Op welke manier konden vroegmoderne overheden in de achttiende eeuw na een politiek conflict vrede onder hun burgers stichten? Geïnspireerd door de methodes en inzichten uit de vredesstudies van de...Show moreOp welke manier konden vroegmoderne overheden in de achttiende eeuw na een politiek conflict vrede onder hun burgers stichten? Geïnspireerd door de methodes en inzichten uit de vredesstudies van de sociale en politieke wetenschappen en de oproerstudies over 1672 is in deze scriptie onderzoek gedaan naar de leef- en denkwereld van zeven dagboekschrijvers gedurende de crisis van 1747-1748. Hoe keken deze burgers uit de brede middenklasse aan tegen dit politieke conflict en welke moeilijkheden of obstakels zagen zij voor de overheid om de orde te handhaven en vrede in de samenleving te stichten?Show less
At a time in which the dominant culture’s pressure on immigrants to Americanize increased, Mary Antin (1881-1949) and Abraham Cahan (1860-1951) wrote literary works that bore witness to the...Show moreAt a time in which the dominant culture’s pressure on immigrants to Americanize increased, Mary Antin (1881-1949) and Abraham Cahan (1860-1951) wrote literary works that bore witness to the complexity and personal costs of assimilation. The Eastern European Jewish immigrants in Antin’s (fictionalized) autobiography The Promised Land (1912) and Cahan’s novella Yekl; A Tale of the New York Ghetto (1896) and his novel The Rise of David Levinsky (1917) offer insights into the impact of America’s assimilationist ideology on identity construction, showing how both ethnic and national identities are imagined, constructed, and performed. The protagonists explore the social injustices Jewish immigrants suffered in the United States and the complex nature of Americanization by sometimes bluntly criticizing the pressure to conform, but elsewhere demonstrating that they have assimilated to a certain degree. The protagonists find themselves in a bind: on the one hand they need to give in to the pressure to assimilate in order to attain the American dream, while on the other hand they often feel tied to their Jewish cultural heritage.Show less
Of all the conflicts which erupted throughout the twentieth century the Second Sino-Japanese War ranks amongst the most controversial, as it is to this day the source of much debate and deeply...Show moreOf all the conflicts which erupted throughout the twentieth century the Second Sino-Japanese War ranks amongst the most controversial, as it is to this day the source of much debate and deeply affects the dynamics of power in East Asia. After the end of World War II, Japan was forced to abandon its imperialist ambitions as well as many parts of the imperial cult as a sign of scission between Imperial Japan and the post-war modern nation that was to rise from its ashes. Although coming to terms with its troubled past was an essential step for Japan's reconstruction as a modern state and the normalization of its relations with other East Asian nations, in recent years an increasingly nationalist revisionist trend has emerged. This thesis is concerned with examining this Japanese war-memory problem, which is an issue which has grown exponentially in importance in recent years.Show less
On the 18th of September 2014 the United Nations Security Council met in its first emergency meeting on a public health crisis. The reason for this meeting was to discuss and find an appropriate...Show moreOn the 18th of September 2014 the United Nations Security Council met in its first emergency meeting on a public health crisis. The reason for this meeting was to discuss and find an appropriate response to the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The response came in the form of resolution 2177 and 69/1, which mandated the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response. A mandated health crisis mission is unprecedented in international politics and can be seen as a watershed moment. This thesis analyzed the legitimization process of the UN response within the larger discourse of global health security. A critical approach was taken in the form of poststructuralism, as it tries to identify and explain how certain issues have been problematized and how the discourse has emerged historically to frame an understanding of problems and solutions.Show less
In The Secret Garden the religious aspects of the text are subtle, and not to be understood as being rigorously either Christian or pagan. This thesis explores the idea that Burnett’s The Secret...Show moreIn The Secret Garden the religious aspects of the text are subtle, and not to be understood as being rigorously either Christian or pagan. This thesis explores the idea that Burnett’s The Secret Garden presents ‘nature’ as a Christian presence, but in fact the text suggests that a syncretism between the pagan and the Christian aspects heals the two children, Mary and Colin, physically and emotionally. In order to argue this syncretism, it is important to understand the cultural context regarding symbolism, paganism and Christianity.Show less
“In a region beset with chronic and widespread problems, ranging from poor governance, war, violent extremism, and resource scarcity, one threat stands above the rest in terms of potential for...Show more“In a region beset with chronic and widespread problems, ranging from poor governance, war, violent extremism, and resource scarcity, one threat stands above the rest in terms of potential for destruction and cost in opportunity: the use of sectarianism as a geopolitical weapon. Sectarianism encourages extremist rhetoric and violence and serves to distract a populations from economic and social concerns by providing a convenient enemy on which to focus.” This quote by the Soufan group, a strategic security consulting group, displays an opinion that is shared by mainstream media across the globe. The Middle East has apparently fallen into a state of religious extremism where violent sectarianism is every day’s business. Current day Syria seems to be the focal point of all this sectarian violence. This paper tries to analyse what exactly that sectarian violence entails in the SYrian Civil War, and whether we should indeed look at it as a sectarian conflict, or rather a conflict with sectarian aspects.Show less
Dutch newspaper nrc.next reported on April 13th 2015 that large Japanese companies are trying to get their employees to work shorter hours. These employees, often referred to as ‘salaryman’, are...Show moreDutch newspaper nrc.next reported on April 13th 2015 that large Japanese companies are trying to get their employees to work shorter hours. These employees, often referred to as ‘salaryman’, are constantly fatigued. Long hours at work, after work drinking, and long commutes with little sleep in between workdays causes them to make more mistakes and portray diminished productivity. It will not lead to firing by the company due to the understood loyalty between employer and employee that has existed for decades. These salarymen can neither assist with housework nor with the care for children because of the grueling work hours. This issue had never been perceived as a serious problem, as their wives accepted the late night drinking sessions in return for a stable lifestyle for decades. Now that women have extended their independence through gainful employment, starting and supporting a family has become increasingly harder for both sexes. Despite these changes salarymen are still expected to make the same hours, sometimes driving them to karoshi – “death by overtime.” The ‘salaryman’ is viewed as the ideal representation of the typical Japanese man by people both inside and outside Japan. This current image of the ‘salaryman’ is a far cry from the ‘salaryman’ image that arose in the 1980s with which the ‘salaryman’ is most often associated. The ‘salaryman’ was an ideal that not only Japanese men pursued and Japanese women wanted as their partners: he was seen in the West as the leading example for a loyal employee who complied willingly to and worked harmoniously in his company, ensuring a job until retirement as part of a tacit social contract. Dubbed as a ‘corporate warrior’, the ‘salaryman’’s diligent work ensured him a slow but steady rise through the ranks on the basis of age, and whose dark blue suit and leather briefcase are standard issue. All this was necessary to provide for his housewife and children, who went to the top schools and universities to follow in their father’s footsteps. The worn out employee and ‘corporate warrior’ are both strong images on opposite sides of the ideal employee-spectrum. Yet both images are signified by the same term: the ‘salaryman’. The thesis will focus on the development of the ‘salaryman’ image from the 1980s until now, and the different functions of this image. This period is of special interest because Japanese business management and businessmen were viewed as examples for Western business in the 1980s and 1990s. Japan owed its leading role to its consistent economic growth from the mid-1950s onward, being the number two economy in the world, only outperformed by the United States in terms of GDP per capita. When the US’ economic performance dipped in the 1980s, Japan’s economy remained relatively stable. This prompted both researchers and journalists to find an explanation for Japan’s economic performance, which they found in Japan’s business sector and its salarymen. This thesis argues that the term ‘salaryman’ is outdated in reference to new white-collar recruits in large Japanese companies. The decline in regular employment, the changing focus of seniority-based wages to merit-based wages and the waning of company union participation all indicate significant changes in ‘salaryman’ realities since the 1990's. As the ‘salaryman’ benefits have changed, so too have new recruits’ views on and expectations of their company and their jobs. To reflect these changes, a new term that better suits new recruits is suggested.Show less
In dit onderzoek staat de totstandkoming van het Nederlandse ontwikkelingsbeleid ten aanzien van het voorkomen en beperken van arbeidsmigratie centraal. Het ministerie voor...Show moreIn dit onderzoek staat de totstandkoming van het Nederlandse ontwikkelingsbeleid ten aanzien van het voorkomen en beperken van arbeidsmigratie centraal. Het ministerie voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking financiert hiervoor het project Reintegration of Emigrant Manpower and the Promotion of Local Opportunities for Development (REMPLOD) van 1974 tot 1976. Met REMPLOD worden de mogelijkheden ondrzocht om terugkeermigratie te koppelen aan ontwikkelingssamenwerking in Turkije, Marokko en Tunesië. Ten eerste wordt onderzocht of de remigratie van gastarbeiders kan worden ingezet om de sociaaleconomische ontwikkeling van de regio te versterken. Gastarbeiders kunnen ondernemingen in het land van herkomst starten met hun spaargelden en beroepservaring uit Europa. Ten tweede wordt er onderzocht of emigratie kan worden voorkomen door werkgelegenheid te creëren. Het REMPLOD-project maakt in meerdere opzichte zijn verwachtingen niet waar. Er komen geen toepasbare beleidsvoorstellen voor het ministerie, de onderzoekers zijn teleurgesteld over navolging van het project en bovenal worden de gastarbeiders de dupe van het beleid. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat er in het gevoerde beleid sprake is van zwart-wit denken, de focus ligt op korte termijnbeleid en dat er gedacht wordt in eenvoudige oplossingen. Het gebrek aan lange termijn beleid gaat helaas vooral ten koste van de migranten zelf.Show less
There is no easy solution to the volatile political situation on the Korean peninsula, but scholars and politicians have been working on a project that could perhaps set the foundation for a better...Show moreThere is no easy solution to the volatile political situation on the Korean peninsula, but scholars and politicians have been working on a project that could perhaps set the foundation for a better understanding between the DPRK and the ROK: the preservation of the Korean DMZ. While the plan to turn the DMZ into a reserve holds political, ecological and economic potential, the manner in which both countries have tried to put it into action has backfired. A lack of communication, understanding and tact has taken a lauded opportunity for positive change and turned it into a matter of conflict. If anything is to be gained in the DMZ, and if further damage to political relations is to be prevented, it is crucial to re-examine and reconsider the strategies of the DPRK, the ROK, and UNESCO in regards to the preservation of the DMZ.Show less
This thesis discusses the influencing factors on the foreign policy decision-making process of Obama on Afghanistan. Obama wanted to fight terrorism through the war in Afghanistan, instead of the...Show moreThis thesis discusses the influencing factors on the foreign policy decision-making process of Obama on Afghanistan. Obama wanted to fight terrorism through the war in Afghanistan, instead of the war in Iraq that George W. Bush started. However, many factors contributed to the outcome of the New Strategy wherein Obama compromised on his war by promising to withdraw troops from Afghanistan from 2011 onwards.Show less
In this thesis, I have looked at the influence of the internet on academic publishing and, as a consequence, academic culture and practice. I have tried to present a plausible narrative on how...Show moreIn this thesis, I have looked at the influence of the internet on academic publishing and, as a consequence, academic culture and practice. I have tried to present a plausible narrative on how academic work on a daily basis has changed and what consequences there are for the role of books. The efficient digital distribution of journal articles through the digital library have made the article relevant in two new ways: (1) it is now the single most important means of scholarly output, at the cost of books; and (2) it is almost always accessed digitally, often not through the journal title, but directly through a full bibliographical reference search request or as one of the results of a search query on topic, key word or other sort of search entry. The instant availability of almost all peer-reviewed journal articles ever published is a great contribution to the world of science, for obvious reasons. It comes with certain costs to it as well, however. Finding and accessing articles with such ease makes the book a relatively more difficult-to-access item. Especially for a new generation of students, the book seems less relevant. They are presented with articles more than books, and come from a background in which books are less prominent. For scholars, an article is easier to write than a book, but it counts as more when their citation indices are put together. A vicious circle comes into being. As an academic’s publication record becomes more important in order to keep his job, he will choose to write more articles. University libraries focus on presenting the articles efficiently in a digital manner and make the library into a computer workspace instead of a place for searching and reading books. The digital availability of articles leads to less diversity in sources and the older the titles the less they are cited. Publishing companies are faced with lower demand for books and are struggling to make ends meet financially. Every step of this circle in itself doesn’t lead to a catastrophe, but it is the feedback loop that strengthens itself and the aggregate outcome that causes us to be worried about the future of books in academia.Show less
This thesis tries to give the reader an insight into the female side of the story through analyzing pieces written in the women's script: How did the women in Jiangyong experience the society they...Show moreThis thesis tries to give the reader an insight into the female side of the story through analyzing pieces written in the women's script: How did the women in Jiangyong experience the society they lived in? What dilemmas did they face and how did they feel about these dilemmas? And finally, with what intent did they express their feelings into their writings?Show less
This thesis focuses on theoretical accounts of code-switching with regard to Papiamento-Dutch bilinguals. It examines two contrasting theories, the Matrix Language Framework model (Myers-Scotton,...Show moreThis thesis focuses on theoretical accounts of code-switching with regard to Papiamento-Dutch bilinguals. It examines two contrasting theories, the Matrix Language Framework model (Myers-Scotton, 2002) and the Minimalist Program (Cantone and MacSwan, 2009), and compares them by examining which accounts for what happens at conflict sites in occurrences of Papiamento-Dutch code-switching, looking specifically at switching in noun-adjective word-order conflict sites. An event-related potential study was carried out at Leiden University with Papiamento-Dutch bilinguals. Its aim was to provide an objective measure of the neurocognitive processes underlying code-switching in bilinguals (Parafita Couto, Pablos, Boutonnet, de Jong, Perquin, de Haan and Schiller, under review). The two theories were tested using code-switched sentences which comprised six conditions: two control sentences that were not code-switched, two code-switched conditions where the predictions of the theories differed, and two code-switched conditions where the predictions of the theories matched. It was predicted that the results would support the Myers-Scotton MLF model, as that was the case with a similar project carried out with Welsh-English bilinguals ((Parafita Couto, Boutonnet, Hoshino, Davies, Deuchar and Thierry, 2013). The results of the Papiamento-Dutch experiment showed a slight trend in support of the Minimalist Program. These results differed from those of the project regarding Welsh-English bilinguals which found significant results in support of the Matrix Language Framework model (Parafita Couto, Boutonnet, Hoshino, Davies, Deuchar and Thierry, 2013). The disparity between the conclusions in these two experiments could be due to the difference in the types of bilinguals which participated. Further research will benefit from considering the sociolinguistic features of the bilingual group which participated in the Papiamento-Dutch study discussed in this thesis.Show less
The aim of this paper was to find out how Adidas and Nike behave on Twitter regarding both product advertising, communication with their community, and retention of customers through events,...Show moreThe aim of this paper was to find out how Adidas and Nike behave on Twitter regarding both product advertising, communication with their community, and retention of customers through events, celebrity interaction and motivational content. Primary focus is on the language contained in tweets published in January 2015 gathered from 12 company Twitter accounts. These Twitter accounts were chosen based on their monthly activity and include the main brand Twitter. We processed the dat into an all-encompassing database of our own design. The database is split up in three sections: tweet information, tweet content category and language features allowing for an easy overview. It contains information on what the type of the tweet is, what the content is classified as, who is included in the tweet, what is linked in the tweet , what its hashtags are as well as the language features that it contains. From this we analysed eight different content and language features: hashtags, Twitter account types, tweet categories, formality, genre, emphasis, phrasing and patterns. This lead to insights in the advertising strategies that these companies employ as well as their attitude towards their followers (their customers). We came across the following results: strenuous collaboration with celebrities to advertise products, use of descriptive language for product advertising, short, quote-like positive messages for inspirational messages, and personal responses for certain (community-based) twitter accounts. There is much use of a similar formula when constructing messages across all of the accounts affiliated to the same company. They furthermore reinforce themselves through the repetitive use of hashtags and phrases, meant to make tweets easily recognizable. Both companies show adaptation to new media: using Twitter as a base with customers choosing to follow them and then redirecting them to their website, using links to YouTube, and including pictures or videos directly in the tweets. We expect that further investigation (with a larger database, either due to increasing the included accounts or increasing the time of documentation) will give an even greater overview of the strategies employed by Adidas and Nike. There is potential for further expansion to include various other new media sites. An analysis of YouTube clips, focusing on word choice may also prove very insightful.Show less
