This doctoral thesis describes three case studies of service engineers participating in organizational change, interacting with managers and consultants. The study investigates the role of differences in professional discourse and culture when these three professional groups interact in organizational change, and how this affects the change result. We bring together two scientific fields, first change management and second, linguistics. The intersection represents the overlapping field of professional discourse and culture. The research design was an explorative multiple case study using qualitative linguistic analyses. The study found that successful organizational change is the result of interaction between professional culture, the organizational culture and the organization/change context. The differences between the professional cultures and discourses can hamper the change process. The practical contribution of this study might be the increased awareness among professionals about their own professional, and often implicit, assumptions. Managers, consultants and service engineers have to be aware of the group dynamics and the specific role of their own typical professional discourse and culture in a change project setting.
Culture and tourism have a symbiotic relationship that has the potential to make places more attractive and competitive. This review of the OECD report on The Impact of Culture on Tourism analyzes the ways in which culture and tourism can act as drivers of attractiveness, paying particular attention to the role of potential policy interventions to strengthen this process, including the development of partnerships, funding issues, product development, and marketing. A number of key future issues are identified, and evolving debates in the relationship between culture and tourism are outlined.
Circular agriculture is an excellent principle, but much work needs to be done before it can become common practice in the equine sector. In the Netherlands, diversification in this sector is growing, and the professional equine field is facing increasing pressure to demonstrate environmentally sound horse feeding management practices and horse owners are becoming more aware of the need to manage their horses and the land on which they live in a sustainable manner. Horses should be provided with a predominantly fibre-based diet in order to mimic their natural feeding pattern, however grazing impacts pasture differently, with a risk of overgrazing and soil erosion in equine pastures. Additionally, most horses receive supplements not only with concentrates and oils, but also with minerals. Though the excess minerals are excreted in the manure of horses, these minerals can accumulate in the soil or leach to nearby waterways and pollute water resources. Therefore, the postdoc research aims to answer the main question, “What horse feeding practices and measurements are needed to reduce and prevent environmental pollution in the Netherlands?” The postdoc research is composed of two components; a broad survey-based study which will generate quantitative data on horse feeding management and will also obtain qualitative data on the owners’ engagement or willingness of horse owners to act sustainably. Secondly, a field study will involve the collection of detailed data via visits to horse stables in order to gather data for nutritional analysis and to collect fecal samples for mineral analysis. Students, lecturers and partners will actively participate in all phases of the planned research. This postdoc research facilitates learning and intends to develop a footprint calculator for sustainable horse feeding to encompass the complexity of the equine sector, and to improve the Equine Sports and Business curriculum.
