Dutch Government Research Articles

The Politics History of the Entry of Large Flows of Immigrants Originating from Islamic Countries to the Netherlands

This research aims to the Politics History of the Entry of Large Flows of Immigrants Originating from Islamic Countries to the Netherlands Entering the 1990s, the existence of immigrants from Islamic countries began to raise pros and cons. One of the causes of the bad image of Islam in the Netherlands was the assumption that Islam was a lowly religion and culture and was not on par with European culture. A Dutch politician, Frits Bolkestein, who stated that Islam is a religion that often abuses women, besides that governments in Islamic countries implement an authoritarian system and limit the freedom of the population to speak and express opinions. The approach used in writing this research is a qualitative approach and the research basis is a case study and the author uses a descriptive analytical research type. The result show the conflicts that emerged made the Dutch government increasingly worried about the security and social conditions in the country. That's why the government is increasingly tightening the rules for anyone who wants to come to the Netherlands, especially for those who want to settle down or find work there.

Minimum generosity levels in a competitive health insurance market

An important condition for optimal health insurance is that the level of health care coverage is inversely related to the elasticity of demand. We show that this condition is not satisfied for voluntary deductibles in the Netherlands, which are optional deductibles on top of the mandatory deductible introduced by the Dutch government. We find that low-risk types, that mainly choose voluntary deductibles, have a lower elasticity of demand than high-risk types. Moreover, we show that voluntary deductibles introduce equity problems as it results in non-trivial cross subsidies from high-risk to low-risk types. Capping the level of voluntary deductibles (imposing minimum generosity) is likely to be welfare enhancing in the Netherlands.

Mortgage prepayments and tax‐exempted intergenerational transfers: from rich parents to rich children?

The Dutch government implemented two changes to the taxation of intergenerational transfers aimed at mortgage down payments and prepayments. We identify the effects of these tax exemptions on prepayments and inter vivos transfers separately by taking advantage of the changes in policy design. The policy changes resulted in two expansions of tax‐exempt transfers, which increased the probability of receiving such transfers, translating into a modest increase in prepayments. Initially, the amounts prepaid increased by a similar magnitude, while the second policy change only resulted in an increase in the amounts being transferred but not the prepayments. The macroprudential policy goal was to reduce the number of underwater mortgages, but the policy was too generic and did not help to achieve this. The prepayments triggered by the policy change increased mostly for borrowers with low original loan‐to‐value ratios, implying that most transfers were made from wealthy parents to housing‐rich children.

Pemikiran dan Implikasi Pendidikan Islam KH. Ahmad Dahlan Terhadap Pendidikan Islam Kontemporer

The background of this research stems from the researcher's curiosity towards Muhammadiyah schools, which number in the hundreds or even thousands that were established because of the ideas of KH. Ahmad Dahlan. More precisely not the school, but the extraordinary thinking about Islamic Religious Education. Islamic education has a big role in determining the fate of the nation. The distribution of education is considered uneven, especially in remote areas. For this reason, KH. Ahmad Dahlan (Founder of Muhammadiyah) contributed to the results of the embodiment of his thoughts in seeing the problems that arise in indigenous territories. The purpose of this research is to find out what is the background of KH. Ahmad Dahlan and his thoughts on Islamic Education and their implications for contemporary Islamic education. From the research that has been done, the researchers obtained the results of KH. Ahmad Dahlan's background is: concern for indigenous Muslims, educational gaps, resistance to Christianity. While the thoughts of KH. Ahmad Dahlan in the world of Islamic Education is: 1) Establishing schools, 2) Born Ulama' reasons, 3) Collaborating with the Dutch government, 4) Adopting the education system, 5) Da'wah. Then for the implications in KH's thinking. Ahmad Dahlan's contemporary Islamic education includes 3 aspects, namely: learning materials, learning methods and educational goals.

Protecting Whom, Why, and from What? The Dutch Government’s Politics of Abjection of Sex Workers in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sex workers in the Netherlands experienced severe financial and social distress during the COVID-19 health crisis. Notwithstanding them paying taxes over the earnings, they were excluded from government financial support, faced discriminatory treatment concerning safe reopening, and experienced increased repression and stigmatization. In this contribution, I explore whether the concept of “vulnerability” contributes to understanding (and addressing) that situation. Data acquired through participatory action research, partly taking place online during lock-down measures, and literature and content analysis show that labeling sex workers “vulnerable” deflects attention away from the (in)actions of Dutch authorities responsible for sex workers’ precarious conditions during the pandemic. Government denial and strategies of abjection explain these conditions better than “vulnerability” does, as they return the gaze to actors and processes accountable for sex workers’ exclusion and criminalization during the COVID-19 health crisis and thereby put responsibility where it belongs.

Acute hospital use in older adults following the 2015 Dutch reform of long-term care: an interrupted time series analysis

In 2015, the Dutch government implemented a long-term care (LTC) reform primarily designed to promote older adults to age-in-place. Increased proportions of older adults living in the community might have resulted in more and longer acute hospitalisations. The aims of this study were to evaluate whether the Dutch 2015 LTC reform was associated with immediate and longitudinal increases in the monthly rate of acute clinical hospitalisation and monthly average hospital length of stay (LOS) in adults aged 65 years or older. In this interrupted time series analysis of national hospital data (2009-18), we evaluated the association of the Dutch 2015 LTC reform with the monthly rate of acute clinical hospitalisation and monthly average LOS for older adults (aged ≥65 years). Patient-level episodic hospital data were provided by Dutch Hospital Data. Records were included that were defined as an acute clinical hospital admission for which a medical specialist decided treatment was necessary within 24 h. The analysis controlled for population growth (Dutch population data was provided by Statistics Netherlands) and seasonality, and calculated adjusted incident rate ratios (IRR). Before the 2015 LTC reform, the rate of acute monthly hospitalisation was increasing (IRR 1·002 [95% CI 1·001-1·002]). A positive average reform effect was observed (1·116 [1·070-1·165]), accompanied by a negative change in trend (0·997 [0·996-0·998]) that resulted in a decreasing trend over the post-reform period (0·998 [0·998-0·999]). The pre-reform trend of LOS was decreasing (0·998 [0·997-0·998]), and the 2015 reform exhibited a positive change in trend (1·002 [1·002-1·003]) that resulted in a stabilisation of LOS in the post-reform period (0·999 [0·999-1·000]). Our findings suggest that the increase in the rate of acute hospitalisation after the reform implementation was temporary, whereas the increase in LOS post-reform appeared to last longer than expected. These results have the potential to inform policy makers about effects of ageing-in-place LTC strategies on health and curative care. The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development, the Yale Claude Pepper Center, and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health. For the Dutch translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

A conceptual framework for measuring transaction costs in agri-environmental schemes: an application to the Dutch collective scheme

This research brings together insights from the literature on the measurement of transaction costs related to agri-environmental schemes (AES) and formulates a conceptual framework for measuring these transaction costs. The framework is then applied to the Dutch AES in which farmer collectives act as a mediator between farmer-members and the Dutch government. In particular, we study the distribution of private transaction costs in the collective scheme and compare this to the distribution under the former individual approach. Results show that transaction costs have increased substantially for the collective, while they decreased for public actors. Moreover, the execution of the Dutch AES depends for a large part on volunteers, whose costs are not accounted for in official records. Although the Dutch AES appears successful in terms of coordination, we conclude that it carries substantial transaction costs for the collectives and its dependency on volunteers makes it fragile in the long term.

Improving the quality of care in nursing home organizations with urgent quality issues: design and effectiveness of a Dutch government-funded support programme

BackgroundVarious societal developments are currently challenging the ability of European nursing home organizations to meet quality standards. To support nursing home organizations throughout the Netherlands in quality improvement (QI), the Dutch government launched a nationwide programme in 2016 entitled ‘Dignity and pride’ (D&p). As part of this programme, participating nursing home organizations followed a tailored trajectory centred around intensive, on-site support from external expert coaches. For this study, we evaluated to what extent quality improvements were realized in the programme, paying particular attention to the role of the expert coaches.MethodsThirty-six nursing home organizations were included. At the start of D&p, the majority of these organizations (78%) had major quality issues as determined by the Health Care Inspectorate. Information on quality of care at the start versus end of the programme was obtained from improvement plans and final evaluation reports. Quality of person-centred care (PCC) and resident safety were quantified using a standardized assessment tool based on national guidelines, with improvements analysed using two-sided paired-sample T-tests. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 coaches and 29 healthcare professionals, focusing on the greatest benefits of programme participation and on the added value of the expert coaches.ResultsAfter completion of the programme, 60% of the organizations scored a 4 (= good) on PCC and resident safety, and none scored a 2 or less (average improvement on a 5-point scale for both themes: 1.9 points, p < 0.001). Interviewees confirmed that the quality of care had both improved and become more person-centred. The expert coaches were credited with substantially contributing to the QI process by offering an outsider’s perspective, bringing in experience and expertise, and helping the organization stay committed and focused.ConclusionsOur study results suggest that the D&p programme was associated with improved quality of care in nursing home organizations with urgent quality issues. However, offering on-site tailored support through a nationally coordinated, government-funded programme is both time- and labour-intensive, and therefore not feasible in every healthcare setting. Nevertheless, the findings provide valuable insights for future QI support strategies.

Transformation and Future Challenges of Islamic Law in Indonesia

This study aims to investigate the transformation of Islamic law starting from pre-entry of Islam to Indonesia, entry of Islam, colonialism, and independence to current reformation in Indonesia, as well as various challenges to the formalization of Islamic law. The method used was a qualitative method with the type of library research namely by researching and reviewing legal materials that include primary legal materials, secondary legal materials, and tertiary legal materials that relevant to the object of this research. The results show that pre-entry of Islam to Indonesia, the applicable law was adat law, then since the entry of Islam into Indonesia, Islamic law has been well accepted and implemented by the community, and even its existence has gained legitimacy from both legal experts and the Dutch government. After Indonesia's independence, especially during the Old Order era, Islamic law did not transform significantly. During the New Order after such party collapsed, Islamic law began to transform significantly. Although since the reform period, Islamic law has transformed significantly, the challenges of Islamic law are serious, both internal and external. The most dominant internal challenges among are not fully codified Islamic law, Indonesian pluralistic condition, politics of the rulers' law, misconceptions of some legal experts about Islamic law, and other. Meanwhile, external challenges include influence of transnational ideologies which give a negative stigma against Islam, the development of Western ideologies that clash with Islamic law and the human rights, and strong influence of the domination of Western law in Indonesia.

Predicting the spread of covid-19 and the impact of government measures at the early stage of the pandemic: The Dutch case-Stricter but short-term measures are better.

In this paper, we investigate the spread of COVID-19 and the impact of government measures at the early stage of the pandemic (before the introduction of the vaccines) in the Netherlands. We build a multiple linear regression model to predict the effective reproduction rate using key factors and measures and integrate it with a system dynamics model to predict the spread and the impact of measures against COVID-19. Data from February to November 2020 is used to train the model and data until December 2020 is used to validate the model. We use data about the key factors, e.g., disease specific such as basic reproduction rate and incubation period, weather related factors such as temperature, and controllable factors such as testing capacity. We consider particularly the following measures taken by the government: wearing facemasks, event allowance, school closure, catering services closure, and self-quarantine. Studying the strategy of the Dutch government, we control these measures by following four main policies: doing nothing, mitigation, curbing, elimination. We develop a systems dynamic model to simulate the effect of policies. Based on our numerical experiments, we develop the following main insights: It is more effective to implement strict, sharp measures earlier but for a shorter duration than to introduce measures gradually for a longer duration. This way, we can prevent a quick rise in the number of infected cases but also to reduce the number of days under measures. Combining the measures with a high testing capacity and with effective self-quarantine can significantly reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Peran Operasi Militer Dalam Mendukung Upaya Diplomasi dalam Pembebasan Irian Barat

The reconquest of West Irian by the Dutch colonialists was a very tiring and hard struggle. The Dutch had a hidden intention to separate West Irian from Indonesian territory. The Dutch government violated the agreements of the Round Table Conference, the Teak Circle Agreement, and International Law. The Indonesian side carried out military operations on Gurita, Rajawali, Djatayu, and finally the Djayawidjaya military operation to retake West Irian. The purpose of this research is to provide an overview and analysis regarding the attitudes and strategies of the two parties in the West Irian conflict from the aspects of political/diplomatic, military and economic strategy. The writing method uses descriptive analysis method, by analyzing the facts that occurred in the struggle to seize West Irian from Dutch rule, supported by literature studies, literature, national and international scientific journals, theoretical and juridical. The results of the research show that there is a relationship and cooperation between activities in the field of politics/diplomacy and the military sector, because in essence the two fields have the same goal and help each other. To get maximum results, politics/diplomacy needs to be supported by military force, and vice versa military power needs political/diplomatic support to ask for huge costs in winning war goals. The war strategy in the future does not only rely on politics/diplomacy and the role of the military alone, but must involve all other components of national defense and be implemented in its entirety.Keywords: Connection; Cooperation; Politics/Diplomacy; Military.

Upscaling telemonitoring in Dutch University Medical Centres: A baseline measurement

Introduction and objectiveThe Dutch university medical centres (UMC’s) are on the forefront when it comes to validation, implementation and research of telemonitoring. To aid the UMC’s in their effort, the Dutch Government has supported the UMC’s by fostering the ‘Citrien eHealth program’. This program aims at nationwide implementation and upscaling of telemonitoring via a collaborative network. To quantify the success of this program, this study aims to provide insights into the current adoption of telemonitoring by health care professionals (HCP) within Dutch UMC’s. MethodsBased on the evaluation framework as adapted from the Normalization Process Theory (NPT) a cross-sectional study was conducted in all Dutch UMC’s. Thirty healthcare professionals (HCPs) per UMC were invited to complete the 23-item Normalization MeAsure Development (NoMAD) questionnaire, a tool to assess the degree of normalisation of telemonitoring. ResultsThe over-all response rate was 52.4% (124/240). Over 80% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they understand how telemonitoring affects the nature of their work, with a mean score of 1.49 (N = 117, SD 0.74). HCPs reported to believe telemonitoring will become a normal part of their work in the near future (N = 124, mean = 8.67, SD = 1.38). Using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, the difference between current practise and future use of telemonitoring predicts to be statistically significant (Z = − 7.505, p ≤ 0.001). Mean scores for appropriate training and sufficient resources are relatively low (2.39 and 2.70 respectively), indicating a barrier for collective action. ConclusionThis is the first study to assess the implementation of telemonitoring as standard practise across Dutch UMCs. The HCPs in this study are the frontrunners, believing that telemonitoring will become standard practise in the future despite the fact that it is currently not. Based on the results of this study, both educational and implementation strategies including practical skills training are highly recommended in order to scale up telemonitoring widely.

The law and politics of funding armed groups in Syria: how states (fail to) counter terrorism

This article examines the political and legal controversies around a counterterrorism programme conducted by the Dutch government to support the so-called moderate groups in Syria between 2015 and 2018. The controversies centred around the question how the Dutch government was able to define and support armed moderate groups in Syria and distinguish them from terrorist organizations. The objective of the article is to take up this question and unpack how the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs constructed and justified their definition of material support for moderate groups deployed in this programme, against existing definitions of terrorism funding and terrorist groups embedded in European counterterrorism financing regulations. Connecting to the debates around materiality in both International Relations and International Law, this article follows the material-semiotic practices through which definitions of terrorism come into being. The empirical analysis draws on interviews with legal professionals, policy documents and court transcripts, and provides a detailed overview of how multiple and even conflicting definitions of terrorism and terrorism financing are constructed by the Dutch state. Taking this interdisciplinary approach to materiality and based on the empirical analysis, I propose that this controversy on defining terrorism and terrorism financing reflects a Eurocentric assumption about the knowledge and responsibilities of the Western state in the War on Terror. While the empirics are grounded in the Dutch context, my analysis is relevant for multiple European countries who engaged in similar operations between 2015 and 2018, as well as for future counterterrorism efforts targeting terrorist groups.

Societal impacts of AI integration in the EU electricity market: The Dutch case

The European Union (EU) aims for a just energy transition and sees artificial intelligence (AI) as a key instrument to reach it. This paper analyses the societal impact of AI integration in the Dutch electricity market, as part of the EU market. We found that the integration of AI by different actors could increase the electricity market's sustainability, reliability, and affordability, as the increase in accuracy and speed offers more flexibility and allows for further integration of (variable) renewable energy. The effects on the equity and equality and power balances in the electricity market are, however, uncertain. AI may unburden participants from certain tasks and allow for more active participants, but the increased complexity excludes participants with less resources and might harm the equality of opportunities in the electricity market. Moreover, the necessary digital infrastructure challenges the (cyber)security, privacy, the controllability of the technology, and autonomy of market actors. The EU and Dutch government could anticipate the above effects by supporting new market participants (e.g., energy communities and cooperatives) with an open access data base of AI programs, and by creating institutional clarity for system operators when it comes to their additional tasks, giving these actors time to prepare.

Inleiding op het themanummer ‘Ambtelijk vakmanschap na de toeslagenaffaire’

The opening article introduces the topic of this special issue: the effects the child benefits scandal has (had) on the policy in the Netherlands regarding the position and development of the craftsmanship of civil servants. The scandal has fuelled different government programs that aim at strengthening the position of the civil servant vis-á-vis the politicians. The first two articles in this issue show that this position is still weak. The last two articles are about how and why street level bureaucrats operate as they operate in public encounters. This topic is relevant because the Dutch government is particularly trying to emancipate the civil servants working in de frontline.

Study protocol of a multicentre double-blind RCT, comparing a traditional RCT with an aggregated N-of-1 trial: GAG therapy Efficacy Trial Solution for Bladder pain syndrome/Interstitial cystitis (GETSBI study)

IntroductionObtaining level 1 evidence on efficacy of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) therapy is difficult, due to low incidence of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) and heterogeneous symptoms experienced by patients with BPS/IC....

EU-sentiment predicts the 2016 Dutch referendum vote on the EU’s association with Ukraine better than concerns about Russia or national discontent

This article utilises large-N panel data to compare two theories of referendum voting behaviour in order to understand the ‘for’ or ‘against’ vote in the 2016 Dutch referendum on the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. It studies the extent to which voting behaviour was predicted by Eurosceptic attitudes and fear of upsetting Russia (issue-based theory), versus dissatisfaction with the Dutch government and general political discontent (second-order theory). Our findings indicate that issue-based determinants predict the referendum vote better than second-order predictors. However, Eurosceptic attitudes and government satisfaction both outperform concerns about the relationship with Russia as a predictor. We thus provide evidence that the issue-based and second-order approaches to explain voting in EU referendums are complementary, but not equal in explanatory strength.

Not All Puppies and Sunshine: How Dog Keepers Cope with Dog-Related Problems in Dutch Society.

Zoonoses, biting incidents, hereditary problems, and other issues can threaten the welfare of both humans and dogs. The Dutch government and animal welfare organizations seem to have little effect in their campaigns to influence the behavior of (potential) dog keepers, who can experience dissonance when faced with these campaigns and use coping strategies to relieve the dissonance instead of changing their behavior. In this study, in focus group discussions, dog keepers with pedigree dogs, high-risk dogs, foreign shelter dogs, and dogs purchased at puppy farms shared their experiences with opinions on dogs and were confronted with negative opinions on their dogs. The data were analyzed using a coping strategies framework. Most coping strategies were found in all groups, but were used in response to different dilemmas, with different manifestations. These differences should be kept in mind when behavior change in dog keepers is opportune. Special attention should be given to differentiating target groups, as use of the detachment coping strategy suggests that boundaries might be set differently than expected. Broad attention on problems with and for dogs can address perceived dissonance and prompt behavior change. In dialogue with dog keepers, in influential campaigns and in policy formulation, the chances of success are greater if initiators are aware of the strategies that they may encounter.

Fox News Channel Constructed Realities of Christchurch Shooting

Fox News Channel is a mass media that has ideological ties to the United States Republican Party. Fox &amp; Friends is claimed to be the highest rating cable news program in the US since 2001. In 2019, Fox &amp; Friends reported Christchurch Shooting. The Christchurch incident is the deadliest mass shooting in New Zealand history. FNC constructed reality potentially influenced the public’s understanding of Christchurch shooting. This research examines and explores FNC constructed reality by analyzing how the perpetrators, motives, and impacts are framed. Based on research findings, FNC constructed reality denied the Christchurch shooting as an act of terror. It also tried to influence public understanding that the perpetrator has no ideological connection with Donald Trump. When compared with the Utrecht shooting, FNC chose to use word terror in describing the event, even before the Dutch government gave an official statement regarding the incident. FNC constructed reality shows bias and favoritism towards perpetrators of a certain race, which contradicts the company’s slogan that claims to produce fair and balanced coverages. Thus, to carry out the journalistic functions in a democratic country, FNC must educate the public about the realities, instead of spreading biased and discriminatory reporting.&#x0D; Keywords: Ideological; Fox news; Christcurch shooting

Analisis Permasalahan Batas Darat Antara Indonesia dan Malaysia dalam Perspektif Aspek Teknis dan Teknologi Geospasial

The implementation of survey boundary demarcation between Indonesia and Malaysia in Kalimantan has been carried out since 1975, and until now there are still 7 unresolved boundary issues. It’s called Outstanding Boundary Problems (OBP). In practice, issues arise due to differences in the datum and differences in the interpretation of the treaties of 1891, 1915, and 1928 between the Dutch Government and the British Government. This research aims to find an alternative model for the solution to the land boundary problem between Indonesia and Malaysia by conducting a critical, comprehensive study and analysis of the technical aspects of surveying and confirming the Indonesian and Malaysian state boundaries from the perspective of geospatial engineering and technology. This research combines an extensive literature study using maps, high-resolution satellite imagery, SRTM data, and field data from surveys and confirmation of the RI-Malaysia boundary to produce a comprehensive study from the perspective of technical aspects and geospatial technology. The results of the study resulted in an alternative model for solving land boundary problems between Indonesia-Malaysia, namely Indonesia received 3 claims and Malaysia obtained 3 claims from 7 existing problems and both parties divided the two for the Batu Aum area.