Microfluidic platform for bilayer experimatation from a research tooltowards drug screening

The aim of this thesis, which is the development of a microfluidic platform for bilayer experimentation with the potential for drug screening on ion channels, is introduced in this chapter. After a short presentation of the field of drug screening, an outline of this thesis is given, together with a brief summary of the different chapters

Resilienz/Robustheit

Dieser Beitrag stellt das Konzept der Resilienz dar, das als ein Maß für die Widerstandsfähigkeit eines Systems gegenüber Störungen oder Veränderungen verstanden wird, ohne dass das System dabei seine grundlegenden Qualitäten und funktionalen Eigenschaften verliert. Der Begriff Robustheit wird hier als Synonym zum Resilienzbegriff aufgefasst

Vulnerabilität

Im Beitrag werden Unterschiede bzw. Gemeinsamkeiten des Begriffsverständnisses von Vulnerabilität in den Diskursen um Klimawandel und Naturrisiken herausgearbeitet, die temporale Dimension von Vulnerabilität herausgestellt und die Bezüge des Vulnerabilitätskonzepts zur Umweltprüfung erläutert

The role of user-led regional innovation networks in shaping responsible innovation in eHealth

In this chapter we study the innovation process of an eHealth application which emerged as a user-driven, local project. The eHealth application is based on a communication platform that creates a network around a particular patient who is in need of regular care and the different parties involved in the patient’s care, and is aimed at facilitating the communication and coordination of this care net-work. We trace the innovation and implementation process, and explore, firstly, to which extent and in which form different dimensions of responsibility, such as anticipation, reflexivity, inclusiveness and responsiveness (Stilgoe et al., 2013) were present along the innovation process. Secondly, we con-sider if and how the regional and partly local, bottom up nature of the innovation network was con-ducive to enacting dimensions of responsibility

Gewerbeflächenpoolmodelle als regionaler Kooperationsansatz

Der Beitrag stellt zwei unterschiedliche Modelle eines über Poollösungen abgestimmten interkommunalen Gewerbeflächenmanagements vor, mit denen in beiden Fällen eine nachfragegerechte Steuerung mit einem ressourcenschonenden Umgang mit Boden verbunden werden soll. Im Ergebnis wird für eine Kombination beider Ansätze plädiert, das heißt für eine regionale Steuerung zukünftiger Entwicklungen über die Implementierung einer Mengensteuerung in Kombination mit einer gemeinsamen Vermarktung baureifer Flächen. Auf diese Weise kann die Entwicklung nicht nachfragegerechter Standorte vermieden und gleichzeitig eine effiziente Nutzung bestehender Flächen erreicht werden.This paper describes two different pool-based models for the co-ordinated management of commercial sites across municipal boundaries. In both cases the goal is to unite a fair attitude towards responding to demand with a sparing approach to the consumption of land resources. Ultimately the author argues for a combination of these two approaches, i.e. for the course of future developments to be steered at the regional level through the implementation of a policy of quantity control in combination with the joint marketing of sites which are ready for development. This approach is capable of preventing the development of sites which are unsuited to the demand being expressed; at the same time it can promote the efficient use of existing sites

Regionale Flächennutzungsplanung in Nordrhein-Westfalen - ein geeigneter Regionalisierungsansatz?

Der Beitrag diskutiert die Besonderheiten des nordrhein-westfälischen Planungssystems und die daraus für eine rechtssichere wie praktikable Anwendung des Instruments erwachsenden Probleme einerseits sowie das Verhältnis zur staatlichen Regionalplanung andererseits. Insbesondere die sich aus dem Maßstab und der gewählten Doppellegende ergebenden methodischen Probleme werden eingehend dargestellt. Im Ergebnis wird festgestellt, dass der FNP-Teil seiner Funktion nicht gerecht wird. Zudem benötigt erfolgreiche interkommunale Kooperation keinen RFNP. Plädiert wird hier deshalb für eine Fortführung der interkommunalen Kooperation im Ruhrgebiet im Rahmen dafür besser geeigneter informeller Instrumente und zugleich für eine Stärkung der Regionalplanung durch eine konsequente Übernahme der Kompetenz durch den RVR.This paper discusses some distinctive features of North Rhine-Westphalia’s planning system; in particular, the author considers the problems which arise regarding legal certainty and the practical application of the preparatory municipal land-use plan and its relationship to regional planning at the state level. Detailed consideration is given to the methodological problems resulting from the scale and the so-called “dual key” which has been opted for. The author concludes that the local plan component fails to serve the function intended for it; moreover, successful intermunicipal co-operation does not necessarily require the existence of a regional land-use plan. Thus, the author argues for continued intermunicipal co-operation within the Ruhr region on the basis of the use of more appropriate informal instruments, and for regional planning to be strengthened by assigning competence for it more consistently to the Regionalverband Ruhr, the association of local authorities in the Ruhr region

Modes of innovation and responsibility within regional innovation systems:Reflections from the Twente region

Increasing public investments in distributed platform infrastructures have created new opportunities for economic growth and social welfare but at the same time have been associated with growing societal distrust in the power of science to solve societal problems. The concept of Responsible Research & Innovation has been advanced as providing mechanisms to recouple science and society to ensure that research and innovation continues to uphold its duties to society. In this paper, we explore the extent to which it is possible to identify repertoires of responsible innovation behaviour within extant research and innovation networks. We distinguish between two kinds of regional innovation network, those based on science and technology innovation, and those based on doing, using, inventing innovation in the eHealth sector where there are substantive societal concerns regarding responsibility and innovation. We contend that it appears that the coupling of patients to innovation networks through their prior association with innovators (e.g. as patients) affects the scope for responsibility. We therefore contend that more attention is required for understanding the dynamics of citizen-innovator coupling in regional innovation networks if responsibility is to become a more common property of these systems

Comparing Climate Impact Assessments for Rural Adaptation Planning in Germany and the Netherlands

The consensus nowadays is that there is a need to adapt to increasingly occurring climate impacts by means of adaptation plans. However, only a minority of European cities has an approved climate adaptation plan by now. To support stakeholder dialogue and decision-making processes in climate adaptation planning, a detailed spatial information and evidence base in terms of a climate impact assessment is needed. This article aims to compare the climate impact assessment done in the context of two regional climate change adaptation planning processes in a Dutch and a German region. To do so, a comparison of guidelines and handbooks, methodological approaches, available data, and resulting maps and products is conducted. Similarities and differences between the two approaches with a particular focus on the input and output of such analysis are identified and both processes are assessed using a set of previously defined quality criteria. Both studies apply a similar conceptualisation of climate impacts and focus strongly on issues concerning their visualisation and communication. At the same time, the methods of how climate impacts are calculated and mapped are quite different. The discussion and conclusion section highlights the need to systematically consider climatic and socio-economic changes when carrying out a climate impact assessment, to focus on a strong visualisation of results for different stakeholder groups, and to link the results to planning processes and especially funding opportunities

Linking the actors and policies throughout the disaster management cycle by "Agreement on Objectives" – a new output-oriented management approach

Current management of disaster risks is often fragmented due to a lack of coordination between involved actors, i.e. civil protection and spatial planning – a phenomenon which is known as the "problem of interplay". This paper presents an output-oriented risk management approach ("parametric governance"). Here, the modality of the achievement of objectives remains in the hands of the given addressees. This implies a shift from a top-down to a more collaborative, process-oriented form of decision-making. The approach has been successfully applied in two hazard cases and three administrative contexts: (a) the City of Dortmund (Germany) facing flash floods, (b) East Attica region (Greece) facing forest fires, and (c) Lazio Region (Italy) also facing forest fires. As proved by the applications of the concept, a dialogue among experts, stakeholders, and decision-makers is indispensable in order to guarantee inclusion of all diverse and competing values, opinions, and claims. Moreover, a structured communication path is needed to meet the requirements of a risk governance process. Finally, a win-win-situation among the involved actors has to be created to reach an agreement on common goals and actions to achieve them in due time