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The archaeological investigations in Aalst - Siesegemkouter have uncovered various pits in a settlement from the middle to late Bronze Age. One pit with a structured stratigraphy and numerous finds, including a large amount of broken pottery, charcoal, and burnt animal bones, suggests early precursors of ritual practices. The excavations have also discovered remains of a Bronze Age settlement, including ceramic fragments, grinding stones, and burnt bones. The finds indicate an intensive use of the settlement. Further investigations are necessary to determine the cultural context and the occasion of these events. [Extracted from the article]

The right to social security is enshrined in article 23 of the Belgian Constitution. It is the role of the legislator to implement it, to guarantee the right of all to lead a life in accordance with human dignity. Studies show that platform workers face major difficulties in terms of social protection. The aim of this article is to highlight the limits of existing legislative provisions regarding their ability to implement the fundamental right to social security for platform workers. With regard to these legislative provisions, we are interested in both the general regulations that shape the Belgian social security system and the recent measures adopted by the Belgian legislator with regard to the so‐called sharing economy. An analysis of these provisions reveals that a number of platform workers are excluded from social security, both de facto and de jure. At the very least, this raises the question of whether the Belgian legislator is complying with the positive obligation to fulfil the constitutional right to social security for platform workers, and the negative obligation, at least, not to undermine it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article summarizes four corridor studies on bilateral social security agreements (BSSAs) between four European Union (EU) members that were undertaken to assess their working and the establishment of benefit portability. BSSAs between migrant-sending and migrant-receiving countries are seen as the most important instrument to establish portability of social security benefits for internationally mobile workers. Yet, only about 23 per cent of international migrants profit from BSSAs and their functioning has been little analyzed and even less assessed. The four corridors studied (Austria-Turkey, Germany-Turkey, Belgium-Morocco, and France-Morocco) were selected to allow for comparison of both similarities and differences in experiences. The evaluation of these corridors' BSSAs was undertaken against a methodological framework and three selected criteria: fairness for individuals, fiscal fairness for countries, and bureaucratic effectiveness for countries and migrant workers. The results for pension portability suggest that the investigated BSSAs work and overall deliver reasonably well on individual fairness. The results on fiscal fairness are clouded by conceptual and empirical gaps. Bureaucratic effectiveness would profit from information and communication technology-based exchanges on both corridors once available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first aim of the study was to examine psychometrics of a Czech pilot version of the PCBS-short, the second aim was to test differences in scores between four religious attitudes and selected psychosocial aspects of personality. The sample consisted of 278 adults (104 men and 174 women, average age 41.9 years). Methods: The Czech pilot version of Post-critical belief scale-short (PCBS-short) was used to measure Wulff's religiosity dimensions. To measure some aspects of positively defined mental health the following methods were selected: WHOQoL-BREF (measure for quality of life), SOC (sense of coherence, integrity), PSSS (perceived social support), and GQ 6 (dispositional gratitude), LOC (locus of control). The principal component analysis confirmed two componential solutions. The structure of PCBS-short scale consists of two dimensions and four subscales. Four groups of religious attitudes (Orthodoxy, External Critique, Relativism, and Second Naiveté) were described on the basis of standard z-scores and two couples out of four quadrants were selected and compared. Results of the study showed that none of the religion dimensions were proved as a significant predictor of quality of life. People in Second Naiveté quadrant had significantly better satisfaction with life, perceived social support and gratitude than people in External Critique quadrant. People in Second Naiveté quadrant had significantly better quality of life, satisfaction with life, sense of coherence and gratitude than people in Orthodoxy quadrant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the end of the Cold War, beginning with the Low Countries, most Continental West-European countries progressively ended (or more often, suspended) the draft, the core of the mass armed forces of the 19th and 20th centuries. In its place, smaller, professional quick reaction constabulary forces have progressively been put into place. The paper, after briefly analyzing the structural causes of this fundamental societal change, describes how compulsory military service was suspended in Belgium and examines the problems with which the Belgian armed forces have been confronted while restructuring, and what challenges lay ahead in terms of recruitment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]