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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]

Medieval historical sources suggest that cetacean exploitation was, for large parts of Europe, restricted to the social elite. This appears to have also been the case for the Netherlands and Flanders. It remains unclear, however, how frequently active hunting was undertaken, and which species were targeted. Zooarchaeological cetacean remains are often recovered from Medieval (AD 400-1600) sites in the Netherlands and Flanders, however the majority of these specimens have not been identified to the species level, leaving a substantial gap in our knowledge of past cetacean exploitation. By applying ZooMS, as well as morphological and osteometric analyses, these zooarchaeological specimens were identified to the species level. This analysis revealed that the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), and grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) were frequently exploited. Active whaling appears to have been undertaken as well, especially in Flanders and in Frisia (the northern part of the Netherlands). Zooarchaeological cetacean remains appear to be present with relative frequency at high-status sites such as castles, as well as ecclesiastical sites, confirming the historical evidence that the social elite indeed did have a taste for cetacean meat. However, cetacean products were also available outside of elite and ecclesiastical contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the topic is rarely addressed in literature, a significant number of baroque paintings exhibit dark, halo-like shapes around the contours of the dramatis personae. Close examination of both finished and unfinished works suggests that this intriguing feature was a practical tool that helped the artist in the early painting stages. When applying the final brushwork, the halo lost its function, with some artists undertaking efforts to hide it. Although their visibility might not have been intended by the artists, today this dark paint beneath the surface is partially visible through the upper paint layers. Moreover, the disclosure of many halos using infrared photography (IRP), infrared reflectography (IRR) and macro X-ray fluorescence imaging (MA-XRF), additional to those that can be observed visually, suggests that this was a common and established element of 17th-century painting practice in Western Europe. Building on an existing hypothesis, we argue that halos can be considered as a solution to an optical problem that arose when baroque painters reversed the traditional, 15th- and 16th-century painting sequence of working from background to foreground. Instead, they started with the dominant parts of a composition, such as the face of a sitter. In that case, a temporary halo can provide the essential tonal reference to anticipate the chromatic impact of the final dark colored background on the adjacent delicate carnations. In particular, we attempt to clarify the prevalence of dark halos as a response to optical effects such as 'simultaneous contrast' and 'the crispening effect', described in literature only centuries later. As such, the recently termed 'ring condition' can be seen as the present-day equivalent of the 'halo solution' that was seemingly empirically or intuitively developed by 17th-century artists. Modern studies in visual perception proves that by laying a black ring around a target color, the optical impact of a surrounding color can be efficiently neutralized. Finally, by delving into works by Michael Sweerts, it becomes clear that resourceful artists might have adapted the halo technique and the underlying principles to their individual challenges, such as dealing with differently colored grounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In recent years, a considerable number of PhD-dissertations have appeared in the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) for the provision of public infrastructures such as transport infrastructure and public buildings. These PhD-theses provide valuable insights into how PPPs perform and especially into the conditions that influence their performance. We identified four clusters of relevant conditions: (1) public procurement procedures, (2) contract management, (3) transaction costs, and (4) democratic legitimacy and accountability. By discussing the theses in this article, their lessons learned become available for the international PPP-community. Our analysis of the PhD-theses shows that there are no definite arguments for or against the use of PPPs. The performance of PPP-arrangements depends on agency: on the skills and commitment of parties involved and on the way in which the arrangements are applied. The dissertations show that policymakers have to find ways to balance the need to reduce transaction costs through contract standardization with the need for tailormade solutions in specific projects. Furthermore, the dissertations show that 'soft' contract management aspects, such as the quality of collaborative behavior and process management, are particularly important for the performance of PPPs. Finally, the theses bring to the fore the democratic issues involved in PPPs, showing their mixed results in terms of legitimacy and accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although scholarship on the general ideological orientation of right-wing populist parties is well established, few scholars have studied their ideas about gender. De Lange and Mügge therefore ask how differences in ideology shape right-wing populist parties' ideas on gender. Drawing on the qualitative content analysis of party manifestos, they compare the gender ideologies and concrete policy proposals of national and neoliberal populist parties in the Netherlands and Flanders from the 1980s to the present. They find that some parties adhere to a modern or modern-traditional view, while others espouse neo-traditional views. Moreover, some right-wing populist parties have adopted gendered readings of issues surrounding immigration and ‘Islam’, while others have not. The variation in stances on ‘classical’ gender issues can be explained by the genealogy and ideological orientation of the parties, whereas gendered views on immigration and Islam are influenced by contextual factors, such as 9/11. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of International Sociology is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)