Peripartum infections and associated maternal mortality in rural Malawi

Article approval pendingTo assess associations between maternal mortality and severe morbidity and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, uptake of antiretroviral therapy, obstetric infections, and nonobstetric infections in a rural Malawian district, where the estimated HIV prevalence is 21%

Special Geometry of Euclidean Supersymmetry III: the local r-map, instantons and black holes

We define and study projective special para-Kahler manifolds and show that they appear as target manifolds when reducing five-dimensional vector multiplets coupled to supergravity with respect to time. The dimensional reductions with respect to time and space are carried out in a uniform way using an epsilon-complex notation. We explain the relation of our formalism to other formalisms of special geometry used in the literature. In the second part of the paper we investigate instanton solutions and their dimensional lifting to black holes. We show that the instanton action, which can be defined after dualising axions into tensor fields, agrees with the ADM mass of the corresponding black hole. The relation between actions via Wick rotation, Hodge dualisation and analytic continuation of axions is discussed.Comment: 72 pages, 2 figure

Perceived Respect and Generalized Acceptance in a Multinational Society

In this paper, I will argue that the notion of subgroup respect can also be important for members of ‘majority groups’, especially in a multinational society such as Belgium or the UK. Moreover, an additional explanation of the positive relation between perceived respect and attitudes towards diverse outgroups, which has received little attention in past research, is that perceived respect increases general social trust. The analysis is based on a sample of Dutch-speaking Belgian university students, who have answered questions on perceived respect from French-speaking Belgians, generalized social trust, and attitudes towards French-speaking Belgians and other subgroups in society, such as Muslims, Roma and gays. Results show that perceived respect from French-speaking Belgians is associated with more positive attitudes towards diverse outgroups in society, partly due to increased general social trust. The implication is that positive and respectful relations between the major groups in a multinational society will also have a positive effect on attitudes towards other, smaller, minority groups.status: publishe

Via Arbeidsintegratie naar Sociaal Vertrouwen

status: publishe

Does fear of crime contribute to anti-immigrant sentiments? An analysis of police records and survey data in Belgian communities

It is routinely assumed that the presence of ethnic minorities in a local community contributes to a feeling of unsafety among the majority population. This could be explained by a direct relation between ethnic diversity and some forms of crime, but it can also be expected that stereotypes toward specific groups of the population contribute to this relation. In this article it is assessed whether fear of crime is positively related to anti-immigrant sentiments, and to what extent they are associated with the real and perceived presence of ethnic minority groups and the occurrence of criminal acts. The analysis is based on the combination of official police records and survey data for local municipalities in Belgium. The results show there is no significant relation between reported crime and fear of crime. Both actual and perceived levels of ethnic diversity, however, were strongly and significantly related to fear of crime. The findings suggest that applications of the threat theory should not only focus on economic and cultural threat, but also on the perceived impact of diversity on crime and safety.status: publishe

Life Satisfaction among Ethnic Minorities in the Netherlands: Immigration Experience or Adverse Living Conditions?

Previous studies have shown that immigrants’ levels of life satisfaction tend to be lower than among natives. We do not know, however, whether this is due to the immigration experience as such, or rather is a result of the fact that on average this group is faced with less prosperous living conditions. In this analysis, we use data from a recent Dutch population survey (n=3,925), with an oversampling of first and second generation minority respondents of Moroccan and Turkish origin (n=1,697). While initially we observe significant differences in levels of life satisfaction, these can be almost fully explained by more financial problems and stronger feelings of social isolation among these groups, as predicted by the need-gratification theory on life satisfaction. We did not observe any interaction effect between these variables and minority status, indicating that these conditions have the same effect on all population groups. Taking into account financial and social resources, there is no significant difference in life satisfaction between the majority group and ethnic minorities in the Netherlands. We close with observations on the theoretical and policy implications.status: publishe

Life Satisfaction among Ethnic Minorities in the Netherlands: Immigration Experience or Adverse Living Conditions?

Previous studies have shown that immigrants' levels of life satisfaction tend to be lower than among natives. We do not know, however, whether this is due to the immigration experience as such, or rather is a result of the fact that on average this group is faced with less prosperous living conditions. In this analysis, we use data from a recent Dutch population survey (n = 3,925), with an oversampling of first and second generation minority respondents of Moroccan and Turkish origin (n = 1,697). While initially we observe significant differences in levels of life satisfaction, these can be almost fully explained by more financial problems and stronger feelings of social isolation among these groups, as predicted by the need-gratification theory on life satisfaction. We did not observe any interaction effect between these variables and minority status, indicating that these conditions have the same effect on all population groups. Taking into account financial and social resources, there is no significant difference in life satisfaction between the majority group and ethnic minorities in the Netherlands. We close with observations on the theoretical and policy implications

An Analysis of Life Satisfaction among Ethnic Minorities in the Netherlands. The Effects of Immigration Experience and Adverse Living Conditions

Previous studies have shown that immigrants’ levels of life satisfaction tend to be lower than among natives. We do not know, however, whether this is due to the immigration experience as such, or rather is a result of the fact that on average this group is faced with less prosperous living conditions. In this analysis, we use data from a recent Dutch population survey (n=3,925), with an oversampling of first and second generation minority respondents of Moroccan and Turkish origin (n=1,697). While initially we observe significant differences in levels of life satisfaction, these can be almost fully explained by more financial problems and stronger feelings of social isolation among these groups, as predicted by the need-gratification theory on life satisfaction. We did not observe any interaction effect between these variables and minority status, indicating that these conditions have the same effect on all population groups. Taking into account financial and social resources, there is no significant difference in life satisfaction between the majority group and ethnic minorities in the Netherlands. We close with observations on the theoretical and policy implications.status: publishe

The relation between ethnic diversity and fear of crime: An analysis of police records and survey data in Belgian communities

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. In the framework of intergroup threat theory, it is routinely assumed that the presence of immigrant groups in a local community could contribute to fear of crime among the majority population. This could be explained by a direct relation between ethnic diversity and some forms of crime, but it can also be expected that stereotypes toward specific groups of the population contribute to a perception of group threat. In this article it is assessed how the real and perceived presence of immigrant groups and the occurrence of criminal acts are related to fear of crime. The analysis is based on a combination of newly available official police records and survey data for local municipalities in Belgium. The results show there is no significant relation between reported crime and fear of crime. The community level of ethnic diversity is, however, significantly related to fear of crime. The findings suggest that applications of group threat theory should not only focus on economic and cultural threat, but also on the perceived impact of diversity on crime and safety.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: The relation between ethnic diversity and fear of crime: An analysis of police records and survey data in Belgian communities journaltitle: International Journal of Intercultural Relations articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2015.11.002 content_type: article copyright: Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe

The Perception of Ethnic Diversity and Anti-immigrant Sentiments: A Multilevel Analysis of Local Communities in Belgium

Most of the literature suggests a positive relationship between immigrant concentration and anti-immigrant sentiments. The main goal of this study is to investigate the impact of both perceived and actual size of migrant populations on anti-immigrant sentiments. A representative survey of inhabitants of local communities in the Flemish region of Belgium shows a strong tendency to overestimate the presence of non-nationals. The survey allows us to conclude that respondents living in ethnically diverse communities do not have more negative attitudes toward immigrants. Individuals who perceive more immigrants to be present in their communities are more hostile even after controlling for reported contact with members of immigrants groups. We can therefore conclude that the perceived size of the immigrant group has a stronger impact on anti-immigrant sentiments than the actual presence of ethnic minority groups.peerreview_statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope. aims_and_scope_url: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=rers20status: publishe