Over the course of the last century, the Japanese population has left their humble hometowns and moved to large population centres. Now Japan experiences one of the worst population declines in the...Show moreOver the course of the last century, the Japanese population has left their humble hometowns and moved to large population centres. Now Japan experiences one of the worst population declines in the modern era and especially the countryside is shrinking at a rapid rate. This has prompted the government to implement measures to slow down the depopulation of the countryside and boost local economies. One of these measures is the furusato nozei tax system, which distributes a part of people’s inhabitant taxes towards other municipalities than the one they live in so that people may donate a share of their taxes to their hometown or any other municipality. This system may be tied to a general feeling of nostalgia that the Japanese people have towards their hometown or other places that generally evoke a sense of nostalgia as people have become desensitized with their current lives that sharply contrast with the calm and peaceful image of the Japanese countryside. Within the furusato nozei system, municipalities advertise themselves as the ‘ideal hometown’ by catering to peoples’ emotions towards those towns that people feel a certain connection with, but how do these emotions of nostalgia emerge in practice within the program? Do municipalities utilise nostalgia as a tool to draw in donations, and in what ways do they do this? Furusato on itself means something like ‘hometown’ or ‘native place’, but does this materialise in the self-marketing schemes of certain municipalities? By looking at two municipalities’ homepages and other websites, this paper determines that symbols of nostalgia are indeed drawn upon in the self-marketing schemes to gain more revenue in the program in the form of images, phrases, etc. These symbols evoke warm and nostalgic feelings and in a way reflect the state of the towns. Moreover, one may identify two ‘types’ of furusato on these homepages: either ‘emotional longing to one’s hometown’ or ‘nostalgia towards an older version of Japan in general’, which materialise to various degrees depending on the image that the towns want to impose on itself and the audience that they are trying to reach.Show less
Dit onderzoek richt zich op uitdagingen en ondersteuningsbehoeften op het gebied van psychosociaal functioneren en zelfredzaamheid van jonge vrouwen vanaf achttien jaar die ongepland zwanger zijn...Show moreDit onderzoek richt zich op uitdagingen en ondersteuningsbehoeften op het gebied van psychosociaal functioneren en zelfredzaamheid van jonge vrouwen vanaf achttien jaar die ongepland zwanger zijn geraakt en een eigen woonplek hebben. De studie is uitgevoerd middels semi-gestructureerde interviews en is kwalitatief van aard. Er is voor een kwalitatieve benadering gekozen omdat op deze manier diepere kennis vergaard kan worden. Daarnaast is gekozen voor een selecte steekproef, waarbij alleen de cliënten van Siriz zijn geworven op vrijwillige basis. De uiteindelijke steekproef bestond uit twee personen. De data zijn geanalyseerd door middel van een inhoudsanalyse om te kunnen achterhalen wat de uitdagingen en behoeften van de ongeplande zwangere vrouwen zijn. Tevens is een literatuuronderzoek uitgevoerd. Uit de literatuur blijkt dat ongeplande zwangerschappen gepaard kunnen gaan met fysieke problemen en een negatievere kijk op hun zwangerschap en bevalling dan vrouwen met een geplande zwangerschap (Karaçam et al., 2011). Echter was er beperkte beschikbare literatuur. De gevonden informatie sluit hierdoor niet volledig aan op de onderzoeksvraag. Het empirisch onderzoek toonde aan dat de deelnemers vooral uitdagingen ervaren op het gebied van gebrekkig contact met eigen opvoeders, financiën, sociale vaardigheden en beide deelnemers hebben geen relatie meer met de biologische vader van hun kinderen. Daarnaast blijkt uit het onderzoek dat de behoeften verschilden per individu. De deelnemers gaven aan behoefte te hebben aan meer duidelijkheid en ondersteuning na de bevalling, aan meer lichaamsbeweging en om te stoppen met roken. Tevens gaven ze aan behoefte te hebben aan opvang of een oppas voor hun kind om werk of studie te kunnen combineren met de verzorging van het kind. Tot slot was er behoefte aan oude leefgewoonten. Om de vrouwen binnen Siriz optimaal te kunnen helpen, is het van belang dat er naar gestreefd wordt om elke ongepland zwangere vrouw de juiste hulp en ondersteuning te bieden bij haar specifieke situatie. Maatwerk is daarom een cruciaal aspect. De ondersteuning kan geboden worden middels voorlichting, trainingen of intensieve een-op-een begeleiding. Geadviseerd wordt dat Siriz zich gaat richten op het bieden van gerichte ondersteuning op de veelvoorkomende uitdagingen en behoeften die in dit onderzoek naar voren zijn gekomen. Dit kan ervoor zorgen dat de ongepland zwangere vrouwen zich beter kunnen redden in het dagelijks leven. Door het bieden van ondersteuning kan de zelfredzaamheid en het psychosociaal functioneren verbeterd worden.Show less
This study examines primary school teachers' knowledge of mathematic teaching and learning trajectories, and didactic models, focusing on the teaching and learning trajectories of 'multi-digit...Show moreThis study examines primary school teachers' knowledge of mathematic teaching and learning trajectories, and didactic models, focusing on the teaching and learning trajectories of 'multi-digit addition and subtraction' and 'time'. The study aims to identify knowledge gaps to ensure teachers have adequate knowledge to meet their students' diverse mathematical needs. Factors like the grade level teachers teach, teaching experience, and instructional methods are also considered. The study uses a questionnaire to assess teachers' understanding, including a sequencing task for arranging arithmetic tasks and identifying didactic model phases. Results show teachers better understand the teaching and learning trajectories for 'multi-digit addition and subtraction' than for 'time' (n = 33). Grade level does not affect the knowledge of teaching and learning trajectories, but less experienced teachers sometimes show more insight. The teaching method used also relates to knowledge levels. Teachers excel at classifying assignments by one didactic model but struggle with another. Regarding knowledge acquisition, it appears that teachers gain more understanding of teaching and learning trajectories, and didactic models after completing their teacher education rather than during it.Show less
Background: Child welfare services face substantial challenges in managing out-of-home placements, with various risk factors influencing the duration and outcomes of these placements. Research has...Show moreBackground: Child welfare services face substantial challenges in managing out-of-home placements, with various risk factors influencing the duration and outcomes of these placements. Research has shown that both maternal and child characteristics can significantly impact the stability and length of these out-of-home placements, yet there is a lack of comprehensive studies examining these relationships within the Dutch context. Understanding these factors is crucial for developing effective interventions and support mechanisms. That is why this study aims to investigate the associations between the duration of out-of-home placements and maternal and child risk factors, as well as the role of help provided during the placement. Method: A case file analysis was conducted of 199 children (104 boys, 95 girls) within the Dutch child welfare system. The data was collected from randomly selected case files from various certified agencies across the Netherlands. The study employes both correlation and regression analysis to examine the relationship between the variables. Results: Correlation analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between maternal risk factors and the child’s age and a significant positive correlation with the duration of the placement and the amount of help provided during the placement. Child risk factors were positively correlated with the child’s age and negatively correlated with maternal risk factors. Regression analysis confirmed that maternal risk factors and help during the placement are significant predictors of the duration of out-of-home placements. Conclusions: This study underscores the importance of targeted interventions addressing maternal risk factors and providing psycho-education for mothers regarding their role in the duration of out-of-home placements. Additionally, it is crucial to ensure that access to support services is easy and straightforward for mothers, to encourage their engagement and participation in available interventions.Show less
Dynamic testing (DT) is a method of testing that includes the provision of a form of feedback and guidance to the testing procedure, and can be used to examine children’s potential for learning in...Show moreDynamic testing (DT) is a method of testing that includes the provision of a form of feedback and guidance to the testing procedure, and can be used to examine children’s potential for learning in various cognitive functions, including working memory (WM). Furthermore, intrinsic motivation (IM) seems to be related to enhanced WM performance and learning, especially in feedback-contexts. However, research on the effectiveness of DT of WM in this age group, as well as the influence of IM, is lacking. Therefore, the current thesis aimed to study the effectiveness of our DT of WM, as well as the influence of IM. The study had a pretest-training-posttest design with two groups. The experimental group received training, whereas control group did not. The sample included 100 typically developing primary school children between 8 and 9 years old (Mage = 8.46, SD = 0.50, 51% girls). Contrary to previous findings, our results showed a decrease from pretest to posttest in WM performance in the control group and a slight increase in performance in the experimental group. Moreover, the children’s IM did not significantly influence the WM improvements when tested dynamically. The findings suggest that the training element in our DT could have protected against the decrease in WM from pretest to posttest and that IM did not have a significant influence on these results. These findings contribute to the field of research by highlighting the importance of factors such as sustained attention and time-on-task effects in the prevention of this decline in WM performance during DT. Besides these factors, future research should look into the effects of age, cognitive load and engagement on the DT of WM and IM to gain a better understanding on how to improve its effectiveness, especially in 8- to 9-year-old children. Further exploration could aid educational professionals in implementing the dynamic approach and supporting children’s learning processes and cognitive development.Show less
For children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), social contact can be particularly challenging, which can impact their level of peer acceptance. This study aimed to explore the relationship...Show moreFor children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), social contact can be particularly challenging, which can impact their level of peer acceptance. This study aimed to explore the relationship between social contact and peer acceptance among children with ASD. We hypothesized that children with ASD had fewer contacts and were less accepted by peers than children without ASD. Furthermore, we hypothesized that increased social contact was associated with greater levels of peer acceptance for both children with and without ASD, but less strong for children with ASD in comparison to children without ASD. With a novel approach, this study documented the amount of social contact and the level of peer acceptance of 95 children in two special education schools in the Netherlands. The sample included 46 children with (Mage = 10.2, SD = 1.0) and 49 children without ASD (Mage = 11.3, SD=1.0), with an age range from 8 to 13 years, who were observed through proximity tags to measure social contact, and the LITOP questionnaire was utilized to assess the level of peer acceptance. MANOVA was employed to investigate whether children with ASD had fewer contacts and were less accepted than their peers without ASD and the hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the potential relationship between social contact and peer acceptance and. Surprisingly, children with ASD engaged in contact with more partners and were more accepted than children without ASD, despite the expectedly shorter duration of contact. Moreover, no significant relation was found between social contact and peer acceptance, for the two groups alike. These findings indicate that peer acceptance may not solely depend on the quantity of contact, but rather on the quality and context. Consequently, it is advised that educators facilitate structured social activities to facilitate finding similar peers and shared interests. Further research is required to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of the contact and its emotional aspects, with the aim of developing more effective strategies for enhancing peer acceptance among children with ASD. This could be achieved through a combination of quantitative measurements, such as proximity tags and qualitative measurement, including observationsShow less
Food waste is a global problem, which necessitates addressing. A pilot (N = 56) and main study (N = 124) used online survey research to explore the expected negative relationship between viewing a...Show moreFood waste is a global problem, which necessitates addressing. A pilot (N = 56) and main study (N = 124) used online survey research to explore the expected negative relationship between viewing a food waste reduction-poster and food waste intentions, the expected negative relationship between self-efficacy and food waste intentions and the expected moderating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between poster and food waste intentions. In the main study, participants were randomly allocated to a poster (N = 31) or control condition (N = 30) without a poster. Repeated measures ANOVA showed no differences between groups nor within participants when comparing food waste intentions between two measurement points. Regression analyses showed neither a main- nor a moderating effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between seeing the poster and food waste intentions. Limitations, suggestions and implications were discussed and the importance of future research into this subject was highlighted.Show less
