Multivariate binary data with multiple binary response variables arise in many areas of research, including biology, psychology, medicine, dentistry, and other empirical sciences. In such data, the...Show moreMultivariate binary data with multiple binary response variables arise in many areas of research, including biology, psychology, medicine, dentistry, and other empirical sciences. In such data, the effect of a predictor on the response variable and the effect of a predictor on the association structure between the response variables is of interest. Multinomial Restricted Unfolding (MRU) is a probabilistic multidimensional unfolding model that can be used to analyse multicategory response variables in the presence of predictors. In this thesis, we investigated an extension of the MRU model to analyse multivariate binary data focusing on how diagnoses of depressive and anxiety disorders are influenced by personality traits and how the association between two disorders is affected by these personality traits. We compared the results using usual and squared Euclidean distances for the main effects and associations MRU models. We have demonstrated that MRU models using squared and usual Euclidean distances can be used to analyse multivariate binary data, representing well the changes in log odds and the changes in log odds ratio. Our results indicated that the MRU models using squared Euclidean distances are more straightforward and easier to be interpreted than those using usual Euclidean distance. However, despite the more complicated interpretation, the model using the usual Euclidean distance is more flexible, which might lead to a better model fit. Regarding the change in log odds of having GAD, the main effects model results indicated a constant change in slope between different pairs of categories that represent GAD. For the associations model, the parallel lines indicate that the change in the slope was constant within a pair of categories that represents GAD but not the same for different pairs of categories. When usual Euclidean distances were used, the change in slope was not constant for both main effects and associations models. Regarding the interpretation rules to express the change in the log odds ratio, the main effects model showed that the association structure does not dependent on the value of the predictor variable. However, for the associations model, the log odds ratio is dependent on the value of the predictor variable, in which a constant change in slope is shown. When using usual Euclidean distances to explore the association structure between two response variables, the change in slope was not constant for both models.Show less
Spatial cognition deficits can be caused by various factors including aging, neurodegenerative disease, stroke, or TBI, and have thus far received inadequate attention in the literature. This study...Show moreSpatial cognition deficits can be caused by various factors including aging, neurodegenerative disease, stroke, or TBI, and have thus far received inadequate attention in the literature. This study aims to further our understanding of spatial cognition in order to progress the field and assist in the assessment and diagnostics of associated deficits in affected populations. Research has outlined the practicality of VR in assessing cognitive complaints. VR can provide ecological validity to navigation assessments and can be used alongside neuropsychological tools to further understand cognitive deficits. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to investigate the relationships of presence and subjective navigation ability with objective navigation performance in VR, and to further examine the effect of gender on navigation performance. The van der Ham et al. (2020) online task battery was used to assess spatial navigation ability by requiring participants to complete five tasks testing landmark, location and path knowledge. The experiment was conducted online on a computer or phone screen. Sense of presence in the virtual environment and subjective navigation ability were measured using the IPQ (Schubert, Friedmann, and Regenbrecht, 2001) and the WQ (Claessen et al., 2016). A test-retest design was employed to investigate the gender differences in performance over time. The results of this study indicate that presence is not a significant predictor of navigation performance in the VR task. However, subjective navigation ability did predict objective navigation performance. Additionally, gender differences were found in performance over time, with males consistently performing better than females. These findings suggest a need to further investigate the different navigation mechanisms used by males and females, and the effect that stereotypical beliefs have on performance. In conclusion, this study determined that assessment of navigation abilities is not affected by experienced presence, and thus can be made accessible in an online format. The findings for gender differences and the relationship between subjective navigation ability and objective navigation performance also have the potential to contribute evidence-based improvements in assessments, diagnostics and rehabilitation interventions. Further research is required to investigate the effect of different levels of immersion on sense of presence and performance as this could affect VR assessment of navigation.Show less
The multiverse analysis can be used as a way of assessing the influence of different analysis choices that could reasonably be made by researchers, instead of only presenting the result of one...Show moreThe multiverse analysis can be used as a way of assessing the influence of different analysis choices that could reasonably be made by researchers, instead of only presenting the result of one research ‘path’ as is often done in studies. While the multiverse analysis increases transparency about the results, it is still unclear how researchers can best summarize the results of this analysis more formally. Moreover, as far as we are aware, no previous studies have examined how the multiverse analysis performs under different research conditions. In this study, we simulated data under different research conditions. In addition, we built a generic multiverse analysis that was used to analyze this data. Two methods were used to summarize the results of this analysis, namely the mean p-value and the harmonic mean p-value (HMP). The results of this study showed that the mean p-value may be the preferred summarization method, as it provides a more conservative estimate of the different paths in the multiverse and has less false-positive results than the HMP in a situation where data was simulated under the null hypothesis. In addition, our study shows that the summarization methods of our multiverse analysis are robust against variations regarding the number of variables that are part of the analysis, the amount of missing data in a dataset and changes in the correlation between variables. However, the summarization methods in our multiverse were not robust against underpowered data. Only if the different research paths in our multiverse analysis had adequate power, the HMP was generally able to find a significant result in at least 90% of cases. However, future research is needed to see if these results can be replicated, since the definition of a generic multiverse analysis may differ depending on the research field.Show less
This thesis explores the role of the OEEC in the management of Western European overseas colonies. Through a qualitative historical research drawing mainly on the archival collection of the OEEC,...Show moreThis thesis explores the role of the OEEC in the management of Western European overseas colonies. Through a qualitative historical research drawing mainly on the archival collection of the OEEC, it argues that beyond its primary objectives of administering Marshall Aid, the OEEC became a platform in which Western European powers organized their relations with their overseas territories. Beyond economic concerns, these territories were considered as a political question, and the OEEC developed into a venue in which the interests of Europe were safeguarded, at the crossroads between integration and decolonization.Show less
Trust in the European Union is a complex issue with many factors affecting it. Some of the factors that could also be influencing each other. This research focusses on how the relation between...Show moreTrust in the European Union is a complex issue with many factors affecting it. Some of the factors that could also be influencing each other. This research focusses on how the relation between Eastern orthodoxy and trust in the European Parliament is influenced by nationalism. The question central to this thesis is: To what degree does nationalism affect the relation between Eastern orthodox religiousness and an individual's level of trust in the European Union in Bulgaria and Cyprus? The objective of the research is to find how strong the relation is between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust in an environment where the potential link between Eastern orthodoxy and nationalism is at its strongest. Excising literature suggested that in majority Orthodox countries, there seems to be a strong tie between nationalism, a variable with a historic negative relation to European support, and Eastern orthodoxy, a variable that has a historic positive relation with European support. Therefore the expectation is that when excluding nationalism from the analysis, the relation between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust would be more negative compared to the analysis with nationalism included. However, through a multiple regression analysis using the data from the European Social Survey, this hypothesis finds no supporting evidence for the supposed relation between Eastern orthodoxy and European trust. The inclusion of nationalism into the regression does not make a significant change to this result. Instead, nationalism seems to be a strong predictor for European trust without heavily affecting the effect of Eastern orthodoxy. This leads to the conclusion that to understand Euroscepticism, factors like country of residence and emotional attachment to a country make for stronger predictors of Euroscepticism compared to religion.Show less
This Masters’ thesis aims to answer the question of how China employs the pursuit of equitably distributed economic growth within the Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster (or shorter: Cheng-Yu cluster)...Show moreThis Masters’ thesis aims to answer the question of how China employs the pursuit of equitably distributed economic growth within the Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster (or shorter: Cheng-Yu cluster) in promoting the cluster in East Asian international production networks (IPNs). A proper and efficient division of labor across multiple locations – when well managed and guided by the government – factors significantly in the success of the city cluster, which is part of IPNs. This thesis intends to contribute to earlier research on the cluster by looking at the geographic differences in terms of development within the cluster. I conclude that the Chinese government envisions the promotion of the Cheng-Yu cluster in East Asian IPNs through the pursuit of equitably distributed economic growth by way of assigning roles to specifically defined cities, but the allocation of roles is very broad and a more well-defined distribution of roles may benefit the equitability of growth distribution and the effective incorporation in IPNs.Show less
Building on social perception literature which highlights the importance of morality in human impression formation, this study examines the relationship between brand personality and consumer...Show moreBuilding on social perception literature which highlights the importance of morality in human impression formation, this study examines the relationship between brand personality and consumer purchase intention. More specifically, the study objective is to investigate the effect of brand morality and brand competence on consumer purchase intention and to discover whether these effects are moderated by product involvement. It was hypothesised that brand morality is a stronger predictor of consumer purchase intention than brand competence. Secondly, it was predicted that for low-involving products, the effect of brand morality on consumer purchase intention is stronger than the effect of brand competence, whereas for high-involving products, the opposite was expected. An experiment (N = 216) was conducted to test these predictions. The results show that brand morality is a stronger predictor of consumer purchase intention than brand competence, irrespective of product involvement. The findings highlight the importance of morality in brand perception, indicating that companies of both low- and high-involving products should emphasise their brand’s moral characteristics to increase consumer purchase intention.Show less
De journalistiek ligt de laatste tijd steeds meer onder vuur. Van buitenaf klinken geluiden dat journalisten nepnieuws verspreiden of zich voor het karretje laten spannen als een propagandamachine....Show moreDe journalistiek ligt de laatste tijd steeds meer onder vuur. Van buitenaf klinken geluiden dat journalisten nepnieuws verspreiden of zich voor het karretje laten spannen als een propagandamachine. Hierdoor neemt de druk op de journalistiek steeds meer toe, waardoor deze zich ook moet verdedigen tegen de kritiek van buitenaf. Het doel van dit onderzoek is om te achterhalen hoe Nederlandse journalisten omgaan met kritiek en haatdragende taal van buitenaf. Om hierachter te komen staat de volgende onderzoeksvraag centraal: Op wat voor manier(en) verweren Nederlandse journalisten van nieuwsmedia zich tegen kritische opmerkingen en hate speech van buitenaf? Om deze vraag te beantwoorden zijn elf journalisten van tien verschillende Nederlandse nieuwsmedia een-op-een geïnterviewd. Alle elf de journalisten zijn gevraagd naar hun visies en ervaringen op zes onderdelen: de journalistieke professie, maatschappelijke taken van de journalist, de relatie tot het publiek, de kritiek en soorten kritiek, het omgaan met de kritiek en ten slotte de effecten van de kritiek. Uit de antwoorden zijn verschillende manieren van omgaan met kritiek naar voren gekomen, waarbij meerdere journalisten aangeven dat zij de kritiek makkelijk van zich laten afglijden. Bovendien zijn meerdere journalisten bereid om te reageren op kritiek, al stopt die welwillendheid vaak wanneer er scheldwoorden aan te pas komen.Show less
By addressing the theory associated with studying nationalism from below, and approaching the case study of the German occupation of the Netherlands during WWII, this thesis expands the...Show moreBy addressing the theory associated with studying nationalism from below, and approaching the case study of the German occupation of the Netherlands during WWII, this thesis expands the methodological toolbox with which to approach the evidence problem associated with historical research on nationalism from below. By taking the Stimmungsberichte (mood reports) written by the Wehrmacht, as ledgers of everyday actions performed by the silent majority of the Dutch population, this thesis assesses the fluctuation of nationalistic sentiment in terms of the commonly used repertoires of contention. This leads to a more dynamic perception of nationalism in the Netherlands during this unique time in the history of the nation-state.Show less
Motivation within the educational system has been a subject with a wide range of attention for many years. Still, there are no clear guidelines teachers can use to contribute to the intrinsic...Show moreMotivation within the educational system has been a subject with a wide range of attention for many years. Still, there are no clear guidelines teachers can use to contribute to the intrinsic motivation of their students. The goal of this literature review was to provide concrete guidelines that teachers can use to contribute to the intrinsic motivation of their primary school students. This was done firstly by identifying concrete actions that teachers can use to contribute to the intrinsic motivation of their students, according to the selfdetermination theory. Secondly literature research focused on how big the effect sizes matching with these concrete actions were. A systematic search yielded five studies that were eligible. However there were studies included in the study that had a different student population than primary school students, which were highschool- and university students. The results indicated that there were no huge differences in the outcomes of the studies with different student populations. Results of the concrete actions teachers can use to contribute to their students' intrinsic motivation can be categorised by the basic needs of the selfdetermination theory. When it comes to autonomy, this research indicates that teachers should give their students valuable choices during their learning process. The bond or relationship can be improved by showing affection, respect and by being understanding. The research also indicates that teachers should try to match teaching with the personal interest of the students. When it comes to competence, research indicates that teachers should offer activities to their students that match their current competence. Communication, expectations and positive feedback are also key, when it comes to competence, according to the literature research.Show less
With the adoption of the European Union Global Strategy in 2016 the EU renewed its quest for attaining strategic autonomy. However, the EU document did not specify what would constitute European...Show moreWith the adoption of the European Union Global Strategy in 2016 the EU renewed its quest for attaining strategic autonomy. However, the EU document did not specify what would constitute European strategic autonomy (ESA), so, as is the case with the EU’s external policies, the national perspectives of Member States are its obvious basis. Historically, the Netherlands has been an obstructionist when it came to European security and defence integration due to its Atlanticist position, begging the question: how is European strategic autonomy represented in Dutch politics? To understand the Dutch perspective and positioning regarding ESA, this thesis drew from the field of Critical Geopolitics, conducting an interpretive-explanatory research employing discourse analysis by analysing statements made by party representatives in the Tweede Kamer during the period of 2016-2021. Three distinct schools of thought underpinning the representations of ESA in the Dutch debate. The Sovereigntists are Eurosceptics who present ESA as an attempt to establish a European army and a threat to national sovereignty. The Europeanists actively champion ESA and envision it as an emancipatory project to make the EU able to act independently of the US because it is an increasingly unreliable ally. The Atlanticists present ESA as an opportunity to take responsibility within NATO and improve burden-sharing with the US. This thesis found that the Dutch debate regarding European security policy has substantially Europeanised. While the Atlanticists are still cautious, they no longer take an active obstructionist position, instead adopting Europeanist talking-points from the 90s. Considering this Europeanist momentum, there is potential for the Netherlands to become an active and serious promotor of ambitious European security commitments.Show less
This thesis looks at the role of Japan during the negotiations of a large-scale free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)....Show moreThis thesis looks at the role of Japan during the negotiations of a large-scale free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Previously, academic discourse such as the pivotal state theory by Solís and Katada has focused on role of Japan during mega-FTAs. However, most of this research has been focused on Japan during CPTPP negotiations. This thesis looks at Japan’s role within RCEP, as it is the first mega-FTA with China. How does Japan’s influence compare to China during RCEP negotiations? By way of methodological triangulation, this thesis will measure the influence of Japan. While there are limitations, Japan was able to influence some regulations, especially regarding tariff reduction, intellectual property and e-commerce. That being said, while Japan hoped to include India within RCEP, India withdrew in the last stage of negotiations. This is because that Japan’s position within negotiations was hampered among others by its interventionist agricultural lobby. As Japan’s influence within RCEP was limited, it remains an unlikely pivotal state while China’s influence grows. With its analysis, this thesis will contribute to a broader academic discourse on the pivotal state theory, as well as the developments of mega-FTA negotiations in general.Show less
