Welke social media gebruiken studenten? Waarom gebruiken studenten deze media? Welke verwachtingen hebben ze van het onderwijs? In dit whitepaper delen we de resultaten van ons onderzoek naar de betekenis van social media in het leven van de hedendaagse student.
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Sudden disruptions to the social environment of older adults living alone, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can challenge their ability to maintain well-being. This study employed an interpretative phenomenological analysis to explore how Dutch older adults (≥65 years) living alone maintained their well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Between June and October 2021, we conducted 20 semi-structured interviews with older adults living alone in the Netherlands. Participants were recruited through online newsletters and home care and social work institutions. We identified three key themes. The theme “Filling the void of being alone” captures participants’ ongoing search for a sense of connection, and the challenges they faced related to social exclusion. The theme “Navigating challenging situations to maintain well-being” illustrates participants’ struggle with disrupted daily routines and how they tried to regain a sense of control to stay well. Lastly, the theme “Reverberating echoes of the past” conveys how participants’ life histories shaped their responses to the pandemic and the role of acceptance in this process. Overall, our results highlight great individual variability in how older adults living alone maintained their well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. This underscores the need for interventions and support strategies that accommodate the unique needs of older adults living alone when opportunities for social engagement are limited.
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Social media zijn momenteel het gesprek van de dag. In slechts enkele jaren tijd hebben social media sites als YouTube, Facebook en LinkedIn een miljoenenpubliek aan zich gebonden. En het aantal consumenten en bedrijven dat gebruik maakt van deze online platformen groeit nog steeds sterk. Hoewel er dagelijks nieuwe cijfers verschijnen over het gebruik van social media is er vooralsnog weinig bekend over de adoptie van social media door bedrijven. Middels dit boek willen de onderzoekers van het lectoraat Online Ondernemen van de Hogeschool van Amsterdam een bijdrage leveren aan het opvullen van deze kennisleemte door het social media gebruik binnen de detailhandel in Nederland in kaart te brengen. Het boek bevat de resultaten van een onderzoek naar gebruik van de social media sites Hyves, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, weblogs, Twitter en fora door (web)winkels en consumenten in Nederland. Welke social media sites worden veel en welke weinig gebruikt door (web)winkels en consumenten in Nederland? Wat zijn de kenmerken van de (web)winkels en consumenten die voorop lopen en achterblijven in het gebruik van social media platformen? In hoeverre zijn Nederlanders geïnteresseerd in het volgen van commerciële bedrijven via social media? Hoeveel volgers hebben (web)winkels op Hyves, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube en Twitter? Op deze en andere vragen over het gebruik van social media in de detailhandel in Nederland wordt in dit boek antwoord gegeven.
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Cities across the globe are facing population ageing, which poses many unsolved challenges. Regional, national and European research strategies (including EU4Health) have a strong relation with healthy and active ageing, and stimulate the exchange of best practices to create age-inclusive societies across the continent. Over 1500 cities joined the Global Network for Age Friendly Cities and Communities of the World Health Organization (WHO), which follow a 5-year cycle of planning, implementation and evaluation in order to achieve goals. The Hague (2015) has been an active member of the Network. In the Western Balkans, only Tuzla (2023) is a member. Both the WHO and THUAS seek further expansion of their reach and want to build capacity in the Western Balkans, which is achieved through existing contacts with Mother Teresa University. The Institute for Social Activities in Skopje see THUAS’s age-friendly actions as a stepping stone for a better understanding of ageing well in their ethnically diverse city. Organisations in bordering countries have indicated their interest to join efforts during the annual Towards Sustainable Development Conference. They seek an extension to other countries of the Western Balkans that have previously largely been left out of the European research agenda. Therefore, The Age-friendly Balkans Connected Network seeks to (1) form regional knowledge and action eco-systems through capacity-building, and (2) provide cities with an instrument for a baseline assessment of their age-friendliness. For this purpose, we use the existing Age-Friendly Cities and Communities Questionnaire that was developed at THUAS in 2020 and which has been validated in Albanian and Macedonian. The Network trusts that new national ecosystems and tools can contribute to future age-friendly actions and European grant applications. In the words of Mother Teresa (born in Skopje): “Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.”
