Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic influenced family-centred care dramatically due to restricting visiting policies. In this new situation, nurses were challenged to develop new approaches to involve family members in patient care. A better understanding of these changes and the experiences of nurses is essential to make an adaptation of procedures, and to secure a family-centred approach in care as much as possible. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate how family involvement had taken place, and to explore the experiences of nurses with family involvement during the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, we aimed to formulate recommendations for the involvement of family. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study using patient record review and focus-group interviews between April and July 2020. We reviewed records of patients with confirmed COVID-19, who were admitted to the COVID-19 wards at two affiliated university hospitals in the Netherlands. All records were searched for notations referring to family involvement. In two focus-groups, nurses who worked at the COVID-19 wards were invited to share their experiences. The Rigorous and Accelerated Data Reduction (RADaR) method was used to collect, reduce and analyse the data. Results: In total, 189 patient records were reviewed and nine nurses participated in the focus-group meetings. Patient records revealed infrequent and often unstructured communication with focus on physical condition. Nurses confirmed that communication with family was far less than before and that the physical condition of the patient was predominant. The involvement of family in care was limited to practicalities, although more involvement was described in end-of-life situations. Nurses experienced moral distress due to the visiting restrictions, though some acknowledged that they had experienced the direct patient care so intense and burdensome, that family contact simply felt too much. Conclusion: The communication with and involvement of family in hospital care changed enormously during the COVID-19 outbreak. Based on the identified themes, we formulated recommendations that may be helpful for family-centered care in hospitals during periods of restricted visiting policy.
This report describes the results and recommendations for Indian dairy farmers and Dutch and Indian companies, from the RAAK Family Dairy Tech India project. Researchers and students of two Dutch and one Indian University of Applied Sciences, together with ten Dutch companies, Indian companies and eight innovative farmers in Pune district collaborated to develop robust and affordable technologies and knowledge for Indian medium sized dairy farmers, in Pune district, Maharashtra. The report also describes innovations in the farmers’ business models and value chains. Partners: Van Hall Larenstein, Velp, and Saxion University of Applied Sciences Enschede, he Netherlands, Agricultural Development Trust Baramati ISBN 978-90-821195-6-5
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Miller, Le Breton-Miller and Scholnick (2008) summarize and discuss two major perspectives constructed from the literature on family owned businesses (FOBs): stewardship and stagnation theory. In this paper the stagnation theory is being put to the test on Dutch small/medium enterprises (SMEs). According to Miller et al. (2008), FOBs taken over by family members may be subject to unusual stagnation, more specifically: “FOBs are said to face unique resource restrictions, embrace conservative strategies, eschew growth, and be doomed to short lives.” This paper tests the existence of the stagnation theory within SMEs in the Netherlands. It does so by studying a sample of 296 small/medium enterprises that originally were family owned and have been acquired either by a family member (N =158), and thus remain family owned, or by a third party and thereby no longer be family owned (N = 138). The empirical findings of this paper do not show any stagnation in family-to-family succession, compared to a third party succession on all of the four dependent variables: the solvency rate, EBDITA, possible risk-aversive behaviour of family firms and the firm’s growth rate. A possible explanation for these findings is that Dutch SMEs are among the top of the innovators worldwide. The findings are presented with cause, because of the relative small sample, the self-reported data and the ordinal measurement of most dependent variables.
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De maatschappelijke aandacht voor welvaartcreatie die verder reikt dan financiële welvaart en de oproep aan bedrijven om hieraan bij te dragen, groeit. MKB-familiebedrijven vinden het vanzelfsprekend om een bijdrage te leveren, maar geven ook aan dat dergelijke brede welvaartactiviteiten niet zijn ingebed in de huidige bedrijfsstrategie. Hieruit volgt de praktijkvraag: Hoe kunnen we [MKB-familiebedrijven] brede welvaartactiviteiten planmatiger aanpakken zodat we meer maatschappelijke impact kunnen maken? Het doel van het project is om interventies (werkwijzen) te ontwikkelen en te toetsen om brede welvaartcreatie bij MKB-familiebedrijven inzichtelijk te maken en de maatschappelijke impact ervan te vergroten door ‘ad hoc’ uitgevoerde activiteiten planmatiger aan te pakken. De centrale onderzoeksvraag is: Hoe kunnen MKB-familiebedrijven brede welvaartactiviteiten koppelen aan hun bedrijfsstrategie en de maatschappelijke impact van deze activiteiten vergroten? Het project wordt uitgevoerd door het Lectoraat Familiebedrijven van Windesheim, het Kenniscentrum Business Innovation van Hogeschool Rotterdam, en met Utrecht University School of Economics. We starten het project met acht MKB-familiebedrijven, met wie interventies worden ontwikkeld, waarna andere familiebedrijven aansluiten en in twee rondes de interventies worden doorontwikkeld. FBNed is aangesloten voor de valorisatie in Nederland en internationaal via hun koepelorganisatie FBN. De belangrijkste onderzoeksmethode in het project is de meervoudige case study methode. Verwachte outcome: Maatschappelijke impact van MKB-familiebedrijven vergroten door: • Kennis over hoe MKB-familiebedrijven zich (kunnen) ontwikkelen in brede welvaartcreatie; • De (h)erkenning van MKB-familiebedrijven in brede welvaartcreatie; • Bewustwording van kansen die brede welvaarcreatie MKB-familiebedrijven kan bieden. Verwachte output: • Een werkboek met een scan voor MKB-familiebedrijven om de huidige en gewenste situatie t.a.v. brede welvaartcreatie inzichtelijk te maken, inclusief interventies om brede welvaartactiviteiten te verankeren in de strategie en maatschappelijke impact te maken; • Twee wetenschappelijke artikelen, vijf vakpublicaties, acht teaching cases en vijf seminars in samenwerking met FBNed om resultaten breed te delen, voor onderwijs, wetenschappelijk publiek en bedrijven.
Promoting entrepreneurship is an enabler of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and it is one objective EU regions have pursued since the EC included it into 2020 Strategy. Entrepreneurship development has economic and social benefits, since it is not only a driving force for job creation, competitiveness and growth; it also contributes to personal fulfillment and to achieve social objectives. That is why the EU encourages entrepreneurial initiatives and to unlock the growth potential of businesses and citizens. However, only a 37% of Europeans (Eurobarometer 2012) would like to be self-employed. The Entrepreneurship Action Plan adopted by the EC in 2013 to reignite Europe’s entrepreneurial spirit includes initiatives for educating young people on entrepreneurship. To ensure that EU economy remains globally competitive, young generations of Europeans need to be inspired to develop their entrepreneurial mindset. EU 2020 Action Plan argues that young people benefitting of a specialised entrepreneurial education are more likely to start-up a business and to better tackle challenges in their professional career and life in general. Hence, there is good reason to ensure better quality of entrepreneurial education. Most approaches in recent years have focused on improving the skills or competences youngsters should obtain only within the education system. However, an integrated approach is needed, where the school, their friends, family and the social environment, shall play each one a relevant role, contributing to generate a more adequate atmosphere to boost their entrepreneurial mindsets, intrapreneurial attitudes and innovation capacities. This project will identify and exchange – through a quadruple helix approach- good practices for creating friendlier entrepreneurial ecosystems and actions to boost entrepreneurship in young people mindsets. The good practices and lessons learnt will be transferred into Action Plans to be included in regional policies.
Family Dairy Tech Sustainable and affordable stable management systems for family dairy farms in India. An example of Dutch technology that is useful to an ?emerging economy?. Summary Problem The demand for dairy products in India is increasing. Small and medium-sized family farmers want to capitalize on this development and the Indian government wants to support them. Dutch companies offer knowledge and a wide range of products and services to improve dairy housing systems and better milk quality, in which India is interested. However, the Dutch technology is sophisticated and expensive. For a successful entry into this market, entrepreneurs have to develop affordable and robust (?frugal?) systems and products adapted to the Indian climate and market conditions. The external question is therefore: ?How can Dutch companies specialised on dairy housing systems adapt their products and offer these on the Indian market to contribute to sustainable and profitable local dairy farming??. Goal Since 2011, VHL University of Applied Sciences (VHL) is collaborating with a college and an agricultural information center Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Baramati, Pune district, Maharashtra State India. In this region many small-scale dairy farmers are active. Within this project, KVK wants to support farmers to scale up their farm form one or a few cows up to 15 to 100 cows, with a better milk quality. In this innovative project, VHL and Saxion Universities of Applied Sciences, in collaboration with KVK and several Dutch companies want to develop integrated solutions for the growing number of dairy farms in the State of Maharashtra, India. The research questions are: 1. "How can, by smart combinations of existing and new technologies, the cow-varieties and milk- and stable-management systems in Baramati, India, for family farmers be optimized in an affordable and sustainable way?" 2. "What are potential markets in India for Dutch companies in the field of stable management and which innovative business models can support entering this market?" Results The intended results are: 1. A design of an integral stable management system for small and medium-sized dairy farms in India, composed of modified Dutch technologies. 2. A cattle improvement programme for robust cows that are adapted to the conditions of Maharashtra. 3. An advice to Dutch entrepreneurs how to develop their market position in India for their technologies. 4. An advice to Indian family farmers how they can increase their margins in a sustainable way by employing innovative technologies.
