Zoekresultaten

Space-time analytics of human physiology for urban planning.

Recent advancements in mobile sensing and wearable technologies create new opportunities to improve our understanding of how people experience their environment. This understanding can inform urban design decisions. Currently, an important urban design issue is the adaptation of infrastructure to increasing cycle and e-bike use. Using data collected from 12 cyclists on a cycle highway between two municipalities in The Netherlands, we coupled location and wearable emotion data at a high spatiotemporal resolution to model and examine relationships between cyclists' emotional arousal (operationalized as skin conductance responses) and visual stimuli from the environment (operationalized as extent of visible land cover type). We specifically took a within-participants multilevel modeling approach to determine relationships between different types of viewable land cover area and emotional arousal, while controlling for speed, direction, distance to roads, and directional change. Surprisingly, our model suggests ride segments with views of larger natural, recreational, agricultural, and forested areas were more emotionally arousing for participants. Conversely, segments with views of larger developed areas were less arousing. The presented methodological framework, spatial-emotional analyses, and findings from multilevel modeling provide new opportunities for spatial, data-driven approaches to portable sensing and urban planning research. Furthermore, our findings have implications for design of infrastructure to optimize cycling experiences.

Making post-war urban neighbourhoods healthier

Post-war urban neighbourhoods in industrialised countries have been shown to negatively affect the lifestyles of their residents due to their design. This study aims at developing an empirical procedure to select locations to be redesigned and the determinants of health at stake in these locations, with involvement of residents’ perspectives as core issue. We addressed a post-war neighbourhood in the city of Groningen, the Netherlands. We collected data from three perspectives: spatial analyses by urban designers, interviews with experts in local health and social care (n = 11) and online questionnaires filled in by residents (n = 99). These data provided input for the selection of locations to be redesigned by a multidisciplinary team (n = 16). The procedure yielded the following types of locations (and determinants): An area adjacent to a central shopping mall (social interaction, traffic safety, physical activity), a park (experiencing green, physical activity, social safety, social interaction) and a block of low-rise row houses around a public square (social safety, social interaction, traffic safety). We developed an empirical procedure for the selection of locations and determinants to be addressed, with addressing residents’ perspectives. This procedure is potentially applicable to similar neighbourhoods internationally.

The added value of auditing in a non-mandatory environment

What is the ‘raison d’être’ of auditing? Does auditing only exist by the grace of the legislator? Or does auditing fulfill other needs in contemporary society? For many companies, auditing has been made mandatory. This is possibly one of the reasons why researchers to date have given limited attention regarding the drivers for the demand for audit. Auditing (seen as a social control mechanism) is part of an organizational order in society. Therefore, it is essential to reflect on the (changing) demands of society. As a lack of insight why society demands an audit, accommodates the risk of not meeting the needs and expectations of society, the added value of auditing may be called into question. This dissertation deals with the question: what are drivers for the demand for audit for Dutch SME companies which are not mandatory required to have their financial statements audited.

Protocol for a prospective, multicentre, cross-sectional cohort study to assess personal light exposure

Light profoundly impacts many aspects of human physiology and behaviour, including the synchronization of the circadian clock, the production of melatonin, and cognition. These effects of light, termed the non-visual effects of light, have been primarily investigated in laboratory settings, where light intensity, spectrum and timing can be carefully controlled to draw associations with physiological outcomes of interest. Recently, the increasing availability of wearable light loggers has opened the possibility of studying personal light exposure in free-living conditions where people engage in activities of daily living, yielding findings associating aspects of light exposure and health outcomes, supporting the importance of adequate light exposure at appropriate times for human health. However, comprehensive protocols capturing environmental (e.g., geographical location, season, climate, photoperiod) and individual factors (e.g., culture, personal habits, behaviour, commute type, profession) contributing to the measured light exposure are currently lacking. Here, we present a protocol that combines smartphone-based experience sampling (experience sampling implementing Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, KSS ratings) and high-quality light exposure data collection at three body sites (near-corneal plane between the two eyes mounted on spectacle, neck-worn pendant/badge, and wrist-worn watch-like design) to capture daily factors related to individuals’ light exposure. We will implement the protocol in an international multi-centre study to investigate the environmental and socio-cultural factors influencing light exposure patterns in Germany, Ghana, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey (minimum n = 15, target n = 30 per site, minimum n = 90, target n = 180 across all sites). With the resulting dataset, lifestyle and context-specific factors that contribute to healthy light exposure will be identified. This information is essential in designing effective public health interventions.

A higher fat free mass percentage is associated with better physical performance in overweight and obese older adults

Back educators to boost internationalisation for all

When it comes to integrating internationalisation in the curriculum and ensuring internationalisation for all, the true impact of our efforts is being fully committed to supporting our educators. As the key players in creating purposeful and inclusive internationalisation, educators need to be properly equipped with expertise, resources, research and policy supports.