In 1988 werden in Nederland de eerste islamitische basisscholen opgericht. Sindsdien liggen de scholen regelmatig onder vuur. Critici vrezen dat religieuze segregatie de sociale integratie van kinderen belemmert. Dit artikel laat daarentegen, op basis van de resultaten van eerder onderzoek, zien hoe islamitische scholen kunnen bijdragen aan het wederzijdse proces van sociale integratie in de Nederlandse pluriforme samenleving. Verschenen in Religions, 13: 849.
MULTIFILE
Background:Ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)) has a relatively low harm and low dependence liability but is scheduled on List I of the Dutch Opium Act (‘hard drugs’). Concerns surrounding increasing MDMA-related criminality coupled with the possibly inappropriate scheduling of MDMA initiated a debate to revise the current Dutch ecstasy policy.Methods:An interdisciplinary group of 18 experts on health, social harms and drug criminality and law enforcement reformulated the science-based Dutch MDMA policy using multi-decision multi-criterion decision analysis (MD-MCDA). The experts collectively formulated policy instruments and rated their effects on 25 outcome criteria, including health, criminality, law enforcement and financial issues, thematically grouped in six clusters.Results:The experts scored the effect of 22 policy instruments, each with between two and seven different mutually exclusive options, on 25 outcome criteria. The optimal policy model was defined by the set of 22 policy instrument options which gave the highest overall score on the 25 outcome criteria. Implementation of the optimal policy model, including regulated MDMA sales, decreases health harms, MDMA-related organised crime and environmental damage, as well as increases state revenues and quality of MDMA products and user information. This model was slightly modified to increase its political feasibility. Sensitivity analyses showed that the outcomes of the current MD-MCDA are robust and independent of variability in weight values.Conclusion:The present results provide a feasible and realistic set of policy instrument options to revise the legislation towards a rational MDMA policy that is likely to reduce both adverse (public) health risks and MDMA-related criminal burden.
MULTIFILE
The potential impact of urban (re)development on the well-being of residents has been recognized in literature (Butcher & Dickens, 2016; Brummet and Reed, 2019), underscoring the need to critically examine one’s approach to studying the so called ‘urban peripheries’. This paper proposes the practice of mapping alternative city imaginaries, together with local partners, to promote inclusive and 'a more diverse and sustainable perspective on [city] prosperity' (Arbonés Aran, Petkova and Moodey, 2023).We present a case study of the living lab ‘Cities and Visitors’ (Amsterdam School of International Business) based in Amsterdam Southeast (Zuidoost). The study employs a mixed methods to capture and map 'alternative imaginaries' of 'urban peripheries' together with local partners, students, and inter-city collaborators. As urban developments continue to comply with technocratic systems and strategies (Pries, 2022), it becomes important to deepen our understanding, engagement, exploration, and preservation of city spaces, particularly in the so called urban ‘peripheries’ that are often subjected to the dynamics of de/reconstruction and rejuvenation brought by external actors.The paper also advocates for a reflective and ethical research methodology, as the participants engage in thoughtful and (self) reflective research practices. We see this as an intervention in the business curriculum, often criticized for producing 'neoliberal agents' (Orta, 2019), whereas students must also cultivate competences in 'sustainability' (UNESCO 2014, 2017). Embracing the perspectives of affect (Thrift, 2008) and standpoint theory (Harding, 2008), as well as critical counter-mapping with digital methods (Rogers, 2013), we intend to nurture the emotional intelligence and literacy in students, facilitating transformative pedagogies (Mezirov 1990; Maiese 2017).
