The aim of this dissertation is to examine how adult learners with a spoken language background who are acquiring a signed language, learn how to use the space in front of the body to express grammatical and topographical relations. Moreover, it aims at investigating the effectiveness of different types of instruction, in particular instruction that focuses the learner's attention on the agreement verb paradigm. To that end, existing data from a learner corpus (Boers-Visker, Hammer, Deijn, Kielstra & Van den Bogaerde, 2016) were analyzed, and two novel experimental studies were designed and carried out. These studies are described in detail in Chapters 3–6. Each chapter has been submitted to a scientific journal, and accordingly, can be read independently.1 Yet, the order of the chapters follows the chronological order in which the studies were carried out, and the reader will notice that each study served as a basis to inform the next study. As such, some overlap in the sections describing the theoretical background of each study was unavoidable.
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The following guidelines address issues related specifically to sign language tests and testing of children since most of the existing guidelines focus on tests for adult learners. Links are provided to existing guidelines for test development, such as from the International Testing Commission (ITC), or the European Association of Language Testing and Assessment (EALTA), which include more general, construct-independent issues on (language) tests to provide additional/in-depth information. The guidelines stated here serve as a point of reference to develop, evaluate, and use tests, both for children or adult learners of a sign language. To investigate specific topics more in-depth, we recommend using existing guidelines (see Additional resources and guidelines for (language) test development) or refer to publications on sign language test development and adaptation (see Selected references
The international classroom is presumably a far more effective learning environment for the acquisition of intercultural competence when students receive adequate training to make the most of their intercultural encounters. This paper provides a summary of the intercultural training taught to first-year students of an international programme in The Hague University of Applied Sciences. The purpose of the paper is to investigate how the students respond to this intercultural training as well as what signs of intercultural awareness they show after completing the course. The findings were obtained via qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews, observations and student homework assignments. Overall, students evaluate the training positively. Furthermore, students show some awareness of the necessary ingredients for effective intercultural communication in the international classroom as well as of the challenging nature of this communication due to cultural diversity. Finally, this paper provides recommendations from the facilitators on stimulating intercultural learning in the international classroom.
Currently, many novel innovative materials and manufacturing methods are developed in order to help businesses for improving their performance, developing new products, and also implement more sustainability into their current processes. For this purpose, additive manufacturing (AM) technology has been very successful in the fabrication of complex shape products, that cannot be manufactured by conventional approaches, and also using novel high-performance materials with more sustainable aspects. The application of bioplastics and biopolymers is growing fast in the 3D printing industry. Since they are good alternatives to petrochemical products that have negative impacts on environments, therefore, many research studies have been exploring and developing new biopolymers and 3D printing techniques for the fabrication of fully biobased products. In particular, 3D printing of smart biopolymers has attracted much attention due to the specific functionalities of the fabricated products. They have a unique ability to recover their original shape from a significant plastic deformation when a particular stimulus, like temperature, is applied. Therefore, the application of smart biopolymers in the 3D printing process gives an additional dimension (time) to this technology, called four-dimensional (4D) printing, and it highlights the promise for further development of 4D printing in the design and fabrication of smart structures and products. This performance in combination with specific complex designs, such as sandwich structures, allows the production of for example impact-resistant, stress-absorber panels, lightweight products for sporting goods, automotive, or many other applications. In this study, an experimental approach will be applied to fabricate a suitable biopolymer with a shape memory behavior and also investigate the impact of design and operational parameters on the functionality of 4D printed sandwich structures, especially, stress absorption rate and shape recovery behavior.
De Nederlandse overheid wil in 2050 een volledig circulaire economie bereiken. Met haar sterke rol als inkoper gaat ze diverse sectoren dwingen om producten circulair aan te bieden. De visie is om de geleerde lessen ook toe te passen in andere sectoren en zo de circulaire economie te versnellen. Kantoormeubilair is gedefinieerd als één van de eerste sectoren waarin geëxperimenteerd wordt met circulair inkopen. Levensduurverlenging door onderhoud en/of revitaliseren van bestaand meubilair staat daarbij centraal. Ahrend zet in op het revitaliseren van bestaand meubilair door het terugnemen en opwaarderen van oud meubilair. Dit meubilair is echter van oorsprong ontworpen voor lineair gebruik. Levensduurverlenging zal succesvoller zijn als daar vooraf in het ontwerp rekening mee is gehouden. Verschillende strategieën zijn samengevat in de circulariteitsladder en variëren van functieverandering tot recycling. Inzicht in de effectiviteit van designstrategieën voor circulair ontwerpen ontbreekt echter. d’Andrea&Evers is ontwerpbureau en adviseur voor circulair ondernemen. Wordlenig is een ontwerpbureau gericht op marktinnovatie. Beide zien in de ontwerppraktijk gebrek aan kennis hoe circulariteit afhangt van ontwerpkeuzes. Het is daarbij moeilijk om effecten van verschillende designstrategieën onderling te vergelijken. Met ontwerpend onderzoek gaan we in dit project daarom een kantoorstoel vanuit verschillende circulaire designstrategieën herontwerpen en vervolgens de circulaire verschillen inzichtelijk maken. Daarvoor gebruiken we milieu-impact analysen zoals LCA. Door het onderzoek uit te voeren als praktische design-casus, geven we inzicht in de uitdagingen van circulair ontwerpen voor product designers. De vraagstukken in deze sector, zijn de vraagstukken waar industrieel ontwerpers in andere sectoren later óók mee geconfronteerd worden. Het kennisverband voor circulair ondernemen, CIRCO, helpt daarom met disseminatie van de resultaten in andere sectoren. De onderzoeksvraag luidt: “Wat zijn voor industrieel ontwerpers de mogelijkheden en beperkingen van strategieën voor het circulair ontwerpen van producten en hoe kan het effect van die strategieën op de circulariteit onderling vergeleken worden?“
Our world is changing rapidly as a result of societal and technological developments that create new opportunities and challenges. Extended Realities (XR) could provide solutions for the problems the world is facing. In this project we apply these novel solutions in food and hospitality. It aims to tackle fundamental questions on how to stimulate a healthy and vital society that is based on a sustainable and innovative economy. This project aims to answer the question: How can Extended Reality (XR) technologies be integrated in the design of immersive food experiences to stimulate sustainable consumption behavior? A multidisciplinary approach, that has demonstrated its strength in the creative industry, will be applied in the hospitality and food sector. The project investigates implications and design considerations for immersion through XR technology that can stimulate sustainable consumption behavior. Based on XR prototypes, physiological data will be collected using biometric measuring devices in combination with self-reports. The effect of stimuli on sustainable consumption behavior during the immersive experience will be tested to introduce XR implementations that can motivate long-term behavioral change in food consumption. The results of the project contribute towards developing innovations in the hospitality sector that can tackle global societal challenges by exploiting the impact of new technology and understanding of consumer behavior to promote a healthy lifestyle and economy. Next to academic publications and conference contributions, the project will develop a handbook for hospitality professionals. It will outline steps and design criteria for the implementation of XR technologies to create immersive experiences that can stimulate sustainable consumption behavior. The knowledge generated in the project will contribute to the development of the curriculum at the Academy for Hotel and Facility at Breda University of Applied Sciences by introducing a technology-driven experience design approach for the course Sustainable Strategic Business Design.
