Firms face an increasingly complex economic and financial environment in which the access to international networks and markets is crucial. To be successful, companies need to understand the role of internationalization determinants such as bilateral psychic distance, experience, etc. Cutting-edge feature selection methods are applied in the present paper and compared to previous results to gain deep knowledge about strategies for Foreign Direct Investment. More precisely, evolutionary feature selection, addressed from the wrapper approach, is applied with two different classifiers as the fitness function: Bagged Trees and Extreme Learning Machines. The proposed intelligent system is validated when applied to real-life data from Spanish Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). These data were extracted from databases belonging to the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and Trade. As a result, interesting conclusions are derived about the key features driving to the internationalization of the companies under study. This is the first time that such outcomes are obtained by an intelligent system on internationalization data. Many companies nowadays invest and conduct activities in multiple foreign markets. However, a successful internationalization strategy is far from easy in a global environment currently characterized by increasing complexity of networks and interconnections and growing competition . For theAmong the myriad of factors playing a relevant role in the firm’s choice of an oversea market, previous studies have highlighted that in addition to firm features such as the industry to which the company belongs, the profitability or the size, and the specific characteristics of the country in terms of macroeconomic figures such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), GDP per capita, etc., the concepts of bilateral psychic distance  and expeTo face this challenging issue, the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques has been previously proposed . A wide Similar, yet different, solutions comprising genetic FS have also been proposed for problems in other fields such as health , Bio-infk-Nearest Neighbour, Learning Vector Quantization, Relevant Vector Machines, and Dendritic Computing.Artificial Intelligence methods have been previously applied to FS ; althougIn Although the Bootstrap Aggregation (Bagging) of decision trees has been also applied to FS , to the The internationalization of companies has been previously researched by Machine Learning methods; in The addressed topic of internationalization is explained in “Literature Review”, while the Machine Learning methods proposed and applied are described in “Materials and Methods”. Obtained results are compiled and discussed in “Results and Discussion” and the conclusions derived from them are presented in “Conclusions”.The internationalization of firms is a complex managerial problem in which multiple factors need to be accounted for. As previously mentioned, both company-level and country-level characteristics can have a significant influence. Companies will find a very different environment depending which country invest and, conversely, a given host country will present different opportunities and threats to companies depending on the firms‘ specific resources and capabilities. Accordingly, both levels, company and country, need not to be overlooked.Among the various determinants of the location choice of multinational enterprises, two constructs have been recently highlighted by scholars given their significance. Thus, recent studies have shown that experience , at the ”  was uniquely conceptualized in terms of geography, building on the so-called “gravity model” . Shortly” . Nordstr” . Psychic” , subsidi” , entry m” , ownersh” , innovat”  or expor” . We presAs it can be observed from Psychic distance comprises both the individual perceptions of distance of a given individual, shaped by the macro-level factors that form those perceptions . We follFinally, at the company level, we also rely on recent advances in the literature in which studies have shown that the role of experience is much more complex than initially thought . Thus, sOverall, a correct internationalization strategy is complicated and elusive given the multitude of factors playing a role and their multi-dimensional nature, which calls for further examination of their particular importance. A finer-grained analysis of the determinants of FDI location by multinational companies can provide insightful information to prospective managers who need to make critical decisions that can determine the success, performance, viability and even survival of their enterprises.The present work aims at obtaining the most relevant features from enterprise-country data that will provide enterprise managers with the information to take decisions on internationalization. In this paper we employ a sample of firms coming from two sources belonging to the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism, and Trade and the website of the Foreign Trade Institute (ICEX) . We compCharacteristics from host country such as unemployment, total inward FDI, GDP, growth, and population.Bilateral geographic distance as measured in the CEPII database .Psychic distance stimuli between countries. We include all 6 dimensions identified by Vicarious experience: Following the previous literature on vicarious experience  we emploFirm product diversification: we distinguish between three alternatives, namely related product diversification, unrelated product diversification, and single-product firms .Industry: we identify five main groups including manufacturing, food, construction, regulated, and unclassified sectors.Other firm characteristics: Return on Equity, number of countries where the firm operates, Number of employes, and whether or not the firm is included in a stock market.Following previous studies on the internationalization of Spanish multinationals, we collected the following variables for each foreign subsidiary of the companies in our sample:Geographic Distance (Log)Psychic Distance—EducationPsychic Distance—Industrial DevelopmentPsychic Distance—LanguagePsychic Distance—DemocracyPsychic Distance—Social SystemPsychic Distance—ReligionUnemploymentFDI/GDPGDP GrowthPopulation (Log)All in all, data from 10,004 samples, compressing 25 features, were collected. Features from countries are:Vicarious ExperienceVicarious Experience Same SectorVicarious Experience Different SectorManufacturingFoodConstructionRegulatedFinancialEmployeesROEStock MarketRelated DiversificationUnrelated DiversificationNumber of CountriesFeatures from companies themselves are:General statistics about the dataset under study are shown in Obtaining knowledge about decision making regarding the internationalization of companies is a challenging task that perfectly suits Feature Selection (FS). There are mainly two methods from the Machine Learning field that are able to identify the key characteristics of a given dataset. Feature extraction is one of the alternatives, but it is not suitable for the present work as it generates new features from the dataset that are not in the original data. In the present work, the target is to select some of the features from the original dataset as conclusions can be generalized and obtained knowledge applied to other problems . Thus, feature selection is the most appropriate method in the present study.Hence, some advanced FS proposals are applied in the present research with the aim of identifying the key characteristics that lead to positive or negative internationalization decisions.In general terms, FS consists of a learning algorithm and an induction algorithm. The learning algorithm chooses certain features  upon which it can focus its attention . Only thUnder the frame of FS, for every original feature, two different levels of relevance (weak and strong) can be defined . A featuThere are three different ways of coordinating the learning and induction algorithms: embedded, filter and wrapper. The wrapper scheme  has beenAccording to that, different classifiers have been applied as induction algorithms in order to predict the class of the data. In the present paper, both Bagged Decision Trees and Extreme Learning Machines are applied. Furthermore, results obtained by these two methods are compared to those previously generated  by RandoThe classifiers are fed with datasets containing the same data instances as in the original dataset but comprising a reduced number of features. In order to generate different combinations of them, standard Genetic Algorithms (GAs)  have been-dimensional binary vectors, being n the total number of features in the original dataset. In a FS problem, a value of 0 is assigned to a given feature if it is not present in the feature subset and 1 otherwise. Once representation of solutions is defined, the GA  are codified as In standard GAs, two operators (mutation and crossover) are usually applied depending on a previously stated probability . Additionally, when modeling a GA , the fitIn the case of FS, the fitness function is usually defined as the misclassification rate of the classifier when applied to the dataset compressing the features in the solution to be evaluated. As a result, the best solution is selected, being the one with the lowest value calculated with the fitness function. That is, the combination of features that led the given classifier to get the lowest error when being tested. As previously mentioned, some different classifiers have been applied, being the novel ones described below.Decision trees (DTs)  are one Nodes in a DT can be of two different types; internal and leaf. The first ones are those aimed at differentiating responses (branches) for a given question. In order to address it, the tree takes into account the original training dataset; more precisely, the values of a certain feature. On the other hand, leaf nodes are associated to the final decision (class prediction) and hence they are assigned a class label. All internal nodes have at least two child nodes and when all of them have two child nodes, the tree is binary. Both parent/child arches and leaf nodes are connected: the first ones are labeled according to the responses to the node question and the second ones according to the classes or the forecast value.In the present research, performance of DTs is improved by a Booststrap  AggregatIn order to speed up the training of Feedforward Neural Networks (FFNN), Extreme Learning Machines (ELMs) were proposed . These nThe functioning of such network can be mathematically expressed as:jth input data, m the number of hidden nodes , the ELM training algorithm reaches the smallest training error and norm of weights, at the same time. As a side effect, the model also has a good generalization performance and is consequently considered an advisable learning model (for both classification and regression) mainly in those applications when many training processes have to be launched (as in the present case of evolutionary FS).It is widely acknowledged that one of the main disadvantages of FFNN is that all the parameters need to be tuned. In the case of ELMs, both the hidden layer biases and input weights are randomly assigned, obtaining acceptable error rates.All the methods previously described in this section have been implemented and run on MATLAB software. For the ELMs the original MATLAB implementation  has beenPopulation Size: 10, 20, 30.Number of Generations: 10, 15, 20.Mutation Probability: 0.033, 0.06, 0.1.Crossover Probability: 0.3, 0.6, 0.9.Selection Scheme: Tournament.As previously explained, a standard GA has been applied to optimize the search of best features subsets. Its most usual parameters were tuned in 81 different combinations, taking the following values:To get more reliable results, the same combination of values for the parameters above have been used to run the genetic algorithm 10 times (iterations). As stated in “Materials and Methods”, the misclassification rate of the classifier has been used as the fitness function to select the best solutions (subset of features). According to the given values of such function, in each experiment the feature subset with the lowest error rate has been selected. Results are shown in this section for the two classifiers that are applied for the first time (BDT and ELM), as well as those for the two previous ones: SVM and RF , to easeThe GA parameter values and the misclassification rate (error) of the best individuals for each one of the classifiers are shown in In the case of BDTs, the best individual (misclassification rate of 0.108) comprises the following features: “Vicarious Experience Same Sector”, “Manufacturing”, “Food”, “Construction”, “Unrelated Diversification”, and “Number of Countries”. In the case of ELMs, the best individual (misclassification rate of 0.099) can be considered as very robust as it was the best one obtained with both sigmoidal (ELM—sig) and sinusoidal (ELM—sin) output functions and a high number of output neurons (150 and 200 respectively). The one obtained with the sigmoidal function comprises the following ones: “Vicarious Experience Same Sector”, “Manufacturing”, “Food”, “Construction”, “Regulated”, “Financial”, “Employees”, “Unrelated Diversification”, and “Number of Countries”. In the case of the sinusoidal function (ELM—sin), the following features define the best individual: “Vicarious Experience Same Sector”, “Manufacturing”, “Food”, “Construction”, “Regulated”, “Financial”, “Psychic Distance—Language”, “ROE”, and “Number of Countries”.Best individuals obtained by BDT and ELM share the following features: “Vicarious Experience Same Sector”, “Manufacturing”, “Food”, “Construction”, “Financial”, and “Number of Countries”. When considering the 4 classifiers, the following features are included in all the best individuals “Manufacturing”, “Food”, and “Number of Countries”. On the contrary, “Psychic Distance – Education” and “Unemployment” have not been included in any of the best individuals.The number of features in the best individuals obtained in the different searches, and the average number of features in the best individuals obtained in all the (10) iterations for the same parameters are shown in From the enterprise management perspective, these results demonstrate the critical importance of vicarious experience, sector, and degree of internationalization as measured by the number of countries where the MNE runs operations. Product diversification, number of employes, and some dimensions of psychic distance are also relevant as they appear in multiple best individuals. However, the results also underline that it is important to disentangle these constructs into their different components, as not all of them are equally important. Thus, the results show that the most critical variable is vicarious experience from other firms in the same sector, but not the one from firms in different sectors. This idea is in line with those of Although the relative lack of relevance of several psychic distance stimuli is somewhat surprising given the amount of studies showing that great psychic distance is detrimental to firms, it is possible that these negative effects are offset by potential positive ones. Some authors have reported that firms devote more resources to research and planning when psychic distance is greater , whereasOverall, the results clearly depict a complex and multi-dimensional reality in which constructs that are frequently mentioned as determinants of internationalization  are indeed complex constructs made of multiple layers that need to be disentangle and analyzed separately to fully understand the impact of each component . FurtherThe main target of the present research has been to reduce the number of features to look for when taking internationalization decisions. It can be easily checked that this objective has been achieved when looking at the number of features comprised in the best individuals. It is worth mentioning the case of BDTs, where only 7 out of the original 25 features (reduction of 72%) were selected while the misclassification rate is the second lowest. In the case of ELMs, it has been reduced up to 9, obtaining the best classification error. Something similar can be said when analyzing the average number of features that is significantly lower than the number of features in the original dataset. The lowest average value (8.8) is taken when applying ELMs and hence for the lowest classification error. When looking at the deviation of the number of features for the best individuals in the 10 iterations , it can Regarding the average error  can be selected from These most and least important features reinforce the ideas discussed above in terms of the relevance of the resources accumulated by the firm in terms of manpower and previous experience in multiple international markets. Also in line with the previous findings, vicarious experience from firms in the same sector and the specific industry to which the MNE belongs to (notably in the case of Manufacturing) manifest themselves as critical determinants. In contrast, other sources of vicarious experience such as the one from firms in other sectors or the combination of vicarious experience from the same and different sectors have a much less important role. As such, the results align more with those found by These results (BDTs and ELMs) can be compared with previous ones obtained by SVMs and RFs, and they are consistent. However, they are different in the case of features “Employees” and “Manufacturing”. The first one obtained the highest inclusion rate by combining SVMs and RFs while it is the fifth one when considering BDTs and ELMs. Similarly, “Manufacturing” has obtained the second highest inclusion rate by combining BDTs and ELMs. It was identified as the fifth most important one when considering SVMs and RFs. On the other hand, when comparing the least important features, “Psychic Distance—Social System” and “Psychic Distance—Industrial Development” were identified by SVMs and RFs. “Psychic Distance—Democracy”, “FDI/GDP”, and “Unemployment” have been identified by BDTs and ELMs. From this comparison of classifier results, it can be observed that while all the learning models emphasize the importance of firm-level determinants over country-level ones, SVMs and RFs find the size of the MNE as measured by the number of employes to be more relevant whereas for BDTs and ELMs it has a more modest role and, in contrast, the influences of the industry to which the MNE belongs are more prevalent. Regarding the least important features, all the classifiers identify country-level characteristics, such as various dimensions of psychic distance and some macroeconomic figures related to the economy international openness and the labor market.In this paper we aim to employ sophisticated AI techniques to explore the various possible configurations of variables that may play a critical impact on internationalization, in order to overcome limitations related to bounded rationality  and provThe results obtained in this research clearly show that firm-level characteristics are more relevant than country-level ones. Perhaps more importantly, the findings underline that constructs such as experience, product diversification or (psychic) distance are indeed complex and multi-dimensional, and that not all their components have the same importance. It is therefore necessary that future works take this complexity into consideration and researchers refrain from employing aggregated measures of these constructs and, instead, test the individual effects of each component or dimension. Overall, the results in fact are consistent with previous works and with the state of the art, but also serve to provide empirical evidence that can contribute to unresolved debates in the literature . In this sense, we concur with recent research  highlighWe acknowledge that our paper is subject to some limitations, which open up interesting opportunities for further research. First, we are unable to include additional variables that could be relevant, such as the percentage of exports or the exact year the company started international operations, due to data unavailability in the data sources we were able to access on Spanish MNEs. Besides, a transnational study is planned as future work, comprising data from additional countries. Additionally, some other classifiers and combinations of them will be applied, trying to get and even lower misclassification rate.10.7717/peerj-cs.403/supp-1Supplemental Information 1Raw data.Click here for additional data file.10.7717/peerj-cs.403/supp-2Supplemental Information 2MATLAB Code.Click here for additional data file.


T]rainees choosing to enter [infectious diseases] encounter … a blank canvas of exciting possibilities from which they can compose career paths in directions of their choice, using a vibrant palate [that] ranges from microbiology, molecular biology, pharmacology, host defence, clinical science, and patient care to epidemiology, public health, behavioural science, health disparities, implementation science, global health, medical education, and health economics, to name just a few. The canvas is their clinical and scientific playground, where they mix and merge a wide variety of disciplines in a style that fits their interests, needs and desire to make a difference. It is fluid, dynamic and tremendously exciting.1 (p. 581)or you to be passionate about what you do, you must train yourself to excel’.Professor Lucille Blumberg, infectious diseases:‘Acknowledge your small victories. They will give you energy to persist’. ‘[f]ind your space and see what you can do’; ‘[y]ou have to grab and grow your opportunities’.T]here are things that you cannot change but look for things that you can. Look for ways of doing it. Be encouraged when things do work. There are days when you want to give up. Remember the ones where you do make a difference’.[I would like to thank and acknowledge all our contributors for the time taken to prepare their pieces, Drs Kirti Ranchod and Anastasia Koch for their help in compiling the Wisdom series, Ms Lea Lourens and Dr Gary Reubenson for editorial assistance and our sponsors, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.  and bioMerieux, for generously providing educational grants to FIDSSA to support the Wisdom series.


Controlling for demographic characteristics and environmental concern, results suggest that life satisfaction has a slightly stronger, and more significant, effect on high-cost pro-environmental behavior than in low-cost pro-environmental behavior. This study also finds that environmental concern and having siblings with a university degree increases the probability of engaging in both behaviors. However, family income is a better predictor of high-cost pro-environmental behavior than of low-cost pro-environmental behavior.The role of life satisfaction as a determinant of pro-environmental behavior remains largely unexplored in the extant literature. Using a sample of undergraduate students, we explore the effect of life satisfaction on low- and high-cost pro-environmental behaviors. While low-cost pro-environmental behavior has been defined as recycling activities, high-cost pro-environmental behavior is defined in a contingent valuation framework in which respondents are asked about their willingness to pay extra for offsetting CO Today, in a context of growing environmental awareness, it is widely recognized that human behavior is responsible for major environmental problems such as global warming and climate change ,2,3. In Over the last forty years, research on PEB has been largely dominated by psychologists covering a wide range of issues given the multi-dimensional structure of PEB . HoweverIn these previous studies, life satisfaction was treated as the dependent variable and modeled as a function of PEB while controlling for socio-demographic characteristics, environmental concern, and other relevant factors. However, it may well be the case that life satisfaction may influence PEB, i.e., there is a causal effect of people’s life satisfaction on their environmental behavior. To the authors’ knowledge, this association remains largely unexplored, since so far only two previous studies have empirically tested the effect of life satisfaction on PEB ,25. In bThis research paper builds on these two previous studies by providing evidence of the impact that life satisfaction has on PEB for a sample of undergraduate students from the University of Valencia, Spain. However, in doing so we go a step further, since we aim to extend the low-cost hypothesis  by inves2 emissions from public transport that is responsible for climate change. In line with Groot and Steg [Although PEB constitutes a diverse and multi-faceted phenomenon ,27, for and Steg  and Diekand Steg , using pand Steg ), in thiand Steg . Therefoand Steg .The paper is structured as follows: Among the plethora of studies that have supported the existence of a positive relationship between PEB and life satisfaction, one of the most comprehensive is the work conducted by Schmitt et al. , since tIn a study conducted in Sweden by Kaida and Kaida , as respFinally, an exception to the positive association between PEB and life satisfaction can be found in a recent work by Binder et al. . In factAs previously said, little attention has been paid to the role of life satisfaction as a determinant of PEB and environmental concern. The study by Sulemana  is the fWang and Kang , using dFinally, Casaló et al. , in a stThe present analysis is based on a survey conducted in spring 2018 amongst undergraduate students of the University of Valencia, Spain. Using the free-survey tool Google Docs, a link to the questionnaire was emailed to 509 students from different majors who answered it on their personal computer, tablet, or cell phone. Respondents were informed about the anonymity and confidentiality of the study and about their right to withdraw. Participation was voluntary and no incentives were provided. Answers were collected automatically on an Excel compatible spreadsheet, which makes Google Docs a convenience and time-saving survey-creation tool. Participation in the survey was voluntary and no incentives were provided to the respondents. Two weeks later, a reminder email was sent to the non-respondents. The number of completed surveys received was 450, amounting to a response rate of 88.4%. Although lower than the response rate obtained by Binder et al.  in a simAs previously mentioned, we have divided the assessment of individual PEB in two categories: low-cost and high-cost PEB. The former was captured by asking the respondents how often they engage in the following behaviors using a 5-point Likert scale : “recycling glass”, “recycling paper”, and “recycling plastic”. Self-reports of engagement in PEB are commonly used to reflect objective PEB given their advantages . However, inaccuracies may arise since they are subjective in nature, and because sometimes individuals tend to over-report their PEB due to the existence of a social desirability bias .i’s (low-cost) pro-environmental behavior, and it is a function of observable characteristics (life satisfaction and other control variables) and an error term:ils is the life satisfaction reported by the respondent i, ix is a vector of the observable characteristics of this individual as age, gender, income, degree of environmental concern, etc., β and δ are parameters to be estimated, and iu is an error term assumed to be normally distributed across observations. As usual, iF, where iF depends on the true level of green behavior [k’s are the cut points that determine the intervals of the frequency scale, AL is “always”, VO is “very often”, SO is “sometimes”, RA is “rarely”, and NE is “never”. Thus, the probability that individual i reports a recycling frequency of “sometimes (SO)” is:As the recycling questions (low-cost PEB) are categorical and ordered, the appropriate regression model to explain these behaviors is the ordered probit model ,39. Indebehavior :(2)Fi=AL2 emissions from public transport that are responsible for climate change. Rather than being an abstraction, this question was framed in a contingent valuation scenario that allows to put a value on environmental goods that are not usually traded in the marketplace [The question related to the high-cost PEB asked respondents for their WTP in order to offset COketplace , thus maketplace . Howeverketplace . Indeed,More specifically, in this study respondents were presented with the following contingent valuation framework:“Imagine that there was a program aimed at substituting the current diesel bus fleet in the city public transport system for hybrid electric buses. These new buses would be more efficient and accordingly would emit less greenhouse gases than diesel buses. Nevertheless, they would be between 40% and 70% more costly. Considering the environmental benefits of these buses and that this program will be implemented only if a majority of respondents are in favor of the program, would you willing to pay higher bus fares to support this program?”iy = 1) or rejecting (iy = 0) the proposed payment. Therefore, an appropriate regression model to explain this binary outcome is the probit model. Following Cameron and Trivedi [ils is the life satisfaction reported by the respondent i, ix is a vector of the observable characteristics of this individual as age, gender, income, degree of environmental concern, etc., β and δ are parameters to be estimated, iu is an error term assumed to be normally distributed across observations, and In this case, there are two possible outcomes: accepting  for single-item measures of life evaluation, since this scale has significant advantages in terms of data quality over shorter scales apart from being a valid and reliable indicator of well-being ,45. In tWith respect to explanatory variables, respondents were asked to answer several statements intended to measure environmental concern following Diekmann and Preisendörfer . These sFollowing existing research on PEB, subjective well-being, and contingent valuation, we also included a set of explanatory variables covering personal and socio-demographic information about the respondents. These variables and others are described in The coefficients of the estimated models for each recycling behavior are shown in Among the different statements intended to capture environmental concern, the only ones that are positively and significantly correlated with the three recycling activities are “environmental protection measures should be implemented even if this reduces the number of jobs in the economy” and “the conservation and protection of the environment is crucial”. In the case of the first statement, this relationship is significant at the 1% level for each one of the three recycling behaviors, while for the second statement it is significant at the 5% level for recycling glass and plastic and only at the 10% level for recycling paper. Other statements, such as “climate change is real since average temperatures have increased and climate catastrophes are becoming more common” and “most citizens do not act in a responsible way with regard to the environment”, increase the probability of engaging in recycling glass and plastic. Additionally, the results also show that students who on their daily commutes choose motorized transport modes , instead of more environmentally friendly non-motorized transport modes, are less likely to recycle glass and paper.iF, of the three recycling behaviors. Focusing first on life satisfaction, a unit increase in this variable increases the probability of an individual reporting “always” by 2.4, 2.9, and 2.3% for recycling glass, paper, and plastic, respectively. Thus, the results suggest an important influence of life satisfaction on the three recycling behaviors. While in linear models the estimated coefficients have a direct interpretation, since they represent the estimated change in the value of the dependent variable associated with a unit increase in the corresponding independent variable , the same does not hold for ordered probit models. Indeed, the nonlinearity of these models implies that the relationship between a change in the value of an independent variable and the estimated change in the probability of an outcome cannot be directly determined from the variable’s coefficient. Rather, this magnitude varies depending on the extent of the change in the independent variable of interest, the starting value of this same variable, and the values of the other explanatory variables in the model . Thus, fStudents that have a sibling currently in college are approximately 12% more likely to report “always” for recycling glass than the rest of students, while for recycling paper and plastic these percentages are, respectively, 16 and 11 per cent. On the other hand, as recycling activities can be considered as low-cost PEB, the effect of household income-adjusted by the number of family members on the probability of reporting “always” is only statistically significant for recycling glass and almost negligible, i.e., a unit change in income increases this probability by only 0.02%.Variables related to environmental concern have an important average marginal effect. Indeed, a discrete change in the variable JOBS  increases this probability by 9.2, 6.8, and 6.8% for recycling plastic, glass, and paper, respectively. This is an interesting result since, in some way, it shows to what extent highly-environmentally-concerned individuals are willing to protect the environment even at the expense of jobs. The variable CLIMA  is only statistically significant in explaining “recycling paper”, so a discrete change in this variable increases the probability of an individual reporting “always” by 8%. However, the largest effect on reporting “always” is due to a discrete change in the variable CRUCIAL  since it increases this probability by over 60% for recycling glass and plastic, and by over 30% for recycling paper. On the other hand, a discrete change in the variable NRESP (“most citizens do not act in a responsible way with regard to the environment”) increases the probability of reporting “always” by 10 and 8% for recycling glass and plastic, respectively, while in the case of recycling paper it is not statistically significant. Finally, choosing a motorized transport mode when commuting reduces the probability that an individual “always” recycles glass by 9% and increases the probability of reporting “never” by 2.9%, while in the case of recycling paper the changes in the probabilities are, respectively, −7.7 and 2.2%. 2 emissions from public transport that are responsible for climate change. In this case, there are two possible outcomes: accepting (iy = 1) or rejecting (iy = 0) the proposed payment. Therefore, an appropriate regression model to explain this binary outcome is the probit model. However, the non-linearity of this model implies that, other than sign and significance, the coefficients do not reflect marginal impacts on the probability of accepting the proposed payment [As previously mentioned, in a contingent valuation framework, respondents were asked whether they were willing to pay extra bus fares in order to offset CO payment . Accordi2 emissions from public transportation  are approximately 20% less willing to pay than the rest, this being, by fare, the highest marginal effect among all the explanatory variables.Regarding the set of variables related to environmental concern, on average respondents who were “highly environmentally concerned” (variable HECONC), i.e., those that answered “agree” or “strongly agree” in each one of the different “statements for measuring environmental concern” shown in The low-cost hypothesis  predictsOverall, our results do not fully confirm the low-cost hypothesis since it seems that environmental attitudes predict both low-cost and high-cost PEB. For example, the variables “the conservation and protection of the environment is crucial” and “environmental protection measures should be implemented even in this reduces the number of jobs in the economy” are significant predictors of the three low-cost recycling behaviors, while in the case of high-cost PEB, the fact of being “highly environmentally concerned” and “saving water at home” have an important marginal effect on the probability of accepting to pay higher bus fares in order to reduce the emissions from urban transport.This research, using data from a survey of undergraduate students, has empirically investigated the relationship between life satisfaction and low-cost and high-cost pro-environmental behaviors. The results show a positive and significant effect of life satisfaction on both types of pro-environmental behavior, although this effect is stronger and more statistically significant for the high-cost pro-environmental behavior which has been defined in a contingent valuation framework. Considering the paucity of studies that have so far investigated the role of life satisfaction as a determinant of pro-environmental behavior, there is the need for more studies to further investigate and to throw more light on the exact nature of the relationship between these two variables.Finally, there are at least two limitations of our study that should be considered when interpreting its results. Firstly, although student samples are not a rare occurrence in the literature on PEB since they are convenient, cheap, and readily available (see ,41,65,66


This paper unfolds a “black box” concerning European researchers working in China, an emerging phenomenon as an outcome of European and Chinese international research collaboration. China’s rapid economic growth has created plentiful career opportunities in research and innovation, attracting mainly returning Chinese but also non-Chinese researchers. While emerging research has brought attention to the individual experiences of the latter group, this work has been hampered by a lack of conceptual frameworks, as well as empirical knowledge regarding these migrants’ motivations, job satisfaction, and career prospects. This article attempts to bridge this research gap by focusing on European researchers working in Chinese universities. It develops a novel analytical framework that integrates insights from the push–pull framework and Bourdieu’s conceptualization of capital and applies this framework in a qualitative investigation of China-based European researchers. This analysis shows, first, that significant capital gains exist for natural scientists, as opposed to social scientists, in China, as the former operates in a more internationalized, better-funded, and less politically controlled environment. Second, it demonstrates that European researchers’ migration journeys in China remain predominantly temporary, as their initial advantages tend to fade away over time. Finally, this article finds that European researchers’ reasons for leaving China are connected to challenges beyond the workplace, yet their stay in China becomes an important step in increasing their competitiveness in the global academic labor market.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13132-022-00982-3. Many academics and scholars today have become globetrotters who move across the world in pursuit of science even more than other professions since international networking is a traditional norm in academia Mahroum, . The acaAgainst such a background, many countries are attempting to attract highly skilled migrants in a “war for talent”  scientists when, for example, setting up collaborations or doing fieldwork in China  gaining new capital through a work position in a new environment and (2) valorizing existing, previously acquired, capital. The comparison of capital valuation between sending and receiving countries is the core of a migrant’s assessment of the push from the sending country and the pull from receiving country for making migration decisions. Thus, our comparative analysis involves both structure (macro) and migrant’s agency (micro). Similar approaches in existing research mainly examine new capital gained through migration Bauder,  without Third, the comparative capital advantage highlights a global perspective, beyond the dichotomy of two countries, one sending and one receiving. We see migration (between Europe and China) taking place in a global field of academia, characterized by the “globalization of positional competition” Brown,  or, partFollowing the three novel perspectives mentioned above, we construct the analytical framework of migration for comparative capital advantage Fig. . There aOur focus of analysis is on how academic migrants compare the chances of gaining and valorizing capitals, in the receiving country  with those in their sending countries in Europe Table . In the As this article investigates an understudied topic, we apply an explorative qualitative research method that is suitable for gaining a deeper understanding of lived experience , a European living in China when the interviews were conducted, had been a long-term resident there and a part of the foreign researchers’ communities, although not a researcher herself. Interviewees may have been more open to an interviewer familiar with their situation, which was a unique advantage in the attempt to mitigate potential challenges in data collection common for researchers in authoritarian political regimes  and engineering and natural scientists (ENS)—and, to some extent, between career stages. When it came to the consideration of leaving China, those with dependent children were more concerned with social factors. Although the literature on gender and academic mobility suggests that it is harder for female researchers to be internationally mobile Jöns, , in our n = 21) or the USA (n = 7). Some wanted to advance to the next career level but could not find an adequate faculty position (n = 9) or had professional success but were simply not satisfied with conditions at home (n = 4). For instance, interviewee 14 said, “I was a funding cash cow for my institution. I was successful at what I was doing, gaining lots of industrial funding but had no space to be independent and develop my own research.”Interviewees reported a prevalent dissatisfaction with the working and living conditions in their sending countries. Before the move, interviewees were based in Europe (n = 6). They further described their feelings as “scary” (interviewee 28) or “risky” (interviewee 12) or voiced a need for a “trial period” (n = 3). Several interviewees implied that they took a full-time position in China only because they could not find a suitable job in the West (n = 6), meaning that they accepted the job offer because of an expected comparative capital advantage in China, compared to the possible lack of viable options in their sending countries. The specific advantages for migrants in terms of both gaining new capital and valorizing existing capital are summarized in Table Regardless of the negative views about their situation, interviewees did not find planning to work in China to be an easy choice and described being initially “skeptical” about the move  and those who were motivated primarily by China itself (n = 7). Both were interested in gaining or valorizing country-specific cultural capital (n = 10).The expected comparative capital advantage in the form of social and cultural capital differed between SSH and ENS researchers. The data suggest that ENS researchers often came to China through a job offer or invitation through existing contacts , sometimes in combination with family reasons . ENS researchers, in other words, migrated to China to pursue research without previous cultural capital such as knowledge of the Chinese language or significant experience in China through previous stays. In contrast, SSH researchers were split in two groups: those who came for a specific opportunity and were more similar to ENS researchers (n = 6), a tedious Chinese bureaucracy (n = 6), and high pressure for delivering publications (n = 3). Nevertheless, most interviewees’ job satisfaction level was high, as they experienced a steep learning curve in the launch of a new life chapter. We distinguish among three kinds of experience about the working life in China: (1) Reality exceeded expectations; (2) Reality met expectations; and (3) Expectations were not met . Moreover, they gained access to social capital in the form of a network among Chinese students and researchers, although less than foreseen due to language barriers (n = 3). These capital gains were described by interviewee 28:China is rising; there is funding. All the calls I applied for, where I could, I won the grant. I was a postdoc in Europe, now in my CV, I can show projects where I am a PI or a partner PI, and in most of the cases, I thank China for that. I am invited to more international calls to participate, and I always emphasize my network in China. Had I stayed in Europe, I would never be able to improve my CV so much.All interviewees in this group were senior ENS researchers. Despite initial skepticism about moving to China, their experience in the workplace surpassed their expectations. The gains in economic, social, and symbolic capital were bigger than they had expected. After they adjusted to life in China, its dynamic environment enabled them to apply for funding, access top-notch facilities and modern research infrastructures, materialize ideas quickly, launch projects, hire students, and carry out research. This environment led to a boosted track record in publications and research funding. Their rapid growth in career development also benefitted from significant research freedom as they observed looser regulations regarding ethical reviews, data protection, or animal experiments . Interviewee 1, for example, noted that the translation and supporting services “show that transfer of knowledge is happening. Otherwise, you could just run your lab and be disconnected.”Reality met expectationsn = 13) was the most heterogeneous in terms of disciplinary areas, research fields, employing organizations, and family status. What they had in common was a preparedness to acquire knowledge about the working situation in China before migration. Before migrating to China, they frequently visited China and engaged in cooperation with local institutions (n = 8). Interviewee 16 shared her views:If you’re a strong, well-experienced international, you can do it. If you’re a European coming here with European ideals, it is hard. You need to have done some substantial experience or work outside of Europe to survive here well. It is not about visiting, but it’s about living, and it’s not about surviving, but it’s about thriving, and in order to do that, you need a different outlook. Things will not work the way they work in Europe. You need to adapt and observe.The second group (n = 12) and support from their institution (n = 8). They also displayed a willingness to adapt to and understand the system from a local perspective (n = 9) to be better embedded in the local research community. Nevertheless, they still perceived the local environment as opaque, with frequently changing regulations and burdensome bureaucracy (n = 10).People in this group were content with the availability of research funding (Expectations were not metn = 6), with most at a junior career stage at the time of the interview (n = 4). Although all had been highly motivated to come to China, they were disappointed after arrival. As interviewee 19 pointed out,When I arrived, things were not up to my expectations. The topic I wanted to do was probably too political, and the supervisors didn’t want to take the risk and responsibility. But they don’t tell you, “You can’t do it,” instead, they are trying to nudge you in a different direction. What my supervisor wanted me to do was not what I wanted to do. It was disappointing, and I didn’t feel connected to the research I was supposed to be doing.The third group was homogeneous, as they were all SSH researchers . Unsatisfied researchers experienced professional isolation that hindered their research plans (n = 5) and over time led to not only limited research results but also physical and mental health risks (n = 2). Some reported insufficient local funding (n = 3) and difficulties in acquiring data and accessing fieldwork opportunities (n = 4).New social and cultural capital was difficult to gain, due to differences in research culture, as well as financial, administrative, and governmental barriers . Interviewee 8 summarized the issue with a metaphor of “two TV channels” that shows the differences between the Chinese and Western academic systems in terms of social norms and regulations:The two systems are like two different TV channels. You have to constantly switch between them. In the West, we like to publish articles that engage critically with China, but China has a different analytical vision; they rather praise China and analyze foreign things for their use-value, to see how these can help China. China has a large pool of local talent, and in social sciences and humanities, a foreigner can be a liability. What is our added value? Although a variety of issues were related to losing comparative capital advantages Table , most wen = 1), the need to align their research with political priorities, such as the Belt and Road Initiative (n = 3), or fieldwork restrictions (n = 1). Moreover, when working in Chinese public universities where foreign staff were rare, European researchers could face professional isolation. As interviewee 20 described,In my department, I am the only non-Chinese among eighty. There are many things going on that I cannot master. It took me energy to start interesting projects, I was isolated, I did everything by myself. I was an alien in the department.Some ENS researchers also pointed to a clear trend of intensifying ideological control over universities and research institutes and mentioned the call from their employers to double-check maps (n = 23). Conditions for long-term residency were legally difficult to fulfil. The visa and work permit applications required lengthy renewal periods, even though interviewees had high educational qualifications and were, therefore, supposed to be in high demand by China. For example, only one interviewee had a permanent residency status with a Green Card, and only one interviewee was accurately informed about how to claim retirement or social benefits in the Chinese system. Most Europeans in China probably did not count on retiring there anyway as they perceived it too difficult to stay until retirement (n = 25).The broader social environment was mainly detrimental in three aspects. First, the legal framework and strict conditions for residency were obstacles for most interviewees (n = 24) were based in Beijing or Shanghai, big cities with a vibrant international community. Some foreigners were relatively well integrated, but others did not see the need to integrate, citing the fact that foreigners’ long-term presence was a relatively new phenomenon in a rapidly evolving Chinese society. Some complained of living in a “bubble.” Their inner struggles can be summarized by interviewee 1:Self-relegated to a beautiful corner, a cage, I live in a bubble with other foreigners. This can be good for work, and it can be entertaining at the beginning, but after a while, you want to come back to life, to reality.Second, overall integration into local society proved challenging because of cultural barriers. Most interviewees (n = 10).Third, the economic pressure of living in China forced research participants to consider relocating again. These pressures included high living expenses, especially in Beijing and Shanghai, and the sky-high costs for international insurance, healthcare, and schooling for children. Notably, foreigners considered it impossible to send their children to local public schools unless one parent was a Chinese citizen. Partners on a spouse visa could not legally work, and a single salary was too low to afford expensive international schooling. In addition, some reported air pollution, food safety, environmental degradation, perceived lack of aesthetic beauty in Chinese megacities, and feelings of discomfort of living in a commercialized, competitive society where ethnic or gender discrimination was often the norm , and some had already secured a position abroad or were negotiating one (n = 6). Interviewee 8, who had at the time of interview just accepted a full-time job offer in Europe, said,In terms of career prospects, Europe is a much more reliable choice. What I learned in China will be more appreciated in Europe than in China. China is a separate academic system in terms of the job market, far more unpredictable and difficult to navigate. As a foreigner, you might not have all information, you are missing out if no one ushers you in. Then it is the visa, the personal life quality, and ability to plan my future. The story might have been different if I had a Chinese spouse, but most people, even though they have a great time, in the long run, want to get away.As such, these European researchers in China were likely to be attracted by openings available on the global academic job market. Many expressed their desire to leave, although they strongly appreciated the experience in China  than they had expected before arrival. Their knowledge about the Chinese working environment gleaned from previous visits to China, as a China-specific cultural capital, helped mitigate risk and manage expectations before arrival. SSH researchers, however, were disadvantaged in gaining economic and social capitals in China. They faced professional isolation detrimental to their careers, especially if they lacked sufficient academic experience, professional networks, and a research track record. Regarding the future career prospects, the longer European researchers worked in China, the better they were able to see the challenges related to Chinese society and academia, which negatively affected their job satisfaction level. Therefore, European researchers were likely to utilize the capital they accumulated in China to advance their careers elsewhere in the long run.Specifically, our analysis reveals the following findings. Regarding European researchers’ Although our research focuses on academic migration, it also contributes to studies on knowledge-based society or innovation ecosystems. Specifically, it enhances theoretical understandings of academic migration, as an essential phenomenon in innovation ecosystems that consist of “fractal, multi-level, multi-modal, multi-nodal, and multi-lateral configurations of dynamic tangible and intangible assets” . Furthermore, the EU and European national governments may consider that most European researchers in China would prefer to return to Europe if an opportunity arose and, thus, support new funding instruments for return migration, ease or harmonize migration regulations, and disseminate information about existing initiatives. The Chinese side should be warned that unless significant improvements are made in terms of both policies and organizational practices, European researchers working in China are unlikely to remain there. Chinese universities and research institutes should not treat foreign staff as short-term visitors but rather as long-term colleagues and allow them to retain their international exposure through research leaves or sabbaticals abroad. Additionally, Chinese employers could offer foreign staff packages that consider dual careers, healthcare, housing, and education for dependent children. These suggestions for improvement at the organizational level require changes in policy frameworks at the national level.Finally, it remains to be seen how the COVID-19 pandemic and rapidly changing relationship between the world’s major powers will affect academic migration flows and direction of travel. Since early 2020, COVID-19 measures have effectively locked many foreigners, including academic staff, out of China, due to border closures and restrictions on in-bound travel Lau, . NeverthSupplementary file1 (DOCX 76 KB)Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.


Older adults prefer to age in place. Social network change and health decline challenge ageing in place, as stressors that make age-related advantages disappear. The aim of this study was to explore social network change and health decline and its impact on older adults who are ageing in place.n = 16) were conducted with older adults who were ageing in place and who were experiencing health decline and social network change. Procedures for grounded theory building were followed to analyse the interviews with respondents who were discharged from the hospital less than 4 months ago (n = 7). Narrative analysis was conducted to reach a deeper understanding of the expected complexity of experiences of this targeted sample.In-depth interviews .The results present an optimistic view on the possibilities of older adults to continue ageing in place despite experiencing unavoidable and uncontrollable stressors in life. Also, the results provide leads for practice, to develop an action perspective for home care nurses and gerontological social workers to determine and reduce the impact of social network change and health decline on older adults who are ageing in place. Suggestions for further research would be to unravel how to detect temporal setbacks in successful ageing in place.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12877-021-02385-6. Older adults prefer to age in place –3 or areIn the literature, many results have been published regarding the impact of social network change and health decline on older adults who are ageing in place in Western societies. Studies on socio-emotional trajectories throughout the life-span , 31–33 iSocial network changes and health decline may be perceived as unavoidable and uncontrollable (temporarily) stressors. These stressors have the potential to make age-related advantages of social network change disappear and have a negative impact on older adults, which compromises ageing in place. In this study, we aim to add to the literature a more comprehensive understanding of these stressors. Therefore, we explore the impact of health decline and social network changes on older adults by appreciating older adults as experts on the subject and by using a qualitative research design to understand the complexity of older adults’ personal experiences more thoroughly . The folAn exploratory qualitative research design was followed to explore the experiences of health decline and social network change of older adults who are ageing in place. A brief interview protocol allowed the respondents to narrate the subject freely, leaving room for their own subject matters and main concerns . The stun = 16) aged > 65, who were recruited through four home care organisations from the networks of the Academic Collaborative Centre Elderly (ACC)  I heard you experienced health decline recently. Can you tell me more about that period?” and “Do you perceive your life has changed since your health decline?” Additionally, a set of supporting questions was asked, on the one hand to draw out experiences – “How did you feel about that?” and “How did you deal with that?” – and on the other hand, to guide the narrative toward social network changes – “Do you still do the same things as before your health decline?” and “With whom?” The interviews lasted between 60 and 120 min and ended when information saturation appeared to be reached. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Original files were stored in accordance with the data management protocols of Tilburg University and transcripts were anonimised by the first author before data analysis. Data . For example, respondent 6 told how her children took care of her after her hospital admission (what) and she used this fragment as an introduction (why) to tell how often her children still visited her and how much she enjoys it (how) as she finishes this fragment making her point (interpret) that she  and her husband  are very different persons. Finally, a summary was made of all seven interviews, with the open codes used, the themes, the first-discussion remarks, the second-discussion comments, and a summarised interpretation of the researchers. The summaries and the preliminary versions of this paper were discussed with the researchers and the supervisors  to answer the research questions.First, the interview with respondent 1 was open coded in Atlas.ti 8, and the researchers discussed these codes until consensus was reached . For example, a text fragment of respondent 1 -“the assistant of the general practitioner did nothing too, just nothing, nothing” was coded with ‘abandoned by professionals’. Second, the coded interview of respondent 1 was read again by the researchers  and a listening guide , to starting their stories with major life events, concerning their early childhood (5) or young adulthood (4). Two respondents’ stories began with the loss of their wives, over a decade ago 2, 3), and one respondent’s initial story spanned a decade of health decline (7). In this paper, the results focus on the changes in the period of ‘old age’ in the respondents’ lives. The respondents defined ‘old age’ as the period in life in which the respondent had finished his or her working life or the working life of his or her spouse and which is sometimes  explicitly marked by the respondent with a life event . In Table , and oneMoreover, respondents described various situations and defining moments that occurred in their life stage of ‘old age’. Below, the emerging themes on experiences with health decline are mentioned: “temporarily losing yourself,” “preferring permanent medical attention and involvement,” “home (bitter) sweet home,” “being aware of a permanent setback,” “adapting oneself and continuing life.” Respondents also narrated their experiences of social network change, and below, the emerging themes were presented: “regretting social network losses,” “gratitude for support,” and “persisting social engagement.”“And I have been very anxious, I did not recognize myself anymore, because I’m not such a fearful type of woman, not at all.”Respondents hardly had any memories of their stay in the hospital or missed several days of the admission from their memory . They recalled that they hallucinated , they failed to recognise the doctor (1), or they were conscious but could not participate in a conversation . This made them feel anxious and helpless, specifically – according to respondent 1 – because she was not even able to formulate a request for help anymore:“he always tries to make the most of it” – and respondent 1 appreciated when her physician talked to her as an equal person. However, respondents also mentioned that their doctors were hardly available for a conversation during their period of health decline , and retrospectively, they expected more information or insights on their treatment . Once home again, when medical involvement had been terminated or scaled back, respondents felt abandoned by their doctors , insecure about their further rehabilitation , and that they needed more medical involvement and support  to get well again. Respondent 3 told about his further rehabilitation at home:“There, in the rehabilitation centre, I was Mr. (name). And how far is Mr. (name)? There was overview, you got an overview. So, you could ask: what about the future, how do you see the future? And then you got an answer that was supported by all therapists. ( …). But now, here [WV: at home], the speech therapist can tell me what she thinks, but it does not bring me anywhere if my mobility is not alright yet!”Respondents mentioned specific moments of contact they had with their doctors . Respondent 2 expressed great faith in his neurologist – as “And that’s what they send me home with, with the message that I had cancer and that I would get surgery soon. Well, I can tell you, I have never had such a rotten Christmas like then. All alone, I was in the hospital all week, and when I came home the shops were closed. ( …) So I sat here alone, with a piece of dry bread, I had no groceries in my home. I have never had such a horrible Christmas.”All respondents received support, over a longer period or since the hospital admission, from family members , from home care or at-home rehabilitation professionals , or from friends or acquaintances . During the recent period of health decline, they were surprised by unexpected visits, postcards, and other expressions of attention , and in general, they were satisfied with the support they received . However, respondent 3 experienced stress because of the large number of professionals that suddenly entered his home after hospital admission. He felt himself forced to keep an agenda and schedule the appointments he had to make. It made him feel robbed of his freedom. Respondents 1, 3, and 5 felt that they needed more support with household activities when they arrived back home. They had to take care of more issues than before hospital admission – medication, appointments, arranging help – but were less able to do so. Feelings of anxiety and helplessness struck them. Although respondents mentioned that it is nice to be home again , they expressed that it is not easy to be a patient in your own home  and it takes a certain amount of time to create order and oversight at home again . Respondent 5 told the interviewer how he came home, alone, on Christmas Eve, after a hospital admission of a week:“And yesterday, I tried my bicycle for the first time again, but that was a disappointment. My physical condition is not good enough yet. (…) So, that’s what I start with today: every day some practicing on my hometrainer to strengthen my legs, because even when walking I notice it’s not what it should be.After a period of health decline, respondents stated that they kept having a hard time overseeing their home situation . They perceived that the recent health decline had affected their abilities to structure their daily lives . Respondents discovered that a full recovery might not be feasible  and that some physical constraints may remain . This raised doubts and insecurities about the recovery that might be expected  and on the extent to which they would fully recover into their old selves anyway . Respondent 7 told that he re-organised his medication intake for the progressive illness he suffers, as to lose less energy on getting up in the morning, which should enable him to regain his physical condition hopefully partly after his hospital admission:“No, because I can’t do it anymore, I cannot … if I go out in the afternoon, then I can’t go in the evening … I don’t do it anymore. On a birthday [WV: where it is noisy], at first I participated, if you know what I mean, and now I just sit there and well, sometimes someone comes to sit next to me to talk ( …) and I don’t drink anymore, so … Well, I go in the mornings, a couple of hours and then … then I just go home again. No, I don’t care, it’s not bothering me.”Irrespective of a chronic or an acute health change, respondents reported that their lives had changed  in a sense that they had become more dependent on others  and that their radius of action had become smaller , whether or not the change was temporary (3). In the end, they still felt they had to be self-reliant  and had to accept their situation ; although, they ensured the interviewers that they still managed themselves quite well . Respondent 2 answered, to the question if he still goes out sometimes, despite impediments:“Well, it [WV: his social network] keeps on narrowing, right? I have to say, it becomes … it evolves like that, very slowly. If you think back, then you recognize what you used to do, during the day en then you see, well … now you do almost nothing, as a matter of fact.”All respondents mentioned the contacts they had with family, friends, neighbours, acquaintances, and the people with whom they shared a hobby or a field of interest. They expressed happiness with rich social lives  or sadness because of the loss of it (2), whereas spontaneous visitors and gatherings were referenced as examples of a rich social life . However, the rich social lives appeared to have changed, sometimes rapidly and sometimes slowly, due to a decreasing radius of action due to health decline . Social contacts were lost whereas new ones remained absent . The absence of contacts felt like a limitation of being oneself  and as a gap (5). Holidays and day trips were gone, and hobbies were not accessible or reachable anymore . Remaining social contacts diluted and faded out . Respondent 2 reflected:‘. .. well the groceries are not a problem, I’m sure they’ll arrive. But everything around it, well that’s gone!’.In periods of health decline, respondents were surprised by the attention of close and more peripheral contacts and were grateful for the support they received from family, friends, and professionals . However, it appeared to be important for respondents that supporters tried to understand their situation. It made them feel heard and seen . Moreover, being able to return a favour to helpers made respondents feel as if they were still needed somewhere . Respondent 3 briefly illustrated his situation of being in the middle of social losses on the one hand and being grateful for the received help on the other. He felt frustrated because he was restricted in his freedom, by which he meant that he cannot take his time to shop anymore, lingering and meeting acquaintances from his old village, and having small talk.“Well, they [WV: her eight children and their families] come home a lot. Last Saturday, it was remarkable, because they had … , they come to have a coffee then, sometimes all of them, sometimes three or four of them and then there was –what a coincidence- the one with the baby, the partner of my grandson … well, I’m having the time of my life at that moment!”Respondents claimed to be social people  and hospitable (6). Respondents mentioned that they liked to go out  and that they were willing to continue social participation . Spontaneous meetings and visits were considered as a substantiation of wealthy living . Respondent 6 was proud of her hospitality and very pleased with the amounts of people it still brought to her home:In Table Although experiences regarding health decline and social network change appeared to be generally present in the interviews with the respondents, the impact of these changes appeared to differ widely between respondents.“When can I go home then?’, ‘Well, that’s what you have to decide yourself’, Oh, I cannot hear the word “help request” anymore! ‘You have to request for help yourself.’ I said: ‘now what?’ ‘You are the spider in your own web, you have to arrange things yourself’. I said: ‘you know what I am?! I am a spider that dangles to only one thread and I can only try to not break that tread, that’s all!!’Respondents 1, 3, and 5 were overwhelmed by the health decline that struck them for the first time in their lives. They were interviewed right in the middle of this life altering experience  or afterwards, when life had taken its course again (1). Narratives with emotional statements expressed the impact of the recent health decline. Respondents 2, 4, 6, and 7 were already familiar with health decline or were gradually ageing. The recent hospital admission was only a small part of their narratives and appeared to have had hardly any impact. Respondents 1, 3 and 5 repeatedly got agitated while telling the story on their health decline, e.g. respondent 1 about the period that she stayed in the care hotel:“Well, it has become a ‘sitting’ life now. In contrast to earlier days, because there were always lots of activities, even if I was retired.”A high impact of social network change was found when loved ones (i.e. family or friends) were lost permanently or temporarily. Respondents were recently isolated from their friends (3), had to deal with a cooled off contact with a sole biological family member (5), or had drifted away from earlier social lives in the past decade . Narratives of these respondents were permeated with frustration, melancholy, and sadness with respect to this topic. On the contrary, social network change hardly appeared to have impacted other respondents . They had not lost anyone (1) or lost a few acquaintances but felt little regret about it (6) or lost family members in earlier life, as part of a complicated family history, but appeared to have accepted that (4). Respondents 2, 3, 5 and 7 narrated the profound impact of the changes in their social networks, e.g. respondent 7. He spoke extensively regarding, what he called, ‘social work’ with war veterans. Several stories passed by on his activities for this group, on the trips to foreign countries for them and the gratefulness he received from the veterans and, later, from their descendants. He sight:The interviews with the seven respondents were plotted into a table along dimensions of health decline and social network change. The impact of experiences on both dimensions were qualified as ‘high’ or ‘low’ for every respondent. This exercise generated a preliminary typology of impact while ageing in place and experiencing social network change and health decline Fig. .Fig. 1AA.Sneak preview of being old, due to first time health decline, but without damage to the social network (yet).B.Disruptive transition to being old, due to first time health decline and damage to the social network.C.Drastically ageing, due to being experienced in health decline and social network damage.D.Steadily ageing, due to being experienced in health decline or due to regular ageing, but without damage to the social network.In addition to how experiences of health decline and social network change impact older adults, we found indications in the narratives regarding why respondents experienced different impacts despite similar experiences of health decline and social network change. The first indication is that determining impact, based on an interview, appeared to be equivalent to making a snapshot of someone’s life. Moreover, the snapshot is taken during a period of changes. The second indication is that, despite having experienced similar events, impact was only present when preferences, values, and needs were not met during these events.Interviews appeared to be a single moment within a life course. Respondents carried a lifelong history with them. The histories contained impactful, or even traumatic life events , sometimes even from early childhood on. However, respondents not only narrated their past and present, but they also mentioned their future. They told the interviewers to persevere and carry on, and they looked forward to their near future , to recovery, to move to other living arrangements, to an uncertain future, or even to a self-chosen moment of death. Experiences of social network change and health decline were placed within an historic context and sometimes made histories revive. Respondent 1 looked back at her temporary period of health decline and was relieved that her social life had retaken its regular course, whereas respondents 3 and 5 were caught right in the middle of a period of health decline and they were anxious to get their health and social life back soon. Respondents 2 and 7 did not have that prospect. They were at a moment in their life courses in which their health could only get worse and, parallel to that, their social lives too. For example, the narratives of respondents 2 and 7 mainly contained pleasant stories and anecdotes about past times, which contrasted sharply with their current daily lives. Therefore, making two snapshots within a certain time span could result in different types of impact. This would mean that respondents should be able to move along the typology.Preferences varied between respondents; for example, some respondents preferred community-based and cultural activities – such as going to the theatre, joining a senior’s orchestra, or organising a city-event , − while others preferred social encounters with friends, outdoors , or with family at home (6). Also, variety occurred in the extent to which preferences could still be fulfilled with the resources they had left after health decline and social network change. For example, respondent 1 was used to participating in cultural activities, and despite her health decline, she was still able to organise a visit to a piano recital with friends, including transport and special seats for visitors in a wheelchair. On the other hand, respondent 2 preferred to go out with friends, playing cards until dawn and grabbing a beer downtown. However, he appeared to be unable to maintain these outdoor contacts with his friends due to his ongoing health decline, and he also appeared to find it hard to talk about the difficulties in his changing life and that of his friends. Moreover, his health decline hindered him from going to crowded places with loud noises and make new friends.Next to preferences, values and needs in respect to social encounters also varied between respondents. For example, autonomy and self-management (1) and independence and freedom (3) were prevailing values that could not be met during a period of health decline. This made respondents 1 and 3 feel frustrated and anxious. For respondent 5, being heard and seen was very important but not realised because his close friends could not fill the gap of his biological family. This made him feel alone anyway, but since his health decline, even more than ever because he could not share his story with a significant other. Respondents 2 and 7 revealed that the social contacts they presently missed served purposes of hedonism (2) and acknowledgement (7), which prompted feelings of melancholy. In contrast, respondents 4 and 6 valued reciprocity of relations highly, and they appeared to still be able to maintain reciprocal relations. They appeared to still feel needed: one constantly invited people into her home for coffee and a listening ear (6) and another expressed satisfaction on the few reciprocal contacts she had left despite a loss of family and friends in the past (4). This would mean that health decline and social network change do not automatically have impact (quartile D). Impact occurs only when preferences, values, and needs are not met .In exploring social network change and health decline and the impact on older adults who are ageing in place, we found experiences of health decline  sweet home, being aware of a permanent setback, adapting and continuing life) and experiences of social network change . However, despite similar experiences of comparable events, the impact appeared to vary greatly between respondents. Plotting the interviews into a table and qualifying the impact as high or low resulted in a preliminary typology of ‘impact while ageing in place’. The four types of impact that we distinguished were A. Sneak preview of old age, B. Disruptive transition into old age, C. Drastically ageing, and D. Steadily ageing. Additionally, we found indications of why respondents experienced different impacts despite similar experiences of health decline and social network change. We found that determining impact is equivalent to making a snapshot, which means that older adults could move along the typology when making multiple snapshots over time. Finally, we found that impact was determined when preferences, values, and needs were not met, which means that preferences, values, and needs were met in quartile D and were not met in the other quartiles.Our exploration of experiences of social network change and health decline and its impact on older adults who are ageing place is informative on personal differences despite similar experiences but leaves older adults underexposed as ‘active agents’. For that matter, the literature indicates that older adult’s characteristics, e.g. self-esteem, mastery and self-efficacy, can contribute as coping resources in regaining wellbeing after persistent health decline . A more Firstly, the results of the present study appear to confirm the premise that social network change and health decline are unavoidable and uncontrollable stressors that disrupt successful ageing in place  sweet home, being aware of permanent setback, and adapting and continuing life) reflect a process of negotiation and navigation of (in) dependence after health decline. According to a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies, older adults are likely to face challenges in care coordination, in managing the health and social consequences of hospital admission , and in finding their way throughout life again . AnotherThirdly, our results – indicating that impact of health decline and social network change varies between older adults – are in line with findings on the social diversity of older adults who are ageing in place. Literature not only indicates that a diversity in social needs is culturally and individually determined  and thatThis study has implications for further research as well as for practice. A suggestion for future research would be to unravel how to detect temporal setbacks in outcomes of social health, well-being, and successful ageing among older adults who are ageing in place. This would contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of how resilience and the ability to adapt and to self-manage among older adults may be enhanced , 57, 63.A limitation of this study is the relatively small number of respondents that we interviewed. The home care nurses who recruited participants were all confronted with a personnel shortage and increasing demands. In fact, actively recruiting participants for this study appeared time-consuming in respect to their workload. Therefore, the period of data collection was rather long, and the numbers of applications remained low, which raised questions on the data saturation and which limited the generalisation of the results of this study. However, a certain amount of data saturation seemed reached and the limitation forced the researchers to analyse the available material more thoroughly. Analysing the narratives from the in-depth interviews appeared suitable. Retrospectively, it is this combination of grounded theory building and narrative analysis that provided us with a comprehensive understanding of impact along the two dimensions, of health decline and social network change, in older adults who are ageing in place. Another strength of the current study was that the open interviews with older adults themselves enabled us to analyse the voices of the ones profoundly at stake.This study aimed to explore experiences of social network change and health decline and the impact on older adults. Results indicate that health decline and social network change are unavoidable and uncontrollable (temporary) stressors that might, but not necessarily, hinder successful ageing. We distinguished four types of impact on older adults: A. Sneak preview of old age, B. Disruptive transition into old age, C. Drastically ageing, and D. Steadily ageing. The four types indicate that impact might diverge despite similar experiences, but also that older adults should be able to move along the four types of impact. These results present an optimistic view on the possibilities of older adults to continue ageing in place despite experiencing unavoidable and uncontrollable adversities in life. Also, the results provide leads for practice, to develop an action perspective for home care nurses and gerontological social workers to determine and reduce the impact of social network change and health decline on older adults who are ageing in place. Suggestions for further research would be to unravel how to detect temporal setbacks in successful ageing.Additional file 1.Additional file 2.