QUOTE “In a movie, you have someone who can push the plot along verbally. But [with fashion], music and clothes are your whole plot”. [Rene Arsenault] ABSTRACT This study addresses the extent to which hip-hop music is capable of modifying a consumer’s perception of the luxury fashion brands mentioned …

Background People with activity limitations participate less in society, which may be due to both societal barriers and personal factors. The aim of this study was to examine the role of one specific personal factor, namely the perceptions that people have of their health condition. We hypothesized …

Background There has been an increasing interest in negative or ‘undermining’ motivations for reading. In this study, we aimed to strengthen knowledge on the validity of the distinction between affirming and undermining motivations. First, we examined whether the structure of a questionnaire based on …

Vocational identity is a prerequisite for enhancing societal inclusion of at-risk emerging adults. School curricula and rebound programs need insights into individual differences of these youths to effectively foster their vocational identity. Identifying three aspects of vocational identity, a questionnaire …

Background: To experience external objects in such a way that they are perceived as an integral part of one's own body is called embodiment. Wearable technology is a category of objects, which, due to its intrinsic properties (eg, close to the body, inviting frequent interaction, and access to personal …

Particularly in urban schools, school–family partnerships can contribute to a student’s academic achievement and reduce educational disadvantage, regardless of the family’s socioeconomic background. Based on the recommendations of a former explorative field study (also published in this issue), conventional …

A B S T R A C T Purpose: To determine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of environmental factors with frailty and disability. Methods: This study was conducted in a sample of Dutch citizens. At baseline the sample consisted of 429 subjects (aged ≥ 65 years); a subset of this sample participated …

Objective: The effects of sociodemographic factors on quality of life in older people differ strongly, possibly due to the fact that different measurement instruments have been used. The main aim of this cross-sectional study is to compare the associations of sex, age, marital status, education, and …

Canalization, an intrinsic robustness of development to external (environmental) or internal (genetic) perturbations, was first proposed over half a century ago. However, whether the robustness to environmental stress (environmental canalization [EC]) and to genetic variation (genetic canalization) are …

This thesis discusses the progress made on the development of superficial hyperthermia treatment planning. For superficial hyperthermia treatment, contact flexible microstrip applicators (CFMA) are used. These applicators are bent along the body curvature of the patient. A software tool, written in …