Showing papers by "Danube University Krems published in 2022"

Migration Drivers: Why Do People Migrate?

Abstract: Abstract Growing social and economic inequalities, and consequently, unfulfilled life aspirations trigger the migration intentions of millions, if not billions of people around the world. Surveys by Gallup World Poll suggest that more than 750 million adults would like to migrate if they had the chance to do so (Esipova et al., 2018). Hence, globally ‘only’ one in eight adults express a desire to migrate. This is a surprisingly small fraction given the fact that a much larger but unknown number of people would have good reasons to migrate in order to realise economic, professional, political, or social opportunities elsewhere. At the same time, only small fractions of those who aspire to migrate are actually able to realise it.

Beyond Simple: Entrepreneurship as a Driver for Societal Change

Abstract: AbstractIn this paper, we argue that the important contribution of modern entrepreneurs is not only related to business aims, but also to dealing with complex societal real-world challenges in a systemic, creative, and future-oriented manner. Thus, entrepreneurship is beyond the simplified idea to develop a concept of a business model, but to understand it as a driver for societal change. For that, creativity and systemic approaches are becoming important factors for entrepreneurial thinking, which is geared towards necessary sustainable and future-oriented impacts. What are the necessary competences for entrepreneurs to innovate such new enriched business models, which are embedded in societal changes? We outline the needs for particular educational methods and means that allow for a deeper complex system understanding. We consider system thinking and analysis, problem structuring, co-creation of ideas and improvisation, as well as scenario development tools as means for the empowerment of future entrepreneurs. Sustainable businesses in the long-term perspective (based on the understanding of various time- and agent boundaries), as well as capabilities to respond to emerging unintended effects (e.g., positive and negative side effects of digital transformations) are aimed to be a core focus of such an empowerment.KeywordsHuman-nature-technology systemsComplex business systemsSocietal challengesCompetencesSustainability orientationDigital transformationsAdaptive capacitiesEducation and training

Time to revise primary prevention guidelines for stroke and cardiovascular disease

Abstract: Strategies for prevention of cardiovascular disease that are based on risk assessment and targeted to high-risk populations (ie, the so-called high-risk approach) are thought to deliver large benefits and to be cost-effective, compared with population-wide strategies.1Jackson R Wells S Rodgers A Will screening individuals at high risk of cardiovascular events deliver large benefits? Yes.BMJ. 2008; 337a1371Crossref Scopus (17) Google Scholar According to this high-risk approach, management guidelines for blood pressure and cholesterol must be based on the use of an individual's predicted absolute risk of cardiovascular disease as the threshold for drug therapy. However, evidence supporting the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of risk-based management guidelines (including risk-stratified heat maps) is scarce, and the global burden of stroke and cardiovascular disease continues to rise.At a population level, age-standardised incidence and mortality rates of stroke and cardiovascular disease were decreasing long before the implementation of high-risk strategies. After the introduction of high-risk strategies into clinical practice over the past several decades, the decreases in incidence and mortality were expected to continue and even accelerate. However, between 2010 and 2015, decreasing rates of age-standardised mortality started to plateau across most regions2Roth GA Johnson C Abajobir A et al.Global, regional, and national burden of cardiovascular diseases for 10 causes, 1990 to 2015.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017; 70: 1-25Crossref PubMed Scopus (1973) Google Scholar and subsequently started to increase, most notably in people younger than 70 years. For example, the age-standardised incidence of stroke and cardiovascular disease increased from 682 cases per 100 000 people (95% uncertainty interval 645–722) in 2017 to 684 cases per 100 000 people (646–726) in 2019, and stroke incidence increased from 149 cases per 100 000 people (136–166) in 2017 to 151 cases 100 000 people (137–167) in 2019. Furthermore, evidence shows that the prevalence of diabetes, arterial hypertension, and obesity is increasing, with greater relative increases in younger individuals (aged 30–59 years) than in older people (aged ≥60 years).3Tong X Yang Q George MG Gillespie C Merritt RK Trends of risk profile among middle-aged adults hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke in United States 2006–2017.Int J Stroke. 2021; 16: 855-862Crossref PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar These findings suggest that primary prevention by means of high-risk strategies is not sufficiently effective at the population level for containing, let alone reducing, the rising global burden.The high-risk prevention strategy is not only inadequate, but it might also exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities, provide a false reassurance for individuals at low and moderate risk that they are protected from stroke and heart attack, and attenuate any motivation to control their risk factors.4Feigin VL Brainin M Norrving B et al.What is the best mix of population-wide and high-risk targeted strategies of primary stroke and cardiovascular disease prevention?.J Am Heart Assoc. 2020; 9e014494Crossref PubMed Scopus (16) Google Scholar Additionally, the high-risk strategy can only prevent a few stroke and cardiovascular events, because it targets only a minority of the population at high risk.4Feigin VL Brainin M Norrving B et al.What is the best mix of population-wide and high-risk targeted strategies of primary stroke and cardiovascular disease prevention?.J Am Heart Assoc. 2020; 9e014494Crossref PubMed Scopus (16) Google ScholarFindings from two large individual-participant meta-analyses5Rahimi K Bidel Z Nazarzadeh M et al.Age-stratified and blood-pressure-stratified effects of blood-pressure-lowering pharmacotherapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and death: an individual participant-level data meta-analysis.Lancet. 2021; 398: 1053-1064Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (45) Google Scholar, 6Joseph P Roshandel G Gao P et al.Fixed-dose combination therapies with and without aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: an individual participant data meta-analysis.Lancet. 2021; 398: 1133-1146Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (28) Google Scholar have convincingly shown that lowering blood pressure and plasma lipid concentration was beneficial, irrespective of the baseline measurements of these risk factors. An individual-participant meta-analysis5Rahimi K Bidel Z Nazarzadeh M et al.Age-stratified and blood-pressure-stratified effects of blood-pressure-lowering pharmacotherapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and death: an individual participant-level data meta-analysis.Lancet. 2021; 398: 1053-1064Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (45) Google Scholar of 358 707 participants from 51 randomised controlled trials conducted by the Blood Pressure Lowering Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration showed a beneficial effect of a pharmacological reduction in blood pressure to 120/70 mm Hg in people across various age groups (aged <55 years to ≥85 years), with relative risk reductions for prevention of major events (including stroke and heart attack) irrespective of baseline systolic or diastolic blood pressure. These findings were in line with the results of another individual-participant meta-analysis6Joseph P Roshandel G Gao P et al.Fixed-dose combination therapies with and without aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: an individual participant data meta-analysis.Lancet. 2021; 398: 1133-1146Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (28) Google Scholar of 18 162 participants from three trials of fixed-dose combination treatments (ie, two agents that lowered blood pressure plus a statin with or without aspirin) for primary prevention, which also reported a strong beneficial effect of lowering blood pressure and lipid concentration through pharmacological therapy regardless of baseline blood pressure and plasma lipid concentration. These results support a population-wide approach to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, irrespective of baseline blood pressure and cholesterol concentration, and of absolute risk. This approach can be implemented by non-pharmacological interventions, such as public-health policy and individual lifestyle modification.Considering this evidence, the World Stroke Organization and the World Federation of Neurology state that treatment thresholds for absolute risk should not be the main and only criteria for selecting individuals for pharmacological management of elevated blood pressure and lipid concentration. We also propose that the categorisation of people into low, moderate (mild), and high absolute cardiovascular risk (including use of risk-stratified heat maps) should be abandoned. More effective and widely applicable motivational preventative strategies, with emphasis on lifestyle modification, should be implemented for people at any risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. Strategies for prevention of cardiovascular disease that are based on risk assessment and targeted to high-risk populations (ie, the so-called high-risk approach) are thought to deliver large benefits and to be cost-effective, compared with population-wide strategies.1Jackson R Wells S Rodgers A Will screening individuals at high risk of cardiovascular events deliver large benefits? Yes.BMJ. 2008; 337a1371Crossref Scopus (17) Google Scholar According to this high-risk approach, management guidelines for blood pressure and cholesterol must be based on the use of an individual's predicted absolute risk of cardiovascular disease as the threshold for drug therapy. However, evidence supporting the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of risk-based management guidelines (including risk-stratified heat maps) is scarce, and the global burden of stroke and cardiovascular disease continues to rise. At a population level, age-standardised incidence and mortality rates of stroke and cardiovascular disease were decreasing long before the implementation of high-risk strategies. After the introduction of high-risk strategies into clinical practice over the past several decades, the decreases in incidence and mortality were expected to continue and even accelerate. However, between 2010 and 2015, decreasing rates of age-standardised mortality started to plateau across most regions2Roth GA Johnson C Abajobir A et al.Global, regional, and national burden of cardiovascular diseases for 10 causes, 1990 to 2015.J Am Coll Cardiol. 2017; 70: 1-25Crossref PubMed Scopus (1973) Google Scholar and subsequently started to increase, most notably in people younger than 70 years. For example, the age-standardised incidence of stroke and cardiovascular disease increased from 682 cases per 100 000 people (95% uncertainty interval 645–722) in 2017 to 684 cases per 100 000 people (646–726) in 2019, and stroke incidence increased from 149 cases per 100 000 people (136–166) in 2017 to 151 cases 100 000 people (137–167) in 2019. Furthermore, evidence shows that the prevalence of diabetes, arterial hypertension, and obesity is increasing, with greater relative increases in younger individuals (aged 30–59 years) than in older people (aged ≥60 years).3Tong X Yang Q George MG Gillespie C Merritt RK Trends of risk profile among middle-aged adults hospitalized for acute ischemic stroke in United States 2006–2017.Int J Stroke. 2021; 16: 855-862Crossref PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar These findings suggest that primary prevention by means of high-risk strategies is not sufficiently effective at the population level for containing, let alone reducing, the rising global burden. The high-risk prevention strategy is not only inadequate, but it might also exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities, provide a false reassurance for individuals at low and moderate risk that they are protected from stroke and heart attack, and attenuate any motivation to control their risk factors.4Feigin VL Brainin M Norrving B et al.What is the best mix of population-wide and high-risk targeted strategies of primary stroke and cardiovascular disease prevention?.J Am Heart Assoc. 2020; 9e014494Crossref PubMed Scopus (16) Google Scholar Additionally, the high-risk strategy can only prevent a few stroke and cardiovascular events, because it targets only a minority of the population at high risk.4Feigin VL Brainin M Norrving B et al.What is the best mix of population-wide and high-risk targeted strategies of primary stroke and cardiovascular disease prevention?.J Am Heart Assoc. 2020; 9e014494Crossref PubMed Scopus (16) Google Scholar Findings from two large individual-participant meta-analyses5Rahimi K Bidel Z Nazarzadeh M et al.Age-stratified and blood-pressure-stratified effects of blood-pressure-lowering pharmacotherapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and death: an individual participant-level data meta-analysis.Lancet. 2021; 398: 1053-1064Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (45) Google Scholar, 6Joseph P Roshandel G Gao P et al.Fixed-dose combination therapies with and without aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: an individual participant data meta-analysis.Lancet. 2021; 398: 1133-1146Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (28) Google Scholar have convincingly shown that lowering blood pressure and plasma lipid concentration was beneficial, irrespective of the baseline measurements of these risk factors. An individual-participant meta-analysis5Rahimi K Bidel Z Nazarzadeh M et al.Age-stratified and blood-pressure-stratified effects of blood-pressure-lowering pharmacotherapy for the prevention of cardiovascular disease and death: an individual participant-level data meta-analysis.Lancet. 2021; 398: 1053-1064Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (45) Google Scholar of 358 707 participants from 51 randomised controlled trials conducted by the Blood Pressure Lowering Treatment Trialists’ Collaboration showed a beneficial effect of a pharmacological reduction in blood pressure to 120/70 mm Hg in people across various age groups (aged <55 years to ≥85 years), with relative risk reductions for prevention of major events (including stroke and heart attack) irrespective of baseline systolic or diastolic blood pressure. These findings were in line with the results of another individual-participant meta-analysis6Joseph P Roshandel G Gao P et al.Fixed-dose combination therapies with and without aspirin for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: an individual participant data meta-analysis.Lancet. 2021; 398: 1133-1146Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (28) Google Scholar of 18 162 participants from three trials of fixed-dose combination treatments (ie, two agents that lowered blood pressure plus a statin with or without aspirin) for primary prevention, which also reported a strong beneficial effect of lowering blood pressure and lipid concentration through pharmacological therapy regardless of baseline blood pressure and plasma lipid concentration. These results support a population-wide approach to lowering blood pressure and cholesterol, irrespective of baseline blood pressure and cholesterol concentration, and of absolute risk. This approach can be implemented by non-pharmacological interventions, such as public-health policy and individual lifestyle modification. Considering this evidence, the World Stroke Organization and the World Federation of Neurology state that treatment thresholds for absolute risk should not be the main and only criteria for selecting individuals for pharmacological management of elevated blood pressure and lipid concentration. We also propose that the categorisation of people into low, moderate (mild), and high absolute cardiovascular risk (including use of risk-stratified heat maps) should be abandoned. More effective and widely applicable motivational preventative strategies, with emphasis on lifestyle modification, should be implemented for people at any risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. We declare no competing interests.

Cost Sharing and Funding of International Student Career Services: Public-Private Partnerships in the German Context

Abstract: In some countries, employers are viewed as beneficiaries of international student mobility and thus as a funding source for supporting international student programming. In this study, higher education institutions in Germany were surveyed about career services for international students. From the responding institutions (n=141, 33.6%), one key result revealed that over 10% of career services for international students at German universities are funded in whole or in part by local employers, regional development agencies, or employer associations. This cost-sharing model exhibits that employers are increasingly active in providing support and that there is a tendency to fund services instead of scholarships.

e-Participation in Austria: Digital Agenda Vienna

Abstract: Digital Agenda Vienna is the City of Vienna's digital strategy which addresses research, technology and economic development, but at the same time provides guiding principles for setting priorities, implementing projects and designing new public services. The e-participation initiative for the development of Digital Agenda Vienna (Digitale Agenda Wien, DAW) was set up in 2014 by the City of Vienna and continues to have an impact on the participatory and innovation processes in public administration. Using a qualitative approach, this case study represents a municipal e-participatory initiative and analyses the initiative, the involvement of the users, the phases of collaboration between citizens and public administration in public processes and its impact on policy. This case study summarizes the insights gained from the relevant documentation and the experts that can be of value in the design of future e-participation initiatives organized by public administrations by highlighting the importance of the design of a participation process, the transparency of the process and the implementation of the outcomes.

II. Dimensionen der Digitalisierung des Rechts

Abstract: Für den 21. ÖJT 2022 in Wien wurden für die vier Abteilungen Öffentliches Recht, Zivilrecht, Sozialbetrug und Digitalisierung des Rechts von namhaften Experten Gutachten erstellt. Diese Gutachten liegen nun in Buchform vor:

The impact of human resource management policies on higher education in Europe

Abstract: This chapter reviews policies connected to, emphasising, or affecting human resource management in higher education. The chapter uses a theoretical framework comprising different human resource dimensions and functions at higher education institutions to analyse the European Commission's recent and "milestone" policies to improve and develop higher education. In addition to cross-referencing and analysing legal and policy documents, the chapter maps the connections among human resource functions and policies. In so doing, it provides a first inventory of European Union policies and explores how the highlighted human resource dimensions of these policies could improve and change higher education. Further to this, the chapter discusses the uniqueness of higher education and its effects for human resource functions. Selected examples highlight commonalities and differences between policy formation and institutional effects on human resource management and argue for more focus and attention on human resource management in order to develop higher education towards policy objectives.

Rechtsgrundlage und anwendbares Völkerstrafrecht vor dem IStGH im Falle von Vorlagen durch den UN-Sicherheitsrat: The Prosecutor v. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (‘Ali Kushayb’)

Abstract: In der Rechtssache Abd-Al-Rahman hatte die Berufungskammer über wichtige Fragen im Zusammenhang mit der Zuständigkeit des Internationalen Strafgerichtshofs (IStGH) bei Überweisungen durch den UN-Sicherheitsrat (UNSR) zu entscheiden. Er bestätigte die Rechtsgrundlage für seine Jurisdiktion aufgrund der Überweisung und stellte zur Wahrung des Grundsatzes nullum crimen sine lege fest, dass die Straftatbestände in Rechtsquellen außerhalb des Römischen Statuts (RS) enthalten sein müssen und die Strafverfolgung für den Angeklagten zum Zeitpunkt der Tat vorhersehbar sein muss.

IV. Automatisierungstaugliche Gesetze

Abstract: Für den 21. ÖJT 2022 in Wien wurden für die vier Abteilungen Öffentliches Recht, Zivilrecht, Sozialbetrug und Digitalisierung des Rechts von namhaften Experten Gutachten erstellt. Diese Gutachten liegen nun in Buchform vor: