That expressive writing can be a beneficial response to trauma or grief is well-established in the literature. Grief research also shows that the majority of people are resilient in the face of the death of loved ones. That said, traditional rituals around loss are no longer ubiquitous, well-known phase models of bereavement are contested, and ‘unfinished business’ can create difficulties in the face of loss. Increasingly, bereavement scholars speak of a need for individuals in western society to make meaning of their own grief through narrative construction, though little is said about what constitutes a beneficial story. The author takes an autoethnographic approach to write and reflect on her spouse’s illness and death and explores through a multi-voiced expressive dialogue a personal issue around her bereavement. In an analysis of her writing, using Dialogical Self Theory, she identifies markers which may be indicative of the development of a beneficially constructed narrative. The model of writing-for-transformation is used to describe the overall intent of the process, while the dialogical markers show how progress may be identified. Reinekke Lengelle (2020) Writing the Self and Bereavement: Dialogical Means and Markers of Moving Through Grief, Life Writing, 17:1, 103-122, DOI: 10.1080/14484528.2020.1710796
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Young widowhood, conceptualized as the loss of one’s spouse before the age of 50, is a profoundly painful and distressing loss (Den Elzen, 2017, 2018). The literature on young widowhood shows the death of a partner generally causes a fragmentation of the self, as it violates expectations of the normal life cycle, namely growing old together (Haase and Johnston, 2012; Levinson, 1997). Premature loss of one’s spouse tends to be experienced by the surviving partner as distressing or traumatizing, such as having witnessed their suffering in illness or through accident (Den Elzen, 2018) or in struggling with unfinished business (Holland et al, 2020). Whilst post-traumatic stress is well-known and has been widely researched across various disciplines, the concept of post-traumatic growth is much newer and by contrast has received less attention. PTG was introduced as a scholarly concept by Tedeschi and Calhoun in the mid-1990s and is defined as a positive psychological change as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life events (2004). Calhoun and Tedeschi’s notion of PTG has been backed by a recent systematic review. In the first meta-analysis of moderate-to-high PTG, Wu et al. found that of the 10,181 subjects, about 50% experienced PTG (2019). They also reported that women, young people and victims of trauma experienced higher levels of PTG than men, the elderly and those who experienced indirect trauma. PTG has attracted some controversy, with some researchers questioning its scientific validity (Jayawickreme and Blackie, 2014). Others caution against the minimization of people’s suffering. Hayward is a trauma counsellor who advises approaching PTG carefully, highlighting that if it is introduced with clients too early it can "often be construed as minimizing someone's pain and suffering and minimizing the impact of the loss" (cited in Collier, 2016, n.p.). In addressing the critique of PTG, Calhoun and Tedeschi (2006) emphasize that the focus on investigating positive psychological change following trauma does not deny the common and well-documented negative psychological responses and distress following severe life stresses: “Negative events tend to produce, for most persons, consequences that are negative” (p.4). They argue however, and their research supports this finding, that for many people distressful events can foster positive psychological changes. We view PTG as a possibility following (profound) loss, and emphasize that PTG may continue to co-exist with painful and/or unresolved emotions regarding the loss itself. We conceptualize PTG as a continuum and not as an either/or binary with grief. Further, we wish to highlight that PTG is a highly individual process that depends on many factors, and we are not suggesting that the absence of PTG is to be seen as a failure. This chapter intends to contribute to the study of PTG through a person-centered approach. The most used method to assess PTG is the 21-item posttraumatic growth inventory developed by Calhoun and Tedeschi in 1996 (Jayawickreme & Blackie, 2014). Self-reported posttraumatic growth has been the foundation of PTG research, which has aimed to identify to what extent PTG evokes improved psychological and physical health. In discussing our own creative narrative processes of PTG, our practice-led-research lens aims to contribute to research on how PTG might be fostered. We propose a Writing-for-wellbeing approach in this context and explore what it offered us both as writers and widows and what it might offer the field of Writing-for-wellbeing and by extension clinical and scholarly practice.
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In november 2018 overleed Frans Meijers; onderzoeker, lector, en levenspartner van Reinekke Lengelle. Reinekke en Frans werkten en schreven samen en hebben de narratieve methode Career Writing (loopbaanschrijven) ontwikkeld. In haar onlangs verschenen boek Writing the Self in Bereavement beschrijft ze haar leven met Frans. Ze vertelt ook over haar verdriet en combineert eigen ervaringen met huidig wetenschappelijk onderzoek over rouw. In dit artikel reageert ze op een aantal vragen die ze in eerdere interviews werd gesteld.
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Purpose – Information verification is an important factor in commercial valuation practice.Valuers use their professional autonomy to decide on the level of verification required, thereby creating an opportunity for client-related judgement bias in valuation. The purpose of this paper is to assess the manifestation of client attachment risks in information verification. Design/methodology/approach – A case-based questionnaire was used to retrieve data from 290 commercial valuation professionals in the Netherlands, providing a 15 per cent response rate of the Dutch commercial valuation population. Descriptive and inferential statistics have been used to test research hypotheses involving relations between information verification and professional features that may indicate client attachment such as an executive job level and brokerage experience. Findings – The results reveal that valuers acting at partner level within their organisation obtain lower scores on information verification compared to lower-ranked valuers. Also, brokerage experience correlates negatively to information verification of valuation professionals. Both findings have statistical significance. Research limitations/implications – The results reflect valuers’ reasoning behaviour rather than actual behaviour. Replication of findings through experimental design will contribute to research validity. Practical implications – Maintaining close client contact in a competitive environment is important for business continuity yet may foster client attachment.The associated downside risks in valuation practice call for higher awareness of (subconscious) client influence and the development of attitudinal scepticism in valuer training programmes. Originality/value – This paper is one of the few that explore possible sources of valuer judgement bias by relating client-friendly valuer features to a key area of valuation i.e. information verification.
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Titel: The Exodus from the Netherlands or Brain Circulation: Push and Pull Factors of Remigration among Highly Educated Turkish Dutch Auteurs: Gürkan Çelik and Ton Notten In: European Review, 22 (3), 2014, pp. 403-413 The exodus from the Netherlands or brain circulation: Push and pull factors of remigration among highly educated Turkish-Dutch An increasing number of Turks, the Netherlands’ largest ethnic minority, are beginning to return to their country of origin, taking with them the education and skills they have acquired abroad, as the Netherlands faces challenges from economic difficulties, social tension and increasingly powerful right wing parties. At the same time Turkey’s political, social and economic conditions have been improving, making returning home even more appealing for Turkish migrants at large. This article gives explanations about the push and pull factors of return migration. The factors influencing return to one’s country of origin are “pulls”. It is assumed that remigration is more affected by positive developments in the country of origin than by negative developments in the country of residence. Civil society, business world and the Dutch government can develop policies to bind these capable people to the Netherlands, at least in the form of “brain circulation” so that they can serve as “bridge builders” between the two countries. Keywords Return migration, integration, Turkish-Dutch, Turkish migrants, brain circulation =============================================================================== SAMENVATTING De uittocht uit Nederland of breincirculatie: Push- en pull-factoren van remigratie onder hoogopgeleide Turkse Nederlanders. In Nederland zien we een lichte toename van het aantal Turken, de grootste etnische minderheidsgroep in Nederland, die terugkeren naar hun land van herkomst. Ze exporteren daarmee goede opleidingen en vaardigheden die ze in Nederland verwierven. De oorzaken: de economische neergang, sociale spanningen en de groeiende invloed van extreemrechtse partijen. Tegelijkertijd verbeteren in Turkije de politieke, sociale en economische omstandigheden die steeds meer aantrekkingskracht uitoefenen op immigranten in dat land. Dit artikel gaat in op de push- and pull-factoren voor remigranten. Pull-factoren beinvloeden iemands terugkeer naar zijn land van herkomst. Aangenomen wordt dat zo’n remigratie sterker wordt bevorderd door positieve ontwikkelingen in het land van herkomst dan door negatieve (push-factoren) in het land waar men op dat moment woont. De civil society, het bedrijfsleven en de Nederlandse overhead kunnen een beleid ontwikkelen dat verdienstelijke inwoners weet te behouden, hen op z’n minst kan inschakelen als bruggenbouwers en aldus kenniscirculatie mogelijk maakt tussen beide landen. Trefwoorden Retourmigratie, integratie, Turkse Nederlanders, Turkse migranten, kenniscirculatie, breincirculatie
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Financial constraints and risk taking are two well-established determinants of firm performance, however, no research analyzes how these variables are connected in the context of a high risk environment. Using data from microfinance clients in Tanzania, we derive a novel financial constraints measure and incorporate a psychometric risk taking scale. Results confirm the importance of access to finance and risk attitudes for business development. Also, we provide preliminary evidence for an interaction between financial constraints and risk taking. Financial constraints “throw sand in the wheels” and protect risk taking entrepreneurs from the negative impact of risk taking on microenterprise performance.
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Lectorale rede
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There is an ongoing transition towards renewable energy sources in order to combat climate change. National power grids are suffering due to the rapid introduction of new energy sources and have other disadvantages. Local Energy Systems (LESs) are a beneficial example of an off-grid energy systems that can aid the energy transition. LESs are community driven and require participating and steering members. This can be achieved through empowering end-users to become active participants or steerers. End-users can be empowered to become an active participant through engagement with energy management activities. This does not work for empowering to steer, which begs the question, how to empower end-users or participants to become steerers in Local Energy Systems. Through a literature review this study explores the importance of establishing a group containing steerers with diverse skills, strong leadership, and engagement with the environment and community. Additionally, this study identifies the strategy that empowers end-users to steer. Which is training technological and managemental skills; and training capabilities in establishing relations with local participants and intermediary organisations. To apply these findings more precisely a secondary analysis is conducted on a survey with 599 participants. The original study researched willingness to participate in LESs, however the secondary analysis establishes three important factors to predict willingness to steer. These are energy independence, community trust, and community resistance. Additionally, men with a high level of education are most willing to become steerers per default, thus different demographics generally require more empowerment.
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Building on the Millennium Development Goals, Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and Education for Sustainable Development Goals (ESDG) were established. Despite the willingness of many educational institutions worldwide to embrace the SDGs, given escalating sustainability challenges, this article questions whether ESDG is desirable as “an education for the future”. Many challenges outlined by the SDGs are supposed to be solved by “inclusive” or “sustainable” economic growth, assuming that economic growth can be conveniently decoupled from resource consumption. Yet, the current hegemony of the sustainability-through-growth paradigm has actually increased inequalities and pressure on natural resources, exacerbating biodiversity loss, climate change and resulting social tensions. With unreflective support for growth, far from challenging the status quo, the SDGs and consequently, the ESDGs, condone continuing environmental exploitation, depriving millions of species of their right to flourish, and impoverishing future generations. This article creates greater awareness of the paradoxes of sustainable development and encourages teaching for sustainability through various examples of alternative education that emphasizes planetary ethic and degrowth. The alternatives include Indigenous learning, ecopedagogy, ecocentric education, education for steady-state and circular economy, empowerment and liberation. “This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in 'Journal of Environmental Education' on 01/20/20, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00958964.2019.1710444 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina/
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This paper describes an agent-based software infrastructure for agile industrial production. This production is done on special devices called equiplets. A grid of these equiplets connected by a fast network is capable of producing a variety of different products in parallel. The multi-agent-based underlying systems uses two kinds of agents: an agent representing the product and an agent representing the equiplet.
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