The analysis of the trends for industrial concentration, GDP growth per capita, and income inequality – based on data from IPUMS International, Maddison Project, Clio-Infra, and World Bank Open...Show moreThe analysis of the trends for industrial concentration, GDP growth per capita, and income inequality – based on data from IPUMS International, Maddison Project, Clio-Infra, and World Bank Open Data – in the context of the US, Canada and other selected countries from Europe, South America, and East Asia, has led to the following results: a) after a comparison between the Krugman Index values and the GINI coefficients for the historical series of US, UK, and Spain, I argue in the first place, that the 1970-2000 series for the group of East-Asian countries subject to the research is coherent with the presence of “displaced” Kuznets’ waves – where the latter is a theoretical tool (introduced by Milanovic) that revises the original Kuznets’ hypothesis by shifting the focus from the long-run to more limited period of times. Secondly, for the group of South American countries analysed, I confirm the results of Deinenger and Squire on the unidirectionality of the trends for economic growth and income inequality between the 1960s and the 2000s. Namely, that both trends are raising, instead of diverging at a certain point, as it would have been expected, according to the original Kuznets’ hypothesis. Nevertheless, the inversion of the income inequality levels for Brazil, and the extreme oscillatory nature of the trends for Argentina, seem to prospect a potential displacement of a Kuznets’s wave for the two countries in a subsequent period. Limitations in the available datasets for the years after 2000s hindered, though, a consistent verification of this hypothesis. b) I argue on the one hand, that, for the Western countries analysed, the series for industrial concentration and income inequality between 1860 and 1970 are fully compatible with a Kuznets’ wave. On the other, that the series after the 1970s are instead in contrast with Milanovic’s thesis of a second Kuznets’ wave starting during these years. Nevertheless, the value for industrial concentration that I found for the US in 2015 can have some relationship with the rising income inequality levels analysed by Milanovic. Further research should be 75 devoted to the analysis of this issue when the census datasets for the 2020s decade will be made available. c) I argue that a further theoretical insight, derived from my analysis, can be considered as a corollary of Krugman’s theory on industrial specialisation dynamics. Namely, that being equal the transportation costs and the level of technology/productivity, lighter economic shocks trigger increasing levels of industrial concentration, whereas highly disruptive shocks for the industrial tissue, such as wars and structural economic crises, produce instead decreasing levels of industrial concentration. Further research is necessary, though, in order to corroborate this theory.Show less
This thesis examines the experiences of those "Dutch Somalis" who moved onward to the UK and then returned to the Netherlands. The research is based on qualitative interviews with twelve Dutch...Show moreThis thesis examines the experiences of those "Dutch Somalis" who moved onward to the UK and then returned to the Netherlands. The research is based on qualitative interviews with twelve Dutch Somalis, seven of which made the journey to the UK and returned to the Netherlands. The interviews focused on the reasons why the "returnees" chose to return to the Netherlands. The participants cited safety reasons as the principal reason for return, alongside the belief in superior living standards in the Netherlands. The participants also expressed that in spite of returning to the Netherlands they did not feel entirely accepted there as a result of the assimilationist model of integration and racial discrimination. This paradoxical conclusion challenges some of the previous attempts to theorise return migration, which label return as emblematic of either success or failure.Show less
This study examines the relationship between the MHP (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi) and Turkish workers in the FRG in the years 1961-80. Instead of measuring „integration‟ in terms of cultural...Show moreThis study examines the relationship between the MHP (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi) and Turkish workers in the FRG in the years 1961-80. Instead of measuring „integration‟ in terms of cultural differences between migrants and the native population, this study uses a comparative approach to understand the political behaviour of Turkish migrants. A comparison is made between, firstly, the refugees and expellees who settled in the FRG after World War II and, secondly, internal migrants in Turkey. Although the migration period as well as settlement conditions for the refugees and expellees, and the Turkish workers were different, the similar situation of these groups in the West German labour market enables a comparison between them. The comparison between internal and external migrants of Turkey also enables the evolution of the MHP to be better understood. Moreover, this study uses Turkish workers‟ relationship with the MHP as a lens to understand their political behaviour. In addition, the paper investigates the changes in government policy in both Turkey and the FRG, and the impact of these policies on the Turkish population. This work uses as its primary sources issues from a Turkish diasporic journal published in 1979 by Turk Federation, an organization affiliated with the MHP, and government reports produced by the Turkish authorities from 1966-78.Show less
This thesis has looked at the case of approximately 450 Vietnamese refugees who came from Czechoslovakia to the Netherlands in the 1990s after the Velvet Revolution.
This thesis discusses the humorous interpretations of integration which figured in Dutch humorous television programmes between 1975 and 2010. It uncovers the importance and meanings ascribed to...Show moreThis thesis discusses the humorous interpretations of integration which figured in Dutch humorous television programmes between 1975 and 2010. It uncovers the importance and meanings ascribed to integration in Dutch society at large.Show less
This thesis exlores the interlinkage between cats and women in the domestic sphere. It goes into the more overall image and treatment of cats around 1900, but also more explicitly within the...Show moreThis thesis exlores the interlinkage between cats and women in the domestic sphere. It goes into the more overall image and treatment of cats around 1900, but also more explicitly within the domestic sphere and the ideal of domesticity. However, the final chapter demonstrates how cats could actually be utilized by women to escapte the narrow notion of domesticity. Animal agency and the animal experience are important factors as well.Show less
Why should the term 'foreign fighter' be applicable to women serving non-violently in transnational insurgencies both past and present? Using case studies of women migrating from western countries...Show moreWhy should the term 'foreign fighter' be applicable to women serving non-violently in transnational insurgencies both past and present? Using case studies of women migrating from western countries to serve in Spain during the Spanish Civil War as well as studying the more recent migration of western women to join ISIS in Iraq and Syria, this thesis explores how female volunteers fit into existing frameworks of the foreign fighter despite often being unrecognised as such.Show less
This thesis explores the introduction and application of industrial psychology at the Rowntree's Cocoa Works in Britain during the interwar years. It reflects on the ways in which industrial...Show moreThis thesis explores the introduction and application of industrial psychology at the Rowntree's Cocoa Works in Britain during the interwar years. It reflects on the ways in which industrial psychology integrated itself within labour management.Show less
The end of World War Two saw the influx of millions of German-speakers from Central and Eastern Europe into a physically and economically devastated Germany that had lost a quarter of its pre-1938...Show moreThe end of World War Two saw the influx of millions of German-speakers from Central and Eastern Europe into a physically and economically devastated Germany that had lost a quarter of its pre-1938 territory. Yet one region in Germany remained largely closed to the refugees and expellees: the French zone of military occupation. In 1945, the French occupying authorities refused entry to the refugees, and though they eventually took in some over the course of their occupation, it was an order of magnitude lower than those absorbed into the American, British and Soviet zones. This thesis investigates the reasons behind this initial French position of refusal and its evolution from the immediate end of hostilities in 1945 to the creation of the West German state in 1949. In doing so, it places the question of the refugees in the broader context of France’s overall war aims and its policy towards post-war Germany and Europe. The same security, economic and demographic concerns that drove France’s Germany policy also shaped its response to the refugee crisis; the issue of the refugees and expellees usefully illustrates the trajectory French policy took over the occupation period.Show less
In this thesis the representation of gender in nine zombie films in the period 1968-2013 is analysed, partially based on the sociohistorical contexts they are created in. The analysis is build on a...Show moreIn this thesis the representation of gender in nine zombie films in the period 1968-2013 is analysed, partially based on the sociohistorical contexts they are created in. The analysis is build on a content analysis as well as a qualitative analysis of the material. This thesis explores genre-specific tropes through a gendered lense. Overall it was found that the sexualisation of female characters has increased notably over time, but they have been portrayed to be tougher simultaneously. Contrary to previous research this thesis maintains that the discussed zombie films effectively criticise stereotypical notions of gender roles through their ironic treatment of masculinity and overall favourable treatment of their female characters, who have a greater chance to thrive and survive if they transgress such roles.Show less
This dissertation considers Scotland's response to the 2007 bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, in the context of memory and museum studies. It considers to what degree...Show moreThis dissertation considers Scotland's response to the 2007 bicentenary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, in the context of memory and museum studies. It considers to what degree Scotland's response was aligned to an agenda of social justice - and how Scotland is slowly 'waking up' to its slavery past during a time of revived Scottish nationalism.Show less
This thesis compares the Italian reception of boat migrants from Albania in the 1900’s and Libya in the 2000’s. The first aim of the thesis is to examine the migration streams from Albania to Italy...Show moreThis thesis compares the Italian reception of boat migrants from Albania in the 1900’s and Libya in the 2000’s. The first aim of the thesis is to examine the migration streams from Albania to Italy, focusing on the years 1991 and 1997, and from Libya to Italy in 2005/6 and 2008/10. The purpose is to understand how Italy reacted to the various cases and why the strategies implemented by the various governments at diverse moments of history were so different. The second, but definitely no less important objective of this thesis, is to test whether or not the gap hypothesis could be applied to Italy’s policies towards boat migrants. By doing so, this thesis could shed new light on whether there was a possible gap in the outcome of the policies implemented during the various years by Italy due to European influence. The hypothesis is that there could be a gap caused by the increasingly more powerful EU and European Court of Human Rights of Strasbourg in the field of migration policy implementation, a policy field historically strongly bonded with state sovereignty.Show less
This thesis tackles the position taken by the jewish Board of Deputies in South Africa vis-a-vis apartheid. Using the theoretical framework developed by Peter Medding this thesis seeks to position...Show moreThis thesis tackles the position taken by the jewish Board of Deputies in South Africa vis-a-vis apartheid. Using the theoretical framework developed by Peter Medding this thesis seeks to position,contextualise and understand the SAJBD actions.Show less
