An institutional economic approach to land and propterty markets: Urban dynamics and institutional change

Urban Development;Real Estate;Institutionalism;housing economics

Urban regeneration: land management strategies for value capturing

Peer Reviewe

What you see is not what you get:The impact of vision impairment on judo performance

Paralympic sports provide opportunities for athletes with impairment to participate and excel in sport competitions. To compete in Paralympic sports, all athletes must undergo classification to determine whether they are eligible to compete and to allocate eligible athletes to different sport classes. Classification criteria need to be based on scientific evidence showing the relationship between impairment and performance. Judo is a Paralympic sport for athletes with vision impairment (VI), which does not yet have an evidence-based classification system in place. The aim of this thesis was therefore to examine the impact of vision impairment on performance in judo. The results of this thesis suggested that vision impairment impacts performance in judo, both when starting without and with a grip in place. On the basis of the results of this thesis, new classification criteria for VI judo are currently proposed and being discussed by the International Blind Sports Federation in consultation with the wider VI judo community. The proposed changes include new minimum impairment criteria as well as split of VI judo competition into separate sport classes for partially sighted and functionally blind judokas. Besides providing practical recommendations for the organisation of judo for individuals with vision impairment, the current thesis exemplifies the remarkable capabilities of skilled performers to functionally adapt under suboptimal visual conditions

Changes in circle area after gravity compensation training in chronic stroke patients

After a stroke, many people experience difficulties to selectively activate muscles. As a result many patients move the affected arm in stereotypical patterns. Shoulder abduction is often accompanied by elbow flexion, reducing the ability to extend the elbow. This involuntary coupling reduces the patient's active range of motion. Gravity compensation reduces the activation level of shoulder abductors which limits the amount of coupled elbow flexion. As a result, stroke patients can instantaneously increase their active range of motion [1]. The objective of the present study is to examine whether training in a gravity compensated environment can also lead to an increased range of motion in an unsupported environment. Parts of this work have been presented at EMBC2009, Minneapolis, USA

Predictive factors for the development and disease course of rheumatoid arthritis

Het werk beschreven in dit proefschrift richt zich op het identificeren van voorspellende factoren voor het ontwikkelen van reumato_de artritis en het ziekte beloop van reumato_de artritis. Allereerst wordt er gekeken naar voorspellende factoren voor het krijgen van reumato_de artritis in vroege artritis pati_nten, patienten met ongeclassificeerde artritis en artralgie pati_nten (pati_nten met gewrichtspijn zonder gewrichtsontsteking). Daarna wordt er gekeken naar voorspellende factoren voor een ernstiger ziekte beloop van reumato_de artritis, op zowel; genetisch, serologisch als beeldvormend vlak. Concluderend draagt dit proefschrift bij aan het inzicht om vroeger te behandelen/monitoren en aan het inzicht dat __personalized medicine__ en MRI een belangrijke rol verdienen in de behandeling van reumato_de artritis.UBL - phd migration 201

Professionalization of municipal real estate management:an analysis of Dutch literature

Background and aim – The aim of this paper is to look at the professionalization of municipal real estate management (MREM) from an organizational design perspective. Methods / Methodology – Analysis of current and recent MREMliterature in a Dutch context on organizational design. Results – It appears that organizational design is implicitly or explicitly concluded as being interesting and relevant, but no research was performed on this topic. In general, it seems MREM could be significantly better organized creating higher value of its real estate for society. Practical or social implications – The finding that organizational design is an interesting yet underexposed parameter contributes to an awareness at real estate professionals. A better organization of MREM will not only increase professionalism, but also create higher value for local authorities and society. Moreover, possibilities for future research have been identified. Ultimately, new research and more best case practices can advance the management of real estate at local governments

Fight without sight:The contribution of vision to judo performance

Objective: Although vision is typically considered the predominant sense for guiding performance, there are sports for which other senses are believed to be as important, if not more important than vision. Accordingly, in Paralympic judo, athletes with different degrees of vision impairment (VI) compete together based on the assumption that vision does not influence judo performance, as long as judokas start the match with their grip in place. The aim of this research was to test this assumption. Method: We conducted two studies. In the first we analysed data from two major recent VI judo competitions to compare the relative performance of blind and partially sighted athletes when competing against each other. In the second study, twenty-four able-sighted players competed in practice matches in sighted and blindfolded conditions. Results: In Study 1, we demonstrated that blind judokas win far less medals in VI judo competitions than their partially sighted opponents. In study 2, a significant performance advantage was found for sighted judokas fighting against blindfolded opponents. Conclusions: Vision enhances judo performance, even when judokas start the match with their grip in place. These findings suggest that it would be desirable to take measures to make VI judo competition fairer to those who are most severely impaired

A feasibility study of the effect of multichannel electrical stimulation and gravity compensation on hand function in stroke patients: A pilot study

Many stroke patients have to cope with impaired arm and hand function. As a feasibility study, gravity compensation (GC) and multichannel electrical stimulation (ES) were applied to the forearm of eight stroke patients to study potential effects on dexterity. ES was triggered by positional data of the subject's hand relative to the objects that had to be grasped. Dexterity was evaluated by means of the Box and Blocks Test (BBT). The BBT was performed with four combinations of support; with and without GC and with and without ES. In all patients, it was possible to induce sufficient hand opening for grasping a block of the BBT by means of ES. There was no significant increase in dexterity as measured with the BBT. GC and/or ES did not improve instantaneous dexterity in a small sample of stroke patients although sufficient hand opening was reached in all patients. More research in a larger sample of stroke patients with more specific and more sophisticated control algorithms is needed to explore beneficial effects of GC and ES on hand function in post stroke rehabilitatio