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Land-use planning can be seen as a way of controlling future development. As strategic planning defines new ambitions and rapidly changing circumstances call for implementation, more adaptable land-use planning is needed. In this paper different dimensions and characteristics of adaptable versus rigid planning are presented in a theoretical model. In this model, two dimensions of legal certainty are added to the state-of-the-art literature. Adaptability is not only defined by the material and procedural dimensions of land-use plans, also the legal and time dimensions are highly determinant. In a case study, the rigid planning system of the Flemish region is investigated by its determining characteristics. Based on empirical evidence from historical research, our paper shows how successive political decisions increased legal certainty for landowners leaving a small margin for policy change. Different dimensions and characteristics that could unlock the paralyzed system are assessed. In particular, the paramount importance of the time dimension in binding land-use plans and compensation schemes is highlighted. This case study demonstrates the need of embedding systematic review procedures and expiry dates in the planning system. Our findings are especially relevant for all planning systems that tend towards high legal certainty and protection of property rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we outline a content analysis of 541,083 national and international news articles, all published between 2018 and 2020 in the print and online versions of the two newspapers of the biggest private media company in Flanders (Belgium). Through automated text analysis, we assess articles for their internal content overlap, which has been linked by scholarship to possible negative effects of increased media market consolidation. Results reveal that while the overall content overlap between the two newspapers has remained stable, one of the two titles has copy-pasted articles from the other one increasingly, while also recycling content more frequently across its own newspaper and website. These findings are positioned in Flanders' small and highly concentrated media market and subsequently contextualised in a broader perspective of news diversity within media markets and societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focusses on the organisational responses of secondary schools to newly arrived migrant students. In Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium), as in many other European regions, newly arrived students are placed in segregated classes that aim to prepare them for integration in mainstream education. Deriving from, on the one hand, academic critiques on the principle of segregated classes and, on the other hand, the autonomy that schools have regarding practices for newly arrived students, the paper aims to shed detailed light on the organisational choices schools make regarding newcomers and how professionals in these schools experience and relate to these choices. Based on representative survey-data and in-depth interviews, gathered for a research project for the Flemish Department of Education, the results address class allocation, interaction with mainstream classes and transition procedures in the education for newly arrived students. The findings indicate that education for newcomers, in spite of being poorly embedded in the mainstream educational system, opts for organisational practices similar to those in mainstream education and very typical for the basic grammar of schooling. Professionals in these schools express doubt and ambiguity over many of these choices, sometimes paving the way for departure from customary practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an ethnographic case study of a private television newsroom owned by a newly merged and dominant media company in the small and highly concentrated media market of Flanders (Belgium). Through ethnographic observations and interviews along with desk research and surveys, carried out throughout 2020 both physically and virtually, we operationalise a previously developed model for pinpointing changes inside newsrooms. Our study shows once more that when newsrooms are confronted with changing circumstances, in this case, due to a merger, contemplation about how to address these changes happens largely behind closed doors on the management level, in the meantime leading to frustration amongst employees fearing that their professional identities and practices will be absolved in the newly to be created company structure. Involuntarily, our field study was affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which we turned into an opportunity to explore the methodological consequences for ethnographic observations that in the future are bound to be taking place in increasingly hybrid newsrooms and other work settings. Finally, we highlight the importance of studying both physical and virtual spaces in which journalists produce news content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the possible contribution of cinematic perceptions for spatial planning in general and the inclusion of everyday experience in the planning of the Flemish urbanized landscape in particular. Urban planners as well as policy makers struggle to get grip on dispersed spatial developments, while everyday practice of consuming space in sprawly areas, also in Flanders, unimpededly continues. Our assumption is that based on a theoretical understanding of the duality between urban theories and everyday life, a cinematic approach might gain insights in the inhabitants' imagination of suburbia in general and the Flemish landscape in particular. Here we will preliminarily refer to five contemporary fiction films, such as Nowhere Man (Patrice Toye, 2008), Fucking Suburbia (Jeff Otte, 2012), Kid (Fien Troch, 2012), Violet (Bas Devos, 2014) and Home (Fien Troch, 2016). They show how film represents, reflects and interacts with the intrinsic characteristics, the experience value and the typical dynamics of those sprawly areas. These perceptions might enhance a deeper understanding of the daily lives in those areas, and therewith enhance a more engaged approach of those areas by planners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regular involvement in organised youth sport boosts the likelihood of lifelong sport participation. However, increasing dropout rates in sport clubs and alarming levels of young people not meeting physical activity guidelines may suggest that the organised sport sector's efforts have been insufficient to date. This situation calls for evaluation of the applicable youth sport policy to determine how organised youth sport is intended to operate and to articulate whether and how the policy achieves its stated goals. Accordingly, this paper identifies and analyses initiatives of national governing bodies (NGBs) to increase participation rates and improve the quality of youth sport in their affiliated sport clubs, using Flanders as a case study. A theory-based evaluation was applied working with qualitative data derived from extensive document analysis and five focus groups with representatives of 19 Flemish NGBs. The results reveal that the focus of NGBs is narrowed to increasing participation rates of youth members and building a sound organisational structure in sport clubs, rather than investing in the quality of provision to maximise enjoyment. Furthermore, most of the initiatives lack a clearly articulated strategy and are based on assumed mechanisms, rather than on prior understanding of effective processes. This study adds to the scarce literature on sport policy evaluation research by mapping out NGBs' youth sport initiatives and using a theoretical lens through which to evaluate them. For practitioners, the results demonstrate the usefulness of a logic model to evaluate youth sport policy and to optimise the effectiveness of the initiatives employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Flanders, a renewed Decree on Local Social Policy (2018) introduced the concept of "Integrated-Rights Practice" (IRP). In brief, IRP aims to guarantee social rights by creating local interorganizational networks that foster generalist, pro-active, outreaching, strengths-based and participative social work interventions (Boost et al., 2018). In our paper, we will focus on an ongoing project in which IRP is applied to the specific field of socio-juridical practice in Antwerp. In this project, interorganizational collaboration between different social work services is expanded with partners from the field of justice (courts, lawyers, magistrates, ...) in an effort to lower existing thresholds that impair access to justice and lead to non-take-up of rights. In order to evaluate this innovative practice, we use the CAIMeR-model developed by Blom and Morèn (2010). Guided by the theoretical structure of CAIMeR, we designed a methodological framework in which we combine structured direct observations and semi-structured interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to apply an intersectional environmentalist lens to the circular economy (CE) transition in Flanders. CE discourse often takes a deterritorialised approach, that is, a focus on innovation and growth. This approach tends to neglect local knowledge and background skills that can inhabit and work with landscapes in balanced ways to enable a fully circular society. This knowledge is partly embodied by "nobodied" actors. After introducing relevant terminology, this article draws upon a collaborative autoethnography which integrates autobiographies of authors' experiences of circularity in projects with "nobodied" CE actors, and ethnographic notes on the Flemish context in which the CE discourse developed. The reflections unearth how a lack of an intersectional environmentalist lens in the CE rhetoric "nobodies" informal CE actors and practices. We show how they do not matter in a circular economy in a deterritorialised approach, but how they matter in a circular landscape view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media have become indispensable tools for (legacy) news companies and brands to increase online traffic for their own platforms. A recent trend is the production and dissemination of native news content specifically for and through platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. This paper uses a mixed methods research design to study the news production and content of @nws.nws.nws, a hugely popular Instagram channel targeting 13–17-year olds in Flanders (Belgium) which is maintained by the newsroom of VRT, the Flemish PSM. The explorative study highlights the differences in journalistic practice when producing news content for online platforms only and the changes it entails for traditional news values, dependency on social media platforms and media regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that the Scottish National Party and the Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie have recently made an instrumental case for independence that runs counter to traditional principled notions of external self-determination as an end in itself, as well as to remedial arguments based on claims of victimisation, alien rule and lack of recognition. They thus represent an important novelty in the history of nationalist discourse. More in detail, the peculiarity of their rhetoric lies in the use of functional arguments concerning the economic and social consequences of external self-determination in terms of competitiveness, well-being, the delivery of social services, good governance and better democracy, as well as in the acceptance of a gradualist approach to independence. The paper then presents an explanation for the adoption of these rhetorical strategies based on three sets of factors: normative, institutional and electoral. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper asks why uncertainties are avoided in dominant megaproject practice while planning scholars are increasingly advocating adaptive planning and uncertainty acknowledgement. We propose a novel analytical framework to explain uncertainty avoidance, consisting of two current explanations – resource constraint and strategic behaviour models – and a complementary institutional model. We apply the framework to a seaport megaproject in Flanders to test its validity. Results show that the institutional model increases our understanding of uncertainty avoidance. More attention to planning institutions and far-reaching institutional changes are required to facilitate a move towards uncertainty acknowledgement and adaptive planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farm relocation is applied in numerous spatial planning processes, including the conversion of agricultural land for nature development or urbanization. In this paper, we present the results of a qualitative study on farm relocation. With the aim of identifying main problems and success factors related to farm relocations, we performed in-depth interviews with relocated farmers in the Netherlands and in the region of Flanders, Belgium. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study looking at the farmers' perspective on relocation that includes farmers from different planning projects and countries. Using grounded theory, we were able to identify factors that determine the perceived success or failure of farm relocation, subdivided into five categories: (1) farmer and firm; (2) financial aspects; (3) process; (4) old location; and (5) new location. Insights gathered in this study might guide spatial planners towards effective use of farm relocation in different planning contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scheduling under non-deterministic uncertainty is a highly complicated problem. It is commonly known and observed that these type of projects can be late and over budget. It has been pointed out that the main reason is that the uncertainty is not, realistically, taken into account in any form of scheduling methods. We propose a modification of the common method for automated optimal scheduling under non-deterministic uncertainty by use of a realistic non-deterministic uncertainty model and by taking this explicitly into account in the optimization. Furthermore, as the non-deterministic nature of the uncertainty results in the need for frequent rescheduling in the future, it is proposed to take this into account explicitly as well. Incorporating more realistic uncertainty models into the decision making process enables (i) a more realistic projection of the project objectives, and (ii) the possibility to make decisions while realistically balancing risks and rewards. Numerical simulations compare the classic method based on stochastic uncertainty, the proposed method with interval uncertainty, and the proposed method with p-box uncertainty, for an industrial reference case and a dataset obtained from a manufacturing plant in Flanders. The results illustrate the improved performance and relevance of the proposed method. This paper uses state of art branch and bound optimization algorithms and adapts those where necessary to incorporate non-deterministic descriptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Flanders-Belgium, a Belgo-Iranian politician has gained nation-wide attention for her critique of Islam. Safai's political discourses are built around her opposition to the violation of women's rights in Iran, and to the hijab as a political-patriarchal symbol. Through this latter opposition, she has gained prominence among Flemish nationalists. The emphasis in Safai's discourses has been on using Iranian gender politics to frame her antagonism to Islam as opposed to a patriarchal political ideology and the supposed progressive elite who threaten the secular order. Sparking fear of political Islam–in her words, 'you should be more scared'1–and gender as her subject matter has gained Safai acceptance not only among some Belgian and Flemish, but also among some Iranian nationalists. This paper investigates Safai's gender activism and femonationalism featured in online media to show how emancipatory gender discourses are employed in the service of right-wing agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy networks have supported and reproduced Flanders' dispersed urbanization, but today this energy-intensive landscape is running into its ecological and societal limits. As a part of the energy transition, a pluralization of heating solutions is emerging in the region. Collective heating systems introduce logics of proximity, spatial selectivity and collectivity into this landscape characterized by dispersion, ubiquity of services and individualism. This paper explores what spatial and socio-political questions are at stake in the transition to a fossil-free heating system: can it support proximity-based spatial development and energy democracy or will it contribute to socio-spatial fragmentation and exclusion? These potentials and risks are revealed through an in-depth case study of the city-region of Roeselare, based on scenario and design workshops with stakeholders. The research indicates that spatial planning and design have a key role in visualizing the spatial and socio-political potentials of the heat transition, by identifying opportunities for collective solutions at multiple scales, connecting energy strategies with other spatial questions and imagining more inclusive governance models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Belgium devolved administrative and budgetary responsibility for the favourable income tax treatment of owner-occupied dwellings to its administrative regions in July 2014. This change allowed the regions to redesign their housing-related tax instruments. This paper examines a tax policy reorientation of the Flemish Region. It specifically applies the principles of the optimal tax theory based on the proposals of the British Mirrlees Review as a benchmark to determine whether owner-occupied housing is treated favourably via the Belgian tax system. A brief comparison is also carried out with four other countries (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom) in order to test for the use of these theoretical principles in other tax systems. Since none of the countries come close to optimal taxation, and as the Mirrlees Review is also not uncontested, practice-based recommendations from relevant international organisations are also taken into consideration. Indeed, it has recently been suggested that the Belgian tax system and more specifically Flemish home ownership taxation, has moved closer to what optimal taxation could be, but that this has not come about by explicitly considering tax system mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This qualitative paper examines the importance of both situational factors and adoption constructs in the decision to use online grocery services for the first time. To that end, we have conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with (one or more representatives of) 15 households in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium), who all use Collect & Go, Belgium's most popular online grocery service. The content analysis shows that adoption is often induced by situational factors (such as health problems or changes in family circumstances), but not in isolation from an evaluation of technology adoption constructs (such as performance expectancy and social influence). Indeed, we find that immediately or soon after the emergence of the initial trigger, consumers start thinking of the service in terms of innovation characteristics. Moreover, unlike what the literature suggests, adoption is not discontinued when the initiating trigger disappears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planning culture has been frequently invoked in recent years to explain the differences in spatial planning across different countries. In discussing planning culture, most contributions emphasize the characteristics and particularities of spatial planning practice in particular contexts. This paper discusses the roles of culture and institutions in relation to the distinct urbanization patterns that have emerged in Flanders and the Netherlands. It concludes that it is not the differences between planning cultures (interpreted as the culture of planners, their ideals and practices and the features of the planning system) that provide the major explanation for different urbanization processes. It is rather the fit between the planning culture and the broader societal culture that seems to be an important explanation for how spatial development is managed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport is often harnessed to serve broader societal objectives. In Flanders (Belgium) – the region of interest in this research – sport is instrumentalised to promote social integration and inclusion, particularly among communities with a migration background. However, this Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) policy and programming is not straightforward. Scholars have pointed to the lingering imperial residue within SDP, prompting a need for critical examination. Therefore, this research aims to gain an understanding of how contemporary SDP discourse in Flanders is socially and culturally constructed and what its performative implications are for communities with a migration background. To this end, online documents from the sport administration and organisations involved in SDP were subjected to critical discourse analysis informed by the theoretical and cultural understanding of post-colonial theory and decoloniality. The findings indicate that SDP discourse reflects a complex interplay of imperial legacies and neoliberal influences, simultaneously projecting an image of inclusivity and perpetuating inequalities. Consequently, decolonising the SDP discourse in Flanders is an imperative transformative process and requires a comprehensive approach rooted in historical awareness, contextual sensitivity, and challenging existing power structures. This decolonisation may pave the way for a more equitable and inclusive SDP framework, genuinely reflecting the diverse realities of communities with a migration background while acknowledging and rectifying its colonial legacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research question:This paper examines event leveraging for public health benefits with the outcome of increasing physical activity participation. While event leveraging provides the foundation for this research, social ecological theory is additionally applied to further examine how leveraging efforts can increase physical activity participation through an understanding of systems and targets. Research methods:An in-depth case study of the Tour of Flanders (Dutch:Ronde van Vlaanderen), Belgium's most popular annual cycling event, is conducted by using qualitative data from interviews and documents. Results and findings:Results reveal that community and sport event-related leverageable resources have been leveraged simultaneously through the strategic use of Flanders' cycling heritage to increase bicycle tourism and active participation in cycling in the region. The Village of the Tour and the Centennial Tour are discussed as two leveraging processes that occur at distinct social ecological systems, using different targets to promote cycling. Implications:The paper argues for greater cooperation between different levels of government operating in the advent of leveraging cycling events to extend the benefits of leveraging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although several international carbon footprint (CF) calculation initiatives have been developed, studies that focus specifically on estimating the CF of pigmeat are rather limited. This paper describes the application of a CF methodology, based on lifecycle assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, for Flemish pigmeat production using the Publicly Available Specification methodology (PAS2050, BSI 2011), which is at present the most developed method and relevant within the agricultural and horticultural sector. Both primary and secondary data have been used to model the meat system through a chain approach. The results are reported using the functional unit of 1 kg of deboned pigmeat; and range from 4.8 to 6.4 kg CO2eq./kg of deboned pig meat. A sensitivity analysis has been executed on changes in herd and feed characteristics. The results have been compared with other studies on the CF of pigmeat in the European Union and with CF studies on milk and beef production in Flanders. Furthermore, two major hotspots in the CF have been defined: the composition and production of feed, and manure production and usage. It is important to mention that the CF is a good indicator for GHG emissions, but it is not an indicator for environmental impact in general. This paper helps to fill the void in the CF literature which existed around pigmeat products and to define a benchmark for CF of pigmeat. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper provides critical reflections on higher education for sustainable development (HESD) from a philosophical perspective. A theoretical framework is developed, based on John Dewey’s thoughts on the aim of democracy and the critical role of education herein, and with specific focus on two constructs: ‘initiative and adaptability’ and ‘values and virtues’. This theoretical framework is used to analyze HESD in Flanders, from a historical and socio-political perspective. The Flemish case shows a gradual evolution from a focus on environmental management on campus, followed by a normative interpretation of what HESD should look like, and a more transformative approach in light of citizenship and democratic ideals. The case also shows considerable exchange of information between Flanders and the Netherlands, in which Dutch models and instruments were used in the Flemish context. The philosophical perspective provides a theoretical grounding of the field of HESD, which enables us to further develop the field, with a specific focus on initiative and adaptability on the one hand, and the importance of a virtues perspective on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational tracking has been studied abundantly in previous research. However, the transitions of Newly Arrived Migrant Students (NAMS) to these (tracked) educational settings are understudied. To facilitate the transition of NAMS to regular secondary education, many countries organise reception classes. This is a separate form of education for NAMS between 12 and 18 years old that immerses them in the language of instruction (i.e. Dutch) and prepares them for participation into regular secondary education. Studying the organisation of reception education is essential to evaluate the inclusiveness of education for NAMS. We take two schools in Flanders (Belgium) as case studies to study in-depth how the grouping of students in reception education influences which track NAMS enter in regular education. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in the two schools (2017–2019) and quantitative data on four generations of NAMS (2014–2018) were collected in one of the schools. The five conceptual dimensions of tracking, as developed by Domina et al. (2019. "Beyond Tracking and Detracking: The Dimensions of Organizational Differentiation in Schools." Sociology of Education 92 (3): 293–322), were used to analyse the data. The results show that the grouping of NAMS has a distinct impact on their transition to the tracked education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the results of nations in international sport competitions are most often used as an evaluation of effectiveness of elite sport policies, they do not take into account the long-term duration of an athletic career, nor the many confounding variables influencing international success. This paper argues that output evaluation is a one-sided approach to policy assessment. It applies a multidimensional approach to the measurement of the effectiveness of elite sports policy evaluation (meso-level) by examining a four-year cycle of elite sport policies in Flanders. This study endeavors to advance the development of a framework to assess effectiveness of elite sport policies of nations. Data were collected at multiple points of the input-throughput-output and feedback cycle. It was found that in spite of the increasing elite sport expenditures in Flanders (inputs), and notwithstanding the development of the throughputs (processes), this has not as yet lead to acceptable results (outputs) at an international level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines what can be learnt from 'new rhetoric' (focusing on the work of the American rhetorician Kenneth Burke [1897-1993]) about (national) identity and discusses how nationalism can be taught from such a rhetorical perspective. Despite the 'deconstruction' of nation(alism) as a grand narrative, there is a new tendency towards emphasizing national identity, caused by trends such as globalization and multiculturalism. In the language and literature teaching curriculum, this paradoxical situation often causes frictions for teachers who very often are expected to teach standard language and national literature. The hypothesis is that rhetoric is a tool to deal with these tensions in the curriculum. This paper focuses on Flanders as a case-study. Together with pre-service teachers it analysed the rhetorical construction of Flanders from a dramatistic perspective. It is argued that Burke's concepts are useful tools to make students 'symbol-wise': to understand the way national symbols work, and to develop critical engagement with, as well as on behalf of, those symbols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A custom tool, PARROTS (PDA system for Activity Registration and Recording of Travel Scheduling) was developed to collect activity-travel diary data and global positioning system (GPS) based location data during trips. This tool is currently deployed in a survey that is carried out on 2500 households in Flanders (Belgium). To judge the effect of the PARROTS tool on the quality of activity-travel diaries, a paper-and-pencil diary was designed and deployed as well. This article discusses the impact on travel and location data quality of a GPS-enabled personal digital assistant (PDA) data collection tool featuring consistency checks. This impact includes both activity-travel diary data quality and GPS data quality. The quality of the GPS-based location data collection is assessed in terms of both quantity and quality of the obtained GPS logs. The location data quality is obtained using the fraction of GPS logs containing actual location information. Based on the GPS logger activity, a usage profile was obtained and compared to the location data resulting from the survey. Based on the analyses presented above, it is concluded that PARROTS provides both high quality activity-travel diary data and GPS-based location information, while keeping the burden for the respondents at an acceptable level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reflects on the policy introduced by the Flemish government to support the newspaper industry with qualitative measures with a view to securing the future readership market. The Flemish government's Media Policy Document explicitly states that it aims to create the context and conditions in which each citizen can fully participate in the information society. The Newspapers in Education (NIE) project was re-introduced in Flemish schools with financial support from the Flemish government in 2004. Research has demonstrated the potential of socialisation initiatives to promote newspaper reading in a school environment. When in 2007 the Flemish government increased its contribution substantially to 1.2 million euros per year, the original target group (pupils aged 16-18) could be expanded considerably to include other age groups and other social groups, such as “groups at risk”. This paper presents a selection of the results of the 2007 quantitative survey, with special attention to the attitudinal changes in different age groups in relation to their accessibility to newspapers. The results indicate a possible cumulative impact of the NIE programme after multiple participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers how subnational entities adapt under the pressure of European integration. In particular, the article looks at whether the combined institutional mechanisms of goodness-of-fit and mediating domestic factors offer sufficient understanding of adaptational behaviour by regions of member states. Empirical data come from the transposition of an environmental directive and an agriculture regulation in Flanders. It is argued that formal institutions and resources, on the one hand, and norm entrepreneurs and issue salience, on the other, pop up as crucial domestic variables to explain regional adaptation to European integration, meaning that variables from both rational choice and sociological institutionalism offer explanations for the Europeanization of regional entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent theoretical papers develop political agency models in which voters compare tax policy with that in neighbouring jurisdictions. In these yardstick competition models voters judge incumbents by comparing their policy with policy in neighbouring jurisdictions. This paper reports an analysis of municipal elections in Flanders during the period 1982 to 2000 and finds empirical evidence for yardstick voting. Incumbents are punished for higher tax rates. Importantly, the electoral punishment also depends on tax rates in neighbouring municipalities. Higher rates in neighbouring municipalities are favourable for the incumbents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explain how a forest-sector-based discourse—each city should have its own forest—could gain prominence in current land use debates and even come to produce a new set of spatial practices for shaping the rural–urban interface. To this end, the focus was on the genealogy of discourse–actor relationships over recent decades, including the ‘translation’ of discourse into various (non)-discursive forms. The genealogical discourse approach has enabled not only the taking of a novel perspective on contemporary policies and practices of urban forest planning, but importantly, the addition of some insights into the constitutive role of discourse. In particular, the paper questions what makes a story line effective (or not) in carrying forward a strategic idea along the various trajectories from concepts and ideas to actual implementation that are constitutive of a long-term policy process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clayey and loamy soils, in Flanders, are improved with a wide range of stabilizing products. This paper reports an investigation into the impact of 12 freeze-thaw cycles on the mechanical properties of stabilized soils. Results indicate that freeze-thaw cycles reduce the unconfined compressive strength of all the test specimens by 10%. A weak stabilized material, with a small compressive strength, has a great material loss and a big drop in compressive strength. In this study, the various stabilized test pieces do not undergo volume change after eight cycles. The water content of all test pieces decreases, until equilibrium between forward and reverse water migration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study aims to understand how individuals give meaning to and enact their employability in a changing context. Our study draws on insights from the Social Chronology Framework. In doing so, it involves the interplay of three perspectives: individual, context and time. We used a narrative approach based on life story data from 24 theatre actors in Flanders (Belgium). We identified five narratives based on three building blocks: employability scripts, career imagination and action. Employability scripts encrypt what is contextually required to be employable. The narratives differ in how individuals interpret those scripts, make meaning of their position in the field (career imagination) and act. The narratives express variations in fit with the field. Three narratives express fit: Individuals blend in with the context and endorse the current employability script. A fourth narrative expresses being out-of-fit: Individuals identify with older scripts. A fifth narrative expresses misfit: Individuals fail to act according to the current script and disengage. Our main contributions are theoretical. First, we conceptualize employability "in the fit" and not in the individual. Second, we advance the notion of employability script. Both these contributions serve to understand employability at the interplay of agency and structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrimination curtails equal opportunities of minority groups to participate in society. Although various studies reveal discrimination in access to human services, studies of nonprofit organizations are rare. This is surprising because nonprofits are essential providers of public services in many countries. We expect institutional features of the nonprofit sector to curb discrimination in access to public services, including nonprofit's social mission and financial non-distribution constraint. We implemented an audit study within long-term care facilities for older people (i.e., nursing homes) in Flanders (Belgium). We sent a request for admission information signed by either a Moroccan or a Belgian-sounding name to all Flemish nonprofit nursing homes, finding no evidence of discrimination in responses to our request. The absence of a profit motive, combined with a stronger sense of social mission, may account for the absence of ethnic discrimination in the nonprofit sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like the European Union itself, the anthropology of Europe has been slowly developing for decades. Yet compared to their colleagues working at more conventional non-Western field sites, ethnographers studying present-day Europe are focusing on a region that still exists at the margins of the discipline. Thus far, anthropologists have largely neglected Belgium as an opportunity to understand the sociopolitical culture of the European continent as a whole. Through a detailed examination of historical processes that have shaped modern Belgian society, the present article highlights how this tiny nation stands as a microcosm of Europe's past, present, and potential futures. Proffering a wide-ranging analysis of the various regional and supranational spheres that Belgians inhabit, this paper outlines how ethnographic studies ofbelgitude(or ‘Belgianness’) can shed light on pan-European topics that are of interest to anthropologists. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article contributes to the literature on the sub-state nationalist and regionalist parties (SNRPs) by investigating the policy positions in the immigration ambit taken by the Flemish nationalist party Volksunie, and by its successors after the party fell apart in 2001. We do so by analysing the party manifestos for all elections between 1978 and 2014. Beyond providing a detailed case study, the article has broader ambitions. The paper bridges the gap between the party literature and the literature on immigration and integration policies. It does so in two ways. First, it relies on a more nuanced categorisation of policy positions proposed by the immigration policy literature, which is absent in the party literature. Second, it draws explicit attention to the nation-building strategy of SNRPs as an intervening explanatory variable, mediating the influence of party competition and ideology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper argues that whereas the social relevance of attitudes towards education is commonly confined to their direct impact on educational aspirations or attainment, attitudes may also impact on educational success in a way similar to cultural capital. Survey data were used to assess the support for three different attitudes with respect to the perceived value of attending school among youngsters (n= 853) following secondary education in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium). The results revealed substantial differences according to the pupils’ cultural capital, time perspective, personal educational experiences and social mobility. These findings are taken as a starting point for a broader discussion about how attention to attitudes may enable us to account for the power struggles in which the educational field and the teaching profession are involved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explains how a permissive planning permit system is embedded in Belgian/Flemish society and how this contributes to urban sprawl. We base our analysis on an institutionalist approach as developed in previous and current research and analyse the Flemish planning permit system since 1962 as one of different interacting planning systems, all (re)produced, maintained, transformed and struggled over by specific individual and collective actors and shaped by a range of institutional dynamics. The analysis shows how in the dynamics of the Flemish planning permit system, a general struggle between actors defending property-based private initiative and actors arguing for collective action in space is especially apparent. In this struggle, property ownership expressed through a permissive planning permit system and limited enforcement of regulations is seen to be predominant, especially in the 1960s, 1980s and 2000s. Changes in the 1990s, making the planning permit system more strict, have partly and momentarily challenged the institutional frame which structures the predominant planning permit practice, but left the logic of individual property largely untouched. Today, the Flemish planning permit system has again been reoriented towards the protection of private property, which hampers the capacity of government to implement a coherent spatial policy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Why have immigrant integration policies in the Basque Country and Flanders been framed according to multicultural principles? This paper offers an addendum to rationalist and institutionalist approaches, arguing that we cannot make sense of multicultural policies in these two cases without considering the interplay between historical narratives that undergird the nation and elite decision-making. Narratives of cultural oppression have been essential for nationalist mobilization in the Basque Country and Flanders. In turn, the choice of multiculturalism over assimilation by sub-state elites made sense because it fits with their understanding of the nation as an oppressed group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of an exploratory, mixed-method study on imams in Flanders. The research question was mainly who are they?, in an attempt to draw the first picture of their socio-demographic background, ethnicity, functions, and expectations with respect to their position in Flanders, or in Belgium more broadly speaking. The first three sections give context information about Muslims, Islam, and mosques in Belgium and Flanders. In the next sections, the research design and the results are presented. This presentation focuses on four issues: imams as immigrants; their tasks and workload; their job situation and attitude towards official recognition and payment; and finally their ambiguous attitudes towards government initiatives. We give also some reflections in dialogue with research on imams in other Western European countries. The conclusion discusses the challenges for imams and the government to become real partners within the further integration process of the Muslim community in Flanders and Belgium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplementary schooling can play an important role in the educational trajectory of minoritised youth. Yet, our knowledge of the communities' motives for organising education and the purposes the schools pursue remains limited. Existing literature tends to understand supplementary schools either as resisting ongoing inequity in mainstream society or as transmitting the heritage language. We argue that it is valuable to transcend this fragmented view by taking a more comprehensive approach to the diversity of purposes of supplementary schools and by revealing how purposes respond to various motives. Methodologically, semi-structured in-depth interviews with initiators of 12 supplementary schools in Flanders took place to learn about the pursued purposes and the motives underlying them. Rather than the fragmented view often presented in the literature, the initiators show a strong sensitivity to the variety of needs and are deeply invested to support and strengthen youth in navigating the different educational and socio-cultural contexts they are part of. These findings shed light on the variety of educational needs and desires of minoritised communities in continental Europa, highlighting opportunities to tackle enduring inequalities experienced by minoritised youth in mainstream school [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explain the high scores of 15-year-old native pupils in The Netherlands and Flanders by comparing them with the scores of pupils in countries with the same highly stratified educational system: Wallonia, the German Länder, the Swiss German cantons, and Austria. We use the data from the Programme for International Pupil Assessment (PISA) 2006 together with the specific PISA data of Germany and Switzerland. We apply a multilevel model that takes into account the individual-, curriculum-, and system-level features in these highly stratified educational systems. The high scores of the Dutch pupils can be explained by the size of The Netherlands' vocational sector. The high Flemish scores can be partly explained by the high curriculum mobility. Central exit exams are not a good explanation of the high Dutch scores. Despite being limited to highly stratified systems, we still find educational policies and arrangements to have significant effects on the educational performance of pupils. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reports on a research project completed with graduate students of the adult-education programme at the Leuven University in Flanders, Belgium. The research focused on cultural policies and practices in urban contexts that try to facilitate the learning of democratic citizenship in non-formal settings. In the first part we introduce some theoretical notions regarding the relationship between artistic practices in public spaces and pedagogy. The question here is how artistic interventions in urban environments can have an educative effect on people who participate in such experiences. In the second part we interpret some of the changes that take place in the urban context of a provincial city in Flanders and the related cultural policies and practices with the help of the theoretical concepts on public spaces and pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Since the early 1990s, specific community sports programmes have been set up in Flanders (Belgium) to stimulate participation among socially deprived groups. With only a limited involvement of the traditional sports sector, alternative providers (e.g. youth welfare sector) became active in organizing local initiatives, such as neighbourhood sports. However, despite the multiplicity of sports providers, to date, inequalities in sports participation still exist. The present paper investigates whether or not the commercial sports sector can contribute in developing a sustainable community sports offering for socially deprived youth. Based on examples regarding its involvement in so-called 'street sports', it is argued that the commercial sector entered the domain of community sports providers by using highly accessible activities for this youth. It is yet to be determined if, and under which circumstances, this involvement offers opportunities for a wider role of the commercial sports sector in community sports development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a comparative analysis of the ethnic dimensions in discourse and identity strategies of European converts to Islam. To highlight the very different conditions which European neo-Muslims face when adopting an ethnicising discourse and/or strategies, two divergent settings for study are selected. We present data on Andalusia (Spain) where, in the aftermath of Francoism, Spanish neo-Muslims revitalised Andalusian ideas about the rootedness of Andalusia in Dar al Islam. This case is compared with Flanders (Belgium). Do we find similar ethnicising strategies and discourses among these two categories of European neo-Muslims? What are the limits of and possibilities for ethnicising conversion in each setting? And what are the implications with regard to the legitimating of the claimed mediatorship of converts between Islamic and European societies, on both an individual and a collective level? We are unable to conclude that the dynamics at the micro level are different in each setting, but are able to show that there are clear strategic differences at the macro and median levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the experiences and interpretations of children, parents, teachers and support persons concerning the implementation of supports in regular school environments in Flanders, Belgium. The data were gathered through observations, interviews and focus group meetings. Those multiple perspectives provide insights into the complexity of implementing supports in a regular education context. The conclusions offer some possibilities for debate and alternative ways of thinking about supports that facilitate inclusive school communities by tapping into resources such as the children, the environment, creativity and courage to leave the beaten path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a practical application of data envelopment analysis (DEA) to the Flemish road transportation sector. The efficiency of 82 road transportation companies responding to a large-scale survey focused on horizontal cooperation is evaluated, based on two inputs and two outputs. Various DEA models are used to identify differences between subgroups of respondents. The results demonstrate that, in general, Flemish road transportation companies operate at unacceptably low efficiency levels. Given the findings that the median company is operating on too small a scale, one apparent remedy would be a dramatic increase in market concentration through mergers and acquisitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Belgium's housing policy has always been instrumental in the pillarisation process. As a consequence, two competing historical models have existed: first, a model promoted by the socialist pillar based on social rental housing in urban settings; second, the model put forward by the hegemonic Catholic party, emphasising the promotion of homeownership of single-family dwellings in rural settings. When this second, anti-urban model, became the main housing model for the masses in the post-war period, its spatial layout was one of sprawl and disinvestment in urban neighbourhoods. However, from the 1970s onwards, various actors have contested this policy. In response, policy makers have turned to a discourse of inner-city social mix. However, this discourse was barely translated into practice and did not affect the hegemonic model. Following Gramsci, this paper analyses how social mix has primarily served as an instrument for passive revolution, by deviating and disempowering counter-hegemonic attacks on the leading model of suburban homeownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates whether reframing an issue related to sustainable consumption can influence citizens' attitude towards that issue. Our investigation focuses on the case of Fair Trade in Flanders, Belgium. Fair Trade contributes to sustainable development by offering better conditions to marginalized producers in the South. Using an internet-based experimental setup, 1617 individuals were exposed to an NGO-based frame, a retailer-based frame, an experimental frame or no frame. Statistical analysis then indicated whether the experimental frame performed better than the control group and the other frames in shifting people's attitudes. Our results suggest that a brief exposure to a combination of tone, messenger, value and metaphor that signals the systemic aspects of Fair Trade may be successful in shifting the attitude and opinion of Flemish consumers/citizens in favour of Fair Trade. Our analysis suggests that the foundations metaphor that has been developed in the context of the environmental impact of food production can also be applied in the context of the social impact of food production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A lack of physical activity (PA) and the occurrence of overweight and obesity among school-aged youth have become a major societal problem. Arising from the general concern about the future generations' health, schools have been found to be potentially important settings to promote positive health behaviour, since all pupils can be reached spending large amounts of time in the school environment. Moreover, it is beyond doubt that physical education (PE) has a key role to play. As in other European countries, the Flemish PE goals identify the importance of PA in the development and maintenance of good health. However, the discrepancy between the important role attributed to PE with regard to the development of a healthy and physically active lifestyle and the currently observed increasing sedentary and unhealthy behaviour of children and youth, is one of the reasons to question the efficiency of the current PE curricula. Aims: Within the framework of the Flemish education system, this paper aims to document on the pathways by which PE and schools can contribute to establish lifetime adherence to sport and physical activity in order to enhance and maintain young people's health later in life. From a public health perspective, this is one of the main challenges for PE in the forthcoming decades. Methods: The current PE curriculum requirements and implementation in Flemish schools are described as a starting point. Then, evidence-based recommendations are formulated in order to optimise the content and delivery of the PE curriculum towards its health-related goals. Conclusions: School PE has been recognised as the foundation base of the PA participation pyramid. Nevertheless, there is a need to move beyond the PE and school curriculum. Especially, schools, parents and the community should work together to encourage children and youth to be physically active. As a consequence, the PE teachers' role should not be restricted to the education of pupils during PE lessons, but should be expanded to include guiding youths in the process of becoming physically active both inside and outside school and for life. PE teachers have to accept this responsibility and this effort has to be recognised by the school board. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic efficiency-understood in terms of jurisdictions providing a maximum amount of output for a given level of inputs-is one potential means to evaluate public policies. Various approaches, however, co-exist to measure the (technical) efficiency of organizations. Given that these rely on different underlying assumptions, it is important to assess whether, and to what extent, the approach taken affects the outcome of efficiency studies. This paper employs a data set of local governments in Flanders in 2000 to compare the three common approaches to measure (in)efficiency (i.e., free disposal hull, data envelopment analysis, and econometric techniques). Our results indicate that the methodological choices of instrumentation have a substantial effect on analytic performance measurement. Hence, assessing the robustness of the results across various approaches to efficiency measurement is crucial to avoid incorrect inferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]