Placemaking and (Digital) Storytelling

Placemaking is not only connected to a physical space; it can also be virtual. In this session we looked at how stories, digital or otherwise, are connecting people and enhancing their wellbeing. The examples presented showed how storytelling could create a sense of belonging and how the digital world adds value to that experience. Placemaking is about people, about living together, about a sense of belonging and carving spaces together, about co-creation and sharing stories. And it is crucial for society, especially now as it enters a new dimension in times of a global pandemic that affects us all. What will placemaking look like after COVID-19? What did we learn and what can we take with us to the future? How will we socialise, move from one place to another, (inter)act with and in public spaces after the pandemic? These questions guided a series of four online sessions which were held between the 7th and 30th of April (2020), connecting placemaking with the future of cities, tourism, the arts, urban design and digital storytelling. Experts and other interested persons were brought together across borders to discuss possible ways forward by learning from good practices. The response was overwhelming, both from the speakers that were contacted to take part, and from the diverse participants eager to share and exchange ideas. The concepts behind placemaking are not new and date back to the 60s when writers and urbanists like Jane Jacobs , William Whyte and Kevin A. Lynch offered new ideas on urban design catering for residents

Functional outcomes and complications after salvage total laryngectomy for residual, recurrent, and second primary squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx and hypopharynx : a multicenter retrospective cohort study

Background/Purpose: We analyzed complications and functional outcomes and aimed at identifying prognostic factors for functional outcomes and complications in patients who underwent salvage total laryngectomy (STL) for residual, recurrent, and second primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the larynx and hypopharynx after initial (chemo)radiation. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent STL in four major Belgian reference hospitals between 2002 and 2018. Prognostic factors for functional outcomes and complications were identified with uni- and multivariable analysis. Results: A total of 405 patients were included in the final analysis. STL was performed for residual tumor (40.2%), local recurrence (40.5%), or second primary laryngeal or hypopharyngeal SCC (19.4%). Early postoperative complications were experienced by 34.2% of patients: postoperative hemorrhage occurred in 5.4%, wound infection in 16.2%, and clinical pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF) in 25.5% of patients. Early readmission proved necessary in 15.1% of cases, most often due to late PCF development (72.2%). Patients achieved total peroral intake in 94.2% of cases. However, subjective dysphagia was reported by 31.3% of patients during follow-up. Functional speech, defined as functional communication by speech without additional aids, was reported in 86.7% of cases and was most often achieved by tracheo-esophageal puncture (TEP) (94.1%). In a multivariable model, lower preoperative hemoglobin (<12.5 g/dl) was identified as an independent prognostic factor for higher overall complication rate. No risk factors were found significant for clinical fistula formation. Vascularized tissue augmentation did not significantly prevent clinical PCF. Patients with positive section margins, patients initially treated with surgery combined with adjuvant RT (vs. radiotherapy alone), and those developing PCF after STL were less likely to achieve total peroral intake. Postoperative dysphagia proved more likely in patients who developed a PCF postoperatively, and less likely in patients who underwent STL without partial pharyngectomy and in patients with myocutaneous pectoralis major (PM) flap reconstruction, compared to muscle onlay PM flap. Achieving postoperative functional speech proved most likely in patients with smaller tumors (lower pT classification) and free section margins. Conclusion: Substantial complication rates and favorable functional outcomes are reported after STL

Wat drijft innovatie?

Tegen 2020 wil Vlaanderen als kenniseconomie aansluiting vinden bij de innovatieve topregio’s in Europa. De regering zette daarvoor het plan Vlaanderen in actie (Via) op. Beleidsmatig wordt duidelijk een tandje bijgestoken in de ondersteuning van de ontwikkelingen binnen de creatieve industrie. Ann Laenen reflecteert op het artikel van Ranaivosonen collega’s in Pioneering minds worldwide.status: publishe

Impactstudie Paola246 – virtueel theater

De impactstudie focust op het virtueel theaterproject Paola246 dat in 2007 in HETPALEIS gelopen heeft. Het rapport staat stil bij de nieuwe theatervorm. Wat betekent het voor de producent, het publiek, de regisseur, de online expert.status: publishe

Widening the audience: cultural institutions and the use of virtual communities: two Belgian cases

Recent developments in Information Technology have resulted in changes that affected our way of living. These technological innovations have made the Internet more accessible. It is found that more people use the Net nowadays within their work and home environment. Through the Internet people can meet with friends and relatives who live close by and far away. Online social networks or virtual communities continue to develop. In some cases this results in a very ‘local’ translation of these ‘virtual’ meetings. ‘Socializing’ on- and offline becomes important. Cultural Institutions try to find their way through these new communication trends. Policy makes them look for new ways of interaction with their audience. How make people participate into culture by using the New Technologies as an extra tool for debate and action in such a way that it enlarges and extends the activities of the Institution? Through two concrete cases one Youth Theatre called HETPALEIS and a cultural centre, CULTUURCENTRUM BERCHEM, we want to illustrate how the integration of an online forum within the website broadened the interaction between the cultural institution and her audience as well as between the collaborators of the cultural institution itself.status: publishe

El Departamento de educación de La Monnaie

Luis Carlos Gago (traductor)

Co-design revisited: exploring problematic co-design dynamics in kids

This paper explores problematic co-design dynamics in children, which are defined as a system of intragroup dynamics occurring within a group of at random or purposefully selected children sharing a common design goal. These dynamics impact children’s development of creative solutions in co-design, but have rarely been addressed in literature. Therefore, we set out a multiple case study with 9- to 10-year olds in three elementary schools. Although not an exhaustive list, our in-depth exploration resulted in the following problematic codesign dynamics: the apart together phenomenon, free riding, status inequality, the laughing out loud phenomenon, the greatest common divisor effect and polarization. In further research, we will investigate how to remediate these dynamics into positive forces.status: publishe

The GLID method: Moving from design features to underlying values in co-design

In this paper, we present the GLID method to integrate verbal, material and other co-design outcomes in a structured and coherent analysis. GLID aims to increase internal rigor and transparency in Participatory Design practices and wants to go beyond the surface level of ideas, by identifying participants’ values embedded in co-design outcomes. We discuss GLID's theoretical groundings in multimodality and a values-led approach to Participatory Design, and present a case study with primary school children. This case study demonstrates how the different stages of the GLID method can be applied in practice. Based on the case study, we reflect on how GLID contributes to a holistic, situated and more empathic understanding in co-design practices.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: The GLID method: Moving from design features to underlying values in co-design journaltitle: International Journal of Human-Computer Studies articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2016.09.005 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Antibiotic prescribing rate after optimal near-patient C-reactive protein testing in acutely ill children presenting to ambulatory care (ARON project): protocol for a cluster-randomized pragmatic trial

INTRODUCTION: Children become ill quite often, mainly because of infections, most of which can be managed in the community. Many children are prescribed antibiotics which contributes to antimicrobial resistance and reinforces health-seeking behaviour. Point-of-care C reactive protein (POC CRP) testing, prescription guidance and safety-netting advice can help safely reduce antibiotic prescribing to acutely ill children in ambulatory care as well as save costs at a systems level. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The ARON (Antibiotic prescribing Rate after Optimal Near-patient testing in acutely ill children in ambulatory care) trial is a pragmatic cluster randomized controlled superiority trial with a nested process evaluation and will assess the clinical and cost effectiveness of a diagnostic algorithm, which includes a standardised clinical assessment, a POC CRP test, and safety-netting advice, in acutely ill children aged 6 months to 12 years presenting to ambulatory care. The primary outcome is antibiotic prescribing at the index consultation; secondary outcomes include clinical recovery, reconsultation, referral/admission to hospital, additional testing, mortality and patient satisfaction. We aim to recruit a total sample size of 6111 patients. All outcomes will be analysed according to the intent-to-treat approach. We will use a mixed-effect logistic regression analysis to account for the clustering at practice level. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study will be conducted in compliance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (current version), the principles of Good Clinical Practice and in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements. Ethics approval for this study was obtained on 10 November 2020 from the Ethics Committee Research of University Hospitals Leuven under reference S62005. We will ensure that the findings of the study will be disseminated to relevant stakeholders other than the scientific world including the public, healthcare providers and policy-makers. The process evaluation that is part of this trial may provide a basis for an implementation strategy. If our intervention proves to be clinically and cost-effective, it will be essential to educate physicians about introducing the diagnostic algorithm including POC CRP testing and safety-netting advice in their daily practice. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04470518. Protocol V.2.0 date 2 October 2020. (Pre-results