Two substantial and momentous problems in meta-analysis are publication bias and researcher degrees of freedom. Both problems result in overestimation of the effect size in traditional meta-analysis, particularly in small studies that are ubiquitous in psychology. This project proposes developing a new meta-analysis method that (i) detects publication bias, (ii) provides an accurate estimate of effect size whenever there is publication bias, and (iii) does not overestimate effect size in case of researcher degrees of freedom. The proposed method will be straightforward to implement since it only uses regular study characteristics used in any meta-analysis.

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In the Netherlands, approximately 1 million children (0-25 years) have a chronic disease. Above and beyond the ever-present challenges of growing up with an illness, these children have 40% chance to develop psychological problems, including depression, anxiety and loneliness. Throughout their life, this translates into decreased well-being and reduced social participation and generates additional costs for society. Early prevention of psychological problems is thus key to break this vicious cycle. Therefore, eHealth applications are promising. However, scientific knowledge is missing and validated tools are not yet available for this group and involved health care professionals. Our mission is to make scientifically validated eHealth tools that allow personalized and trans-diagnostic prevention of psychological problems widely available for this highly vulnerable group of chronically ill children and future adults, through an accessible, user-friendly, safe, and sustainable platform. To succeed in this mission, we present an iterative learning cycle approach in two four-year phases during which we gather the insights, and develop, evaluate, and implement the much needed eHealth tools: I. Development: Distil and validate the theoretical and game-design factors that make eHealth effective for chronically ill children. II. Evaluation: Evaluate trans-diagnostic and personalized eHealth tools for chronically ill children, using and developing state-of-the-art methods. III. Implementation: Study and remove the barriers that currently hinder implementation and uptake, and threaten availability of eHealth applications for chronically ill children. Our eHealth junior consortium includes (applied) researchers, pediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists, patient organizations, knowledge centers, game designers, industrial designers, insurance companies, and business professionals. We will collaborate with the end-users (children, families, and professionals) in order to achieve both international scientific breakthroughs and optimal clinical and societal impact. Knowledge utilization is a crucial part of our project.

Governments are experimenting with the development and deployment of blockchain applications to improve their services. This might lead to complexity and uncertainty about government responsibilities and the optimal design of rules. The interdisciplinary project ‘Blockchain in the network society’ investigates how distributed technology (blockchain) combined with rule-based algorithms (smart contracts) affect rule of law values. More specifically, the CHAIN research team investigates through literature review and two case studies how transparency and accountability are operationalized in practice. Ultimately, CHAIN studies how these blockchain applications can be designed in a transparent and legitimate way, so that citizens can trust the government.

Eind oktober organiseren we een landelijke matchmakingbijeenkomst, aanvullend 4 regionale deelbijeenkomsten, om met een nog te bouwen consortium invulling te geven aan een landelijke onderzoekslijn rondom samenredzaamheid en zelfredzaamheid van ouderen in een inclusieve, veerkrachtige samenleving. Deze onderzoekslijn komt tot stand in samenwerking tussen o.a. academische netwerken ouderenzorg, kennnisorganisaties, publieke en private organisaties en burgers zelf.