The role of expert knowledge of the environment in decision-making about urban development has been intensively debated, largely in terms of a so-called ‘science-policy gap’. Most contributions to this debate have studied the use of knowledge in the decision-making process from the knowledge providers’ point of view. In this paper, we reverse the perspective and try to unearth how decision-makers use scientific knowledge in decision-making about an urban plan. We confronted municipal administrators, responsible for local urban development, with conceptions of the use of knowledge that were derived from the literature on this issue. From the reactions obtained, we conclude that, in the context of urban redevelopment, local administrators hardly perceive a barrier between themselves as decision-makers and experts – both environmental scientists and urban designers. They do, however, acknowledge that experts and decision-makers have distinct roles: unlike experts, local administrators have to balance all interests relevant to an urban plan. It is argued, therefore, that experts should engage in providing better decision frameworks rather than more or better knowledge.
People with dementia are confronted with many decisions. However, they are often not involved in the process of the decision-making. Shared Decision-Making (SDM) enables involvement of persons with dementia in the decision-making process. In our study, we develop a supportive IT application aiming to facilitate the decision-making process in care networks of people with dementia. A key feature in the development of this SDM tool is the participation of all network members during the design and development process, including the person with dementia. In this paper, we give insight into the first phases of this design and development process in which we conducted extensive user studies and translated wishes and needs of network members into user requirements
Background: Patient decision aids (PDAs) can support the treatment decision making process and empower patients to take a proactive role in their treatment pathway while using a shared decision-making (SDM) approach making participatory medicine possible. The aim of this study was to develop a PDA for prostate cancer that is accurate and user-friendly. Methods: We followed a user-centered design process consisting of five rounds of semi-structured interviews and usability surveys with topics such as informational/decisional needs of users and requirements for PDAs. Our userbase consisted of 8 urologists, 4 radiation oncologists, 2 oncology nurses, 8 general practitioners, 19 former prostate cancer patients, 4 usability experts and 11 healthy volunteers. Results: Informational needs for patients centered on three key factors: treatment experience, post-treatment quality of life, and the impact of side effects. Patients and clinicians valued a PDA that presents balanced information on these factors through simple understandable language and visual aids. Usability questionnaires revealed that patients were more satisfied overall with the PDA than clinicians; however, both groups had concerns that the PDA might lengthen consultation times (42 and 41%, respectively). The PDA is accessible on http://beslissamen.nl/. Conclusions: User-centered design provided valuable insights into PDA requirements but challenges in integrating diverse perspectives as clinicians focus on clinical outcomes while patients also consider quality of life. Nevertheless, it is crucial to involve a broad base of clinical users in order to better understand the decision-making process and to develop a PDA that is accurate, usable, and acceptable.
The IMPULS-2020 project DIGIREAL (BUas, 2021) aims to significantly strengthen BUAS’ Research and Development (R&D) on Digital Realities for the benefit of innovation in our sectoral industries. The project will furthermore help BUas to position itself in the emerging innovation ecosystems on Human Interaction, AI and Interactive Technologies. The pandemic has had a tremendous negative impact on BUas industrial sectors of research: Tourism, Leisure and Events, Hospitality and Facility, Built Environment and Logistics. Our partner industries are in great need of innovative responses to the crises. Data, AI combined with Interactive and Immersive Technologies (Games, VR/AR) can provide a partial solution, in line with the key-enabling technologies of the Smart Industry agenda. DIGIREAL builds upon our well-established expertise and capacity in entertainment and serious games and digital media (VR/AR). It furthermore strengthens our initial plans to venture into Data and Applied AI. Digital Realities offer great opportunities for sectoral industry research and innovation, such as experience measurement in Leisure and Hospitality, data-driven decision-making for (sustainable) tourism, geo-data simulations for Logistics and Digital Twins for Spatial Planning. Although BUas already has successful R&D projects in these areas, the synergy can and should significantly be improved. We propose a coherent one-year Impuls funded package to develop (in 2021): 1. A multi-year R&D program on Digital Realities, that leads to, 2. Strategic R&D proposals, in particular a SPRONG/sleuteltechnologie proposal; 3. Partnerships in the regional and national innovation ecosystem, in particular Mind Labs and Data Development Lab (DDL); 4. A shared Digital Realities Lab infrastructure, in particular hardware/software/peopleware for Augmented and Mixed Reality; 5. Leadership, support and operational capacity to achieve and support the above. The proposal presents a work program and management structure, with external partners in an advisory role.
The project focuses on sustainable travel attitude and behaviour with attention to balance, liveability, impact and climate change (as indicated above). The customer journey is approached from the consumer side and intends to shed light on the way COVID-19 has influenced (or not) the following aspects:• consumer’s understanding and appreciation of sustainability • the extent to which this understanding has influenced their attitude towards sustainable travel choices• the extent to which this change is represented in their actual and projected travel behaviour throughout the travel decision-making process • conditions that may foster a more sustainable travel behaviourThe project can be seen as a follow up to existing studies on travel intention during and post COVID-19, such as ETC’s publication on Monitoring sentiment for domestic and Intra-European travel – Wave 5, or the joint study of the European Tourism Futures Institute (ETFI – www.etfi.nl) and the Centre of Expertise in Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality (CELTH – www.celth.nl) highlighting four future scenarios for the leisure, tourism and hospitality sectors post COVID-19. The project will look beyond travel intention and will supplement existing knowledge with crucial information on the way consumers view sustainability and the extent to which they are willing to adjust their travel behaviour to aid the recovery of a more sustainable travel and tourism industry. Therefore, the report aims to generate knowledge vital for the understanding of consumer trends and the role sustainability will play in travel choices in the near future.Problem statementPlease describe which question in the (participating) industry is addressed.How has the sustainable travel attitude and behaviour in selected European source markets been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic? Further questions to be answered:• How did the COVID-19 pandemic influence the consumer’s understanding and appreciation of sustainability?• To what extent did this understanding influence their attitude towards sustainable travel choices?• To what extent is this change represented in their actual and projected travel behaviour throughout the travel decision-making process?• What are the conditions that may foster a more sustainable travel behaviour?
- MOTIVE: This project (NoSI) constitutes a first step towards a broader research aiming at counteracting the compartmentalization of Dutch education: WO-HBO-MBO. This first step focuses on vocational education and training (VET) in the creative industry (CI) to develop an incubator for an innovative and participatory VET system, that bridges the gap between the professional field and education. It starts from the pioneering experience of No School (NS) (http://noschool.nl/), where teachers and students already work together as co-creators. - RESULTS: 1) incubator of the new creative VET, based on the following activities: NS book-Manifesto; NS Pavilion; international VET movement /network of people working on educational change; 2) design of a large-scale subsidised study. - CONTENT: VET system needs a systematised renovation on both practical and theoretical level. We will furtherly develop the NS experiment into an incubator serving as operational example of co-creation between: HBO/MBO/WO; teachers/students; schools/professional field. We are in line with the CLICKNL agenda (The Human Touch) and NWA routes (Jeugd in ontwikkeling, opvoeding en onderwijs; Kunst: onderzoek en innovatie in de 21ste eeuw). - RELEVANCE: Starting directly from the practical needs of the professionals (VET teachers/students/professionals), NoSI bridges the gap between schools and the professional field towards a new educational system that can match the demands of the 21st century society. - METHODS: NoSI introduces Participatory Action Research (PAR) as on-going approach in which all the stakeholders (researchers, teachers, students/CI professionals) are actively involved in the decision-making process as co-creators in bringing an ‘idea’ directly into reality. It considers ‘action’ as the main criterion to validate any theory, prioritizing practical knowledges. PARTNERS: 1) ArtEZ lectoraat Kunst- en Cultuureducatie (AeCT), 2) No School (Cibap/SintLucas), 3) Studio INAMATT, 4) expert groups (UvA).
