Learning objects are bits of learning content. They may be reused 'as is' (simple reuse) or first be adapted to a learner's particular needs (flexible reuse). Reuse matters because it lowers the development costs of learning objects, flexible reuse matters because it allows one to address learners' needs in an affordable way. Flexible reuse is particularly important in the knowledge economy, where learners not only have very spefic demands but often also need to pay for their own further education. The technical problems to simple and flexible are rapidly being resolved in various learning technology standardisation bodies. This may suggest that a learning object economy, in which learning objects are freely exchanged, updated and adapted, is about to emerge. Such a belief, however, ignores the significant psychological, social and organizational barriers to reuse that still abound. An inventory of these problems is made and possible ways to overcome them are discussed.
Climate change and changing land use challenge the livability and flood safety of Dutch cities. One option cities have to become more climate-proof is to increase infiltration of stormwater into soil through permeable pavement and thus reduce discharge of stormwater into sewer systems. To analyze the market receptivity for permeable pavements in the Netherlands, this article focuses on the perception of end-users towards key transition factors in the infrastructure transformation processes. Market receptivity was studied on two levels: (1) on the system level, by analyzing 20 key factors in the Dutch urban water sector that enable wider application of permeable pavements; and (2) on the technology level, by analyzing 12 key factors that explain why decision makers select permeable pavements or not. Results show that trust between cooperating partners was perceived as the system level key factor that needs to be improved most to facilitate the wider uptake of permeable pavements. Additionally, the association of end-users with permeable pavement, particularly their willingness to apply these technologies and their understanding of what kinds of benefits these technologies could bring, was regarded the most important receptivity attribute. On the technology level, the reliability of permeable pavement was regarded as the most important end-user consideration for selecting this technology.
Careers work is a very political business. Since the early 1990s, successive governments in England and the Netherlands have persistently challenged those working in the careers sector to demonstrate the educational, social and economic value and impact of their work. In this context, the marketisation of career guidance policies and practices has expanded, with a growing assumption that market-based goods and services ensure greater responsiveness to consumer choice and offer better and/or more innovative services for lower prices. In this article, we do not intend to give a comparison of trends in England and the Netherlands. We only examine the impact of market principles applied to career guidance provision in both countries. Findings indicate such provision for young people is on a steady decline. Lessons learned from these two nations indicate that a market for quality career services does not exist in schools and colleges. As a result, marketisation and privatisation of career services have led to an impoverished and fragmented supply of services. Greater attention by governments in career guidance policies for young people (and adults) is necessary to reduce the widening gap between ‘the haves and have nots’ in society. Failure to reduce labour market mismatch through new forms of careers dialogue is not only damaging and costly for individuals, families and employers, but for the taxpayer too.
Students in Higher Music Education (HME) are not facilitated to develop both their artistic and academic musical competences. Conservatoires (professional education, or ‘HBO’) traditionally foster the development of musical craftsmanship, while university musicology departments (academic education, or ‘WO’) promote broader perspectives on music’s place in society. All the while, music professionals are increasingly required to combine musical and scholarly knowledge. Indeed, musicianship is more than performance, and musicology more than reflection—a robust musical practice requires people who are versed in both domains. It’s time our education mirrors this blended profession. This proposal entails collaborative projects between a conservatory and a university in two cities where musical performance and musicology equally thrive: Amsterdam (Conservatory and University of Amsterdam) and Utrecht (HKU Utrechts Conservatorium and Utrecht University). Each project will pilot a joint program of study, combining existing modules with newly developed ones. The feasibility of joint degrees will be explored: a combined bachelor’s degree in Amsterdam; and a combined master’s degree in Utrecht. The full innovation process will be translated to a transferable infrastructural model. For 125 students it will fuse praxis-based musical knowledge and skills, practice-led research and academic training. Beyond this, the partners will also use the Comenius funds as a springboard for collaboration between the two cities to enrich their respective BA and MA programs. In the end, the programme will diversify the educational possibilities for students of music in the Netherlands, and thereby increase their professional opportunities in today’s job market.
Deze aanvraag onderzoekt hoe de beta-versie van de Dynamische Arousal-Valence Tool - ontwikkeld binnen SIA-RAAK’s Network is the Message – naar de markt gebracht kan worden. De DAVTool meet sentiment in social media posts. Sentimentanalyse levert cruciale informatie voor social media managers, online marketeers en content strategen. Zij móeten weten wat het sentiment over hun product, bedrijf of dienst is om adequaat te kunnen interveniëren. De huidige manier van meten levert niet voldoende inzicht. De nieuwe DAVTool vult de meting aan en meet sentiment op een innovatieve manier en geeft als gevolg meer en betere informatie.
Om onze groeiende wereldbevolking op een duurzame manier te kunnen voeden moeten we op zoek naar toekomstbestendige vormen van voedselproductie. We streven naar een akker- en tuinbouw waarbij minder verloren gaat, natuurlijke hulpbronnen worden gespaard en bodemecologie en biodiversiteit worden versterkt. Waar conventionele akkerbouw leunt op de inzet van grote zware machines, chemische bestrijdingsmiddelen en kunstmest, richten we ons in dit onderzoek op de inzet van lichtere en kleinere agrarische robots. Hierdoor ontstaan nieuwe manieren van telen en rijden er geen zware machines meer op het land. Als gevolg hiervan vind er minder bodemverdichting plaatst en hoeft het land niet te worden omgeploegd. In Nederland worden op dit moment een aantal agrarische robots ontwikkeld. Dit zijn inherent complexe systemen en er zijn nog een aantal uitdagingen die moeten worden opgelost voordat deze robots het veld op kunnen. Wij richten ons in dit project op de software die nodig is om de robot autonoom, oftewel zelfstandig, te kunnen laten rijden. We willen een beproefd framework aanvullen en toepassen, zodat deze op agrarische robots gebruikt kan worden. In dit project werkt Saxion samen met zes pioniers op het gebied van agrarische robots in Nederland. In een voorgaand project zijn oplossingsrichtingen verkend en in dit project worden de ontbrekende schakels ontwikkeld. Voor de navigatie gebruiken we Robot Operating System (ROS), het framework dat wereldwijd door grote robotbouwers wordt gebruikt: In dit project modelleren en simuleren we de robots. Ontbrekende onderdelen worden ontwikkeld, samengesteld of geconfigureerd. Tenslotte wordt de software op de fysieke robots getest. De ontwikkelde software wordt al gedurende de ontwikkeling als open source project publiek beschikbaar gesteld. Met de resultaten van het onderzoek kan de time-to-market voor nieuwe agrarische robots drastisch worden verlaagd.
