Constraining Is Enabling? Exploring the Influence of National Context on Civil Society Strength

This article analyses the influence of national context on civil society strength based on four key dimensions: level of democracy, political stability, rule of law and economic development. Whereas existing studies mainly focus on Western and post-communist countries, we explicitly include developing countries in our analysis. We use associational membership as proxy for civil society strength and include data of 53 countries. Rule of law, economic development and (to a lesser extent) political stability emerge from our multilevel regression models as the main factors affecting civil society membership. Unlike previous studies, we show that these relations are quadratic instead of linear. This means that where existing theories predict a drop in memberships in developing countries, we find a rise. In other words, harsh conditions actually strengthen civil society in terms of membership levels. We argue that this could be the case because reasons for CSO membership are essentially different in the developed and in the developing world. Contrary to theoretical assumptions, democratic rights do not appear critically important for civil society membership.     

The trickle‐down effect of ethical leadership in nonprofit soccer clubs

Nonprofit soccer clubs are currently facing many ethical challenges, such as abuse, doping and match fixing. While research suggests that organizational (board) ethical leadership may be effective to tackle these ethical issues, empirical support in the context of sport remains limited. Drawing on the perceptions of a sample of nonprofit soccer players (n = 438) and coaches (n = 106), we indicate that the coaches play an important mediating role regarding the associations between board ethical leadership and ethical climate. The theoretical underpinnings of ethical leadership—formed by social learning theory and social exchange theory—and the social distance between the board and the players in nonprofit soccer clubs provide support in this regard. In sum, our results demonstrate that the influence of board ethical leadership in nonprofit soccer clubs partly trickles down to the players via coach ethical leadership. Finally, practical implications for nonprofit soccer club management are discussed.     

The double helix of cultural assimilationism and neo-liberalism: citizenship in contemporary governmentality

In this article the recent transformations of citizenship in the Netherlands are analysed in relation to a developing form of governmentality. We regard citizenship as a state regulated technique of in- and exclusion and a crucial instrument in the management of populations. Taking the Dutch contexts of immigration and integration as our case, we argue that cultural assimilationism and neo-liberalism appear in a double helix: they combine to form a new governmental strategy we call neo-liberal communitarianism. Neo-liberal communitarianism is the underlying rationale of a population management that operates both in an individualizing (citizenship as individual participation and responsibility) and a de-individualizing way ('community' at various aggregate and localized levels as frame of 'integration'). It thus combines a communitarian care of a Dutch culturally grounded national community - conceived as traditionally'enlightened' and 'liberal'- with a neo-liberal emphasis on the individual's responsibility to achieve membership of that community. 'Community' is thereby selectively seen as mobilized and present (when immigrant integration is concerned) or as latently present and still in need of mobilization (when indigenous Dutch are concerned). Concomitantly, a repressive responsibilization and a facilitative responsibilization are aimed at these two governmentally differentiated populations.     

Does it matter where I live in Western Europe?

Regional differentials in life expectancy at birth during the 1980s in Belgium, The Netherlands and some parts of the former Federal Republic of Germany are presented and commented upon. Life expectancy at birth during the 1980s was highest in The Netherlands, and lowest in some parts of southern Belgium. Substantial differentials existed in 1980, particularly because of differential mortality due to diseases of the circulatory system, lung cancer, breast cancer, motor vehicle accidents and suicide. These differentials persisted throughout the 1980s, but gradually converged. Gains in life expectancy were mainly due to declining cardiovascular and cerebrovascular mortality. Sharp and persistent differentials between border regions in the study area point to societal and cultural forces bringing about dividing lines between relatively homogeneous mortality profiles.On présente et commente ici les différences d'espérance de vie à la naissance observées durant les années 1980 en Belgique, en Hollande et dans certaines parties de l'ancienne RFA. L'espérance de vie à la naissance était la plus élevée en Hollande et la plus basse dans certaines parties du sud de la Belgique. Des différences importantes existaient en 1980, particulièrement liées à la mortalité différentielle due aux maladies de l'appareil circulatoire, au cancer du poumon et du sein, aux accidents de véhicules à moteur et au suicide. Ces différences diminuent graduellement au cours des années 1980, mais persistent toujours. Les gains d'espérance de vie ont été surtout dus à un déclin de la mortalité cardiovasculaire et cérébrovasculaire. Des différences importantes qui subsistent toujours entre régions frontières signalent des effets sociaux et culturels qui entraînent des lignes de démarcation entre des profils de mortalité relativement homogènes.     

Exchange rates and the Swiss economy

Safe haven capital inflows and other factors have caused the Swiss franc to appreciate and posed challenges for policymakers. We find that these exchange rate changes do not affect the volume of exports from Switzerland’s most advanced sectors, pharmaceuticals and watches, but do matter for exports of medium-high-technology products such as capital goods and machinery. We also report that appreciations do not affect stock prices and goods prices for the pharmaceutical and watch industries but cause both stock and goods prices to tumble for the capital goods and machinery sectors. We draw many policy lessons from these findings for Switzerland and for the rest of the world.     

Dropout from exercise programs for seniors: a prospective cohort study

This study examines dropout incidence, moment of dropout, and switching behavior in organized exercise programs for seniors in the Netherlands, as determined in a prospective cohort study (with baseline measurements at the start of the exercise program and follow-up after 6 months; N = 1,725, response rate 73%). Participants were community-living individuals 50+ who participated in different forms of organized exercise programs. The average dropout incidence was 0.15 per 6 months, which is lower than that for the general population. The dropout incidence and the timing of dropout differed substantially between the exercise programs. In total, 31% of people who dropped out of one type of exercise program switched to another type of exercise. The type of program and exercise had a strong effect on differences in this switching behavior. It is recommended that switching behavior be monitored in future studies.     

The Foster–Greer–Thorbecke (FGT) poverty measures: 25 years later

Twenty-five years ago, the FGT class of decomposable poverty measures was introduced in Foster, Greer, and Thorbecke (Econometrica 52:761–776, 1984). The present study provides a retrospective view of the FGT paper and the subsequent literature, as well as a brief discussion of future directions. We identify three categories of contributions: to measurement, to axiomatics, and to application. A representative subset of the literature generated by the FGT methodology is discussed and grouped according to this taxonomy. We show how the FGT paper has played a central role in several thriving literatures and has contributed to the design, implementation, and evaluation of prominent development programs; the breadth of its impact is evidenced by the many topics beyond poverty to which its methodology has been applied. We conclude with a selection of prospective research topics.     

Designing a “Think-Along Dwelling” for People With Dementia: A Co-Creation Project Between Health Care and the Building Services Sector

Ageing-in-place is the preferred way of living for older individuals in an ageing society. It can be facilitated through architectural and technological solutions in the home environment. Dementia poses additional challenges when designing, constructing, or retrofitting housing facilities that support ageing-in-place. Older adults with dementia and their partners ask for living environments that support independence, compensate for declining and vitality, and lower the burden of family care. This study reports the design process of a demonstration home for people with dementia through performing a literature review and focus group sessions. This design incorporates modifications in terms of architecture, interior design, the indoor environment, and technological solutions. Current design guidelines are frequently based on small-scale studies, and, therefore, more systematic field research should be performed to provide further evidence for the efficacy of solutions. The dwellings of people with dementia are used to investigate the many aspects of supportive living environments for older adults with dementia and as educational and training settings for professionals from the fields of nursing, construction, and building services engineering.     

Work Design Issues in Lean Production from a Sociotechnical Systems Perspective: Neo-Taylorism or the Next Step in Sociotechnical Design?

The similarities and differences between twoparadigms, Lean Production (LP) and SociotechnicalSystems (STS) thinking, which currently compete for theattention of managers and scholars interested inimproving the design of work systems, are studied in thisarticle. In order to find the logic behind eachapproach, the design principles formulated by Chernshave been used to evaluate LP from an STS viewpoint with respect to work design issues. The two conceptsdiffer most with respect to their definition of systemboundaries, the control mechanisms they favor and theirvalue bases and assumptions about workers. The way control is exercised in each concept isclosely related to the production structure and hasfar-reaching consequences for the human resourcepolicies practiced. Although each approach has something to offer the other, the question whether thebest ideas of both can be synthesized in designing asuperior overall system cannot be answered so easily. Inthe end, it will require more than just choosing features of each approach to apply incombination; the differences in fundamental beliefsabout people need to be reconciled in the design of theorganization and its system.