds

"The COVID-19 pandemic has presented severe challenges for European education, forcing an adjustment to distance learning and physical school closures. Many students have encountered problems with online learning, such as a lack of access to appropriate equipment and tools. Nevertheless, the pandemic has also been an opportunity to improve the education system and introduce new, more effective solutions. These changes concern not only the material side of learning but also the psychological one. The introduction of remote learning meant the need to adapt school statutes, expenditures, and educational strategies. Many European countries have introduced additional financial support. However, many others had to cut back on their education spending, which led to financial difficulties for schools and may harm the quality of teaching. Online learning has become a mainstream teaching method but has drawbacks, such as a lack of direct contact with the teacher and peers, technical difficulties, and social isolation. Nevertheless, research shows that the effectiveness of online learning is comparable to traditional teaching, and in some subjects, it may even prove to be better. For example, studies conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic have not shown significant differences in teaching outcomes in Poland."

Across the European Union, the market size of crowdfunding totals €16.9 billion with 1,231 active platforms (Chervyakov and Rocholl, 2019). However, the shares of microcredit (MC) allocated to business and personal loans are difficult to compute (European Commission, 2007a), and accessing the availability of banking industry MC is equally hard to ascertain (European Commission, 2007b). Recent efforts by the European Microfinance Network (EMN) report that between 2012 and 2017 business loans were losing ground to personal loans both in the number (60% to 41%) and the value of disbursed loans (80% to 52%) as well as in terms of active borrowers (61% to 41%) (Bendig et al. 2014; Botti et al. 2016; Diriker et al. 2018). Personal loans are thus quickly catching up with business microloans and verged on €1 billion in 2017. Based on data about Eastern European countries sourced from the online peer-to-peer (P2P) crowdfunding platform Kiva, this paper examines the relation between soft information and prosocial P2P crowdfunding performance, in particular the funding speed, both for personal and for business loans. To the best of our knowledge, this paper represents the first to identify a relationship between soft information, measured by the text length describing the loan purpose on personal and business loans, and P2P crowdfunding performance. In keeping with previous studies (e.g., Dorfleitner et al., 2019a; Dorfleitner and Oswald, 2016), we apply a censored tobit regression model to predict the speed of loan funding on Kiva, by controlling for field partner, loan, borrower, and socioeconomic-geopolitical characteristics respectively. We furthermore deployed two datasets: the Kiva P2P crowdfunding platform and the World Bank. The Kiva's dataset comprises 29,739 loans applied for between 2011 to 2018 from five European countries (two countries from the lower middle-income group: the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, and three from the upper middle-income group: Albania, Armenia, and Georgia). This paper identifies how applying for personal loans increases the speed of funding time compared to business loans. Additionally, the results support the hypothesis of a quasi-U-shaped relationship between soft information and funding speed but applicable only to business loans. We provide new evidence on the relationship between personal versus business loans and crowdfunding performance. The resulting policy recommendations suggest P2P crowdfunding may require a greater focus on personal loans which constitute the "weakest link" in P2P lending marketplaces such as Kiva and furthermore gain less support from lenders. The results provide insights about microentrepreneurs to lenders with investing in education, skills and entrepreneurial training therefore appearing as crucial to their business success in line with thematic objective 10 (FI-Compass, 2018, 2016)

The European Diphtheria Surveillance Network (EDSN) ensures the reliable epidemiological and microbiologic assessment of disease prevalence in the European Union. Here, we describe a survey of current diagnostic techniques for diphtheria surveillance conducted across the European Union and report the results from three external quality assessment (EQA) schemes performed between 2010 and 2014.

At head of title: 92d Congress, 2d session. Committee print. ; Mode of access: Internet.

This study aims to give guidance for a better-performing EU through an improved allocation of competences between the European Union and its member states. The study analyses eight specific policies from a wide range of fields with respect to their preferable assignment. The analysis applies a unified quantified approach and is precise in its definition of "counterfactuals". These counterfactuals are understood as conceptual alternatives to the allocation of competences under the status quo. As such, they either relate to a new European competence (if the policy is currently a national responsibility) or a new national competence (if the policy is currently assigned to the EU). The comprehensive, quantification-based assessments indicate that it would be preferable to have responsibility for higher education and providing farmers with income support at the national level. Conversely, a shift of competences to the EU level would be advantageous when it comes to asylum policies, defence, corporate taxation, development aid and a (complementary) unemployment insurance scheme in the euro area. For one policy - railway freight transport - the findings are indeterminate. Overall, the study recommends a differentiated integration strategy comprising both new European policies and a roll-back of EU competences in other fields.

Dementia is a widely recognized public health priority due to the increasing number of people living with the condition and its attendant health, social, and economic costs. Delivering appropriate care is a challenge in many countries in Europe contributing to unmet needs of people living with dementia. Acute hospital settings are often the default route in pursuit for dementia care due to the lack of or limited knowledge of local service provisions. The care environment and the skillsets in acute hospitals do not fully embrace the personhood necessary in dementia care. Predictions of an exponential increase in people living with dementia in the coming 30 years require evidence-based strategies for advancing dementia care and maximizing independent living. However, the evidence required to inform priorities for enabling improvements in dementia care is rarely presented in a way that stimulates and sustains political interests. This scoping review of the literature drew on principles of meta-ethnography to clarify the gaps and priorities in dementia care in Europe. The review constituted eight papers (n = 8) and a stakeholder consultation involving three organizations implementing dementia care programs in Europe comprising Emmaus Elderly Care in Belgium, Residential Care Holy Heart in Belgium, and ZorgSaam in the Netherlands. Overarching concepts of gaps identified include fragmented non-person-centered care pathways, the culture of dementia care, limited knowledge and skills, poor communication and information sharing, and ineffective healthcare policies. Key areas distinguished from the literature for narrowing the gaps to improve care experiences and the support for people living with dementia care encompass person-centered care, integrated care pathways, and healthcare workforce development. Action for advancing care and maximizing independent living needs to go beyond mere inclusions on political agendas to incorporate a shift in health and social care policies to address the needs of people living with ...