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Organizations offer activities and programmes to improve their employees' health. These workplace health promotion (WHP) activities usually have an individualized and top-down focus, a low uptake among employees, and are perceived to be out of line with employees' experiences and definitions of health. This paper follows up on studies that have broadened the focus of WHP by including social relations and delves deeper into how daily practices and experiences of (un)belonging at work relate to workplace health. Based on ethnographic research in two companies in the Netherlands, this paper analyses how (un)belonging is expressed and experienced by employees. The paper shows that employees define health at work as a social practice. It also demonstrates how dynamics at work shape different dimensions of (un)belonging that, in turn, affect employees' perceived health at work. These findings indicate the importance of including (un)belonging in the workplace as an ingredient of WHP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision makers in adult social care are increasingly interested in using evidence from research to support or shape their decisions. The scope and nature of the current landscape of adult social care research (ASCR) need to be better understood. This paper provides a bibliometric assessment of ASCR outputs from 1996 to 2011. ASCR papers were retrieved using three strategies: from key journals; using keywords and noun phrases; and from additional papers preferentially citing or being cited by other ASCR papers. Overall, 195,829 ASCR papers were identified in the bibliographic database Scopus, of which 16 per cent involved at least one author from the UK. The UK output increased 2.45-fold between 1996 and 2011. Among selected countries, those with greater research intensity in ASCR generally had higher citation impact, such as the USA, UK, Canada and the Netherlands. The top five UK institutions in terms of volume of papers in the UK accounted for 26 per cent of total output. We conclude by noting the limitations to bibliometric analysis of ASCR and examine how such analysis can support the strategic development of the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a statistical method for estimating probabilities of soiling and withdrawal of bank notes. The method is applied to seven circulation trials of Dutch bank notes of different denominations. The best fitting distribution for the soiling process is selected for each trial and its parameters are estimated. Then the average soiling time and the average life of the notes are calculated. A notable aspect of our analysis is that large differences with respect to the soiling process were found among notes of one and the same denomination in different circulation trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the problem of evaluating the Implicit McMillan degree |$\delta{m}$| of |$W^{-1}(s)$|⁠ , where |$W^{-1}(s)$| denotes the transfer function of a passive |$RLC$| electrical network.1 The Implicit McMillan degree |$\delta{m}$| specifies the minimum number of dynamic elements needed to completely characterize the passive |$RLC$| network, i.e. an electrical network that contains only passive elements (capacitors, inductors and resistors) and associates it with the rank properties of the passive element matrices. A fact that in the circuit literature is intuitively accepted but not rigorously proved is that this degree must be equal to the minimum number of independent dynamical elements in the network Livada (2017, Implicit network descriptions of RLC networks and the problem of re engineering. Ph.D. Thesis, City, University of London) and Leventides et al. (2014, McMillan degree of impedance, admittance functions of RLC networks. In 21st International Symposium on Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems. The Netherlands: Groningen). In this paper, we investigate this finding, showing that the maximum possible Implicit McMillan degree |$\delta{m}$| of such networks is given by |$rankL+rankC$| and that this value is reached when certain necessary and sufficient conditions are satisfied. 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Achieving people-centred health care systems requires new and innovative strategies to capture information about whether, and to what degree, health care is successful in improving health from the perspective of the patient. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) can bring some of these new insights, and are increasingly used in research, clinical care, and policymaking.Methods: This paper reflects the ongoing discussions and findings of the OECD PaRIS Working Group on Patient-reported Indicators for Mental Health Care.Results: The OECD has been measuring quality of care for mental health conditions over the last 14 years through the Health Care Quality and Outcomes (HCQO) program; nonetheless, information on how persons with mental health problems value the services they receive, and impact of the services, remains limited. As of 2018, a survey from the OECD showed that only five of the twelve countries surveyed (Australia, Israel, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom) reported PROMs and PREMs collection on a regular basis in mental health settings. The paper details some of the challenges specific to the collection and use of PROMs and PREMs in mental health care, and examples from countries which have implemented comprehensive programmes to gather information about PROMs and PREMs for individuals receiving mental health services.Conclusions: Given the health and economic impact of mental ill-health across all OECD countries, there is significant value to being able to assess the quality and outcomes of care in this area using internationally-comparable measures. Continued international harmonisation of PROMs and PREMs for mental health through international coordination is a key way to facilitate the sharing of national experiences, promote the use of PROMs and PREMs, and create meaningful indicators for national and international benchmarking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers nominally pay the consumption tax, but theoretical and empirical evidence is mixed on whether corporations partly shoulder this burden, thereby affecting corporate investment. Using a quasi-natural experiment, we show that consumption taxes decrease investment. Firms facing more elastic demand decrease investment more strongly, because they bear more of the consumption tax. We corroborate the validity of our findings using 86 consumption tax changes in a cross-country panel. We document two mechanisms underlying the investment response: reduced firms' profitability and lower aggregate consumption. Importantly, the magnitude of the investment response to consumption taxes is similar to that of corporate taxes. Received September 25, 2017; editorial decision August 26, 2018 by Editor Wei Jiang. Authors have furnished an Internet Appendix , which is available on the Oxford University Press Web site next to the link to the final published paper online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a call for papers related to material culture in the Netherlands and themes of globalization, migration, and multiculturalism.

Objective To investigate medication prescription patterns among children with JIA, including duration, sequence and reasons for medication discontinuation. Methods This study is a single-centre, retrospective analysis of prospective data from the electronic medical records of JIA patients receiving systemic therapy aged 0–18 years between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2019. Patient characteristics (age, gender, JIA subtype) and medication prescriptions were extracted and analysed using descriptive statistics, Sankey diagrams and Kaplan–Meier survival methods. Results Over a median of 4.2 years follow-up, the 20 different medicines analysed were prescribed as monotherapy (n  = 15) or combination therapy (n  = 48 unique combinations) among 236 patients. In non-systemic JIA, synthetic DMARDs were prescribed to almost all patients (99.5%), and always included MTX. In contrast, 43.9% of non-systemic JIA patients received a biologic DMARD (mostly adalimumab or etanercept), ranging from 30.9% for oligoarticular persistent ANA-positive JIA, to 90.9% for polyarticular RF-positive JIA. Among systemic JIA, 91.7% received a biologic DMARD (always including anakinra). When analysing medication prescriptions according to their class, 32.6% involved combination therapy. In 56.8% of patients, subsequent treatment lines were initiated after unsuccessful first-line treatment, resulting in 68 unique sequences. Remission was the most common reason for DMARD discontinuation (44.7%), followed by adverse events (28.9%) and ineffectiveness (22.1%). Conclusion This paper reveals the complexity of pharmacological treatment in JIA, as indicated by: the variety of mono- and combination therapies prescribed, substantial variation in medication prescriptions between subtypes, most patients receiving two or more treatment lines, and the large number of unique treatment sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal mobilization is a contested topic. There is little consensus among scholars regarding what legal mobilization is, let alone how it functions, particularly in relation to the separation or balance of powers doctrine, the latter which concerns the formal mandates of public actors and their interactions in relation to rule of law as a form of governance. We argue that the use of law by civic actors to advance social change should be distinguished from the use of law by states and other powerful actors to subvert the rule of law or to suppress critical voices. Thus, in distinguishing legal mobilization from lawfare, we argue that legal mobilization as a legitimate form of counterpower to lawfare has emerged as a viable and important component of governance. Pragmatically speaking, the illegitimate use of law by authoritarian regimes and corporations, the existence of corruption and both substantive and procedural limitations of formal rule of law mechanisms to deliver impartial justice have forced legal advocates to think creatively. In this paper, after conceptualizing legal mobilization and lawfare as opposing uses of law, we analyse the potential of legal mobilization as counterpower in relation to the trias politica doctrine, drawing on a case study of mobilizing Sinti, Roma and Traveller rights in The Netherlands to analyse how law is used to resist lawfare and pursue social justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives In the Netherlands, a case of euthanasia of an incompetent patient with dementia and an advance euthanasia directive (AED) caused great societal unrest and led to a petition signed by more than 450 physicians. In this paper, we investigate these physicians' reasons and underlying motives for supporting the 'no sneaky euthanasia' petition, with the aim of gaining insight into the dilemmas experienced and to map out topics in need of further guidance. Methods Twelve in-depth interviews were conducted with physicians recruited via the webpage 'no sneaky euthanasia'. General topics discussed were: reasons for signing the petition, the possibilities of euthanasia in incompetent patients and views on good end-of-life care. Data were interpreted using thematic content analysis and the framework method. Results Reasons for supporting the petition are dilemmas concerning 'sneaky euthanasia', the over-simplified societal debate, physicians' personal moral boundaries and the growing pressure on physicians. Analysis revealed three underlying motives: aspects of handling a euthanasia request based on an AED, good end-of-life care and the doctor as a human being. Conclusions Although one of the main reasons for participants to support the petition was the opposition to 'sneaky euthanasia', our results show a broader scope of reasons. This includes their experience of growing pressure to comply with AEDs, forcing them to cross personal boundaries. The underlying motives are related to moral dilemmas around patient autonomy emerging in cases of decision-making disabilities in advanced dementia. To avoid uncertainty regarding patients' wishes, physicians express their need for reciprocal communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Official monthly statistics about the Dutch labour force are based on the Dutch Labour Force Survey (LFS). The LFS is a continuously conducted survey that is designed as a rotating panel design. Data collection among selected households is based on a mixed‐mode design that uses web interviewing, telephone interviewing and face‐to‐face interviewing. Monthly estimates about the labour force are obtained with a structural time series model. Due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, face‐to‐face interviewing stopped. It was anticipated that this would have a systematic effect on the outcomes of the LFS and that the lockdown at the same time affected the real monthly labour force figures. The lockdown indeed marked a sharp turning point in the evolution of the series of the monthly labour force figures and strongly increased the volatility of these series. In this paper, it is explained how Statistics Netherlands produced monthly labour force figures during the COVID‐19 pandemic. It is shown how the sudden change in the mode effects, because face‐to‐face interviewing stopped, were separated from real period‐to‐period changes in the labour force figures. It is also explained how the time series model is adapted to the increased volatility in the labour force figures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Achieving people-centred health care systems requires new and innovative strategies to capture information about whether, and to what degree, health care is successful in improving health from the perspective of the patient. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and Patient-reported experience measures (PREMs) can bring some of these new insights, and are increasingly used in research, clinical care, and policymaking.Methods: This paper reflects the ongoing discussions and findings of the OECD PaRIS Working Group on Patient-reported Indicators for Mental Health Care.Results: The OECD has been measuring quality of care for mental health conditions over the last 14 years through the Health Care Quality and Outcomes (HCQO) program; nonetheless, information on how persons with mental health problems value the services they receive, and impact of the services, remains limited. As of 2018, a survey from the OECD showed that only five of the twelve countries surveyed (Australia, Israel, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom) reported PROMs and PREMs collection on a regular basis in mental health settings. The paper details some of the challenges specific to the collection and use of PROMs and PREMs in mental health care, and examples from countries which have implemented comprehensive programmes to gather information about PROMs and PREMs for individuals receiving mental health services.Conclusions: Given the health and economic impact of mental ill-health across all OECD countries, there is significant value to being able to assess the quality and outcomes of care in this area using internationally-comparable measures. Continued international harmonisation of PROMs and PREMs for mental health through international coordination is a key way to facilitate the sharing of national experiences, promote the use of PROMs and PREMs, and create meaningful indicators for national and international benchmarking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The use of foresight studies is common in some policy fields, but not in public health. Interest in such studies is growing. This paper gives a general overview of the Dutch Public Health Foresight Study (PHFS) 2018, providing insight into what performing a broad scenario exercise in the field of public health entails and its societal impacts. Methods The aim of the PHFS-2018 was: (a) to show how public health and healthcare in the Netherlands will develop over the next 25 years if we pursue our current course and detect 'new' developments; (b) to give options for dealing with the major future societal challenges. Part a was addressed by means of a quantitative business-as-usual scenario exercise complemented with qualitative thematic studies, and part b by elaborating courses of action for three key challenges, based on stakeholder consultation. Typical aspects of the PHFS methods are a multidisciplinary, participatory and conceptual approach and using a broad definition of health. Results The PHFS-2018 is the basis for the upcoming National Health Policy Memorandum and the Trend Scenario is the baseline for the National Prevention Agreement. Unexpectedly, the findings about increasing mental pressure in young people received most attention. There still is room for expanding use of the study to its full potential. Conclusions Long-term thinking could be stimulated by using back casting techniques and stronger involvement of policy-makers in the elaboration of options for action. Lessons learned from developing intersectoral policy at the local level could be applied at the national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the empirical link between, on the one hand, innovation and, on the other hand, industrial structure and dynamics in The Netherlands. We use the concept of ‘technological regimes’ as the guiding framework to interpret this relationship. The data are drawn from the Production Statistics and the Business Register of manufacturing firms in The Netherlands and the second Community Innovation Survey. A classification of technological regimes that refines Pavitt's taxonomy is applied to the data. Our analysis is aimed at identifying the variables that are best able to discriminate between technological regimes for our Dutch case. We find that a mix of innovation related and market structure related variables account for most variability and broad differences across regimes; dynamic market structure variables account for an additional share of variability and finer differences across regimes. Overall, we conclude that the concept of technological regimes provides a useful framework that helps to shed further light on the relationship between innovation and market structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current COVID-19 pandemic confines people to their homes, disrupting the fragile social fabric of deprived neighbourhoods and citizen's participation options. In deprived neighbourhoods, community engagement is central in building community resilience, an important resource for health and a prerequisite for effective health promotion programmes. It provides access to vulnerable groups and helps understand experiences, assets, needs and problems of citizens. Most importantly, community activities, including social support, primary care or improving urban space, enhance health through empowerment, strengthened social networks, mutual respect and providing a sense of purpose and meaning. In the context of inequalities associated with COVID-19, these aspects are crucial for citizens of deprived neighbourhoods who often feel their needs and priorities are ignored. In this perspectives paper, illustrated by a varied overview of community actions in the UK and The Netherlands, we demonstrate how citizens, communities and organizations may build resilience and community power. Based on in-depth discussion among the authors we distilled six features of community actions: increase in mutual aid and neighbourhood ties, the central role of community-based organizations (CBOs), changing patterns of volunteering, use of digital media and health promotion opportunities. We argue that in order to enable and sustain resilient and confident, 'disaster-proof', communities, areas which merit investment include supporting active citizens, new (digital) ways of community engagement, transforming formal organizations, alignment with the (local) context and applying knowledge in the field of health promotion in new ways, focussing on learning and co-creation with citizen initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the accuracy of COVID-19-related knowledge during the 2020 pandemic. We look at the effects of traditional vs. digital news use and distinguish between positive (number of recoveries) and negative (number of casualties) knowledge. Importantly, the moderating role of crisis context is examined when tracing media effects on knowledge. Relying on a four-wave panel survey fielded in the Netherlands, we find that people's knowledge became more accurate over the course of the crisis. News exposure did not lead to more accuracy, in fact, a negative relation was found. The impact of digital news use weakened as the crisis continued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the Dutch Travel Survey is to produce reliable estimates on mobility of the Dutch population. In this paper mobility trends are estimated at several aggregation levels, using multilevel time series models. The models account for discontinuities induced by two survey redesigns and outliers due to less reliable outcomes in one particular year. The input for the model is direct annual estimates with their standard errors for the period 1999–2017 for a detailed cross‐classification in 504 domains. Appropriate transformations for the direct estimates and generalized variance functions to smooth the standard errors of the direct estimates are proposed. The models are fitted in an hierarchical Bayesian framework using MCMC simulations. From the model outputs smooth trend estimates are computed at the most detailed domain level. Predictions at higher aggregation levels obtained by aggregation of the most detailed domain predictions result in a numerically consistent set of trend estimates for all target variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper investigates the emergence and development of quality assurance (QA) for teaching in the Netherlands since the mid-1980s. We conceptualise our paper on the background of the multi-level study of New Public Management (NPM) as a narrative of political change, as a choice of certain policy instruments and distinct organisational forms, and as a set of practical control technologies. We show how the specific policy regime of corporatist negotiations and Rechtsstaat instruments deflected QA as a 'hard' NPM-policy. QA has nevertheless been instrumental within a wider NPM-inspired policy mix for achieving new ways of governmental control of universities and managerialist control within universities. We conclude by arguing that an important function of QA has been to provide 'legitimacy through procedures'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small area (or small domain) estimation is still rarely applied in business statistics, because of challenges arising from the skewness and variability of variables such as turnover. We examine a range of small area estimation methods as the basis for estimating the activity of industries within the retail sector in the Netherlands. We use tax register data and a sampling procedure which replicates the sampling for the retail sector of Statistics Netherlands' Structural Business Survey as a basis for investigating the properties of small area estimators. In particular, we consider the use of the empirical best linear unbiased predictor (EBLUP) under a random effects model and variations of the EBLUP derived under (a) a random effects model that includes a complex specification for the level 1 variance and (b) a random effects model that is fitted by using the survey weights. Although accounting for the survey weights in estimation is important, the impact of influential data points remains the main challenge in this case. The paper further explores the use of outlier robust estimators in business surveys, in particular a robust version of the EBLUP, M‐regression‐based synthetic estimators and M‐quantile small area estimators. The latter family of small area estimators includes robust projective (without and with survey weights) and robust predictive versions. M‐quantile methods have the lowest empirical mean squared error and are substantially better than direct estimators, although there is an open question about how to choose the tuning constant for bias adjustment in practice. The paper makes a further contribution by exploring a doubly robust approach comprising the use of survey weights in conjunction with outlier robust methods in small area estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microvascular dysfunction (MVD) is a common pathophysiological change that occurs in various diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), heart failure, dementia, and depression. Recent technical advances have enabled noninvasive measurement and quantification of microvascular changes in humans. In this paper, we describe the protocols of the microvascular measurements applied in the Maastricht Study, an ongoing prospective, population-based cohort study of persons aged 40–75 years being carried out in the southern part of the Netherlands (baseline data assessment, November 2010–January 2020). The study includes a variety of noninvasive measurements in skin, retina, brain, and sublingual tissue, as well as plasma and urine biomarker assessments. Following this, we summarize our main findings involving these microvascular measurements through the end of 2018. Finally, we provide a brief perspective on future microvascular investigations within the framework of the Maastricht Study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: Can we develop a web-based sex education programme (programme running in a web browser) that addresses the needs of subfertile couples who are advised expectant management for at least 6 months?Summary Answer: The 'Pleasure & Pregnancy' programme addresses couples' needs, is likely to improve couples' sexual functioning, and is subsequently hypothesised to improve the chance of natural pregnancy.What Is Known Already: According to professional guidelines (e.g. the Netherlands and UK) couples with unexplained subfertility and a good chance of natural pregnancy, should be advised at least 6 months of expectant management. Adherence to expectant management is challenging as couples and gynaecologist prefer a more active approach. Targeting sexuality may be useful as subfertility is a risk factor for decreased sexual functioning.Study Design, Size, Duration: A novel programme was developed according to the three steps of the Medical Research Councils' (MRC) framework. First, relevant literature was explored. Second, an interdisciplinary expert panel developed a theory (based on a systematic literature review and patient interviews) on how the chance of natural conception can be improved. Third, the expected process and outcomes were modelled.Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: Two licenced clinical sexologists, two gynaecologists, a clinical embryologist and two midwife-researchers, all from Belgium and the Netherlands, proposed components for the sex education programme. PubMed was searched systematically for randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the proposed components in different patient populations. The needs of 12 heterosexual Dutch or Belgian couples who were advised expectant management were explored with in-depth interviews. The content and delivery characteristics of the novel programme were described in detail with the aid of 'Intervention Taxonomy'. To model the outcomes, a protocol for an RCT was designed, registered and submitted for publication.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: To help maintain or improve sexual functioning, mainly pleasure, and hence increase pregnancy rates, the web-based Pleasure & Pregnancy programme contains a combination of psychosexual education and couple communication, mindfulness and sensate focus exercises. Information on the biology of conception and interaction with fertility clinic staff and peers were added based on couples' needs to increase potential acceptability.Limitations and Reason For Caution: This paper outlines the development phase of a sex education programme according to the MRC-framework. Whether the Pleasure & Pregnancy programme actually is acceptable, improves sexual functioning, increases pregnancy rates and is cost-effective remains to be determined.Wider Implications Of the Findings: No previous interactive web-based sex education programme has aimed to increase the natural pregnancy rate of subfertile couples by targeting their sexual pleasure. The Pleasure & Pregnancy programme addresses couples' needs and its effect on sexual functioning and pregnancy rate is plausible but remains to be demonstrated by an RCT which is currently ongoing.Study Funding/competing Interest(s): Funding was provided by The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), Flanders Research Foundation and the University of Amsterdam. C.B.L. is editor-in-chief of Human Reproductionbut was blinded to all parts of the peer review process. The remaining authors have no conflict of interest to report.Trial Registration Number: Not applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the lessons drawn by the Dutch railways in their contacts with the Japanese railway sector over the last two decades. The transfers described in this paper do not result from a thorough problem analysis by policy-makers followed by a conscious policy transfer. Rather they result from largely uncoordinated actions that led to a growing consciousness within the Dutch railway sector of the existence of a useful benchmark located in the Japanese railway practices. The paper attempts to provide an answer to a number of questions: how have these contacts appeared, which factors contributed to or impeded their appearance, which lessons were learned, how are these lessons perceived by the railway sector, how much has been implemented, and is there more to come? To do this, the paper starts by providing an overview of the Dutch railway context, highlighting a few elements that were conducive to more openness for new solutions and presenting the main differences between the Dutch and Japanese institutional contexts, before presenting the contacts that took place, some resulting publications and their main findings. Using an explorative survey method, the paper then presents the perceptions of top and senior representatives of the Dutch railway sector who visited Japan, shedding more light on the perception that the sector currently has of the nature of the Japanese lessons and on the extent to which these are likely to be implemented. The paper then draws some general conclusions about this learning process, the change in stance that took place during the last two decades and on the remaining challenges for further learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper builds on the existing triple helix literature and connects this stream of thought with the literature on complexity, networks, and partnerships. The paper then discusses the possibilities of researching triple helix organizations and the measurement problems in assessing complex organizations. A case from The Netherlands is presented to demonstrate a possible approach for researching the success of networks of triple helix organizations. This case, a triple helix organization working on innovation for sustainable mobility, is considered on the basis of the results of a survey among the project leaders and program managers of the organization. The paper concludes that creating a full triple helix encounters problems in practice. It also includes suggestions for further research on these problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide new evidence on the level and probability distribution of consumers' long-term expectations of inflation in the euro area and the Netherlands, using a new monthly representative Dutch survey before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We find that consumers' expectations of euro area and Dutch inflation 10 years ahead have not been well anchored at the ECB's inflation aim of below, but close to 2%. Median expectations have remained elevated above the European Central Bank's (ECB) inflation aim throughout the pandemic. Moreover, individual probability distributions show that expected probabilities of higher inflation (4% or higher) have continuously been larger than those of lower inflation (0% or lower). While policymakers are currently concerned about a possible de-anchoring of inflation expectations on the downside, our results suggest that from a consumer's point of view de-anchoring of long-term inflation expectations is mainly due to expected high inflation rather than low inflation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital testing, such as multiple-choice questions and final answer items, offers many advantages in higher educational assessment practices. Well-designed digital grading is more reliable and faster than hand grading and is scalable to larger classes. The validity of digital grading is open to criticism, particularly in mathematics where much of mathematics is based on processes and reasoning and not on the final answer achieved. At a technical university in the Netherlands, we have been increasing our use of digital short answer testing in calculus and linear algebra for service mathematics. To assess the validity of this mode of assessment, we graded a linear algebra test in two ways: short answer grading (where answers were considered either correct or incorrect) and the so-called 'hypothetical grading', where we assigned a grade based on the fully worked solution. Certain types of items proved to be more suitable for short answer (and hence digital) testing than others. We concluded our analysis with a set of design principles for digital or short answer testing in linear algebra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To describe work status and factors associated with work disability (WD) in patients with SSc.Methods. A systematic search strategy in various electronic databases from 1990 to 2011 was performed. All clinical studies concerning SSc patients containing quantitative information on work status and/or factors associated with WD were selected. Extracted were study characteristics, data on work status and/or factors associated with WD. The methodological quality was evaluated in three quality aspects (selection bias, information bias and statistical analysis bias). A best evidence synthesis was employed to analyse the association between potential determinants and WD.Results. Twelve studies, described in 13 papers, including 2758 SSc patients were selected. The methodological quality of one study was high. Employment rates varied between 11 and 82% after an average disease duration ranging from 2.5 to 14 years. There was moderate evidence for an association between more functional disability, more disease-specific symptoms and poorer quality of life on one side and presence of WD on the other. There was moderate evidence for the absence of an association between WD and age, sex and disease subset. Inconsistent evidence was seen for an association between WD and education and disease duration.Conclusion. WD is a major consequence of the disease in patients with SSc and is associated with more functional disability, more disease-specific symptoms and poorer quality of life. This emphasizes the need for research into interventions to prevent or reduce WD in patients with SSc, especially in those with a poorer health status. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the varying effects of a changing institutional environment on academic research practices in three fields of Dutch animal science. Our analysis shows that the shifts in funding have stimulated interactions with societal stakeholders in fields where this has helped to sustain a basic research agenda. In other fields researchers experience a tension between satisfying the needs of application-oriented funding sources and reaching high scores on evaluations dominated by bibliometric indicators. The paper concludes with the identification of three field characteristics that seem to moderate the effects of institutional changes on academic research practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, horizon scanning has been recognised as part of forward-looking government processes in a number of industrialised countries. It helps policy-makers in addressing the diversity of future societal and environmental challenges and in addressing the potential of emerging areas of science and technology in an integrated way. This paper discusses the usefulness of horizon scanning as an additional tool for future-oriented technology analysis activities, such as technology foresight and scenario building. Analysing the national horizon scans of the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark in a joint horizon pilot project initiated under the ERA-Net ForSociety, this paper makes a series of recommendations regarding horizon scanning processes at the national level and the construction of common future-oriented policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The delegation of authority in research funding to multi-actor networks that include users is seen as a way to make research more responsive to users' needs. This paper analyzes multi-actor networks for the planning and execution of agricultural research in The Netherlands. It shows that delegation of authority to networks also generates several tensions, and requires substantial role adjustments and institutional learning for the actors involved (government, researchers, intermediaries such as research councils, and user groups) in order to effectively operate in the network. The paper indicates that the principal--agent perspective often used for analyzing the science--policy relationship can be a useful tool for analyzing the multilateral relationships in networks, but needs to be complemented by theories that better capture the notion of co-production in such 'webs of cross-cutting ties'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we develop indicators for the responsiveness of the research system to the changing knowledge needs that follow from changes in social and policy priorities. In this paper we use coastal defense research as a case. Using four different approaches -- an analysis of coastal defense policy documents to identify the demand knowledge; a document analysis to identify the Netherlands' coastal research field; a bibliometric analysis; and a focus group with involved practitioners, researchers and intermediary actors -- we identified the main demand for coastal defense research, the way the research system responds to it, as well as the bottlenecks that hinder optimal responsiveness of the research system. [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 describes the results of classifying document types in various electronic representations of the same scientific literature. Research evaluation assessment procedures at the Leiden University Medical Centre have shown that the classifications of research letters in the highly prolific general medicine journals occurs in various ways, resulting in discrepancies in representation of these documents. these discrepancies create problems, if 'research letters' are classified sometimes as articles, or sometimes as letters. And although the representations of these documents in the citation indexes do vary with the original journal, the classification of research letters in the citation indexes follows certain specific guidelines that do right by the specific characteristics of these publications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper an applied general equilibrium (AGE) model written in mixed-complementarity format is used to analyse the effects of an increase in milk quota in the Netherlands when nitrogen emissions in agriculture are restricted. The model combines the strengths of AGE models and mathematical programming models, which allows economy-wide policy analyses when technology switches are allowed. Results show that a welfare gain can be achieved by increasing milk quota while keeping nitrate (N) emissions in agriculture at the same level. Under such a policy change inactive N-extensive technologies in dairy farming become active and (partly) replace N-intensive technologies. Output in other agricultural industries decreases. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This section offers news briefs on issues related to collections in Netherlands. A two-day symposium was held in Amsterdam from September 28 to 30, 2000 to discuss a paper museum of the academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Rotterdam-based Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1999. A new international publication series called "Studies in the History of Collections" was launched in November 2000 to explore collecting practices in the arts and sciences.

This paper analyses the development and diffusion of technologies that utilize renewable energy sources in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. The analysis enlarges the life cycle model of industry evolution to one where the focus is on the formation and evolution of new technological systems. Particular focus is on explaining success and failures in shifting from a formative phase into one characterized by positive feedbacks. A set of challenges is identified for policy makers attempting to influence the process of transforming the energy sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does partisan ideology influence whether Europeans are willing to use nuclear weapons, and if so, how? The US nuclear weapons stationed in Europe have been at the core of European security since the Cold War, but we have still yet to learn what would make Europeans be willing to support their use. In this paper, we present the results of a survey, in which we asked citizens in Germany and the Netherlands about their views on the use of the US nuclear weapons stationed on their territory in four distinct scenarios. Our results indicate that voters of right-wing parties are more likely to approve of the use of nuclear weapons in both countries. There are, however, important differences between the two countries in terms of the degree to which the participants oppose the use of nuclear weapons. These results have implications for NATO's nuclear deterrence posture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: High-quality teaching performance is important to ensure patient safety and encourage residents' learning. This study aims to explore the content and phrasing of suggestions for improvement that residents provide to support excellent teaching performance of their supervisors.Methods: From February 2010 to November 2011, 577 residents were invited to evaluate 501 teachers from both surgical and medical residency training programmes from 20 hospitals. Feedback was collected through a validated formative feedback system named System for Evaluation of Teaching Qualities. Two researchers independently coded the suggestions for improvement with literature-based coding schemes on (1) content and (2) linguistic characteristics. Besides these qualitative outcomes, descriptive statistics were calculated using SPSS.Results: In total, 422 residents (73%) evaluated 488 teachers (97%), yielding 4184 evaluations. Of all teachers, 385 (79%) received suggestions for improvement focusing on teaching skills (TS), 390 (80%) on teaching attitude (TA) and 151 (31%) on personal characteristics. For 13%-47% of the suggestions for improvement, residents added (1) the location or situation where the observed TS or TA had taken place, (2) concrete examples of what teachers could do to improve or (3) (expected) effects of what the change in TS or TA would mean for residents.Conclusions: Residents provide mainly relevant suggestions for improvement that mirror important aspects of teaching performance. However, these comments often lack specific phrasing limiting their value for performance improvement. Therefore, residents are recommended to increase the specificity of the suggestions for improvement. The paper provides directions to phrase narrative feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The law on compensation of non-pecuniary loss in The Netherlands is in this paper approached from a historic perspective, because this sheds light on the current debate which still seems to fight the historical Dutch reluctance towards this head of damages. Dutch law and legal thinking on non pecuniary loss have developed against a background of Roman law, Canon law and indigenous law. Compensation for non pecuniary loss was certainly possible before the codifications of the 19th century; the code of 1838 was ambiguous about it and led to much discussion and ambivalent case-law. Not until 1943 was the issue decided by the Dutch Supreme Court, in favour of compensation. The right to compensation of non-pecuniary loss was in the modern Civil Code of 1992 explicitly granted in both contract and tort and is recognized in a number of types of cases, limitedly enunciated by statute. This ‘closed model’ does, nevertheless, not impede the courts from developing the categories of cases in which a right to compensation is accepted. In this paper these developments are described and evaluated. Furthermore, perspectives and desires for further developments with regard to damages for bereavement, satisfaction in case of infringements of fundamental rights, improvement of the assessment of quantum and increase of quantum are drawn and advocated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Young adults in Neither in Employment, Education nor Training (NEET) are at risk of adverse labour market outcomes. Earlier studies often measured NEET status at one time point or compared persistent NEETs with non-NEETs, neglecting other patterns of NEET status. Evidence on early life factors associated with NEET patterns is lacking. This study aims to (i) identify patterns of NEET status over time and (ii) examine whether factors in childhood and adolescence are associated with these patterns. Methods Data were used from 1499 participants of the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), a Dutch prospective cohort study with 15-year follow-up. NEET status was assessed at ages 19, 22 and 26. Socioeconomic status of parents (SES), intelligence and negative life events were measured at age 11, educational attainment at age 26 and mental health problems at ages 11, 13.5 and 16. Data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression analysis. Results Four NEET patterns were identified: (i) non-NEETs (85.2%), (ii) early NEETs (4.5%), (iii) late NEETs (5.7%) and (iv) persistent NEETs (4.5%). Reporting internalizing problems at age 11 was a risk factor for early and late NEETs [odds ratio (OR) 2.77, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16–6.62; OR 5.00, 95% CI 2.22–11.3, respectively]. Low parental SES, lower intelligence scores and negative life events (≥3) were risk factors for persistent NEETs (OR 4.45, 95% CI 2.00–9.91; OR 0.96, 95% CI 0.94–0.98; OR 4.42, 95% CI 1.62–12.08, respectively). Conclusions The results highlight the importance of timing and duration of NEET status and emphasize the need for tailored interventions to prevent specific NEET patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the highlights of the XVth International Association of Media Historians Conference entitled "Film And The First World War" held on July 5 to 11, 1993 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The conference focused on three distinct themes that include National Experience and Trans-National Trade, Uses of Cinema in Wartime, and Framing the Great War. High points of the conference included the presentation of papers and panels on the war on television.

Background Healthcare requires patient feedback to improve outcomes and experience. This study undertook a systematic review of the depth, variability, and digital suitability of current patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods A PROSPERO-registered (registration number CRD42021261707) systematic review was undertaken for all relevant English language articles using PubMed version of MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science electronic databases in June 2021. The search used Boolean operators and wildcards and included the keywords: laparoscopic cholecystectomy AND patient outcome OR patient-reported outcome OR patient-reported outcome measure OR PRO OR PROM. Medical Subjects Heading terms were used to search PubMed and Scopus. Articles published from 1 January 2011 to 2 June 2021 were included. Results A total of 4960 individual articles were reviewed in this study, of which 44 were found to evaluate PROMs in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy and underwent methodological index for non-randomized studies (MINORS) grading. Twenty-one articles spanning 19 countries and four continents met all inclusion criteria and were included in the qualitative data synthesis. There was significant heterogeneity in PROMs identified with eight different comprehensive PROM tools used in the 21 studies. There was wide variation in the time points at which PROMs were recorded. Fourteen of 21 studies recorded PROMs before and after surgery, and 7 of 21 recorded PROMs only after surgery. Follow-up intervals ranged from 3 days to 2 years after surgery. Conclusions This study identified that while post-laparoscopic cholecystectomy PROMs are infrequently measured currently, tools are widely available to achieve this in clinical practice. PROMs may not capture all the outcomes but should be incorporated into future cholecystectomy outcome research. The EQ-5D™ (EuroQoL Group, Rotterdam, the Netherlands) provides a simple platform for the modern digital era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The value of 'the arts' in community development is increasingly being recognized. This paper contributes to emerging insights on the various impacts of the arts on communities by highlighting when and how they can have binding and dividing effects on a community. We draw on a participatory research project conducted in Pingjum, a village in the Netherlands that hosts many cultural activities and in which many artists live. We discuss how the arts in Pingjum influence the community in the village. In our discussion, we pay attention to the sense of community that the arts generate, the meeting opportunities they provide and how the community is engaged by some artists. Our study shows that the influence of the arts is context-dependent, with the arts having both binding and dividing effects on the community in Pingjum. In terms of the value of the arts for community development, we emphasize three key issues: that the arts (i) do not have only advantages for a community; (ii) do not engage the entire community; and (iii) could potentially contribute to community fragmentation. Given these issues, we argue that the arts should be considered as one of several supportive means in community development processes. Ideally, they are integrated into a wider community development strategy and planning, and exist alongside other associations and activities in a community. In this way, the arts can contribute to the robustness of a community and assist it in developing the capacity and resources to flourish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The demand for alternative nicotine/tobacco products is not well established. This paper uses a behavioral economic approach to test whether smokers have differential demand for conventional factory-made, electronic, and very low nicotine content cigarettes (FMCs/ECs/VLNCs) and uses the prospective cohort design to test the predictive validity of demand indices on subsequent use of commercially available FMCs and ECs.Methods: Daily smokers (≥16 years) from the Netherlands completed an online survey in April 2014 (N = 1215). Purchase tasks were completed for FMCs, ECs, and VLNCs. Participants indicated the number of cigarettes they would consume in 24 h, across a range of prices (0-30 euro). The relationship between consumption and price was quantified into four indices of demand (intensity, Pmax, breakpoint, and essential value). A follow-up survey in July 2015 measured FMC and EC use.Results: At baseline, greater demand was observed for FMCs relative to ECs and VLNCs across all demand indices, with no difference between ECs and VLNCs. At follow-up, greater baseline FMC demand (intensity, essential value) was associated with lower quit rates and higher relapse. EC demand (Pmax, breakpoint, essential value) was positively associated with any EC use between survey waves, past 30 day EC use, and EC purchase between waves.Conclusions: Smokers valued FMCs more than ECs or VLNCs, and FMCs were less sensitive to price increases. Demand indices predicted use of commercially available products over a 15 month period. To serve as viable substitutes for FMCs, ECs and VLNCs will need to be priced lower than FMCs.Implications: Purchase tasks can be adapted for novel nicotine/tobacco products as a means to efficiently quantify demand and predict use. Among current daily smokers, the demand for ECs and VLNCs is lower than FMCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: Is there an association between maternal occupational exposure to solvents, pesticides and metals as assessed by expert-based assessment and congenital anomalies in the offspring?Summary Answer: There is an association between maternal occupational exposure to solvents and congenital anomalies in the offspring, including neural tube defects, congenital heart defects and orofacial clefts.What Is Known Already: One important environmental risk factor for development of congenital anomalies is maternal occupational exposure to chemicals in the workplace prior to and during pregnancy. A number of studies have assessed the association with often conflicting results, possibly due to different occupational exposure assessing methods.Study Design, Size, Duration: For this systematic review with meta-analysis, the search terms included maternal occupation, exposure, congenital anomalies and offspring. Electronic databases MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for English studies up to October 2017.Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: Two reviewers independently screened all citations identified by the search. Case-control studies and cohort studies were included if (I) they reported on the association between maternal occupational exposure to solvents, pesticides or metals and congenital anomalies, and (II) assessment of occupational exposure was performed by experts. Data on study characteristics, confounders and odds ratios (ORs) were extracted from the included studies for four subgroups of congenital anomalies. Methodological quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. In the meta-analysis, random effects models were used to pool estimates.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: In total, 2806 titles and abstracts and 176 full text papers were screened. Finally, 28 studies met the selection criteria, and 27 studies could be included in the meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis showed that maternal occupational exposure to solvents was associated with neural tube defects (OR: 1.51, 95%CI: 1.09-2.09) and congenital heart defects (OR: 1.31, 95%CI:1.06-1.63) in the offspring. Also maternal occupational exposure to glycol ethers, a subgroup of solvents, was associated with neural tube defects (OR: 1.93, 95%CI: 1.17-3.18) and orofacial clefts (OR: 1.95, 95%CI: 1.38-2.75) in the offspring. Only one study investigated the association between maternal occupational exposure to solvents and hypospadias and found an association (OR: 3.63, 95%CI: 1.94-7.17). Results of the included studies were consistent. In our meta-analysis, we found no associations between occupational exposure to pesticides or metals and congenital anomalies in the offspring.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: A limited number of studies was included, which made it impossible to calculate pooled estimates for all congenital anomalies, analyse individual chemicals or calculate exposure-response relations. Bias could have been introduced because not all included studies corrected for potentially confounding factors.Wider Implications Of the Findings: Employers and female employees should be aware of the possible teratogenic effects of solvent exposure at the workplace. Therefore, is it important that clinicians and occupational health specialist provide women with preconception advice on occupational solvent exposure, to reduce the congenital anomaly risk.Study Funding/competing Interest(s): NSp was paid by the Graduate School of Medical Sciences (MD/PhD program), UMCG, Groningen, the Netherlands. EUROCAT Northern Netherlands is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports. There are no competing interests.Registration Number: CRD42017053943. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides evidence on the price and perception of rare natural disasters. We exploit a unique, spatially extremely detailed, dataset on predicted flood water levels in the Netherlands. This dataset, in combination with information on the universe of home sales over the period 1999–2011, allows us to identify people's willingness to pay to avoid flood risk using a border discontinuity design. We find that house prices are on average 1% lower in places that are at risk of flooding. This flood risk discount is more pronounced in neighborhoods with higher predicted flood water levels. Our estimates imply that average perceived flood risk in the Netherlands is much higher than the official protection levels at which the government claims to uphold the country's flood defenses. People expect a flood to happen at least once every 100 years. Depending on the predicted flood water level in their neighborhood, people in flood prone areas are willing to pay 9%–36% more for their flood protection than what the Dutch government currently spends on it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 20 years, the care for transgender adolescents has developed throughout many countries following the 'Dutch Approach' initiated in the 90s in pioneer countries as the Netherlands, United States and Canada, with increasing numbers of children and adolescents seeking care in transgender clinics. This medical approach has considerable positive impacts on the psychological outcomes of these adolescents, and several studies have been recently published underlining the relative safety of such treatments. This paper reviews the current standards of care for transgender children and adolescents with particular emphasis on disparities among countries and short-tomedium-term outcomes. Finally, it highlights ethical considerations regarding categorization of gender dysphoria, timing of treatment initiation, infertility and how to deal with the long-term consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linked Article: Sarkany et al. Br J Dermatol 2022; 186:713–720. Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a genetic disease in which the system that repairs damage caused by ultraviolet (UV) radiation (which mainly comes from the sun) is faulty. Patients with XP develop eye and skin cancers from childhood and usually die in early adulthood. The main means of preventing the cancers and increasing lifespan is extreme protection against the UV found in daylight, particularly for the face, which is where the cancers mostly occur. Not enough is known about how well patients with XP protect against UV radiation. In this paper, with authors from the UK, the Netherlands and Denmark, a new method was used to estimate face exposure in 36 patients with XP over 3 weeks in the summer. The method combines measurements from a wrist‐worn UV detector with an 'activity diary' of what patients did to protect their face when outside. Some patients with XP protected themselves well whereas others did not. The difference between the face UV dose in the best and worst protecting patients was over 100‐fold. Those patients protecting themselves the least from UV exposure had exposure levels similar to healthy adults. Adults and children with XP had similar exposure to UV but achieved it differently. Adults protected less well when outside but went outside less whereas children went outside more but protected better. This variation in UV exposure is important. Poor protection in patients with XP is likely to cause cancers and premature death. As well as being useful in XP, this new method to estimate facial UV exposure may also be useful in other more common diseases, particularly patients at high risk of basal and squamous cell carcinomas, which are mostly caused by UV and mainly affect the face. Linked Article: Sarkany et al. Br J Dermatol 2022; 186:713–720. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extramarital sexuality has always been regarded as a transgression of the accepted norms. The increasing criminalization of extramarital sexuality after the Reformation led to an intensification of the prosecution of illegitimacy by secular authorities. But in the pluriform early modern legal landscape, a whole range of judicial, semi-judicial and extrajudicial institutions and mechanisms existed to exercise control over deviant behavior.  This paper focuses on the institutional setting in which social control over illegitimacy was exercised in the early modern period in Holland and Germany, working with Martin Dinges' concept of the "uses of justice." Both regions experienced several waves of criminalization of sexuality during and after the Reformation, and women were disproportionately affected by this. However, research for both regions has shown that women were not only "passive victims" in this process but also shaped the institutions by actively making use of them. It has been suggested in the literature that, in the early modern period, Dutch women enjoyed a rather favorable position compared to women in neighboring countries and that they were granted considerable leeway in social and legal respects. Considering the differences in the legal system in both countries, the question arises whether there were fundamental differences in the way that social control was exercised over illegitimacy in Germany and the Netherlands and whether Dutch women were truly granted more leeway in a social and legal respect with regard to illegitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes whether information about the quality of high schools published in a national newspaper affects school choice in the Netherlands. We find that negative (positive) school-quality scores decrease (increase) the number of first-year students who choose a school after the year of publication. These effects are only large for the college-preparatory track, such that a school receiving the most positive score for its most academic track sees 16-18 more first-year students enroll. We find that parents respond to the most recent and most prominently displayed information. The effects of information about school quality do not seem to be greater in regions with larger relevant newspaper circulation, suggesting that direct exposure to news about school quality does not explain the response to this information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper answers five questions about the societal impact of research. Firstly, we examine the opinions of research group leaders about the increased emphasis on societal impact, i.e. does it influence their research agenda, communication with stakeholders, and knowledge dissemination to stakeholders? Furthermore, we investigate the quality of their societal output. We also study whether the societal and scholarly productivity of academic groups are positively or negatively related. In addition, we investigate which managerial and organisational factors (e.g. experience of the principal investigator, group size and funding) influence societal output. Finally, we show for one case (virology) that societal impact is also visible through indirect links. Our study shows that research group leaders have a slightly positive attitude towards the increased emphasis on the societal impact of research. The study also indicates a wide variety of societal-oriented output. Furthermore, the societal and scientific productivity of academic groups are unrelated, suggesting that stimulating social relevance requires specific organisational and contextual interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]