The Northern region of the Netherlands has beautiful landscapes, a nice diversity of green and blue areas, and dispersed settlements. However, some recent population changes can become threats to health and wellbeing in these areas.The rural areas in the three northern provinces - Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe, see youngsters leave the region for which reason they are aging faster than other regions in the Netherlands. As a result, some villages have faced major population decline that is leading to lose of facilities/amenities and decrease in accessibility and social cohesion. Those who still live in these villages; are relatively old, low educated and have low-income. To develop a deeper understanding of the health status of the people living in these areas, and help them to improve their living environment, the GO!-Method is being applied in this study. This method has been developed by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) of the Netherlands and is inspired by the broad definition of health by Machteld Huber: the ability to adapt and direct control, in terms of the physical, emotional and social challenges of life, while paying extra attention to vulnerable groups. A healthy living environment is defined as an environment that residents find it pleasant, and encourages and supports healthy behavior. The GO!-method integrates six domains that constitutes a healthy living environment: Health and lifestyle, facilities and development, Safety and hygiene, Social cohesion and active citizens, Green areas, and Air and noise pollution.First of all this method will identify opportunities for a healthier living environment using existing information and perceptions of residents and other local stakeholders in order to strengthen social participation and quality of life in these rural areas. Second this approach will connect identified opportunities with available and effective evidence based interventions in order to develop an action plan from the residents and local authorities perspective which will help them to design their municipalities healthier and more resilient. This method is being used for the first time in rural areas to our best knowledge, in close collaboration with the residents and local authorities of the three provinces to create a sustainable process and stimulate social participation.Our paper will present the outcomes of the first phase of this project in collaboration with the municipality of Westerkwartier, located in the northwest of the province of Groningen. And will describe the current situation, and identify local assets, opportunities, and policies relating to healthier environment; as well as needs and challenges to achieve goals. The preliminary results show that rural demographic changes in the northern Netherlands have negative impacts on service provisions and social cohesion, and there is a need to understand this complicated situation and improve the quality of life in those areas.
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Lignocellulose biorefining is a promising technologyfor the sustainable production of chemicals and biopolymers.Usually, when one component is focused on, the chemical natureand yield of the others are compromised. Thus, one of thebottlenecks in biomass biorefining is harnessing the maximumvalue from all of the lignocellulosic components. Here, we describea mild stepwise process in a flow-through setup leading to separateflow-out streams containing cinnamic acid derivatives, glucose,xylose, and lignin as the main components from differentherbaceous sources. The proposed process shows that minimaldegradation of the individual components and conservation oftheir natural structure are possible. Under optimized conditions,the following fractions are produced from wheat straw based ontheir respective contents in the feed by the ALkaline ACid ENzyme process: (i) 78% ferulic acid from a mild ALkali step, (ii) 51%monomeric xylose free of fermentation inhibitors by mild ACidic treatment, (iii) 82% glucose from ENzymatic degradation ofcellulose, and (iv) 55% native-like lignin. The benefits of using the flow-through setup are demonstrated. The retention of the ligninaryl ether structure was confirmed by HSQC NMR, and this allowed monomers to form from hydrogenolysis. More importantly, thecrude xylose-rich fraction was shown to be suitable for producing polyhydroxybutyrate bioplastics. The direct use of the xylose-richfraction by means of the thermophilic bacteria Schlegelella thermodepolymerans matched 91% of the PHA produced with commercialpure xylose, achieving 138.6 mgPHA/gxylose. Overall, the ALACEN fractionation method allows for a holistic valorization of theprincipal components of herbaceous biomasses.
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Knowledge management (KM) is difficult to pin down. It means different things in different organisations. The deliberate use of metaphors has been used to communicate what KM is about. This metaphorical communication can be even more enriched using visual as well as language mechanisms: ”a picture paints a thousand words” suggests we can capture more resonances of a complex subject like KM through visuals than through a description alone. In addition, visuals are perceived to transcend the limitations of language, which can be an obstacle to communication. Yet, no method currently exists that we can use to identify KM metaphors used in visuals. This paper describes our search for a method to analyse metaphors used in visuals about knowledge management. Our objective was threefold: 1) identifying new metaphors for KM in visuals that can enrich KM theorizing, 2) developing a way to identify which visuals are the most powerful in communicating KM theory, and 3) improving the use of visuals as a way of assessing students studying KM. We found that analysing metaphors used in KM visuals is possible using a method that focuses on the dominant metaphors in a visual.
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Digital transformation has been recognized for its potential to contribute to sustainability goals. It requires companies to develop their Data Analytic Capability (DAC), defined as their ability to collect, manage and analyze data effectively. Despite the governmental efforts to promote digitalization, there seems to be a knowledge gap on how to proceed, with 37% of Dutch SMEs reporting a lack of knowledge, and 33% reporting a lack of support in developing DAC. Participants in the interviews that we organized preparing this proposal indicated a need for guidance on how to develop DAC within their organization given their unique context (e.g. age and experience of the workforce, presence of legacy systems, high daily workload, lack of knowledge of digitalization). While a lot of attention has been given to the technological aspects of DAC, the people, process, and organizational culture aspects are as important, requiring a comprehensive approach and thus a bundling of knowledge from different expertise. Therefore, the objective of this KIEM proposal is to identify organizational enablers and inhibitors of DAC through a series of interviews and case studies, and use these to formulate a preliminary roadmap to DAC. From a structure perspective, the objective of the KIEM proposal will be to explore and solidify the partnership between Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas), Avans University of Applied Sciences (Avans), Logistics Community Brabant (LCB), van Berkel Logistics BV, Smink Group BV, and iValueImprovement BV. This partnership will be used to develop the preliminary roadmap and pre-test it using action methodology. The action research protocol and preliminary roadmap thereby developed in this KIEM project will form the basis for a subsequent RAAK proposal.
The research proposal aims to improve the design and verification process for coastal protection works. With global sea levels rising, the Netherlands, in particular, faces the challenge of protecting its coastline from potential flooding. Four strategies for coastal protection are recognized: protection-closed (dikes, dams, dunes), protection-open (storm surge barriers), advancing the coastline (beach suppletion, reclamation), and accommodation through "living with water" concepts. The construction process of coastal protection works involves collaboration between the client and contractors. Different roles, such as project management, project control, stakeholder management, technical management, and contract management, work together to ensure the project's success. The design and verification process is crucial in coastal protection projects. The contract may include functional requirements or detailed design specifications. Design drawings with tolerances are created before construction begins. During construction and final verification, the design is measured using survey data. The accuracy of the measurement techniques used can impact the construction process and may lead to contractual issues if not properly planned. The problem addressed in the research proposal is the lack of a comprehensive and consistent process for defining and verifying design specifications in coastal protection projects. Existing documents focus on specific aspects of the process but do not provide a holistic approach. The research aims to improve the definition and verification of design specifications through a systematic review of contractual parameters and survey methods. It seeks to reduce potential claims, improve safety, enhance the competitiveness of maritime construction companies, and decrease time spent on contractual discussions. The research will have several outcomes, including a body of knowledge describing existing and best practices, a set of best practices and recommendations for verifying specific design parameters, and supporting documents such as algorithms for verification.
The project aims to improve palliative care in China through the competence development of Chinese teachers, professionals, and students focusing on the horizontal priority of digital transformation.Palliative care (PC) has been recognised as a public health priority, and during recent years, has seen advances in several aspects. However, severe inequities in the access and availability of PC worldwide remain. Annually, approximately 56.8 million people need palliative care, where 25.7% of the care focuses on the last year of person’s life (Connor, 2020).China has set aims for reaching the health care standards of the developed countries by 2030 through the Healthy China Strategy 2030, where one of the improvement areas in health care includes palliative care, thus continuing the previous efforts.The project provides a constructive, holistic, and innovative set of actions aimed at resulting in lasting outcomes and continued development of palliative care education and services. Raising the awareness of all stakeholders on palliative care, including the public, is highly relevant and needed. Evidence based practice guidelines and education are urgently required for both general and specialised palliative care levels, to increase the competencies for health educators, professionals, and students. This is to improve the availability and quality of person-centered palliative care in China. Considering the aging population, increase in various chronic illnesses, the challenging care environment, and the moderate health care resources, competence development and the utilisation of digitalisation in palliative care are paramount in supporting the transition of experts into the palliative care practice environment.General objective of the project is to enhance the competences in palliative care in China through education and training to improve the quality of life for citizens. Project develops the competences of current and future health care professionals in China to transform the palliative care theory and practice to impact the target groups and the society in the long-term. As recognised by the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), palliative care competences need to be developed in collaboration. This includes shared willingness to learn from each other to improve the sought outcomes in palliative care (EAPC 2019). Since all individuals have a right to health care, project develops person-centered and culturally sensitive practices taking into consideration ethics and social norms. As concepts around palliative care can focus on physical, psychological, social, or spiritual related illnesses (WHO 2020), project develops innovative pedagogy focusing on evidence-based practice, communication, and competence development utilising digital methods and tools. Concepts of reflection, values and views are in the forefront to improve palliative care for the future. Important aspects in project development include health promotion, digital competences and digital health literacy skills of professionals, patients, and their caregivers. Project objective is tied to the principles of the European Commission’s (EU) Digital Decade that stresses the importance of placing people and their rights in the forefront of the digital transformation, while enhancing solidarity, inclusion, freedom of choice and participation. In addition, concepts of safety, security, empowerment, and the promotion of sustainable actions are valued. (European Commission: Digital targets for 2030).Through the existing collaboration, strategic focus areas of the partners, and the principles of the call, the PalcNet project consortium was formed by the following partners: JAMK University of Applied Sciences (JAMK ), Ramon Llull University (URL), Hanze University of Applied Sciences (HUAS), Beijing Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH), Guangzhou Health Science College (GHSC), Beihua University (BHU), and Harbin Medical University (HMU). As project develops new knowledge, innovations and practice through capacity building, finalisation of the consortium considered partners development strategy regarding health care, (especially palliative care), ability to create long-term impact, including the focus on enhancing higher education according to the horizontal priority. In addition, partners’ expertise and geographical location was also considered important to facilitate long-term impact of the results.Primary target groups of the project include partner country’s (China) staff members, teachers, researchers, health care professionals and bachelor level students engaging in project implementation. Secondary target groups include those groups who will use the outputs and results and continue in further development in palliative care upon the lifetime of the project.
