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Contains fulltext : 201996.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) This article examines the extent to which political parties affect the descriptive representation of both Western and non-Western ethnic minority groups on the candidate lists of political parties in the Netherlands. It systematically tests the role of policy positions of Dutch parties, their ethnic minority support, and candidate selection methods. As list position is related to electoral success, we study the nomination of ethnic minority candidates as well as their position on the candidate list. Using ethnic background data of all candidates for the Dutch parliamentary elections in 2012, we find that minorities of Turkish and Moroccan origin are not underrepresented, and that descriptive representation is below parity for Western minorities. We observe neither effect from parties' ethnic support on ethnic representation, nor do we find any relation between party selection procedure and ethnic minority representation. The position of parties on immigration issues, however, is shown to be important. The results indicate that parties with more restrictive positions on integration and migration not only nominate fewer ethnic minority candidates, they also place non-Western ethnic minority candidates in lower list positions than parties who are less restrictive towards migration and integration. 23 p.

Contains fulltext : 189806.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) This study investigates whether the decreased trust in news media can be explained by the increase in sensationalism in news. To this end, an experiment was conducted in which viewers (N = 288) evaluated sensationalist versus non-sensationalist television news in terms of perceived news quality and perceived sensationalism. Each participant watched four television news stories that varied in the presence of two categories of sensationalism: arousing content and tabloid packaging. Findings showed that sensationalist television news tends to be more negatively evaluated than non-sensationalist news. In addition, critical views on arousing content appeared to be particularly visible among young and middle-aged adults. These findings suggest that the rise of sensationalist news could be an explanation of the declining trust in news media that is witnessed in a number of countries. 12 p.

In this study we analyze daily data on television viewing in the Netherlands. We postulate hypotheses on supply and demand factors that could impact the amount of daily viewing time. Although the general assumption is that supply and demand often correlate, we see that for television this is only marginally the case. Especially diversity of program supply, often deemed very important in media markets, does not affect (positively or negatively) television viewing behavior. Most variation in television viewing can be attributed to habit and to regular events (e. g. weekends, Christmas) and to unexpected events (e. g. the 9/11 WTC attack). We also find that weather conditions interact with program types, so that, for example, in winter times people favor entertainment programs even more, suggesting that people use television for mood management.

Contains fulltext : 76722.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) This article examines whether intergenerational transmission of party preference is biased by retrospective and other-report measurement of family background characteristics [In our model the dependent variable is voting preference, while one of our explanatory variables is father's party preference. Therefore we speak of the intergenerational transmission of party preference.]. In addition the consequences of measurement error for the effects of father's church membership, his church attendance, whether he is self-employed, educational attainment, church membership, church attendance, whether the respondent is self-employed, and occupational status on voting preference are investigated. It turns out that the effects of educational attainment and father's party preference when the respondent was 15 years old on voting preference are underestimated if measurement error is not taken into account. The role of correlated error is negligible. As the effect of father's party preference is substantial and becomes even stronger after correcting for measurement error, it is advisable to include it in the model, while imputing information on measurement error. 14 p.

Contains fulltext : 73544.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Societal developments have forced universities all over Europe to replace their 'professional' strategies, structures, and values by organizational characteristics that could be stereotyped as 'private sector' features. This trend is known as 'managerialism'. Since university employees generally stick to professional values, a conflict may emerge between professional employee values and managerial organization values. This conflict can result in lower organizational commitment and, consequently, lower quality of job performances. Since managerialism is, however, aimed at efficient and effective quality improvement, this situation is what we regard as a managerialism contradiction. Affecting university employees' performances may solve or reduce such a contradiction. Since levels of managerialism differ among countries, this paper examines which factors affect the quality of job performances of 1,700 university employees in low-, middle- and high-managerialism countries. The analyses reveal that there are large differences and some similarities between the countries regarding which human resource management (HRM) practices affect the quality of employees' job performances. Furthermore, it appears that there are clear differences among the countries regarding how the HRM practices affect the quality of their job performances. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. 22 p.

Objective Women have been reported to use more emotion-regulation strategies than do men and to have more abilities to regulate their emotions in a different way. The aim of the present study was to examine gender differences in the relationships of alexithymia, negative mood, and the combination of alexithymia and negative mood with emotional eating in obese persons. Methods Four hundred thirteen obese individuals [343 females and 70 males, aged 18–60 years, mean=43.6 years, body mass index (BMI)=38.4±6.6 kg/m 2 ] completed self-report questionnaires, including the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) questionnaire, the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ), and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS). Results Hierarchical regression analysis showed a significant interaction between gender and alexithymia. More difficulty in identifying or describing feelings was specifically associated with more emotional eating in men. Conclusion These findings suggest that alexithymia is more strongly involved in emotional eating of obese men than women. This offers indications for designing gender-specific treatments for emotional eating among obese persons.

Contains fulltext : 45454.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) This paper examines which factors affect organizational commitment among Dutch university employees in two faculties with different academic identities (separatist versus hegemonist, Stiles, 2004 Stiles, D. 2004. Narcissus Revisited: The Values of Management Academics and their Role in Business School Strategies in the UK and Canada. British Journal of Management, 15(2): 157–75. [CrossRef], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar] ). The analyses of Web survey data reveal that in the separatist faculty decentralization, compensation, training/development, positional tenure and career mobility have significant effects. Age, organizational tenure, level of autonomy, working hours, social involvement and personal importance significantly affect the employees' organizational commitment in the hegemonist faculty. Participation, social interactions and job level are factors that are important in both faculties. The findings indicate that the set of factors affecting the organizational commitment of employees differs between the separatist and hegemonist faculties. The findings empirically support the argument that different configurations or ‘bundles’ of HRM practices (Delery and Doty, 1996 Delery, J.E. and Doty, D.H. 1996. Modes of Theorizing in Strategic Human Resource Management: Tests of Universalistic, Contingency, and Configurational Performance Predictions. Academy of Management Journal, 39(4): 802–35. [CrossRef], [Web of Science ®], [Google Scholar] ; Guest, 1997 Guest, D.E. 1997. Human Resource Management and Performance: A Review and Research Agenda. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(3): 263–76. [Taylor & Francis Online], [Google Scholar] ) are suited for organizations with different identities. Explanations for the observed relationships, implications and limitations of the study are discussed. 20 p.

This paper considers the implementation of a non-stationary, heterogeneous Markov model for the analysis of binary dependent variables in a time series of repeated cross-sectional (RCS) surveys. The model offers the opportunity to estimate entry and exit transition probabilities and to examine the effects of time-constant and time-varying covariates on the hazards. We show how maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters can be obtained by Fisher’s method-of-scoring and how to estimate both fixed and time-varying covariate effects. The model is exemplified with an analysis of the labor force participation decision of Dutch and West German women using ISSP (and other) data from 10 annual Dutch surveys conducted between 1987 and 1996 and 7 annual West German surveys conducted between 1988 and 1994. Some open problems concerning the application of the model are discussed.

Contains fulltext : 134986.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) This paper considers the implementation of a nonstationary, heterogeneous Markov model for the analysis of a binary dependent variable in a time series of independent cross sections. The model, previously considered by Moffitt(1993), offers the opportunity to estimate entry and exit transition probabilities and to examine the effects of time-constant and time-varying covariates on the hazards. We show how ML estimates of the parameters can be obtained by Fisher's method-of-scoring and how to estimate both fixed and time-varying covariate effects. The model is exemplified with an analysis of the labor force participation decision of Dutch women using data from the Socio-economic Panel (SEP) study conducted in the Netherlands between 1986 and 1995. We treat the panel data as independent cross sections and compare the employment status sequences predicted by the model with the observed sequences in the panel. Some open problems concerning the application of the model are also discussed.

This paper is an empirical study to the effects of economic outcomes on party choice for the Netherlands. In the first part of the paper we employ a multinomial logit model to examine the links between voters' characteristics and party choice. The results suggest that there are long-run movements in party choice which are unlikely be the result of changing economic outcomes. In the second part, we use time series analysis to determine the effects of economic conditions on short-run and medium-run movements in votes shares. The estimations results provide support for the responsibility hypothesis and for the predictions of the partisan voter model that left-wing (right-wing) parties benefit (suffer) from favourable economic growth prospects.

A time series (t = 921) of weekly survey data on vote intentions in the Netherlands for the period 1978–1995 shows that the percentage of undecided voters follows a cyclical pattern over the election calendar. The otherwise substantial percentage of undecided voters decreases sharply in weeks leading up to an election and gradually increases afterwards. This article models the dynamics of this asymmetric electoral cycle using artificial neural networks, with the purpose of estimating when the undecided voters start making up their minds. We find that they begin to decide which party to vote for nine weeks before a first order national parliamentary election and one to four weeks before a second order election, depending on the type of election (European Parliament, Provincial States, City-councils). The effect of political campaigns and the implications for political analysis are discussed.

Using data from 1098 national Dutch surveys, this paper explores trends in the influence of religious denomination on votes for confessional political parties in the Netherlands from 1964 to 1992. The broad question is whether confessional voting has declined over this 29‐year period; the narrow issue is whether the declines vary with religious denomination and time. Logit analysis of the overall effect allows a downward trend in the influence of denomination. The most spectacular decays occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, among Catholics and Rereformed Protestants. Many of the shifts slowed down appreciably in the late 1970s and subsequently abated in the mid‐1980s. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed.

The Glock and Stark theoretical framework on Christian beliefs and anti-Semitism implies that orthodox religious beliefs perpetuate secular anti-Semitism via particularism and religious anti-Semitism. Several critics have argued that the major weakness of this study is its failure to examine explanatory variables other than religious beliefs. This paper addresses these issues using data from a 1990-91 national Dutch survey. Although the results tend to support the assumption that nonreligious variables are far more important to the explanation of anti-Semitism and, too, that they attenuate the impact of Christian orthodoxy, the effects of the latter are by no means spurious. The most important conclusion of this paper is therefore that there still is, in Holland at least, a religious factor at work, albeit a modest one, generating anti-Semitic beliefs. Numerous studies have documented that people who consider themselves to be Christians are more likely to be anti-Semitic than those who are not religious. Despite the large amount of data that has been collected on this issue, however, the problem of whether and, if so, how and to what extent Christian religion per se engenders less compassion for Jews has never really been solved. Ambiguity remains because most studies have not been theory-guided, and consequently their findings were purely ad hoc. Further, in studying religion and its role in supporting anti-Semitism, one must always consider the possibility that nonreligious variables may create spurious patterns of relationships. Relatively little research has yet been done, however, to determine their confounding influences in order to support or challenge the assumption - held by many but made explicit by a few - that the Christian churches are conducive to anti-Jewish sentiments in their members. This paper examines the role orthodox Christian beliefs play in religious and secular anti-Semitism in the Netherlands, using data from a 1990-91 national Dutch survey. The study was triggered by the recent revival of hostility towards Jews across much of western Europe. Many of those who try to understand this upsurge emphasize anti-Semitic prejudice deeply entrenched within European Christian culture and history as the core of the problem. We therefore decided to examine whether vestiges of this legacy remain in Holland to

Contains fulltext : 102892pub.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Expressive suppression is regarded as a generally ineffective emotion regulation strategy and appears to be associated with the development of depressive symptoms among adolescents. However, the mechanisms linking suppression to depressive symptoms are not well understood. The main aim of this study was to examine two potential mediators of the prospective relationship from depressive symptoms to expressive suppression among adolescents: parental support and peer victimization. Structural equation modelling was used to construct a three-wave cross-lagged model (n = 2,051 adolescents, 48.5 % female, at baseline; 1,465 with data at all three time points) with all possible longitudinal linkages. Depressive symptoms preceded decreases in perceived parental support 1 year later. Decreases in parental support mediated the relationship between depressive symptoms and increases in expressive suppression over a 2-year period. Multi-group analyses show that the mediation model tested was significant for girls, but not for boys. No evidence for other mediating models was found. Although initial suppression preceded increases in depressive symptoms 1 year later, we did not find any evidence for the reversed link from suppression to depressive symptoms. Clear evidence for a reciprocal relationship between depressive symptoms and parental support was found. However, only limited and inconsistent support was found for a reciprocal relationship between depressive symptoms and peer victimization. Finally, although some evidence for a unidirectional relationship from parental support to increases in suppression was found, no significant prospective relationship was found between peer victimization and suppression. The implications of our clear results for parental support, and mostly lacking results for peer victimization, are discussed.

Contains fulltext : 103081.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Inclement weather on election day is widely seen to benefit certain political parties at the expense of others. Empirical evidence for this weather-vote share hypothesis is sparse however. We examine the effects of rainfall and temperature on share of the votes of eight political parties that participated in 13 national parliament elections, held in the Netherlands from 1971 to 2010. This paper merges the election results for all Dutch municipalities with election-day weather observations drawn from all official weather stations well distributed over the country. We find that the weather parameters affect the election results in a statistically and politically significant way. Whereas the Christian Democratic party benefits from substantial rain (10 mm) on voting day by gaining one extra seat in the 150-seat Dutch national parliament, the left-wing Social Democratic (Labor) and the Socialist parties are found to suffer from cold and wet conditions. Cold (5°C) and rainy (10 mm) election day weather causes the latter parties to lose one or two parliamentary seats. 5 p.

Contains fulltext : 99595.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Background: This study examines the relationship between motivation for body donation to science and personality characteristics using a body donor survey (N = 759) conducted by the University Medical Centre Groningen (UMCG) in The Netherlands. The survey expands on anthropological studies that suggest an association between donor motivation and personality. Methods: A structural equation model was used to investigate the relationship between personality and motivation for body donation. Findings: The results show that, compared to society at large, body donors have a similar spectrum of personality characteristics. However, we found statistically significant positive relationships between donor motivation and Big Five personality traits. Together the personality traits explain between 5% and 15% of the variance in motivation for body donation. Conclusions: We argue that donor campaigns should not focus solely on altruistic motives, but should include the aspect of possible personal achievement by the donor. This is a fruitful starting point for approaching potential donors and anticipating their needs. 6 p.

Contains fulltext : 89982.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) Background: In recent years the Netherlands has witnessed a steep increase in the number of bodies donated for medical research and training. To explore this upward trend and motives for donation, a survey was conducted among registered body donors in the database of the Department of Anatomy at the University Medical Center of Groningen (UMCG). Methods: In November 2008, postal questionnaires were sent to 996 people enrolled at the UMCG body donor database. The present study focuses on motives for donation and social background characteristics of the body donors. Findings: Registered donors responded quickly and the survey response rate was high (76%). The mean age of respondents was 69 years and the majority described themselves as Dutch (98%) and non-church affiliated (79%). One quarter (25%) of the respondents are/were health care professionals and 11% involved in education. Principal factor analysis revealed three dimensions underlying ten different motivations for body donation: a desire to be useful after death, a negative attitude towards funerals and expression of gratitude. Despite the current economic recession only 8% of respondents are prompted by money motives to bequeath their bodies. Conclusions: The majority of motives for body donation stem from the wish to be useful after death. However, the present survey suggests that body donation is more than an altruistic act; people are also motivated by personal benefit. Results of our survey contradict the notion that body donation stems from loneliness. Many donors have a supportive social network and meaningful social relationships. People moreover propagate body donation within their social networks. 5 p.

Contains fulltext : 76751.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) To achieve efficient and effective quality improvement, European universities have gradually adopted organizational strategies, structures, technologies, management instruments, and values that are commonly found in the private business sector. Whereas some studies have shown that such managerialism is beneficial to the quality of job performances of university employees, others have argued that managerialism is largely counterproductive and that it results in lower performances. The latter situation is called a 'managerialism contradiction'. This paper tests two lines of reasoning underlying a potential contradiction governing the relationship between managerialism and job performances, while using university employee survey data from six European countries (Belgium, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, UK). The results tend to support the assumption that managerialism, in these six countries at least, has a positive effect, albeit a modest one, on the quality of performances. The most important conclusion is therefore that there is no managerialism contradiction at work in European universities. 19 p.

Contains fulltext : 63077.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) A national sample of 921 respondents from the Dutch population completed the translated, slightly modified version of Herek's Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale, originally developed in the USA for the assessment of attitudes toward lesbians and gay men. The present study was the first attempt to test the applicability of the scale in the Netherlands. In line with previous American findings, all scale items loaded highly on one factor. The scores also correlated with another measure of attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, namely, 'denial of equal rights' (r = .76), and with 'traditional view of women' (r = .48), 'importance of traditional marriage' (r = .53), and 'authoritarianism' (r = .31). Data support the scale's acceptable reliability and construct and discriminant validity.

Item does not contain fulltext This paper addresses the question as to why many Christians hold prejudice against Jews. We try to find out whether, and to explain why the relationship between Christian religion and anti-Semitism in the Netherlands is inherent to Christian religion, spurious, or suppressed. We offer a theoretical model that combines the explanation of Glock and Stark and suggestions made by their critics. We test this theoretical model using data from a 1990-91 national Dutch survey (n = 1,134). Our findings indicate that the relationship between Christian religion and anti-Semitism is largely spurious, due to the breadth of perspective of people on social reality. However, Christian religion still is one of the determinants of secular anti-Semitism. We found no evidence of a suppressed relationship. 21 p.

Obviously, a shared religious heritage based on Christian values has been one of the most powerful agents at the heart of Western civilisation. In historical terms, the Christian churches have — through their promulgation of a universal faith and their wide-ranging authority covering both public and private domains — created a commonality of beliefs and virtues and a shared moral consciousness, which, for all their vagueness and internal inconsistencies, represented a basis for collective meaning and indeed social action. This Christian culture of the past continues to play a decisive role in shaping the lives of many people, even when it sometimes goes unrecognised. There is, however, more cross-cultural variation in religious vitality today than the argument of a joint cultural experience might suggest.

In cross-sectional survey research, it is quite common to estimate the (standardized) effect of independent variable(s) on a dependent variable. However, if repeated cross-sectional data are available, much is to be gained if the consequences of these effects on longitudinal social change are considered. To assess these consequences, we describe a type of simulation in which longitudinal shifts in the independent variable’s distribution, and longitudinal variation in effect on the dependent variable are ‘purged’ from the data. Although the method of purging is known for many years, we add new practical features by relating the method to logistic and linear regression analysis. Because both logistic and linear regression analysis can be found in all major statistical packages, the method of purging is made available to a wider group of social scientists. With the use of repeated crosssectional data, gathered in the Netherlands between 1970 and 1998, the new practical features of the purging method are shown, using the SPSS packag

This paper discusses the influence of Christian belief on ethnic prejudice and nationalism in the Netherlands. The findings indicate that Christian belief has no effect on ethnic prejudice independent of authoritarianism and localism. Separate analyses of high-salient and low-salient respondents did not alter this conclusion. However, the results for both the total sample and the highsalience subsample reveal that Christian belief has a positive effect on nationalism. A great deal of the discussion in the scientific study of religion during the past three decades has been concerned with the relationship between Christian beliefs and prejudice. Although qualifications and exceptions have been pointed out, the proposition continues to hold sway that Christian beliefs are not associated with increased love and acceptance, but with increased intolerance, prejudice, and bigotry. While considerable attention has been directed to prejudice, little consideration has been given to the relationship between Christian belief and nationalism in this line of research. Negative attitudes toward outgroups, however, should not be considered separately from positive attitudes toward the national ingroup. Both, prejudice and nationalism, are characteristic of ethnocentric ideology. This paper examines the influence of Christian belief on both components of ethnocentrism in the Netherlands. In recent years, Holland has become a more plural and heterogeneous society because of the influx of migrants from former Dutch colonies and immigrant laborers from the Mediterranean countries. Labor migration due to economic expansion has brought peasant migrants from Morocco and Turkey into Holland. Migrants from former colonies include Amboinese

This paper reports on findings from the examination of the relationship between church involvement and ethnocentrism in the Netherlands. Support is obtained for the argument that church members are more nationalistic and more prejudiced against Holland's ethnic minorities than nonmembers. However, the relationship between church involvement and ethnocentrism is curvilinear, rather than linear, indicating that both nonmembers and core church members are less ethnocentric than marginal church members and modal church members. Furthermore, regression analysis reveals that church involvement has no effect on ethnocentrism, independent of conformism, localism and authoritarianism.

While conventional wisdom assumes that inclement weather on election day reduces voter turnout, there is remarkably little evidence available to support truth to such belief. This paper examines the effects of temperature, sunshine duration and rainfall on voter turnout in 13 Dutch national parliament elections held from 1971 to 2010. It merges the election results from over 400 municipalities with election-day weather data drawn from the nearest weather station. We find that the weather parameters indeed affect voter turnout. Election-day rainfall of roughly 25 mm (1 inch) reduces turnout by a rate of one percent, whereas a 10-degree-Celsius increase in temperature correlates with an increase of almost one percent in overall turnout. One hundred percent sunshine corresponds to a one and a half percent greater voter turnout compared to zero sunshine.