The timing of family commitments in the early work career:Work-family trajectories of young adults in Flanders

OBJECTIVE This article examines the diverse ways in which young adults develop both their professional career and family life in the years immediately after they complete their education. Building a career and starting a family often occur simultaneously in this stage of life. By studying the simultaneous developments in these life domains, we can gain a better understanding of this complex interplay. METHODS The data consist of a sample of 1,657 young adults born in 1976 who were interviewed as part of the SONAR survey of Flanders at ages 23, 26, and 29 about their education, their entry into and early years on the labour market, and their family life. Sequence analysis is used to study the timing of union formation and having children among these young adults, as well as how these events are related to their work career. Multinomial regression analysis is applied to help us gain a better understanding of the extent to which these life course patterns are determined by education and economic status at the start of the career. RESULTS The results reveal a set of work-family trajectories which vary in terms of the extent of labour market participation and the type and timing of family formation. Various aspects of the trajectory are found to be determined by different dimensions of an individual’s educational career (duration, level, field of study). Education is more relevant for women than for men, as a man’s trajectory is more likely than a woman’s to be determined by the first job. CONCLUSIONS By using a simultaneous approach which takes into account both family and work, this life course analysis confirms that men have a head start on the labour market, and examines the factors which influence the distinct trajectories of young women and men

The Unforeseen 2012 Crisis in Mali: The Diverging Outcomes of Risk and Threat Analyses

The 2012 crisis in Mali, where the state collapsed and terrorist groups took over the north, came as a surprise to many. Mali had been considered a poster-child for democracy and was judged as considerably more stable than its neighbors by leading quantitative indices of state fragility. This article explores how quantitative risk and qualitative threat approaches led to incomplete analyses, and how bureaucratic processes stifled a holistic diagnosis of the situation in Mali. French and Dutch government views are analyzed, adding new empirical information on how ministries and embassies were unwilling to call out disconcerting developments in Mali.Security and Global Affair

Persuading older adults’ to social and physical activities

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The relation between hyperinflation and daily activity in COPD patients

Although we did not find any relation between DH and PA, SH could be a useful marker to indicate reduced PA. Many patients used a decreased tidal volume and pursed-lips breathing to counteract DH. Different correlations between SH and PA were found to be present between subjects who either were or were not engaged in an exercise-training program. Therefore, this stratification should also be investigated in future studies

Quantitative analysis of bovine whey glycoproteins using the overall N-linked whey glycoprofile

Bovine whey is an important ingredient in human nutrition and contains many biofunctional, glycosylated proteins. Knowledge on the glycoprotein composition of whey and whey products is valuable for the dairy industry. This paper describes a method for the characterisation of whey, or whey powders, by N-linked glycoprofile analysis. Application of the method for analysis of whey protein products showed clear differences in glycoprotein composition between concentrate, isolate and demineralised whey powders. The quantitative potential was explored by screening 100 pooled farm milk samples. IgG and lactoferrin protein concentrations determined by N-glycoprofile analysis matched well with ELISA results. The protein concentration of GlyCAM-1 was determined to be ≥1 mg mL−1. The approaches presented in this work allow simultaneous concentration estimation of the three major whey glycoproteins, lactoferrin, IgG and GlyCAM-1 on the basis of their N-linked glycoprofiles, also in highly processed samples where conventional methods of detection (ELISA) are less suitable