Background: Most risk assessment models for type 2 diabetes (T2DM) have been developed in Caucasians and Asians; little is known about their performance in other ethnic groups.Objective(s): We... Show moreBackground: Most risk assessment models for type 2 diabetes (T2DM) have been developed in Caucasians and Asians; little is known about their performance in other ethnic groups.Objective(s): We aimed to identify existing models for the risk of prevalent or undiagnosed T2DM and externally validate them in a multi-ethnic population currently living in the Netherlands.Methods: A literature search to identify risk assessment models for prevalent or undiagnosed T2DM was performed in PubMed until December 2017. We validated these models in 4,547 Dutch, 3,035 South Asian Surinamese, 4,119 African Surinamese, 2,326 Ghanaian, 3,598 Turkish, and 3,894 Moroccan origin participants from the HELIUS (Healthy Life in an Urban Setting) cohort study performed in Amsterdam. Model performance was assessed in terms of discrimination (C-statistic) and calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow test). We identified 25 studies containing 29 models for prevalent or undiagnosed T2DM. C-statistics varied between 0.77-0.92 in Dutch, 0.66-0.83 in South Asian Surinamese, 0.70-0.82 in African Surinamese, 0.61-0.81 in Ghanaian, 0.69-0.86 in Turkish, and 0.69-0.87 in the Moroccan populations. The C-statistics were generally lower among the South Asian Surinamese, African Surinamese, and Ghanaian populations and highest among the Dutch. Calibration was poor (Hosmer-Lemeshow p < 0.05) for all models except one.Conclusions: Generally, risk models for prevalent or undiagnosed T2DM show moderate to good discriminatory ability in different ethnic populations living in the Netherlands, but poor calibration. Therefore, these models should be recalibrated before use in clinical practice and should be adapted to the situation of the population they are intended to be used in. Show less
The GDPR aims to control the risks associated with the processing of personal data. It requires measures to minimise these risks and gives data subjects certain powers, such as the rights to be... Show moreThe GDPR aims to control the risks associated with the processing of personal data. It requires measures to minimise these risks and gives data subjects certain powers, such as the rights to be informed and to be forgotten. Big data is a relatively new technology, giving the controllers of data the power to permanently observe the users of digital services. Therefore this thesis answers the question whether the GDPR is suited to avert the risks and power shifts associated with big data. To answer this question, the GDPR is compared to earlier EU legislation associated with technological risks and power shifts. Additionally, the suitability of the GDPR’s anti-discrimination provisions are evaluated for the prevention of algorithmic discrimination. Results: The GDPR is not based on any discernible analysis of the risks of big data. Methods from EU environmental protection law and consumer protection law, aimed at technological risks and power shifts, were not applied. This can make evaluation of the GDPR’s effectiveness more difficult and could stand in the way of developing a coherent body of case law. The conclusion proposes a number of guidelines for the decision of court cases and points for evaluating the GDPR. Show less
When the European Convention on Human Rights was drawn up in 1948, the issues of sexual orientation and gender identity were not considered by its drafters. At that time, the discussion of the... Show moreWhen the European Convention on Human Rights was drawn up in 1948, the issues of sexual orientation and gender identity were not considered by its drafters. At that time, the discussion of the rights of LGBT people (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexuals and Transsexuals), which has at present become very vivid, was virtually non-existent. As a consequence, the legal protection provided to heterosexual and cisgender people in the areas covered by the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8), the right to marry and found a family (Article 12), and the prohibition of discrimination (Article 14) was inaccessible to the non-heterosexual and non-cisgender community. The current article elucidates on the topic of the gradual opening up of the European Court of Human Rights in applying the Convention to sexual minorities, and argues that the Court has made significant progress in defending the rights of LGBT ever since its installation in 1959. The article describes the Court’s ultimate balancing act, in which it oscillates between progressiveness and reticence, never fulfilling the role of protagonist but still aiming at providing a most fundamental principle of human rights law: equality. Show less
Discrimination is often used to increase public perceptions of group distinctiveness. The current research studied the effectiveness of third party helping as an alternative, more benign strategy... Show moreDiscrimination is often used to increase public perceptions of group distinctiveness. The current research studied the effectiveness of third party helping as an alternative, more benign strategy to this end. Across four studies, we examined whether helping a third party can position the helping group as more distinct from, or more similar to, a comparison group, depending on the nature of the comparison group’s relationship with the third party. Results from three studies showed that third party helping was as effective as discrimination of the comparison group, but third party helping elicited a more positive public image of the group compared with discrimination. Study 4 provided evidence for the spontaneous use of third party helping in response to distinctiveness threat. These findings extend insights from classic balance theories and research on strategic intergroup helping to the domain of intergroup differentiation, and highlight a benign strategy to achieve positive group distinctiveness. Show less
