Bachelor thesis | Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges (LUC) (BA/BSc)
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School segregation potentially harms social cohesion and increases inequality of educational attainment. In much of the literature, school segregation is considered to be a direct reflection of...Show moreSchool segregation potentially harms social cohesion and increases inequality of educational attainment. In much of the literature, school segregation is considered to be a direct reflection of residential segregation. However, in the unique context of Dutch cities, scholars also look at the effects of school-choice mechanisms and discriminatory admission policies on school composition. This capstone project will examine how changes in residential patterns affect the composition of pupils in schools in Rotterdam, the second-largest city in the Netherlands. It will assess quantitatively the degree to which neighborhood composition predicts primary school composition, both in terms of ethnic background and parental educational attainment. Furthermore, it will measure changes in residential and school segregation in the period from 2010 until 2020. This contributes to the little knowledge we have about urban segregation trends during this timeframe in the Netherlands. Only focusing on the city Rotterdam allows for a more in-depth and local analysis of these trends. It finds that while residential composition does have a strong significant effect on school composition, the strength of this relationship has decreased over time, suggesting that parental school-choice mechanisms or discriminatory admission policies have gained importance. Furthermore, while residential segregation generally and ethnic school segregation specifically have gone down, segregation in terms of parental educational attainment has gone up. This could be a result of the increase in the average educational level in Rotterdam, but this cannot be confirmed.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges (LUC) (BA/BSc)
closed access
On 16 November 2012, the United States passed the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, followed by the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act in 2016. This act allows...Show moreOn 16 November 2012, the United States passed the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, followed by the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act in 2016. This act allows the US to employ targeted sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for human rights abuses and corruption. The European Union created a similar regime, the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime, in 2020, which also targets individuals and entities responsible for human rights abuses but does not target those accused of corruption. While targeted sanctions avoid collateral damage to entire countries, they often lack safeguards for the listed individuals. This study is a comparative, doctrinal analysis that looks at the effectiveness of the due process mechanisms in the US Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime. Both of the sanction regimes have several due process mechanisms in place which protect the rights of individuals yet in some areas, such as specific delisting criteria, they are lacking. In general, the EU regime has more effective due process mechanisms than the US act, though even the EU regime is still not perfect.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges (LUC) (BA/BSc)
closed access
In recent decades there have been many decentralisations of governance tasks to subnational governments, sparking much debate among academics and policymakers. However, consensus on the effect of...Show moreIn recent decades there have been many decentralisations of governance tasks to subnational governments, sparking much debate among academics and policymakers. However, consensus on the effect of decentralisation on public service delivery is lacking, likely due insufficient empirical analysis in developed countries and lack of attention to micro-level and institutional factors. Moreover, most research focusses primarily on productivity and efficiency outcomes, neglecting quality concerns. This study fills this knowledge gap by assessing factors determining abilities of local governments to successfully implement decentralisation policies. The case studied is that of decentralisation of social care to Dutch municipalities under the Social Support Act of 2015. Effects of local physical, human, and fiscal capital will be examined through regression analyses of all 355 Dutch municipalities over the period 2017-2019. In doing so, it addresses a lacking understanding of determinants of local government capacity in the Netherlands. Findings indicate Dutch municipalities are constrained in service delivery by available physical capital. Tax bases provide insufficient financial resources and municipalities significantly rely on block grants to cover costs of service delivery. Moreover, expenditures of municipalities increase after decentralisation without resulting in increased quality of care. Implications of this study include need for micro-level data on local human capital levels and objective measures of quality of local public services. However, it is also concluded that data-driven policy analysis should be done carefully due to difficulty assessing determinants of local government capacity and interdependence between factors.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges (LUC) (BA/BSc)
closed access
In recent years, a debate has emerged around the potential of plastic pollution to direct attention away from other, arguably more urgent environmental issues, such as climate change. Little...Show moreIn recent years, a debate has emerged around the potential of plastic pollution to direct attention away from other, arguably more urgent environmental issues, such as climate change. Little research has examined pro-environmental behavior (PEB) spillover from engaging in action against plastic pollution (plastic PEB) to supporting climate change policy. In this study, 81 undergraduate students at a university in the Netherlands completed a plastic cleanup activity as part of a sustainability-focused course. Subsequently, these students, as well as 80 students in a control condition, completed an online survey assessing frequency of engagement in plastic PEB, climate change concern, environmental self-identity, and support for a campus climate change fund. Results showed no spillover from plastic PEB to climate change policy support. However, this study also investigated the potential mediating effect of climate change concern, which revealed that frequency of engagement in plastic PEB had a significant positive effect on climate change concern, but climate change concern had no effect on climate change policy support. These findings suggest that encouraging individuals to engage in plastic PEB can increase awareness and concern about climate change, yet there is a disconnect between climate change concern and climate change policy support. The results of this study have implications for those interested in PEB spillover between different environmental issues, specifically using widespread initiatives, such as plastic cleanup activities and recycling, to increase awareness and policy support for other sustainability efforts.Show less
Bachelor thesis | Liberal Arts and Sciences: Global Challenges (LUC) (BA/BSc)
closed access
Background: Over half of the population of the Netherlands has a chronic health condition. A large proportion of the care of people with chronic conditions is done by themselves and requires...Show moreBackground: Over half of the population of the Netherlands has a chronic health condition. A large proportion of the care of people with chronic conditions is done by themselves and requires continuous adaptation to the context of that moment. The “Intelligent lockdown” in the Netherlands has changed this context throughout its various phases. Objectives: There is little knowledge on what self-care looks like in the lives of people with chronic health conditions and how a crisis situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic influences self-care routines. The objective was to examine how the COVID-19 lockdown has affected the self-care behaviour and routines of people living with a chronic condition. Methods: Qualitative researched methods were used to gather the stories and experiences of participants with chronic health conditions. A seven-day, daily activity logbook was used to list the self-care behaviours of the day. This was then used to contrast and compare self-care activities to before the COVID-19 lockdown and during the various phases of the lockdown. The results of the logbooks were then used to conduct interviews with the participants, with the aim of verifying and clarifying the logbook entries. Results: The sample was made up of 10 participants with an age range of 20-67, seven of whom identified as female and three as male. People with physical as well as mental chronic health conditions were included. The limiting of space due to the lockdown caused clashes and overlaps of spaces with different functions. This led to the disruption of self-care routines concerning movement, socialisation, and food. The theme of responsibility towards and dependency on family and friends also emerged. The COVID-19 measures took away many of the healthy coping mechanisms those with mental health conditions relied on. Opportunities for exercise were limited by the closing of sporting facilities and the weather, with home-workout being complicated by lack of structure and social motivation. The participants indicated that they believed their experience with continuous adaptation had helped them adapt to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: This study showed that self-care behaviours and routines are interconnected. Most self-care behaviours were aimed at maintaining mental health, though those with mental health conditions experienced an extra challenge because their usual coping mechanisms were disrupted. Pandemic response policies must be examined for differential impacts on multiple groups, and ways to mitigate potential negative impacts.Show less
