Duir

Jack Kruf (2022) Duir. Breda

Ontstaan vanuit de wijsheid van de eik, de koning van het bos, zoals de Kelten hem duiden. Duir is de naam. Bekend om zijn kracht, duurzaamheid en lang leven. De eik werd als heilig beschouwd door de Druïden, de tovenaars en wijzen in het Keltisch rijk.

Duir is ook de zevende letter van het Ogham alfabet en de zevende maand in de Keltische boom kalender.  De eik stond en staat hoog in aanzien in vele culturen over heel Europa. De grieken associeerden de boom zelfs met hun oppergod Zeus, de Vikingen met Thor, de Noorse god van Donder en beschermer van de mensheid alsmede de Kelten verbonden hem met hun God van Donder Taranis.

Bijzonder aan Duir is dat hij stevig is en diep wortelt. Hij vormt de basis met zijn hout van vele bouwwerken en vormt de basis voor ontwerp en architectuur. Dit maakt Duir tot een wezen met een hoog IQ en EQ. Elk vorm en kleur van kroon, stam en wortels staat voor een waarde of is in verbonden met de natuurlijke ecosystemen en biomen.

Deze is voor kleinzoon Jochem met alle adviezen die een grootvader zijn kleinzoon kan geven. Future-proof so to speak. De kleuren bevatten de lessen van een grootvader.

Ode aan Jochem

Net nieuw op de wereld laat op de zaterdagavond 12 februari 2022. Jochem. Ik ontmoet je als ik je in mijn armen sluit. Woorden komen niet, tranen wel en Il primo libro di canzone van Andre Falconieri danst door mijn hoofd. Deze muziek raakt de ziel van jouw dans die ik voor mij zie. Jij, mooi nieuw leven. Je bent een wonder. Welkom, lieve Jochem. Een ode.

https://embed.music.apple.com/nl/album/il-primo-libro-di-canzone-ciaccona/212602703?i=212602770&l=en

View on Delft

Vermeer, Johannes (1660-1661) View on Delft [oil on canvas]. The Hague: Mauritshuis.
This painting of the city of Delft made around 1660, is from the master hand of Johannes Vermeer. More than inspiring. A place to live. Around 360 years back in time. With View of Delft, Vermeer created an iconic image of the city: the city as an entity, the city as an ecosystem.The overarching cloudy sky gives the city the insight and dimension that it is part of a larger world, maybe that of nature. It puts Delft in perspective. It humbles. At the same time, the citizens in the foreground remind you as a watcher that the painting is also about everyday life. It sketches the city itself as comprehensive and offering a higher dimension to its inhabitants. That of a place where you may belong, where you can live, love, meet and work.View on Delft is a holistic image in which Vermeer shows us the multiple layers of the ecosystem ‘city’: citizen, group, street, neighbourhood and city. In ecological terms, he shows organisms, groups, niches, habitats and systems at the same time. And that under the clouds of a much larger dimension, the sky, the world. A masterpiece.

An interesting analysis by Christopher Volpe: “Marcel Proust thought View of Delft by Vermeer the most beautiful picture in the world. It’s been called a perfect painting, and whether or not you agree, the artist’s picture of his hometown assuredly does repay close looking.” Read more

Deforestation fronts

Time to take action and reform the way we govern. Our present way of steering of Mother Nature and ourselves is ready for redesign and innovation. The WWF report Deforestation Fronts: drivers and responses in a changing world (13 january 2021) says it all.

The report is about the causes, pace and magnitude of deforestation and forest degradation. It provides a comprehensive analysis of deforestation connecting drivers and responses. Read report.

FORTEÂź Framework for Good Governance

Jack P. Kruf , Simon Grima, Murat Kizilkaya, Jonathan Spiteri, Wouter Slob, John O’Dea | European Research Studies Journal.

Purpose
In this article we lay out and discuss a framework proposed by the Public Risk Management Organisation (PRIMO) Europe and the results of a test on public and private entities of EU small jurisdictions, specifically Malta, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Cyprus. These are countries within the EU having less than 3 million people population.

Design/methodology/approach
We collected our primary data by using a semi-structured questionnaire and administering it to participants who are working directly or indirectly with entities within these EU states. The questionnaire was structured using the FORTE¼ acronym as themes, ‘Financial and compliant design’, ‘Object orientation and delivery’, ‘Responsibility and stewardship’, ‘Tools and processes for creation’ and ‘Environmental awareness and interaction’, with statements under each theme to which participants were required to answer using a 5-point Likert-scale ranging from “Strongly Disagree” to “Strongly Agree”. We, however, allowed the participants to open up and discuss each statement and recorded these comments.

Some demographic data was also collected as to the type of entity the participants are working with, the level of expertise on governance of the participant and the size of the entity. The quantitative data was subjected to statistical analysis while the results from the open ended question was analysed using the thematic approach.

Findings
Factor analysis provided support for the FORTE Good Governance model for both the Private and Public entities, no-matter if they are small or large. Originality/value: The study provides a better understanding and supports the FORTE Model established by PRIMO Europe, after approximately 15 years of collecting data on public risks and for the first time tests it on both Private and Public entities, in large and small firms in small EU Jurisdictions. Moreover, this model contributed to the vast literature on models of risk management within organisations, but was not validated empirically for reliability of the factors, and on small jurisdictions.

Therefore, the significance and importance of such a study lies firstly on the premise that testing on small countries, can be deemed as small laboratories for more complex politics, regulations and policies of larger countries.

Read article as published in European Research Studies Journal.