The influence of re-employment on quality of life and self-rated health, a longitudinal study among unemployed persons in the Netherlands

__Abstract__ Background: Unemployed persons have a poorer health compared with employed persons and unemployment may cause ill health. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of re-employment on quality of life and health among unemployed persons on social benefits. Methods. A prospective study with 18 months follow-up was conducted among unemployed persons (n=4,308) in the Netherlands, receiving either unemployment benefits or social security benefits. Quality of life, self-rated health, and employment status were measured at baseline and every 6 months of follow up with questionnaires. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) modeling was performed to study the influence of re-employment on change in self-rated health and quality of life over time. Results: In the study population 29% had a less than good quality of life and 17% had a poor self-rated health. Persons who started with paid employment during the follow-up period were more likely to improve towards a good quality of life (OR 1.76) and a good self-rated health (OR 2.88) compared with those persons who remained unemployed. Up to 6 months after re-employment, every month with paid employment, the likelihood of a good quality of life increased (OR 1.12). Conclusions: Starting with paid employment improves quality of life and self-rated health. This suggests that labour force participation should be considered as an important measure to improve health of unemployed persons. Improving possibilities for unemployed persons to find paid employment will reduce socioeconomic inequalities in health

ICOTS-7, 2006: Kiewiet and Borgers SOTSS: A SYSTEM FOR ONLINE TESTING OF STATISTICAL SKILLS

This paper introduces the system SOTSS for online testing of statistical skills that involve software packages as SPSS. The emphasis of the system is on the interpretation of statistical output, and drawing conclusions based on these interpretations. Basic characteristics of the system are: 1) individual, 2) flexible, and 3) interactive. The system can examine statistical skills efficiently. The efficiency is achieved by the possibility to give exams at different time slots, without increasing the teacher’s workload unacceptably. Besides, the system also avoids the possibility for students to pass on answers or questions to each other

Testing Measurement and Structural Equivalence in Different Age Groups of Children

In this study the measurement and structural equivalence was tested across two instruments, the original Dutch version of the Competentie-Beleving Schaal voor Kinderen (CBSK) and a shortened and simplified version of the same test across different ages. The CBSK is intended for children between 8 and 12 years old. The shortened version is developed for children aged between 6 and 8 years old. To use the shortened CBSK as a counterpart of the original CBSK, both instruments should be equivalent across ages. The analyses have been done on two data sets. The first consists of a sample of 75 nine years old children who responded on both instruments. The second data set consists of a sample of 951 children aged between six and nine years old and responded on the shortened CBSK and 758 children between nine and 13 years old who responded on the original CBSK

Children's responses to advertising in social games

Contains fulltext : 116862.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)This study explored children's (ages 9 through 12) level of persuasion knowledge and peer influence susceptibility concerning advertising in social games and investigated how these variables affect children's desire for the brands advertised in these games. Results showed that (1) children have a fairly good knowledge of the advertising in social games yet hold uncritical attitudes toward it and claim to be not very susceptible to peer influence; (2) the most important predictors of children's desire for the advertised brands are a low critical attitude and high peer influence susceptibility; and (3) recognition and understanding of advertising in social games is effective in reducing advertised brand desire only for children who are familiar with social games