Diagnosis of the state of the territory in Flanders : reporting about new maps and indicators differentiating between urban and rural areas within Flanders

Within the several European analyses of spatial patterns, Belgium and Flanders take a specific position. The average ‘settlement area percentage’ (i.e., all land used beyond agriculture, semi-natural areas, forestry, and water bodies) for Europe is 4%, but 32% of the Flemish area is occupied with artificial land. Belgium has the highest score for urban-sprawl indicators, and within the European context, almost the entire area is considered urban. The aim of the research presented in this paper is to expand on the theme of indicators for spatial patterns by analyzing the Flemish area with detailed data across various scales. The results are collected in a report, the ‘Ruimterapport’— ‘RURA’, published in 2018. RURA is a bundling and compilation of research results from very diverse sources, amongst others studies from the Department of Environment and Spatial Development of Flanders and of Espon studies. This article presents the most important results from RURA and further positions them in international comparative literature. New maps and indicators are developed for the urban/peri-urban/rural dimensions of the human settlement area, urban sprawl, and settlement patterns by differentiating amongst others between urban centers, ribbon development, and scattered buildings. The paper gives a quantitative, methodological, and empirical contribution to the field of urban and regional development processes and contributes to conceptualizations of space. The case of Flanders, with its specific sprawl pattern, illustrates the difficulties spatial planning policy makers currently are facing, dealing with the complexity of space and society

Communication satisfaction and job satisfaction among critical care nurses and their impact on burnout and intention to leave : a questionnaire study

To investigate the relationship between communication and job satisfaction and their association with intention to leave and burnout among intensive care unit nurses.A multicentre questionnaire study.Intensive care nurses (n = 303) from three Flemish hospitals.Communication satisfaction assessed by the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire, intention to leave through the Turnover Intention Scale (from the Questionnaire for the Perception and Assessment of Labour) and burnout by the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Job satisfaction was measured by a visual analogue scale.Average job satisfaction was 7.66 ± 1.34/10. Nurses were most satisfied about 'Communication with supervisor' (68.46%), and most dissatisfied about 'Organisational perspectives' (34.12%). Turnover intention was low among 49.5% (150/290) and high among 6.6% (20/290). Three percent (9/299) of intensive care nurses were at risk for burnout. All dimensions of communication satisfaction were moderately associated with job satisfaction, intention to leave and burnout.This study demonstrated high levels of communication and job satisfaction in a sample of nurses in Flanders. Intention to leave and burnout prevalence were low. To a certain extent, communication satisfaction might be associated with job satisfaction, intention to leave and burnout