There is increasing evidence for the negative effect of external aid programs on public health. Accordingly, it is essential to research how donors could effectively allocate their aid. It is...Show moreThere is increasing evidence for the negative effect of external aid programs on public health. Accordingly, it is essential to research how donors could effectively allocate their aid. It is established that institution-building in the health sector is crucial for enhancing public health, for example by fostering accountability and transparency. Aid that is spent on institution-building is expected to have a positive effect on public health. However, there is no empirical evidence for that, and therefore, this research contributes to the existing literature by answering the following research question: What is the effect of aid targeting institution building in the health sector on public health outcomes? Several linear regressions are performed to test the effect of Official Development Assistance for institution-building in the health sector on infant mortality, life expectancy, and immunization rates. The overall research findings show a positive, but small and insignificant relationship between health institutional aid and public health.Show less
In deze scriptie wordt de relatie tussen het eeuwenoude Pyrronistisch Scepticisme en gemoedsrust onderzocht. Aan de hand van Sextus Empiricus worden we meegenomen in de zoektocht naar ataraxia....Show moreIn deze scriptie wordt de relatie tussen het eeuwenoude Pyrronistisch Scepticisme en gemoedsrust onderzocht. Aan de hand van Sextus Empiricus worden we meegenomen in de zoektocht naar ataraxia. Ataraxia oftewel gemoedsrust, is een staat waarin men vrij is van zorgen en angsten. Volgens Sextus is het bereiken van gemoedsrust niet alleen een therapeutische vaardigheid, maar ook een manier van leven. Deze Pyrronistische manier van leven houdt in dat overtuigingen ten aanzien van non-evidente zaken worden opgeschort om zo gemoedsrust te bereiken. In dit onderzoek is onderzocht of de filosofie van het Pyrronisme ons kan helpen in ons dagelijks leven met onze angsten en stress. Om Pyrronisme te meten is er een vragenlijst opgesteld met non-evidente stellingen (NE-Q). Voor het meten van angst is de GAD-7 gebruikt en voor het meten van stress is de PSS gebruikt. De eerste hypothese was dat sterkere overtuigingen een negatieve relatie hebben met gemoedsrust. De tweede hypothese was dat de relatie tussen sterkere overtuigingen en gemoedsrust verzwakt wanneer men aan mindfulness doet. De hoofdrelatie was niet significant met zowel de GAD-7 als de PSS als afhankelijke variabele. Ook was de moderatieanalyse in beider gevallen niet significant. Wel bleek bij verdere visuele inspectie dat het doen van mindfulness leidde tot meer angst en stress, in tegenstelling tot wanneer men niet aan mindfulness deed. Dit onderzoek wijst uit dat de filosofische stroming van het Pyrronisme als psychotherapie niet toepasbaar is voor de behandeling van angsten en stress in de hedendaagse tijd. Ook kan geconcludeerd worden dat mindfulness de relatie tussen het hebben van sterkere overtuigingen en gemoedsrust niet beïnvloedt.Show less
This thesis analyses the impact of the colonization era of Japan on South Korea, and how this impacts the economic relations between these two countries over the last decade. Furthermore, this...Show moreThis thesis analyses the impact of the colonization era of Japan on South Korea, and how this impacts the economic relations between these two countries over the last decade. Furthermore, this thesis will look into the events that took place during the colonial era, such as the comfort women issue and the forced labor issue.Show less
The International Monetary Fund has often been criticised on account of its tendency to be lenient in loan conditionality to certain countries that it considers important. This research seeks to...Show moreThe International Monetary Fund has often been criticised on account of its tendency to be lenient in loan conditionality to certain countries that it considers important. This research seeks to narrow in on the effect of economic importance from the perspective of western donor states on IMF loan efficacy. Apart from providing a gap in the research, this topic is deemed important because of its value for developmental economics and upcoming issues in that field. Moreover, the results allow concrete policy decisions to be made. Employing a bivariate and multiple linear regression analysis, this paper seeks to answer the question what is the effect of the perceived economic importance of states for western actors on the efficacy of loans by the IMF? In foreshadowing results, this paper finds that a higher economic importance, and high rates of accountability and corruption, lead to a lower efficacy of IMF loans. It is argued that this is the case because of the moral hazard issue, time-inconsistency problem, and the structure of the IMF. The model does however lack full robustness.Show less
The first elections after the anti-establishment Arab Spring protests resulted in a victory for Islamist political parties in a number of MENA countries. This came as a surprise to the West, which...Show moreThe first elections after the anti-establishment Arab Spring protests resulted in a victory for Islamist political parties in a number of MENA countries. This came as a surprise to the West, which points of view are known to contradict Islam with the democracy and civil liberties that the Arab Spring protests called for. It comes as no surprise then that Islamist political success is often contributed to the inclusion of these parties in a pluralist and democratic playfield. Allegedly, this forces them to bargain and negotiate with other actors, resulting in the disappearance of Islamist ideological elements and making them viable options for the electorate. This prominent way of thinking - which has been called the moderation through inclusion theory - is much critiqued for being too shortsighted in its view of political Islamism. That is why this thesis argues in favor of an alternative approach that shifts the focus from the outcome of a period of political transition and whether or not this is moderate, to one that emphasizes the processes and internal and external factors that shape the ideological transformations of these parties. By looking at the most prominent Islamist parties of three countries (Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt) and tracing their historical developments and contexts based on these internal and external factors, this thesis then offers an alternative explanation to the popularity of political Islamism in the first elections after the Arab Spring uprisings.Show less
Vermeer was born and baptised as a Protestant. Due to his marriage to the Catharina Bolnes, a Catholic woman of high society, Vermeer converted to the Catholic faith. Vermeer started as a history...Show moreVermeer was born and baptised as a Protestant. Due to his marriage to the Catharina Bolnes, a Catholic woman of high society, Vermeer converted to the Catholic faith. Vermeer started as a history painter. Among his first known works are large paintings with religious (Catholic) subject matter. Later, he mainly painted small genre pieces. One of his last works, however, is Allegory of the Catholic Faith, an enormous painting. In this thesis it is argued that the change in painted subject matter is a result of Vermeers conversion to Catholicism. His religious paintings are most probably commissioned. Since the Protestant faith was the State religion in the 17th century Netherlands and the Catholic faith was officially prohibited, the market for paintings with Catholic subject matter was very limited: eligible clients were either hidden churches, or rich Catholic civilians. Economic motives - Vermeer had a large family to maintain - may have urged him to tap into a new market. Genre paintings were popular at the time. The small format of Vermeer's genre paintings involved less costs. Unknown is whether these genre paintings were commissioned. It is assumed that his genre paintings were sold immediately after, of even before, they were finished. Half of Vermeer's paintings were bought by his patrons, the Protestant couple Van Ruijven-De Knuijt from Delft. No relation is apparent between Vermeer's shift to (mainly) genre painting and his stilistic development. Vermeer's fame is mainly due to his non-religious later work, especially his genre pieces.Show less
