123 research outputs found
Resilient governance during crises: COVID-19 in community BoTu Rotterdam
No full textDue to the current pandemic caused by COVID-19, its impact has again become clear that resilience is essential within cities and communities. An important aspect of this community resilience is the relationship between local institutions and local communities. To discover how this dynamic between formal and informal actors, and networks changes during crises, a literature study was done to find out how community resilience can be facilitated. From this study a conceptual framework for the facilitation of resilience was created. An exploratory case study was done of the community BoTu Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, to research in which extent a resilient attitude is embodied by local institutions in cooperation with local communities and validate the framework. Through resilient governance and community leadership, social capital can be enabled and activated to allow problem-solving within a community, fostering greater resilience within communities. Moreover, formal and informal actors made role switches to fulfil a useful function in the community. These role changes were facilitated or frustrated by several factors, ranging from absence or presence of formal actors, social network access or lack thereof and digital resources.Complex Systems Engineering and Management (CoSEM
De Frituurfabriek: Circular Phase Change Material (PCM) for social architecture in Bospolder - Tussendijken (BoTu) & Merwe-Vierhavens (M4H), Rotterdam
No full textTo provide the current population of Bospolder - Tussendijken with a future perspective that tackles socio-demographic issues, they create Phase Change Material (PCM) Modules of waste products Frying oil and Mg2+ in the cooperative factory: 'Frituurfabriek' in the M4H. They have the opportunity to participate in society, to become owner of a factory, to earn salary and to bring back home the modules to sustain their homes. The accessible production process for this circular passive cooling element for housing renovations allows great crafts and educational development for the people. It attracts a wider public than pure the workers, since there is also a community centre, additional workshops and an extension of the BoTu neighbourhood, located on top of the factory. As a showcase this is designed as a full PCM building; no insulation but PCM ensures consistent interior climate. All together, this social concept of emancipating the population is tohave social impact by low-tech innovation, it relinks the historic M4H and BoTu relation and offers an alternative concept for architecture an (conservative) use of finite material use as sand.Architecture, Urbanism and Building Science
We’re in this together: Capacities and relationships to enable community resilience
No full textThis paper studies how residents in the neighbourhood Bospolder-Tussendijken (BoTu) have dealt with the COVID-19 restrictions. Prior to the pandemic, significant investments in community-building were made to increase resilience of individuals and communities in BoTu. This paper identifies the key assets BoTu residents had developed and actually during this ultimate challenge. Interviews with formal and informal actors in BoTu revealed that community leadership, engaged governance, problem-solving ability, and information sharing environment were essential to adequately respond to the crisis, and were successfully deployed. The paper concludes with five policy implications to help strengthen capacities and relationships needed for community resilience.System EngineeringScience Education and CommunicationUrban Studie
Torymus sinensis: biology, host range and hybridization
No full textTorymus sinensis is a parasitoid of the chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus, introduced as a biological control agent into Japan, USA, and since 2005, into Europe. Although its effectiveness in controlling the pest was confirmed, some important aspects of its biology, including risks to non-target species, are still unknown or at most scarcely investigated. The results of the present study address an important aspect of the life-cycle of T. sinensis: the existence of extended diapause. Behavioural experiments confirm high levels of host specificity by the parasitoid and suggest that interbreeding with native Torymus species is highly unlikely
Reclaiming (Semi)Public Space: Two Strikes Against Living at a Disadvantage
No full textRotterdam has always been a showcase for attractive images but ignorant about developing urban impurities, by post-war being built back as an intra- and international gateway. Due to fragmentation of the spatial planning system, politicization and polarization, and a lack of depth in important political discussions, urban impurities in municipal measures express in the absence of cross understanding regarding taking care of challenging focus areas, like Bospolder-Tussendijken (BoTu) in Rotterdam. It is time to reconsider the approach. Socio-spatial character is paradoxical, while social unrest creates a lack of responsibility to sustain and maintain the (semi)public space, which causes a vicious cycle of unrest. Overstimulation with (sustainable or resilient) development plans sensitizes and therewith stigmatizes the neighbourhood. Residents are aware of this stigmatization and find themselves often in a self-fulfilling prophecy, not taking care of their surroundings. Passengers and residers move through the neighbourhood with shifting motives related to four domains of social life, living (1), labour (2), learning (3), and leisure (4). Urban planning documents are dominantly textual and theoretical, while they involve creating physical places with a practical outcome. No-boundary-botu could be the solution. By embracing asset-based community development and co-creating with the unusual suspects, an Asset Atlas could strengthen local networks and fit the needs of the different domains, aiming for true cross understanding. Through scenarios, synergies within the initiatives' network will be displayed to reclaim the (semi)public space, encourage encounters, and create safety, trust and, most important, rest.Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Complex Citie
Physiological characteristics of several cultivars of European plum (<i>Prunus domestica</i>) in the conditions of northern Oltenia – Romania
No full textWelcome to the neighborhood: a study for newcomers' sense of feeling at home in Bospolder-Tussendijken
No full textThe Netherlands has been facing a crisis in its asylum trajectory, with the overloaded application center in Ter Apel drawing attention to the country’s migration system. While a limited capacity in Ter Apel is one of the first hurdles asylum seekers face, it is only the start of a long trajectory that can take years to navigate. Although recent changes in the Civic Integration Act are seen as a step in the right direction - with a greater focus on personalized integration and municipal responsibility for guidance - critics argue that the process still lacks support for newcomers to build a social network and participate in society, leaving them struggling to fully participate in Dutch society (Frissen, 2021).It has been stated that the existing Dutch asylum procedure can frequently obstruct the formation of a sense of belonging in the new environment, thus impeding the process of integration. (Afdeling Buitengewone Zaken & OpenEmbassy, n.d.)This project systemically researches the current Dutch asylum procedure of newcomers in the Netherlands through a social lens with the aim to explore and improve their integration process in the neighborhood by focussing on the sense of feeling at home (NL: thuisgevoel).The research is conducted into two parts: the journey towards a new home and its conflicts and the neighborhood as a new home and its opportunities.As the asylum chain is a trajectory with many steps, layers and stakeholders; it is a complex system and will be approached as such. A method designed to take on complex problems is the Transition Design Method (van Ael et al., n.d.) which will be used as a framework for the first part of the project. Part one includes numerous interviews with stakeholders and literature research. As an outcome, it defines ten important factors of feeling at home (referred to as building blocks) and reveals the things that happen in the asylum procedure that hinder this feeling. Seven conflicting areas (referred to as tension fields) are defined that occur during this process.The second part explores the neighborhood as a new home and investigates opportunities to enhance newcomers’ sense of feeling at home. The neighborhood Bospolder-Tussendijken (BoTu in short) is chosen as case-study due to the clients presence in this area. The client of this project is the Field Academy (NL: Veldacademie); a Rotterdam-based research platform for socio-spatial urban development. It has gathered a broad amount of knowledge on this specific neighborhood as an outcome of monitoring its activities as part of Resilient BoTu 2028, a programme that aims to drive significant improvements in the area and transform it into Rotterdam’s first resilient community within ten years. Context-specific information was gathered through a field study in the neighborhood and a participatory session with newcomers themselves. By addressing the conflicts that were found in the housing process and translating those to opportunities for newcomers in BoTu, these findings have been used as starting points to propose three design directions.The outcome of this project is the development of Een kijk in de wijk (ENG: the Neighborhood Navigator): an interactive maquette of the neighborhood that gives newcomers insight into the offer of community centers, activities, key figures and developments of Bospolder- Tussendijken through audio stories. Leveraging existing networks of locals and initiatives, the intervention aims to promote inclusion and encourage participation among newcomers. By involving newcomers in local initiatives, it seeks to facilitate connections, collaborations, and a greater sense of community.This research project is intended to contribute to a deeper understanding of the integration trajectory of newcomers in the Netherlands and offer practical insights and interventions to enhance their sense of feeling at home in their new neighborhoods.Design for Interactio
Metabolic Profile of Offspring from Diabetic Wistar Rats Treated with Mentha piperita (Peppermint)
No full textThis study aimed at evaluating glycemia and lipid profile of offspring from diabetic Wistar rats treated with Mentha piperita (peppermint) juice. Male offspring from nondiabetic dams (control group: 10 animals treated with water and 10 treated with peppermint juice) and from dams with streptozotocin-induced severe diabetes (diabetic group: 10 animals treated with water and 10 treated with peppermint juice) were used. They were treated during 30 days, and, after the treatment period, levels of glycemia, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and fractions were analyzed in the adult phase. The offspring from diabetic dams treated with peppermint showed significantly reduced levels of glucose, cholesterol, LDL-c, and triglycerides and significant increase in HDL-c levels. The use of the M. piperita juice has potential as culturally appropriate strategy to aid in the prevention of DM, dyslipidemia, and its complications.Univ Marilia, Fac Med, Dept Biochem, BR-17500021 Marilia, SP, BrazilFac Technol & Foods Marilia FATEC, Dept Biochem, BR-17506000 Marilia, SP, BrazilSão Paulo Univ Julio de Mesquita Filho UNESP Botu, Lab Expt Res Gynecol & Obstet, Sch Med, BR-18607741 Botucatu, SP, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Dept Biochem, BR-05508900 São Paulo, BrazilMethodist Unvers Piracicaba UNIMEP, Dept Biochem, BR-16400680 Lins, SP, BrazilFrigorificos Friboi SA, Dept Nutr, Lins, SP, BrazilSão Paulo Univ Julio de Mesquita Filho UNESP Botu, Lab Expt Res Gynecol & Obstet, Sch Med, BR-18607741 Botucatu, SP, Brazi
Direct microscopical versus cultural method in screening for candidiasis among non gravid nigerian women
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