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Workbench spatial quality

This report is the second in a series of three reports named Value Added Planning, consisting of three unique, but interconnected tools, namely the Green Credit Tool, the Workbench Method and Value Added Planning, These tools have been developed and/or tested in the context of the European INTERREG programme: VALUE (INTERREG IVB North West Europe - Valuing Attractive Landscapes in the Urban Economy), in which the municipality of Amersfoort is involved. Aim of this programme is to understand how green space in urban centres can become more competitive with other urban functions. In this context, the municipality of Amersfoort has introduced the interactive method named Workbench Spatial Quality (Werkbank Ruimtelijke Kwaliteit in Dutch) in their spatial design in several areas in their municipality. The Workbench Spatial Quality (to be referred to as Workbench) has been applied on two cases in Amersfoort: Park Randenbroek and Vathorst NW. In this report the Workbench as applied in Amersfoort is evaluated. Research was done on the basis of literature research, case-material and interviews performed with several experts. Furthermore, research was done by students at the Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR). Part of the evaluation in this report makes use of a quick scan of 19 Dutch cases. The question addressed in this report is: 1.How was the Workbench Spatial Quality applied in Amersfoort? 2.Can the Workbench contribute to sustainable spatial planning?

Desires in Palliative Medicine. Five models of the Physician-Patient Interaction on Palliative Treatments Related to Hellenistic Therapies of Desire.

In this paper, we explore the desires that play a role at the palliative stage and relate them to various approaches to patient autonomy. What attitude can physicians and other caregivers take to the desires of patients at the palliative stage? We examine this question by introducing five physicians who are consulted by Jackie, an imaginary patient with metastatic lung carcinoma. By combining the models of the physician-patient relationship developed by Emanuel and Emanuel (1992) and the Hellenistic approaches to desires analyzed by Nussbaum (1994), five different ways of dealing with desires in the context of palliative care are sketched. The story of Jackie shows that desires are to a certain extent responsive to reasoning. In the palliative process, that can be a reason to devote attention to the desires of patients and caregivers and to determine which desires need to be fulfilled, which are less important, and how they are linked to emotions the patient has.

Programmierte Traurigkeit

While classical melancholy was defined by isolation and introspection, today’s tristesse plays out amidst busy social media interactions. Geert Lovink on ‘technological sadness’ – the default mental state of the online billions.

Operating Systems for the Metamorphoses

Metamorphoses

Rian de Waal (1958-2011) has written a book about the piano, and how the development of piano playing has been very much dependent upon musicians who were able to cross borders. In Metamorphoses, the Art of the Virtuoso Piano Transcription, De Waal takes us on a journey through the capricious history of the piano transcription. At first revered by musicians and audience alike (and often the sole reason for the great fame of some pianists), the piano transcription later became despised and considered unnecessary, superficial, or even heretical. The fact that the piano transcription has survived such fierce resistance has very much to do with the special qualities of the piano as a musical instrument. De Waal like no one else is able to explain these qualities, and he brings them to the fore with verve and tenderness on the six CDs accompanying this book.Describing some remarkable moments in musical history, De Waal presents a candid overview of the historical developments surrounding the piano transcription. He explains how the genre fell from acclaim into disrepute, and lately seems to regain the rightful respect it deserves. But more than this, he provides deep-felt musical insight into what matters most: why are some piano transcriptions so good, and how do man and machine act together to make this so? The theme of the book is the piano transcription, but Metamorphoses is equally about change, possession, perception, respect, genius, transcendence, and ultimately, about human dignity.

Linking the missing links

This chapter offers an account of a workshop in arts-based learning called “Metamorphoses of Organic Forms”. This detailed description of a particular practice may inform a discussion of ways in which artful approaches, in general, may come to matter in STEAM education, with implications for both educational research and practice. Added to that, the chapter argues that such art-based practices can also be relevant more widely in the context of sustainability education, such as on the theme of climate change. Precisely because the content of the art workshop at hand is not prima facie linked to it, there is an unexpected potential to take up such a tangential theme in an unusual way. Typically, participants feel invigorated to enter new territory – both spatial and mental. On a meta-level, the session can also be seen as a practice in facing complexity, uncertainty, not knowing. The chapter suggests that such artful educational practices have intrinsic merit if we are to equip new generations with skills to live in and endure “post-normal times”. In the workshop “Metamorphoses of Organic Forms”, participants are invited to imagine how forms in nature might either evolve or disintegrate over time. The workshop lends itself to follow-up lessons in biology and natural history. The outcome is not given. Participants go through a shared process step by step, following a sequence that is outlined for them as they go along. They are encouraged to imagine how natural phenomena might grow or decay in time and they do this in a series of short sessions where they sculpt works in clay. Such a practice in art-based environmental education is arguably a form of “poor pedagogy”. This educational activity is primarily and fundamentally an open-ended process. Rather than requiring an extensive methodology, its practice requires participants to surrender themselves to a process that will be unique each time it is performed. Such a practice is an expression of a view on education that is not centred on the transmission of knowledge but rather looks at attention as education and the education of attention.