M. de Lange

Youth labour market integration across Europe: The impact of cyclical, structural, and institutional characteristics

ABSTRACT Young people in Europe face great difficulties nowadays when entering the labour market. Unemployment and temporary employment are high among youth, although considerable differences exist between European countries. In this article, we study to what extent cyclical, structural, and institutional factors explain cross-national variation in youth labour market integration. In addition, we examine educational differences in the impact of these macro-characteristics. To answer these questions, we use data on young people from 29 countries who were interviewed in the European Social Survey of 2002, 2004, 2006, or 2008 and left day-time education in the period 1992–2008. Both unemployment and temporary employment are regarded as a lack of labour market integration, compared to the situation of permanent employment. The empirical results first of all show that high unemployment hinders young people to smoothly integrate into the labour market. In addition, economic globalisation positively affects youth labour market integration. We also demonstrate that young people experience less difficulties with labour market integration as the educational system is more vocationally specific. Intermediate and higher educated particularly profit from the positive effect of the vocational specificity of the educational system. Finally, as the employment protection legislation of incumbent workers is stricter, young people experience more difficulties with labour market integration, especially higher educated youth.

On the derivation of method companionship by meta-modelling

For an efficient and effective system development the relation between methods and tools should be maintained carefully. This relation - called method companionship - can be derived using the mata-data models and meta-activity models of methods and tools. In order to formulate guide-lines for the use of the Information Engineering Workbench (IEW) within the System Development Methodology (SDM), we discuss the determination of the meta-data models and a formal derivation of the support. The structure of the guide-lines is discussed together with their verification within some organizations. Finally, some conclusions from this research are given.

Making less of a mess: Scent exposure as a tool for behavioral change

Following a cognitive route from olfactory perception to goal-directed behavior, we aimed to influence littering behavior on Dutch trains. In order to achieve this, the scent of a cleaning product was subtly dispersed in train compartments. Compared to passengers in unscented compartments, passengers littered less as measured by the weight and number of items left behind in compartments containing cleaner scent. Apart from extending research on the influence of scent on behavior in a natural environment, the findings suggest that the cognitive route from scents to behavior provides a tool for behavior change in everyday life.

Saving water to save the environment: Contrasting the effectiveness of environmental and monetary appeals in a residential water saving intervention

Abstract To convince people to reduce their energy consumption, two types of persuasive appeals often are used by environmental organizations: Monetary appeals (i.e., ‘conserving energy will save you money’) and environmental appeals (i.e., ‘conserving energy will protect the environment’). In this field study we aimed to compare the effects of monetary and environmental appeals on showering habits. During two weeks we measured showering behavior in one hundred households. As compared to monetary appeals, environmental appeals were more effective in decreasing participants’ shower frequency. Interestingly, the monetary appeal was judged as somewhat more motivating to save water than the environmental appeal. We discuss theoretical and practical implications of these findings.