Lately, the municipal level of government has seen much experimentation with new forms of democracy and democratic decision-making. These experiments aim to revitalize local democracy by engaging... Show moreLately, the municipal level of government has seen much experimentation with new forms of democracy and democratic decision-making. These experiments aim to revitalize local democracy by engaging citizens more directly in the preparation, decision-making and execution of municipal policy.These experiments raise certain legal questions because local democracy is not just a matter of political culture, but of rules and regulations too. There are laws which stipulate which powers local authorities may exercise, how they may exercise these and how they ought to relate to each other. The question is what room this legal framework offers for all sorts of local democratic innovations that aim to enhance the institutionalized local democracy.This question is answered in this thesis with the help of four case studies. The cases and their design are tested for their compatibility with relevant laws and regulations and with the principles that form the foundation of the institutionalized local democracy. Show less
In order to study the role of blood-tissue interaction in the developing chicken embryo heart, detailed information about the haemodynamic forces is needed. In this study, we present the first in... Show moreIn order to study the role of blood-tissue interaction in the developing chicken embryo heart, detailed information about the haemodynamic forces is needed. In this study, we present the first in vivo measurements of the three-dimensional distribution of wall shear stress (WSS) in the outflow tract (OFT) of an embryonic chicken heart. The data are obtained in a two-step process: first, the three-dimensional flow fields are measured during the cardiac cycle using scanning microscopic particle image velocimetry; second, the location of the wall and the WSS are determined by post-processing flow velocity data (finding velocity gradients at locations where the flow approaches zero). The results are a three-dimensional reconstruction of the geometry, with a spatial resolution of 15-20 mu m, and provides detailed information about the WSS in the OFT. The most significant error is the location of the wall, which results in an estimate of the uncertainty in the WSS values of 20 per cent. Show less
