This article analyzes how a city can generate instrumental, intrinsic, and institutional value from its event-related networks and platforms, based on the Hieronymus Bosch 500 program in the Dutch city of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch). Interviews with key stakeholders traced program dynamics over more than a decade to reveal processes of network and platform development, encapsulated in a conceptual model of strategic value creation. The results indicate that networks served to generate flows of resources, while programming helped develop platforms for knowledge generation and dissemination, helping to focus attention on the city. The Bosch 500 Foundation managing the program played an effective role in developing and supporting networks, which in turn generated significant short-term instrumental and intrinsic value. However, the failure to establish a sustainable city-wide platform related to the Bosch program caused institutional value destruction, which many saw as a missed opportunity. The study of networks and platforms can benefit from a longitudinal approach as well as a broader, contextual view of event networks.
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Agrobiodiversity has been decreasing substantially in Europe. Social scientific research in this area has paid limited attention to how citizens value agrobiodiversity and its decline, and how these valuations can be influenced. We explore the influence of different arguments for enhancing agro-biodiversity, delivered via short movies, on attitudes and behaviour of students, environmental professionals and people interested in nature conservation in the Netherlands. We conclude that information provision does not influence attitudes. However, it does influence values assigned to agrobiodiversity, but not always in the ways we hypothesized. Information about the intrinsic value of agrobiodiversity has the most effects on values assigned to agrobiodiversity. Among students, women and people with a low emotional attachment with agricultural landscapes (‘place identity’ and ‘place dependence’), emphasizing the instrumental value of agrobiodiversity has a counter-intuitive effect. It does not influence the importance of this value but instead reinforces the intrinsic value they assign to agrobiodiversity. The latter finding is at odds with the instrumental biodiversity discourse in science and policy, which, under headings such as ecosystem services and natural capital, aims to mobilize support for nature conservation by emphasizing its instrumental, functional and economic values. Emphasizing the intrinsic value of agrobiodiversity seems more effective.
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Background The plantar intrinsic foot muscles (PIFMs) have a role in dynamic functions, such as balance and propulsion, which are vital to walking. These muscles atrophy in older adults and therefore this population, which is at high risk to falling, may benefit from strengthening these muscles in order to improve or retain their gait performance. Therefore, the aim was to provide insight in the evidence for the effect of interventions anticipated to improve PIFM strength on dynamic balance control and foot function during gait in adults. Methods A systematic literature search was performed in five electronic databases. The eligibility of peer-reviewed papers, published between January 1, 2010 and July 8, 2020, reporting controlled trials and pre-post interventional studies was assessed by two reviewers independently. Results from moderate- and high-quality studies were extracted for data synthesis by summarizing the standardized mean differences (SMD). The GRADE approach was used to assess the certainty of evidence. Results Screening of 9199 records resulted in the inclusion of 11 articles of which five were included for data synthesis. Included studies were mainly performed in younger populations. Low-certainty evidence revealed the beneficial effect of PIFM strengthening exercises on vertical ground reaction force (SMD: − 0.31-0.37). Very low-certainty evidence showed that PIFM strength training improved the performance on dynamic balance testing (SMD: 0.41–1.43). There was no evidence for the effect of PIFM strengthening exercises on medial longitudinal foot arch kinematics. Conclusions This review revealed at best low-certainty evidence that PIFM strengthening exercises improve foot function during gait and very low-certainty evidence for its favorable effect on dynamic balance control. There is a need for high-quality studies that aim to investigate the effect of functional PIFM strengthening exercises in large samples of older adults. The outcome measures should be related to both fall risk and the role of the PIFMs such as propulsive forces and balance during locomotion in addition to PIFM strength measures.
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Professionals such as gerontologists play an important role in thedesign, development and implementation of age-friendly services.and products, by using working methods and principles of co-creation.A Dutch undergraduate applied gerontology programme aims totrain students in the why, how and what of co-creation. The degreeto which students are intrinsically motivated to develop competenciesdepends on how their psychological needs are met. Theseneeds are autonomy, an awareness of competence and a sense ofrelatedness, as described in the self-determination theory. To nurturethe intrinsic motivation of the applied gerontology students, arealistic, powerful learning environment called the Living LabApplied Gerontology was designed and implemented. The aim ofthis paper is to present the design of this powerful learning environmentand to discuss its value for nurturing the students’ intrinsicmotivation for co-creation. Based on a focus group with eightstudents, we identify directions for further research and developmentof living labs.
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Junior design professionals experience conflicts in collaboration with others, with value differences being one of the issues influencing such conflicts. In a retrospective interview study with 22 design professionals, we collected 32 cases of perceived conflicts. We used a grounded theory approach to analyse these cases, resulting in five conflict categories that group 24 distinct value differences arising in 10 critical moments, an event that causes the value-based conflict. Thus, value differences are underlying the perceived conflicts of junior design professionals on many different occasions during collaboration with others. Conclusions are drawn on setting up guidelines for addressing values in co-design practices and supporting junior designers in their professional development.
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Ecocentrism is the broadest term for worldviews that recognize intrinsic value in all lifeforms and ecosystems themselves, including their abiotic components. Anthropocentrism, in contrast, values other lifeforms and ecosystems insofar as they are valuable for human well-being, preferences and interests. Herein, the authors examine the roots of ecocentrism and discuss its mixed history of international recognition. They argue that non-human nature has intrinsic value irrespective of human preferences or valuation, and they refute the claim that ecocentrism is misanthropic. They then summarize four key examples from the academic literature in which anthropocentrism fails to provide an ethic adequate for respecting and protecting planet Earth and its inhabitants. The authors conclude that ecocentrism is essential for solving our unprecedented environmental crisis, arguing its importance from four perspectives: ethical, evolutionary, spiritual and ecological. They contend that a social transformation towards ecocentrism is not only an ethical but a practical imperative, and they urge support for ecocentric understanding and practices. https://www.ecologicalcitizen.net/article.php?t=why-ecocentrism-key-pathway-sustainability https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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Increasing students’ motivation in higher education by designing a specific curriculum has always been a challenging but very complex process. The Department of Business, Finance and Marketing (BFM) of The Hague University of Applied Sciences (THUAS) initiated a redesign of the curricula with the major goals of increasing flexibility of learning opportunities and offering students a more motivating, inspiring and richer diversity of learning experiences. In the literature of learning in higher education this has often been labeled as ‘offering extracurricular learning opportunities’. The redesign of the curriculum implies that the new one will result in an enhancement of the flexibility of the curriculum, by offering learning opportunities beyond the borders of specific programs like marketing, finance or entrepreneurship and retail management. The richness and diversity should create flexible platforms, offering students the possibility to enrich their career choices to design their own personalised career path, hopefully maximizing the possibilities for their talent development. However, very little is known about the relationship between the students’ satisfaction with extracurricular learning opportunities, aiming at the personalisation of students’ career choices, and their motivation. In this chapter we describe our research into this relationship between student motivation and learning environments. Designing a network curriculum by increasing the possibility of extracurricular learning opportunities in higher education could have a positive impact on students’ motivation when it is combined with activities to increase goal students’ commitment. This depends on teachers’ qualities to communicate the valence and instrumentality of the learning possibilities offered for the prospective work environment. This is a complex issue however. Teachers from different educational programs, even in the same domain, have a different orientation on existing learning opportunities within one specific program. Excellent coaching skills by tutors are important. These coaching skills are necessary to support students in the process of envisioning extracurricular learning opportunities when important career choices have to be made.
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This paper investigates how management accounting and control systems (operationalized by using Simons’ (1995a) levers of control framework) can be used as devices to support public value creation and as such it contributes to the literature on public value accounting. Using a mixed methods case study approach, including documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews, we found diverging uses of control systems in the Dutch university of applied sciences we investigated. While belief and interactive control systems are used intensively for strategy change and implementation, diagnostic controls were used mainly at the decentral level and seen as devices to make sure that operational and financial boundaries were not crossed. Therefore, belief and interactive control systems lay the foundation for the implementation of a new strategy, in which concepts of public value play a large role, using diagnostic controls to constrain actions at the operational level. We also found that whereas the institution wanted to have interaction with the external stakeholders, in daily practice this takes place only at the phase of strategy formulation, but not in the phase of intermediate strategy evaluation.
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Background To gain insight into the role of plantar intrinsic foot muscles in fall-related gait parameters in older adults, it is fundamental to assess foot muscles separately. Ultrasonography is considered a promising instrument to quantify the strength capacity of individual muscles by assessing their morphology. The main goal of this study was to investigate the intra-assessor reliability and measurement error for ultrasound measures for the morphology of selected foot muscles and the plantar fascia in older adults using a tablet-based device. The secondary aim was to compare the measurement error between older and younger adults and between two different ultrasound machines. Methods Ultrasound images of selected foot muscles and the plantar fascia were collected in younger and older adults by a single operator, intensively trained in scanning the foot muscles, on two occasions, 1–8 days apart, using a tablet-based and a mainframe system. The intra-assessor reliability and standard error of measurement for the cross-sectional area and/or thickness were assessed by analysis of variance. The error variance was statistically compared across age groups and machines. Results Eighteen physically active older adults (mean age 73.8 (SD: 4.9) years) and ten younger adults (mean age 21.9 (SD: 1.8) years) participated in the study. In older adults, the standard error of measurement ranged from 2.8 to 11.9%. The ICC ranged from 0.57 to 0.97, but was excellent in most cases. The error variance for six morphology measures was statistically smaller in younger adults, but was small in older adults as well. When different error variances were observed across machines, overall, the tablet-based device showed superior repeatability. Conclusions This intra-assessor reliability study showed that a tablet-based ultrasound machine can be reliably used to assess the morphology of selected foot muscles in older adults, with the exception of plantar fascia thickness. Although the measurement errors were sometimes smaller in younger adults, they seem adequate in older adults to detect group mean hypertrophy as a response to training. A tablet-based ultrasound device seems to be a reliable alternative to a mainframe system. This advocates its use when foot muscle morphology in older adults is of interest.
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In het hoger onderwijs wordt het pedagogisch klimaat veronachtzaamd. Het concept wordt niet mee in beschouwing genomen bij onderwijsinnovatie en onderwijsonderzoek. Dit artikel definieert het concept voor het hbo en werkt het uit op basis van de Zelf-Determinatie Theorie van Ryan en Deci (2000). Zowel voor volwassen werknemers als voor jonge leerlingen geldt dat zij binnen een klimaat dat tegemoet komt aan hun psychologische basisbehoeften aan relatie, competentie en autonomie, beter presteren en een hogere mate van welbevinden ervaren. Belangrijke factor daarin is de stimulans van hun autonome motivatie. Verkennend onderzoek onder studenten en docenten van de Academie voor Sociale Professies wijst op toegevoegde waarde van het in beschouwing nemen van een pedagogisch klimaat bij het overwegen van maatregelen om studiesucces te verbeteren. Een heldere kijk op het pedagogisch klimaat kan het ondersteunen van de motivatie van studenten en zodoende het verbeteren van hun leren theoretisch en empirisch verankeren. ABSTRACT In Dutch Higher Education, no attention is being paid to the Pedagogical Climate in schools. The concept is omitted in educational research as well as in innovative practices. This article defines the concept for use in Higher Education, making use of Ryan and Deci's Self Determination Theory (2000). The performance and well-being of adult employees as well as schoolchildren improve when their basic needs of relation, competence and autonomy are satisfied. A Pedagogical Climate that does so facilitates autonomous motivation. Explorative research done among teachers and students of the Academy of Social Work indicates surplus value of taking into account the Pedagogical Climate when considering various policies aimed to improve study success. Having a clear theoretical and empirical view of the Pedagogical Climate can firmly root initiatives to support students' motivation and help their learning.
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