Re-structuring of a Dutch mono-industrial region; example of TwenteTable of contents of the chapter Introduction Geography and location of Twente Industrialization of Twente and development of the Textile Industry Decline of the Textile Industry Restructuring Twente: arguments for a regional innovation strategy Moving towards a more diversified economy Stronger co-operation between governments, universities, and industries The role of universities and the example of ‘Kennispark Twente’ Further regional and international co-operation Twente today
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Background to the problem Dutch society demonstrates a development which is apparent in many societies in the 21st century; it is becoming ethnically heterogeneous. This means that children who are secondlanguage speakers of Dutch are learning English, a core curriculum subject, through the medium of the Dutch language. Research questions What are the consequences of this for the individual learner and the class situation?Is a bi-lingual background a help or a hindrance when acquiring further language competences. Does the home situation facilitate or impede the learner? Additionally, how should the TEFL professional respond to this situation in terms of methodology, use of the Dutch language, subject matter and assessment? Method of approach A group of ethnic minority students at Fontys University of Professional Education was interviewed. The interviews were subjected to qualitative analysis. To ensure triangulation lecturers involved in teaching English at F.U.P.E. were asked to fill in a questionnaire on their teaching approach to Dutch second language English learners. Thier response was quantitatively and qualitatively analysed. Findings and conclusions The students encountered surprisingly few problems. Their bi-lingualism and home situation were not a constraint in their English language development. TEFL professionals should bear the heterogeneous classroom in mind when developing courses and lesson material. The introduction to English at primary school level and the assessment of DL2 learners require further research.
Stichting Natuurlijk Genieten is a Dutch foundation, founded by Jeannette Bolck, and dedicated to stimulating the development of a more natural living environment for older people living permanently in residential care centres. Many older people, in particular with Alzheimer's, are dependent on activities and facilities, in or in the immediate surroundings, of these centres. Over the past decade Natuurlijk Genieten has taken many initiatives to bring back nature into the daily lives of older people and their carers. In this article these activities are reviewed.
Coastal nourishments, where sand from offshore is placed near or at the beach, are nowadays a key coastal protection method for narrow beaches and hinterlands worldwide. Recent sea level rise projections and the increasing involvement of multiple stakeholders in adaptation strategies have resulted in a desire for nourishment solutions that fit a larger geographical scale (O 10 km) and a longer time horizon (O decades). Dutch frontrunner pilot experiments such as the Sandmotor and Ameland inlet nourishment, as well as the Hondsbossche Dunes coastal reinforcement project have all been implemented from this perspective, with the specific aim to encompass solutions that fit in a renewed climate-resilient coastal protection strategy. By capitalizing on recent large-scale nourishments, the proposed Coastal landSCAPE project C-SCAPE will employ and advance the newly developed Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways (DAPP) approach to construct a sustainable long-term nourishment strategy in the face of an uncertain future, linking climate and landscape scales to benefits for nature and society. Novel long-term sandy solutions will be examined using this pathways method, identifying tipping points that may exist if distinct strategies are being continued. Crucial elements for the construction of adaptive pathways are 1) a clear view on the long-term feasibility of different nourishment alternatives, and 2) solid, science-based quantification methods for integral evaluation of the social, economic, morphological and ecological outcomes of various pathways. As currently both elements are lacking, we propose to erect a Living Lab for Climate Adaptation within the C-SCAPE project. In this Living Lab, specific attention is paid to the socio-economic implications of the nourished landscape, as we examine how morphological and ecological development of the large-scale nourishment strategies and their design choices (e.g. concentrated vs alongshore uniform, subaqueous vs subaerial, geomorphological features like artificial lagoons) translate to social acceptance.
The Dutch main water systems face pressing environmental, economic and societal challenges due to climatic changes and increased human pressure. There is a growing awareness that nature-based solutions (NBS) provide cost-effective solutions that simultaneously provide environmental, social and economic benefits and help building resilience. In spite of being carefully designed and tested, many projects tend to fail along the way or never get implemented in the first place, wasting resources and undermining trust and confidence of practitioners in NBS. Why do so many projects lose momentum even after a proof of concept is delivered? Usually, failure can be attributed to a combination of eroding political will, societal opposition and economic uncertainties. While ecological and geological processes are often well understood, there is almost no understanding around societal and economic processes related to NBS. Therefore, there is an urgent need to carefully evaluate the societal, economic, and ecological impacts and to identify design principles fostering societal support and economic viability of NBS. We address these critical knowledge gaps in this research proposal, using the largest river restoration project of the Netherlands, the Border Meuse (Grensmaas), as a Living Lab. With a transdisciplinary consortium, stakeholders have a key role a recipient and provider of information, where the broader public is involved through citizen science. Our research is scientifically innovative by using mixed methods, combining novel qualitative methods (e.g. continuous participatory narrative inquiry) and quantitative methods (e.g. economic choice experiments to elicit tradeoffs and risk preferences, agent-based modeling). The ultimate aim is to create an integral learning environment (workbench) as a decision support tool for NBS. The workbench gathers data, prepares and verifies data sets, to help stakeholders (companies, government agencies, NGOs) to quantify impacts and visualize tradeoffs of decisions regarding NBS.
In dit project zal ArtEZ onder leiding van onderzoeker Pauline van Dongen samenwerken met het Next Nature Network, UNStudio, AMOLF en het Ecomimicry Instituut aan kennisontwikkeling en -deling m.b.t. het potentieel van shape-changing textiles voor de bevordering van duurzaam gedrag en een duurzame omgeving. Shape-changing textiles zijn stoffen die actief van vorm kunnen veranderen in interactie met de drager of de omgeving. Door hun adaptieve, responsieve en interactieve eigenschappen gaan deze stoffen een andere relatie aan met de gebruiker, wat mogelijkheden biedt voor duurzame gedragsverandering. ArtEZ en de consortiumpartners verbinden hun state-of-the-art kennis vanuit ecologisch-, technisch- en designperspectief om door middel van ontwerpend onderzoek nieuwe kennis te ontwikkelen over hoe deze innovatieve materialen kunnen bijdragen aan verduurzaming van gedrag en omgeving. Aan de basis van dit onderzoek ligt een expliciete praktijkvraag van MKB-ondernemingen, die we op basis van een uitgebreid vraagarticulatieproces als volgt geformuleerd hebben: Hoe kunnen shape-changing textiles, ontwikkeld en ontworpen op basis van ecologische principes en processen, een andere relatie tot de drager/gebruiker en zijn/haar omgeving genereren om duurzaamheid te bevorderen? We willen deze hoofdvraag en een aantal deelvragen beantwoorden door in drie werkpakketten met het consortium te inventariseren welke relevante kennis er op dit moment beschikbaar is. Deze kennis zullen we door middel van ontwerpend onderzoek toetsen en verder ontwikkelen, waarna we de opgedane inzichten vervolgens analyseren en duiden om voor de MKB-partners en ons breder netwerk toepasbare kennis te genereren. Concrete voorbeelden hiervan zijn onder andere prototypes die getest kunnen worden met gebruikers (AMOLF en UN Studio) en de basis kunnen vormen voor een samplebibliotheek van shape-changing textiles. Daarnaast ontwikkelen we met Next Nature Network een speculatief toekomstscenario dat gepubliceerd en gedeeld kan worden met een breder publiek.
