Universities have become more engaged or entrepreneurial, forging deeper relations with society beyond the economic sphere. To foster, structure, and institutionalize a broader spectrum of engagement, new types of intermediary organizations are created, going beyond the “standard” technology transfer oces, incubators, and science parks. This paper conceptualizes the role of such new-style intermediaries as facilitator, enabler, and co-shaper of university–society interaction, making a distinction between the roles of facilitation, configuration, and brokering. As a case study, the paper presents the Knowledge Mile in Amsterdam as a novel form of hyper local engagement of a university with its urban surroundings that connects the challenges of companies and organisations in the street to a broad range of educational and research activities of the university, as well as to rebrand the street.
Background and purposeWithin Northwest European Welfare states, there is a growing need for all social work professions to substantiate their work with research. The earliest notions of social street work origins from the end of the18th century by the British Salavation Army (Mikkonen et al., 2007). In the Netherlands it’s introduced from the United States (1960s), as a response to individuals and groups hanging around. Social street work is a low threshold and professional form of being there, performed in surroundings and situations where the target group is. It focusses on contact-making and staying in contact with individuals and marginalised groups, who otherwise are hard to reach, have lost their connection with society and have multiple problems. It’s a high appreciated practice, but it lacks a method that is substantiated with research (Morse et all, 1996; Kirkpatrick, 2000). In this paper we will present conceptual model of the method of social street work, that’s substantiated with experiences from professionals and the target group.MethodThis paper is based on a combination of literature review, document analysis, Delphi Method and an online questionnaire among the target group. The research is conducted at Streetcornerwork in Amsterdam. Streetcornerwork is the only organization in the Netherlands that provides social street work, since WWII. They employ 175 professional social street workers and has 43 years of experience in social street work.First, a theoretical model of social street work is developed bases on literature review, analyses of documents of the establishment (1970-1990)of social street work (Netherlands) and different attempts to describe the method (1991-2017). Second, the explanation model is strengthened with data from the online questionnaire among 1600 clients of Streetcornerwork. Third, the Delphi Method is used to validate the model with the tacit knowledge of 24 professionals.ResultsThe result is a conceptual model of the method of social street work that is substantiated with experiences from professionals and the target group. Characteristic is that it’s an open approach in contact with the target group which is highly dependent on context and has unpredictable character (Metz, 2016 , Andersson, 2011).The method social street work consists of 14 methodic principles,. Social street work contributesto the development of self-insight and general life skills, the restoration of the social network and the improvement of living conditions and the well-being of the target group. We also gain insight in the experienced contribution of social street work from persons in the environment of the target group (client system, neighborhood and institutional environment). This experienced contribution of social street work at theenvironment is divided into the direct contribution and the implicated contribution through the target group.Conclusions and implicationsThis conceptual model of the method of social street work contributes to a body of knowledge. We made tacit knowledge explicit and we can legitimize the profession of social street work. Because research is done in close collaboration with street workers, it also contributes to the development of their work.
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Research showed that more than 30% of patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) do not benefit from evidence- based treatments: Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). These are patients with prolonged and multiple traumatization, with poor verbal memory, and patients with emotional over-modulation. Retelling traumatic experiences in detail is poorly tolerated by these patients and might be a reason for not starting or not completing the recommended treatments. Due to lack of evidence, no alternative treatments are recommended yet. Art therapy may offer an alternative and suitable treatment, because the nonverbal and experiential character of art therapy appears to be an appropriate approach to the often wordless and visual nature of traumatic memories. The objective of this pilot study was to test the acceptability, feasibility, and applicability of trauma-focused art therapy for adults with PTSD due to multiple and prolonged traumatization (patients with early childhood traumatization and refugees from different cultures). Another objective was to identify the preliminary effectiveness of art therapy. Results showed willingness to participate and adherence to treatment of patients. Therapists considered trauma-focused art therapy feasible and applicable and patients reported beneficial effects, such as more relaxation, externalization of memories and emotions into artwork, less intrusive thoughts of traumatic experiences and more confidence in the future. The preliminary findings on PTSD symptom severity showed a decrease of symptoms in some participants, and an increase of symptoms in other participants. Further research into the effectiveness of art therapy and PTSD is needed.
In de automotive sector vindt veel onderzoek en ontwikkeling plaats op het gebied van autonome voertuigtechnologie. Dit resulteert in rijke open source software oplossingen voor besturing van robotvoertuigen. HAN heeft met haar Streetdrone voertuig reeds goede praktijkervaring met dergelijke software. Deze oplossingen richten zich op een Operational Design Domain dat uitgaat van de publieke verkeersinfrastructuur met daarbij de weggebruikers rondom het robotvoertuig. In de sectoren agrifood en smart industry is een groeiende behoefte aan automatisering van mobiele machinerie, versterkt door de actuele coronacrisis. Veel functionaliteit van bovengenoemde automotive software is inzetbaar voor mobiele robotica in deze sectoren. De toepassingen zijn enerzijds minder veeleisend - denk aan de meer gestructureerde omgeving, lagere snelheden en minder of geen ‘overige weggebruikers’ – en anderzijds heel specifiek als het gaat over routeplanning en (indoor) lokalisatie. Vanwege dit specifiek karakter is de bestaande software niet direct inzetbaar in deze sectoren. Het MKB in deze sectoren ervaart daarom een grote uitdaging om dergelijke complexe autonome functionaliteit beschikbaar te maken, zonder dat men kan voorbouwen een open, sectorspecifieke softwareoplossing. In Automotion willen de aangesloten partners vanuit bestaande kennis en ervaring tot een eerste integratie en demonstratie komen van een beschikbare automotive open source softwarebibliotheek, aangepast en specifiek ingezet op rijdende robots voor agrifood en smart industry, met focus ‘pickup and delivery’ scenario’s. Hierbij worden de aanpassingen - nieuwe en herschreven ‘boeken’ in de ‘bibliotheek’ - weer in open source gepubliceerd ter versterking van het MKB en het onderwijs. Parallel hieraan willen de partners ontdekken welke praktijkvragen uit dit proces voortvloeien en welke onderliggende kennislacunes in de toekomst moeten worden ingevuld. Via open workshops met uitnodigingen in diverse netwerken worden vele partijen uitgenodigd om gezamenlijk aan de hand van de opgedane ervaringen van gedachten te wisselen over actuele kennisvragen en mogelijke gezamenlijke toekomstige beantwoording daarvan.
Onze straten zijn in transitie: Verdichting door de bouw van 1 miljoen nieuwe woningen in de bestaande stad; de versnippering van nieuwe vormen van (deel)mobiliteit; vergroening; installaties en objecten voor energietransitie; de introductie van biobased en circulaire materialen; de verschraling van het winkelaanbod; de introductie van heel nieuwe typen woonmilieus. Allemaal werkt door in de straatruimte; de gedeelde publieke ruimte tussen de gebouwen die cruciaal is voor de leefkwaliteit en well-being van inwoners. Het maken van de straatruimte vindt gefragmenteerd en geleidelijk plaats. Met de bouw van 1 miljoen nieuwe woningen de komende tien jaar is de impact echter nauwelijks te overschatten. Gemeentelijke overheden bepalen de kaders en stellen de regels, maar de daadwerkelijke keuzes en uitwerkingen worden door ontwerpbureaus gemaakt. Deze MKB-ers twijfelen of de gangbare opwerpoplossingen inderdaad de well-being versterken. Zij hebben urgente behoefte aan meer evidence based kennis hierover, vernieuwde ontwerpoplossingen en kennisdeling. Met deze mkb-vraag gaat dit onderzoek aan de slag. Dit onderzoeksvoorstel richt zich op de straatruimte op ooghoogte, de nieuwe verdichtingslocaties, drie gebruikersgroepen (bewoners, passanten, bezoekers) en de impact op well-being van de huidige ontwerpoplossingen, mede in relatie tot nieuwe vereisten vanuit personenmobiliteit en vergroening. Hiertoe hebben we een consortium samengesteld van architectuur, stedenbouw, landschapsarchitectuurbureaus, brancheorganisaties en een reflectiegroep van ruimtelijk opdrachtgevers en interdisciplinaire internationale academici. We bouwen voort op ons exploratieve onderzoek Sensing Streetscapes en de daarin geteste nieuwe technologieën (artificial intelligence en eye-tracking-technologie uit de neurologie) en zetten die in om de impact van ontwerpoplossingen op de well-being van gebruikers van de straatruimte te meten – en tussentijdse resultaten in te zetten om een cultuur van reflectie en innovatie in de praktijk van de ruimtelijke ordening aan te jagen.
The reclaiming of street spaces for pedestrians during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as on Witte de Withstraat in Rotterdam, appears to have multiple benefits: It allows people to escape the potentially infected indoor air, limits accessibility for cars and reduces emissions. Before ordering their coffee or food, people may want to check one of the many wind and weather apps, such as windy.com: These apps display the air quality at any given time, including, for example, the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a gas responsible for an increasing number of health issues, particularly respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Ships and heavy industry in the nearby Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest seaport, exacerbate air pollution in the region. Not surprisingly, in 2020 Rotterdam was ranked as one of the unhealthiest cities in the Netherlands, according to research on the health of cities conducted by Arcadis. Reducing air pollution is a key target for the Port Authority and the City of Rotterdam. Missing, however, is widespread awareness among citizens about how air pollution links to socio-spatial development, and thus to the future of the port city cluster of Rotterdam. To encourage awareness and counter the problem of "out of sight - out of mind," filmmaker Entrop&DeZwartFIlms together with ONSTV/NostalgieNet, and Rotterdam Veldakademie, are collaborating with historians of the built environment and computer science and public health from TU Delft and Erasmus University working on a spatial data platform to visualize air pollution dynamics and socio-economic datasets in the Rotterdam region. Following discussion of findings with key stakeholders, we will make a pilot TV-documentary. The documentary, discussed first with Rotterdam citizens, will set the stage for more documentaries on European and international cities, focusing on the health effects—positive and negative—of living and working near ports in the past, present, and future.
