Orthography is considered to be a major problem in Dutch education, since many pupils don’t seem to be able to master orthographic rules, even after years of education. In educational literature it is argued that the problems related to spelling are caused by approaches that focus more on rules of thumb than on linguistic insights. This is somewhat remarkable, since a good understanding of the Dutch orthographic system requires a fair amount of morphological knowledge. In order to effectively implement this knowledge, the development of a morphological awareness (MA) seems to be required. Therefore, a short intervention was designed for the upper levels of secondary schools (4 havo) which aimed to foster MA and, subsequently, improve orthographic skills. Results of this quasi-experimental study indicate that a short intervention can significantly boost MA, but that students don’t seem to be able to use MA effectively to enhance spelling performance.
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Posterpresentatie op conferentie Introductie: De afgelopen twee decennia is er geen communis opinio over de vraag of er sprake is van regionale factoren bij de constituentvolgorde in de Nederlandse Gebarentaal (NGT) (Coerts, 1994; Crasborn & De Wit, 2005; Vermeerbergen, Nijen Twilhaar & Van Herreweghe, 2013). Dit onderzoek levert een bijdrage aan de discussie over constituent-volgorde in het algemeen, doordat werd onderzocht of constituentvolgorde in NGT verschillend is voor eerste- en tweedetaalverwervers van de NGT. Methode: Er namen tien participanten (studenten NGT aan de Hogeschool Utrecht) deel: vijf dove moedertaalgebruikers en vijf horende studenten (leeftijd 19-30 jaar). Productie werd uitgelokt van drie verschillende typen enkelvoudige zinnen aan de hand van plaatjes (Volterra et al., 1984): 6 zinnen met omkeerbare constituenten, 6 zinnen met niet-omkeerbare constituenten en 6 locatieve zinnen. Alle 180 geproduceerde zinnen werden getranscribeerd en syntactisch (Subject, Object, Verbum) geanalyseerd. Resultaten: De moedertaalgebruikers gaven duidelijk de voorkeur aan de volgorde SVO of SVOV bij omkeerbare zinnen en SOV voor niet-omkeerbare zinnen. Voor de locatieve zinnen werd veel variatie gevonden, met een lichte voorkeur voor OSV. De T2-verwervers vertoonden veel variatie in de productie van omkeerbare zinnen zonder duidelijk patroon. Voor de niet-omkeerbare zinnen werd een lichte voorkeur voor SOV gevonden en wederom variatie. De loca-tieve zinnen werden voornamelijk uitgedrukt in de volgorde OSV. Conclusie: Deze studie toont aan dat de constituentvolgorde van moedertaalgebruikers en T2-verwervers verschillen. Opvallend is dat de T2-verwervers de neiging hebben de regel voor locatieve zinnen ‘Het grootste element voorop in de zin’ te overgeneraliseren naar het type niet-omkeerbare zin.
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From the introduction: "There are two variants of fronto-temporal dementia: a behavioral variant (behavioral FTD, bvFTD, Neary et al. (1998)), which causes changes in behavior and personality but leaves syntax, phonology and semantics relatively intact, and a variant that causes impairments in the language processing system (Primary Progessive Aphasia, PPA (Gorno-Tempini et al., 2004). PPA can be subdivided into subtypes fluent (fluent but empty speech, comprehension of word meaning is affected / `semantic dementia') and non-fluent (agrammatism, hesitant or labored speech, word finding problems). Some identify logopenic aphasia as a FTD-variant: fluent aphasia with anomia but intact object recognition and underlying word meaning."
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This study presents an automated method for detecting and measuring the apex head thickness of tomato plants, a critical phenotypic trait associated with plant health, fruit development, and yield forecasting. Due to the apex's sensitivity to physical contact, non-invasive monitoring is essential. This paper addresses the demand for automated, contactless systems among Dutch growers. Our approach integrates deep learning models (YOLO and Faster RCNN) with RGB-D camera imaging to enable accurate, scalable, and non-invasive measurement in greenhouse environments. A dataset of 600 RGB-D images captured in a controlled greenhouse, was fully preprocessed, annotated, and augmented for optimal training. Experimental results show that YOLOv8n achieved superior performance with a precision of 91.2 %, recall of 86.7 %, and an Intersection over Union (IoU) score of 89.4 %. Other models, such as YOLOv9t, YOLOv10n, YOLOv11n, and Faster RCNN, demonstrated lower precision scores of 83.6 %, 74.6 %, 75.4 %, and 78 %, respectively. Their IoU scores were also lower, indicating less reliable detection. This research establishes a robust, real-time method for precision agriculture through automated apex head thickness measurement.
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Experiences are at the core of tourism and hospitality. Understanding how to design, manage and measure such experiences has become a key topic in academic literature focused on this sector. This paper presents the characteristics of an optimal design process model for experiences, based on the results of a meta-ethnographic synthesis of such processes. The characteristics can be seen as critical success factors in delivering the right solution to the right problem efficiently and effectively. Depending on the context, starting level and aim of the design, designers can benefit from applying several different design processes. Such a process benefits from design capabilities developed in multi-disciplinary teams. Moreover, the design process aids design teams through steering the collection of explicit and tacit knowledge on problem and solution aspects with stakeholders in a specific order. The success of a design process depends on procedural knowledge of lead designers and their ability to orchestrate and integrate contributions from various disciplines and stakeholders at the right times. Existing design processes for tourism and hospitality experiences lack maturity and flexibility, resulting in them having poor structural validity. However these processes, with insights from design science, can form a base for further theoretical development.
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In this paper we describe our work in progress on the development of a set of criteria to predict text difficulty in Sign Language of the Netherlands (NGT). These texts are used in a four year bachelor program, which is being brought in line with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (Council of Europe, 2001). Production and interaction proficiency are assessed through the NGT Functional Assessment instrument, adapted from the Sign Language Proficiency Interview (Caccamise & Samar, 2009). With this test we were able to determine that after one year of NGT-study students produce NGT at CEFR-level A2, after two years they sign at level B1, and after four years they are proficient in NGT on CEFR-level B2. As a result of that we were able to identify NGT texts that were matched to the level of students at certain stages in their studies with a CEFR-level. These texts were then analysed for sign familiarity, morpheme-sign rate, use of space and use of non-manual signals. All of these elements appear to be relevant for the determination of a good alignment between the difficulty of NGT signed texts and the targeted CEFR level, although only the morpheme-sign rate appears to be a decisive indicator
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Conceptual metaphors play a vital role in our ability to think in abstract terms like knowledge. Metaphors structure and give meaning to the concept of knowledge. They hide and highlight certain characteristics. The choice of metaphor when reasoning about knowledge is therefore of vital importance for knowledge management (KM). This paper explores the possibility of introducing new knowledge metaphors to the field of KM. Based on a ‘wish list’ of characteristics of knowledge they want to highlight, the authors choose to explore the Knowledge as a Journey metaphor as a new metaphor for knowledge. This results in new insights regarding knowledge sharing, acquisition, retention, and innovation.
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Conceptual metaphors play a vital role in our ability to think in abstract terms like knowledge. Metaphors structure and give meaning to the concept of knowledge. They hide and highlight certain characteristics. The choice of metaphor when reasoning about knowledge is therefore of vital importance for knowledge management (KM). This paper explores the possibility of introducing new knowledge metaphors to the field of KM. Based on a ‘wish list’ of characteristics of knowledge they want to highlight, the authors choose to explore the Knowledge as a Journey metaphor as a new metaphor for knowledge. This results in new insights regarding knowledge sharing, acquisition, retention, and innovation.
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The methodology of biomimicry design thinking is based on and builds upon the overarching patterns that all life abides by. “Cultivating cooperative relationships” within an ecosystem is one such pattern we as humans can learn from to nurture our own mutualistic and symbiotic relationships. While form and process translations from biology to design have proven accessible by students learning biomimicry, the realm of translating biological functions in a systematic approach has proven to be more difficult. This study examines how higher education students can approach the gap that many companies in transition are struggling with today; that of thinking within the closed loops of their own ecosystem, to do good without damaging the system itself. Design students should be able to assess and advise on product design choices within such systems after graduation. We know when tackling a design challenge, teams have difficulties sifting through the mass of information they encounter, and many obstacles are encountered by students and their professional clients when trying to implement systems thinking into their design process. While biomimicry offers guidelines and methodology, there is insufficient research on complex, systems-level problem solving that systems thinking biomimicry requires. This study looks at factors found in course exercises, through student surveys and interviews that helped (novice) professionals initiate systems thinking methods as part of their strategy. The steps found in this research show characteristics from student responses and matching educational steps which enabled them to develop their own approach to challenges in a systems thinking manner. Experiences from the 2022 cohort of the semester “Design with Nature” within the Industrial Design Engineering program at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands have shown that the mixing and matching of connected biological design strategies to understand integrating functions and relationships within a human system is a promising first step. Stevens LL, Whitehead C, Singhal A. Cultivating Cooperative Relationships: Identifying Learning Gaps When Teaching Students Systems Thinking Biomimicry. Biomimetics. 2022; 7(4):184. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics7040184
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Sign languages have been recognized as indigenous to Europe by the key European institutions. The European Parliament has passed resolutions on sign languages on three occasions (1988, 1998, 2016a). The Council of Europe’s (CoE) Parliamentary Assembly supported a resolution on sign languages in 2003 (Council of Europe, 2005), and the European Centre for Modern Languages (ECML; an organization established under the auspices of the CoE) has supported work on sign language teaching, learning and assessment (Leeson, Van den Bogaerde, Rathmann, & Haug, 2016
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