Children with special educational needs included in Austrian mainstream schools are provided with special educational support, which aim to create learning environments, that meet the children’s needs on an individual level. Little is known about what adjustments children with special educational needs in mainstream school classes require to promote participation in school occupations. This is the first study in Austria exploring the student-environment-fit from self-perceived children’s perspective and comparing this to teachers’ perspective by using the School Setting Interview. In this cross-sectional matched pairs study twenty-five children (mean age 12.5 ± 1.4) with special educational needs and twenty-one teachers from six Austrian secondary schools were interviewed. Participants’ ratings were analyzed descriptively and statistically with Wilcoxon-Sign Rank Test. Reported adjustments from the child and teacher perspectives were analyzed with qualitative content analysis and presented using the occupational, social and physical environmental dimensions from the Model of Human Occupation. Results indicate perceived student-environment-fit differs between school activities as well as between children and teachers. Three out of 16 school activities showed a statistically significant difference between children and teacher matched-pair analysis. Children perceive more unmet needs then teachers. Most adjustments are reported in the social environment dimension and inform practitioners what adjustments are perceived to be useful for children with Special Educational Needs and their teachers. Both children’s and teacher’s perspectives provide valuable information. Significantly, children in this study were able to identify required needs and describe adjustments. To increase participation in school occupations, children can and need to be actively included in the decision-making process.
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In this article, the Erasmus Mundus programme in Special Education Needs, with the financial support from the European Commission, run in Europe from 2005-2010, is reported. The discussion will focus especially on the learning in the field of collaborative skills and attitudes that have occurred in the programme. With reference to the feedback of the participants, the features such as practices of internationalization, multicultural understanding, collaboration in learning and reflection in professional practice are signficantly noted. In comparision, these insights may exert far-reaching impact to course planning of professional development in special needs at different levels in Hong Kong.
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Our unilateral diet has resulted in a deficiency of specific elements/components needed for well-functioning of the human body. Especially the element magnesium is low in our processed food and results in neuronal and muscular malfunctioning, problems in bone heath/strength, and increased chances of diabetes, depression and cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, it has also been recognized that magnesium plays an important role in cognitive functioning (impairment and enhancement), especially for people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson disease, Alzheimer, etc). Recently, it has been reported that magnesium addition positively effects sleep and calmness (anti-stress). In order to increase the bioavailability of magnesium cations, organic acids such as citrate, glycerophosphate and glycinate are often used as counterions. However, the magnesium supplements that are currently on the market still suffer from low bio-availability and often do not enter the brain significantly.The preparation of dual/multiple ligands of magnesium in which the organic acid not only functions as a carrier but also has synergistically/complementary biological effects is widely unexplored and needs further development. As a result, there is a strong need for dual/multiple magnesium supplements that are non-toxic, stable, prepared via an economically and ecologically attractive route, resulting in high bioavailability of magnesium in vivo, preferably positively influencing cognition/concentration
Due to societal developments, like the introduction of the ‘civil society’, policy stimulating longer living at home and the separation of housing and care, the housing situation of older citizens is a relevant and pressing issue for housing-, governance- and care organizations. The current situation of living with care already benefits from technological advancement. The wide application of technology especially in care homes brings the emergence of a new source of information that becomes invaluable in order to understand how the smart urban environment affects the health of older people. The goal of this proposal is to develop an approach for designing smart neighborhoods, in order to assist and engage older adults living there. This approach will be applied to a neighborhood in Aalst-Waalre which will be developed into a living lab. The research will involve: (1) Insight into social-spatial factors underlying a smart neighborhood; (2) Identifying governance and organizational context; (3) Identifying needs and preferences of the (future) inhabitant; (4) Matching needs & preferences to potential socio-techno-spatial solutions. A mixed methods approach fusing quantitative and qualitative methods towards understanding the impacts of smart environment will be investigated. After 12 months, employing several concepts of urban computing, such as pattern recognition and predictive modelling , using the focus groups from the different organizations as well as primary end-users, and exploring how physiological data can be embedded in data-driven strategies for the enhancement of active ageing in this neighborhood will result in design solutions and strategies for a more care-friendly neighborhood.
Wat is de mogelijke rol van lokale duurzame energiesystemen en –initiatieven in de overgang naar een duurzame samenleving? En hoe kunnen op lokale toepassing gerichte innovaties worden ontwikkeld en toegepast op een zodanige manier dat deze bij lokale systemen en initiatieven aansluiten?Deze vragen staan centraal in dit onderzoeksproject dat zich richt op innovaties die rekening houden met een grotere rol van burgers bij een duurzame energievoorziening. Het project behelst echter meer dan het verrichten van onderzoek. Het beoogt bouwstenen te leveren voor een duurzame samenleving waarin meer ruimte is voor lokale (burger)initiatieven. We stellen drie deelprojecten voor:1. een vergelijkende studie naar energiecoöperaties en vergelijkbare innovatieve initiatieven, binnen en buiten Nederland, in heden en verleden. Daarbij hopen we lering te kunnen trekken uit de succesvolle ervaringen in Denemarken en Oostenrijk en van innovaties door coöperatiesen collectieven in het verleden.2. een analyse van energie-innovaties die beogen aan te sluiten bij lokale energiesystemen. Concreet zal het onderzoek zich richten op speciale batterijen, ontwikkeld dor het bedrijf Dr.Ten, en een soort slimme grote zoneboiler, ontwikkeld door het gelijknamige bedrijf Ecovat.3. De ontwikkeling van drie scenario’s, gebaseerd op inzichten uit studies 1 en 2. De scenario’s zullen bijvoorbeeld inhoudelijk verschillen in de mate waarin deze geïntegreerd zijn in bestaande energiesystemen. Deze zullen worden ontwikkeld en besproken met relevante stakeholders.Het onderzoek moet leiden tot een nauwkeurig overzicht van de mate van interesse en betrokkenheid van stakeholders en van de beperkingen en mogelijkheden van lokale energiesystemen en daarbij betrokken technologie. Ook leidt het tot een routemap voor duurzame energiesystemen op lokaal niveau. Het project heeft een technisch aspect, onderzoek naar verfijning en ontwikkeling van de technologie en een sociaal en normatief aspect, studies naar aansluitingsmogelijkheden bij de wensen en mogelijkheden van burgers, instanties en bedrijven in Noord-Nederland. Bovenal is het integratief en ontwerpend van karakter.This research proposal will explore new socio- technical configurations of local community-based sustainable energy systems. Energy collectives successfully combine technological and societal innovations, developing new business and organization models. A better understanding of their dynamics and needs will contribute to their continued success and thereby contribute to fulfilling the Top Sector’s Agenda. This work will also enhance the knowledge position of the Netherlands on this topic. Currently, over 500 local energy collectives are active in The Netherlands, many of them aim to produce their own sustainable energy, with thousands more in Europe. These collectives search for a new more local-based ways of organizing a sustainable society, including more direct democratic decision-making and influence on local living environment. The development of the collectives is enabled by openings in policy but –evenly important - by innovations in local energy production technologies (solar panels, windmills, biogas installations). Their future role in the sustainable energy transition can be strengthened by careful aligning new organizational and technological innovations in local energy production, storage and smart micro-grids.
