Search results

The paper discusses how the Commission is shaping a decentralisation policy in the antitrust field. The paper details the procedural architecture ‐ “degrees of priority”, “preconditions for decentralisation” and “Community interest” ‐ which gives the Commission sole discretion to decide whether an antitrust case is dealt with by Brussels or is referred to a Member State. It reveals that the decentralisation procedure has been set up by the Commission, with the blessing of the Community courts, but with little real consultation with the Member States. The paper points out that the decision whether to decentralise turns on a new, qualitative and Commission decided Community interest test. The paper emphasises that the Community interest test runs in parallel with ‐ and has a similar function to ‐ a number of decentralisation provisions which already exist. The final section of the paper contrasts Community interest as a decentralisation test with the rival, and pre‐existing, quantitative approach to decentralisation ‐ the Community dimension test ‐ contained in the EC Merger Control Regulation (MCR). It explains that both tests have strengths and weaknesses and that the recent reform of the MCR has not fully addressed these concerns in respect to Community dimension. The paper’s main conclusion is that the Commission’s appropriation of the ability to decide which Member States are competent to deal with decentralised antitrust cases has created the possibility of a fragmented or two‐speed Europe in competition regulation.

Examines, with special regard to business, the operation of certain aspects of the Merger Control Regulation (MCR), particularly the “one‐stop‐shop‐approach”, that is likely to be reappraised at the forthcoming inter‐governmental conference or the scheduled review of the MCR. Uses the critical concepts of certainty, uniformity and transparency, to explore the scope and effectiveness of the “one‐stop‐shop‐approach” with regard to: definition of a community dimension; distinct markets (Article 9 MCR) and parallel EC/member state enforcement (Article 21 MCR and Article 223 Treaty of Rome). Looks at the role of subsidiarity. Addresses the questionable interpretation by the Commission of the MCR’s applicability to oligopolistic dominance. Considers the proposal for an independent cartel office, particularly with regard to enhancing transparency and certainty in decision making. Concludes by proposing an alternative definition of community dimension, not based on the size of the parties measured by aggregate turnover of all their products, but rather on the competition spillover effects on the specific product markets affected by the concentration.

Notes that the notion of a “substantial part” of the Common Market (European Union) has significance in terms of European competitive regulation and policy. Points out that without this term European competition policy would be limited to cases involving the whole of the Community. Examines a range of competing interpretations of this key term and reveals that the European Court and the European Commission have adopted different interpretations in dealing with the issue of a “substantial part”. Considers the reasons for this divergence and suggests that proposals for revisions to Article 9 of the Merger Control Regulation may end the divergence.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate television viewing habits of children from low-income families, their consumption of fruits, vegetables and snacks, as well as their spending habits.

11 focus groups were conducted with 54 public school students aged seven to ten years, divided by sex and age. Transcription of the discussions was processed by content analysis. Family income was indirectly assessed through classification of parents' occupations.

The habit of watching television was very present in the students' routines, as was eating in front of the television set. Eating fruits and vegetables was a habit, but frequent consumption of snack foods was also reported. Students had money of their own to spend independently and did it mostly on snacks. Parental interference over their habits was not perceived by the students. Television watching was a regular activity not only for the children, but also for their families. Even though research design could not establish a causal relationship, consumption and acquisition of unhealthy food items was routine, as well as watching television.

Results are of local nature and findings may differ from those of other regions or countries. Also, students were conveniently selected, and as volunteers they may have been more likely to have an interest in matters related to nutrition, or could have misreported their eating behaviours to be more socially desirable than they actually were.

Qualitative investigation regarding television viewing habits, food choices and purchases of Brazilian low-income children.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the association of various family factors with children’s fruit and vegetable (FV) intake.

A cross-sectional analysis of data from 601 parent-child dyads with children aged three to six years old was conducted. Parents completed questionnaires on child’s FV intake, parenting styles, parental feeding practices, family functioning, television viewing at mealtimes and frequency of family meals. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between various family factors and the likelihood of meeting the child’s daily FV recommendation with adjustment for different demographic variables.

Multivariate model adjusting for sociodemographic data indicated that meeting vegetable recommendation was associated with lower frequency of dining with grandparents (Odds ratio (OR) 0.94, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89–0.99, p=0.031) and positively associated with parents using more desirable parental feeding practices (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.09–1.21, p<0.001). Meeting fruit recommendation was associated with parents using more desirable parental feeding practices (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.09–1.17, p<0.001), higher frequency of dining with grandparents (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.00–1.10, p=0.041), lower frequency of dining with father (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.82–0.98, p=0.014) and higher score on authoritative parenting style (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.01–1.08, p=0.009).

This study highlights the potential protective roles of various family factors, in particular authoritative parenting style and parental feeding practices, such as role modeling, moderate restrictive practices for less healthy foods, avoidance of forced feeding, and not using junk food as reward in relation to meeting FV recommendation in children. The role of grandparents in influencing the young children’s eating behaviors within the Chinese family warrants further investigation.

Client satisfaction is an important outcome measure of healthcare services. The aims of the present work are to develop a tool to assess client satisfaction with the components of streamlined cataract services and to conduct a pilot study to evaluate its reliability and validity.

A validated patient satisfaction questionnaire was modified for use in a cataract service and validated by expert panel and patient focus group approach. Two versions were used to evaluate pre‐operative assessment clinic and day surgical unit. The questionnaires comprised items covering individual domains of client satisfaction plus one global satisfaction item. Together with a visual analogue scale (VAS) the questionnaires were administered to 200 consecutive cataract patients.

The questionnaires were returned by 165 patients (82.5 per cent). Median individual item and global scores in the pre‐operative group were 87 and 100 per cent, respectively. In the day‐of‐surgery group median scores were 91 and 100 per cent, respectively. Mean VAS scores were 95.5 per cent (SD 5.6) and 94.5 per cent (SD 6.4), respectively. Cronbach's alpha was 0.768 for the pre‐operative and 0.636 for the day‐of‐surgery questionnaire. Spearman's correlation coefficient between individual item score and the VAS score was 0.350 (p=0.005) for the pre‐operative and 0.302 (p=0.028) for the day‐of‐surgery questionnaire. Spearman's correlation coefficient between individual item score and the global satisfaction score was 0.566 (p<0.001) for the pre‐operative and 0.317 (p=0.004) for the day‐of‐surgery questionnaire.

The questionnaire appears to be a useful tool for measuring client satisfaction with a one‐stop cataract pre‐assessment service where surgery is performed at a second visit, which other cataract service providers might adapt for local use.

The Howard Shuttering Contractors case throws considerable light on the importance which the tribunals attach to warnings before dismissing an employee. In this case the tribunal took great pains to interpret the intention of the parties to the different site agreements, and it came to the conclusion that the agreed procedure was not followed. One other matter, which must be particularly noted by employers, is that where a final warning is required, this final warning must be “a warning”, and not the actual dismissal. So that where, for example, three warnings are to be given, the third must be a “warning”. It is after the employee has misconducted himself thereafter that the employer may dismiss.

This chapter examines how opponents of same-sex marriage have used rights discourse to construct an identity of themselves as victims, and construct gays and lesbians as deviant “others.” I find that conservative rights discourse has been more effective outside the courtroom than in it. This is because these arguments rely on implicit discriminatory stereotypes which are frequently exposed under the scrutiny of dispassionate judicial actors. However, in a popular arena, they are free to operate with considerably less scrutiny. Here, rights discourse is used to mask discriminatory stereotypes and lend legitimacy to positions that would be rejected if made explicitly.