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Existing research on digital inclusion has shown that older adults (65+) are, in general, less digitally skilled than other age groups. While older adults can gain digital skills through 'cold' (formal) training by ICT instructors or through 'warm' (informal) support from family and friends, studies have suggested that formal training is more effective. Drawing on qualitative interview data of 26 ICT instructors, we 1) examine how their support contributes to the acquisition of digital skills in later life, and 2) explore the ICT instructors' role in the digital inclusion of older adults. The instructors in our study identify specific strategies to address the mental and ageing-related barriers faced by older adults in acquiring digital skills. The 'warm' support provided by family and friends is a double-edged reason behind the need for 'cold' training. On the one hand, they gift devices, encourage uptake, and shape learning desires. On the other hand, participants turn to ICT training due to the limitations of informal support in terms of time, patience, and expertise. Drawing on the instructors' descriptions and existing literature, we argue that ICT instructors play a necessary role in the digital inclusion of older adults as they close the 'instruction gap' left by warm experts.

When everyday life becomes ever more permeated by digital technologies, many older people join ICT trainings to improve their digital skills. Given that digital skills include more than the command of technology (for instance, changing social practices) teaching ICT to people who grew up long before internet and social media can be challenging. The purpose of this article is to propose a theoretical account of a key element for how teaching digital skills to older people can be made successful. Drawing on qualitative interview data with 26 ICT instructors as well as concepts from sociological theory (lifeworld, role-taking) and cognitive science (dual process model), we argue that ICT training needs to take into account the lifeworlds of older participants. In order to be successful, ICT trainings have to appeal to the current lifeworlds of older people while at the same time overcome mismatching lifeworlds. By connecting content and pedagogics to the older adults' needs, values, and desires, instructors can successfully help integrate new skills into the lifeworld of the older participants.

This study investigates the difference between married and divorced parents, accounting for gender and relationship status after divorce. It also provides insight into differences within the category of divorced parents. Data from 769 married and 1,424 divorced parents were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. The results identify a complex interplay among marital status, relationship status, and gender. For mothers, both marital and relationship status have an impact on work–family conflict. For fathers, it is the presence of a partner that affects the interference of family with work. Gender, working hours, and child’s presence were identified as important factors influencing work–family conflict among divorced parents.

Interviewer characteristics affect nonresponse and measurement errors in face-to-face surveys. Some studies have shown that mismatched sociodemographic characteristics – for example gender – affect people’s behaviour when interacting with an interviewer at the door and during the survey interview, resulting in more nonresponse. We investigate the effect of sociodemographic (mis)matching on nonresponse in two successive rounds of the European Social Survey in Belgium. As such, we replicate the analyses of the effect of (mis)matching gender and age on unit nonresponse on the one hand, and of gender, age and education level(mis)matching on item nonresponse on the other hand. Recurring effects of sociodemographic (mis)match are found for both unit and item nonresponse. ispartof: Social Science Research vol:67 pages:229-238 ispartof: location:United States status: published

Suitable auxiliary data is important in order to assess the potentially detrimental effects of nonresponse on survey estimates. Whereas sufficient individual-level auxiliary data is rarely available, aggregated data is often quite readily accessible. We investigate whether municipality-level data from official administrative registries is useful to explain and predict individuals’ survey response outcomes in two rounds of the European Social Survey (ESS) in Belgium. This study was prompted by the recent publication of the 2011 Belgian Census. This is the first Belgian census produced by linking various national administrative databases instead of a nationwide survey. It offers free and easy access to a broad range of data at the municipality level. We find no consistent results in the two rounds of the ESS, and the overall usefulness of aggregated data appears limited. Individual-level data available from other auxiliary sources is more strongly and more consistently related to survey response outcomes. Nonresponse analyses in the ESS and other surveys would benefit from access to individual-level administrative registry data, but as this is usually restricted, alternative auxiliary data sources such as interviewer observations will need to suffice. ispartof: Statistical Journal of the IAOS vol:33 issue:3 pages:645-659 status: published

Work–family balance is a frequently studied topic, often examined using survey data. Yet studies have shown that work–family imbalance can lead to survey non-response. Missing people experiencing (more) problems with juggling work and family demands in surveys on work and family life is problematic as it can lead to biased results. Therefore, it is important to know whether some respondents are ‘harder to get’ in work-related and family-related surveys. This study investigates whether combined workloads of work and family life affect the ease of contact, the necessary precondition for survey participation, in face-to-face surveys on work and family life. Moreover, it tests whether it leads to a greater need for rescheduling the actual interview – an additional, often overlooked cost in the contact process. Using indicators of combined workloads and contact history data of two Belgian surveys on work and family life, differences in ease of contact and rescheduling needs are found according to employment st...

‘I am too busy’ is one of the most commonly cited reasons for people not to participate in survey research. Yet, empirical data on the association between ‘busyness’ and survey participation are scarce, due to a lack of data on busyness or time pressure among the non-respondents. This article sets off with an overview of the strategies and types of auxiliary data that can be used to assess the effects of busyness on survey participation. Then, using data of a two-wave SCV/ISSP-survey of 2002 that includes an elaborate section on time use and combining work and family life, we employ survey variables of the first wave to investigate effects of busyness on survey participation in the second wave. Interestingly, we find that the subjective experience of busyness – feeling too busy – has a significant effect on participation, whereas more objective measures of busyness do not.

Research on the relation between work-family conflict (WFC) and stress focuses either on domain/role-specific stress (e.g. work stress), which is by definition and, operationalisation attributed to the respective role, or it focuses on ‘general’ stress, which can be a too broad or too general concept to measure stress related to WFC. This study introduces the concept of ‘role combination stress’ to indicate a stress that is more specifically related to the work-family role system and WFC than general and role-specific stress. The analysis of data on 429 Flemish working mothers shows that role combination stress is indeed a distinct type of stress.

International research shows that both work–family conflict and time pressure are increasing in Western societies. With these increased pressures, precisely those people who are combining work and family obligations may be missing from survey estimates. This study investigates whether the measurement of work–family conflict (WFC) and time pressure is influenced by nonresponse bias. Using the Flemish “Work, Family and Time use in Flanders”-survey and the Basic Question survey for nonrespondents of this survey, we investigate whether nonrespondents score higher on subjective and objective indicators of WFC and time pressure than respondents. Results show that nonrespondents are indeed those sample units who experience significantly more WFC and time pressure, demonstrating that WFC and time pressure related nonresponse biases exist. Implications and suggestions to reduce bias in data collections are discussed.

As both time pressure (e.g., Gershuny 2005) and survey nonresponse (e.g., Curtin et al. 2005) increase in Western societies one can wonder whether the busiest people still have time for survey participation. This article investigates the relationship between busyness claims, indicators of busyness and the decline in survey participation in Flemish surveys conducted between 2002 and 2007. Using paradata collected during fieldwork, we investigate whether busyness related doorstep reactions have increased over the years and whether there is an empirical relationship between these busyness claims and indicators of busyness.©Statistics Sweden. ispartof: Journal of Official Statistics vol:27 issue:4 pages:619-632 status: published