Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations

Abstract The European Vegetation Archive ( EVA ) is a centralized database of European vegetation plots developed by the IAVS Working Group European Vegetation Survey. It has been in development since 2012 and first made available for use in research projects in 2014. It stores copies of national and regional vegetation‐ plot databases on a single software platform. Data storage in EVA does not affect on‐going independent development of the contributing databases, which remain the property of the data contributors. EVA uses a prototype of the database management software TURBOVEG 3 developed for joint management of multiple databases that use different species lists. This is facilitated by the SynBioSys Taxon Database, a system of taxon names and concepts used in the individual European databases and their corresponding names on a unified list of European flora. TURBOVEG 3 also includes procedures for handling data requests, selections and provisions according to the approved EVA Data Property and Governance Rules. By 30 June 2015, 61 databases from all European regions have joined EVA , contributing in total 1 027 376 vegetation plots, 82% of them with geographic coordinates, from 57 countries. EVA provides a unique data source for large‐scale analyses of European vegetation diversity both for fundamental research and nature conservation applications. Updated information on EVA is available online at http://euroveg.org/eva-database .

Understanding drivers of success for alien species can inform on potential future invasions. Recent conceptual advances highlight that species may achieve invasiveness via performance along at least three distinct dimensions: 1) local abundance, 2) geographic range size, and 3) habitat breadth in naturalized distributions. Associations among these dimensions and the factors that determine success in each have yet to be assessed at large geographic scales. Here, we combine data from over one million vegetation plots covering the extent of Europe and its habitat diversity with databases on species' distributions, traits, and historical origins to provide a comprehensive assessment of invasiveness dimensions for the European alien seed plant flora. Invasiveness dimensions are linked in alien distributions, leading to a continuum from overall poor invaders to super invaders-abundant, widespread aliens that invade diverse habitats. This pattern echoes relationships among analogous dimensions measured for native European species. Success along invasiveness dimensions was associated with details of alien species' introduction histories: earlier introduction dates were positively associated with all three dimensions, and consistent with theory-based expectations, species originating from other continents, particularly acquisitive growth strategists, were among the most successful invaders in Europe. Despite general correlations among invasiveness dimensions, we identified habitats and traits associated with atypical patterns of success in only one or two dimensions-for example, the role of disturbed habitats in facilitating widespread specialists. We conclude that considering invasiveness within a multidimensional framework can provide insights into invasion processes while also informing general understanding of the dynamics of species distributions.

This note deals with the use of embedded piezoelectric transducers to monitor the ultrasonic P-wave velocity evolution during the setting and hardening phases of concrete subsequent to casting time. The main advantage of the technique is the possibility of overcoming the limitations of traditional methods which prevent the application of specific mechanical boundary conditions during the measurement. The embedded transducers are based on the smart aggregates concept previously developed at the University of Houston, Texas. Two piezoelectric transducers are embedded in a prismatic mold and the evolution of the P-wave velocity is recorded for the first 24h in concrete after the casting time. The results are very promising and show a good agreement with classical ultrasonic tests using external transducers. © 2012 IOP Publishing Ltd.

This paper examines several hundred cases in which citizens were contacted in an 'informal' way by public officials as part of the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations' Fair Tracks project. In Fair Tracks, public officials engage in direct and interpersonal conversations with citizens when the officials are about to make a negative decision or upon receiving citizens' complaints or objections against government decisions. Public officials typically do so by phone and the purpose of the open communication that follows is to discuss together what the problem is and how the citizen's problem can best be handled. The current paper presents empirical evidence suggesting that why Fair Tracks works is because it activates perceived procedural justice. For example, when citizens felt they had been treated respectfully and politely by public officials and when they could voice their opinions to the public officials this led to a reliable perception of procedural justice. Furthermore, higher levels of perceived procedural justice were associated with more satisfaction about the outcome reached during the conversation with the public officials, more trust in mutual compliance with the outcome, more trust in government, and higher levels of conflict resolution. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Purpose Although common mental disorders (CMDs) highly impact individuals and society, a knowledge gap exists on how sickness absence can be prevented in workers with CMDs. This study explores: (1) workers' perceived causes of sickness absence; (2) perceived return to work (RTW) barriers and facilitators; and (3) differences between workers with short, medium and long-term sickness absence. Methods A longitudinal qualitative study was conducted involving 34 workers with CMDs. Semi-structured interviews were held at two time-points during their RTW process. The 68 interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and thematically analyzed to explore workers' perspective on sickness absence causes, RTW barriers and facilitators, and compare data across the three sub-groups of workers. Results Workers reported various causes for their absence, including: (1) high work pressure; (2) poor work relationships; (3) unhelpful thoughts and feelings, e.g. lacking self-insight; and (4) ineffective coping behaviors. According to workers, RTW was facilitated by work adjustments, fulfilling relationships with supervisors, and adequate occupational health guidance. Workers with short-term leave more often reported favorable work conditions, and proactive coping behavior. In contrast, the long-term group reported reactive coping behavior and dissatisfaction with their work. Conclusion Supporting workers with CMDs in gaining self-awareness and regaining control, discussing the value of their work, and creating work conditions that enable workers to do valuable work, seem central for successful RTW and might prevent sickness absence. Supervisors play a key role in enabling workers to do valuable work and further research should focus on how supervisors can be supported in this task.

Abstract The establishment of European Regulatory Networks (ERNs) has been presented as a way to promote the uniform implementation of EU law in a range of issue areas. This article argues that the level of co‐ordination achieved in ERNs crucially depends on the level of interdependence between Member State authorities in a given issue area. Drawing on a survey among national representatives in two ERNs and a set of in‐depth interviews, it shows that both the uniformity of implementation and the use of common purpose as a way to reach co‐ordination are strongly associated with the perceived level of interdependence.

Abstract In 2002 the Dutch Ministry of the Interior enacted a new Local Government Act. The introduction of the new legislation was supported by a large-scale Innovation Program. The main objective of this institutional reform in local government was to improve the responsiveness and democratic accountability of municipalities by changing the role orientations and role behaviour of local councillors. The first question we address in this paper is whether these institutional reforms have indeed changed the relevant role orientations of the councillors. Despite widespread scepticism about the impact of institutional change, on the basis of surveys conducted before and after the reforms we found that the Dutch reforms may have been successful in changing some relevant role orientations of councillors. The second question in this paper is whether such possible changes in role orientations can be explained as the result of processes of (1) socialisation of councillors and (2) their selection.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of an analysis of official data on police misconduct, providing new insights into the nature and extent of police misconduct and in the official response to police misconduct. Next to the use of force and neglect of duty, private time misconduct is a major type of (alleged) misconduct although it is often discarded from theoretical conceptions of police misconduct. The analysis also showed that two‐thirds of internal investigations are the result of an internal report. This paper shows that official data on police misconduct can result in new insights in the nature and extent of police misconduct and is therefore a relevant source for academic analysis. Design/methodology/approach An analysis of official data on police misconduct is compared with theoretical notions of police misconduct, internal investigations and reliability of official data. Findings The implementation of a uniform Registration of Internal Investigations for all Dutch police forces has resulted in a clear increase in the number of registered investigations. This seems to be due to a combination of increased strictness on (alleged) misconduct and an improved quality of the registration. The analysis also showed that two‐thirds of the investigations are the result of an internal report. This places a new perspective on the so‐called code of silence among police officers. However, information on the extent and nature of complaints that are dealt with through the complaints procedure is lacking. The complaints procedure has also no formal relation with the disciplinary or criminal procedures. Research limitations/implications Official data on police misconduct have to be viewed with a critical eye. The analyses showed however that the Dutch data seem fairly reliable. Additional research should place the official data in further perspective, e.g. through case studies and through a control of the registration with the files of the Bureaux of Internal Investigations. Finally, a comparison with official data in other countries is needed. Practical implications The Dutch police should improve its complaints procedures and the complaints registration. Originality/value Academic analysis of police misconduct is often limited to case studies of scandals or focuses on citizen complaints. The paper gives a broader perspective by using official data.

This Working Paper studies ways to stimulate the private rental sector (PRS) of the housing market – and compares experiences with policies and reforms in Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and the Czech Republic. Although in many countries the PRS has decreased in importance since the Second World War, there are signs of a growing importance and possible 'revival' of the PRS. A well-functioning PRS and neutrality in housing policies can improve the functioning of the housing market – by promoting residential mobility, increasing housing options for households and generating competitive supply and affordable prices. The PRS can have positive effects on the economy and labour mobility and reduce inefficiencies and risks of owner-occupied and social housing. Trade-offs between goals in housing policies, and regulatory impediments to a level playing field between segments of the housing market (owner-occupancy, social rental, private rental) are analysed. The article outlines policy options in promoting a well-functioning PRS: lessons are drawn on tenancy security, rent-setting regulations, social housing, demand subsidies, fiscal measures for rental and owner-occupied housing and barriers for PRS supply. Experiences from the countries show that it is hard to create a level playing field – there are inefficiencies in all four countries. Nonetheless, there are many positive experiences of stimulating the PRS: reforms in Finland and the Czech Republic stimulated the PRS to become a competitive and important part of the housing market, and Dutch policies are adapted to stimulate a level playing field. The 'resilience' of the German housing system during the economic crisis shows that the large PRS and tenure neutrality have important stabilising effects on the German economy.

This paper seeks to contribute to an improved information management and exchange between humanitarian organisations and military agents in complex emergencies. To do so, a theoretical information management process model was developed and applied to the case of information management between International Security Assistance Force troops and humanitarian organisations such as Cordaid, DACAAR and the International Office for Migration in Kabul, Afghanistan. Based on this analysis the main shortcomings and problems in each stage of the information management process were identified. These include a lack of structured information databases, the absence of identification of information needs, and an over-classification of documents by the military. Using a logical framework analysis, six major improvement tactics were developed, including the creation of more overlap in rotations of personnel, the specification of aims and tasks regarding information management, the improvement of skills and competences of personnel involved, and the introduction of regular joint civil-military evaluations.

During the 15th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine in Amsterdam, May 2007 (15WCDEM), a targeted agenda program (TAP) about the public health aspects of large-scale floods was organized. The main goal of the TAP was the establishment of an overview of issues that would help governmental decision-makers to develop policies to increase the resilience of the citizens during floods. During the meetings, it became clear that citizens have a natural resistance to evacuations. This results in death due to drowning and injuries. Recently, communication and education programs have been developed that may increase awareness that timely evacuation is important and can be life-saving. After a flood, health problems persist over prolonged periods, including increased death rates during the first year after a flood and a higher incidence of chronic illnesses that last for decades after the flood recedes. Population-based resilience (bottom-up) and governmental responsibility (top-down) must be combined to prepare regions for the health impact of evacuations and floods. More research data are needed to become better informed about the health impact and consequences of translocation of health infrastructures after evacuations. A better understanding of the consequences of floods will support governmental decision-making to mitigate the health impact. A top-10 priority action list was formulated.

Abstract Aim The number of naturalized (i.e. established) alien species has increased rapidly over recent centuries. Given the differences in environmental tolerances among species, little is known about what factors determine the extent to which the observed size of the naturalized range of a species and hence the extent to which the observed richness of naturalized species of a region approach their full potential. Here, we asked which region‐ and species‐specific characteristics explain differences between observed and expected naturalizations. Location Global. Time period Present. Major taxa studied Vascular plants. Methods We determined the observed naturalized distribution outside Europe for 1,485 species endemic to Europe using the Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database and their expected distributions outside Europe using species distribution models. First, we investigated which of seven socio‐economic factors related to introduction pathways, anthropogenic pressures and inventory effort best explained the differences between observed and expected naturalized European floras. Second, we examined whether distributional features, economic use and functional traits explain the extent to which species have filled their expected ranges outside Europe. Results In terms of suitable area, more than 95% of expected naturalizations of European plants were not yet observed. Species were naturalized in only 4.2% of their suitable regions outside of Europe (range filling) and in 0.4% of their unsuitable regions (range expansion). Anthropogenic habitat disturbance primarily explained the difference between observed and expected naturalized European floras, as did the number of treaties relevant to invasive species. Species of ornamental and economic value and with large specific leaf area performed better at filling and expanding beyond their expected range. Main conclusions The naturalization of alien plant species is explained by climate matching but also by the regional level of human development, the introduction pressure associated with the ornamental and economic values of the species and their adaptation to disturbed environments.

Beaches are known as hotspots for the accumulation of plastic debris and are widely used for monitoring marine litter on a global scale. However, there is a significant knowledge gap regarding temporal trends in marine plastic pollution. Moreover, existing studies on beach plastics and popular monitoring protocols only provide count data. Consequently, it is not possible to monitor marine litter based on weights, which hampers the further application of beach plastic data. To address these gaps, we conducted an analysis of spatial and temporal trends in plastic abundance and composition using OSPAR beach litter monitoring data from 2001 to 2020. We established size and weight ranges for 75 (macro-)plastic categories to estimate the total plastic weight, enabling us to investigate plastic compositions. While the amount of plastic litter exhibits significant spatial variation, most individual beaches displayed notable temporal trends. The spatial variation in composition is primarily attributed to differences in total plastic abundance. We describe the compositions of beach plastics using generic probability density functions (PDFs) for item size and weight. Our trend analysis, method for estimating plastic weight from count data, and PDFs for beached plastic debris represent novel contributions to the field of plastic pollution science.

Over the past decades there has been a great deal of attention for concepts aiming to prevent gross human rights violations, such as conflict prevention and the responsibility to protect. Despite this shift in attention towards prevention, it has remained unclear what legal obligations states have to prevent gross human rights violations under international human rights law. For example, it is unclear what types of obligations states have at different points in time, when they are triggered, what concrete measures they may require and how they apply outside a state’s territory. This study sets out to systematically assess the content and scope of obligations to prevent gross human rights violations. To be able to understand obligations to prevent in their interconnection, the focus is on three specific types of injury prohibited under international human rights law: torture, arbitrary death and genocide. Further distinctions are made between four temporal phases (long-term prevention, short-term prevention, preventing continuation, preventing recurrence) and territorial and extraterritorial obligations. A point of analysis throughout the study is how the capacity of states influences the content and scope of obligations to prevent gross human rights violations in territorial and extraterritorial settings.

Abstract Aims The rapid increase in the number of species that have naturalized beyond their native range is among the most apparent features of the Anthropocene. How alien species will respond to other processes of future global changes is an emerging concern and remains poorly misunderstood. We therefore ask whether naturalized species will respond to climate and land use change differently than those species not yet naturalized anywhere in the world. Location Global. Methods We investigated future changes in the potential alien range of vascular plant species endemic to Europe that are either naturalized ( n = 272) or not yet naturalized (1,213) outside of Europe. Potential ranges were estimated based on projections of species distribution models using 20 future climate‐change scenarios. We mapped current and future global centres of naturalization risk. We also analysed expected changes in latitudinal, elevational and areal extent of species’ potential alien ranges. Results We showed a large potential for more worldwide naturalizations of European plants currently and in the future. The centres of naturalization risk for naturalized and non‐naturalized plants largely overlapped, and their location did not change much under projected future climates. Nevertheless, naturalized plants had their potential range shifting poleward over larger distances, whereas the non‐naturalized ones had their potential elevational ranges shifting further upslope under the most severe climate change scenarios. As a result, climate and land use changes are predicted to shrink the potential alien range of European plants, but less so for already naturalized than for non‐naturalized species. Main conclusions While currently non‐naturalized plants originate frequently from mountain ranges or boreal and Mediterranean biomes in Europe, the naturalized ones usually occur at low elevations, close to human centres of activities. As the latter are expected to increase worldwide, this could explain why the potential alien range of already naturalized plants will shrink less.

The European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) has been redirected away from the voluntary, intergovernmental process of making and revising the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP) towards a new-style EU territorial cohesion policy. The paper discusses the origins of ESPON, its set-up and prospects. It shows that, being in the driving seat, the Commission puts pressure on ESPON to produce results as and when needed. With a view to its future role in relation to EU territorial cohesion policy, maybe 'European Territorial Cohesion Assessment Network' (ETCAN) would be a more appropriate designation.

Within the Dutch government the Gateway Review method has been adopted to facilitate a learning and helping perspective towards owners of high risk programs and projects with a substantial IT component. The current paper reports on findings from data analysis done on Gateway Review reports collected since the introduction of the method in the Ministry of Interior in the Netherlands. The conclusion derived from the data analysis points towards the need for more balance on culture, content, relations and process.

National spatial data infrastructures are key to achieving the Digital Earth vision. In many cases, national datasets are integrated from local datasets created and maintained by municipalities. Examples are address, building and topographic information. Integration of local datasets may result in a dataset satisfying the needs of users of national datasets, but is it productive for those who create and maintain the data? This article presents a stakeholder analysis of the Basisregistratie Adressen en Gebouwen (BAG), a collection of base information about addresses and buildings in the Netherlands. The information is captured and maintained by municipalities and integrated into a national base register by Kadaster, the Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency of the Netherlands. The stakeholder analysis identifies organisations involved in the BAG governance framework, describes their interests, rights, ownerships and responsibilities in the BAG, and maps the relationships between them. Analysis results indicate that Kadaster and the municipalities have the highest relative importance in the governance framework of the BAG. The study reveals challenges of setting up a governance framework that maintains the delicate balance between the interests of all stakeholders. The results provide guidance for SDI role players setting up governance frameworks for national or global datasets.

In recent times a number of discussions have been started about the pro's and con's of the traditional develop methods (Waterfall, Stage Gate) and more contemporary and incremental methods (Agile, DevOps <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">1</sup> ). These discussions are frequently related to themes of controlling risk and dealing with the dynamics of the environment of programs and projects. In this paper results from a literature study are presented in which the traditional approach and the DevOps approach are compared. The comparison is primarily related to such aspects as controlling and mitigation of uncertanties and risks. Especially attention is paid to the balance between the so called hard and soft controls. Working with such approaches as DevOps require a continuous link and communication between all the relevant stakeholders which does allow for improved detection of early warning signals when it relates to risks. DevOps also stimulates an environment where experimenting and learning are facilitated. The paper ends with the conclusion that the DevOps approach pays more attention on soft controls and that applying the DevOps approach correctly needs a fundamentally change in behavior and culture.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore to what extent job, organizational, and personal characteristics independently contribute to the prediction of workplace victimization of local government employees in the Netherlands. The existence of interactions between personal and context (job and organizational) characteristics is also explored. Design/methodology/approach – Structured survey data measured the frequency of victimization involving three types of incidents: verbal aggression; threats; and physical violence. Associations with job and personal factors and interaction effects were studied using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Findings – Contact frequency, perceived work stress, and type of job held by local government employees are the strongest correlates of workplace aggression. Self-efficacy in employees’ conflict management skills shows an unexpected positive association with the level of experienced aggression, especially in organizations that have low levels of prevention measures. Research limitations/implications – Because of the cross-sectional design of the study, no definite causal conclusions can be drawn. Common-method bias in the measurements may have led to systematic bias. Originality/value – This study presents an integrated model of correlates of public-initiated workplace aggression toward a population that is understudied: namely, local government employees. It also provides first insights into how job, organizational, and personal correlates of workplace victimization interact in this population.