Understanding and managing a complex estuary: the process towards more congruence between the physical system characteristics and the management system of the Westerschelde (Netherlands)

International audienceIn this article, we expand on the relationship between the social processes of policymaking, management and research in the context of the Westerschelde estuary. This complex estuary system, located in Belgium and the Netherlands, has its own morphological and ecological characteristics and dynamics, and has three core functions: economically, it makes the port of Antwerp accessible; ecologically, it generates habitats for certain unique species; and in terms of safety, it prevents the hinterland from being flooded. We analyze how the social processes of policymaking, management and analysis have focused on these three aspects, and how they have affected the estuary. We proceed to develop a framework for evaluating the social system of policy-making, management and research. This framework focuses on the social system's adaptive capabilities (how it evolved in a non-linear fashion), integrative capacity (how the system's interconnectivity was taken into account), and participative competencies (how the different interests and insights regarding the estuary were absorbed). This framework was then applied to twenty years of policymaking about, management of, and research on the Westerschelde estuary. We conclude that, because of policy learning effects, policy/management and research take the estuary's self-organizing capacities into account much more than they did in the past. However, the self-referential behaviour of policymakers, managers and researchers makes it possible that an anthropocentric and technocratic approach towards managing the estuary, indicating a disconnection between the social and physical systems, could return

Understanding of Relation Structures of Graphical Models by Lower Secondary Students

A learning path has been developed on system dynamical graphical modelling, integrated into the Dutch lower secondary physics curriculum. As part of the developmental research for this learning path, students’ understanding of the relation structures shown in the diagrams of graphical system dynamics based models has been investigated. One of our main findings is that only some students understand these structures correctly. Reality-based interpretation of the diagrams can conceal an incorrect understanding of diagram structures. As a result, students seemingly have no problems interpreting the diagrams until they are asked to construct a graphical model. Misconceptions have been identified that are the consequence of the fact that the equations are not clearly communicated by the diagrams or because the icons used in the diagrams mislead novice modellers. Suggestions are made for improvements

Flood risk and resilience in the Netherlands: In search of an adaptive governance approach

In the Netherlands, dealing with the risk of flooding in the face of the current climate change requires a governance approach that is less based upon the long-standing tradition of prevention and protection, and more oriented toward ideas of resilience and adaptivity. Such an approach is assumed to be more resilient compared to static approaches and better equipped to deal with the indeterminate character of a problem like flood risk. This article presents the Dutch attempt to introduce a more polycentric and adaptive governance approach in flood management, called multilayered safety (MLS).We studied this approach via interviews and an extensive document study, and analyzed the institutions governing the issue using the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework of Elinor Ostrom. For years, the issue was in the hands of a small network of actors, mainly occupied by water experts and governed by a strong lead organization and permanent bodies. While introducing a new, more adaptive policy concept the government encountered both resistance and inability within the existing policy regime. This article shows that the issue of flood safety was successfully 'tamed' for decades. Adopting a more adaptive and polycentric approach necessitates 'untaming' the issue of flood safety

Mechanics of cooling liquids by forced evaporation in bubbles

Injecting a non-dissolvable gas into a saturated liquid results in sub-cooling of the liquid due to forced evaporation into the bubble. Previous studies assumed the rate of evaporation of liquid into the bubble to be independent of the degree of sub-cooling. In our study we quantify the bubble growth by direct observation using high speed imaging and prove that this hypothesis is not true. A phenomenological model of the bubble growth as a function of the degree of sub-cooling is developed and we find excellent agreement between the measurements and theory. This bubble cooling process is employed in cooling a liquid. By identification of all heat flows, we can well describe the cool down curve using bubble cooling. Bubble cooling provides an alternative cooling method for liquids without the use of complicated cooling techniques

Ідентифікація системи підтримки прийняття рішень з урахуванням ризику на прикладі банківського кредитування

Розроблено систему підтримки прийняття рішень щодо банківського кредитування для юридичних і фізичних осіб з урахуванням ризику. Запропоновано здійснювати формалізацію системи підтримки прийняття рішень із використанням математичного апарату нечітких множин та розроблено алгоритм прийняття рішень на її основі.The decision-making support system concerning bank crediting for the legal and physical persons in view of venture is developed. It is offered to make formalization of decision-making support system with use of the mathematical apparatus of indistinct sets and the algorithm of decision-making on their basis is developed

Meer Grip op het Ongrijpbare

Poremećaj iz autističnog spektra je neurorazvojni poremećaj koji djeluje na razvoj socijalnih interakcija, komunikacijskih i motoričkih vještina te učenje i ponašanje uz ograničene interese i stereotipije. Prosječno vrijeme dijagnosticiranja poremećaja iz spektra autizma jest u dobi djeteta od tri godine, iako se odstupanja u razvoju karakteristična za ovaj poremećaj mogu uočiti i u dobi od 12 mjeseci. Procjenjuje se da se 1/160 djece u svijetu suočava s navedenim poremećajem. Biološki marker za poremećaj iz autističnog spektra nije otkriven pa se dijagnoza i dalje postavlja na temelju ponašajnih obilježja. Dijagnoza poremećaja iz autističnog spektra se očituje drugačijim obiteljskim funkcioniranjem zbog čega je i ostalim članovima obitelji potrebno pružiti psihološku pomoć. Zadaća medicinske sestre je pravovremeno uočavanje odstupanja od urednoga razvoja kod djeteta, usmjeravanje roditelja na stručnjake multidisciplinarnog tima te prilagođavanje intervencija osnovnim potrebama djeteta. Kvaliteta zdravstvene skrbi kod djeteta s poremećajem iz spektra autizma ovisit će o težini simptoma, prihvaćanju dijagnoze od strane obitelji, raspoloživog stručnog osoblja te intenzitetu provođenja metoda rane intervencije u svakodnevici. Terapijski postupci u ranoj intervenciji i kasnijoj dobi trebaju biti prilagođeni djetetovoj dobi, interesima te preferiranom načinu komunikacije. Roditelj u terapijskim postupcima ima ulogu «ko-terapeuta» te je educiran od stručnog osoblja kako pomoći djetetu u svakodnevnom funkcioniranju. Otvoreniji pristup zdravstvenih djelatnika prema djetetu s poremećajem iz autističnog spektra, uz edukaciju roditelja, učitelja i zajednice u cjelini pomaže prihvaćanju dijagnoze na većoj društvenoj razini.Autistic spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects the development of social interactions, communication and motor skills, so as learning and behavior with limited interests and stereotypes. The average time to diagnose autistic spectrum disorder is at the age of three years, though the developmental deviations, characteristic for this disorder, can be noticed even at the age of 12 months. It is estimated that 1/160 children in the world are facing this disorder. Since biological marker for autistic spectrum disorder still has not been determined, diagnosis is still based on behavioral features of a child. Diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders manifests by different family functioning, which is why other family members need to be provided with psychological assistance. The nurse's task is to timely notice deviations from early child’s development, to guide parents to multidisciplinary team professionals and to adjust interventions to basic child’s needs. The quality of health care for a child with autistic spectrum disorder depends on the severity of the symptoms, diagnosis acceptance by the family, available professional staff, and the intensity of practicing early intervention methods in everyday life. Therapy procedures in the early intervention time and later in years should be moderated related to the child's age, interests and the preferred way of communication. The parent in therapeutic procedures has the role of a "co-therapist" and is trained by expert staff to help the child in their daily activities. An open approach of healthcare professionals to the child with an autistic spectrum disorder, combined with the education of parents, teachers and the community as a whole, helps to accept the diagnosis at a higher social level

Measuring perceived social presence in distributed learning groups

Kreijns, K., Kirschner, P. A., Jochems, W. M. G., & Van Buuren, H. (2011). Measuring perceived social presence in distributed learning groups. Education and Information Technologies, 16, 365-381.Social presence – the degree to which „the other‟ in a communication appears to be a „real‟ person – has captured the attention of those dealing with learning in groups through computer-supported collaborative learning environments. The concept is important because it affects participation and social interaction, both necessary for effective collaboration and knowledge construction. This article reports on the construction and validation of a self-reporting (Dutch-language) Social Presence Scale to determine perceived social presence in distributed learning groups using computer-supported collaborative learning environments. The result is a onedimensional scale consisting of five items with an internal consistency of .81. We used a nomological network of similar constructs for further validation. The findings suggest that the Social Presence Scale has potential to be useful as a measure for social presence