OpenTED Browser: Insights into European Public Spendings

We present the OpenTED browser, a Web application allowing to interactively browse public spending data related to public procurements in the European Union. The application relies on Open Data recently published by the European Commission and the Publications Office of the European Union, from which we imported a curated dataset of 4.2 million contract award notices spanning the period 2006-2015. The application is designed to easily filter notices and visualise relationships between public contracting authorities and private contractors. The simple design allows for example to quickly find information about who the biggest suppliers of local governments are, and the nature of the contracted goods and services. We believe the tool, which we make Open Source, is a valuable source of information for journalists, NGOs, analysts and citizens for getting information on public procurement data, from large scale trends to local municipal developments.Comment: ECML, PKDD, SoGood workshop 201

Proposal of a service delivery integration index of home care for older persons: application in several European cities.

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldPURPOSE: To propose an integration index of home care delivery to older persons, to study its validity and to apply it to home care services of European cities. THEORY: Home care delivery integration was based on two dimensions referring to process-centred integration and organisational structure approach. METHOD: Items considered as part of both dimensions according to an expert consensus (face validity) were extracted from a standardised questionnaire used in "Aged in Home care" (AdHoc) study to capture basic characteristics of home care services. Their summation leads to a services' delivery integration index. This index was applied to AdHoc services. A factor analysis was computed in order to empirically test the validity of the theoretical constructs. The plot of the settings was performed. RESULTS: Application of the index ranks home care services in four groups according to their score. Factor analysis identifies a first factor which opposes working arrangement within service to organisational structure bringing together provisions for social care. A second factor corresponds to basic nursing care and therapies. Internal consistency for those three domains ranges from 0.78 to 0.93. When plotting the different settings different models of service delivery appear. CONCLUSION: The proposed index shows that behind a total score several models of care delivery are hidden. Comparison of service delivery integration should take into account this heterogeneity

Landschafts- und Bodenanalyse am nordwestlichen Neusiedlersee

Die Arbeit liefert eine umfassende landschaftsökologische Analyse des nordwestlichen Neusiedlersee-Gebietes, inklusive Geologie, Morphologie, Bodenbedeckung und aktueller Nutzung und behandelt auch die Auswirkungen langzeitiger anthropogener Nutzung auf das heutige Landschaftsbild. Zum Untersuchungsgebiet gehört neben dem nordöstlichen Teil des Leithagebirges und der Erhebung des Hackelsberges auch ein Teil der ufernahen Joiser Seewiesen. Einen wichtigen Bestandteil der Arbeit stellen neben der Literaturrecherche die Geländeaufnahme und die Analyse von Boden- und Sedimentproben im Labor dar. Um einen ganzheitlichen Überblick über die im Untersuchungsgebiet vorhandenen Böden und ihren Zustand zu bekommen, wurden nach dem Catena-Prinzip 35 1 m tiefe Bodenprofile aufgenommen. Die Ergebnisse der Bodenkartierung werden in Form von zwei Catenen, welche die Bodensituation im Untersuchungsgebiet repräsentieren, dargestellt. Durch die intensive landwirtschaftliche Nutzung sind die meisten Böden im Untersuchungsgebiet anthropogen beeinflusst, was sich an dem Vorhandensein von Pflug- und Rigolhorizonten, der Bodenerosion und der kolluvial überprägten Bodenentwicklung widerspiegelt. In den bewaldeten Bereichen des Leithagebirges und des Hackelsberges sind aber auch relativ ungestörteBöden zu finden. Im Rahmen der Geländearbeit wurden zudem 5 Aufschlüsse aufgenommen, wobei von 2 Aufschlüssen auch Boden- und Sedimentproben für Laboranalysen entnommen wurden. Neben Korngröße, Karbonatgehalt, pH-Wert und Farbe wurde bei 6 von insgesamt 8 Proben auch die Mineralogie bestimmt. Die Analysen haben gezeigt, dass das Leithagebirge zumindest während der letzten Eiszeit, wahrscheinlich aber auch während der älteren Eiszeiten Periglazialraum mit für diese Räume typischen Erscheinungen wie Permafrost, Frostschuttbildung und Solifluktion war. Es gab sogar Hinweise auf einen vermutlichen Paläoboden. In den Joiser Seewiesen wurde mit einer Rammkernsonde eine Forschungsbohrung durchgeführt, wobei eine Tiefe von 6 m erreicht wurde. Vom Bohrkern wurden 26 Proben entnommen, wobei die gleichen Laboranalysen wie bei den Proben der Aufschlüsse durchgeführt wurden. Die untersten 440 cm des Bohrkernes werden hauptsächlich von vermutlich pannonischen Sedimenten gebildet, darüber liegt eine 50 cm mächtige Schicht von Seeablagerungen – dem „Seeton“ - und darüber der rezente Boden. Im Profil liegen direkt unter dem „Seeton“, sowie in den vermutlich pannonischen Ablagerungen zwei dünne Lagen von Grobkies unbekannten Ursprungs. Ein wichtiger Bestandteil der Arbeit ist auch eine Zusammenfassung der Laborergebnisse, wobei einzelne, im Labor untersuchte, Sedimentarten in Form von Diagrammen und einer Tabelle dargestellt werden. In dieser Diplomarbeit soll der Leser einen vollständigen Überblick über das nordwestliche Neusiedlerseegebiet, sowie eine Vorstellung über dessen Genese bekommen.This thesis is a comprehensive ecological analysis of the landscape at the NW front of Neusiedlersee, including geology, morphology, soil cover, and recent land use and deals also with the impact of long-term human use on the recent landscape. The research area includes the NE part of the Leithagebirge, the Hackelsberg and a part of the bank side lake meadows of Jois „Joiser Seewiesen“. Our investigations covers literature research, a field survey and the analysis of soil and sediment samples in the laboratory. To get a thorough overview on the types of soils and their present condition as well as their formation we gathered 35 soil profiles of 1 m depth, following the catena-principle. The results of the soil mapping are summarized in two catenae, that represent the pedological situation of the research area. Plough- and trench-horizons (Pflug- und Rigolhorizonte) record intensive agricultural use where most of the soils show human impact as well as soil erosion and colluvium-influenced soil development. In contrast, undisturbed soils developed in the forest areas of Leithagebirge and Hackelsberg. During the field survey, we surveyed 5 outcrops and picked two outcrops for detailed soil and sediment analyses in the laboratory. Laboratory analyses include grains size, carbonate content, pH, and color. Additionally we determined the mineralogy of 6 from a total of 8 samples. The results indicate that the Leithagebirge belonged at least during the last glacial, but most likely also during former glacials, to the periglacial room, with all its typical features like permafrost, development of frost debris, and solifluction. There are also some indications for a palaeosoil horizon. Further, a dynamic pipe of 6 m depth has been drilled in the meadows of „Joiser Seewiesen“, for scientific investigation. Here, 26 drill core samples were collected and analyzed in the laboratory by the same means mentioned above. In summary, the base of the core contains 440 cm of fine grained sediments most likely of Pannonian age. The top part of the drill core is formed by a 50 cm thick layer of lake sediments - the „Seeton“ (lake clay) - with the recent soil on top. The profile also includes two thin layers of gravel of unknown origin, one below the lake sediments and one within the Pannonian sediments. An integral part of this work is a summary of all laboratory analyses that -in combination with outcrop data – define the particular sediment-types in diagrams and a table. This thesis provides a thorugh inventory on the soils and sediments of the NW Nesiedlersee-area and their temporal development

Integration of flux tower data and remotely sensed data into the SCOPE simulator: A Bayesian approach:abstract

Quantification of gross primary production (GPP) together with the continuous monitoring of i ts temporal variations are indispensable to obtain reliable data for indicating the capacity of f orests to sequester carbon. GPP can be quantified using two sources: (a) process-based simulator (PBS); and (b) flux tower measurements of the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of CO2. Additionally, remotely sensed optical data, which can be linked to the vegetation properties, carry valuable information to express canopy photosynthesis (i.e., GPP). A PBS has an advantage over flux tower and remotely sensed optical data because it can be run at time scales beyond the limit of direct measurements. Simulation of GPP by PBS at a high accuracy, however, depends upon how well the parameterization is achieved. A process-based simulator SCOPE (Soil-Canopy-Observation of Photosynthesis and Energy balance) links top of canopy observations of radiance with land surface processes (that include GPP simulation). Some parameters of SCOPE are difficult to obtain from field observations. Reliable estimates of parameters can, however, be obtained using calibration against observations of output. In this study, we present a Bayesian framework to calibrate SCOPE simulator against the estimates of GPP (separated from NEE), and the top of canopy reflectance retrieved from the remote sensing images. This framework has been tested for spruce dominated forest site at Bílý Kříž, Czech Republic. We focus on the retrieval of parameters, on which GPP are expected to be most sensitive, such as leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content, leaf water content, leaf dry matter content, senescent material content, maximum carboxylation capacity, and stomatal conductance. A Bayesian framework also allowed to estimate the uncertainties of both the SCOPE parameters and the simulated GPP, which is important in the sense that it helps to determine how much confidence can be placed in the results of forest carbon-related studies

Adverse childhood experiences and sources of childhood resilience:a retrospective study of their combined relationships with child health and educational attendance

Abstract Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) including maltreatment and exposure to household stressors can impact the health of children. Community factors that provide support, friendship and opportunities for development may build children’s resilience and protect them against some harmful impacts of ACEs. We examine if a history of ACEs is associated with poor childhood health and school attendance and the extent to which such outcomes are counteracted by community resilience assets. Methods A national (Wales) cross-sectional retrospective survey (n = 2452) using a stratified random probability sampling methodology and including a boost sample (n = 471) of Welsh speakers. Data collection used face-to-face interviews at participants’ places of residence. Outcome measures were self-reported poor childhood health, specific conditions (asthma, allergies, headaches, digestive disorders) and school absenteeism. Results Prevalence of each common childhood condition, poor childhood health and school absenteeism increased with number of ACEs reported. Childhood community resilience assets (being treated fairly, supportive childhood friends, being given opportunities to use your abilities, access to a trusted adult and having someone to look up to) were independently linked to better outcomes. In those with ≥4 ACEs the presence of all significant resilience assets (vs none) reduced adjusted prevalence of poor childhood health from 59.8 to 21.3%. Conclusions Better prevention of ACEs through the combined actions of public services may reduce levels of common childhood conditions, improve school attendance and help alleviate pressures on public services. Whilst the eradication of ACEs remains unlikely, actions to strengthen community resilience assets may partially offset their immediate harms