Biotechnologie in maatschappelijk perspectief

Political Scienc

Changing Professional Demands in Sustainable Regional Development: A Curriculum Design Process to meet Transboundary Competence

Lansu, A., Boon, J., Sloep, P. B., & Van Dam-Mieras, R. (Accepted). Changing Professional Demands in Sustainable Regional Development: A Curriculum Design Process to meet Transboundary Competence. Journal of Cleaner Production. [Special Issue: Learning for Sustainable Development in Regional Networks] (2012). DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2012.10.019Within a region, public sector organisations, private sector organisations and knowledge institutions all have a stake in finding novel ways to face tomorrow’s demands. In this paper we focus on the enhanced role of universities within the social network of our increasingly knowledge based society. The regional level of this study is the cross-border Rhine-Scheldt Delta and its knowledge network on sustainable innovations in water management. The challenge of sustainable development implies a frequent crossing of boundaries between disciplines and stakeholder perspectives and leads to what is called transboundary competence. This paper considers the implications of changing professional demands in the domain of sustainability from the point of view of the university. It addresses the research questions: How can a university incorporate transboundary competence in its view on learning and curriculum development? And how can the academic quality of learning outcomes be guaranteed in such curricula designed to meet the needs of stakeholders? Proposed is a design process based on open curriculum development in interaction with the workfield. The design process has been tested in the design of a blended learning Master in Delta Water Management

Evaluation of a coagulation assay determining the activity state of factor VII in plasma

A coagulation assay is described that allows the measurement of the degree of activation of factor VII in circulating blood. The test is based on the use of both bovine and human brain thromboplastin, together with an artificial factor VII-deficient plasma. The latter can be prepared on a relatively large scale which makes it possible to measure factor VII activation in large series of patients. The determination of factor VII activation during incubation at 4 °C of plasma of women using oral contraceptives shows that the test described adequately measures factor VII activation. Differences in the time course of factor VII activation during this incubation in glass and plastic containers are found and implicate that rigorous standardization of blood sampling and test conditions is necessary. A possible mechanism that causes this critical dependence upon the test conditions is discussed

Learning in Networks for Sustainable Development

The didactic model of remote internships described in this study provides the flexibility needed to support networked learners, i.e. to facilitate the development and subsequent assessment of their competences. The heterogeneity of the participants (students, employers, tutors) in the learning network provides relevant diversity in expert perspectives. In today’s (networked) business environment, ever more collaboration takes place through virtual platforms and tools. Learning for Sustainable Development could profit from the opportunities such platforms offer, as part of it. Taken from the Brundtland Report (1987), Sustainable Development is development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Sustainable Development has a high level of complexity, with its need for integration of socio-political, environmental and economic perspectives, its uncertainty in future and its dedication to an enormous range of levels of scale, acting from local to global. Because of the complexity of the concept, the defining of competences and learning outcomes for Sustainable Development is not easy. Learning for Sustainable Development could be described as obtaining the ability to cross the boundaries between multiple perspectives in interaction with stakeholders and actors in sustainability issues. An authentic example on the Dutch-Flemish Scheldt Estuary debate, described in the present study, shows such different perspectives and how they influence the scientific study of and decision-making on sustainability issues. We argue how learners who have to deal with these kinds of different perspectives will develop their personal competences in an effective way. The didactic model of remote internships that we use, allows learners to work in virtual teams on current, authentic research assignments in contact with their customers: real employers in the professional field. Moreover, the didactic model enables learners to define their own activities according to their personal learning goals matching the external requirements of employer and university. This allows our learners - adult distance students at the formal BSc Environmental Sciences programme (Open Universiteit) - to start from their own unique perspectives, having different prior knowledge, in different learning domains and from different professional experiences. The multiple perspectives show themselves in the practice of virtual cooperation with peers and experts from both the academic and professional community. Thus, the present study explores how an online remote internship model can effectively support competence development in a heterogeneous professional learning network

Inhibition of activated factors II, VII, IX, and X by synthetic organic compounds directed against the active-site seryl residue

A series of 53 organic chemicals belonging to the groups of organic phosphates, sulfonyl derivatives and carbamates were screened for their activity against the coagulation factors IIa (thrombin), VIIa, IXa and Xa. Relatively specific inhibitors for the factors IIa, VIIa and Xa were found