This three day module focuses on the role of strategic environmental assessment in relation to integrating health issues. During the module participants will be introduced to SEA concepts and process dynamics, as well as to health issues when considered from a strategic perspective. Participants will obtain a full understanding of SEA as a process and instrument by means of a policy case study which illustrates the need to look at health concerns in a strategic context.Mini-lectures will be supported by hands-on practical exercises and feed-back on exercises conducted. The cases used in these exercises focus on strategic energy policies. Participants are expected to actively participate in the module work and a final presentation of the groups’ work can be held during the last hour of the module.
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This article describes the relation between mental health and academic performance during the start of college and how AI-enhanced chatbot interventions could prevent both study problems and mental health problems.
Perceptions and values of care professionals are critical in successfully implementing technology in health care. The aim of this study was threefold: (1) to explore the main values of health care professionals, (2) to investigate the perceived influence of the technologies regarding these values, and (3) the accumulated views of care professionals with respect to the use of technology in the future. In total, 51 professionals were interviewed. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was applied. All care professionals highly valued being able to satisfy the needs of their care recipients. Mutual inter-collegial respect and appreciation of supervisors was also highly cherished. The opportunity to work in a careful manner was another important value. Conditions for the successful implementation of technology involved reliability of the technology at hand, training with team members in the practical use of new technology, and the availability of a help desk. Views regarding the future of health care were mainly related to financial cut backs and with a lower availability of staff. Interestingly, no spontaneous thoughts about the role of new technology were part of these views. It can be concluded that professionals need support in relating technological solutions to care recipients' needs. The role of health care organisations, including technological expertise, can be crucial here.
The reclaiming of street spaces for pedestrians during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as on Witte de Withstraat in Rotterdam, appears to have multiple benefits: It allows people to escape the potentially infected indoor air, limits accessibility for cars and reduces emissions. Before ordering their coffee or food, people may want to check one of the many wind and weather apps, such as windy.com: These apps display the air quality at any given time, including, for example, the amount of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a gas responsible for an increasing number of health issues, particularly respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Ships and heavy industry in the nearby Port of Rotterdam, Europe’s largest seaport, exacerbate air pollution in the region. Not surprisingly, in 2020 Rotterdam was ranked as one of the unhealthiest cities in the Netherlands, according to research on the health of cities conducted by Arcadis. Reducing air pollution is a key target for the Port Authority and the City of Rotterdam. Missing, however, is widespread awareness among citizens about how air pollution links to socio-spatial development, and thus to the future of the port city cluster of Rotterdam. To encourage awareness and counter the problem of "out of sight - out of mind," filmmaker Entrop&DeZwartFIlms together with ONSTV/NostalgieNet, and Rotterdam Veldakademie, are collaborating with historians of the built environment and computer science and public health from TU Delft and Erasmus University working on a spatial data platform to visualize air pollution dynamics and socio-economic datasets in the Rotterdam region. Following discussion of findings with key stakeholders, we will make a pilot TV-documentary. The documentary, discussed first with Rotterdam citizens, will set the stage for more documentaries on European and international cities, focusing on the health effects—positive and negative—of living and working near ports in the past, present, and future.
Cycling booms in many Dutch cities. While smart cycling innovations promise to increase cycling’s modal share in the (peri-)urban transport system even further, little is understood of their impact or cost and benefit. The “Smart Cycling Futures (SCF)” program investigates how smart cycling innovations ─ including ICT-enabled cycling innovations, infrastructures, and social innovations like new business models ─ contribute to more resilient and liveable Dutch urban regions. Cycling innovations benefit urban regions in terms of accessibility, equality, health, liveability, and decreasing CO2-emissions when socially well embedded. To facilitate a transition to a sustainable future that respond to pressing issues, the SCF research project runs urban living labs in close collaboration with key stakeholders to develop transdisciplinary insights in the conditions needed for upscaling smart-cycling initiatives. Each living lab involving real-world experiments responds to the urgent challenges that urban regions and their stakeholders face today. The proposed research sub-programs focus on institutional dynamics, entrepreneurial strategies, governance and the socio-spatial conditions for smart cycling. Going beyond analysis, we also assess the economic, social, and spatial impacts of cycling on urban regions. The research program brings together four Dutch regions through academic institutions (three general and one applied-science universities); governmental authorities (urban and regional); and market players (innovative entrepreneurs). Together, they answer practice-based questions in a transdisciplinary and problem-oriented fashion. Research in the four regions generates both region-specific and universally applicable findings. Finally, SCF uses its strong research-practice network around cycling to co-create the research and run an outreach program.
