Teenage pregnancy is a major issue in Ghana and could be reduced by increasing the use of contraceptives. Contraceptive uptake in Ghana has doubled since 1989, but is still relatively low (GSS,...Show moreTeenage pregnancy is a major issue in Ghana and could be reduced by increasing the use of contraceptives. Contraceptive uptake in Ghana has doubled since 1989, but is still relatively low (GSS, 2013). One of the reasons is the fear of side effects of which infertility brings the biggest fear (Krugu, 2016; Bratton, 2010). This study looked at those fears in the Bolgatanga municipality and analysed the origin of these fears, attitude towards Family Planning (FP) and intention to use contraceptives. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), Key Informant Interviews (KIIS) and a questionnaire for Senior Highschool students were used to get insight in the influence of education, the healthcare system and religion on the usage of contraceptives and beliefs related to FP. An abstinence-only method is still dominant in the educational system. Information provision is often scarce, incomplete or incorrect which leads to mixed messages which results in an increasing lack of trust in modern FP methods. The healthcare system has to deal with this distrust and also faces challenges concerning the supply and distribution of contraceptives. Religion, although not significantly associated with intention to use contraceptives, still plays an important role in decision-making in sex-related issues. Knowledge, attitude, fears and cultural or religious norms are all contributing factors to contraceptive uptake and should thereby all be incorporated in policies and programs to increase this uptake. A comprehensive approach is acquired, which includes the home, the school, the healthcare sector, the community and religious groups to discard existing beliefs which obstruct the use of contraceptives.Show less
Within the centers of Black internationalism epitomized by the I.T.U.C.N.W in Hamburg, Black seafarers came into contact with Pan-Africanism and Communism. It looks at how and why Pan-Africanism...Show moreWithin the centers of Black internationalism epitomized by the I.T.U.C.N.W in Hamburg, Black seafarers came into contact with Pan-Africanism and Communism. It looks at how and why Pan-Africanism was adopted by seafarers through the articulation and dissemination of literary production and the consequences that followed. These consequences are highlighted as a means to shed light upon the seafarer’s unique role in the Black internationalist network due to their mobility and their specific role in forms of organized Marxism that emerged.This study looks at the intellectual phenomenon of Pan-Africanism in the 1930s and how this body of ideas was incorporated by Black seafarers as they travelled between Freetown, Hamburg and Britain, with the intention of recovering their historical agency in the process.Show less
During the past couple of decades China has witnessed a gradual shift in which it increasingly prioritises the environment and climate change as important global issues whereby it subscribes itself...Show moreDuring the past couple of decades China has witnessed a gradual shift in which it increasingly prioritises the environment and climate change as important global issues whereby it subscribes itself a leading role.This thesis explored the motives behind China’s shift regarding these issues, on the basis of Chinese policy documents, and by doing so analysed what the implications are for its role in global governance. It argues that China pursues a more dominant position in global governance, as international reasons for China's policy shift are its main motivation, in contrast to less important national reasons. As China clearly uses the environment and climate change as powerful political tools for pursuing its own interest, its future national and international actions on these topics are very unreliable.Show less
This thesis explores the roots of Canadian multiculturalism and places itself in the camp of Mackay who cites a racialized hierarchy within the policy and subsequent ideology of multiculturalism....Show moreThis thesis explores the roots of Canadian multiculturalism and places itself in the camp of Mackay who cites a racialized hierarchy within the policy and subsequent ideology of multiculturalism. It will assess whether the government is projecting the multicultural myth and if so whether the public is regurgitating this myth in 2017.Show less
This thesis explores the journey that Shadow Moon makes in American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This journey takes the shape of a guest for individuation. In this journey he encounters characters and...Show moreThis thesis explores the journey that Shadow Moon makes in American Gods by Neil Gaiman. This journey takes the shape of a guest for individuation. In this journey he encounters characters and symbols that represent Jungian ideas and through these encounters Shadow becomes a better person.Show less
Research master thesis | Arts and Culture (research) (MA)
closed access
In the sixteenth century, Rome embarked its most sumptuous epoch, and with it, hosted splendid building projects initiated by the church and the papal court, which ranged from sacred spaces to...Show moreIn the sixteenth century, Rome embarked its most sumptuous epoch, and with it, hosted splendid building projects initiated by the church and the papal court, which ranged from sacred spaces to profane architecture. Display of property and wealth became the crucial factor for success among the curial members, who advertised their rank and prestige through such display. However, the papal court and its extensive exploitation of imperial Rome, its achievements and its foundation for the glory of Renaissance Rome and the Catholic Church soon encountered disapproval. The removal from the modest life of Christ and his Apostles but also from spiritual concerns, the increasing paganism and the profligacy, all became major threats for the Roman Curia by the beginning of the sixteenth century. Criticism came from various sides. Humanists turned against the common practices of the church. Protestant reformers raised their voices, but judgement also came from within the own ranks, the Catholic clerics. The critics attacked not only the church’s religious and spiritual programme, but, by that, its secular conduct and its outward. The papal court and its worldliness, grandeur and excessive expenditures were only some of the indicators that triggered criticism and prompted a re-assessment of the role of the pope and his court by the sixteenth century. However, the clergy’s commissions were flourishing, serving not only to embellish the cityscape of Rome and its surroundings, but enhancing the cardinals’ social status. It is striking that at around 1550–1570 (the peak of reformatory criticism) it appears that the most sumptuous and monumental properties of such kinds belonged to the clergy. And that to such an extent that not even the aristocratic Roman families had the means to compete with the high level of expenditure and patronage of cardinals from papal and noble families. It thus remains thus crucial to explore how the Catholic Church and thus the clergy justified wealth, excessive expenditure—for both ecclesiastical and secular purposes—especially by the eve of Reformation and how those (apparent) discrepancies between lush lifestyles and ecclesiastical renovation were perceived among the curia or how they were broadcasted and towards a larger audience.Show less
The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie was created to stimulate cooperation between its members, to whom the French language is important. However, it was established shortly after...Show moreThe Organisation internationale de la Francophonie was created to stimulate cooperation between its members, to whom the French language is important. However, it was established shortly after decolonization and many of its first members were former colonizers and former colonized countries. This raises the question to what extend the Francophonie really is a decolonized organization. To answer this question, three countries have been analysed more closely. These are France, Senegal and Vietnam. History shows that all three have a long colonial history. France as colonizer, Senegal and Vietnam as colonies. Vietnam gained independence earlier than Senegal, but with more bloodshed. All three countries have been members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie since its establishment. This organization has developed over the years, with membership expanding in all global directions and addressing themes in more domains than at its start. Analysis through close reading of the contributions made by the three countries at the general summits shows that relations of dependency still exist. When it comes to economic independence, it is clear that Senegal and Vietnam need the contributions that France makes to the organization. However, when it comes to political independence, the three countries appear to be equal to each other.Show less
This thesis deals with the meta theatrical devices Shakespeare uses throughout Hamlet, and the effects these devices have on the viewers of film adaptations of this play. The meta theatrical and...Show moreThis thesis deals with the meta theatrical devices Shakespeare uses throughout Hamlet, and the effects these devices have on the viewers of film adaptations of this play. The meta theatrical and meta cinematic distances the audience. The alienation of the audience allows them to reflect upon the events in a way that would not be possible without employing Brecht’s theory of alienation. THis thesis will examine the meta-theatrical elements in Hamlet, and show how these can be applied to alienate the audience.Show less
Omroep West heeft onlangs onder 3000 van hun nieuwsconsumenten een survey verspreid om de waardering voor hun nieuwsvoorzieningen te meten (Ruigrok & Gagestein, 2017). Nu wil de omroep graag...Show moreOmroep West heeft onlangs onder 3000 van hun nieuwsconsumenten een survey verspreid om de waardering voor hun nieuwsvoorzieningen te meten (Ruigrok & Gagestein, 2017). Nu wil de omroep graag weten of het toevoegen van een constructieve journalistieke werkwijze, of elementen daarvan, effect heeft in termen van toegenomen waardering en/of betrokkenheid. Constructieve journalistiek, zoals geformuleerd door Cathrine Gyldensted (2015) gaat over een nieuwe benadering van nieuws, op basis van positieve psychologie. Het zoeken van meerdere invalshoeken, mogelijkheden en perspectieven voor een verhaal staat centraal, net als een oplossings- en toekomstgerichte visie, waardoor het publiek de kans krijgt een positiever beeld van de wereld te vormen. Uiteindelijk geeft deze scriptie antwoord op de volgende onderzoeksvraag: Wat zien journalisten als de meest wenselijke manier om constructieve journalistiek toe te passen in de praktijk en waarom is dit volgens hen nodig? Om antwoord te kunnen geven op deze onderzoeksvraag zijn negen interviews afgenomen bij journalisten die ervaring hebben met constructieve journalistiek. De journalisten in kwestie zijn werkzaam bij De Correspondent, Brandpunt+, NOS, NOS op 3, Trouw en NRC. Met deelvragen en een topiclijst als leidraad werden de half gestructureerde interviews afgenomen, waarbij ook zogenaamde ‘best practice’-artikelen van journalisten gebruikt werden. De artikelen hielpen antwoord te geven op vragen over ervaringen met constructieve journalistiek in de praktijk. Met behulp van een literatuurstudie, waar gekeken is naar theorie over positieve psychologie (Seligman, 2011) reflexieve sociologie (Bourdieu, 1980) en nieuwswaarden (Galtung & Ruge, 1965; Harcup & O’Neill, 2017), zijn de antwoorden van de negen geïnterviewde journalisten gecodeerd en geanalyseerd. Uit de geanalyseerde interviews blijkt dat er veel onduidelijkheid heerst over wat constructieve journalistiek überhaupt inhoudt. Het is volgens de geïnterviewde journalisten in ieder geval géén positieve journalistiek. Men moet constructieve journalistiek überhaupt niet te zien als een op zichzelf staande discipline of methode. Het is een ‘aanvulling’ of ‘toevoeging’. Constructieve journalistiek is een ‘invalshoek’ vanuit waar de journalisten kunnen werken. De geïnterviewde journalisten geven aan dat die invalshoek verschillende vormen kan hebben om een nieuwsproduct constructief te maken. Ze bieden in hun producties graag handvatten, oplossingen, perspectief en hoop aan. Ze hopen zo het publiek een groter inzicht in situaties te geven en perspectief, als middel tegen heersende gevoelens van bijvoorbeeld machteloosheid. Volgens de geïnterviewde journalisten hebben journalisten die constructieve journalistiek bedrijven een aantal hoofdtaken, die veelal overeenkomen met vijf elementen die volgens Cathrine Gyldensted van belang zijn voor een constructieve journalist: een open blik hebben, kritisch blijven, het ‘totaalplaatje’ beschrijven, en handvatten bieden voor de toekomst. Bovendien moeten journalisten elkaar altijd vragen blijven stellen: is wat we doen in balans? Is er een oplossing? Bij het bedrijven van constructieve journalistiek mag een journalist een activistische rol aannemen zolang hij of zij maar transparant is over de methode van werken. Naast transparantie zijn ook de nieuwswaarden ‘completer beeld’, ‘meer inzicht’ en ‘meer impact’, ‘probleem-oplossingsstructuur’, ‘structurele ontwikkelingen’, ‘relevantie’ en ‘herkenbaarheid’ belangrijk voor het bepalen van de constructieve nieuwswaardigheid van een item. Als een nieuwsitem deze waarden niet van zichzelf bevat, kan de journalist ervoor kiezen die zelf toe te voegen door bijvoorbeeld extra (constructieve) vragen te stellen. Constructieve journalistiek is volgens de geïnterviewde journalisten bij uitstek geschikt voor regionale omroepen omdat zij zo publiek aan zichzelf en aan hun omgeving kunnen binden. Dat komt uiteindelijk kijk-, lees- en luistercijfers ten goede. De vraag is nu of het uiteindelijke belang van journalisten bij het gebruiken van constructieve journalistiek ligt bij positieve economische getallen of bij de positieve, maatschappelijke invloed die constructieve journalistiek kan hebben. De conclusie zou kunnen zijn dat een commerciële omroep vooral aan constructieve journalistiek doet voor de toenemende kijkcijfers, maar een medium horend bij de publieke omroep heeft zich aan maatschappelijke taken te houden en voert constructieve journalistiek binnen die maatschappelijke taken uit. Duidelijk is in ieder geval dat de constructieve journalistiek nog voorlichting behoeft om verdere (onterechte) vooroordelen en labels te voorkomen.Show less
The Earth Gods' Parade is an important religious event held in Lantern Festival in Lunar New Year in Shezih region, Taipei City. The event constitutes and reflects the region's unique cultural...Show moreThe Earth Gods' Parade is an important religious event held in Lantern Festival in Lunar New Year in Shezih region, Taipei City. The event constitutes and reflects the region's unique cultural identity. However, the upcoming urban development plan proposed by Taipei City Government under Wen-je Ko in 2015 is going to affect the region and the event's future. While the parade is ignored in the urban plan, some local residents and activists nominate the event as Taipei City intangible cultural heritage. This research attempts to analyze how a place’s Intangible Cultural Heritage constitutes and reflects the place’s cultural identity. The research also portrays different roles of the Earth Gods' Parade in the conflict of new urban development plan.Show less
Previous research on speech fluency and persuasiveness has generally focused on the effect that measures of speech fluency have on measures of perceived persuasiveness in native speech. In this...Show morePrevious research on speech fluency and persuasiveness has generally focused on the effect that measures of speech fluency have on measures of perceived persuasiveness in native speech. In this study an experiment was carried out to examine how the fluency measure of speech rate affects native and non-native speech in four different persuasive scenarios. Recordings of a native and non-native speaker were manipulated phonetically, resulting in fast and slow recordings for each scenario. Persuasiveness was measured on three dimensions, with one measure of belief change, and two measures of perceived persuasiveness: message perception and speaker perception. The results indicated that the persuasiveness of native and non-native speech is affected differently by speech fluency manipulations. A significant interaction was found for two of the three variables (belief change and speaker perception), indicating that the native speaker was more persuasive with a higher speech rate, whereas the persuasiveness of the non-native speaker was unaffected. For the message perception variable, there was no significant interaction effect, but there was a significant effect for fluency and nativeness, indicating the native speaker was more persuasive, and the fast speaker was more persuasiveShow less
Effective communication between physicians and patients in bad news conversation is essential, especially when it concerns decisions about treatment and quality of life issues. In this thesis, the...Show moreEffective communication between physicians and patients in bad news conversation is essential, especially when it concerns decisions about treatment and quality of life issues. In this thesis, the central theme is how the semantics and pragmatics of personal pronouns, in particular ‘I’, ‘you’ and ‘we’, contribute to the inclusiveness of exclusiveness of the patient in the treatment discussion and, therefore, influence the discussion of the oncological treatment process. By means of evaluating the pronouns used by the physicians in eleven bad news conversations, the strategic function of this word class is revealed. These pronouns could, specifically, be interpreted as ‘actual pronouns’, as ‘generic pronouns’ (‘enlarged inclusiveness’, ‘rhetorical’ and ‘specific’) or as ‘other’ (dysfluencies, fillers and ‘no code’). The concept of strategic maneuvering that is used here, serves to evaluate the argumentative moves the physician makes to effectively and dialectically present the ‘best’ treatment option, determined by the activity type of medical consultations. In this thesis, the focus lies on examining the ‘rhetorical we’ and ‘specific we’, and the pronouns ‘you’ and ‘I’ in the analysis. The findings suggest that physicians use implicit propositions to seemingly follow the principles of shared decision making, but in fact oftentimes do not.Show less
This thesis study aims to satisfy the need for a composite intersectional study examining the cross-border spread of the flight of Afghans and the attitude of the major donor-system of the...Show moreThis thesis study aims to satisfy the need for a composite intersectional study examining the cross-border spread of the flight of Afghans and the attitude of the major donor-system of the international community and its affiliated humanitarian organisations, such as the UN and the ICRC. The main hypothesis for which an exploration shall be sought is as follows. Strongly tied to the regional escalation of the Afghan refugee crisis, the international security dilemma has burdened an efficient approach to aid assistance of major humanitarian actors during and after the Cold War. An inquiry into the relevance of this expansive statement may result into a multi-layered explanation. Over a timespan of several decades, well before the turn of the century and many more recently, many Afghans have fled their homes to nations sometimes far and sometimes closer to home, into Iran and Pakistan which have functioned as host nations ever since the Soviet invasion of 1979. The latter host, Pakistan, has recently had severe difficulties with the high number of refugees flooding local border towns and into its second-to largest city Karachi. Host-fatigue appears to have caused police brutalities towards refugees who have settled in Karachi and Quetta, the latter being a popular destination among Pashtun refugees who have travelled across the Durand Line border for decades. The problematic attitudes of local government forces have sparked shock among the Pashtun refugee community, resulting in a group of tribal leaders organising a peaceful protest movement named the PTM. Such spurs of feelings of discontent with the status quo may very well result into less favourable protest movements, such has the past demonstrated. The plight of the Afghan cause ties into the extent of the security concerns of major international powers. Since the donors of the international aid system are often the ‘big players’ and member to the, however fictional, international community, the Afghan refugees are dependent of and victim to the mood swings of these actors.Show less
The aim of this thesis is to find out to what extend the influences of North Korea and China have been a cause for the 2015 Comfort Women Agreement between Japan and South Korea, and why.
Since 2011, Ethiopia has been building a dam on the Blue Nile river. The project, called the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam or GERD, has been of significant importance for the whole basin. Egypt...Show moreSince 2011, Ethiopia has been building a dam on the Blue Nile river. The project, called the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam or GERD, has been of significant importance for the whole basin. Egypt and Sudan, the downstream states, have been interested in the project for several reasons. Both Egypt and Sudan rely heavily on the Blue Nile for agriculture and supply of fresh water. Egypt in particular is concerned that their access to water will be limited through the construction of the dam. Egypt receives 97 percent of their fresh water supply via the Nile. Due to colonial era agreements on the use of the water supplied by the Blue Nile, Egypt had a hegemonic status over all the states along the stream of the river or the ‘riparian’ states for quite some time. However, in 2011, a perfect storm of events, with the Arab Spring and the subsequent fall of president Mubarak, and the independence of Southern Sudan, coincided with the commencement by the Ethiopian government to build the GERD.Show less
The War on Drugs emphasised the weak socioeconomic status of the African American population. The punitive laws and media rhetoric influenced all facets of their daily lives. In thesis, I focussed...Show moreThe War on Drugs emphasised the weak socioeconomic status of the African American population. The punitive laws and media rhetoric influenced all facets of their daily lives. In thesis, I focussed on the power and prestige and income and wealth factor of socioeconomic status. These variables helped position the relevance of the inequalities in American society. The historical and contemporary experiences have influenced the intergenerational disenfranchisement. The War on Drugs rhetoric of tough on crime affected the poverty, social exclusion, unemployment and stereotyping of the African American peoples.Show less
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis compares the texts of Vietnamese national history written in the colonial period by two competing reformist intellectuals Phan Bội Châu and Hoàng Cao Khải. Exposed to the currents of...Show moreThis thesis compares the texts of Vietnamese national history written in the colonial period by two competing reformist intellectuals Phan Bội Châu and Hoàng Cao Khải. Exposed to the currents of thought such as Social Darwinism and the theory of evolution in early twentieth century Asia, both of them realised the backwardness of Vietnam and stressed the necessity of reform. However, Phan decided to fight against the French while Hoàng chose to collaborate with them. As will be shown in this thesis, both Phan and Hoàng, despite the difference of their political stances, endeavoured to justify their respective propositions by constructing the historic past of Vietnam. As two reformist intellectuals, Phan Bội Châu and Hoàng Cao Khải regarded the introduction of Western civilisation in late nineteenth century Asia as a key moment for the Vietnamese people to get rid of their backward conditions and evolve into a civilised nation. However, they shared different opinions about the nature of this transition of Vietnam. Phan Bội Châu was inclined to view the French invasion as a “Messianic” moment which marked the “rupture” between the past and present in Vietnamese history. In his historiography, Vietnamese society in the past centuries was inherently barbarous, and this barbarousness led to the current backwardness of the country. Meanwhile, Phan Bội Châu, as an anti-French activist, emphasised that the salvation of the Vietnamese nation should never rely upon the assistance of France. He insisted that albeit France was a civilised state, it played an anti-progressive role in the process of Vietnam’s modernisation. Therefore, resisting against the French colonisation naturally became the most important step in the national salvation and rejuvenation. To justify his anti-French proposition, Phan constructed a genealogy of national heroes who, out of their inherent “anti-foreign nature”, participated in the resistance against China’s invasions in the previous millennia. Meanwhile, he included the present anti-French revolution into the glorious anti-foreign tradition of the Vietnamese nation. Hoàng Cao Khải systematically refuted Phan in Việt sử kính and Việt sử yếu. Based on the theory of the transition of models of civilisation, however, Hoàng Cao Khải argued that it was not the inherent barbarousness of the Vietnamese people but the decay of the model of civilisation that Vietnam followed in previous times that resulted in the inferior status of Vietnam in the current international competition. In Hoàng’s narrative, the history of Vietnam is depicted as a gradual and consistent process towards civilisation, in which China, because of its superiority in competition, functioned as the first model for Vietnam to follow and eventually made the later a domain of civilisation. Considering the power of France which had been demonstrated in its recent competitions with Vietnam, Hoàng suggested that France had already replaced China as the new model of civilisation for Vietnam to follow. In the face of Phan Bội Châu’s emphasis on the anti-foreignness of the Vietnamese nation, Hoàng employed the analytical framework of the dichotomy between “universal principle” and “brute force” to analyse those uprisings against the China’s colonisation and argued that most of them were merely contingent responses to inappropriate policies based on the “brute force”. Moreover, by utilising the ideas of Social Darwinism to reinterpret the connotation of “universal principle”, Hoàng justifies the behaviour which employed “brute force” in the process of disseminating so-called “universal principle” and civilisation. Apart from their interpretation of the past, this thesis examines their imagination of the future as well. Based on their discussions about the issue of Champa, it points out the shared “pro-imperial” orientation of Phan and Hoàng in their opinions on the international status of Vietnam after modernisation. That is, neither Phan (despite his anti-colonialist stance) nor Hoàngrealised the underlying nature of the phenomenon of colonialism itself let alone intending to challenge or subvert the current colonial order. The world they envisioned in which a decolonised Vietnam situated is still established upon asymmetrical relations of power.Show less
