In deze scriptie wordt vanuit literair-historisch perspectief onderzoek gedaan naar Nederlandstalige nazi-jeugdliteratuur die tussen 1940 en 1945 in Nederland is verschenen. De vraag die hierbij...Show moreIn deze scriptie wordt vanuit literair-historisch perspectief onderzoek gedaan naar Nederlandstalige nazi-jeugdliteratuur die tussen 1940 en 1945 in Nederland is verschenen. De vraag die hierbij werd gesteld is uit welke bestanddelen de nazi-ideologie bestaat en hoe deze aan de hand van discoursanalyse en binaire opposities terug te zien zijn in 14 nazi-jeugdboeken.Show less
As the basic unit of chromatin, the form in which DNA is tightly packed in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, the nucleosome forms a physical barrier during transcription of the DNA. Understanding...Show moreAs the basic unit of chromatin, the form in which DNA is tightly packed in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells, the nucleosome forms a physical barrier during transcription of the DNA. Understanding the energetic landscape of the nucleosome during transcription extends our knowledge on how the nucleosome affects gene expression. An in vitro study of the energetic landscape of native nucleosomes has never been done. To facilitate such a study, techniques need to be developed to mechanically unzip native chromatin. In this research, we developed techniques on DNA unzipping using magnetic tweezers that are needed for the localization of nucleosomes in chromatin unzipping. We investigated long-lifetime DNA tethering to improve reproducibility and experimental practicality, which is vital for tethers containing nucleosomes. Techniques of force barrier localization during DNA unzipping were developed that could be used on nucleosomes. Two-state equilibrium statistical mechanics models for DNA unzipping and overstretching were developed that are extendable to include more states. These techniques aim to facilitate experiments on native nucleosomes that shine light on their fundamental role in epigenetics.Show less
Research master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (research) (MA)
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In this thesis, Guido delle Colonne's Historia Destructionis Troiae will be analysed anew. Scholars have often assessed the work and its author very negatively: they claimed the work had no moral...Show moreIn this thesis, Guido delle Colonne's Historia Destructionis Troiae will be analysed anew. Scholars have often assessed the work and its author very negatively: they claimed the work had no moral message, that it was badly written, and that Guido was very misogynistic in his depiction of women. In this thesis, the Historia will be analysed intertextually to show that Guido was not a bad translator of the French Roman de Troie (his main point of focus), but that he played with his pre-text to create an original work of history with its own moral aims and messages. In the second chapter, a case study of the character of the Amazonian queen Penthesilea will show how learned and complexly constructed the work actually is. Penthesilea questions the traditional gender norms, showing that not all women are bad in Guido's work. By transcending these gender norms, she is able to question a social construct that is even more important to reform in Guido's eyes: chivalry and its intricate connection with warfare. Guido wishes to show that chivalry has no place in warfare and that eventually, war brings destruction and misery upon all. While reading this work, the reader is constantly invited to delve further into the material and extract valuable moral lessons from it.Show less
There is a constant rise of populism spreading around the world. This can be observed in Latin America, North America and Europe among others. Europe is a continent which has for years stood for...Show moreThere is a constant rise of populism spreading around the world. This can be observed in Latin America, North America and Europe among others. Europe is a continent which has for years stood for democracy, human rights, liberalism and the idea of a common people with a common market and a common history. However, today more than ever before, these ideas are being challenged by the growing trend of right-wing populism. This thesis will therefore explain and assess the following question: “What factors determine the success of right-wing populism?”. The focus, of this thesis, is on two European countries specifically, Italy and Germany, where populist parties have had different success.Show less
We consider the family of skew tent maps Tα,β : [0, 1] → [0, 1] defined by Tα,β(x) = ( αx + α+β−αβ β for x ∈ [0, 1 − 1 β ], β − βx for x ∈ [1 − 1 β , 1] with α, β > 1 and α + β ≥ αβ. By A....Show moreWe consider the family of skew tent maps Tα,β : [0, 1] → [0, 1] defined by Tα,β(x) = ( αx + α+β−αβ β for x ∈ [0, 1 − 1 β ], β − βx for x ∈ [1 − 1 β , 1] with α, β > 1 and α + β ≥ αβ. By A. Lasota and J.A. Yorke [LY73] we know that each skew tent map has a unique acim. We fix the parameter β and show that the measure-theoretic entropy of the skew tent maps, with respect to the unique acim, depends continuously on α on a part of the parameter domain. The stability of the acim under small perturbations plays an important role in showing this result. We also investigate the relation between the measure theoretic entropy and the topological entropy for skew tent maps.Show less
The government of the Netherlands had an immediate interest in the political developments on the Arabian peninsula during the 1918-1930 period. Large numbers of its Dutch East Indies Muslim...Show moreThe government of the Netherlands had an immediate interest in the political developments on the Arabian peninsula during the 1918-1930 period. Large numbers of its Dutch East Indies Muslim colonial subjects made the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina every year. The Indies colonial authorities were bent on controlling and regulating this journey in an effort to control the pilgrims themselves. Especially because Mecca was suspected of being the centre of an anti-colonial conspiracy in the eyes of some officials like the Delft professor and journalist Salomon Keyzer and the Dutch consul at Jeddah J.A. Kruijt . A good working relationship with the authorities of Mecca and Medina and by extent the whole of the Hijaz would certainly help to achieve this. By 1927 this relationship was apparently very good. How did this come to be? The main question of this master thesis will be: how did the different Dutch consuls and Dutch East Indies civil servants perceive the political developments on the Arabian peninsula in the period 1918-1930? I will argue that the observations and conclusions of these two groups, the Jeddah consuls and the Dutch East Indies civil servants, were to a very large extent determined by two different and contrary streams in Dutch colonial philosophy: the ‘ethical school’ and a conservative reaction to this ‘school’.Show less
Background: Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems among older adults. Although there are interventions that effectively reduce late-life anxiety, anxious older adults often do...Show moreBackground: Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems among older adults. Although there are interventions that effectively reduce late-life anxiety, anxious older adults often do not receive adequate treatment and are less likely to benefit from psychotherapy, compared to younger adults. To enhance mental health services for the elderly, studies should explore which factors predict treatment outcomes, rather than solely focus on the overall treatment effectiveness. The aim of the present study is to investigate demographic (age and gender) and professional (years of working experience and geriatric education) therapeutic characteristics, as predictors of treatment outcomes (anxiety severity and treatment satisfaction) in anxious older adults. Methods: The study is a post-hoc analysis using data from a previous Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) on treatment effectiveness in older adults with anxiety complaints. We examined data from 275 patients (55-75 years old) and 33 therapists, who worked in general practices in the Netherlands. We developed two multilevel regression models and intercept-only models, for both therapeutic outcomes. Results: The analyses showed that none of the therapeutic characteristics significantly predicted anxiety severity and treatment satisfaction at posttreatment; the therapist factor explained 0% and 15% of the variance in older adults’ anxiety and satisfaction levels, respectively. Discussion: Possible lack of power in the study hinders the interpretation of the null-findings regarding the demographic and professional therapist characteristics. The therapist factor does not predict late-life anxiety, but does have an effect on patients’ satisfaction. Limitations of the study and recommendations for future research are discussed.Show less
This thesis will explain and assess the following question: “What factors determine the success of right-wing populism?”. The focus, of this thesis, is on two European countries specifically, Italy...Show moreThis thesis will explain and assess the following question: “What factors determine the success of right-wing populism?”. The focus, of this thesis, is on two European countries specifically, Italy and Germany, where populist parties have had different success. The thesis will analyse the similarities and differences between the Lega in Italy and the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) in Germany. The relevance of this thesis is to better understand what determines the success of populist parties in Europe and why are some populist parties more successful than others.Show less
