Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "Rotational vibration absorber with optimized nonlinear restoring characteristic" "Mia Loccufier" "Department of Electromechanical, Systems and Metal Engineering" "The objective is to develop a prototype of a rotational vibration absorber with a nonlinear restoring characteristic to reduce multi-frequency torsional vibrations in rotating machinery. The nonlinear restoring characteristic is the promising novel part that enables the absorber to mitigate multi-frequency vibrations. The feasibility of a design chain from mathematical concept to prototype for a rotational vibration absorber will be proven. Recently finished PhD-research (EA08, Kevin Dekemele 13/04/2021, guided by Mia Loccufier, TRL2) resulted in the optimization of the needed nonlinear restoring characteristic and a numerical efficient performance prediction methodology which is leveraged.  To obtain a rotational absorber which embodies the nonlinear restoring characteristic, an absorber with a dual ring wheel will be topologically optimized. A prototype will be manufactured and tested on an available industrial relevant test bench.  The prototype serves as a demonstrator to convince potential industrial investors for valorization initiation (TRL4).  " "Finding Characteristic Pattern Sets through Compression." "Bart Goethals" "ADReM Data Lab (ADReM)" "Most pattern discovery algorithms easily generate very large numbers of patterns, making results impossible to understand and hard to use. In this project, we propose to develop and study general techniques to using compression as a means for finding compact, characteristic sets of patterns. Such pattern sets should contain only high quality patterns that are of direct interest to the user and her application." "Characteristic glycosylation patterns displayed on porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and PRRSV-infected cells and their role in interactions with sialic acid-binding immune system lectins" "Hans Nauwynck" "Department of Translational Physiology, Infectiology and Public Health" "Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is an important pathogen of swine. This research project aims to analyze the nature of the virus-linked glycans and the influence of PRRSV infection on cellular glycosylation. Furthermore, the interaction of these glycans with sialic acid-binding immune system lectins will be analyzed, as these are often crucial in regulation of immune responses." "Reading picture books to stimulate young children’s mathematical development: the contribution of task and teacher competence characteristics" "Joke Torbeyns" "Instructional Psychology and Technology" "The present PhD project focuses on the stimulation of young children’s (i.e., 3-6-year-olds) mathematical development via picture books. Special attention is paid to the characteristics (content-related characteristics, structural characteristics) of picture books that enhance young children’s mathematical reflections and interactions. The PhD project will involve a series of empirical studies that can be conducted in experimental as well as ecologically valid research settings. These studies will involve the systematic analysis of the characteristics and use of picture books in association with young children’s mathematical development. We also plan to evaluate the effectiveness of a powerful teaching/learning environment for enhancing young children’s mathematical competencies using picture books." "What works for whom? A study of the differential effectiveness of instructional characteristics." "Koen Aesaert" "Educational Effectiveness and Evaluation" "Recent studies show that the average reading performance of Flemish elementary school students is declining and that the group of low-achieving students is increasing. In addition, the average learning gain for reading of Flemish elementary school students is small. The contribution of generic instructional characteristics to students' reading performance has been extensively reported. Using a differential effectiveness approach, this research project aim is to add to the existing knowledge base by investigating to what extent generic instructional characteristics contribute to differences in learning performance and learning gains for reading for low- and high-risk students. Amongst other things, low-risk and high-risk groups are based on students’ reading achievement and background characteristics such as home language). Following the dynamic model of educational effectiveness, it will be investigated how characteristics such as time management, goal and task orientation, structure, questioning, modelling and interaction can improve the instructional quality of reading strategies for these groups of students and finally, students’ learning gain for reading comprehension. On the one hand, observations and studies with a longitudinal design will be used to determine how these characteristics relate to the development of students’ reading skills. On the other hand, the focus will be on the implementation and evaluation of the effectiveness of a professional development program that focuses on these instructional characteristics within the context of reading education." "Developing ICT competences in primary education: exploring the added value of behavioral teacher and school characteristics" "Johan van Braak" "Department of Data-analysis, Department of Educational Studies" "Educational systems increasingly expect schools and teachers to take responsibility regarding the development of their pupils' ICT competences. As such, the identification of teacher and school characteristics that support or hamper the learning of pupils' ICT competences becomes an important question in the research on ICT integration. A first research objective (RO1) of this project is to empirically test and validate the multidimensional structure of a performance-based ICT competence scale. We elaborate on previous research by developing an ICT competence scale that is not based on self-reported measurement and does not assume an ICT competence to be a unidimensional construct. A second research objective focuses on the development and validation of refined measures of behavioral teacher and school characteristics that might be related to primary school pupils’ICT competences (RO2). Further, we investigate the relationship between pupils’ICT competence scores and behavioral teacher and school characteristics (RO3). We expand on previous studies by investigating behavioral teacher and school chracteristics next to the traditionally used background and structural teacher and school characteristics. Finally, we study how behavioral teacher and school characteristics relate to achievement gains in pupils’ICT competences (RO4). This will be one of the first studies that addresses the added value of teachers and schools for the development of pupils' ICT competences." "Board Insider Trading: an Investigation of Individual Director Characteristics, Board Social Connections and Consequences for Board Performance" "Liesbeth Bruynseels" "Accounting Research Group (main work address Leuven)" "In the finance literature, a vast body of research shows that that insiders trade on their private information and doing so, earn abnormal returns (Ke et al. 2003; Jagolinzer, 2009; Ravina and Sapienza, 2010, Huddart et al. 2007). However, we know very little about the personal characteristics of directors engaging in insider trading. Although insider trading decisions are individually taken by insiders, prior research has predominantly focused on firm-level characteristics in explaining insider trading gains. In this project, I investigate whether directors’ individual characteristics have an influence on their insider trading performance and how social connections between independent directors and management can benefit insider trading performance for both parties. Furthermore, I also assess the relationship between director insider trading returns and board performance and as such provide valuable insights into the determinants as well as the consequences of board insider trading. The findings in this research project will be of use to investors and regulators, allowing investors to more consciously decide on the type of directors that represent them on the board and to make sure that they act in their best interest. Regulators, on the other hand, will be better able to assess the impact of new corporate governance legislation on insider trading behavior. Furthermore, the results from this research will also allow for improved targeting of enforcement actions." "Parental Differential Treatment: Child and family characteristics associated with child outcome" "Karla Van Leeuwen" "Public Health Psychiatry, Parenting and Special Education" "Research on Parental Differential Treatment (PDT) focuses on siblings differential experiences within the family and the associations with siblings socio-emotional characteristics. Some of these parenting differences are related to disparity in childrens developmental or temperamental characteristics, but within-family parenting differences can also lead to child perceptions of parental favoritism. Research does notclearly distinguish parenting differences from favoritism, although this is essential in understanding the link between PDT and child outcomes.                The aim of my PhD was to distinguish common within-family differences in parenting from perceptions of parental favoritism and to asses which aspects of PDT are linked to lower parent-child and sibling relationship quality. My focus was on child perceptions in middle and late childhood. Social comparison processes and family interactions play an important role in this developmental period, makingPDT more salient to children. After a comprehensive conceptual review, four empirical studies were conducted. First, a qualitative study (Study 1) targeted domains and fairness of PDT in non-singleton children. This resulted in the development of a questionnaire targeting childrens comparisons of parenting practices towards them and their sibling and their accompanying fairness-evaluations. Next, three quantitative studies targeted the correlates of the several domains of parenting differences (positive parenting and support, strictness and control, responsibility)and favoritism. Questionnaire data were gathered in 467 families raising (minimum) two pre-adolescent siblings. A specific asset of this samplewas its variation in mixed- and same-gender sibling pairs, and the inclusion of fathers. This was motivated by the finding that some forms of PDT are related to gender-constellation, e.g. parents tend to spend more time with the sibling of their own gender in mixed-gender sibling pairs.Study 2 targeted parent ratings of parenting differences and favoritism and the associations with parent-child and sibling relationship quality. Study 3 assessed (a) direct and (b) indirect perceptions of (c)within-family parenting differences and (d) favoritism in children, andrelated this to sibling differences in emotional and conduct problems. Study 4 addressed the predictors of childrens fairness-perceptions, an important predictor of perceptions of favoritism. We conducted hierarchical multiple regression analyses, separately for earlier-borns and later-borns and regarding mothers and fathers, and mixed-model analyses, withsibling and parent as repeated factors.                  Several important findings arose from these data. Favoritism was a less frequent phenomenon than within-family differences in parenting, regardless of measurement method. Feeling favored was related to perceiving more support and less strictness relative to the sibling, and toreceiving less indirect negative behavioral and psychological control. Parenting differences were associated with child problem behavior, whereas favoritism was more closely related to parent-child relationship quality. The sibling with most conduct problems received more control and strictness. The relations between favoritism and child outcomes showed non-linear properties. Equal treatment and being slightly favored were related to better parent-child relationship quality; higher levels of favoritism went together with a decline in relationship quality. Fairness was predicted by child characteristics, parenting, and congruence between mothers and fathers treatment. These findings provide guidelines for family practice to diminish childrens perceptions of parental favoritism." "Impact of morphological characteristics on ecotoxicological sensitivity of aquatic macroinvertebrates" "The proposed research aims to gain more insight in the relation between morphological body characteristics of animals and their tolerance to chemical compounds. For this study, advanced model development and image analysis tools will be used. The specific research goals is to describe these relations in a quantitative manner, with a focus on metal-sensitivity of aquatic macro-invertebrates based on external and internal morphological body characteristics." "MOV-ED+: A positive, qualitative approach towards movement in the outpatient care pathway in individuals with eating disorder characteristics" "Zoya Barbier" "Substance use and Psychosocial Risk Behaviours" "Physical activity has many health benefits, including lower risk of cardiovascular disease, improved cognition and a positive impact on mental health. Yet there is also evidence that exercise can become obsessive, compulsive or even addictive, leading to the experience of negative psychosocial and psychological symptoms. This movement is described as ""compulsive movement,"" ""compulsive movement,"" ""urge to move,"" ""excersise addiction (EA) or exercise addiction (Trott et al., 2020) or ""problematic use of physical activity (PPA)"" (Rizk et al., 2020). In individuals with eating disorders, EA occurs in 30.7 - 80% (Trott et al., 2020). The guidelines around exercise in eating disorders are mainly grafted on the absence principle and consequently strongly related to changes in weight. It is generally assumed that the more exercise the more energy (calories) are consumed making exercise in people with eating disorders the factor considered a limiting factor in treatment. Research shows that this method causes an increased risk of relapse, less favorable recovery, more severe psychopathy and a chronic course of the eating disorder. (SEES, 2020). However, the literature shows that exercise can be positive in recovery from an eating disorder. For example, a therapeutic form of cardio, massage, basic body awareness therapy and yoga would positively influence general fitness.We also see reduced depressive symptoms when ""exercise therapy"" is combined with another therapy (such as CBT) (Minano-Garrido et al.,2022). MOV-ED+ focuses on the question ""In what way can a positive movement model be sustainably integrated within outpatient care in individuals with eating disorder characteristics in the different phases (acute and chronic)?""Together with caregivers, experts and existing good practices, a practice-based framework will be developed around a positive weight-neutral approach related to movement, in order to support these stakeholders in contact with persons with characteristics of an eating disorder."