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The article presents the authors' views in response to a comment on their paper "Patterns of Low and Lowest-Low Fertility in Europe," published in a 2004 issue of the journal "Population Studies." In their comment, the critics have argued that the cohort-fertility analysis in the aforesaid paper is weak on theoretical grounds and the empirical analysis is incomplete. The authors affirm that they agree with the comment that, as a society, the Netherlands differs from Southern Europe and even more from Central and Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, from a contemporary global perspective, these differences should not be overemphasized. They say that in their analyses, they used the Netherlands as a reference case of a country with an extraordinary pattern of late childbearing that is not associated with lowest-low fertility levels. However, the critics believe that these unusual characteristics invalidate the use of the Dutch example in the paper. So, this criticism is misconceived. It is precisely the unusualness of the fertility pattern in the Netherlands that makes it a useful reference point in the study of low and lowest-low fertility.

Objectives. To review the prevalence of loneliness (during/after COVID-19) in older people. Design. Scoping review using Medline and PsycInfo for worldwide prevalence estimates (white published literature search) and Google for prevalence data inside the Euregio Meuse-Rhine (grey literature). Setting. Worldwide prevalence estimates and a focus on the Euregio Meuse-Rhine. Participants. Papers published between 2016 and 2022 and a mean age of minimum of 65 years. Measurements. Prevalence estimates for older people. Results. The white literature search yielded 37 articles. Before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness estimates were the highest in Nigeria (46%) and the lowest in Australia (5%) (mean prevalence was 25.6%). Loneliness was reported to be higher in specific populations, for example, people living in specific communities such as senior housing communities or with impairments, than in the general population, with a mean prevalence estimate of 47.8%. During COVID-19, the prevalence of loneliness was higher than that before the pandemic: we observed a mean prevalence of 39.4%, in comparison to 25.6 before COVID-19. The grey literature search showed that, compared to Belgium and the Netherlands (13.5% and 36.5%, respectively), loneliness estimates were the lowest in Germany, with a mean prevalence of 7.7%. Conclusion. Large international differences in the prevalence of loneliness were observed between countries and populations studied. Several hypotheses could explain such differences, including sociocultural or historical-political characteristics. Without surprise, the pandemic and associated measures were linked to a higher level of loneliness. Furthermore, recommendations for addressing loneliness, including interventions, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe, very large distribution centres (XXL DCs) are increasingly appearing on planning agendas due to their growing spatial footprint and environmental impacts. Although the emergence of XXL DCs has gained traction in academic research, empirical knowledge about the process that leads to their oft-debated location choice, geometry and landscape integration is still scarce. This paper aims to improve our understanding of this process, analysing the decisions of key stakeholders in the planning-development dialectic behind four exemplary XXL DC transactions, in the Netherlands. Our analyses shed light on the motivations of public and private actors as well as the (lack of) planning rules that shape these transactions. We find that specific incentives in the Dutch decentralized planning and legal-financial system contribute to logistics sprawl. Existing planning instruments that could steer logistics developments, such as environmental and employment quality regulations, are largely left unused. Our study suggests that multilevel planning competencies and international market standards are important variables in explaining XXL DC outcomes. Unlike often assumed in the literature, internationalization has – next to stimulating the growth of XXL DCs – contributed to more sustainable location choices and landscape integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Lidcombe Program is a stuttering treatment approach for children between the ages of 3 and 6 years. Most papers about the Lidcombe Program, however, are based on studies conducted in native English-speaking countries. The aim of this paper is to systematically review the delivery and implementation of the Lidcombe Program in non-native English-speaking countries. Summary: A resource search was conducted between October and November 2019. Scopus, PubMed, ASHA, Cochrane Library, ERIC, Google Scholar, and SpeechBITE databases and reference lists of relevant papers were searched for the identification process. Joanna Briggs Institute tools were used for the appraisal of the studies. The search yielded 8 studies conducted in non-native English-speaking countries. The Lidcombe Program is efficacious in non-native English-speaking countries when delivered to both preschool and young school age children who stutter. It is reported to be delivered with minor changes and challenges. The number of weekly clinic visits and the total time needed to reach zero or near-zero stuttering levels with the Lidcombe Program can be up to 3 times greater in non-native English-speaking countries than in native English-speaking countries, mostly due to the increased time needed to introduce the parental verbal contingencies. Key Messages: Speech and language therapists practicing in non-native English-speaking countries are encouraged to use the Lidcombe Program for both preschool and young school age children who stutter, although this can take more time than that reported in native English-speaking countries. Further investigation to explore the therapy process with children and parents in non-native English-speaking countries is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines state that heart failure nurse specialists (heart-failure nurses) with specific competences are essential for a successful heart-failure-management programme. Thus, the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC developed the heart failure nurse curriculum (HFA curriculum). Several ESC member states developed cardiovascular education programmes to enable nurses to deliver high specialist care, but little is known of whether these curricula are in line with the HFA curriculum. Therefore, this paper describes the extent to which cardiovascular education programmes in Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany correspond to the HFA curriculum. Methods and results: A case study approach was adopted to obtain an in-depth understanding of the programme contents in relation to the HFA curriculum. For this purpose, representatives of the educational programmes and/or delegates of the national cardiovascular nursing organization shared their educational curricula. All of the studied cardiovascular education programmes aim to provide heart failure and/or cardiovascular nurses with essential competences for implementation of evidence based and guideline derived care. However, every cardiovascular education programme has a different focus/area of attention. Cardiovascular education in Belgium discusses aspects of all core-learning objectives of the HFA curriculum and emphasizes mostly knowledge aspects of these. Learning objectives in cardiovascular education in The Netherlands focus on chronic diseases in general and on learning objectives concerning patient education, support in self-care and management of device and pharmacological therapy. Cardiovascular education in Germany discusses most learning objectives; however, not all learning objectives receive equal attention. Conclusions: Although local cardiovascular education programmes adopt certain aspects of the HF curriculum, the curriculum as a whole is not adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides the most-accurate sea-level index points (SLIPs) for the Rhine-Meuse Delta (RMD), The Netherlands, identified amidst a wealth of data accumulated in sixty years of research. Following documented protocols, 106 selected radiocarbon dates from peat beds from transgressed valley floor, upper estuarine and back-barrier lagoonal settings were first listed individually, then screened in ensemble on quantified age-depth position and inshore palaeotidal setting. The database contains 50 SLIPs and 56 upper limiting data points spanning a depth range of −34 to −1.5 m. The dates in the database originate from dedicated sea-level research, which kept surface elevation and sampling depth uncertainty small, and sampling of basal-peat beds was favoured, keeping compaction uncertainties small too. The SLIPs cover an age-range of 8.8–3.0 ka BP and are available from Greater Rotterdam and its near offshore. For upper limiting data points, the coverage extends offshore, tracing the Rhine palaeovalley, and reaches back to 11.5 ka BP. The age-depth data density and spatial concentration of subsets of dates allow to perform Bayesian radiocarbon calibration and to reduce temporal uncertainty by 25% for the average sample (1σ age uncertainty ≈ 75 cal. yr), when depth position and rates of relative sea-level rise (RSLR) are used to assign sequence order. Between 8.0–4.5 ka BP, rates of RSLR gradually decreased from 9 to 1 mm/yr. In the millennium before, rates of RSLR were much higher, on average 10 mm/yr, and marked by a sea-level jump between 8.45–8.2 ka BP. A two-phased nature of this jump starts to be resolved, with local magnitudes of 1.7 ± 0.6 m (1σ, first phase) and 0.2 ± 0.2 m (second phase), corresponding to globally-averaged jumps of 2.5 m ± 0.9 m for the first and 0.3 ± 0.3 m for the second phase. For the pre-9 ka BP period, only offshore upper limiting data points are currently available. Until new offshore data are gathered, trends of RSLR before 9 ka BP can only be estimated, fed with global insights in post-glacial eustasy, regional estimates regarding rates of glacio-isostatic adjustments and tectonic subsidence, and sedimentary geological interpretations of scattered basal-peat presence. Image 1 • New Holocene geological sea-level database for the Rhine-Meuse Delta. • Contains 50 sea-level index points and 56 upper limiting data points spanning 11.5–3 ka BP. • 95% of the database entries are derived from basal peat: compaction uncertainties are small. • Relative SLR rates decelerated from 10 mm/yr around 9 ka BP to 1 mm/yr around 4.5 ka BP. • A two-phased 8.44–8.2 ka sea-level jump structure is suggested, the first phase measuring 1.7 ± 0.6 m (= 2.5 ± 0.9 globally). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Liberal Arts model of undergraduate education within small, internationally- focused University Colleges is becoming increasingly popular in Europe. This trend is most notable in the Netherlands, where the liberal arts model is acclaimed as filling a gap in Dutch undergraduate education at conventional research universities. This paper explores the status of the Dutch University College as simultaneously continuing the liberal arts tradition of the US, with its civic and pedagogic values, and providing a truly modern education preparing students to find innovative and inter-disciplinary solutions to the complex problems which define contemporary society. It concludes that the traditional role of a liberal arts education in cultivating intellectual rather than vocation skills does not have to exclude its appeal as providing the skills necessary for professional success in global sectors of the 21 st century knowledge economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies on transnational families argue that the subjective well-being of migrant parents is negatively affected by living separated from their children. Most studies employ qualitative methods without a control group and hence are not able to distinguish whether the effects found are associated with separation only or with other factors. This paper investigates the association between parental subjective well-being and parent–child separation by comparing migrant parents who have at least one child in their country of origin with those who live with all their children in the Netherlands. The paper further investigates whether the same associations are found between migrant groups from Angola and Nigeria. Results indicate that transnational parents indeed report lower subjective well-being, as measured by happiness, life satisfaction and mental health for both groups and additionally, self-assessed health for Angolans. However, legal status, socio-economic status and the quality of the parent–child relationship are found to be important mediators. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: There is a growing consensus worldwide that palliative care needs to be both more inclusive of conditions other than cancer and to improve. This paper explores some common challenges currently faced by professionals providing palliative care for patients with either cancer or dementia across five countries. Method: One focus group (n = 7) and 67 interviews were conducted in 2012 across five countries: England, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway, with professionals from dementia, cancer and palliative care settings. Results: The interviews revealed five common challenges faced across the five countries: communication difficulties (between services; and between professionals, and patients and their families); the variable extent of structural/functional integration of services; the difficulties in funding of palliative care services; problematic processes of care (boundaries, definitions, knowledge, skills and inclusiveness) and, finally, time constraints. Conclusion: These are not problems distinct to palliative care, but they may have different origins and explanations compared to other areas of health care. This paper explored deeper themes hidden behind a discourse about barriers and facilitators to improving care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accounting for patients' perspective has become increasingly important. Based on the Consumer Quality Index method (founded on Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) a questionnaire was recently developed for Dutch cancer patients. As a next step, this study aimed to adapt and pilot this questionnaire for international comparison of cancer patients experience and satisfaction with care in six European countries.Method: The Consumer Quality Index was translated into the local language at the participating pilot sites using cross-translation. A minimum of 100 patients per site were surveyed through convenience sampling. Data from seven pilot sites in six countries was collected through an online and paper-based survey. Internal consistency was tested by calculating Cronbach's alpha and validity by means of cognitive interviews. Demographic factors were compared as possible influencing factors.Results: A total of 698 patients from six European countries filled the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha was good or satisfactory in 8 out of 10 categories. Patient satisfaction significantly differed between the countries. We observed no difference in patient satisfaction for age, gender, education, and tumor type, but satisfaction was significantly higher in patients with a higher level of activation.Conclusion: This European Cancer Consumer Quality Index(ECCQI) showed promising scores on internal consistency (reliability) and a good internal validity. The ECCQI is to our knowledge the first to measure and compare experiences and satisfaction of cancer patients on an international level, it may enable healthcare providers to improve the quality of cancer care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the debate on Europe's modern economic growth using the statistical concept of long-range dependence. Different regimes, defined as periods between two successive endogenously estimated structural shocks, matched episodes of pandemics and war. The most persistent shocks occurred at the time of the Black Death and the twentieth century's world wars. Our findings confirm that the Black Death often resulted in higher income levels but reject the view of a uniform long-term response to the Plague. In fact, we find a negative impact on incomes in non-Malthusian economies. In the North Sea Area (Britain and the Netherlands), the Plague was followed by positive trend growth in output per capita and population, heralding the onset of modern economic growth and the Great Divergence in Eurasia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of future sea-level rise (SLR) on the tides of the northwest European Continental Shelf. The European shelf tide is dominated by semidiurnal constituents. This study therefore focuses primarily on the changes in the M2 tidal constituent and the spring and neap tidal conditions. The validated operational Dutch Continental Shelf Model is run for the present day sea-level as well as 2 and 10m SLR scenarios. The M2 tidal amplitude responds to SLR in a spatially non-uniform manner, with substantial amplitude increases and decreases in both scenarios. The M2 tidal response is non-linear between 2 and 10m with respect to SLR, particularly in the North Sea. Under the 2m SLR scenario the M2 constituent is particularly responsive in the resonant areas of the Bristol Channel and Gulf of St. Malo (with large amplitude decreases) and in the southeastern German Bight and Dutch Wadden Sea (with large amplitude increases). Changes in the spring tide are generally greater still than those in the M2 or neap tides. With 2m SLR the spring tidal range increases up to 35cm at Cuxhaven and decreases up to −49cm at St. Malo. Additionally the changes in the shallow water tides are larger than expected. With SLR the depth, wave speed and wave length (tidal resonance characteristics) are increased causing changes in near resonant areas. In expansive shallow areas SLR causes reduced energy dissipation by bottom friction. Combined these mechanisms result in the migration of the amphidromes and complex patterns of non-linear change in the tide with SLR. Despite the significant uncertainty associated with the rate of SLR over the next century, substantial alterations to tidal characteristics can be expected under a high end SLR scenario. Contrary to existing studies this paper highlights the importance of considering the modification of the tides by future SLR. These substantial future changes in the tides could have wide reaching implications; including for example, correctly calculating design level requirements for flood defences, the availability of tidal renewable energy and dredging requirements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Dutch Working Group on Sustainable Urban Development has recently delivered its publication Sustainable Urban Design, The Next Step (). The book (to be referred to here as The Next Step) includes six examples of sustainable urban design and three major essays. The Working Group is a broad group of experts from the Dutch professional societies for urban designers and planners (BNSP) and landscape architects (NVTL). (The working group consists of urban designers, urban planers and landscape architects from the Netherlands.) It seeks to take the thinking and practice of sustainable urban design a step further: from sustainable urban design to sustainable spatial development. This paper explains this next stage which has been developed through a review of the literature, the inputs of the Working Group and the lessons learned from the case studies described in the book. Although the case study projects are sometimes more than 12years old and are rooted in a specific Dutch societal and spatial context, they provide interesting, even up to date, insights for the planning of sustainable and durable cities. They are also compared to some projects in other European countries. This paper looks at why a renewed approach to sustainable urban design is both necessary and rewarding. It then turns to the renewed approach and putting it into practice. Based upon the case studies, new possibilities for the design of sustainable and durable cities are highlighted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper examines the role and function of public–private interplay in the development of municipal initiatives in the broadband sector. The analysis of initiatives in the Netherlands and Italy shows how the interaction between public and private stakeholders can facilitate local broadband initiatives. This interaction has been vital in aligning the interests of different private and (semi-)public parties, in designing the network and in aggregating sufficient demand for broadband services. The comparative analysis examines the steps involved in these initiatives and the strengths and weaknesses of joint public–private activities. The paper shows that the challenge for cooperating stakeholders has been to foster further investment in the upgrading of the network and in the provision of advanced broadband services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Provincial Council of Utrecht in the Netherlands during the Enlightenment. This paper focuses on the marginal groups of Catholics stranded in Protestant republic and their dilemma of being cut off by the papacy. This gave a picture of afflicted member in the early church where sympathetic churchmen in Catholic Europe came to their aid in the role of epistolary communicants. Civic humanism is the central theme in this paper where the characteristics of apostolic church is given full account.

Making and applying the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) is an example of `Europeanization'. Europeanization is the outcome of the interaction between actors with various motivations. in the case of the ESDP process, these motivations reflect the spatial planning traditions and the institutional set-ups of the relevant actors. As a preliminary, the paper describes the ESDP. It then analyses the motivations, reflecting as they do their spatial planning traditions and institutional set-ups, of four key actors without whom the ESDP would not have been what it is: France, the Netherlands, Germany and the European Commission. The paper ends with a discussion of the prospects of European spatial planning after enlargement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To examine the relationship between the numbers of people walking or bicycling and the frequency of collisions between motorists and walkers or bicyclists. The common wisdom holds that the number of collisions varies directly with the amount of walking and bicycling. However, three published analyses of collision rates at specific intersections found a non-linear relationship, such that collisions rates declined with increases in the numbers of people walking or bicycling. Data This paper uses five additional data sets (three population level and two time series) to compare the amount of walking or bicycling and the injuries incurring in collisions with motor vehicles. Results The likelihood that a given person walking or bicycling will be struck by a motorist varies inversely with the amount of walking or bicycling. This pattern is consistent across communities of varying size, from specific intersections to cities and countries, and across time periods. Discussion This result is unexpected. Since it is unlikely that the people walking and bicycling become more cautious if their numbers are larger, it indicates that the behavior of motorists controls the likelihood of collisions with people walking and bicycling. It appears that motorists adjust their behavior in the presence of people walking and bicycling. There is an urgent need for further exploration of the human factors controlling motorist behavior in the presence of people walking and bicycling. Conclusion A motorist is less likely to collide with a person walking and bicycling if more people walk or bicycle. Policies that increase the numbers of people walking and bicycling appear to be an effective route to improving the safety of people walking and bicycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diverse schools have become the norm throughout much of what is considered the West. Many urban classrooms feature few white European children but are located in nations dominated by Eurocentric epistemologies and discourses that oppress minority students by devaluing their cultures. Most European scholarship fails to analyse cultures of whiteness in educational settings. This paper addresses this gap by documenting cultural discourses of whiteness infusing a diverse primary school classroom in Amsterdam. Discourses reflecting white cultural norms of order, time, cleanliness, and Western and Christian superiority dominated a classroom containing only one white Dutch child. These discourses contribute to diverse students' explicit racialization while promoting the supremacy of white Dutch culture. They are both assimilationist and exclusionary, suggesting that many students, because of their backgrounds, will never be considered fully Dutch. Findings are of relevance to all nations dominated by white cultures with large populations of students of colour. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper revisits the contact hypothesis by assessing differences in generalized trust among participants of Turkish non-profit organizations and ethnically mixed organizations in Amsterdam. Most voluntary sector research takes the contact hypothesis at its core and assumes that the concentration of ethnic minorities in non-profit organizations is detrimental to learning generalized trust. These studies assume that diversity within organizations is better for developing generalized norms without examining participation in ethnically homogenous organizations. I address this gap in the literature by analysing the variance of generalized trust among organizations and their participants. I achieve this through the analysis of purposively designed survey data. The findings suggest that a contact mechanism at voluntary organizations is problematic and should not be asserted uncritically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge of the transportation mode used by humans (e.g. bicycle, on foot, car and train) is critical for travel behaviour research, transport planning and traffic management. Nowadays, new technologies such as the Global Positioning System have replaced traditional survey methods (paper diaries, telephone) because they are more accurate and problems such as under reporting are avoided. However, although the movement data collected (timestamped positions in digital form) have generally high accuracy, they do not contain the transportation mode. We present in this article a new method for segmenting movement data into single-mode segments and for classifying them according to the transportation mode used. Our fully automatic method differs from previous attempts for five reasons: (1) it relies on fuzzy concepts found in expert systems, that is membership functions and certainty factors; (2) it uses OpenStreetMap data to help the segmentation and classification process; (3) we can distinguish between 10 transportation modes (including between tram, bus and car) and propose a hierarchy; (4) it handles data with signal shortages and noise, and other real-life situations; (5) in our implementation, there is a separation between the reasoning and the knowledge, so that users can easily modify the parameters used and add new transportation modes. We have implemented the method and tested it with a 17-million point data set collected in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe. The accuracy of the classification with the developed prototype, determined with the comparison of the classified results with the reference data derived from manual classification, is 91.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public discourses on citizenship, identity and nationality, which link geographical borders and the political boundaries of a community, are infused with tensions and contradictions. This paper illustrates how these tensions are interwoven with multilayered notions of home, belonging, migration, citizenship and individual's ‘longing just to be’, focusing on the Dutch and the British context. The narratives of a number of Dutch and British women, who either immigrated to the respective countries or were born to immigrants, illustrate how the growing rigid integration and assimilative discourses in Europe contradict an individual anchoring in national and local communities. The narratives of women participating in these studies show multilayered angles of belonging presenting an alternative to the increasing strong argument for a fixed notion of positioning and national belonging. The female ‘new’ citizens in our study tell stories of individual choices, social mobility and a sense of multiple belonging in and across different communities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Marinova, Nadejda K. and Patrick James. (2012) The Tragedy of Human Trafficking: Competing Theories and European Evidence. Foreign Policy Analysis, doi: 10.1111/j.1743-8594.2011.00162.x This paper explores an issue that is both domestic and international: whether legalization of prostitution leads to an increase in human trafficking. For both theory and public policy, this is an important query to answer, with implications beyond the cases in question. The principal domains of investigation are Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands. These states subscribe to UN, EU, Council of Europe and OSCE agreements and are located in the same geographic region, yet have adopted opposite approaches to prostitution. The Netherlands and Germany legalized prostitution in 2000 and 2002, respectively. Sweden outlawed it in 1999 and imposed criminal penalties for the purchase of illicit sex. The preceding characteristics make these states ideal for a comparative exercise in the context of competing perspectives on human trafficking and legalized prostitution. We find that legalization leads to an increase in trafficking. The dynamics of trafficking are also associated with numerous factors, among which the most critical are government efforts specifically targeting the activity in the field of law enforcement. Implications for theory and public policy are offered, along with ideas about future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, societies worldwide have to cope with the potential impacts of climate change. The central question of this paper is to what extent our historically grown institutions enable actors to cope with the new challenges of climate adaptation. We present six qualities of governance institutions that are crucial to allow for, and encourage adaptation, and apply them to the National Adaptation Strategies of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Finland and Sweden. We conclude that although the governance institutions involved seem to have the basic qualities required, they face five institutional weaknesses, causing tensions on the long term: (1) lack of openness towards learning and variety; (2) strong one-sided reliance on scientific experts; (3) tension between top-down policy development and bottom-up implementation; (4) distrust in the problem-solving capacity of civil society; and (5) wickedness of reserving funding for long-term action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has contributed to confirming the link between education and health in developed countries. The analysis is based on 11 European Union countries. We estimate country-specific health functions, where the dependent variable is self-reported health status and the education attainment is one of the main inputs. All eight waves (1994–2001) of the European Community Household Panel are deployed. A random effects ordered probit is estimated in order to control, to a given extent, for unobserved heterogeneity. Explanatory variables are both time invariant (education attainment and gender) and time varying (gross wages, hours of work, age and living alone). Results confirm the positive impact of secondary education on health in most cases and tertiary education in all cases, even after controlling for other inputs in the health function and taking unobserved heterogeneity into account. Secondary education has an impact on health in all countries in the sample except for The Netherlands and UK. The effect does not differ between secondary and tertiary education in France, Ireland and Greece. The correlation between education and health is interpreted in different but complementary ways by diverse approaches and we may not disentangle the precise mechanism that connects health with education from our results. Anyway, it seems clear that better coordination is needed between education and health policies to effectively improve health literacy. Other relevant results from our study are that women register poorer health than men, age contributes to worsening health status and wages contribute positively to health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport is one of the fastest growing sources of emissions of greenhouse gases. Some European countries have adopted comprehensive 'sustainable transport' policies, in which climate change is addressed. This paper looks into how sustainable transport policy frameworks deal with climate change challenges in three countries: the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. In particular, the focus is on the role of follow-up and monitoring systems to keep the policies on track. For the United Kingdom, a critical analysis is made of strengths and weaknesses of the policy monitoring regime. The analysis shows that the monitoring approach, while ambitious, has suffered some deficits that may have weakened the role of the high-level strategies. Current efforts to strengthen the system are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integrated approach to environmental policy and urban spatial planning has not yet been adopted by many local administrations in Europe. However, such integration is likely to provide a more streamlined planning process that incorporates environmental measures in the physical development of urban areas. In this paper, we argue that among many local governments there is already a growing wish to apply environmental policy integration (EPI) principles in spatial planning in an effort to achieve better quality of life in the cities and to preserve natural resources. Within Europe, most attempts to develop EPI approaches can be found in western countries, while efforts to find integrated approaches to the urban environment and spatial planning in Eastern Europe are in their infancy. The main reason for this is that most of the post-communist countries are still addressing the challenge of reconstructing their political, social, and economic systems. In this research, we analyse and compare policy practices for EPI in urban planning in the Netherlands and Bulgaria. We first discuss the Dutch area-oriented policy approach, which has gained popularity during the last decade as a means of integrating environmental qualities in urban land use plans. We then go on to analyse the effectiveness of specific area-oriented methods developed and applied in Rotterdam, and define their applicability in the planning practice of the local authorities of the city of Burgas in Bulgaria. The main conclusion of the study is that the degree of effectiveness of an area-oriented policy is dependent on the impact of specific success factors. Despite the differences between Rotterdam and Burgas in terms of the presence of these success factors, we assert that the area-oriented policy approach applied in Rotterdam can be transferable, and can be adapted to the specific local circumstances in Burgas and used as an instrument for integrating EPI into urban land use planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Amsterdam is standing on Norway’– this was a popular saying in the Dutch Republic of the seventeenth century. There was more than one inflection to the phrase. Amsterdam was, in the first instance, built atop a subterranean forest of Norwegian origin. But southern Norway was also a vital resource zone, subordinated to Amsterdam-based capital. This paper follows the movement of strategic commodity frontiers within early modern Europe from the standpoint of capitalism as world-ecology, joining in dialectical unity the production of capital and the production of nature. Our geographical focus is trained upon the emergence of the Global North Atlantic, that zone providing the strategic raw materials and food supplies indispensable to the consolidation of capitalism – timber, naval stores, metals, cereals, fish and whales. I argue for a broader geographical perspective on these movements, one capable of revealing the dialectical interplay of frontiers on all sides of the Atlantic. From its command posts in Amsterdam, Dutch capital deployed American silver in the creation of successive frontiers within Europe, transforming Scandinavian and Baltic regions. The frontier character of these transformations was decisive, premised on drawing readily exploitable supplies of land and labour power into the orbit of capital. We see in northern Europe precisely what we see in the Americas – a pattern of commodity-centred environmental transformation, and thence relative ecological exhaustion, from which the only escape was renewed global conquest and ever-wider cycles of combined and uneven development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is a main European airport and represents an important concentration of European distribution centres (EDCs). It is commonly assumed that distribution centres are attracted to the airport region because of its air transport services. However, if one considers economies of agglomeration, whereby the geographical clustering of economic activities can result in increasing returns, it is quite possible that a significant amount of EDCs have been established near Schiphol for non-airport related reasons. To this end, the present paper investigates agglomeration effects for distribution centres around Schiphol. It reports on two cross-sectional surveys: one of the EDCs around Schiphol and one of the total Dutch population of EDCs. The study finds that economies of agglomeration - and not the air transport services themselves -- are in fact the most important location forces responsible for the attraction of EDCs into the Schiphol area. This result shows that Amsterdam-Schiphol is more than simply a transport hub. Correspondingly, the major role of agglomeration effects should be recognised in future policy to manage and control the economic development of the airport area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses a new social and political phenomenon in Europe, which has become evident along with the visibility of Islam in the European public space. Revealing the current social-political context in Western Europe, which is mainly characterized by a growing drift of securitization of Islam and migration, this paper argues that there are two simultaneously running processes regarding the changing nature of Euro-Islam, which seem to are antithetical: individualization of Islam vs. institutionalization of Islam. Drawing upon the findings of the field research in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, this article shows that while the processes of globalization seem to prompt younger generations with Muslim background to liberate themselves from the constraints of their patriarchal parental and community culture, western states as well as ethnocultural and religious brokers tend to reify, or reinforce, their existing communal and religious boundaries. That is to say that the descendants of migrants seem to have been squeezed between individualization and institutionalization of Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years partnership has become an established aspect of rural development across rural Europe. Both Wales and the Netherlands have seen similar trends towards more decentralized and territorial modes of rural governance in which policy networks of governmental and societal actors work together at a local or regional level to further rural development. Such networks are called 'partnerships' in English and 'gebiedscommissies' in Dutch. This paper addresses differences in the composition and organization of rural partnerships in these two countries and attributes the differences between them to the policy context in each country. Four policy factors are identified as contributing to the specific approach to partnership adopted in the two countries. The review sustains the presumption that in Dutch rural partnerships the integration discourse is more important than the participation discourse, which is more prominent in Wales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European natural gas market is characterized by declining indigenous resources, particularly in the UK and the Netherlands, and a growing dependence on a small number of large exporters who, as a consequence, see their market power increasing. In this paper we analyze long-run scenarios for the European natural gas markets in a model, NATGAS, that explicitly includes both factors, resource constraints and producers' market power. Finite resources lead to interdependencies of current production decisions and future opportunities. These decisions in turn depend on the potential for large producers to set market prices above marginal costs. We analyze the impact of conditions on the global LNG market on market shares of pipeline gas suppliers, as well as on the speed of depletion of indigenous European resources. We focus on how shadow prices of resource constraints affect substitution patterns in the various scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In order to ensure a stable and reliable operation of municipal MBR plants, an enhanced mechanical pre-treatment of the raw wastewater is essential. Removal of hair, fibrous material and other contraries which can lead to operational problems at the membrane modules is of particular importance. As the number of full scale applications is continuously increasing, now appropriate investigations can be carried out to determine the removal efficiency of different units (screens, sieves) or different combination of units (multi staged system). First results of such investigations on two German MBR plants were already presented [F.-B. Frechen, W. Schier and M. Wett, Water Practice & Technology, Vol. 1, No. 3, IWA Publishing, 2006, doi: 10.2166/WPT.2006057.]. In 2006, DESEE executed further investigations on another three wwtps in The Netherlands, UK and Germany. This paper summarizes the results, thus updates the information available, discusses the present findings and gives an outlook on future developments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The period since the early 1990s has seen a marked shift in the terms of Dutch European discourse, as dramatically highlighted by the country's 'No' vote in its 2005 referendum on the European Constitutional Treaty. The present paper examines the trajectory of this discursive shift, suggesting that a traditional 'federalist' referential has been replaced by an elite discourse focused primarily on defining the 'limits of Europe' in intersecting substantive and geographical terms. A general framework for the understanding of national discourses of European integration is first set out, highlighting the key role played by national elites as mediators between the European and the national political systems. The Dutch case is then examined against this background, chronicling the general terms of the 'critical turn' in national European discourse, the 2005 referendum campaign, post-referendum party positioning and discussions surrounding the 2007 Reform Treaty. Despite the persistence of strong, underlying support for Dutch EU membership, it is finally argued that The Netherlands has not (as yet) found a stable, cohesive national narrative of its 'fit' and 'place' in the contemporary (post-enlargement) project of European integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent COVID-19 pandemic affected various aspects of life. Several studies established the consequences of pandemic lockdown on air quality using satellite remote sensing. However, such studies have limitations, including low spatial resolution or incomplete spatial coverage. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a machine learning-based scheme to solve the pre-mentioned limitations by training an optimized space-time extra trees model for each year of the study period. The results have shown that our trained models reach a prediction accuracy up to 95% when predicting the missing values in the MODIS MCD19A2 Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) product. The outcome of the mentioned scheme was a geo-harmonized atmospheric dataset for aerosol optical depth at 550 nm with 1 km spatial resolution and full coverage over Europe. As an application, we used the proposed machine learning based prediction approach in AOD levels analysis. We compared the mean AOD levels between the lockdown period from March to June in 2020 and the mean AOD values of the same period for the past 5 years. We found that AOD levels dropped over most European countries in 2020 but increased in several eastern and western countries. The Netherlands had the most significant average decrease in AOD levels (19%), while Spain had the highest average increase (10%). Moreover, we analyzed the relationship between the relative percentage difference of AOD and four meteorological variables. We found a positive correlation between AOD and relative humidity and a negative correlation between AOD and wind speed. The value of the proposed prediction scheme is further emphasized by taking into consideration that the reconstructed dataset can be used for future air quality studies concerning Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To examine and compare the research productivity on selected fields related to health literacy of the current members of the European Union, the four candidate countries waiting to join the EU, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States. Methodology/Principal findings: A bibliometric analysis (1991-2005). Data sources included papers published by authors from each country separately. The 25 European countries produce less than 1/3 health literacy research when compared to the U.S. (13,710 and 49,523 articles were published by authors with main affiliation in the European Union and the four candidate countries, and the U.S., respectively). The Netherlands and Sweden (followed by Germany, Italy, and France) are the European countries with the highest number of research published in fields related to health literacy. After adjustment for population Sweden, Finland, and Norway, were on the top of the relevant list. In addition, Sweden, Finland, and Ireland, were on the top of the list of countries regarding research productivity on the selected fields after adjustment for gross domestic product (GDP). Conclusions/Significance: Inequalities in research published on the topic of health literacy exist among Europe, Norway, Switzerland, and the U.S. More research may need to be done in all areas of health literacy in Europe and the potential detrimental effects of this gap should be further investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author addresses the recent proliferation of cross-border regions, or 'Euroregions', in Europe. It is argued that EU multilevel governance patterns generate opportunities for entrepreneurial policy organisations to attract policy tasks and resources. This is conceptualised as policy entrepreneurship and applied to a comparative case-study analysis of three Euroregions: EUREGIO (Germany - Netherlands), Viadrina (Poland - Germany), and Tyrol Euroregion (Austria - Italy). The analysis focuses on the ability of these initiatives to establish themselves as autonomous organisations. It finds considerable variation across the cases in this respect. Following on from this, the paper shows how administrative and institutional environments in different EU member states affect the ability of Euroregions to engage in policy entrepreneurship. It is concluded that it is premature to perceive Euroregions as new types of regional territorial entities; rather, they are part of the policy-innovation scenario enabled by EU multilevel governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is becoming a popular and widespread practice of immersion education. In the Netherlands, for example, over 90 secondary schools offer a CLIL strand. Most CLIL teachers, however, are nonnative speakers of the target language, and do not have a professional background in language pedagogy. How, then, can these teachers effectively contribute to the target language development and proficiency of their students? In this paper we will discuss the findings of a study carried out in three secondary schools offering CLIL. The purpose of the study was to observe and analyse effective CLIL teaching performance facilitating language development and proficiency. The analysis was carried out by means of an observation tool for effective CLIL teaching, based on the following principles from second language pedagogy: (1) exposure to input; (2) content-oriented processing; (3) form-oriented processing; (4) (pushed) output; and (5) strategic language use. We will discuss how the CLIL pedagogy observed is related to content-based teaching and task-based language teaching, and provide recommendations for effective language pedagogy in CLIL. We will argue that not only CLIL teachers can profit from effective language-pedagogical approaches, but that language teachers can profit from effective CLIL approaches and experiences as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present-day worldwide water problems require new management tools and sustainable system innovations. At Delft University of Technology research is being carried out into water resources and management development aimed at forming such tools and innovations, focused on Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM). One of the case-studies deals with Dutch water management and technology in the context of European IRBM in the form of the 2000 Water Frame Directive. The Netherlands experience many water problems and European IRBM could bring help by offering a framework for both international cooperation and technological innovations. To work as an adequate management tool European IRBM should be tailored to the Dutch water tradition, which recently culminated in Integrated Water Management. Both approaches are in some respects contradicting. Europe pursues, for example, centralized control; while the Dutch have their strongly water boards based decentralized administration. The tensions between both approaches require mutual adaptation, for which the concept of subsidiarity might offer points of departure. This paper describes the first results of the case-research into Dutch water management and technology in the context of Europe as well as the backgrounds and the set-up of the research as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Netherlands, as in many European countries, classrooms display a growing cultural diversity. There are only very limited empirically supported data on the interpersonal competence teachers need in Dutch classrooms and studies from other countries cannot be generalized because of differences in the composition of the student population. This paper reports on an exploratory study in two schools on teachers' experiences in multicultural classes followed by an in-depth case study of one expert teacher. We use this study to answer the question to what degree this teacher displays interpersonal competence (teaching behaviours, knowledge and attitudes) specific for teaching in multicultural classrooms by comparing this teacher's competence with generic interpersonal teaching competence. The teacher studied seems to be aware of special needs of students from different cultures and to use this knowledge to apply specific teaching strategies and interpersonal cues to create a positive classroom atmosphere and to cater for needs of diverse students. Further, the results indicate that many elements of this teacher's interpersonal competence in teaching a multicultural class can be considered aspects of generic teaching competence. It seems that the multicultural classroom puts heavier demands on this competence than a less diverse classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the cities of Europe, there are new and growing Christian communities with leadership originating from Asia, Africa and Latin America. In recent years, the formation of SKIN (Samen Kerk in Nederland — Together Church in the Netherlands) and the publication of a book entitled Geboren in Sion (Born in Sion) have contributed to our understanding. However, it remains a major challenge for the indigenous churches to relate to their life and spirituality. Can we learn from Biblical models of heterogeneous and multicultural Christian communities in the New Testament? Different aspects of the identity and contrasting types of so-called migrant churches are explored in this paper which was first presented to the migrant study group at the Landelijke Diensten Centrum (National Service Centre) of the Protestantse Kerken in Nederland (Protestant Churches in the Netherlands) in Utrecht on November 15, 2004. Some examples have been cited from the city of Rotterdam and questions raised in order to how to recognize and receive their spiritual gift in the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss inclusiveness of identification among farmers in Galicia (Spain) and The Netherlands. Identification with three nested categories—farmers in the local community, farmers in the country, and farmers in Europe was assessed among 167 Dutch and 248 Galician farmers at three points in time: winter of 1993/94, winter 1995 and fall 1995. Our findings suggest that inclusiveness reduces the level of identification. However, the observed patterns of identification were more complex than inclusiveness per se can account for. Borrowing from the common ingroup-identity model, functional and socialization models of identity formation, and a model of politicized collective identity we formulated hypotheses about patterns of identification that were to be expected. On the whole our findings supported our theoretical reasoning. Galician farmers appear to identify much less with farmers in their country and Europe than Dutch farmers do. Inclusiveness of identification appears to be linked to experience with national and supranational political institutions. More political knowledge and involvement appear to generate more inclusive patterns of identification. Among Galician farmers evaluation of the agricultural policy of the European Union is negatively related to identification with farmers in Europe, among Dutch farmers the two are positively related. Finally, more inclusive identities seem to be more politicized. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the bases of opposition to immigrant minorities in Western Europe, focusing on The Netherlands. The specific aim of this study is to test the validity of predictions derived from two theories-realistic conflict, which emphasizes considerations of economic well-being, and social identity, which emphasizes considerations of identity based on group membership. The larger aim of this study is to investigate the interplay of predisposing factors and situational triggers in evoking political responses. The analysis is based on a series of three experiments embedded in a public opinion survey carried out in The Netherlands (n = 2007) in 1997-98. The experiments, combined with parallel individual-level measures, allow measurement of the comparative impact of both dispositionally based and situationally triggered threats to economic well-being and to national identity at work. The results show, first, that considerations of national identity dominate those of economic advantage in evoking exclusionary reactions to immigrant minorities and, second, that the effect of situational triggers is to mobilize support for exclusionary policies above and beyond the core constituency already predisposed to support them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While patterns of spatial segregation and concentration of ethnic minority groups in European cities have been well documented, more dynamic data on migration have been rare until now. In particular, little is known about the potential for different kinds of households to escape from poverty areas. Escaping these areas can be important in order to escape unwanted housing and living conditions. The analyses in this paper show that in the Netherlands the chance to escape such poverty neighbourhoods partly depends on ethnic descent: some immigrant groups are less able to escape than are Dutch households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the settlement patterns of Turks and Moroccans in Brussels will be compared with the patterns of the same groups in Amsterdam. It will be argued that housing market variables explain a lot of the differences between the two cities. The large number of (affordable) social dwellings in Amsterdam forms a significant contrast with the virtual lack of these dwellings in the Brussels area. Historical variables account for these different kinds of housing stock. Cultural variables, differences between and within the categories of Turks and Moroccans, can be seen as an additional explanatory factor for the segregation and concentration patterns of Turks and Moroccans in both cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the right to health care. Various expressions of this right may be distinguished. These include both individual rights and social rights which could be based upon international treaties and constitutional rights. They may be found in national health legislation and, in some cases, in jurisprudence. To analyze the consequences of limiting the right to health care, a framework for judicial review has been developed which encompasses these expressions of the right to health care. The framework was used to examine legal and health policy developments in three Western and two Eastern European countries. In Italy and the Netherlands the right to health care is protected constitutionally (but on differing legal bases) while the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution. In contrast, Hungary and Poland have for many years seen the state take responsible for the provision, administration and allocation of health care services and the right to health care was guaranteed theoretically but not in practice because of the lack of (financial) means. However, the Polish Constitution explicitly anticipates possible limitations of the right to health care. What all these countries have in common is a cost containment perspective where the future will bring even tighter limits on what resources patients may consume. Despite differences in legal structure between these countries, where they seem to converge is on the consequences of putting limitations on the right to health care. The courts in Italy, the Netherlands and the UK have formulated conditions drawn from the acceptance that this right has to be judged within the context of limited resources. It may be concluded that finding a compromise between the right to health care and cost containment policies could also be an issue, Eastern European countries will have to face in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper refutes Stark and lannaccone's recent argument about secularization in Europe as applied to the Netherlands. Relevant Dutch evidence shows that both organized religion and subjective religiosity have declined in the Netherlands since the 1950s. Any deregulation and increases in pluralism that occurred in that period did not have the theoretically expected effects. The anomalous Dutch case casts further doubt on the explanatory power of "supply-side" theories in the sociology of religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Held under the aegis the European Association for Library and Information Education and Research (EUCLID), BOBCATSSS conference is organized annually by students of European universities. The organizing universities have to ensure that the Departments of Library and Information Science propose each year the topics for discussion. In 1993, BOBCATSSS held its 1st annual conference series. At its 20th anniversary in January 2012, the organization task went to students from 3 universities of applied sciences, namely University of Amsterdam (Netherlands), Hanze University of Applied Sciences in Groningen (Netherlands) and Stuttgart Media University (Germany). The 2012 conference focused on Information in e-motion. Romania was represented by PhD Angela Repanovici from Transylvania University of Brasov who lectured on What Challenges are Library Leaders Facing? The paper has been written in collaboration with Ane Landøy from Royal School of Information Science in Copenhagen. From the international master program Digital Library Learning, there have been, along with the author of the article, five other colleagues from five different countries. After an introduction to the symposium BOBCATASS 2012, the author presents the work carried out during the master program and presented at the conference: the poster When academia goes "E", which illustrates the results of a survey conducted at the University Library of Tromsø (Norway), a questionnaire which points to the revolutionary politics of this library, namely purchasing of books in electronic format only. The participants, professionals and students in the field of information management contributed to the programme on other subtopics of the conference as well: "E-media in Motion", "My Information", "Organisations 2.0" and "Access to Public Information. The article deals with current topics in a friendly and accessible manner even to the unfamiliar public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Reference Network for rare liver diseases (ERN RARE-LIVER) is a Europe-wide network of paediatric and adult hepatologists from expert centres in close collaboration with patient advocates from the various disease-areas covered in our ERN. The ERN is focused on providing more equitable care across Europe and creates a network of both medical specialists and patient experts in rare liver disease. This position paper summarizes the achievements of the first year and plots the route for the near future for ERN RARE-LIVER, as discussed during a strategy meeting that took place 27 and 28 February 2018 in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. ERN RARE-LIVER has established itself as a group with experts, hospitals and patients. One of the tools to improve communication is the clinical patient management system (CPMS) that allows access to expert consultation by European physicians confronted with a patient with rare liver disease. ERN RARE-LIVER will function as the platform to improve healthcare by initiating registries, foster research efforts and coordinate development of clinical guidelines in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]