© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014. Creating agents that are capable of emulating similar socio-cultural dynamics to those found in human interaction remains as one of the hardest challenges of artificial intelligence. This problem becomes particularly important when considering embodied …

Youths in Bolgatanga municipality in the Upper East Region in the rural north of Ghana suffer health and social problems that are caused by their premarital and unsafe sexual behaviour. This study provides more knowledge of and insight into the youths’ conceptions, motives and practices concerning premarital …

Social media play an important role in the rapidly changing dynamics of government organizations and their interaction with the public. Governments are facing changing demands at organizational level due to the exponential growth of connections, networks involved in social issues and collaboration within …

Crowdfunding is gaining popularity as a viable means to raise financial capital for good causes, cultural goods, new products, and ventures. Little empirical research has been done to understand crowdfunding and basic academic knowledge of its dynamics is still lacking. By data mining the crowdfunding …

This study explores how non-executive directors are challenged by management while they seek to improve the effectiveness of supervisory boards in the Netherlands. A combination of semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire among non-executive directors indicates that supervisory board members mainly …

Business landscapes are changing at global, regional and sectoral levels as well as the social and ecological contexts. In order to understand what these changes are and how clusters are dealing with these, the research explores drivers of change and cluster dynamics using a Complex Adaptive Systems …

The present study examined the influence of group climate on empathy in a Dutch youth correctional facility in a sample of 59 incarcerated delinquent boys. Higher levels of empathy have been shown to be associated with less delinquent and more prosocial behaviour, and may therefore be vital for successful …

Chapter of a report that presents a case study of the City of Heerlen, Netherlands, a shrinking city that identifies cultural policy as an important factor in vitalising the city. Heerlen has made significant investments into culture and is experiencing a “cultural spring”. This promotes a positive climate …

Over the past decades, international terrorism started to reach its ideological peak, challenging and disrupting whole societies and governmental organs. This modern form of terror contains violent implications, psychologically pressing the innocent masses. Initially inspired by occasional, domestically …

The Dutch greenhouse horticulture industry is characterized by world leadership in high-tech innovation. The dynamics of this playing field are innovation in production systems and automation, reduction in energy consumption and sharing limited space. However, international competitive advantage of the …