Het afgelopen decennium hebben we de ontwikkeling en diffusie gezien van pc s en internet. Op dit ogenblik heeft 75% van de Nederlandse huishoudens een pc thuis, en 62 % ook een internetverbinding. Tijd besteed aan televisie en het gedrukte woord wordt vervangen door internet-tijd. Hoewel hiervan steeds meer onder de noemer entertainment valt (uitwisselen van muziek, spelen van computer-games), heeft deze ontwikkeling significante gevolgen voor de manier waarop burgers (wetenschappelijke) informatie zoeken en vinden. Google verdringt de Encyclopfdia Britannica van de troon. De belangrijkste ontwikkeling op het snijvlak van digitalisering en wetenschap is niet zozeer de grotere rekenkracht maar de toegenomen toegankelijkheid van wetenschappelijke informatie, zowel in de communicatie tussen wetenschappers (via virtuele bibliotheken en discussielijsten) als tussen wetenschappers en studenten (via elektronische leeromgevingen). Waar dit eerst nog de vorm aannam van digitaal ontsluiten van traditionele media, dat wil zeggen het digitaliseren van reeds c.q. ook op papier beschikbare artikelen, neemt dit snel de vorm aan van nieuwe kennis-producten, zoals een web-essay. Er ontstaan ook informatie-hangplekken, d.w.z. verdichtingen in de digitale communicatie rondom specifieke thema s. Meestal neemt dit de vorm aan van een website (met daarop artikelen, maar ook beleidsstukken, nieuws, casuostiek) met daarbij een discussieplatform. Wie nu wat zoekt over bijvoorbeeld onderwijsachterstanden, gaat niet naar de bibliotheek, maar komt via google terecht bij www.oatransfer.nl. Wie wat over informeel leren wil weten, komt na wat zoeken terecht op www.infed.org en heeft verder geen behoefte meer aan op traditionele wijze gepubliceerde informatie. Door deze ontwikkeling van digitalisering en in het publieke domein plaatsen van wetenschappelijke informatie ontstaat ook een grotere communicatie tussen wetenschappers en werkveld. Nu eind 2003 het kabinet via het innovatieplatform en anderszins de kennisoverdracht tussen hoger onderwijs en werkveld benadrukt, kan ook de graadmeter van kwaliteit van wetenschappelijk onderzoek wijzigen: het is tijd om de science citation index aan te vullen met de google citation index.
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Background: People with severe mental illnesses (SMIs) have difficulty participating in society through work or other daily activities. Aims: To establish the effectiveness with which the Boston University Approach to Psychiatric Rehabilitation (BPR) improves the level of social participation in people with SMIs, in the Netherlands. Method: In a randomized controlled trial involving 188 people with SMIs, we compared BPR (n = 98) with an Active Control Condition (ACC, n = 90) (Trial registration ISRCTN88987322). Multilevel modeling was used to study intervention effects over two six-month periods. The primary outcome measure was level of social participation, expressed as having participated in paid or unpaid employment over the past six months, as the total hours spent in paid or unpaid employment, and as the current level of social participation. Secondary outcome measures were clients’ views on rehabilitation goal attainment, Quality of Life (QOL), personal recovery, self-efficacy, and psychosocial functioning. Results: During the study, social participation, QOL, and psychosocial functioning improved in patients in both groups. However, BPR was not more effective than ACC on any of the outcomes. Better social participation was predicted by previous work experience and a lower intensity of psychiatric symptoms. Conclusions: While ACC was as effective as BPR in improving the social participation of individuals with SMIs, much higher percentages of participants in our sample found (paid) work or other meaningful activities than in observational studies without specific support for social participation. This suggests that focused rehabilitation efforts are beneficial, irrespective of the specific methodology used.
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Summary: Xpaths is a collection of algorithms that allow for the prediction of compound-induced molecular mechanisms of action by integrating phenotypic endpoints of different species; and proposes follow-up tests for model organisms to validate these pathway predictions. The Xpaths algorithms are applied to predict developmental and reproductive toxicity (DART) and implemented into an in silico platform, called DARTpaths.
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This study explores how non-executive directors are challenged by management while they seek to improve the effectiveness of supervisory boards in the Netherlands. A combination of semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire among non-executive directors indicates that supervisory board members mainly experience boardroom challenges in three core areas: the ability of non-executive directors to ask management critical questions, information asymmetries between the management and supervisory boards and the management of the relationship between individual executive and non-executive directors. The qualitative in-depth analysis reveals the complexity of the main contributing factors to problems in the boardroom as well as the range of process and social interventions non-executive directors use to address boardroom issues. The findings highlight the need to better understand boardroom processes and the need of non-executive directors to carefully manage relationships in and around the boardroom.
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Competitive advantage is probably the most popular business concept today (Mooney, 2007). This article aims to investigate critically the discourse on competitive advantage, as expressed by business literature, by locating its meanings in the public higher education sector. This research reveals that people working within the HEIs have given broader and more diversified meanings to this concept, which are partly due to the message received from external environment, and partly because of the influence of professional settings in which they function. By studying these diversified meanings, 13 elements are identified in constructing the competitive advantages of higher education institutions. Furthermore, the importance of each element is rated and ranked which enables us to assess the quantitative significance. The clarification of this container concept “competitive advantage” leads to the conclusion that the business way of defining of competitive advantage should be critically reviewed and verified in the context of public higher education sector, because the competition in the public education market is different from the normal market competition defined by the business literature.
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This open access book is a valuable resource for students in health and other professions and practicing professionals interested in supporting effective change in self-management behaviors in chronic disease, such as medication taking, physical activity and healthy eating. Developed under the auspices of the Train4Health project, funded by the Erasmus+ program of the European Union, the book contains six chapters written by international contributors from different disciplines. This chapter presents open-access educational products that supplement this book: case studies and a web application to simulate behaviour change support in persons with chronic disease. The former is of particular interest for academic educators, while the latter may interest students independently pursuing training outside the classroom. These products can also be useful for professionals aiming to enhance behaviour change competencies in practice. First, it addresses key aspects of product development, including hallmarks such as the incorporation of behaviour change science and transnational co-production with users. Then, the main features of case studies and the web application with 2D virtual humans are described.
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In large organizations, innovation activities often take place in separate departments, centers, or studios. These departments aim to produce prototypes of solutions to the problems of operational business owners. However, too often these concepts remain in the prototype stage: they are never implemented and fall into what is popularly termed the Valley of Death. A design approach to innovation is presented as a solution to the problem. However, practice shows that teams that use design nevertheless encounter implementation challenges due to the larger infrastructure of the organization they are part of. This research aims to explore which organizational factors contribute to the Valley of Death during design innovation. An embedded multiple case study at a large heritage airline is applied. Four projects are analyzed to identify implementation challenges. A thematic data analysis reveals organizational design, departmental silos, and dissimilar innovation strategies contribute to the formation of, and encounters with, the Valley of Death. Arising resource-assignment challenges that result from these factors are also identified. Materialization, user-centeredness, and holistic problem framing are identified as design practices that mitigate encounters with the Valley of Death, thus leading to projects being fully realized. https://doi.org/10.1111/dmj.12052 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-de-lille-8039372/
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Ecocentrism has roots in environmental philosophy, which questions the conceptual dichotomy between humans and the environment, acknowledging nonhuman species' right to flourish independently of human interest (Naess 1973). Generally, ecocentrism refers to a planet- and nature-centered as opposed to the human-centered (anthropocentric) system of values. Inspired by this philosophy, ecocentric education focuses on intrinsic values of the ecosystem, environment, and individual living beings and habitats in environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD). https://rd.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-319-63951-2 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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Acne vulgaris is considered one of the most common medical skin conditions globally, affecting approximately 85% of individuals worldwide. While acne is most prevalent among adolescents between 15 to 24 years old, it is not uncommon in adults either. Acne addresses a number of different challenges, causing a multidimensional disease burden. These challenges include clinical sequelae, such as post inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH) and the chance of developing lifelong disfiguring scars, psychological aspects such as deficits in health related quality of life, chronicity of acne, economic factors, and treatment-related issues, such as antimicrobial resistance. The multidimensionality of the disease burden stipulates the importance of an effective and timely treatment in a well organised care system. Within the Netherlands, acne care provision is managed by several types of professional care givers, each approaching acne care from different angles: (I) general practitioners (GPs) who serve as ‘gatekeepers’ of healthcare within primary care; (II) dermatologists providing specialist medical care within secondary care; (III) dermal therapists, a non-physician medical professional with a bachelor’s degree, exclusively operating within the Australian and Dutch primary and secondary health care; and (IV) beauticians, mainly working within the cosmetology or wellness domain. However, despite the large variety in acne care services, many patients experience a delay between the onset of acne and receiving an effective treatment, or a prolonged use of care, which raises the question whether acne related care resources are being used in the most effective and (cost)efficient way. It is therefore necessary to gain insights into the organization and quality of Dutch acne health care beyond conventional guidelines and protocols. Exploring areas of care that may need improvement allow Dutch acne healthcare services to develop and improve the quality of acne care services in harmony with patient needs.
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