Family First

My decision to come to China was a pretty simple one:curiosity.I am originally from Holland,but have always been fascinated with China-this mysterious and rising oriental superpower.I bought books and movies on the country,wishing to satisfy my questions.On the contrary,it only inspired more.With China’s economy booming,many amazing career opportunities are currently open to foreigners like me.It was a very natural decision for me to come to explore the possibilities in China.Beijing brims with opportunities and ancient Chinese culture,which is the reason I have made it my home.     

Having your Dutch foundation managed

Together with the 2005 and 2006 contributions, the present contributionforms the third part of a ‘Dutch foundations manual’. The article sets out how to select an appropriate Dutch FiduciaryServices Office (‘FSO’), elaborates on the criteriato be applied to this selection and provides recommendationswith a view to the negotiating and contracting with the FSO.Furthermore, the article also discusses the availability oflegal actions which are at the ultimate beneficiary's disposalif the FSO or a manager defaults or commits tort.     

Denied their ‘natural nourishment’: religion,causes of death and infant mortality in the Netherlands, 1875–1899

At the end of the nineteenth century, infant mortality rates started to fall rapidly in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, not all regions benefited from this development. High infant death in the Roman Catholic provinces of North-Brabant and Limburg has often been ascribed to a growing reluctance of Catholic mothers to breastfeed their infants after 1870. This was supposedly caused by the combination of a strict, prudish Roman Catholic norm prohibiting women from baring their breasts and a refusal to accept new medical insights into healthy childcare. The food given to weaned children was generally of such poor quality that many infants succumbed to gastrointestinal diseases. Consequently, infant mortality rates caused by water- and food-borne infectious diseases would have been higher amongst weaned babies. By using recently digitised municipal cause-of-death registration statistics, it is possible to see if there are, indeed, indications of a shift in breastfeeding patterns after 1870. First, the authors look at infant deaths from all causes to see whether Roman Catholic municipalities underwent a rise in the mortality of children under the age of one. Second, the authors do the same for cause-specific infant mortality from typhus, typhoid fever, diarrhoea, dysentery, acute diseases of the digestive system and cholera. Based on the outcomes, there was no homogenous rise in infant mortality in all Roman Catholic municipalities. Furthermore, there is no indication that infant mortality due to digestive diseases increased uniformly in all Roman Catholic communities between 1875 and 1899. Either some communities were able to counteract the negative effects of a shift towards weaning or changes in breastfeeding patterns were not a specific Roman Catholic phenomenon at all.     

Warwick Conference on Humanitarianism

This article reports on the Warwick Conference on Humanitarianism, where practitioners and academics shared their experiences of the problems and limitations of humanitarianism, and how they dealt with them.     

Does police size matter? A review of the evidence regarding restructuring police organisations

Restructuring and merging public sector organisations is often seen as a way to enhance efficiency and efficacy. There is ongoing debate about the impact of police force sizes, structures and mergers as police organisations attempt to adapt to reductions in their budgets and changes in patterns of criminality. The article reviews the evidence regarding key aspects of police reform: finding mixed evidence regarding the links between size and performance, while noting risks that mergers may impair local policing. The article discusses the impact of mergers on protective services, governance and accountability, while also discussing potential risks and opportunities associated with the merger process itself. The review finds significant gaps in the available evidence, and significant opportunities to expand the evidence base on this topic. Given current gaps in the evidence regarding size, efficacy and efficiency, it is important to give due consideration to symbolic and rhetorical aspects of mergers.