Accurate and reliable decision-making in the criminal justice system depends on accurate expert reporting and on the correct interpretation of evidence by the judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers. The present study aims to gain insight into the judiciary's capability to assess the accuracy and reliability of forensic expert reports by first examining the extent to which criminal justice professionals are able to differentiate between an accurate (or sound) expert report and an inaccurate (or unsound) expert report. In an online questionnaire, 133 participants assessed both a sound and an unsound expert report. The findings show that, on average, participants were unable to significantly distinguish between sound and unsound forensic expert reports. Second, the study explored the influence of institutional authority on the evaluation of forensic expert reports. Reports that were not recognized as flawed—particularly those originating from well-known and reputable institutions—were subjected to less critical examination, increasing the risk of evaluation errors. These results suggest that the perceived institutional authority influences the assessment of forensic evidence. The study highlights the need for tools to support criminal justice professionals in evaluating forensic evidence, particularly when experts are unregistered. Recommendations include adhering to established quality standards, consulting counter-expert evaluations, improving courtroom communication, and enhancing forensic knowledge through training. Overall, the findings underscore the importance of critical evidence evaluation to reduce the risk of misinterpretation and wrongful convictions in the judicial process.
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Cooperatives are special because the members not only own the cooperative, but also patronize it. CEO’s decision has an impact on the overall members’ interests. Understanding how CEOs differ from members regarding their evaluations on cooperative performance and what causes the differences, is valuable for CEOs to best serve the members. This paper evaluates the difference between CEO and member evaluation regarding their cooperatives, and further examines the role of governance in predicting the evaluations and differences in evaluations, based on a set of first-hand data containing Chinese agricultural cooperatives (240 CEOs and 543 members). Cooperative performance is measured by three indicators: member profitability, social influence in the local community, and overall performance. The results show that members have higher scores than CEOs regarding member profitability and overall performance, while CEOs have a higher evaluation regarding social influence. “This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in 'The Social Science Journal' on 27 Jan. 2020 available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1016/j.soscij.2019.01.006. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiao-peng-20466772/
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OBJECTIVES: To improve transmural palliative care for acutely admitted older patients, the PalliSupport transmural care pathway was developed. Implementation of this care pathway was challenging. The aim of this study was to improve understanding why the implementation partly failed.DESIGN: A qualitative process evaluation study.SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: 17 professionals who were involved in the PalliSupport program were interviewed.METHODS: Online semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis to create themes according to the implementation framework of Grol & Wensing.RESULTS: From this study, themes within four levels of implementation emerged: 1) The innovation: challenges in current palliative care, the setting of the pathway and boost for improvement; 2) Individual professional: feeling (un)involved and motivation; 3) Organizational level: project management; 4) Political and economic level: project plan and evaluation.CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: We learned that the challenges involved in implementing a transmural care pathway in palliative care should not be underestimated. For successful implementation, we emphasize the importance of creating a program that fits the complexity of transmural palliative care. We suggest starting on a small scale and invest in project management. This could help to involve all stakeholders and anticipate current challenges in palliative care. To increase acceptance, create one care pathway that can start and be used in all care settings. Make sure that there is sufficient flexibility in time and room to adjust the project plan, so that a second pilot study can possibly be performed, and choose a scientific evaluation with both rigor and practical usefulness to evaluate effectiveness.
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Due to the existing pressure for a more rational use of the water, many public managers and industries have to re-think/adapt their processes towards a more circular approach. Such pressure is even more critical in the Rio Doce region, Minas Gerais, due to the large environmental accident occurred in 2015. Cenibra (pulp mill) is an example of such industries due to the fact that it is situated in the river basin and that it has a water demanding process. The current proposal is meant as an academic and engineering study to propose possible solutions to decrease the total water consumption of the mill and, thus, decrease the total stress on the Rio Doce basin. The work will be divided in three working packages, namely: (i) evaluation (modelling) of the mill process and water balance (ii) application and operation of a pilot scale wastewater treatment plant (iii) analysis of the impacts caused by the improvement of the process. The second work package will also be conducted (in parallel) with a lab scale setup in The Netherlands to allow fast adjustments and broaden evaluation of the setup/process performance. The actions will focus on reducing the mill total water consumption in 20%.
Aangejaagd door hogere klanteisen, het snelle tempo van technologische ontwikkelingen en demografische verschuivingen en daaruit voortvloeiende toenemende personeelstekorten, staan mkb-bedrijven voor de uitdaging om te investeren in adaptiviteit en leervermogen van hun medewerkers. Mkb-bedrijven en hun medewerkers zullen steeds slimmer gebruik moeten maken van nieuwe technologie en zichzelf continu moeten doorontwikkelen. Vooral voor de groep praktisch opgeleide medewerkers ligt er een uitdaging om ze proactief te stimuleren en een cultuur te creëren waarin leren en ontwikkelen een vanzelfsprekend onderdeel is van het werk en waarbij de diversiteit aan menselijk kapitaal optimaal wordt benut (SER, 2021). In zo’n werkomgeving ontstaan steeds meer creatieve samenwerkingsprocessen tussen een verscheidenheid aan mensen binnen de organisatie, tussen bedrijven onderling en met onderwijsinstellingen. Veel mkb-bedrijven onderschrijven de noodzaak van zo’n leercultuur. Echter, deze bedrijven ervaren dat het hen zelf onvoldoende lukt om een leercultuur van de grond te krijgen. Het is lastig voor mkb-bedrijven om inzicht te krijgen in de eigen leercultuur en te achterhalen welke interventies passen om deze cultuur concreet te verbeteren. In dit project onderzoeken we samen met tien mkb-bedrijven hun leercultuur door middel van een gevalideerde leercultuurscan en door het toepassen en monitoren van passende interventies. We monitoren deze interventies op basis van de ‘realistic evaluation’ benadering en trachten daarmee te achterhalen welke interventies in de mkb-praktijk effectief zijn. Op basis van de onderzoeksresultaten ontwikkelen we een toolbox met een set van interventies voor de mkb-praktijk. Om dit te realiseren werken we intensief samen met kennispartners Hogeschool Saxion, Hogeschool Rotterdam en Universiteit Twente. Verder bestaat het consortium uit brancheorganisatie Bouwend Nederland, Stichting OOM (scholingsadviesbureau van sociale partners in de Metaalbewerking), Regio Zwolle – programma Human Capital Agenda, Centre of Expertise TechYourFuture, VNO-NCW en arbeidsmarktregio Zwolle. De effectieve interventies voor een leercultuur leiden tot (praktische) kennisontwikkeling voor mkb-bedrijven, onderwijs en wetenschap.
For the general public harbour and grey seals are the symbol of the Wadden Sea. The Wadden Sea is an ideal environment for seals: sandbanks that fall dry at low tide are important for rest and for suckle pups. However, the total population of harbour seals has first stabilized and later decreased in recent years, while the annual number of pups born has increased, but the mechanisms underlying this mismatch remain unclear. Furthermore, the harbour seal population has declined since 2022, but the cause of this decline is also unknown. The objective of the proposed study is to increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the population trends of harbour seals currently observed in the Dutch Wadden Sea. The study will be carried out by a consortium, involving key players involved in seal conservation and research in the Netherlands. Furthermore, to ensure that the research is embedded in the international context, the Common Wadden Sea Secretariat is a partner in the consortium. The consortium partners have concluded that essential monitoring data on harbour seals is missing and therefore we propose to investigate and report on four themes: (1) mapping of governance, stakeholders and data landscape, (2) identifying mechanisms underlying the observed population numbers, by reviewing available evidence and exploring possible mechanisms, (3) evaluation and improvement of harbour seal monitoring and (4) communication and advice for governance. We will share our findings through reports, scientific papers, infographics, conference presentations, workshops, and proposed monitoring protocols. We will synthesize and communicate our findings targeting four specific groups: (1) the general public (2) the scientific community, (3) educational institutions, and finally (4) the ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV), providing them with advice on how to advance research, conservation and management of the harbour seal population in the Dutch Wadden Sea.
