704 research outputs found
Shifting beliefs across society would lay the foundation for truly biopsychosocial care
No full textsponsorship: Both KJC and VJM volunteered at the 2018 Pain Revolution event in Australia. VJM receives funding from the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF). The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author and not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF. (National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF), National Research Foundation)status: Publishe
Wenken voor een veranderbare stad: Een studie naar veranderingspatronen van Amsterdamse buurten en bouwblokken
No full textDe stad is voortdurend onderhevig aan verandering, niet alleen door uitbreiding en groei buiten de bestaande stadsgrenzen, maar vooral doordat de bestaande stad voortdurend van binnenuit van gedaante verandert. Aard en hoedanigheid van de veranderingen verschillen van wijk tot wijk en van locatie tot locatie. In de lezing ‘The Open City’ (2006) breekt Richard Sennett een lans voor een stad en dus een vorm van stedenbouw die open staat voor verandering. Sennett mist in de huidige ontwerppraktijk ‘a sense of time [\u85], forward-looking time, the city understood as process’. In dit proefschrift is onderzocht op welke manier de stedenbouwkundige discipline kan bijdragen aan de veranderbaarheid van de bestaande stad en het ontwikkelen van de stad in het bestaande stedelijke weefsel door de analyse van Amsterdamse buurten en bouwblokken. Het eigendom van de bebouwing, de architectonische eenheid, de ontsluiting en de constructie van de bebouwing en de onderlinge relatie van deze eigenschappen zijn cruciaal gebleken voor de veranderbaarheid van het bouwblok. Werkend aan de ontwikkeling van de stad in het bestaande stedelijke weefsel is begrip van het schaalniveau waarop veranderingen plaatsvinden cruciaal in het onderzoek en de ontwerpopgave van de stedenbouwkundige discipline.UrbanismArchitecture and The Built Environmen
Cult: A Composite Novel
No full textCult (redacted)
The first component of the thesis is a composite novel called Cult which falls into two parts with seven narratives in each. Part 1 tracks the protagonist, Ellen, from her first involvement with the cult through to her eventually leaving it. Although fiction, the first half of the book answers the kinds of questions the author is asked when people discover that she was once a sannyasin (a follower of the guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh). While the experiences of meditation, group therapy and communal living are all faithfully rendered within the stories, the need for strong characters, narrative drive and a lightness of touch takes precedence.
Part 2 picks up Ellen’s story some twenty or so years later and explores what becomes of her in middle age. It also looks at other groups in society, such as academia, the law and the internet dating community which each have their own jargon, hierarchies, rituals and rules but are not considered to be cults.
The book examines the question raised in the Epigraph, ‘how do we be together when we feel so alone’ with a focus on relationships other than the familial and the romantic.
Collisions, Chasms and Connections: a Performative Exploration of the Composite Novel Form
The second part of the thesis is both a critical and creative response to three contemporary American books: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout; A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan; and Legend of a Suicide by David Vann. The critical element comprises a close reading of the three books; a chronological reconstruction of their overarching storylines; and a consideration of what their authors have said about writing the books. It concludes that, in the composite novel, the simultaneous presentation of multiple views and storylines operate much like a 3D image to give the impression of depth to the characters and situations rendered. The creative element of the essay is a playful and personal response to the texts
Ontwerpen aan de stad: Stedenbouw in Nederlands-Indië en Indonesië (1905-1950)
No full textThis book describes the development and professionalization of Dutch Indian (Indische) town planning between 1905 and 1951. It simultaneously portrays the modernisation of the Dutch East Indies and the emergence of modern day Indonesia.UrbaniArchitectur
Blijvend aantrekkelijk: Tuinwijken van de jaren '30
No full textThe central question of this study is to determine the spatial characteristics that govern the lasting appeal of private garden-city neighbourhoods of the interwar period. What are the social characteristics and circumstances of the period, the urban development and architectonic conditions, the principles of composition and the development process that have made these neighbourhoods into a lasting success as a residential environment. And what lessons can be learned from this for the visual design and organisation of future ‘rural-urban’ living. De centrale vraagstelling van deze studie is welke ruimtelijke kenmerken de blijvende aantrekkelijkheid van particuliere tuinwijken uit het Interbellum bepalen. Welke toenmalige maatschappelijke kenmerken en omstandigheden, welke stedenbouwkundige en architectonische condities en compositieprincipes en welk ontwikkelingsproces deze wijken tot een bestendig succes als woonmilieu hebben gemaakt. En welke lering hieruit kan worden getrokken voor de vormgeving en organisatie van toekomstig ‘landstedelijk’ wonen. De publieksversie van het proefschrift is inmiddels verschenen bij uitgeverij Vantilt, Nijmegen onder de titel: "De magie van het jaren '30 huis".UrbanismArchitectur
Space, Density and Urban Form
No full textThe concentration of humans – in some cases judged as too high, in others not high enough – and the problems connected to this, have resulted in discussions on density. Prior to the 20th century, density in European cities was merely an outcome of complex circumstances. During the second half of the 19th century, high densities in industrializing cities were argued to be one of the major causes of fires, diseases and social turmoil. In this period, density was introduced as a tool to analyse and diagnose the quickly growing and often overcrowded cities. In a following period of increased state intervention, the concept expanded into an instrument used to propagate alternatives and prescribe maximum densities in order to guarantee certain physiological and social qualities of urban environments (such as air, light and privacy). We can observe a shift from urban density as a mere result of city development and migration to a tool used to analyse problems; and, later on, to an instrument applied to offer improved solutions. More recently, minimum densities are argued for to support amenities and public transport, and as part of the solution to produce more sustainable urban environments with potential for vital human interaction (‘urbanity’). In spite of the practical advantages of the concept of urban density in urban planning, critics have argued that the use of density for anything but statistical purposes is questionable, as it is perceived as a too elastic concept. Many professionals, as well as researchers, hold the opinion that measured density and other physical properties are independent of each other. Besides the argued lack of relationship between density and form, density is also considered with suspicion because of the confusion regarding the definition of plan boundaries and the scale at which these are measured. There is no one accepted measure of density in or shared by different countries. This research takes off with a critical review of the origin, content and practical usefulness of the concept of urban density, and aims at revising and reviving the concept to the benefit of both the planning and design process, and scientific research. This doesn’t mean that an old instrument is just taken out of the basement, dusted off and reignited. No, the shortcomings of the existing density measurements methods in conveying information about urban form and performance are certainly very real, as others have pointed out. Those shortcomings, however, have led many to the conclusion that the concept as such is flawed and even dangerous. We insist, though, that the problem with the most commonly used density measurements methods is one of representation and resolution, and not of the concept itself. The development of the Spacematrix method to measure density and identify a series of associated properties is the main result of this research. We have redefined density as a multivariable and multi-scalar phenomenon to counter the existing Babel-like confusion in the terminology currently being used by those working in the urban field. Further, through the use of this multivariable and multi-scalar approach, density can be related to potential urban form and other performances. This makes it possible to reposition the concept of density in the field of urban planning and design, and research. From an instrument to prescribe the programme of a given area, density can become a tool to guide both quantitative and qualitative ambitions, and thus fuse urban planning and design into true urbanism.UrbanismArchitectur
Tools for Developing Cognitive Agents
No full textAgent-oriented programming (AOP) is a programming paradigm introduced roughly thirty years ago as an approach to problems in Artificial Intelligence (AI). An agent is a piece of software that can perceive its environment (e.g., through sensors) and act upon that environment (e.g., through actuators). A cognitive agent is a specific type of agent that executes a decision cycle in which it processes events and selects actions based on cognitive notions such as beliefs and goals. Often, multiple agents are used, which is referred to as a multi-agent system (MAS). MAS is generally advertised an approach to handling problems that require multiple problem solving methods, multiple perspectives, and multiple problem solving entities. Tools and techniques for the programming of cognitive agents need to be based on the underlying agent-oriented paradigm, which is a significant challenge, as unlike more traditional paradigms, they should for example take into account that agents execute a specific decision cycle and operate in non-deterministic environments. Therefore, in this thesis, we take existing AOP theories a step further by designing tools for the development of cognitive agent programs with an explicit focus on usability. Each development tool we propose is extensively evaluated on hundreds of (novice) agent programmers. In the context of AOP, the process of detecting, locating and correcting mistakes in a computer program, known as debugging, is particularly challenging. As large part of the effort of a programmer consists of debugging a program, efficient debugging is an essential factor for both productivity and program quality. In this thesis, we contribute both to the process of locating mistakes in agent programs as well as the process of identifying misbehaviour of an agent in the first place...Interactive Intelligenc
The changing state of the Dutch delta
No full textThe spatial structure of the Randstad Holland is strongly related to the policy concerning hydraulic engineering in the Netherlands. Both, Randstad Holland and the large hydraulic works, can be considered as part of the ‘modern project’ of the Netherlands, undertaken in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This modern project aimed to up- grade the Netherlands as a modern welfare state, based upon an industrial economy and agricultural autonomy, and fitting in a coherent policy of the nation-state. These days, the societal as well as the economic and the climate context of the Netherlands are changing. The new Delta-program, started in 2008, should be considered in this changing context. The potential meaning of this program is that it should not only be regarded as a provision of a new, proper flood defence infrastructure. It can play a substantial role in the transition to a new spatial, economic and political structure of the Netherlands.Architecture and The Built Environmen
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