Beyond the Dutch "Multicultural Model": The Coproduction of Integration Policy Frames in The Netherlands

The Netherlands has been internationally known for its multicultural approach to immigrant integration. The aim of this article is to delve into the "coproduction" by researchers and policy makers of this so-called Dutch "multicultural model". As this article shows, researchers and policy makers have in The Netherlands been joined in several discourse coalitions. Indeed, one of these discourse coalitions supported an integration paradigm with multicultural elements, but at least two other types of discourses can be identified in The Netherlands, one of more liberal-egalitarian nature and one more assimilationist. In spite of the persistent image of The Netherlands as a representative of the multicultural model, it is in fact this multiplicity of discourses that characterizes the Dutch case. Moreover, labeling Dutch integration p

The Importance of Personal Possessions for the Development of a Sense of Home of Nursing Home Residents

Personal possessions of nursing home residents can contribute to their sense of home. This study investigated which of the personal belongings were considered most important, and if these items indeed contributed to a sense of home. A qualitative research was conducted with 27 nursing home residents. Photographs, paintings, and pieces of furniture are objects with sentimental value. The television set is valued for its practical function. Residents of larger rooms have more flexibility in bringing along personal items, including pieces of furniture. The results of this study can be used for the design of nursing homes or for making informed choices during the process of institutionalization

Clinically relevant potential drug-drug interactions in intensive care patients:A large retrospective observational multicenter study

Purpose: Potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs) may harm patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Due to the patient's critical condition and continuous monitoring on the ICU, not all pDDIs are clinically relevant. Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) warning for irrelevant pDDIs could result in alert fatigue and overlooking important signals. Therefore, our aim was to describe the frequency of clinically relevant pDDIs (crpDDIs) to enable tailoring of CDSSs to the ICU setting. Materials & methods: In this multicenter retrospective observational study, we used medication administration data to identify pDDIs in ICU admissions from 13 ICUs. Clinical relevance was based on a Delphi study in which intensivists and hospital pharmacists assessed the clinical relevance of pDDIs for the ICU setting. Results: The mean number of pDDIs per 1000 medication administrations was 70.1, dropping to 31.0 when considering only crpDDIs. Of 103,871 ICU patients, 38% was exposed to a crpDDI. The most frequently occurring crpDDIs involve QT-prolonging agents, digoxin, or NSAIDs. Conclusions: Considering clinical relevance of pDDIs in the ICU setting is important, as only half of the detected pDDIs were crpDDIs. Therefore, tailoring CDSSs to the ICU may reduce alert fatigue and improve medication safety in ICU patients

Examining 'postmulticultural' and civic turns in the Netherlands, Britain, Germany, and Denmark

There is a widely shared view that the appeal of multiculturalism as a public policy has suffered considerable political damage. In many European states the turn to “civic” measures and discourses has been deemed more suitable for the objectives of minority integration and the promotion of preferred modes of social and political unity. It is therefore said that the first decade of the new century has been characterized by a reorientation in immigrant integration policies—from liberal culturalist to the “return of assimilation” (Brubaker, 2001), on route to a broader “retreat from multiculturalism” (Joppke, 2004). In this article, we argue that such portrayals mask a tendency that is more complicated in some cases and much less evident in others. To elaborate this, we offer a detailed account of the inception and then alleged movement away from positions in favor of multiculturalism in two countries that have adopted different versions of it, namely the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and two countries that have historically rejected multiculturalism, namely Denmark and Germany. We argue that while there is undoubtedly a rhetorical separation between multiculturalism and civic integration, the latter is in some cases building on the former, and broadly needs to be understood as more than a retreat of multiculturalism. Taking seriously Banting and Kymlicka’s argument that understanding the evolution of integration requires the “the mind-set of an archaeologist,” we offer a policy genealogy that allows us to set the backlash against multiculturalism in context, in manner that explicates its provenance, permutations, and implications

Social Movements in Urban Society: The City as A Space of Politicization

Recent anti-systemic social movements have illustrated the central role of cities in social movement mobilization. We not only highlight the characteristics of urban social relations that make cities fertile ground for mobilization, but also point to the disjunctures between the geographies and spatialities of social relations in the city, and the geographies and spatialities of many systemic processes. Struggles for a more just society must consider the broad geographies and spatialities of oppression, which we illustrate with a brief analysis of the Occupy movement. Finally, we introduce the next five articles in this special issue, all illustrating the importance of the geographies and spatialities of urban social struggle

Clinically relevant potential drug-drug interactions in intensive care patients: A large retrospective observational multicenter study

Purpose: Potential drug-drug interactions (pDDIs) may harm patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Due to the patient's critical condition and continuous monitoring on the ICU, not all pDDIs are clinically relevant. Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) warning for irrelevant pDDIs could result in alert fatigue and overlooking important signals. Therefore, our aim was to describe the frequency of clinically relevant pDDIs (crpDDIs) to enable tailoring of CDSSs to the ICU setting. Materials & methods: In this multicenter retrospective observational study, we used medication administration data to identify pDDIs in ICU admissions from 13 ICUs. Clinical relevance was based on a Delphi study in which intensivists and hospital pharmacists assessed the clinical relevance of pDDIs for the ICU setting. Results: The mean number of pDDIs per 1000 medication administrations was 70.1, dropping to 31.0 when considering only crpDDIs. Of 103,871 ICU patients, 38% was exposed to a crpDDI. The most frequently occurring crpDDIs involve QT-prolonging agents, digoxin, or NSAIDs. Conclusions: Considering clinical relevance of pDDIs in the ICU setting is important, as only half of the detected pDDIs were crpDDIs. Therefore, tailoring CDSSs to the ICU may reduce alert fatigue and improve medication safety in ICU patients