Research Themes

Democracy in an international context
The functioning of the institutions
Constitutional order and justice
Economy and governance
Science, knowledge, new technologies and the internet
Spatial aspects of social diversity
Inequality and social exclusion
Special target groups for a social cohesion policy: women and the elderly
Multiculturality and social cohesion
Labour market, quality of work and employment
Fairness and health

1. Democracy in an international context

1. The role of international authorities vis-à-vis states in crisis
Various elements can lead to a situation where governments can no longer exercise a part of their powers, where states become ungovernable, or even that state power as such disappears. More and more frequently one hears calls for action on the part of international authorities.
What role can the international authorities play vis-à-vis states in crisis?
This research should be conducted in collaboration with foreign partners.

2. Reconstruction of states emerging from a war situation
What role can other countries, international/supranational institutions and NGOs play in the reconstruction of countries emerging from a war situation? Legitimacy, effectiveness and efficiency can be studied in several areas (humanitarian, economic, political).
For conducting this research, preference will be given to teams which collaborate with foreign partners.

3. The future of social policy in a global and European context
What role does Belgium play in the international governmental organisations (IGOs)? What are the implications for national identity of participation in European and world structures? How is the European integration influencing the development of a common social policy, and what are its consequences for Belgian policy? Is it desirable and possible to strive for a common objective with regard to quality of life?

4. The democratic deficit problem in Europe: is real democracy possible at the European level, and can one get the civil society effectively involved in its development? On a global level, the EU interacts as a regional political bloc with other IGOs. The real impact of these organisations on internal social policy is not adequately known. What are the consequences of globalisation on sovereignty and democratic decision-making?

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2. The functioning of the institutions

1. In Belgium as well as in other European countries, the democratic system has long been based on “pillarisation”. However, these mechanisms have been weakened by recent developments. Social and cultural evolutions (multi-ethnic and multicultural society, differentiation in lifestyle, individualism, etc.) are leading to a more complex, flexible and fragmented population. What are the characteristics and consequences of this “depillarisation”?

2. Over the past decade, various initiatives were undertaken to improve the functioning of the federal government institutions and the relations between politics-government institutions-citizens and private companies. The most familiar recent initiative is the Copernicus project. What lessons can one draw from it for future initiatives? What are the success and failure factors of modernisation projects in the federal public service? What are the specific characteristics of the (federal) public service in this respect? To what extent does the public service still differ from a private-sector company? What does this mean for the identity of its personnel?

3. The government tries to channel social life in the right direction via numerous measures and interventions. Often there is no evaluation of the concrete consequences of these measures in the field. What instruments can be developed to concretely verify whether and how government measures actually achieve their intended goals?
The productivity of government expenditures requires further research. Is it possible to quantify the costs and benefits of government measures? Research concerning this problematic can be either generic (development of widely applicable methodologies) or sectoral (research on financial costs/benefits of government measures in clearly identified areas).

4. The quality of public services cannot be measured solely using objective criteria.
The perception and expectations of the public are important for the level of satisfaction and trust. What is the connection between the quality of the government institutions, public satisfaction and trust in the government? What is the connection with interactive decision-making?

5. Functioning of the ombudspersons
The functioning of ombudspersons for the liberalised sectors (e.g. telecom, electricity, etc.) is a topic of research which must draw a comparison with the functioning of these ombudspersons in other European countries.

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3. Constitutional order and justice

1. The justice policy in general and the connections between different levels of policymaking and implementation. Both the echeloning itself and the connections between the various policy levels (the European included) must be mapped out. The general organisation of the system is to be integrated in this problematic: territorial organisation, different jurisdictions, dual organisations, human resource management, etc. Points of special interest here include: modernisation of the system, improvement of performance, and the efficiency and speed with which modernisation takes place.

2. The reforms in the legal process throughout Europe in the past decade point in the direction of a simplification and a deformalisation of procedures in order to obtain a better cost/benefit ratio.
In this respect, questions arise about the methods for developing an evaluation of the system and about the choice of the indicators to be selected. These indicators should correctly inform about the results and effects of the policy within the judicial system, and of the policy that will be implemented with the assistance of this system. This research must be worked out by a multidisciplinary team and distinguish between the cost of criminality and the cost of justice. Have the results of similar research abroad contributed to the definition of policy priorities?

3. In recent decades, macro- and micro-sociological approaches have primarily focused on the functioning of institutions, the attitude of the population or the socio-political context within which new forms of punishment take place. By contrast, the analysis of the evolution of the behaviours labelled as «delinquent» has not been up to standard. The actors of the judicial system see it as a shortcoming that they do not have analytical schemes or evaluation methodologies for assessing the observed evolutions in the field and reacting to them more adequately. In other words, the social changes and their various components must be studied in order to be able to understand the evolutions within specific «delinquent» behaviours.

4. The past few decades have led to a change in society through the redistribution of responsibilities. How and to what extent should the civil society be involved in the maintenance of order and contribute to crime prevention and safety? Concepts such as community policing and community service as punishment, laws on money-laundering practices compelling the private sector to perform acts of verification and furnish information, indicate the various ways in which the civil society and the judicial system are becoming dependent on one another.

5. The problematic of justice must not be limited to criminal justice. The image and the legitimacy of justice are also linked to the enforcement of civil and administrative law.
The functioning of civil justice in particular, the underlying logic of its organisation and administration, the possibly contradictory evolutions to which it is subject (at one moment in accordance with formulas which expand the power of the judge, then in accordance with others emphasising mediation), and the way in which these various parameters influence the image and legitimacy of justice must be examined.

6. It is possible that the question of “danger” and the appropriate response thereto will move to the centre of crime policy. How must we deal with offenders who are considered dangerous (e.g. guilty of sexual assault). Strategies for rendering them harmless, which are sometimes presented as a solution, have to be studied in the light of their real long-term impact and of possible side-effects. However, the problem of dangerousness will not be shaped only by criminals that are seen as dangerous, but above all by the image one forms of criminal networks and organisations and of terrorist organisations: which approaches which take into consideration the achievements of the last 25 years in the field of human rights, can be developed here?

7. In the present context, criminality is seen more as a violation of the law than as a cause of harm to one’s fellow man. The position of the victim in contemporary criminal law is extremely marginal. Although Belgium has taken many initiatives in recent years for a better recognition and a more efficient protection of victims, evaluative research into the effects of this regulation has still to be undertaken. Formal as well as more informal initiatives for restorative justice and mediation have emerged, generated by social-ethical considerations that perpetrators must receive an opportunity to contribute themselves to resolving the consequences of their offences. In Belgium, the sphere of application of restorative justice and mediation can still be widened. Research on restorative justice and mediation must include several elements: the relationship between these approaches and “conventional” criminal justice, the application of the modality, objectives and methods, a comparison with other countries, inclusion factors, effects (also in terms of rehabilitation and recidivism) and a cost-benefit analysis.

8. The phenomenon of prostitution is influenced by the policy approach taken with respect to it. One should investigate, within the framework of a comparative (legal) study, the extent to which legal and other regulations influence the phenomenon of prostitution. Within this research area, transversal links must be made with other themes of the programme, such as migration, criminality and the gender issue.

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4. Economy and governance

1. Economic development and forward look: research on the manoeuvring room for conducting an industrial and economic policy which aims at innovation and competitiveness.
What is the competitive capacity of Belgium compared with other EU Member States? What are Belgium's comparative advantages, what position should one adopt in order to, from a forward looking perspective and within the framework of a globalize economy, support the growth of a dynamic Belgian economy which is capable of creating high-quality jobs?
Is it possible to identify the sectors which in the future will be able to ensure jobs and productivity growth in Belgium?
In this connection one must study the interaction between budget policy and economic growth, taking account of the consequences of the various aspects of the budget policy on economic growth, not only those measures explicitly designed to stimulate the economy.
Moreover, one should study ways to refine the methodologies for making predictions about Belgium's economic growth. This research should lead to results which can be used by institutions such as the National Bank of Belgium and the Federal Planning Office.

2. The innovative company: companies must constantly adapt to new developments in technology, regulations, internationalisation of markets, but also in the composition and capacities of their personnel, their target public, etc.
How can one move from an input-driven innovation process to a market-driven innovation network?
What role does innovation play in liberalised sectors such as telecom, energy, post?
Research in which cross-connections are established between changes in the organisation of companies and other themes in this programme, such as the problematic of innovation, multiculturality, gender, criminality, ageing, quality of work, etc., would fit in well here.

3. Multi-level governance: research into ways to regulate and to develop the economy within a context of multi-level governance (international, European, federal, federated, local). What methodology makes it possible to arrive at a single coherent set of regulations across the multiple areas of authority?
Impact of the construction of Europe (treaties, regulations, standardisation, etc.) on the long-term viability of the Belgian economy in terms of investments, (de)localisation (above all of services), redistribution of wealth …
A concrete case of the problematic of multi-level governance could be a study in the international context of the functioning in Belgium of telecom regulators (BIPT): what do their functioning, powers, positioning within the state structure look like?

4. Modernisation of control
The procedures to exercise control over companies must make possible a forward looking policy, both at the level of the companies and of the government. In this connection one must on the one hand examine the field of tension between market information and prudential control, and on the other the field of tension between prudential control and competition policy. How can one promote a future-oriented approach to this problematic?
With regard to control, the cost and the impact of administrative burdens on business must also be examined.

5. Social responsibility on the company level: because the social responsibility of companies can contribute to the strategic objectives of the Lisbon Summit , the following topics should be studied: the relationship between economic performance and social responsibility, the ways in which social responsibility is put into practice, the problematic of the acceptance of rules of social responsibility in the SMEs, the transparency of the instruments used to design, manage and describe the policy and practice of social responsibility.

6. The social economy and its place within the economy: long-term effects of the social economy in terms of employment - and the quality thereof -, the creation of wealth and the development of a forward look on the place of this sector in the national economy, public instruments which can be designed to support this vision; social costs and benefits of subsidised and unsubsidised social economy projects.

7. Competition law
The adaptation of competition law to the changing structures and to the ever-evolving market structures is another research topic. More specifically, in studying the aforementioned research areas, one could do transversal research on how competition law can/must be modernised.

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5. Science, knowledge, new technologies and the internet

1. New communication technologies broke up traditional patterns, spaces and circuits of social interactions. Technologies can strengthen participation and independence, but they can also lead to exclusion. How do these technologies expand or reduce social inequality and the generation gap? How do they change social security? How do they create new forms of participation, debate and protest? How can they improve the relationship between citizen and government?
To what extent do the ´Public Access Points´ in public buildings contribute, through public access to the internet, to the participation process?

2. Social repercussions of new technologies.
The problematic of reproductive health is a case within the problematic of the new technologies: a multidimensional (microsociology, public health, law, etc.) study on the evolution of behaviours taking into account the development of biomedical technologies and the new social problems would fit in well here.

3. The new technologies, but also the new policy orientations, bring along new forms of related criminality (e.g. the new environmental legislation and the problem of controlling illegal waste streams). An appropriate Belgian legislation cannot be elaborated without taking clear account of the legislation in other countries and the initiatives being worked out at the European level.

4. The proliferation of new media and internet has created parallel networks for the distribution and exchange of scientific, artistic and cultural works. Research in genetics and biotechnology has led to new relationships between the government and the private sector.
The new communication networks and the new partnerships in scientific research are inducing dramatic changes in the equilibrium between market and state and between intellectual property rights and the public domain.
The question of the new relations between government and the private sector can be studied by using experiences from abroad on Public-Private Partnerships applied to the field of Research and Development. What type of research is indicated here? What is the best organisational form? How should property rights be treated in Public-Private Partnerships?

5. Costs and benefits of the science policy
The science policy has a direct (public contracts) and indirect (application of scientific insights in management) impact on business in Belgium.
In this connection, a study of the costs and benefits of the science policy is desirable. One is thinking in the first place of a research on the costs and benefits in those sectors which use significant shares of the federal budget for science policy, such as ESA and Airbus.

6. New communication technologies and political mobilisation
How do the new communication technologies internationalise power networks, social conflicts and protest movements? How do the more traditional political institutions (government, parties, pressure groups, etc.) reorganise themselves in this respect?

7. The new technologies offer opportunities for combating poverty and improving the quality of life in developing countries. Simply transferring technology is not enough. The developing countries must be able to build up their own capacities to assess these technologies from their own agenda, to develop or adapt them to fit their local conditions. How is the North-South co-operation taking place today? Are developing countries equal partners in international networks, or do they remain subordinated to the research agendas of the industrialised countries?

8. Internet
The social importance of the “internet” phenomenon calls for reinforced expertise in terms of research in the area of the human sciences. One must elucidate the impact of the internet on the full range of human activities, and in so doing decode the specific and differentiated ways in which the internet adapts and forms itself via these various activities.

The following themes are listed by way of illustration:

e-business and new forms of consumption;
development of the legislative and normative framework of the internet and of the telecommunications infrastructure;
illegal use of the internet (computer crime) and regulatory policy;
experience and development of so-called virtual communities;
social and cultural fault lines and the internet, "the digital divide";
ways of presentation on the internet: sexual, cultural, geographic... differentiation,
"computer games" applications ;
person/machine interface on the internet ;
the internet as an instrument for surveys and socio-economic observation;
intellectual property and the internet, in particular with respect to research;
placing the internet and new media in an historical perspective;
globalisation and the internet ;
online information and services: the impact on health studies;
surveillance and regulation via the internet;
the internet and collective and individual memory, electronic archiving;
language applications on the internet ;
impact of the internet on work and organisations;
development of the concepts of "time" and "space" through the internet;
new applications for the citizen: e-voting, e-government, e-taxation...;
the internet and new research methods;
economic structuring and consequences on the internet;
liability on the internet, control and regulation of information

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6. Spatial aspects of social diversity

1. Post-modern urban development and post-Fordist production processes have to be studied in order to gain greater insight into the mechanisms of urban sprawl and fragmentation.
Are there certain types of employment which correspond better to the needs and characteristics of the urban population? How do social inequalities evolve in spatial inequalities: is being unemployed in a region with high employment different from being unemployed in one with low employment, are poor people in wealthy areas better off or worse off than those in poor areas?

2. Government policy has an intentional or unintentional impact on spatial diversity in society. Research should examine the degree to which government policy - alone or in consultation or confrontation with other actors (e.g. ²civil society, business world) - can have an impact on certain developments, in particular on their spatial aspect. In this connection, priority will be given to research that generates insights into the government´s manoeuvring room and the relationships between the government and other actors in policy areas relating to economic development, promotion of employment and combating poverty.

3. Costs and benefits of international institutions
Given the presence in Belgium of the headquarters of various international institutions and companies, a study of the costs and benefits of the presence of these institutions in Belgium is indicated. The objective would be to draw as fine a spatial picture as possible, so as to generate not only overall figures, but also an image of the "winners" and "losers" at the local level.

4. Cities were the nodal points of cultural and political innovation. Because of the fanning out of urban areas and thanks to modern communication technologies, however, many virtual networks have emerged. To what extent do spatial diversity (as an expression of historical developments), the differentiated emergence of virtual networks or the different meanings of spatial proximity play a role in the development of political ideas and forms of organisation, interculturality and democratic practices?

5. Spatial diversity and everyday life.
Urban society is divided into a number of social groups with different lifestyles and diverging notions about how and where they want to live and with different expectations and possibilities for participating in economic life. Research should be carried out on the interaction between individual and/or family preferences concerning place to live, work, school, etc. and the development of the spatial fabric. In this research, attention must be paid to the individual and family living environment.

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7. Inequality and social exclusion

1. The role of the labour market in inclusion or exclusion, the role of informal economies as alternatives for the regular labour market and mechanisms outside of the labour market which could lead to the exclusion or inclusion of persons or social groups and which strengthen or weaken the role of the labour market. Here the role of the state in the redistribution of wealth and the reduction of social inequality should also be taken into account.

2. The role of social capital and social solidarity in preventing social exclusion and in supporting persons and social/ethnic groups to climb the social ladder and integrate themselves into society. This research must also take account of the ageing of the population and the multi-ethnic composition of the society.

3. What defines the "trajectories" in the individual lifetime of persons who struggle with social exclusion: long or brief periods of poverty, transition from precarious to less precarious work situations, from "black" to the regular labour circuit and vice versa? Do inequality and social exclusion have an impact on crime figures, deviant behaviour and other social problems?

4. From a methodological perspective, it is desirable to develop instruments which can measure the quality of life and expectations about "welfare" in the modern or post-modern societies. This must go beyond the classical measures such as life expectancy, health indicators, income, etc.

5. In society, images are formed about individuals, groups, peoples and countries. Research is needed about the impact of image formation on policy and on attitudes and practices of discrimination and exclusion, and further on the impact of image formation on the extent to which the involved individuals and groups confirm their own identities or retreat into themselves, and the consequences of this on individual functioning, group formation, collective action, contributions to or dangers for social cohesion.

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8. Special target groups for a social cohesion policy: women and the elderly

1. Differences in wages between men and women
Research is needed on: the education/employment relation and the composition of the nuclear and extended family, work/private life balance and its differential impact on the material security of men and women (e.g. income, pension rights, alimony); the career and the labour market position of women, gender and distribution of privileges and power positions, glass ceiling . The identification of the causes of these phenomena and of best practices is necessary.

2. Violence within couples
What is the situation of violence within couples in Belgium? What are the repercussions of violence within the family (especially on children)? An evaluation of existing tools for prevention and repression of violence within couples is necessary, as well as research into victims of this violence.

3. New forms and new dynamics of family life.
What is the impact of new family forms on care for children and aged parents? What are the consequences of the multiple commitments in the middle of life on health and wage (including pension)? It would also be interesting to study the family as the nodal point of relations between generations, as well as the consequences of the geographic scattering of family members, the relationship between work and family life (including the role of the employer for the balance between the two worlds) and the possible link between migration and changes in family relations.
Sexual freedom and reproductive health: a multidimensional (microsociology, public health, law, etc.) study on the evolution of behaviours taking into account the development of biomedical technologies and the new social problems would fit in well here. Medically assisted reproduction becomes more accessible and wide-spread. What is its impact on the health of women and on the creation of the image of the couple and the body?

4. Withdrawal from the labour market and the incomes of pensioners
The problematic of exiting the labour market lies at the intersection of individual expectations and possibilities - which in general lead to an early retirement - and the policy objectives of increasing the level of activity, including for employees over the age of 50. Relevant research topics are the activity of pensioners (paid and volunteer work, care for family members needing help, participation in associations, etc.) and the income situation of current and future pensioners (taking into account the increasing life expectancy and the welfare erosion of pensions, as well as the incomes from the second and third pension pillar).

5. Restructuring of the last years of life
Maintaining self-reliance (and the possible role that can be played by new technologies in achieving this), solidarity within and between generations, the mistreatment of aged persons and the quality of life of the most elderly are all subjects requiring study. Special attention must be devoted to the differences within the older population and to the consequences thereof in terms of income, self-reliance, family ties, need for institutionalised assistance, etc. In this connection, better knowledge of the practices within the families and the needs of the aged of foreign origin is necessary.

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9. Multiculturality and social cohesion

1. The multicultural society
Integration, defined as full participation in all sectors of society (social, economic, cultural and political), is central for a multicultural society. It would be useful to set up a large-scale national survey to monitor the socio-economic situation and the socio-political behaviour of the most important immigrant groups, in comparison with the majority population. The objective is to make an inventory of the situation and to assess the political effectiveness of integration.

2. Multiculturality and male/female equality
The situation of migrant women and women of foreign origin is insufficiently known. It would be useful to remedy this by a thorough investigation into specific problematics concerning these women in different sectors of life (women's rights, judicial status, labour market, health, family dynamics, etc.)

3. New migrations
It is important to know the composition of the waves of migration and their profile, identify and study the processes of image formation in the countries of origin, analyse the social and economic repercussions of the migrations on the "host countries" and the countries of origin and understand the reasons for and scope of illegal immigration (including the intermediaries and networks).
We have no clear view of the lives led by illegal immigrants in Belgium, or of the policy which would make it possible to prevent this type of immigration while successfully integrating those who have established themselves in Belgium.

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10. Labour market, quality of work and employment

1. Tendencies in, structures of the Belgian labour market: differences and similarities with the EU countries; impact of flexibility and deregulation; boundary between paid and unpaid activity, legal and black work (e.g. research on the services cheques and on the number and quality of the jobs created); tax burden on labour and consequences for employment.

2. Evaluation of the employment policies: the employment policies must be evaluated from the perspective of effectiveness (deadweight, substitution, etc.) and of the principles on which they rest. Are these policies neutral from the perspectives male/female, young/elderly, native/foreigner, handicaped/non-handicaped and does it contribute to a sustainable integration of the target publics on the labour market?
The repercussions on the labour market of the enlargement of the EU must be studied, as well as the place of employees of foreign origin with regard to black work, the position of asylum-seekers and illegal immigrants on the labour market, the practices of people of foreign origin on "the" labour markets (are there professional careers which alternate periods of activity on the black labour market with regular work?) as well as public and private initiatives of "positive discrimination".

3. Institutions of the labour market, behaviours of the individuals: what is the repercussion of unemployment insurance on society, or how can one assess the risk of questioning the legitimacy of unemployment insurance in Belgium? What are the living conditions of unemployed? What are the relationships between the institutions which regulate the labour market (legal provisions, social dialogue, etc.) and social protection on the one hand, and the level of unemployment and the individual behaviours with regard to labour supply, on the other? The problem of the working poor and the policy to make work pay must also be examined here.

4. Labour market and workers over 50: Belgium is characterised by the lowest level of employment among those over 50 in the EU. Among the topics which must be studied one can mention: the end-of-career problematic of employees in the public and private sectors (natural or forced retreatment, disability or redundancy) as well as the measures workers take to ensure themselves an income alongside the pension, the quality of the work of this category of workers, their employability and the training which is needed to improve it, the measures to allow to work after retirement age or to leave the labour market before this, the problems and needs of the companies which are confronted with an ageing population and the measures they take to solve the problems.
The consequences of the ageing population on the productivity of the Belgian economy must also be studied. What are the elements of this problematic? How is it expressed at the company level and for the economy as a whole? How do the employers and employees react? What role can the government play?

5. Legitimacy of the unemployment insurance system
Within the unemployment insurance system, the National Employment Office offers certain services (replacement income, adaptation of working hours, and assistance in re-entering the job market). In order get a better understanding of the system´s legitimacy, a study is needed on indicators of the socio-economic impact of the system, the positions of the social partners (expectations, anticipated evolutions, expected risks, proposed reforms), as well as research on the perception of, expectations on and confidence in unemployment insurance by the population.

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11. Fairness and health

1. Longitudinal research over the entire lifespan should make it possible to study how the general social (e.g. income differences) and specific (of one social group e.g. the elderly, women) influences, from conception to death, affect inequality in health, thus how health risks are structured by the social (socio-economic change) and personal course of time (e.g. periods with a lot of stress at work, problems in the balance between work and private life, provision of care). If certain risk moments can be recognised for specific social groups, this can serve as a basis for a targeted health policy. Research on this subject must take into account the availability of reliable and policy-relevant data.

2. Health-affecting behaviour, such as physical exercise, diet, smoking and alcohol use, is socially defined and contributes to the social differences in health. Research is needed on the interaction of structural factors and the individual influence on health behaviour and the best way to organise an effective and well-targeted health promotion campaign within a Belgian context. One can concentrate on specific areas, such as the link between specific consumption or living habits and various types of cancer.

3. In Belgium, the consumption of health care is largely demand-driven. There is a concern that this can lead to a dependency culture, waste (e.g. unnecessary "shopping" for health care), over-consumption and too little interest for evidence-based health care among doctors.
Research is needed to explore whether there is over-use (and, if so, under which circumstances this occurs); to better understand the consumption behaviour (including the perception of symptoms and the decision-making process for access to services, including social facilities, for oneself and others); to analyse the problematic of the preferences and competences of patients with regard to medical consumption.
This must include an evaluation of possible injustices (based on age, ethnic origin, sex, domicile, etc.) in consumption and possibly socially defined over- and under-use. One must consider whether changes such as higher contributions (both direct and indirect own contributions) will aggravate any existing unfairness.

4. The division of labour in health care is becoming ever more complex. Under certain circumstances, the blurring of the boundaries between professions (such as medicine and nursing) and teamwork can improve the efficiency and quality of thehealth care, for example in order to meet the needs of excluded or hard-to-reach groups. However, efforts to restructure the prevailing work habits can run into resistance in the professional world, where it is feared that working conditions and circumstances will be threatened. Research is needed on new inter-professional networks, forms of co-operation in inter-organisational forms of collaboration (e.g. networks between organisations and care providers), co-operation between professionals and volunteers in areas of non-institutional care (e.g. of the chronically-ill or aged) and the supervision of patients who assume responsibility for their own care.

5. In Lisbon (March 2000), the European Union committed itself to creating more and better jobs. Health and safety are essential elements of high-quality work.
The research must analyse the new or emerging risks, focusing on all those related to the general work environment (ergonomic, psychological and social), such as stress, violence at work, psychosocial diseases, musculoskeletal problems, mobbing, etc.

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