Poster presented at EFYE 2018. Strengthening the wellbeing of students is an increasingly important approach of the development of students’ social, emotional and academic skills. Personal wellbeing motivates, among other things, students to learn and increases academic involvement and performance accordingly (Noble et al., 2008). According to the Centre for Education of Statistics and Evaluation (CESE, 2015) the educational welfare of students is also important for another reason; the recognition that teaching is not just about achieving academic performance, but also about the welfare of the student as a whole (intellectual, physical, social, emotional, moral and spiritual). Recent studies indicate that more and more students suffer from (mental) health problems (LSvB 2013, 2017; Schaufeli et al., 2002). The aim of the Student Wellbeing Project at Inholland University of Applied Sciences is to 1) investigate the state of student wellbeing in Dutch higher education and investigate the factors that influence wellbeing, 2) explore and offer best practices to improve student wellbeing (curative and preventive) 3) establish a strong (international) partnership and collaborate to improve student wellbeing.
Objectives:People with intellectual disabilities are more vulnerable to and experience mental health concerns at a higher incidence than their peers without intellectual disabilities. This may be directly related to the aetiology of their intellectual disability but also occur because of negative psychological and social factors that affect their lives, such as loss of self-esteem or lack of meaningful opportunities. The SOOTHE project, sought to understand the meaning that adults with intellectual disabilities attribute to mental health and wellbeing, the factors influencing good and poor mental health, and the strategies they utilised to maintain good mental health and wellbeing. Using an online anonymous survey, participants were invited to electronically submit an image that represented their perspectives on what mental health and wellbeing meant to them.Methods:This study, which took place in 2020 during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, employed an anonymous survey approach which resulted in individual images being received from 329 people with intellectual disabilities living in Spain, the Netherlands, and Ireland. These were analysed thematically and brought together in an electronic quilt/mosaic.Results:Images were classified into seven potential themes: (1) Covid-19 and mental health; (2) maintaining good mental health; (3) activities that promote good mental health; (4) nature and mental health; (5) perspectives on self; (6) the impor- tance of relationships; and (7) home and feeling safe.Conclusions:This paper explores the possible meaning of the images and seeks alignment of those meanings with the rights and freedoms enshrined in the UNCRPD. The project supports the belief that persons with intellectual disabilities have an understanding of mental health and wellbeing and are able to identify ways of maintaining positive mental health.
The transition towards an economy of wellbeing is complex, systemic, dynamic and uncertain. Individuals and organizations struggle to connect with and embrace their changing context. They need to create a mindset for the emergence of a culture of economic well-being. This requires a paradigm shift in the way reality is constructed. This emergence begins with the mindset of each individual, starting bottom-up. A mindset of economic well-being is built using agency, freedom, and responsibility to understand personal values, the multi-identity self, the mental models, and the individual context. A culture is created by waving individual mindsets together and allowing shared values, and new stories for their joint context to emerge. It is from this place of connection with the self and the other, that individuals' intrinsic motivation to act is found to engage in the transitions towards an economy of well-being. This project explores this theoretical framework further. Businesses play a key role in the transition toward an economy of well-being; they are instrumental in generating multiple types of value and redefining growth. They are key in the creation of the resilient world needed to respond to the complex and uncertain of our era. Varta-Valorisatielab, De-Kleine-Aarde, and Het Groene Brein are frontrunner organizations that understand their impact and influence. They are making bold strategic choices to lead their organizations towards an economy of well-being. Unfortunately, they often experience resistance from stakeholders. To address this resistance, the consortium in the proposal seeks to answer the research question: How can individuals who connect with their multi-identity-self, (via personal values, mental models, and personal context) develop a mindset of well-being that enables them to better connect with their stakeholders (the other) and together address the transitional needs of their collective context for the emergence of a culture of the economy of wellbeing?
Colours are an essential component of human lives since they can influence the final appearance of many products. A large variety of choices can be affected by the colours which are presented to us, for example in the food industry, product design, textiles etc. (Rao et al. 2017). Synthetic colours are dominating nowadays landscape, due to their ease of production, low manufacturing costs and resistance (UV, temperature) in use. However, many of these are also considered hazardous to both human and environmental wellbeing. In the effort of achieving a more sustainable society and limit environmental footprint, natural pigments are arising more and more interest (Velmurugan et al, 2009). As a consequence, the demand of natural pigments is expected to undergo a sharp rise in the future market (Venil et al. 2013). Further research is needed in order to render natural colours both more economically viable and better employable in industry (i.e. process standardization, pigments stability). Biobased pigments can derive from a variety of sources, such as plants, bacteria, algae and fungi (Venkatachalam et al. 2018). The present project is a feasibility study on producing novel biobased pigments with fungi. In order to understand the most optimal production requirements, the biological conditions and novel extraction techniques will be considered. The initial characterisation of the produced pigments will be carried out both regarding the chemical composition and the properties, such as UV- and thermal stability. The SME companies, BioscienZ and Phytonext and the Avans Centre of Expertise BioBased Economy (CoEBBE) will combine their expertise and collaborate with a goal to make a step change in production of biobased colourants.
GAMEHEARTS will seek to maximise the value of the European videogame industry ecosystems (hereafter, EVGIE) within a wider social context of the creative and cultural industries (hereafter, CCI). This will consider the importance of the EVGIE in contributing to economic growth, job creation, physical and mental wellbeing, and social and cultural cohesion, by particularly focusing on, how a stronger and closer working relationship between more the traditional and emergent cultural sectors, can work better to create more inclusive and socially responsible cultural experiences. The consortium will offer policy recommendations and roadmaps setting out how the EVGIE can and should develop, and where it could act as a driver for sustained innovation and economic growth. It will utilise an evidence-based approach that focuses not just on videogame development, but rather adopts a holistic ecosystem approach, utilising both established and more innovative methodologies, to consider the competitiveness and development of the EVGIE, and how videogame know-how and technologies could drive innovation in the wider CCI. In doing so, GAMEHEARTS will develop ‘ludic experiences’, to explore possibilities of more inclusive, engaging, and empowering cultural experiences. Working across seven work packages the universities of Salford (UK), Tampere (Finland), Vienna (Austria), Breda University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands), and Wroclaw University of Economics and Business (Poland) will work in parentship with Ubisoft (France) and other major videogame partners and associations (including the ISFE & EGDF) to explore current and future trends in the EVGIE.
