The digitalisation of political expression impacted social movement organisation. The global proliferation of information and communication technology (ICT) digitalised social movements towards...Show moreThe digitalisation of political expression impacted social movement organisation. The global proliferation of information and communication technology (ICT) digitalised social movements towards networked collective action. This fuelled the optimism about ICTs as liberalisation tool. Yet, authoritarian regimes showed increasing sophistication in digital repression which urges to investigate the link between digital repression (DR) and mobilisation. I use complementary insights from connective action theory and disconnective action theory to address the research question: What is the effect of DR on mobilisation? By arguing DR is multi-dimensional, the goal of this analysis is to establish the relationship between DR and mobilisation in authoritarian regimes. To this end, I conduct a systematic, global analysis. With an OLS regression, my large-N study analyses authoritarian regimes from 2000 until 2021. The findings are qualitatively supported with two case studies to address endogeneity concerns. On the one hand, I expect a prevention effect on mobilisation if DR is performed as long-term information manipulation. On the other hand, I hypothesise an escalation effect on mobilisation if DR is executed in form of a short-term information vacuum. Though the results are mixed, I conclude that there is initial support for both prevention and escalation effect of DR. I derive that DR is multi-dimensional and can prevent, but also escalate mobilisation.Show less
De afgelopen jaren daalt de leesmotivatie van Nederlandse basisschoolleerlingen. Terwijl leesmotivatie ten grondslag ligt aan een goede leesvaardigheid: wie lezen leuk vindt, leest meer, wat...Show moreDe afgelopen jaren daalt de leesmotivatie van Nederlandse basisschoolleerlingen. Terwijl leesmotivatie ten grondslag ligt aan een goede leesvaardigheid: wie lezen leuk vindt, leest meer, wat resulteert in een betere leesvaardigheid. In deze studie is onderzocht in hoeverre autonomer en gecontroleerder gemotiveerde lezers een voorkeur hebben voor bepaalde leesactiviteiten die gebaseerd zijn op de zelf-determinatietheorie. Dit is onderzocht met een online vragenlijst bij 178 leerlingen uit groep 6, 7 en 8 onder vier basisscholen in omgeving Haarlemmermeer. Leerlingen werden op basis van hun antwoorden op de Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ) ingedeeld in een meer autonoom of meer gecontroleerd gemotiveerde groep lezers. Er bleken 149 leerlingen autonomer gemotiveerd te zijn (A>G) en 29 leerlingen gecontroleerder gemotiveerd (G>A). Leerlingen werden gevraagd wat voor leesactiviteiten hun leesmotivatie op school zouden kunnen bevorderen. Beide groepen kozen dezelfde drie leesactiviteiten als “leukste”. Er werd verwacht dat de G>A groep activiteiten die te maken hadden met competentie of relatie het leukst zouden vinden, maar dit bleek onjuist. Allebei de groepen vonden zelf je boek kiezen het belangrijkst. Daarnaast vonden leerlingen kiezen waar en wanneer ze lezen ook van groot belang. Concluderend kan gesteld worden dat, ondanks verschil in soort motivatie, leerlingen keuzevrijheid bij het lezen als belangrijke motivator zien. Er wordt aangeraden om experimenteel vervolgonderzoek te doen naar de leesactiviteiten die als leukst worden gezien om te onderzoeken of de leesmotivatie daardoor daadwerkelijk omhoog gaat. Daarnaast is meer onderzoek naar evidence-based leesactiviteiten nodig aangezien er in de wetenschappelijke literatuur nog niet veel over bekend is. Tot slot is het van maatschappelijk belang dat wordt geïnvesteerd in leesmotivatie, aangezien leesmotivatie bijdraagt aan leesvaardigheid, wat een voorspeller is voor succes in de maatschappij.Show less
The Quina flaking system is a relatively new Middle Palaeolithic lithic technocomplex recognized and studied until now only in Southwestern France. It has been argued that this technology was...Show moreThe Quina flaking system is a relatively new Middle Palaeolithic lithic technocomplex recognized and studied until now only in Southwestern France. It has been argued that this technology was developed by Neanderthal groups to cope with the decreasing global temperatures and the environmental changes of the last glaciation. The Quina system, until now, is largely unattested in North Europe, where the glacial climate was more pronounced. Why is a technology evolved for the survival in cold environments absent in regions particularly affected by the glaciation? The presence of this technology in the Northern fringes of the Neanderthals’ ecological niche might shed light on the reasons behind Neanderthals’ technological behaviour. It might further provide important clues for a better understanding of whether the variability in the Middle Palaeolithic archaeological record derives from cultural diversity or functional/technical necessities or other factors. This research identifies, through quantitative and qualitative analyses, and comparative studies of lithic materials, the technological traces of unretouched flakes from the site of Colmont-Ponderosa (South Limburg, the Netherlands). This study confirms that at some point during the last glaciation, the Neanderthal groups were users of the Quina technology. The presence of this technology in the North and at such a distance (around seven-hundred kilometers) from the closest certain Quina sites might be the result of techno-cultural convergence. But it might also indicate the point of origin of this technology, which was later dispersed to the Sout, when the environment became too harsh, or it might indicate a dispersal from the South to the North. To confirm this hypothesis a re-evaluation of other Northern assemblages is necessary: if the Quina technology is present at Colmont-Ponderosa, it could be present elsewhere, overlooked because of the relative novelty of the Quina technocomplex.Show less
A collection of fish remains recovered from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Les Pedroses in the Spanish province of Asturias have been examined to determine the nature of accumulation. Research...Show moreA collection of fish remains recovered from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Les Pedroses in the Spanish province of Asturias have been examined to determine the nature of accumulation. Research focused on the anatomy, taxonomy, taphonomy and osteometry of the remains. The site is located along a tributary of the Sela river valley Asturias in the municipality of Ribadesella. Previous excavations have uncovered evidence of human occupation ranging from the Solutrean to the Early Holocene. The fish remains were recovered from four stratigraphical layers found at the back of the vestibule along the northern wall of the cave. The oldest layer has been radiocarbon dated to 12.250±40 BP or 14.328-14.004 Cal BP, which puts it well within the Late Upper Magdalenian. It is followed by a transitionary layer, an Early Holocene layer and a superimposed layer. Taxonomic identification of the remains was conducted with the help of fish bone reference collections housed at the Laboratory for Archaeozoological Studies of Leiden and the Laboratory for Zooarchaeological Research at the University of Amsterdam. A family, genus or species level identification could be obtained for the majority of fish remains found in the assemblage. A mix of marine and freshwater fishes were identified with Clupeids and Salmonids being best represented taxa in all four stratigraphical layers. Vertebrae were by far the best represented skeletal elements. Over half of the skeletal elements in all four stratigraphical layer could be identified as vertebrae. All skeletal elements were measured according to the guidelines established in Watt et al. (1997) for vertebrae and Morales & Rosenlund (1979), when applicable. Total length and weight of the fishes was estimated through the use of global rachidean profiles. Clupeid and salmonids vertebrae, the most common taxa and skeletal elements, were compared to two reference specimens taken from the Laboratory for Archaeozoological Studies of Leiden. We estimate the clupeids had fork length of less than 24 cm and the salmonids had a total length of around 29.5 cm and weighted roughly 200 grammes. The total length and weight of all other taxa falls somewhere in-between, likely on the side of the Clupeids. The presence of bone surface modifications such as compression or digestion and degree of fragmentation was documented for each skeletal element in the assemblage. Over 90% of the remains were fragmented with 10 to 20% of vertebrae showing signs of compression or digestion. The absence of chopmarks, cutmarks or burning marks and the overall small size ranges of the fishes discounts an anthropogenic origin of accumulation. The osteometrical, taphonomical, taxonomical and anatomical aspects of the assemblage best fit the characteristics of fish bones deposited by otters (Lutra lutra L.). The seasonality inferred from the fishes suggests human occupied Les Pedroses during the late summer and autumn months. This research has illustrated the archaeological value in fish remains, which are typically understudied in the region.Show less
Earth is currently entering the Anthropocene: a human-driven geological epoch that signals the end of the Holocene, the roughly 12,000 year period in which humanity transitioned gradually from the...Show moreEarth is currently entering the Anthropocene: a human-driven geological epoch that signals the end of the Holocene, the roughly 12,000 year period in which humanity transitioned gradually from the subsistence practices of hunter-gatherers to the “conventional” agricultural methods of the twenty- first century. Today, debates surrounding agriculture and food system reform lie at the heart of a worldwide “Decade of Action” on climate change (2020-2030), with approaches based on “sustainable intensification” characterizing the dominant paradigm supported by large-scale agriculture and world governance. In order to provide macrohistorical, “deep-time” perspectives on the suitability of “sustainable intensification” as a food-production strategy for the Anthropocene, this paper juxtaposes the present climate and food crisis with the subsistence transitions that occurred during the last climate epoch shift (Pleistocene-Holocene). As the only other climatic “game-changer” experienced by human societies, this period presents an opportunity to highlight through analogical analysis otherwise non-observable commonalities between how we and our distant ancestors have adapted our subsistence practices to massive climatic shift. On this basis, I argue that many of the recent “revolutionary” advances in agricultural methodology and technology that underpin confidence in sustainable intensification’s success in coming decades and centuries are little more than continuations of strategies developed by Early Holocene cultivators, upon which we have remained reliant. Moreover, because these strategies were developed under and for a specific set of climate conditions which are coming to an end, I question the continued success of these strategies under an Anthropocene climate regime. This leaves us in dire need of novel approaches to food-production. This paper also examines why modern societies are prone to such oversights and offers suggestions for how they can be overcome by incorporating historical macroperspectives into near-term climate decision-making. Finally, I make recommendations for an approach to cultivation based around the concept of syntropy that breaks with the past and offers tangible steps for immediate climate adaptation without the massive costs traditionally associated with de-intensification.Show less
Genderneutraal opvoeden komt steeds meer voor in onze maatschappij. In dit onderzoek is bekeken wat er in de literatuur bekend is over genderneutraal opvoeden. Daarnaast is onderzocht wat de visie...Show moreGenderneutraal opvoeden komt steeds meer voor in onze maatschappij. In dit onderzoek is bekeken wat er in de literatuur bekend is over genderneutraal opvoeden. Daarnaast is onderzocht wat de visie van de pedagogisch medewerkers van kinderopvangorganisatie Kibeo over genderneutraal opvoeden is. Uit het literatuuronderzoek bleek dat de kinderopvang invloed heeft op de ontwikkeling van kinderen. De eerste levensjaren van een kind vormen een belangrijke basis voor de ontwikkeling, zo ook voor de ontwikkeling van genderidentiteit. Het is gebleken dat pedagogisch medewerkers van invloed zijn op de (gender)ontwikkeling van een kind. Het zou dus mogelijk kunnen zijn dat de invloed van de kinderopvang eveneens van invloed is op de ontwikkeling van genderidentiteit. Naast dit literatuuronderzoek is een kwalitatief onderzoek uitgevoerd. Dit is gedaan door interviews uit te voeren naar de visie van pedagogisch medewerkers. Deze respondenten hebben zich aangemeld via een oproep die is gedaan door een beleidsmedewerker van Kibeo namens de onderzoekers. De respondenten waren vrouwelijke pedagogisch medewerkers die op de groepen werkten met kinderen van nul tot vier jaar oud. Er zijn tien semigestructureerde diepte-interviews afgenomen, die gehouden zijn aan de hand van een vooraf geschreven topic guide. Dit werd gebruikt als rode draad in de interviews, maar hier werd van afgeweken als het interview daarom vroeg. Na het transcriberen van de interviews zijn deze in het computerprogramma Atlas.ti gecodeerd. De belangrijkste codes die aan tekstfragmenten zijn gekoppeld, zijn codes voor de visies van de pedagogisch medewerkers, de gender contrastereotyperende opmerkingen die werden gedaan en de sturing van de respondenten. Na het coderen zijn de interviews aan de hand van deze codes geanalyseerd. Uit de analyse bleek dat het grootste deel van de pedagogisch medewerkers een positieve houding heeft ten opzichte van genderneutraal opvoeden. Door het merendeel van de medewerkers werd het geaccepteerd als er door kinderen met elk soort speelgoed gespeeld werd, ongeacht hun gender. Een belangrijke overeenkomst hierin was de autonomie van het kind. Er waren ook twee negatieve meningen ten opzichte van genderneutraal opvoeden, waarin werd aangegeven dat er een grens zat aan genderneutraal opvoeden en waarin werd afgevraagd of het wel mogelijk zou zijn. Ook door deze medewerkers werd echter het spelen met verschillende soorten speelgoed ongeacht gender geaccepteerd. Naast tekstfragmenten over de visie van de pedagogisch medewerkers over genderneutraal opvoeden zijn er tekstfragmenten bekeken over de sturing van de pedagogisch medewerkers en de omgang met de ouders van de kinderen. Hieruit is gebleken dat de meeste respondenten kinderen aansporen om met allerlei soorten speelgoed te spelen en dat dit vaak in het belang is van de ontwikkeling van de kinderen. Zo laten de respondenten zien dat ze inderdaad voor het belang en de autonomie van het kind kiezen. Aan de omgang met de ouders kan worden gezien dat een deel van de pedagogisch medewerkers de wensen van de ouders voorop stelt en een deel de autonomie van het kind. Door dit onderzoek is er een begin van een algemene visie van de pedagogisch medewerkers van Kibeo in kaart gebracht, maar dit is nog niet bruikbaar voor een beleid voor genderneutraal opvoeden binnen de kinderopvangorganisatie Kibeo. Het advies is om voor dit eventuele beleid in gesprek te gaan met de pedagogisch medewerkers en om nog meer onderzoek te doen naar genderneutraal opvoeden.Show less
In this research the location of Merovingian cemeteries in the landscape of Northern Gaul is studied using GIS. While Merovingian cemeteries have been studied for over a century, most studies have...Show moreIn this research the location of Merovingian cemeteries in the landscape of Northern Gaul is studied using GIS. While Merovingian cemeteries have been studied for over a century, most studies have focused on the grave goods found in the graves, while little research has been done on the location of the cemeteries. The locations of cemeteries are often explained by very rational or economic reasonings, which state that cemeteries were located on land that was unsuitable for agriculture. However, the locations of cemeteries were likely the result of deliberate choices. The grave goods in graves and other parts of the burial ritual indicate the importance of the ritual, and the burial location will have been just as important as the other parts of the ritual, if not even more important. In this thesis, the locations of 190 Merovingian cemeteries are analysed in Geographical Information Systems (GIS), using three different variables: slope, aspect and (relative) elevation. The comparison of these variables for each cemetery gives a general idea of the location characteristics of Merovingian cemeteries. By using accurately dated cemeteries for the analyses, it is also possible to see changes in the location characteristics through time and between different parts of the Merovingian period. The results of the analyses are in line with earlier research on the locations of Merovingian cemeteries. They show that Merovingian cemeteries are generally located on gentle slopes, with no clear preference for a certain direction. However, the cemeteries that are located on steeper slopes, are more often found on south-facing slopes. Furthermore, most cemeteries are found at medium elevations, neither at the highest, nor at the lowest elevations in their surroundings. Through time, lower elevations seem to have become more suitable for cemeteries, as a larger proportion of the cemeteries is located at low elevations during the later periods. The research presented in this thesis shows the potential of using GIS-based methods to analyse the location of Merovingian cemeteries. The results are coherent with the findings from earlier studies, while also showing indications for the changes that took place during the Merovingian Period. All in all, this study can form a starting point for further GIS-based analyses of Merovingian cemetery locations, which could be improved by including more cemetery sites, and incorporating many more additional variables into the analyses.Show less
This thesis studies the effect of age-at-death, sex, and socioeconomic status on the burial ritual in the Netherlands between 1200 and 1650 AD by analysing archaeological data from three urban...Show moreThis thesis studies the effect of age-at-death, sex, and socioeconomic status on the burial ritual in the Netherlands between 1200 and 1650 AD by analysing archaeological data from three urban cemeteries across the country. The late medieval and early modern burial ritual is often perceived as uniform and plain, restricted by the regulations set out by the church. These regulations included strict rules on grave orientations, body positions, nature of the graves, and burial locations. Although, by analysing and comparing these different aspects of the burial ritual from the urban cemeteries of the Franciscan monastery in Alkmaar, the St. Catharina church in Eindhoven, and the Eusebius church in Arnhem, this view of uniformity has been challenged. The results of this thesis revealed the occurrence of local variation in the burial location of non-adults, especially infants, in the urban context of the Netherlands. This variation is hypothesized to be related to the baptism status of the individual, varying beliefs about purgatory and the afterlife, death at childbirth, and/or the context of the burial ground. Nonetheless, men and women were found to receive uniform burial treatment, implicating that, despite their different social standing in life, in death, they were considered equal in terms of burial practices. Furthermore, it was found that socioeconomic status influenced burial treatment. The St. Catharina church displayed not only a statistically significant difference in non-adults buried inside the choir as opposed to the adjacent churchyard, considerably more men were present than women. This prevalence of men buried inside the church compared to the low to middle socioeconomic populations buried in outdoor cemeteries could be related to high secular status.Show less
Humans have been modifying landscapes in the southwestern Amazon for 10 000 years. Yet this modification did not comprise the intensive horticultural activities generally defined as ‘agriculture’...Show moreHumans have been modifying landscapes in the southwestern Amazon for 10 000 years. Yet this modification did not comprise the intensive horticultural activities generally defined as ‘agriculture’ within archaeological discourses. Instead of pursuing plant species’ domestication, local communities prioritised mixed-resource economies, in situ cultivation, and intentional biodiversity. These subtle but complex practices left a marked footprint on Amazonian soils, tree distributions, and biodiversity patterns. This thesis brings together palaeoenvironmental evidence of this footprint, to paint a picture of how humans managed landscapes in southwest Amazonia in the early and middle Holocene. It then approaches this ecological and archaeological data using anthropological theory and ethnographic evidence; these disciplines can (a) clarify the visibility of human-plant interactions in the eco-archaeological record, and (b) aid in interpreting what this record signifies about past lifeways. This transdisciplinary approach acknowledges the importance of considering cosmology when studying human-plant interactions, and how they can manifest materially. Human-nonhuman reciprocity is a prominent principle in many contemporary Amazonian ontologies, and is used in this thesis as a central paradigm for studying human ecological manipulations through time. Where conventional archaeological models of agriculture emphasise the central role of landscape domestication, the evidence from southwest Amazonia indicates that human horticultural activities comprised a process of active landscape co-creation. This thesis thus emphasises the need to rethink how we study human-plant interactions in archaeology, with critical implications for how we understand ‘agriculture’ as a whole – in Amazonia and elsewhere.Show less
This thesis concerns the taxonomic and taphonomic identification of bird species from a faunal assemblage found in the Northern Emporium project excavation of a workshop belonging to the Viking-Age...Show moreThis thesis concerns the taxonomic and taphonomic identification of bird species from a faunal assemblage found in the Northern Emporium project excavation of a workshop belonging to the Viking-Age marketplace site in the town of Ribe, Denmark. The assemblage consists of at least 27 bird species, 26 of which are wild species, belonging to 13 different bird families and 9 orders. The majority of the birds are from ducks and waders, and domestic fowl is also noted, but in very low numbers. The specific bird taxa at the site indicated the birds were caught from in the local regions; the Wadden Sea area. Ribe was a nodal point in a larger network of trade and exchange, an emporium, during the Viking Age (approximately 8th-10th centuries BC). The aim is to not only understand how the assemblage was accumulated, i.e. what activities can be inferred from it, but how it related to the diachronic trends in the Viking Age Scandinavian towns of trade with relation to the role of birds in terms of diet, economy, and socio-cultural terms. The identified species indicate a significant difference from other contemporaneous sites and other emporia. Ribe has the largest diversity in taxa. The primary skeletal elements found are wing bones, suggesting that the birds were captured for meat and possibly feather extraction. Birds are good environmental indicators and their presence are a testament to the changing seasons and certain environmental conditions. The avifauna informs that bird harvesting or hunting likely occurred all year-round, with possible increases during autumn and spring months where many of the migrating birds arrive to the coastal region. Evidently, the seasonality of bird procurement can also aid in the overall interpretation of the permanency of the settlement.Show less
Cultural heritage is a fluctuating notion adapted to societies' perceptions, development and interest, reflected in the historical evolution of European heritage legislations. As the heritage...Show moreCultural heritage is a fluctuating notion adapted to societies' perceptions, development and interest, reflected in the historical evolution of European heritage legislations. As the heritage concept expanded, including more elements from past human civilizations epochs, contradicting conservation methods convoluted specific archaeological remains preservation for the future. In Denmark, prehistoric remains are distinguished between visible and non-visible remains, referring to the features above or underground. The establishment of development-led archaeology resurfaced prehistoric features, such as Iron Age roads and pavements, which did not comply with current heritage visibility perception because pavements and roads are flat, horizontal remains and not monumental marks in the landscape. It jeopardized the preservation and protection of Iron Age roads and pavements, often leading to an overlooked potential as protected cultural heritage. This research has examined Iron Age roads and pavements' potential as valuable cultural heritage in urban environments, focusing on experienceable and livable preservation while assessing the legal and practical issues obstructing the preservation. Two Danish case studies – an in-situ preserved pavement and a reconstructed road – support the research to amplify current management and preservation issues, while additional interviews with two Danish archaeologists – a project leader Lars E. Nielsen and a protected heritage monitor, Thomas R. Knudsen – sustain valuable information about current conservation processes. The research objective is to compose a recommended framework for future conservation projects of Iron Age roads and pavements, as they are categorised as cultural heritage with national and international cultural significance. Modern technology and digital platforms provide unlimited opportunities to transform the archaeological remains into experienceable and livable heritage, but it requires a societal assessment to determine a safeguarded and meaningful preservation.Show less
Funan is an ancient state centred on the southern Mekong delta between the 1st and 6th century CE. Traditionally, Funan has been seen largely in terms of its long-distance contacts to India,...Show moreFunan is an ancient state centred on the southern Mekong delta between the 1st and 6th century CE. Traditionally, Funan has been seen largely in terms of its long-distance contacts to India, limiting thorough studies of regional interaction. This research instead focuses on regional exchange and interaction within the Mekong delta, thereby centring indigenous Southeast Asian developments and connecting long-distance interactions with local dynamics. To assess the role of Funan in riverine and coastal exchange networks this paper studies the assemblages of stone and glass beads, ceramics and metal objects in mainland Southeast Asia. Results show that the stone bead types and the type of glass used in glass beads differs in the Mekong delta and other parts of mainland Southeast Asia. The ceramic assemblage is overwhelmingly local, with some stylistic parallels to South Asian shapes common in mainland Southeast Asia. The metal assemblage at Funan sites is mainly gold, as gold was produced at Funan sites. The gold assemblage at Funan sites is distinct from that at nearby sites in mainland Southeast Asia. The results indicate a clear difference between the material distributions within the Mekong delta and the coastal regions of mainland Southeast Asia, as well as showing intensive connections to South Asia that led to rapid socioeconomic changes around the 3rd century CE. The exchange network centred on the Mekong delta primarily involves localized prestige objects utilizing South Asian elements or techniques. The localized objects are distributed throughout the Mekong delta and are distinct from prestige objects spread in other parts of mainland Southeast Asia. This indicates the importance of long-distance connections as well as the building of local alliances using exotic prestige objects, and shows the valuable connections of riverine local trade with coastal exchange. The results also demonstrate the importance of recognizing and studying the fluidity of the maritime exchange network of mainland Southeast Asia by effectively utilizing approaches from maritime archaeology.Show less
Genderneutraal opvoeden komt steeds meer voor in onze maatschappij. In dit onderzoek is bekeken wat er in de literatuur bekend is over genderneutraal opvoeden. Daarnaast is onderzocht wat de visie...Show moreGenderneutraal opvoeden komt steeds meer voor in onze maatschappij. In dit onderzoek is bekeken wat er in de literatuur bekend is over genderneutraal opvoeden. Daarnaast is onderzocht wat de visie van de pedagogisch medewerkers van kinderopvangorganisatie Kibeo over genderneutraal opvoeden is. Uit het literatuuronderzoek bleek dat de kinderopvang invloed heeft op de ontwikkeling van kinderen. De eerste levensjaren van een kind vormen een belangrijke basis voor de ontwikkeling, zo ook voor de ontwikkeling van genderidentiteit. Het is gebleken dat pedagogisch medewerkers van invloed zijn op de (gender)ontwikkeling van een kind. Het zou dus mogelijk kunnen zijn dat de invloed van de kinderopvang eveneens van invloed is op de ontwikkeling van genderidentiteit. Naast dit literatuuronderzoek is een kwalitatief onderzoek uitgevoerd. Dit is gedaan door interviews uit te voeren naar de visie van pedagogisch medewerkers. Deze respondenten hebben zich aangemeld via een oproep die is gedaan door een beleidsmedewerker van Kibeo namens de onderzoekers. De respondenten waren vrouwelijke pedagogisch medewerkers die op de groepen werkten met kinderen van nul tot vier jaar oud. Er zijn tien semigestructureerde diepte-interviews afgenomen, die gehouden zijn aan de hand van een vooraf geschreven topic guide. Dit werd gebruikt als rode draad in de interviews, maar hier werd van afgeweken als het interview daarom vroeg. Na het transcriberen van de interviews zijn deze in het computerprogramma Atlas.ti gecodeerd. De belangrijkste codes die aan tekstfragmenten zijn gekoppeld, zijn codes voor de visies van de pedagogisch medewerkers, de gender contrastereotyperende opmerkingen die werden gedaan en de sturing van de respondenten. Na het coderen zijn de interviews aan de hand van deze codes geanalyseerd. Uit de analyse bleek dat het grootste deel van de pedagogisch medewerkers een positieve houding heeft ten opzichte van genderneutraal opvoeden. Door het merendeel van de medewerkers werd het geaccepteerd als er door kinderen met elk soort speelgoed gespeeld werd, ongeacht hun gender. Een belangrijke overeenkomst hierin was de autonomie van het kind. Er waren ook twee negatieve meningen ten opzichte van genderneutraal opvoeden, waarin werd aangegeven dat er een grens zat aan genderneutraal opvoeden en waarin werd afgevraagd of het wel mogelijk zou zijn. Ook door deze medewerkers werd echter het spelen met verschillende soorten speelgoed ongeacht gender geaccepteerd. Naast tekstfragmenten over de visie van de pedagogisch medewerkers over genderneutraal opvoeden zijn er tekstfragmenten bekeken over de sturing van de pedagogisch medewerkers en de omgang met de ouders van de kinderen. Hieruit is gebleken dat de meeste respondenten kinderen aansporen om met allerlei soorten speelgoed te spelen en dat dit vaak in het belang is van de ontwikkeling van de kinderen. Zo laten de respondenten zien dat ze inderdaad voor het belang en de autonomie van het kind kiezen. Aan de omgang met de ouders kan worden gezien dat een deel van de pedagogisch medewerkers de wensen van de ouders voorop stelt en een deel de autonomie van het kind. Door dit onderzoek is er een begin van een algemene visie van de pedagogisch medewerkers van Kibeo in kaart gebracht, maar dit is nog niet bruikbaar voor een beleid voor genderneutraal opvoeden binnen de kinderopvangorganisatie Kibeo. Het advies is om voor dit eventuele beleid in gesprek te gaan met de pedagogisch medewerkers en om nog meer onderzoek te doen naar genderneutraal opvoeden.Show less
Vlaardingen Culture (3400-2500 BC), a regional late Neolithic group in the western Netherlands, is offering a glimpse into the gradual transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic lifestyle,...Show moreVlaardingen Culture (3400-2500 BC), a regional late Neolithic group in the western Netherlands, is offering a glimpse into the gradual transition from the Mesolithic to the Neolithic lifestyle, since its’ subsistence system can be characterised by the ‘broad spectrum economy’. Hence, Vlaardingen culture people were based on agriculture, but still depending on wild resources. This is also reflected in the types of occupation on different ecological zones, expressed with permanent settlements dominating on the coastal dunes and temporary extraction camps mainly on wetlands. However, a distinction between the two is not always possible for Vlaardingen Culture sites, creating the need for further research. As part of the ‘Putting Life into Late Neolithic Houses’ project, this thesis focused on the study of variabilities in hide-working processes, as an argument in the dialogues about occupation duration in Vlaardingen Culture sites. Based on ethnographic accounts, the working hypothesis suggested that traces of initial stages of hide-working would be dominant in temporary extraction camps, while traces of more time-consuming hide-working activities would be present in permanent settlements. Use-wear analysis was used as a method to study this inter-site variability, while engaging with an experimental approach. The potential variability of use-wear traces generated by different hide-working processes was experimentally studied. The experiments were involving fresh hide scraping as an initial stage in hide-working processes, and the understudied dehairing as a more time-consuming activity, representative of permanent settlements. The results of this experiment demonstrated that if certain conditions are met, traces of dry hide scraping can be differentiated from those of dehairing. The material studied for this thesis is originating from the permanent coastal dune site of Den Haag Steynhof, and is concerning 37 flint scrapers selected from zone 5 of the site. Notably, after use-wear analysis was conducted, matching traces were found between the experimental dehairing scrapers and three of the archaeological scrapers, making Steynhof the first Vlaardingen Culture site to have yielded such traces. Furthermore, the results of the analysis showed that time-consuming hide-working activities, including resharpening, were better represented than initial stages of hide-working in Steynhof. This pattern was also observed on other Vlaardingen Culture permanent settlements, while initial stages were dominating in the temporary extraction camp of Hekelingen III, hence confirming the hypothesis. Consequently, it could be used as an argument to infer about the occupation duration of Vlaardingen Culture sites as well as other Neolithic sites of the region, characterised by the ‘broad spectrum economy’. Hence, this study would be applicable when other arguments for the occupation duration of sites remain inconclusive.Show less
Grapheme-colour synaesthesia is a phenomenon in which presentation of letters and numbers are automatically associated with colours, and these associations stay consistent over time. Synesthetes...Show moreGrapheme-colour synaesthesia is a phenomenon in which presentation of letters and numbers are automatically associated with colours, and these associations stay consistent over time. Synesthetes have been found to show advantages in certain learning and memory tasks, such as language learning. Non-synesthetes have been seen to be able to create synaesthesia-like associations through repeated reinforcement between letters and colours. In this study, it was investigated if synaesthesia training in a native language could expedite the learning of a foreign alphabet. Additionally, it was hypothesised that allowing participants to choose their own letter-colour associations rather than being given predetermined associations would further improve their performance on the language learning task. To investigate this, two groups underwent synaesthesia training, with one group choosing their own associations and one group being given predetermined associations. The two groups then went through the same language learning task, where they were taught letters in a foreign language. The results showed that synaesthesia training expedited the learning of a new alphabet. The self-selecting group showed better consistency in their letter-colour associations than the group that had been pre-assigned colours. However, the learning rate of the self-selecting group was not significantly higher. To conclude, the study showed that synaesthesia training can have a positive effect on language learning, and different ways of training synaesthesia have distinctive effects on letter-colour consistency.Show less
Replication is an essential concept in psychological science. It can give rise to new insights into promising scientific developments, ensuring the quality and reliability of scientific research....Show moreReplication is an essential concept in psychological science. It can give rise to new insights into promising scientific developments, ensuring the quality and reliability of scientific research. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) showed that it can be deployed as an alternative treatment for patients suffering from drug-resistant depression and epilepsy. However, VNS is highly invasive and comes with great risks. The non-invasive transcutaneous VNS (tVNS) may induce this similar effect, by targeting the locus coeruleus-noradrenergic pathway (LC-NA). In the current study, we replicated the paper by Sharon et al. (2021), investigating the effect of tVNS on human pupil dilation. Throughout the experiment, the left ear of each participant was stimulated with the tVNS device, using short pulses of 3.4 seconds. Furthermore, pupillometry was deployed as a measure for pupil dilation. The outcome of this replication was in contrast with Sharon et al. (2021), as the results showed no significant difference between the tVNS and the sham condition. The final results might have been affected by the small sample size, the different adoption of materials, and an unequal ratio of males and females among participants. Future research should use a larger sample size, replicate more consistently and systematically, and adopt an equal ratio of gender. More research is necessary to establish reliable parameters for discoveries on the probable therapeutic effects of tVNS.Show less
