The aim of this project & work package is to develop a European action plan on mental health at work. A major and essential ingredient for this is the involvement of the relevant stakeholders and sharing experiences among them on the national and member state level. The Dutch Ministries of Health and Social Affairs and Employment have decided to participate in this “joint action on the promotion of mental health and well-being” with a specific focus on the work package directed at establishing a framework for action to promote taking action on mental health and well-being at workplaces at national level as well.
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The covid-19 pandemic has strained organizational systems, with the health care field particularly affected given sudden surges of demand and changes of policy. The pandemic showcases the need to understand how social systems can be resilient to such external shocks. Drawing on ‘joint production motivation' theory, this article offers a theoretical framework linking a social system’s resilience with individual behavior. We examine a population strongly affected by the outbreak of the covid-19 pandemic: nursing students participating in internship programs before and during the crisis. Of the 141 nursing students in our sample, 23% opted to continue their internship. Four characteristics of work teams (collaborative contact, shared understanding, task interdependence, and collaborative organizational cultures) are hypothesized to explain students’ continued occupational commitment during the crisis. Results from binomial logistic regression analyses show task interdependence and intrinsic motivation positively affect the decision for continued participation in internship programs during the pandemic.
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This research aims to contribute to a better understanding of strategic collaborations between work-integration social enterprises (WISEs) and for-profit enterprises (FPEs) with the joint objective to improve labour market opportunities for vulnerable groups. We find that most collaborations strive towards integration or transformation in order to make more social impact.
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Abstract: Technological innovation in the healthcare sector is increasing, but integration of information technology (IT) in the care process is difficult. Healthcare workers are important agents in this IT integration. The purpose of this study is to explore factors that feed motivation to use IT. Self-determination theory (SDT) is applied to study how motivational factors impact effective IT use among frontline caregivers in residential care settings. As the team is very important to these caregivers, the team is our unit of analysis. In an embedded single case study design, interviews were conducted with all nine members of a team effectively using IT. All three basic psychological needs from SDT - autonomy, competence and relatedness - were found to have impact on effective IT use, though autonomy was primarily experienced at team level. Conversely, the effective use of an IT collaboration tool influences relatedness.
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Closed loop or ‘circular’ production systems known as Circular Economy and Cradle to Cradle represent a unique opportunity to radically revise the currently wasteful system of production. One of the challenges of such systems is that circular products need to be both produced locally with minimum environmental footprint and simultaneously satisfy demand of global consumers. This article presents a literature review that describes the application of circular methodologies to education for sustainability, which has been slow to adopt circular systems to the curriculum. This article discusses how Bachelor and Master-level students apply their understanding of these frameworks to corporate case studies. Two assignment-related case studies are summarized, both of which analyze products that claim to be 'circular'. The students' research shows that the first case, which describes the impact of a hybrid material soda bottle, does not meet circularity criteria. The second case study, which describes products and applications of a mushroom-based material, is more sustainable. However, the students' research shows that the manufacturers have omitted transport from the environmental impact assessment and therefore the mushroom materials may not be as sustainable as the manufacturers claim. As these particular examples showed students how green advertising can be misleading, applying “ideal” circularity principles as part of experiential learning could strengthen the curriculum. Additionally, this article recommends that sustainable business curriculum should also focus on de-growth and steady-state economy, with these radical alternatives to production becoming a central focus of education of responsible citizens. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.02.005 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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Powerful Ageing is a power training intervention offered by Dutch municipalities to improve the physical functioning of its older residents, thereby reducing their reliance on assistive living devices and social support services. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Powerful Ageing on muscle power, physical performance, and physical functioning in older adults immediately following the intervention and at 1-year follow-up. The study design was a prospective longitudinal case series. Eligible older adults requesting social support services from their municipality participated in a 14-week power training intervention. Primary outcomes were categorized according to ICF health domains: within the function domain, muscle power was measured with a Power Squat Test and a Lifting Test; within the activities domain, physical performance was assessed using the Star Agility Run and Timed Up-and-Go Test; and within the participation domain, physical functioning was assessed using a patient-specific complaints questionnaire. Participant motivation, a secondary outcome, was assessed using a short questionnaire.
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This paper presents work aimed at improved organization and performance of production in housing renovation projects. The purpose is to explore and demonstrate the potential of lean work organization and industrialized product technology to improve workflow and productive time. The research included selected case studies that have been found to implement lean work organization and industrialized product technology in an experimental setting. Adjustments to the work organization and construction technology have been implemented on site. The effects of the adjustments have been measured and were reviewed with operatives and managers. The data have been collected and analyzed, in comparison to traditional settings. Two projects were studied. The first case implied am application of lean work organization in which labor was reorganized redistributing and balancing operations among operatives of different trades. In the second case industrialized solution for prefabricated installation of prefabricated roofs. In both cases the labor productivity increased substantially compared to traditional situations. Although the limited number of cases, both situations appeared to be representative for other housing projects. This has led to conclusions extrapolated from both cases applicable to other projects, and contribution to the knowledge to improve production in construction. Vrijhoef, R. (2016). “Effects of Lean Work Organization and Industrialization on Workflow and Productive Time in Housing Renovation Projects.” In: Proc. 24 th Ann. Conf. of the Int’l. Group for Lean Construction, Boston, MA, USA, sect.2 pp. 63–72. Available at: .
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Injuries and lack of motivation are common reasons for discontinuation of running. Real-time feedback from wearables can reduce discontinuation by reducing injury risk and improving performance and motivation. There are however several limitations and challenges with current real-time feedback approaches. We discuss these limitations and challenges and provide a framework to optimise real-time feedback for reducing injury risk and improving performance and motivation. We first discuss the reasons why individuals run and propose that feedback targeted to these reasons can improve motivation and compliance. Secondly, we review the association of running technique and running workload with injuries and performance and we elaborate how real-time feedback on running technique and workload can be applied to reduce injury risk and improve performance and motivation. We also review different feedback modalities and motor learning feedback strategies and their application to real-time feedback. Briefly, the most effective feedback modality and frequency differ between variables and individuals, but a combination of modalities and mixture of real-time and delayed feedback is most effective. Moreover, feedback promoting perceived competence, autonomy and an external focus can improve motivation, learning and performance. Although the focus is on wearables, the challenges and practical applications are also relevant for laboratory-based gait retraining.
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This paper will discuss the process of the MA program ePedagogy / Visual Knowledge Building during the first semester of the academic year 2005 – 2006. This MA program is a joint venture between the Universities of Helsinki, Hamburg and INHOLLAND. This publication will discuss and evaluate the concrete steps (in terms of learning process) during this first semester. In particular the role of the eTutor will get special attention. This publication is based on the principle of action research. Hart & Bond defines action research as “it is a form of reflective inquiry which enables practitioners to better realise such qualities in their practice. The tests for good action research are very pragmatic ones. Does it improve the professional quality of the transactions between practitioners and clients/colleagues? This action research approach is being realised upon three main sources. As an eTutor and member of the staff of this program I weekly filled in an “Evaluation Log” in which the following questions are centralized: 1. What happened (this week) 2. Significant experience 3. Reflection 4. Actions Secondly I used a little survey which was being used by the staff to evaluate the first semester. All the three Universities filled in a form with the following questions concerning the education and organisation: Education 1. What do you consider most hindering in your teaching? 2. What do you consider most beneficial in your teaching? 3. What kind of teaching methods do you prefer in this program? 4. Do you think the course offers are attractive for the target group? 5. How do you evaluate student’s engagements and motivation in your courses? 6. What can / should be improved in terms of collaborative learning activities and processes? Organisation 1. In what specific context do you spot organisational constraints? 2. Does your organisation recognise and support the MA program? 3. What is your short-, mid- and long term vision on this program? Thirdly an important source for this action research approach was the International Seminar which was hold in the middle of February 2006. In this seminar the changes based on the questions of the questionnaire were discussed and implemented. The theoretical framework in this publication is based on the dissertation of Karel Kreijns (Sociable CSCL Environments). In this dissertation he discussed the collaborative cognitiveand epistemic performance in a CSCLE. The social presence theory takes a central position in this dissertation. In this paper the pitfalls and barriers concerning a sociable CSCLE are being discussed and evaluated. This paper describes, the interventions the staff took, in order to improve the educational context of the program. From this perspective we looked very carefully to the barriers and pitfalls in our Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). We found evidence for the fact that a good CSCLE consists at least a good balance between Content, Community and Pedagogy. In the program we emphasised our focus (too much) on content and (too) little on community and pedagogy. The community was poor because of the fact that we used three content learning systems, which didn’t stimulate the group processes. Pedagogy was too much based on individual eTutor behaviour. In January 2006, after the courses were ended, the Universities organised a little survey. In this survey was shown that we have to some interventions to improve the learning process. At the International Seminar in February 2006 eTutors and students discussed the problems. The following interventions are being considered and implemented: 1. The use of three Virtual Learning Environments should be decreased. Especially the INHOLLAND / Blackboard system doesn’t reflect the open source philosophy. Besides this the accessibility of this system is not very easy for foreign students 2. The collaborative aspect should be increased, by emphasising the interdisciplinaryand international co-operation. The formation of international subgroups is implemented.
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