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Opportunities and their identification are of significant importance for competitiveness in today’s complex and turbulent business environment because they serve as a key influencing factor for new value-creation. Opportunity identification (OI) is interesting not only from the perspective of new business start-ups, but also from the perspective of employees in existing organisations. Each entrepreneurial process starts with an imagined, rudimentary idea in the mind of an individual. The further exploration and development of such opportunities by employees can lead to the realisation of all kinds of corporate entrepreneurship outcomes, such as innovation, strategic renewal, and internal or external venturing. This dissertation reports on the capability of employees to identify opportunities, referred to as opportunity identification competence (OIC). The importance of OI by employees is widely recognised in practice, and scholars have contributed significantly to understanding what opportunities are, how opportunities come into being, and how OIC can be measured. Nevertheless, substantial research challenges still need to be addressed. More specifically, based on both entrepreneurship literature and literature on organisational learning and entrepreneurship education, three overarching research issues have been identified: The OI process has not been fully mapped out, including the role of individuals and teams. Defining and explaining OIC is problematic because scholars tend not to agree whether opportunities are discovered in the economic environment or created by individuals. Existing measurements of OIC have been criticised, because most of them include self-perceptions or the recall of earlier identified opportunities. The main goal of this thesis was to contribute to the literature by addressing these three overarching research issues. Accordingly, the central research question was: What characterises opportunity identification by employees on the individual and team level? In the dissertation, OIC is both conceptually mapped and empirically explored. A performance instrument to measure OIC is developed and tested in higher education. As well, 12 businesses, including 234 employees in 51 teams, participated in this research project. Most companies were in the category known as small and medium-sized enterprise (SME). The participating companies have in common that they felt an urgent need for entrepreneurship as a driver of competitiveness. Furthermore, they aimed to commit and stimulate their employees to contribute to the entrepreneurial process, without having formal mechanisms or structures for doing so. Main conclusions In light of the central research question of this dissertation, What characterises opportunity identification by employees on the individual and team level?, the results suggest that OI deserves attention in existing businesses, both as a meaningful process leading towards new value-creation and as a relevant capability of employees. OIC is a multi-phased phenomenon consisting of two main competencies, namely business idea generation and business idea evaluation. In business idea generation, individuals generate all kinds of (business) ideas that may have the potential to become a real opportunity. In business idea evaluation, those ideas are selected that actually have potential success. Employees can have one of the competencies (business idea generation or business idea evaluation) to a greater extent, or both of them. Organisations need employees that are able to generate business ideas and employees that are able to evaluate the potential success of business ideas. The results of this thesis suggest that, just like independent entrepreneurs, employees mainly acquire such competencies by a process of learning by doing; this means that employees should become involved in entrepreneurial activities on the shop floor. Creating teams can be a solution, bringing together the competencies needed for the successful identification of opportunities. Moreover, the results suggest that the commitment of teams in the early stages of the entrepreneurial process is highly relevant, because the team cognitive framework for identifying opportunities seems more effective than the individual cognitive framework. Taken together, at the defining, initial stage of the entrepreneurial process opportunities are identified by individuals or, preferably, by teams – in a process by which business ideas are generated and evaluated for their potential success. When studying opportunities and their identification, scholars should take into account the differences in OIC between SMEs, employees, and even within OIC itself (i.e., between business idea generation and business idea evaluation). In practice as well, these differences should be considered in the selection and management of employees, in assessing OIC and in composing teams, because teams need both business idea generators and business idea evaluators.

Mounting pressure on research organizations to achieve sustainable development outcomes from research has pushed them to use multi-stakeholder approaches. Insights are missing however, on how these influence social, technical, and institutional change, as well as what outcomes emerge from these. The thesis is an examination of the enactment of multi-stakeholder approaches, questioning how and to what extent Adaptive Research (AR) and Learning Alliance (LA) approaches influence socio-technical innovation in rice farming communities. Four case studies of research and development projects that employed the approaches in rice farming communities were elaborated in this thesis. AR implementation in Indonesia (chapter 2), showed how AR fast-tracked technical adaptations and built upon the improvisational capacities of farmers. AR monitoring however, rendered invisible the adaptations required on the social aspect. Simultaneous social, technical, and institutional redesign was limited. A case of LA implemented at national level engaged a network that changed and expanded after three years to include diverse actors (chapter 3). There were points where implementation (mis)aligned with assumptions from project implementers and from conceptual literature of the LA approach. The network influenced change at community level by engaging small groups that made reconfigurations on the technologies and the social arrangements for these (chapter 4). A community-level LA in Myanmar was also found to stimulate a self-organized learning process towards innovation for flatbed dryer technology (chapter 5). A case where a project used AR only versus AR with LA in Myanmar (chapter 6), revealed differing networks, learning processes, and outcomes in terms of learning agenda. The involvement of a wider network resulted in a broader set of activities, which were initiatives outside the original plans of the project. The learning activities were not only about technologies but also included experimentations on supportive environment for access and use of the technologies. This thesis therefore demonstrates that project actors implement AR and LA approaches through a range of translations in multiple contexts. These imply varied interactions in different types of networks. Such interactions triggered varied learning processes and thus influenced different planned or emergent outcomes. Both approaches have potential to catalyze innovation in farming communities; however, outcomes on adoption numbers provide a caveat that these approaches are not silver bullets that guarantee technology adoption. Instead, implementation that facilitates effective learning processes, and monitoring that flags where projects could support emergent outcomes, can help implementers improve their contributions to development in farming communities.

“Nutrition education in Dutch primary schools” School-based nutrition education programmes have increasingly been used to teach children about nutrition and to provide them with the skills to make healthy food choices. As these programmes differ in content and delivery, it is hard to identify what intervention components and implementation conditions are most effective. Furthermore, as nutrition education is not mandatory in the Netherlands, it is not clear what effects can be achieved with nutrition education in Dutch primary schools. In this thesis therefore two versions of Taste Lessons were evaluated. Taste Lessons is a practice-driven school-based nutrition education programme on taste development, healthy nutrition, and food quality. The programme was evaluated on its aims to increase children’s interest in food, and their knowledge and skills regarding healthy and conscious eating behaviour. Furthermore, the influence of adding experiential learning activities and implementation factors on effectiveness are addressed. The first evaluation showed that partial implementation of the 10-12 lessons of Taste Lessons (first version) by the teachers during one school year resulted in small increases in psychosocial determinants of healthy eating behaviour. The highest increase was observed in children’s knowledge, which still persisted six months after the programme. A second evaluation was conducted with the aim to compare effectiveness of the revised and shorter version of Taste Lessons with and without additional experiential learning activities on change in (psychosocial determinants of) vegetable consumption and willingness to taste unfamiliar vegetables. Results from this second study showed that, with almost complete implementation of the five lessons of Taste Lessons by the teachers during a couple of weeks, similar results as the first effect evaluation. Again with knowledge as the strongest intervention effect. Additional experiential learning activities, such as an extended cooking lesson with a dietician and the parents, an excursion to a grower and a supermarket assignment with the parents, showed more and stronger increases in several psychosocial determinants of vegetable consumption than Taste Lessons without these additional activities. No significant intervention effects were found on children’s willingness to taste unfamiliar vegetables during a taste test, and also not on their daily vegetable consumption and food neophobia. Analyses on process indicators in both studies revealed that teachers and children highly liked Taste Lessons and that children most liked the experiential learning activities. Furthermore, children’s programme appreciation and interpersonal communication about the programme activities after the lessons were found to be positively associated with their change in psychosocial determinants. In conclusion, evaluation of Taste Lessons showed an increase in children’s knowledge and several other psychosocial determinants of eating behaviour. Implementation of (additional) experiential learning methods in school-based nutrition education is likely to enhance the intervention’s effectiveness, as children mostly liked these activities and children’s enthusiasm was the strongest predictor of effectiveness. No effects were found on children’s vegetable consumption. To achieve behavioural change, school-based nutrition education should be complemented with a consistent set of changes in children’s environment.

In today’s knowledge society there is a demand for professionals who are able to create knowledge across boundaries of disciplines, professions and perspectives. Increasingly, challenges have to be addressed by experts from different fields who collaborate across different contexts. In addition, given the fast pace with which society changes, experts must continually construct and reconstruct their expertise in a process of lifelong learning. Institutions for higher and vocational education are challenged to educate these ‘knowledge workers’. They are responding, among others, by developing novel hybrid practices at the interface between school and workplace, the so-called hybrid learning configurations. By connecting education, research and professional practice they aim to address complex problems in society by fostering interprofessional collaboration and learning. We define a hybrid learning configuration (HLC) as ‘a social practice around illdefined, authentic tasks or issues whose resolution requires transboundary learning by transcending disciplines, traditional structures and sectors, and forms of learning’. While many educational institutions and other organizations are co-developing and experimenting with HLCs, the process followed is often one of trial and error. Practical expertise is becoming available but only in an ad hoc and fragmented way. Although research on situated and social learning offers relevant theories and concepts that are useful when designing an HLC, not much research has addressed the design of HLCs in a comprehensive way. This PhD research aims to address this lacuna. We investigate HLCs from an educational design research (EDR) perspective, which involves framing the HLC as a complex intervention. We are interested not only in the features or designed elements of such interventions, but also in the underlying principles or conjectures that are embodied in those features. In addition, we intend to provide support for interprofessional HLC design teams, which consist of, for instance, educational consultants, researchers, lecturers and other practitioners. In order to address these aims we studied six HLCs in the context of Dutch higher vocational education. One of the cases is a joint project of two Dutch institutions for senior secondary vocational educational (which are called ‘MBO’ in Dutch) and two universities of applied sciences (‘HBO’ in Dutch) in collaboration with two companies. The other cases are HLCs in different settings within the context of a university of applied sciences in the Netherlands. The aims mentioned above led to the following general research questions: 1. Which heuristics can underpin the design of a hybrid learning configuration? 2. In which ways can interprofessional teams be supported when designing hybrid learning configurations? Chapters 2 and 3 address the first research question and chapters 4 and 5 address the second question. Design principles for HLCs Chapter 2 focuses on the HLC as a whole. The central research question is: “Which set of principles can underpin the design of a hybrid learning configuration for educating the knowledge worker?” Based on a literature search and designers’ craft knowledge, a set of initial design principles was developed for an HLC at the interface between school and workplace. The intention was that four learning processes would be enabled by the HLC: self-directed learning, authentic learning, the development of a professional identity and collaborative creation of knowledge across the boundaries of disciplines, professions and perspectives. These initial design principles were evaluated from the perspective of the participants by analysing interview data from students, lecturers, educational consultants and business representatives. This resulted in the following set of seven refined principles that underpin the design of an HLC: fostering authenticity; creating a learning community; utilizing diversity; inter-linking of working and learning; facilitating reflexivity; enabling organization; enabling ecology. These principles can be used as heuristics for guiding the design and development of hybrid learning configurations in contexts that have similar goals and aligned tenets. Fostering self-directed lifelong learning in HLCs Chapter 3 elaborates further on the design principle ‘facilitating reflexivity’. Since knowledge workers have to redefine and reconstruct their own expertise in an on-going fashion, they should be able to reflect on and pro-actively develop their professional competence. This capacity for self-directed lifelong learning is an essential asset for them and should therefore be developed or enhanced in an HLC. The main research question in this chapter is: “Which design guidelines underpin an intervention that would foster students’ capacity for self-directed lifelong learning while working on ill-structured, authentic professional tasks?” An intervention was designed, implemented and evaluated during two iterations of a hybrid learning configuration, which was embedded in a one-semester elective course at a university of applied sciences in the Netherlands. Evaluation methods included interviews with students and the course facilitator, questionnaires, and students’ logs and reports. This resulted in the following five intervention design guidelines: provide opportunities to engage in two or more cycles of self-directed learning; provide educational support; pay attention to emotional and motivational aspects; treat self-directed lifelong learning as a social learning process; position self-directed lifelong learning as a self-evident and integrated part of the course. The intervention appeared to be usable and effective. At a basic level, the students developed their capacity for self-directed lifelong learning. We concluded that further research is needed to investigate conditions for realizing higher levels of proficiency in self-directed lifelong learning throughout the curriculum and beyond. Utilization of design principles for HLCs The focus of chapter 4 is the utilization of the set of design principles that was generated in chapter 2. Research has shown that while knowledge of design heuristics can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of design work, design teams often have difficulty articulating the rationale for their design. In addition, it is important to facilitate ideation and nourish creative spirit while utilizing the design heuristics to create a novel learning environment. In this study we explored an intervention for supporting the creative utilization of the set of design principles for HLC. The intervention was based on boundary-crossing theory and design thinking methods, with a particular focus on prototyping. It consisted of a ‘guidebook’ in which the design principles were explained, and a workshop. The corresponding research question was: “What is the perceived effectiveness of a boundarycrossing intervention (based on a set of research-based design principles) for (re)designing hybrid learning configurations?” Four design teams of different HLCs in the context of a university of applied sciences used the guidebook and attended the workshop while (re)designing their HLC. The intervention was evaluated by way of questionnaires that were filled out by members of the design teams. The results show that the design teams perceived this intervention as being relevant, consistent, practical and effective. The intervention appeared to provide a conceptual framework for understanding and designing features of a hybrid learning configuration and a vocabulary to communicate design ideas. It, thereby, supported the creative utilization of the design principles. Further research could explore other, complementary ways of facilitating the design of hybrid learning configurations. Cross-boundary learning during the design and implementation of an HLC Chapter 5 concerns cross-boundary collaboration and learning processes within an interprofessional design team of an HLC. These teams often consist of actors from different educational institutions and other organizations, such as companies or (non) governmental institutions. When team members bring their different perspectives into the collaboration, they are likely to experience boundaries. Boundaries can be defined as ‘discontinuities in action or interaction’. They can hinder cooperation, but they can also provide opportunities for learning. This led to the following research question: “In which ways could a better understanding of boundaries enhance learning?” In this study, transcripts of interviews with members of an HLC-design team were analysed using concepts of boundary crossing theory. This theoretical framework provided a lens through which different ways of boundary crossing, learning mechanisms and processes became visible. We established that boundaries are highly personal and subjective constructs. We found that if boundaries are detected and if the related practices are made explicit, this allows for further analysis of these boundaries. Our analysis yielded a number of possible ways to enhance trans-boundary learning in HLC design teams. We also concluded that boundary objects and brokers can play an important role in transboundary learning processes. Conclusions in a broader perspective In chapter 6 we frame our conclusions from the four studies in a broader perspective. The first aim of our research was the development of heuristics for the design of HLCs. Given this aim, we developed a set of design principles for an HLC and guidelines for an intervention that fosters the capacity for self-directed lifelong learning. We positioned these principles and guidelines in a ‘conjecture map’ (Sandoval 2014), which shows the relationships between design heuristics, their embodiment in features of an intervention, the intended mediating processes, and the desired outcomes. Our overall conclusion is that framing the set of design principles or guidelines in multiple conjecture maps, rather than representing them as causal chains of design propositions, can provide guidance and support for designing and researching complex educational interventions such as HLCs. Our second aim was to provide support or ‘design knowledge’ for interprofessional HLC design teams. We addressed that aim by developing and testing an intervention that supported the creative utilization of a set of design principles for HLC. In addition, we provided guidance for enhancing learning across boundaries that could be experienced in an interprofessional design team. We positioned this design knowledge in a broader framework, the ‘ecological framework for conceptualizing teacher knowledge for technology-enhanced learning design’. This framework seems to be useful in contexts beyond technology-enhanced learning, and, so, we consider it relevant to the design of HLCs. We conclude that design teams of HLCs can be supported by using an appropriate framework for design knowledge and by adjusting or expanding this framework for the design of complex interventions by interprofessional design teams. Further research and practical implications Our studies led us to the following recommendations. While we focused mainly on learning processes that should occur within HLCs, further research could be directed towards the students’ learning outcomes. Moreover, our findings suggest that selfdirected lifelong learning should be developed and practiced throughout an education programme. To achieve this, curricula in higher education should offer opportunities for students to experiment and follow their own path, alongside prescribed activities with fixed learning outcomes. In the six HLCs that we studied, student learning was foregrounded. However, an HLC also involves other stakeholder types, such as lecturers, researchers, citizens, and entrepreneurs. Therefore, further research could shed light on supporting and evaluating multi-stakeholder learning processes and learning outcomes of all types of stakeholders. Our research on supporting interprofessional design teams focused on the utilization of design knowledge in early stages of (re)design of an HLC. Further research and development could yield ways of support in further stages of the design. In light of this we recommend crossing the boundaries of areas of design science outside the educational context. This will allow us to learn from each other and capitalize on what is already known. In our study, design principles for HLC were ‘reified’ and disseminated by way of a guidebook. Further investigations could reveal other ways of documenting and communicating design knowledge, for instance via the construction of a database containing principles or guidelines and their associated features in different contexts. Boundary crossing theory appeared to provide a lens through which boundaries and related learning processes became visible. The elements of boundary crossing theory can be translated into guidelines or tools for enhancing cross-boundary learning in interprofessional HLC design teams and, perhaps, for other types of ‘hybrid teams’ as well. This thesis intends to contribute to the knowledge base for designing hybrid learning configurations. This is done with the intention that this contribution will be utilized and developed further by researchers and practitioners who are committed to educating future professionals in an ever-changing world.

Since the 1970s academic environmental science curricula have emerged all over the world addressing a wide range of topics and using knowledge from various disciplines. These curricula aim to deliver graduates with competencies to study, understand and address complex environmental problems. Complex environmental problems span broad spatial, temporal and organisational scales, are multi-dimensional and involve political controversies. They are further characterized by many uncertainties and conflicting views on the nature of the problem and the best way to solve them. Generally accepted frameworks to educate environmental science graduates with the necessary competencies to address complex environmental problems are scarce. With this thesis, I aimed to explore and develop heuristic principles (i.e. ‘rules of thumb’) for teaching and learning activities that enable environmental science students to especially acquire boundary crossing skills. These skills are needed to develop sustainable solutions for complex environmental problems. I focussed on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary cognitive skills as a sub-set of boundary crossing skills, and on the potential contribution of conceptual models and environmental systems analysis in teaching and learning these skills. In order to achieve this aim, I did four studies (see Chapters 2 - 5). These studies were based on an extensive literature review, analysis of existing courses and course material at Wageningen University and elsewhere, personal experience and analysis of reflection papers written by students in authentic learning settings. The last study (Chapter 5) was an empirical statistical study. Here, I developed a strategy for teaching and learning reflexive skills, a subcomponent of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary cognitive skills, and evaluated this strategy in a quasi-experimental setting. The studies showed that operationalizing skills and developing teaching and learning activities are closely intertwined. Below, first boundary crossing skills are explicated. Next, the contribution of conceptual models and environmental systems analysis to develop interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary cognitive skills, specifically, is explained. Finally, heuristic principles for teaching and learning activities to develop boundary crossing skills are presented. Boundary crossing skills in environmental science education To understand complex environmental problems and develop sustainable solutions require skills to cross boundaries between disciplines, between cultures and between theoretical knowledge and practice. In this study, I used the concept of skills in a broad sense that included not only the actual skills of using different perspectives and dealing with the complexities and uncertainties involved, but also the knowledge (e.g., being aware of various perspectives) and the attitudes (e.g., toward using these perspectives) which are vital for these skills. Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary cognitive skills enable a person to integrate knowledge and modes of thinking in two or more disciplines to produce a cognitive advancement (e.g., solving a problem). I identified three components of these skills. The first component skill is the ability to understand environmental issues in a holistic way (i.e. considering different perspectives, systemic social and biophysical elements and their dynamics and interactions). The ability to frame environmental problems holistically allows a comprehensive insight into all relevant aspects to possibly solve the studied problem. The second component skill is the ability to identify, understand, critically appraise and connect disciplinary theories, methodologies, examples and findings into the integrative frameworks required to analyse environmental problems and to devise possible solutions. The third component skill is the ability to reflect on the role of disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research in solving societal problems. The third component skill is about critically assessing the role of science in society. It encompasses reflecting on the processes of knowledge production and application. I introduced the term “reflexive skills” for this third component. Furthermore, I distinguished two sub-components of reflexive skills: (i) the ability to assess the relative contributions of scientific disciplines and non-academic knowledge in addressing environmental issues; and (ii) the ability to understand the role of norms and values in problem-oriented research. The contributions of conceptual models to teach and learn boundary crossing skills My research showed that conceptual models are useful tools, for teachers, course and curriculum developers, and students, to cope with the challenges of environmental sciences (Chapter 3). These challenges are inherent to the interdisciplinary and problem-oriented character of environmental sciences curricula. The first challenge concerns the structure of a curriculum (i.e. how does one design a coherent curriculum, while including various disciplines?). The second challenge is teaching integrated problem-solving. I introduced two types of conceptual models: domain models and process models. Domain models structure the domain of environmental sciences. Process models depict the different steps in an environmental research process and clarify how these steps are related to societal processes important to the research. Both types of models are valuable because they can be used to (i) improve the coherence and focus of an environmental sciences curriculum; (ii) analyse environmental issues and integrate knowledge; (iii) examine and guide the process of environmental research and problem solving; and (iv) examine and guide the integration of knowledge in the environmental-research and problem-solving processes (Chapter 3). To expose students to a range of conceptual models during their education is essential, because such a variety is instrumental in enhancing the students’ awareness of the various approaches to frame environmental issues and to illustrate and explain how this framing has changed over time or what its consequences are. By applying and reflecting on these conceptual models, students likely acknowledge the complexity of human-environment systems and science’s role in dealing with complex environmental problems (Chapter 3). Environmental systems analysis’s contribution to teach and learn boundary crossing skills My research demonstrated that education in environmental systems analysis (ESA) improves students’ knowledge about integrative tools, techniques and methodologies, and their application, but also – to a certain extent – their interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary cognitive skills (Chapter 4). ESA education helps to conceptualize and frame an environmental issue holistically (i.e. first component cognitive skill). By applying ESA tools, methods and models to environmental problems, students become aware of the broader context of an environmental problem, its direct and indirect causes, and its direct and indirect effects, the probable connections between local and global issues, and the interactions with various societal actors and stakeholders. ESA education likely enhances students’ ability to identify and connect disciplinary approaches in integrative frameworks, but only enhances the students’ ability to critically appraise disciplinary approaches in integrative frameworks (i.e. second component cognitive skills) to some extent. In order to be able to appraise the contribution of such a disciplinary approach to a specific environmental problem, students need to have sufficient disciplinary knowledge and disciplinary education is needed. ESA education likely supports the ability to critically reflect on the role of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in solving societal problems (i.e. the third component cognitive skills) by making students aware that a system always represents a simplified model and a particular perspective of reality, but more is needed. To successfully train students’ reflexive skills, specific teaching and learning activities are needed (Chapter 4). These are addressed hereafter. Heuristics principles to teach and learn boundary crossing skills in environmental science education My research revealed that acquiring boundary crossing skills requires learning activities that involve a combination of experience in concrete interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary projects, close interaction and debate with persons with other scientific or cultural backgrounds and interests, theory training and explicit moments of reflection. Obtaining concrete experience in addressing a complex environmental problem and developing and executing an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary project is an excellent starting point. Going through all the stages of an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary project, having to deal with incomplete data, addressing uncertainty and complexity, contribute to acquiring boundary crossing (Chapter 2) and reflexive skills, specifically (Chapter 5). Switching perspective, fieldwork and intensive group interaction enhance the acquisition of boundary crossing skills (Chapters 2 and 5). Switching perspectives involves working as a disciplinary expert, integrating disciplinary knowledge and empathizing with non-academic stakeholders. Fieldwork provides students with an opportunity to do so by experiencing the ‘complexity of reality’ to interact and empathize with local stakeholders. Intensive group interaction, in particular in a team whose members have diverse disciplinary and cultural backgrounds, makes students aware of differences in disciplinary approaches, perspectives, norms and values. This also contributes to a positive attitude or habitus to crossing boundaries, which is a precondition for being able to cross them (Chapters 2 and 4). I showed that notwithstanding the importance of experience in interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary projects and interaction with others, such experience alone seems insufficient to acquire boundary crossing skills. Students need theoretical training and they need to be stimulated to reflect (Chapter 5). Key in an environmental science curriculum that aims to train boundary crossing skills, is thus a course that enables a student to actively involve in an interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary project, to interact with persons (students, non-academic stakeholders and experts) with other scientific or cultural backgrounds and interests, and to switch perspective. The teacher’s role in such a course differs considerably to traditional lecturing and providing information. I disclosed three crucial tasks for teachers in interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary student projects: (i) facilitating the students’ (research) experience, (ii) proving theory input, and (iii) encouraging students to reflect. Theory input consists of integrative ESA methods, models and tools (Chapter 4). Theory also consists of the theoretical and philosophical aspects related to problem oriented environmental research, such as insights about science-society interactions in interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, the differences in logic of societal and scientific practices, and the role of perspectives and values in scientific research (Chapter 3). Providing students with these latter insights is particularly important in training the students’ in reflexive skills (Chapter 5). Mastering boundary crossing skills is a long term process and requires alignment of modules and courses of an environmental science curriculum. Not only the teaching methods, but also the assessment procedure, the climate created in interaction with the students, the institutional settings, and the rules and procedures all need to work together towards boundary crossing skills as learning outcomes. Only under such conditions, can students effectively acquire and develop the necessary boundary crossing skills, required to successfully address the major environmental and sustainability challenges.

Summary I was totally there!: Understanding engagement in entertainment-education narratives By Lonneke van Leeuwen Introduction Narratives have the power to influence their recipients’ health behaviors. With the entertainment-education (E-E) strategy, health organizations turn this narrative power to good account by employing narratives in their health promoting campaigns. E-E programs, mostly in the form of televised narratives, have been shown to effectively encourage a variety of health-related behaviors. Because of these positive results, the E-E strategy is considered a promising communication strategy to encourage healthy behaviors. One quality of E-E narratives that has been shown to be crucial for narrative impact is the ability of E-E narratives to engage target recipients. Engaged recipients may experience four dimensions of narrative engagement (NE): narrative understanding, attentional focus, emotional engagement, and narrative presence. Although evidence is growing that NE plays a role in E-E narratives’ impact (hereafter: E-E impact), little is known about how NE leads to E-E impact and about how NE emerges in recipients of narratives. Objective The objective of this dissertation is to provide a better understanding of NE in E-E narratives, by investigating how NE is associated with E-E narratives’ impact, and by investigating the processes that contribute to experiencing NE. Context The studies described in this dissertation are conducted within the context of NE in E-E narratives aiming to discourage alcohol (binge) drinking among adolescents and young adults. In 2008, the televised E-E drama series Roes (High in English) was broadcast on national television. Roes consists of 11 case stories (25 minutes each) portraying negative experiences and outcomes of adolescent protagonist(s) drinking alcohol and/or using other drugs. Research questions Three research questions are addressed in this dissertation: RQ1: Does Roes discourage alcohol (binge) drinking in E-E narrative recipients? RQ2a: Are NE dimensions associated with E-E impact on alcohol (binge) drinking? And, if so: RQ2b: Do negative and positive thoughts about alcohol (binge) drinking mediate associations between NE dimensions and E-E impact on alcohol (binge) drinking? RQ3: Which psychological processes experienced during narrative reception contribute to experiencing NE dimensions? Main findings This dissertation has shown that Roes discouraged alcohol (binge) drinking. Viewing multiple episodes of Roes positively predicted a decrease in alcoholic drinks consumed per occasion, an increase in the intention to decrease alcohol use, and an increase in perceived normative pressure. One year after exposure, the impact on the intention to decrease alcohol use was still present. One of the Roes episodes, Verliefd (In love in English), was further examined. After the participants had viewed this episode, their beliefs relating to the negative outcomes of alcohol binge drinking (BD) were more contra-BD as compared to their beliefs prior to viewing the episode. Attitudes towards BD and willingness to engage in BD also became more contra-BD. Then, the roles of the NE dimensions attentional focus, narrative understanding, emotional engagement, and narrative presence in E-E impact were investigated. It was shown that the NE dimensions attentional focus, emotional engagement, and narrative presence were positively associated with E-E impact. Attentional focus was associated both with stronger beliefs about the severity of the negative outcomes of BD and with a lowered intention to engage in BD. Emotional engagement and narrative presence were associated with stronger beliefs that BD leads to negative outcomes (negative outcome beliefs), and with stronger beliefs about being vulnerable to these negative outcomes (vulnerability beliefs). Surprisingly, the NE dimension narrative understanding was associated with increased willingness to engage in BD. No evidence was found that negative thoughts about BD mediated associations between NE dimensions and E-E impact. Relations between NE dimensions, positive thoughts about BD, and E-E impact could not be investigated: only one participant reported a positive thought about BD in response to Verliefd. Based on these findings we conclude that attentional focus, emotional engagement, and narrative presence are important for E-E impact, and that thoughts about BD do not play a role therein. Because NE dimensions were found to be associated with E-E impact, it was investigated which psychological processes contribute to NE dimensions. Negative thoughts about the perceptual persuasiveness of Verliefd negatively associated with emotional engagement and narrative presence. Furthermore, it was shown that enjoyment of Verliefd was a strong contributor to NE, mainly through contributing to attentional focus. Another strong contributor to NE was narrative realism, mainly through contributing to narrative understanding. Finally, personal relevance, character involvement, and perceived severity contributed mainly through emotional engagement. This dissertation shows that E-E narratives can be an effective health communication strategy to discourage alcohol (binge) drinking in young people. Furthermore, this dissertation provides health communication researchers and media psychologists with insights into the role of NE in E-E impact, and offers E-E developers practical recommendations about how to create engaging and impactful E-E narratives.

This book discusses whether, and if so, how facility management can contribute to educational achievements at Dutch higher education institutions.

Given the positive influences of entrepreneurship in tems of increasing economic growth and creating jobs, considerable efforts have been made to promote entrepreneurship in both developed and developing countries. Scholars and policymakers are also increasingly interested in the factors which influence the decision to become an entrepreneur and thus understanding why some people decide to start a business while others do not. The research reported in this dissertation therefore explored the factors which influence the entrepreneurial intentions of students in higher education in the developing country of Iran.

Summary Paradoxical Modernization Ede, 1945-1995: Grew big, remained recognizable After the Second World War, like many other municipalities in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the Western World, Ede experienced a period of rapid economic and population growth, of mobility, increase in scale, urbanization, better education, professionalization, individualization and democratization. Developments that may be summarized in the word modernization. I wondered if modernization is an exogenous process and did it more or less just happen, or is it a planned process or something in between. I decided that the best way to answer these questions was not to study the modernization process on a national level, but on a local level. There I hoped to find the answer on the question what possibilities people have to define their own community. I choose the municipality of Ede as my case study for the next reasons. After 1945, the Ede municipal executive opted for growth: economic, population and employment growth. In 1962, the municipal executive formulated a goal to welcome its 100,000 resident by the year 2000, which represented a doubling of the population since the end of the war. Ede was to be transformed into the city of Ede. This milestone of 100,000 inhabitants was reached as early as 1996, 60,000 of whom lived in Ede town. In order to achieve this goal, action was needed on several fronts. The rapid growth achieved was not the result of a policy plan handed down by central government. Ede was not one of the designated development areas. Ede was not regarded as an underdeveloped area requiring a top- down targeted approach for accelerated industrialization and modernization. On the other hand, in 1945, Ede was still clearly a rural community and the town centre clearly showed characteristics of a village society. So the rapid growth meant changes in different policy sectors. Ede easily attracted new residents and employment opportunities as a result of its strategic location in the middle of the Netherlands, its good infrastructure and sufficient space. What it did need, however, was the development of housing estates and industrial estates including the necessary infrastructure and the development and expansion of, for example, education facilities and leisure amenities. In a predominantly Protestant community, this raised questions about the persuasion of these types of amenities and led to debates on, if actually desirable, the type of socio-cultural policy most appropriate for local government. Rapid expansion of a community may be perceived as a threat to the characteristics of that society. This question made Ede an extra interesting subject for research. In the case of Ede it was justifiable to assume that tensions would have arisen between the rural and urban ambitions and between Christian and secular developments. The municipal authority is involved in the developments and decision-making process relating to all the elements of the public domain, which is why it was chosen as the focus for this research. The policy decisions required in the different areas to facilitate growth are by their nature intertwined. The construction of housing estates and business premises conflict with the interests of the agricultural sector and nature conservation. The arrival of new residents can change the social, political and religious composition of the population, resulting in consequences for how society is organized and for the future local political constellation and vice versa. Every decision must take what has occurred in other areas into account and will, in turn, have consequences for adjacent domains. For these reasons a choice was made for modernization as theoretical concept. Chapter one contains a historiographical discussion of this concept and an elaboration of how this concept has been applied to this research. In line with Schuyt and Taverne, I have chosen not to provide modernization in advance with a specific interpretation by adding ‘controlled’, ‘contested’ or ‘reflexive’. For the research, four policy areas have been selected for further investigation: spatial planning, education, guest workers/migrants and leisure facilities. As an introduction to the chapters on the developments in Ede, chapter two contains a broad outline of the national developments in which the local developments took place. Subsequently, in chapter three I discuss the way in which the modernization process was made visible in the composition of the municipal executive, including its chairpersons over a period of fifty years. Politicians not only partly determine which choices are made in the modernization process, but are also subject to this process themselves both at party and individual level. In this sense, through its decisions the political establishment in no small way contributes to determining its own future and, in turn, the composition of the municipal council and executive. The choices for more or less growth, for public-authority or private-authority schools , for providing public amenities or not, et cetera influence who will choose Ede as a place of residence and work. In this way, secularization manifests itself in changes in the population composition and the demand for specific amenities, as well as at the level of the political composition of the municipal council and the individual councillors. As a result of the population growth, by 1966 the newcomers held the majority of the seats on the council. However, the original population of Ede managed to control the executive positions for much longer. Democratization, individualization and secularization led to an increase in the number of political parties represented on the council and enhanced pluralism. Compared to politics at national level, both women’s emancipation and the professionalization of councillors clearly had a delayed start. As was the case at national level the larger parties lost ground, although the SGP (Reformed Political Party) formed an exception in Ede. The main theme of chapter four is spatial planning. Ede has profited considerably from the migration of residents and employment opportunities from the Randstad. Ede’s central location put it in a strategic position to benefit from national developments on spatial planning. The size of the municipality ̶ Ede being one of the largest in the Netherlands ̶ , the good infrastructure and the presence of the Veluwe National Park made Ede a popular place of residence and business. This remained the case even after, from the start of the 1960s, the provincial and national governments tried to curb the drift to Ede. As a result of its many qualities, Ede was able to achieve its growth ambitions and disregard the limiting measures imposed by higher government levels. In relation to nature conservation, Ede stayed more in line because the municipal executive regarded the Veluwe National Park as one of the attractive aspects of living in Ede. In respect to agriculture, the municipal executive chose for, on the one hand, an uncompromising policy to develop housing and business premises at the expense of farmland, while, on the other hand, applying a non-interference policy for the agricultural sector and business operations. Both small farmers and the strong growth in intensive animal husbandry could count on an accommodating local government. It was the national government which, as a result of the high levels of environmental pollution, designated the Gelderland Valley as a Spatial Planning and Environment area (ensuring spatial planning was combined with the environmental aspects). This, in turn, forced the municipal authority to impose regulatory measures on the agricultural sector in its spatial planning policies. The policy choices in relation to the educational facilities are discussed in chapter five. What is conspicuous here is the clear commitment on the part of the Christian political parties to maintain the Christian character of the education. In the 1950s, this commitment could also count on the support of the Christian councillors representing the PvdA (Labour Party). It was not until the early 1960s that all the PvdA councillors supported the VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy) in its struggle to increase the number of public-authority schools. In the meantime, Protestant Ede had managed, under the leadership of the ARP (Anti-Revolutionary Party) aldermen, to establish broad, and partly above municipality level, private-authority denominational schools. In achieving this, the ARP (Anti- Revolutionary Party) politicians were able to make use of their extensive network, which included national politicians. It was only in the early 1980s that secular Ede achieved a long-cherished goal with the opening of a public-authority neutral secondary school. The presence of a broad range of Protestant-Christian educational facilities is one of the explanations why Ede’s expansion did not lead to a drop, in percentage terms, of the Orthodox-Christian share of the vote. These parties were, however, practically always kept outside the coalition. Nevertheless, they managed to profit from the educational policies implemented by the coalition parties CHU (Christian Historical Union) and ARP (Anti-Revolutionary Party), and later by the CDA (Christian Democratic Appeal). These parties were not, however, rewarded for this policy as they were confronted with continuous and steady losses at the polls. Illustrative of this development was also the establishment in the 1970s of a number of Protestant Reformed primary schools and the establishment of a Protestant-Christian School Advisory Service in 1984. The long-term opposition to a more secular organization of society was also expressed in the opposition until the start of the 1970s to abolishing the dismissal of married teachers. Ede’s growth did not only bring an influx of new residents from the rest of the Netherlands to the Veluwe. The shortage of unskilled workers, which continued to increase during the 1960s in the Netherlands, also resulted in the arrival of guest workers in Ede. Chapter six discusses the attitude of the political establishment towards this population group, whose stay was initially expected to be only temporary. It quickly became apparent that their unfamiliarity with our country, language, customs and laws in combination with their low wages and, for the most part, low level of education gave rise to a need for social assistance and specific facilities. The municipal executive did not, however, make use of the possibility to participate in the Migrant Workers’ Assistance Foundation that was established in Gelderland in the 1960s and in which the municipal executives of Apeldoorn and Arnhem participated. The Ede municipal executive maintained the view, as did other places in the Netherlands, that the reception of this population group and the facilitating or provision of specific facilities was not the task of government —and most certainly not in the area of religion. In relation to this last point, the constitutional separation of church and state was invariably used as argumentation. Although, in practice in the Netherlands, and this includes Ede, up to that point had not been so strictly adhered to as was preached in Ede. It was only at the end of the 1970s that the first careful steps were taken to arrange for the required facilities. The municipal executive disregarded an official report in 1977 by Ede’s own Sociographical Department, in which migrant workers were considered one of the minority groups in the Netherlands and in which specific mention was made of the role of government in the origination of the problems confronting this population group. The decision of the national government in 1984 to transfer policy on minorities to local government forced the municipal executive to set down its own policy. When social unrest occurred surrounding the desire of and initiatives by the Moroccan and Turkish communities for their own place of prayer, the municipal executive slowly changed its attitude from a wait-and-see approach into an active approach in which a reasonably acceptable solution was sought in consultation with all the parties involved. The strong position of the SGP (Reformed Political Party) in local politics could present an explanation for the fact that in this period the extreme right in Ede, in contrast to national level, never achieved the electoral threshold. Growth also places demands on leisure facilities. In the previous topics, especially in relation to the educational facilities and the facilities for migrant workers, there was an ongoing discussion in the background about how big the role of government should be in society. In confessional circles, but also within the VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy), an ideological preference prevailed for small government, meaning, where possible, the initiative should be left to the community or the individual respectively. Government spending on leisure activities was particularly sensitive in the Protestant-Christian parties. The SGP (Reformed Political Party), on principal, held the opinion that the government should not spend public money on these types of activities. The development of sport fields/sport halls and the accommodation of sports clubs could, however, count on the support of the majority of the council and certainly also of the municipal executive. In the 1950s and 1960s the aldermen of the PvdA (Labour Party), VVD (People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy) and ARP (Anti-Revolutionary Party) were great sport enthusiasts. Subsidies for cultural activities were more sensitive as theatre and opera had been a taboo for a long time within segments of the Protestant- Christian parties and, particularly, within the SGP (Reformed Political Party). If it was, nevertheless, decided to provide funding to support organizations or initiatives, then it was chosen for a strong involvement by the municipality, for example through ownership and tenures. This was an attempt by the municipal executive to exercise more control over the operations and the use of subsidies. At the same time, the municipal executive had a preference for the commercial use of, for example, a swimming pool or a theatre because this presented the possibility of keeping the public funding to a minimum. Particularly this involvement in a commercial organization gave rise, once again, to criticism within the council and within the community because commercialism with the help of public money was considered inappropriate for government and unfair competition. Ultimately, in the middle of the 1980s, the municipal executive distanced itself from the commercial operations by awarding a fixed subsidy amount based on agreements relating to the services provided to the community. Reflecting on the fifty year period researched, two cut-off points can be established in the modernization process in Ede. The first period runs from 1945 to 1966 and is characterized by growth and tradition. The prevailing philosophy was that despite the choice for growth the Protestant-Christian character of the municipality should and could be maintained. This is illustrated in the development of a broad and above municipal level provision of private-authority Protestant-Christian educational facilities, in the commitment to non-interference in the agricultural sector including keeping the peasants, and in the conservative policy on developing cultural activities for the leisure sector. However, the growth did strengthened aspects such as secularization, professionalization, geographical and social mobility, individualization and democratization: the modernization process continually resulted in changes in society and in the population composition and was not solely restricted to what was desirable or planned. The second period runs to 1978 and can be characterized with the terms: change and debate. The municipal policy was examined more critically. For example, the city-forming plans were considered undesirable both by the original population and the newcomers. Maintaining the smallness and a more rural character proved to be attractive aspects for Ede. At the same time, the demand for a more pluralistic and broader provision of social and cultural activities increased. In this second period, the non-interference policy in relation to agricultural developments except in the case that agricultural lands were required for housing and business premises, encountered opposition when the negative effects of the continuous expansion in the intensive animal husbandry for the ecology and environment became more apparent. In addition, the arrival of migrant workers and with them Islam into this predominantly Protestant-Christian community became more problematic during this period. As a consequence of unemployment and family reunification, more pressure was put on the municipal authorities for assistance and the need for a place of prayer for the Muslim community strengthened. The societal and economic changes led to a more pluralistic political landscape. The six parties were confronted with increasing competition from new political parties, including the Boerenpartij (Farmers’ Party) which was the first to profit from the discontent. Only the SGP (Reformed Political Party) managed to hold onto its share of the vote. The third period is characterized by the development of a new political situation and the search for a new political balance. The municipal executive was forced by the national government to curb the intensive animal husbandry. The ARP (Anti-Revolutionary Party) had to part with the education portfolio and, finally, Ede got a public-authority neutral secondary school, the Pallas Athene. It was a long journey, but the Muslim community also received its own place of prayer. At a time when societal opposition to the building of a mosque appeared to favour the national extreme-right political parties and movements, the municipal executive opted to work with the Muslim groups to find a solution acceptable to all parties. The municipality distanced itself from the business operations in how it financed organizations such as swimming pools, the theatre and events such as the Week of the Heather. What are the answers to my questions I posed in the beginning: is modernization at the local level more of less an exogenous process, can it be planned, or have local politicians enough opportunities to make a difference? When compared to the national developments it holds true for Ede that the 1950s was certainly a dynamic period, but it is also true to say that a Protestant-Christian community such as Ede required more time to shape its growth ambition so that old and new, conservative and progressive, and religious and secular could achieve a new balance and compromise. The changes were neither imposed from outside nor according to plan. The paradoxical outcome of the modernization process is that it has led to the further convergence of the local with the national developments, but it has at the same time ensured the survival of local characteristics. Partially, these are characteristics that have consciously been or were able to be preserved by politicians, such as the predominantly Protestant-Christian education facilities and a conservative policy towards the socio-cultural domain. This policy has not, per definition, turned out favourably for the supporting political parties. It was the SGP (Reformed Political Party) and not the governing parties CHU (Christian Historical Union) and ARP (Anti-Revolutionary Party) (and later the CDA (Christian Democratic Appeal) that managed to hold onto its voters, even though the Protestant-Christian character of the municipality was the reason why a segment of the newcomers chose for Ede. Their votes did not strengthen the confessional parties at the centre of the political spectrum; it was precisely the orthodox element that benefitted, which was illustrated by the arrival of the RPF (Reformed Political Federation/GPV (Reformed Political Union). Other characteristic elements are independent of the local political policy and have ensured that Ede has become and remains a desirable place of residence and business. Its central location on the Veluwe, the good infrastructure, and the size of the municipality stimulated and made growth possible. Ede was a municipality with adequate facilities and the amenities it lacked could be found in the nearby Randstad and Arnhem. The Veluwe National Park also forms a large, green and tranquil back garden. Modernization was not imposed upon Ede, contrary to what Van Deursen notes in the case of Katwijk. Even so no controlled modernization for Ede, as Van Vegchel describes for Emmen. Like Zwemer states for Zeeland, local politics in Ede has been able to make a difference within the national developments and governmental guidelines. The national government only intervened and imposed their policy at the moment local political choices led to negative effects beyond the municipal boundaries. In accordance with the findings of Schuyt and Taverne the development in Ede was not the result of a ‘grand design’, not even of local politicians. Ede shows quite nice the paradox of modernization. Despite the creation of uniformity in the ongoing process of national integration and globalization, the paradox is that contradictory movements are possible that contribute to ensuring that the unique character of the area can be preserved, even if this characterization is also subject to change.

Het Zuidelijk Westerkwartier wordt in 2003 uitgekozen door de Raad van Bestuur van Wageningen UR om samenwerking tussen de fuserende instellingen Van Hall Instituut, Larenstein en Wageningen Universiteit en de DLO onderzoeksinstituten te bevorderen. En wel via het project Brug Toekomst. Gekozen wordt voor Zuidelijk Westerkwartier, omdat daar een gebiedsproces gaande is rond natuurbeheer en landschapsonderhoud. De betrokken instanties daarbij zijn Staatsbosbeheer en twee Agrarische Natuur Verenigingen. Door de inzet en betrokkenheid van een vijftigtal studenten is de relatie tussen natuur en landbouw verstevigd. Het leverde dus naar studenten toe meer op dan enkel studieresultaten. De Werkgroep Streekinitiatief kijkt terug op een mooi project, en hoopt dat er een plattelandshuis uit voort zal komen