The Millennium Development Goals were a global endeavour to achieve pro-poor human development between 2000 and 2015. Although adopted by 189 heads of state, few governments of developing countries...Show moreThe Millennium Development Goals were a global endeavour to achieve pro-poor human development between 2000 and 2015. Although adopted by 189 heads of state, few governments of developing countries took ownership of the Goals by adjusting their national policies to UNDP guidelines for accomplishment. This research finds a correlation between ownership and MDG achievement by studying the policies and progress of Burkina Faso, Uganda and Kenya. The findings are used to argue for strategic cooperation between the UNDP, World Bank and IMF for successful pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals.Show less
Disney has been releasing Disney Princess films since 1937. They started out with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and just now, a thirteenth film has been added to the list: Moana. A distinct...Show moreDisney has been releasing Disney Princess films since 1937. They started out with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and just now, a thirteenth film has been added to the list: Moana. A distinct change in character is noticeable when looking at the princesses. The princesses from the first generation (1937-1959) have passive characters, they are submissive, enjoy domestic chores and play no active role in their own tales. They simply wait to be swept off their feet by a prince. In fact, they represented what people considered to be the perfect woman in those days. However, nowadays, that is not what we consider the perfect woman to be. The second generation princesses (1989-1998) introduced a change. They were rebellious, took agency and instead of falling for any man, they wanted the right one. However, these films still focus on finding love, as if that is all that a woman's life should be about. The most recent princesses (from 2010 onwards) are increasingly more independent and active. They do not rely on men to save them, take matters into their own hands and determine their own fate. They are progressive princesses and continue to increasingly become more proactive and independent. These new princesses provide the twenty-first-century audience with role models they can actually learn from. Disney is not there yet, but they are slowly but surely letting go of the Disney formula.Show less
Experimental diffusion-weighted MRI measurements of a fiber phantom were compared to signals generated using a Monte-Carlo diffusion simulation. The diffusion simulation was combined with a...Show moreExperimental diffusion-weighted MRI measurements of a fiber phantom were compared to signals generated using a Monte-Carlo diffusion simulation. The diffusion simulation was combined with a generally applicable MRI simulation. We performed simulations for square packed and random packed cylinders that model the fibers. Good agreement was found between the simulated signal and the measured signal for a specific random packing type (the relative error was 0.09+-0.06). Follow-up simulations that use larger system sizes are needed to improve the accuracy. The simulation method presented here can be used to study changes in microstructural properties and to compare the efficiency of different MRI protocols in detecting these changes.Show less
This thesis seeks to explore the divergent paths taken by two Victorian sculptors, Henry Richard Hope-Pinker (1850-1927) and Edward Onslow Ford (1852-1901), in a chronological examination of key...Show moreThis thesis seeks to explore the divergent paths taken by two Victorian sculptors, Henry Richard Hope-Pinker (1850-1927) and Edward Onslow Ford (1852-1901), in a chronological examination of key works. Through an archive of unpublished letters, speeches, photographs and contemporary articles, I aim to reveal the challenges faced by these emerging sculptors in late 19th century England and examine how the want of finances, patronage and artistic networking forged their careers. While no book has yet been authored on either artist, the canon of art history tends to praise one as the exemplar of New Sculpture and dismiss the other. By comparing their careers, largely through contemporary published and unpublished sources, I seek to establish an economic model for their works.Show less
This study aims to describe and analyse the Europeanisation of defence policy in smaller member states. By using comparative analysis it will assess the impact of their EU membership on the...Show moreThis study aims to describe and analyse the Europeanisation of defence policy in smaller member states. By using comparative analysis it will assess the impact of their EU membership on the national policies and institutions of three countries: the Netherlands, Belgium and SwedenShow less
The thesis presents an inquiry on the relationship between author Maria Dermoût and publishing house Querido. It delves into the way publisher Alice von Eugen took care of her responsibilities,...Show moreThe thesis presents an inquiry on the relationship between author Maria Dermoût and publishing house Querido. It delves into the way publisher Alice von Eugen took care of her responsibilities, both in the Netherlands and abroad, how decisions regarding design were taken, and whether the relationship between Dermoût and Von Eugen differed much from the relationships Dermoût had with others in the publishing world. Furthermore, a bibliography of all Maria Dermoût's works is added.Show less
My primary aim in this investigation is to trace the history of the invention of the Marxist historian’s persona in the Communist Party Historians’ Group, and thereby reveal its specific...Show moreMy primary aim in this investigation is to trace the history of the invention of the Marxist historian’s persona in the Communist Party Historians’ Group, and thereby reveal its specific configuration. This is to be an exercise in the recently emerging research program of what I have termed the empirical philosophy of history, as developed by Herman Paul. I supplemented this framework with certain Bourdieusian insights, adopting analytic tools — concepts like forms of capital and fields — that were specifically constructed to reveal more clearly the social elements and forces at play in the development of the dispositions or embodied commitments to goods that constitute personae. After elaborating my methodological framework, I move to outlining the basic elements that went into the making of the Marxist historian’s persona; the primary commitments to epistemic, moral and political goods that were embodied by the Historians’ Group’s founders — Dona Torr, A. L. Morton, Maurice Dobb and Christopher Hill — who played a primary role in its making. These consisted of the epistemic commitments to obtaining a dialectical and historical view or understanding of history, the moral commitment to the emancipation of the proletariat and the political commitment to Communism of the Soviet variety as espoused by the Communist Party of Great Britain. The obtaining of these commitments required the exercising of the appropriate virtues like employing the dialectical and historical materialist methods, engaging in class analysis and maintaining loyalty to the Communist Party. These virtues in turn implied an opposition to vices that consisted of their lack in other historians’ scholarly personae, pejoratively referred to as ‘bourgeois’. However, there was also a struggle internally regarding the proper interpretation of these commitments and virtues, one that played out both within the Historians’ Group itself and the wider Party. The contours of this struggle and the practices of contestation it involved —abounding in virtue and vice language — is clarified through the prism of dispositional variations that existed among the Group’s members, which I distinguish as the academic and non-academic. However, these are not presented as discreetly definable entities, but rather as consisting of a common network of commonalities (as in a family resemblance concept), thereby allowing for consideration of the variations that existed among members of each, while also allowing for the role of contingency that had a major effect on the making of the Marxist historian’s persona.Show less
The study takes as point of departure recent political statements of the Israeli prime minister B. Netanyahu about the status of the Occupied Syrian Golan, which are aimed at changing the legal...Show moreThe study takes as point of departure recent political statements of the Israeli prime minister B. Netanyahu about the status of the Occupied Syrian Golan, which are aimed at changing the legal status of this area, as these are uttered in the context of the war in Syria. The thesis examines the weight of these statements through a legal, political and an historical analysis, and how the international community reacted to it. The thesis critically explores the possibilities of international law to respond to this situation.Show less
This master’s thesis presents an edition of part of a handwritten recipe book dating from the first half of the eighteenth century. It was written by the semi aristocratic and VOC-director Aarnout...Show moreThis master’s thesis presents an edition of part of a handwritten recipe book dating from the first half of the eighteenth century. It was written by the semi aristocratic and VOC-director Aarnout van Citters from Zeeland, The Netherlands. Recepten voor de Keuken/Recepten voor Menschen (Recipes for the Kitchen/Recipes for Humans), preserved in the Manuscript Department of Amsterdam University Library (shelf-mark VIII E 14), is a book with different content on each side. It features culinary recipes on one side, and, when the book is turned around, medical recipes on the other side. In this edition, all culinary recipes and a small selection of the medical recipes have been transcribed. The aim of this edition is to present this fascinating historical document about the art of cooking to the modern day reader and to offer a historical context to help the reader interpret the recipes.Show less
Electoral competition has been an essential part of acquiring the American presidency since Jackson’s election of 1828. Competition made strategic considerations to ensure the maximization of...Show moreElectoral competition has been an essential part of acquiring the American presidency since Jackson’s election of 1828. Competition made strategic considerations to ensure the maximization of electoral support increasingly relevant. One phenomenon that traditionally dominated strategic thinking during American elections is ‘Outsiderism’: during campaigns candidates deliberately assume an outsider position in the electoral arena, not on the basis of genuine motivations, but for the categorical purpose of vote-maximization. Despite the fact that Outsiderism has constantly been deployed over the course of history, it has yet to receive scholarly attention. This thesis, therefore, offers an analysis of Outsiderism in the realm of American presidential campaigns. It investigates Outsiderism’s roots in the subsequent campaigns of Jackson and Van Buren through an analysis of their respective campaign biographies. Furthermore, it links Outsiderism to the framework of Rational Choice Theory, which elucidates the rather manipulative motives that induce Outsiderism. Thus, this thesis seeks to clarify to what extent Jackson and Van Buren conformed to Outsiderism during their campaign. Why did they as would-be presidents see the need to present themselves (to a certain extent) as outsiders to American politics? The results suggest that both Jackson and Van Buren as presidential candidates employed Outsiderism, although Jackson to a lesser extent than Van Buren, because they deemed it as advantageous for garnering the required support to get elected. As a result, they have paved the way for a campaign strategy that has remained dominant until today.Show less
In 2011, the new Obama administration made the official decision to rebalance America’s foreign policy. This policy has come to be known as the pivot or rebalance and signaled that the center of...Show moreIn 2011, the new Obama administration made the official decision to rebalance America’s foreign policy. This policy has come to be known as the pivot or rebalance and signaled that the center of the political and economic history of the 21st century is moving eastwards, with a re-newed focus towards the Asia-Pacific. With this shift Washington not only wants to benefit from the global geopolitical dynamics and economic growth, but it is also a result of China’s rising economic and military power. The South China Sea (SCS) is a place which is on the way to becoming the most contested body of water in the world with ongoing territorial disputes.Show less
Cuba: a closed-off communistic island with a rich Caribbean culture, is slowly breaking down its walls to welcome foreign investors in a haven of opportunities and limited competition. However,...Show moreCuba: a closed-off communistic island with a rich Caribbean culture, is slowly breaking down its walls to welcome foreign investors in a haven of opportunities and limited competition. However, Cuba is still fighting its way out of a difficult position formed by a fascinating history, filled with political unrest and economic sanctions placed by the United States (U.S.). The current state of their cooperation has gradually been changing in the past couple of years, and a drastic overhaul of the political state is approaching. This changing political and economic environment marks the necessity of change that is eagerly awaited by Cubans who for many years have been deprived of the possibilities that capitalism could offer.Show less