Dependencies in multi-life statusses.

The usual assumption of independence of the remaining life times involved in joint-life and last survivor statuses is omitted. Given the marginal distributions of the remaining life-times, lower and upper bounds are derived for the single premiums of multi-life insurances and annuities.

Layered communication development:the creation of a model that can describe, monitor and improve intersubjective communication between people with congenital deafblindness and others

Because of the differences in residual hearing and vision, people with congenital deafblindness (cdb) form a heterogeneous population, which shows (amongst other things) in this use of varying forms of communication (e.g. (tactile) sign language, (tactile) pictograms, signs supported by spoken language). This makes it difficult for teachers and caregivers to properly describe, monitor and improve communication. For these purposes, the layered communication model was formed, based on the theory of innate intersubjectivity (Bråten & Trevarthen, 2007). This model describes different communicative behaviors at three layers of development. The theory emphasizes the importance of both communication partners, which matched the reliance of people with cdb on others in communication. The current thesis shows that the model can be beneficial in describing the communication level between people with cdb and others by coding the frequency in which the behaviors occur in video recordings. Subsequently, the model can be used to monitor development, when the coding is repeated at different moments. Finally, the model showed to be useful in improving communication during intervention studies. The model helps to discover infrequently present behaviors, which can be targeted to improve their presence. Video feedback coaching showed to be more effective than when teachers and caregivers assessed their own targets. Given the exploratory nature of these studies, more research is needed to determine if and how self-assessment can be used to improve communication as well. The most important result is that the model can be used to support and improve communication at all three layers of development

Automated analysis of blood pressure measurements (Korotkov sound)

Automatic system for noninvasive measurements of arterial blood pressure is described. System uses Korotkov sound processor logic ratios to identify Korotkov sounds. Schematic diagram of system is provided to show components and method of operation

Professional development in practice:exploring how lesson study unfolds in schools through the lens of organizational routines

Although lesson study is increasingly adopted in the Netherlands, it remains difficult for schools to implement and maintain the initiative. How can you organize lesson study successfully in your own high school? In this dissertation, this question is explored through the concept of organizational routines. As a first step, we reviewed the use of concept of organizational routines to examine educational initiatives in practice. Insights from this review study are used to see if and how schools implement and perform lesson study. Firstly, we focused on how teachers’ understanding of lesson study connects to their performance and evaluation of the initiative. Second, we looked at how schools (successfully) set-up organizational tasks and processes to organize lesson study, such as scheduling, recruiting participants, and giving credit for teachers’ time-investment. Lastly, we directed our attention to which school factors promote or inhibit implementing lesson study. Factors such as part-timers, turnover, scheduling, school improvement policy, and scheduling were reported to be very influential. This dissertation shows that the ‘organizational space’ schools have to organize lesson study varies and it provides leads for schools how they can increase that space