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It is generally recognised that the United States is in the grip of a productivity crisis. What is not generally recognised is what to do about it. Do solutions lie primarily in the hands of management?

Quality of Work Life (QWL) is both a goal and an on‐going process for achieving it. As a goal, QWL is the commitment of any organization to work improvement — the creation of more involving, satisfying and effective jobs and work environment for people at all levels of the organization. As a process, QWL calls for efforts to realise this goal through the active involvement of people throughout the organization.

The current issue focuses on Quality of Working Life (QWL). To find an acceptable universal definition is far from easy. Michael P. Rosow of the Work in America Institute has defined it as: A process stimulating attitudinal and behavioural change within work groups and organisations. And this is probably as acceptable a definition as is possible.

One in every five of the almost 17 million inhabitants in the Netherlands is a first- or second-generation migrant. The largest immigrant groups with a non-Western background are Turks Moroccans, Surinamese and Antilleans. Their labour market position is precarious, as is indicated by higher levels of unemployment, larger dependency on temporary (rather than fixed) contracts and lower job levels. Substantial part of the migrants perceives that their weaker position is due to discrimination. Statistical analyses and field experiments show discrimination in hiring and indicate that part of the differential position of migrant workers in the Dutch labour market may be attributed to discrimination as well. At the work floor, migrants experience more discrimination than native Dutch, mostly in the form of hurtful jokes. Research that focuses on more discrimination grounds shows that ethnic background is not the only, nor the most important ground of perceived discrimination. Age and disability are also major grounds of perceived discrimination. Discrimination is a heavily debated topic that polarizes political debate and public opinion. It has shown to have mobilizing powers in politics. The high levels of public attention for the topic not only spurs citizens’ initiatives and governmental policies for combating it but may also facilitate recognition of discriminatory practices resulting in relatively high levels of perceived discrimination within a European context.

The following list is a first attempt to catalogue and describe systematically the British Museum's extensive holdings of early opera librettos and related plays. The great importance of these unpretentious booklets as supplementary and, more often than not, even primary sources for the history and bibliography of dramatic music, besides or instead of the scores, was already clearly recognized in the eighteenth century by Dr. Burney and other scholars. But it is only since 1914, the year in which O. G. T. Sonneck's Library of Congress Catalogue of opera librettos printed before 1800 appeared, that their documentary value could to any greater extent be put to general use in international musicological research. A similar bibliography of the British Museum librettos, while naturally duplicating many Washington entries, would produce a great number of additional tides, not a few of them otherwise unrecorded; it would provide the musical scholar with the key to a collection unequalled elsewhere in Europe, which owing to the peculiar nature of the material is not easily accessible by means of the General Catalogue.

From a paper given at the Tweelanden conferentie Cannabisteelt in de Lage Landen, at the University of Ghent, on 3‐4 December 2007, the author explores the culture of the ban on cannabis and defines its goals.

Every few years the planning agencies in the Netherlands draw up a prognosis for the future housing needs on the basis of economic and demographic scenarios. It is our contention that, in applying this approach, the agencies neglect to take sufficient account of the influence of cultural dynamics. Against this background, a recent recommendatory report by the Dutch Council for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment (VROM-raad 2009) drew attention to three socio-cultural trends which are currently manifesting themselves on the Dutch housing market:

1. A growing interest in living with like-minded people and in common-interest housing concepts;

2. The rise of transnational living (permanently or temporarily living abroad) and people having multiple residences;

3. An increasing mix of housing and other functions and services (care, energy, leisure, retail), which is opening up the housing market for new players.

This contribution explores the background and the expressions of these three trends that will have a significant influence on the demand for housing in the future, in spatial terms as well as with regard to quantity and quality. It turns out that the trends raise new dilemmas in spatial planning and housing policy. In order to solve these dilemmas, a different way of thinking is needed.

In comparison with other countries, the rise of Dutch socialism was slow and difficult, and it would be impossible to explain this without exploring the movement′s early history. Such an exploration immediately leads to the somewhat singular character of Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis (1846‐1919), who led the Dutch socialist movement in the nineteenth century. Gives a sketch of Domela Nieuwenhuis′ life and work; the political and social conditions under which Dutch socialism emerged; and the specific character of socialism in The Netherlands. Concludes by suggesting that the late industrialization and the opposing interests of confessionalism and modernism meant that the socialists were not able to organize a power structure for the workers on the basis of the conflicting interests of “capital” and “labour”. By the time the socialist power structure finally achieved significance, large parts of the total labour force had been assimilated into confessional cadres and, in this sense, socialism came too late to The Netherlands.

Higher education systems of small(er) countries may be less attractive to investigate, and it is likely that only a small indigenous research community is interested in and capable of researching such small systems. In this chapter, we map which studies have been carried out at the meso- and macro-levels of the Flemish higher education system since the early 2000s. It allows us to discover gaps in our understanding of that particular system. We conclude that it would be beneficial for all stakeholders involved (researchers, policymakers, institutional management) to try to align their research and practical interests and develop a research agenda that fits these interests.

Purpose – This research aims to explore Qanun Aceh post-conflict enacted in the legislation of Government of Aceh through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and enhancement policy of Wali Nanggroe associated with educational development.

Approach Methodology – The review of the literature links to the Qanun Aceh exploring the Wali Nanggroe institution through normative theory. A qualitative method was used to find a strategic policy of the Legislation Government of Aceh related to documents used in data analysis.

Findings – The study found the existence of the Wali Nanggroe institution brought several opportunities and challenges of unifying Aceh people post-conflict. The discussion of the Wali Nanggroe Institution has brought new dynamics in the policy and educational development in post-conflict Aceh. The Government of Aceh and the Parliament did not take the policy for educational building in order for the society to have an understanding of the Wali Nanggroe institutional position as stated in the Law of Government Aceh (LoGA).

Research Limitations – The examination of these dynamics and prospect of the Wali Nanggroe institution is linked to the policy on educational development for the Aceh people and implementation of the LoGA post-conflict of the Aceh Government and the Government of Indonesian Republic.

Practical Implications – The solution offered is to improve the educational system to give a political understanding of the Aceh people.