Topsport als motor voor nationale trots?

Does elite sporting success have a lasting impact on national pride? .Like many other countries, the Dutch government increased investments in elite sports in the last decennium, partly driven by the ambition to organize the Olympic Games in 2028 in the Netherlands. One of the most important legitimations for this ambition is that elite sports events and national performances should foster national pride, social cohesion and international prestige. In this article we present and discuss the results of a study on the relation between Dutch international sport performances and the development of national pride. The outcome is based on 27 longitudinal measurements among the adult Dutch population in the years 2008-2010 in which European and world Championships men’s soccer and a summer and winter Olympic Games took place. The results support the common belief that international sporting success of Dutch athletes contribute to the testimony and expression of national pride and belonging. But the extent to which national pride can be increased by national sporting success seems to be rather limited. The data show that national performances in international sport events may lead to small, short term eruptions in feelings of national sporting pride and wellbeing, especially among athletes, men and non-immigrants. The results especially indicate, however, that national pride is a rather stable characteristic of national identification that cannot easily be increased by improving national sporting success and winning more Olympic medals.</jats:p

Process, politics and participation: Experiences with strategies for local capacity building

This seminar report is about the Sinpa programme. Therefore a brief explanation of the objectives and project history is provided in this chapter to serve as background information for what is to follow. Objectives of the SINPA programme The overall goal of the SINPA programme is to help implement National Plans of Action and the Habitat Agenda by building sustainable local capacity for effective planning and management of urban development. More concretely, the programme aims to assist local government and its partners in capacity building for action in the broad areas of housing, local environmental management and participative planning processes and partnerships relating to these subjects. It especially focuses on the challenges of improving access to services and better environment for the urban poor, with particular regard to gender issues. The broad objectives of the programme are: • to stimulate the development of local capacity building strategies; • to stimulate selected local and national capacity building institutions to become more responsive to needs and to enhance quality of performance; • to stimulate urban stakeholders to learn from relevant past and ongoing experience with implementing urban development policy and projects; • to improve understanding and communication of experience relevant to needs of city development in the linked areas of housing, environmental management, participative planning and partnerships. SINPA aims to achieve these objectives by helping to bring local development partners and capacity building institutions together so as to improve capacity in a manner that will be sustainable locally. The programme is structured in a core programme, which provides co-ordination, information inputs, linkage and dissemination, and three country programmes that are developed locally in response to local issues. The country programmes are being implemented in secondary cities in Bangladesh, Bolivia and Zambia. The SINPA programme adopts a proces

Cervical dystonia:Disability and the value of physical therapy

Cervical dystonia (CD) is a neurological movement disorder characterized by involuntary muscle contractions causing abnormal postures and/or twisting movements of the head and neck. Patients may also experience non-motor symptoms including pain, anxiety and depression. The main treatment option is botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections in affected muscles to improve head postures and reduce pain. In addition to BoNT treatment, patients are often referred for physical therapy (PT), but there is little evidence regarding the long-term effectiveness. Despite remarkable improvements during the last decades, there are still many unmet needs that remain open in the treatment of cervical dystonia (CD). The first goal of this thesis was to assess clinical issues in BoNT treatment that need further improvement and to define clinical recommendations for clinicians. The second goal was to explore which determinants play an important role in disability of CD patients and the third goal was to develop a specialized PT program and to evaluate its effects on disability. Results showed that BoNT treatment can be further improved despite all the evidence for its effectiveness. Further research is needed towards optimal treatment intervals, dose equivalence between different BoNT formulations, the use of supportive techniques like electromyography or ultrasound and managing side effects. Secondly, we found that psychological factors are important determinants of disability. Finally, we found that PT is a valuable addition to BoNT treatment to improve disability and pain. Based on these findings, a multidisciplinary treatment approach to further improve the treatment and quality of life for CD patients is recommended

Cerebral blood flow regulation during general anesthesia

In this thesis, we studied cerebral hemodynamics in man during general anesthesia, specifically by quantifying interactions between cerebral autoregulation (CA) and other known or potential of cerebral blood flow (CBF) modulators. CA is generally defined as the ability of the brain to guarantee a stable CBF despite blood pressure fluctuations and is regarded as a fundamental physiological principle of intracranial circulation. However, studying the mechanisms of CBF has historically been, and remains, a significant challenge. Central to this difficulty is the brain’s location within a closed space, which limits accurate in vivo observation. Technological advancements have made observations of cerebral hemodynamics increasingly accessible using non-invasive methods in awake subjects. However, anesthesia exacerbates the observational difficulties of studying CA. Our group published and validated a method for inducing consistent and large enough oscillations of blood pressure using positive pressure ventilation, which allows for studying CA during general anesthesia. The aim of this thesis was to investigate CA under various conditions during general anesthesia. Our findings align with existing literature, though we challenge several persistent assumptions regarding CA that hamper data interpretation. These outdated concepts continue to appear despite consistent evidence rejecting them. We argue that CA is, at best, inadequately defined and resists the accumulating body of evidence that calls for a rigorous revision and mechanistic explanation. We conclude by proposing a new framework for interpreting observations at the correct level of abstraction

Never again:Legal change after public health crises in China

This thesis examines legal change after public health crises in China. The research aim is threefold. First of all, it aims to contribute to our understanding of how crises can lead to legal change in China. Secondly, the thesis aims to contribute to our understanding of post-crisis lawmaking. Thirdly, the thesis aims to develop tools for measuring and assessing the nature of legal change and of post-crisis legal change in particular. These three aims have been captured in one overarching research question: To what extent and under which conditions do public health crises lead to legal change in China

Cerebral blood flow regulation during general anesthesia

In this thesis, we studied cerebral hemodynamics in man during general anesthesia, specifically by quantifying interactions between cerebral autoregulation (CA) and other known or potential of cerebral blood flow (CBF) modulators. CA is generally defined as the ability of the brain to guarantee a stable CBF despite blood pressure fluctuations and is regarded as a fundamental physiological principle of intracranial circulation. However, studying the mechanisms of CBF has historically been, and remains, a significant challenge. Central to this difficulty is the brain’s location within a closed space, which limits accurate in vivo observation. Technological advancements have made observations of cerebral hemodynamics increasingly accessible using non-invasive methods in awake subjects. However, anesthesia exacerbates the observational difficulties of studying CA. Our group published and validated a method for inducing consistent and large enough oscillations of blood pressure using positive pressure ventilation, which allows for studying CA during general anesthesia. The aim of this thesis was to investigate CA under various conditions during general anesthesia. Our findings align with existing literature, though we challenge several persistent assumptions regarding CA that hamper data interpretation. These outdated concepts continue to appear despite consistent evidence rejecting them. We argue that CA is, at best, inadequately defined and resists the accumulating body of evidence that calls for a rigorous revision and mechanistic explanation. We conclude by proposing a new framework for interpreting observations at the correct level of abstraction