Dit Trendrapport Open Educational Resources 2013 beschrijft de trends op het gebied van open educational resources (OER) en open onderwijs in binnen- en buitenland, geschreven vanuit de context van het Nederlandse hoger onderwijs. Dat gebeurt aan de hand van vijftien artikelen van Nederlandse experts op het gebied van open en online onderwijs. Ook bevat het vijftien korte intermezzo’s met spraakmakende voorbeelden.
Dit rapport beschrijft de trends in binnen- en buitenland op het gebied van Open Educational Resources. Dat gebeurt aan de hand van twaalf artikelen van Nederlandse experts op het gebied van open leermaterialen in het hoger onderwijs. Ook bevat het rapport twaalf intermezzo’s met spraakmakende voorbeelden.
The increasing demand for Prunus africana resources is an opportunity for its conservation and commercial use to support livelihoods in Africa. The objective for this study was to investigate major steps to advance production of P. africana for long-term commercial use in Uganda. Specific objectives were to explore potential production schemes, setbacks in production and strategies to advance it. The study was done by review of literature, documents and interviews with experts. Results indicated Agroforestry and large plantations to be useful schemes for production. Identified setbacks are: low trade in P. africana, unknown returns from production, competing land uses, long growth period, limited market assurance and information. The lack of a resource assessment for P. africana in forests contributes to its low trade which undermines related economic benefits for national development and incentives to commercial production. We propose that a national Quantitative resource assessment of P. africana in forests is one of the crucial steps that should be undertaken to carefully organise and advance sustainable trade to provide rational incentives for commercial production. Subsequently, production should be localised in suitable sites and producers be organised into cooperatives. Further research to improve returns from commercial production of P. africana is needed.
MULTIFILE
The focus of this project is on improving the resilience of hospitality Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by enabling them to take advantage of digitalization tools and data analytics in particular. Hospitality SMEs play an important role in their local community but are vulnerable to shifts in demand. Due to a lack of resources (time, finance, and sometimes knowledge), they do not have sufficient access to data analytics tools that are typically available to larger organizations. The purpose of this project is therefore to develop a prototype infrastructure or ecosystem showcasing how Dutch hospitality SMEs can develop their data analytic capability in such a way that they increase their resilience to shifts in demand. The one year exploration period will be used to assess the feasibility of such an infrastructure and will address technological aspects (e.g. kind of technological platform), process aspects (e.g. prerequisites for collaboration such as confidentiality and safety of data), knowledge aspects (e.g. what knowledge of data analytics do SMEs need and through what medium), and organizational aspects (what kind of cooperation form is necessary and how should it be financed).Societal issueIn the Netherlands, hospitality SMEs such as hotels play an important role in local communities, providing employment opportunities, supporting financially or otherwise local social activities and sports teams (Panteia, 2023). Nevertheless, due to their high fixed cost / low variable business model, hospitality SMEs are vulnerable to shifts in consumer demand (Kokkinou, Mitas, et al., 2023; Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, 2023). This risk could be partially mitigated by using data analytics, to gain visibility over demand, and make data-driven decisions regarding allocation of marketing resources, pricing, procurement, etc…. However, this requires investments in technology, processes, and training that are oftentimes (financially) inaccessible to these small SMEs.Benefit for societyThe proposed study touches upon several key enabling technologies First, key enabling technology participation and co-creation lies at the center of this proposal. The premise is that regional hospitality SMEs can achieve more by combining their knowledge and resources. The proposed project therefore aims to give diverse stakeholders the means and opportunity to collaborate, learn from each other, and work together on a prototype collaboration. The proposed study thereby also contributes to developing knowledge with and for entrepreneurs and to digitalization of the tourism and hospitality sector.Collaborative partnersHZ University of Applied Sciences, Hotel Hulst, Hotel/Restaurant de Belgische Loodsensociëteit, Hotel Zilt, DM Hotels, Hotel Charley's, Juyo Analytics, Impuls Zeeland.
Due to the existing pressure for a more rational use of the water, many public managers and industries have to re-think/adapt their processes towards a more circular approach. Such pressure is even more critical in the Rio Doce region, Minas Gerais, due to the large environmental accident occurred in 2015. Cenibra (pulp mill) is an example of such industries due to the fact that it is situated in the river basin and that it has a water demanding process. The current proposal is meant as an academic and engineering study to propose possible solutions to decrease the total water consumption of the mill and, thus, decrease the total stress on the Rio Doce basin. The work will be divided in three working packages, namely: (i) evaluation (modelling) of the mill process and water balance (ii) application and operation of a pilot scale wastewater treatment plant (iii) analysis of the impacts caused by the improvement of the process. The second work package will also be conducted (in parallel) with a lab scale setup in The Netherlands to allow fast adjustments and broaden evaluation of the setup/process performance. The actions will focus on reducing the mill total water consumption in 20%.
Recent research by the renowned Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) shows that more than 2/3 of all CO2 is emitted during the building process and less than 1/3 during use to heat the building and the tap water. Lightweight, local and biobased materials such as biocomposites to replace concrete and fossil based cladding are in the framework of climate change, a necessity for future building. Using plant fiber in polymer composites is especially interesting for construction since natural fibers exhibit comparative good mechanical properties with small specific weight, which defines the potential for lightweight constructions. The use of renewable resources, will affect the ecosystem favorably and the production costs of construction materials could also decrease. However, one disadvantage of natural fibers in plastics is their hydrophilic properties. In construction the materials need to meet special requirements like the resistance against fluctuating weather conditions (Ticoalu et al., 2010). In contrast to synthetic fibers, the natural ones are more moisture- and UV-radiation-sensitive. That may lead to degradation of these materials and a decreasing in quality of products. (Lopez et al., 2006; Mokhothu und John, 2017) Tanatex and NPSP have approached CoE BBE/Avans to assist in a study where fibres impregnated with the (modified) Tanatex products will be used for reinforcement of thermoset biopolymers. The influence of the different Tanatex products on the moisture absorption of natural/cellulosic fibers and the adhesion on the fibers on main composite matrix will be measured. The effect of Tantex products can optimize the bonding reaction between the resin and the fibers in the (bio) composite and result to improved strength and physico-chemical properties of the biocomposite materials. (word count: 270)
