Institute for the International Education of Students

ABSTRACT This special issue calls for a deeper examination of the meso‐level dynamics of crisis, using the European Union (EU) as a living laboratory to explore and define what a meso‐level analysis of crisis entails. Here, such analysis is understood as the study of processes, institutions, and mechanisms that lie between—or cut across—(a) grand theories of European integration and (b) explanations focused on the immediate, short‐term responses of EU or member‐state crisis management institutions to specific crises. This introductory article provides initial support for a meso‐level research agenda on EU crises. We frame how the EU is perceived through the analytical lens of crisis and provide a theoretically‐oriented statement of why it is valuable to study the EU through such a lens. We then summarize the main contributions from each individual contributions to this special issue and conclude with a brief statement of what we learn about meso‐level analysis of EU crises from them.

Modern financial analytics architectures are undergoing a transformative evolution in response to increasing data complexity and volume demands. The integration of distributed computing frameworks, cloud-based data warehousing solutions, and artificial intelligence has revolutionized how financial institutions process and analyze data. Advanced ETL pipelines leveraging Apache Spark's capabilities have enhanced processing efficiency, while Snowflake's cloud platform has optimized query performance through innovative storage and compute separation. AI-driven quality assurance frameworks have automated data validation processes, reducing errors and manual intervention requirements. These technological advancements have collectively improved operational efficiency, reduced costs, and enabled more sophisticated financial analytics capabilities while maintaining regulatory compliance and data governance standards.

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Abstract This paper bridges literature on political parties and organizational studies by providing a new theoretical lens on political party developments. There has been growing scholarly interest in populist parties and the issues that serve as the raison d'être for their political platform. While the literature has been preoccupied with the journey of the anti‐hero rising to power, less has been written about the organization of the party once it has transcended to political influence. Likewise, whereas organizational birthmarks and imprinting have been integral concepts in the study of organizations, there has been little permeation of the concepts into the study of political parties. The Danish People's Party and Norwegian Progress Party provide two illustrative cases, showing that their original formation and later transformation into the current parties brought with it challenges to their structure and ideology. Our findings show that while an increase in external support to the political party, that is, votes, imprints organizational birthmarks, it is during a decrease in the very same external support that organizational birthmarks are uncovered and challenged. Through process‐tracing and our theoretical model, we identify organizational birthmarks and causal mechanisms in which competing organizational birthmarks create an internal division within the political party.

The torque motor is the most common technology used in electrohydraulic two-stage servovalves to drive the hydraulic pilot stage. As it is a key component in these valves, its performance considerably affects the overall performance of servovalve systems. Modeling accurately the magnetic behavior of the torque motor will help to get a more realistic performance of the servovalve at different operating conditions during the product design and development stage. In this paper, an advanced model of the torque motor is presented. The aim is to integrate it into the overall multiphysics model of the servovalve through a multi-variable function obtained using the proposed modeling tool. The advanced reluctance network model has been developed by progressively considering various magnetic phenomena, including flux leaks between different parts and variations in magnetic induction. This model allows rapid assessment of the magnetic performance at various operating temperatures or using different ferromagnetic materials, without the need for additional analysis in 3D finite element software.

Alignment of DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) capabilities among vendors is crucial to improve interoperability in the healthcare industry and advance medical imaging 2. However, a sustainable model for sharing DICOM samples is not available. To address this issue, Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) has introduced the IHE SHARAZONE, a continuous cross-vendor DICOM data sharing test service.IHE is a highly regarded organization known for profiling standards such as DICOM, HL7 v2 (Health Level Seven, version 2), HL7 CDA (Clinical Document Architecture), and HL7 FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) into practical solutions for clinical practice. The primary goal of the IHE SHARAZONE is to provide a reliable and consistent cross-vendor DICOM data sharing system.To evaluate its effectiveness, a 5-month pilot was conducted with ten imaging vendors. The pilot concluded with a participant survey, which yielded valuable insights into the initial experience with the IHE SHARAZONE. These findings can inform future improvements and developments to this important service.

Ibogaine is one of the alkaloids naturally found in plants such as Tabernanthe iboga, which has been traditionally used by members of the Bwiti culture. Since the discovery of its anti-addictive properties by Howard S. Lotsof in 1962, ibogaine has been used experimentally to treat substance use disorders (SUD), especially those involving opioids. We aim to provide a detailed understanding of the underlying psychological aspects of underground ibogaine use for the treatment of SUD. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 13 participants with SUD, which motivated their self-treatment with ibogaine. The data were analysed using the grounded theory approach and considered the context of the treatment, and the nature of the occurring hallucinogenic and cognitive phenomena during the treatment experience. We identified several psychological effects that the study respondents experienced, which seem to play a substantial role in the therapeutic process concerning SUD. The evoking of interpersonal and transpersonal experiences, autobiographical memories, and preparation, integration and motivation for a lifestyle change are important components that participants reported during and after ibogaine intake. Ibogaine is increasingly being used for the treatment of SUD, due in part to the limited treatment options currently available. Its beneficial effects seem to be related not only to its complex pharmacology but also to the subjective experience that ibogaine induces. The main aspects of this experience are related to autobiographical memories and valuable personal insights, which together appear to help individuals cope with their SUD.