The Rights of Nature is a new paradigm shift which holds that Nature has fundamental rights. Proponents claim that this new form of ecological governance will create sustainable solutions for...Show moreThe Rights of Nature is a new paradigm shift which holds that Nature has fundamental rights. Proponents claim that this new form of ecological governance will create sustainable solutions for environmental degradation as well as expand the cultural heritage and rights of indigenous peoples. However, there lacks sufficient transparency to what extent these claims are accurate. The goal of this thesis is to investigate the Rights of Nature from a cultural heritage perspective in order to create greater understanding and clarity. The core of the research is to look at the interrelation between the Rights of Nature, landscape protection and heritage studies. In turn, this interrelation can reveal to what extent the Rights of Nature truly expands the cultural heritage and rights of indigenous peoples as well as promotes environmental protection. The research focuses on the parallel cases of Ecuador and New Zealand where the Rights of Nature are legally recognised but approached in different ways. First, the research takes a closer look at the origins, developments and characteristics of the Rights of Nature movement, including the interrelated expansion of the human rights development. Second, the heritage focus reveals that western and indigenous heritage values have a different conception of the human-Nature relationship. Indigenous heritage values reflect an intimate relation with Nature where both humans and the natural world are equally interconnected. In contrast, western heritage values reflect a dualistic perspective on the human-Nature relationship, where human culture is separated from Nature and often in dominion over Nature. These contrasting conceptions, in turn, shape the way cultural landscape protection as well as the Rights of Nature is defined and expressed. From a pure theoretical framework, the Rights of Nature carries both elements of western and indigenous heritage values, however, this is not straightforward and remains ambiguous. The case studies show that Ecuador and New Zealand carry both strong and weak elements in how the implement their Rights of Nature. As a result, the countries have a different outcome in how they protect their cultural landscapes in relation to environmental challenges as well as to what extent they expand the cultural heritage and rights of indigenous peoples. The research presents a variety of conclusions, but the main point is that the Rights of Nature can be regarded as a small step forward in the recognition of Nature’s right, however, it is not the end-solution. So far, the Rights of Nature does not sufficiently expand the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples as well as provides straightforward solutions to environmental degradation. Alternatively, when the western legal system changes its fundamental normative rules that define the principles of rights to a relationship framework, indigenous people’s rights and cultural traditions can be easier embraced. We need a language of law that brings to light the patterns of relationship rather than hides it in structures of hierarchies, boundaries and competing interests. When relationship patterns become the intention within the legal framework, the Rights of Nature can become more effective in bringing about its aim.Show less
The temple of Empel was interpreted as a religious cult place were Hercules Magusanus was devoted by the Batavian elite. However, Roman religion was very complex in Germania Inferior where religion...Show moreThe temple of Empel was interpreted as a religious cult place were Hercules Magusanus was devoted by the Batavian elite. However, Roman religion was very complex in Germania Inferior where religion was entangled in multiple part of society. This results in a diversity of deities, rituals, and audience group. The temple of Empel does not fit in the general idea of Roman religion and there is no explanation why the archaeological site in Empel an abnormality in the general idea of Roman religion is. This thesis wants to give an explanation how a local site functioned in the general idea of Roman religion in order to better understand how Roman religion worked. When looking at the religion’s practises in Germania Inferior, no spatial pattern of religion can be seen. This is in line with the general idea of how Roman religion worked. The regional level on the civitas Batavorum is also in line with this general idea of Roman religion: no spatial pattern is detectable. The temple complexes worked in this Batavian civitas in the same way of how Roman religion worked, because multiple deities were found, temple complexes work in a broader perspective than only religion, and there is evidence for interpretatio Romana. The temple of Empel is not different from this general idea. In this temple complex, not only Hercules Magusanus is devoted, but probably also Luna, Mother-Goddess, and Fortuna. Moreover, not only the military Batavian elite devoted here, but also women and ordinary men according to the jewellery. This means that the temple of Empel fits in the general idea of how Roman religion worked and this thesis proves why.Show less
This research examines majolica pottery produced in Italy during the Renaissance period. More specifically, it is concerned with the provenance of two Italian majolica collections of the 13th to...Show moreThis research examines majolica pottery produced in Italy during the Renaissance period. More specifically, it is concerned with the provenance of two Italian majolica collections of the 13th to the 15th century, the first being composed of Italian majolica fragments from Crete (Greece) and the second being the Pringsheim collection of majolica vessels, some of which are currently exhibited in the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam (the Netherlands). The scarcity of fragments of Renaissance earthenware in Crete, the largest colony of the Serenissima Republic of Venice, belies the Venetian domination of the island that lasted for almost 400 years. The few fragments uncovered are analyzed herein and discussed with regard to their provenance and the status of majolica production in Crete and the Mediterranean more generally. The story and the origins of the Pringsheim collection of vessels and its relation to Nazi looting of artworks is also presented, allowing for a discussion of the trade in precious earthenware and restitution claims on seized art. The examination of these two significantly different collections also allows for a broader discussion of how museums, heirs, and states deal with the Italian pottery of the post-Medieval period.Show less
The ‘Galatians’ are often stereotypically depicted as warlike barbarians that migrated to Asia Minor during the early third century BCE. After they plundered their way through Greece and Anatolia,...Show moreThe ‘Galatians’ are often stereotypically depicted as warlike barbarians that migrated to Asia Minor during the early third century BCE. After they plundered their way through Greece and Anatolia, they adapted themselves to the customs of the superior ‘Greeks’ of the Hellenistic world. This research aims to change this conventional paradigm through the investigation of their fortifications. Three ‘Galatian’ fortifications are analysed, these are called Tabanlioğlu Kale, Zengibar Kale and Karalar. The ‘Hellenistic'-style of these undervalued military fortifications are until now interpreted as the unidirectional result of dominant ethnic ‘Greek’ cultural influence. The goal of this study is to re-examine these traditional thoughts in light of the globalisation theory. It will investigate the relationship between the local and global characteristics of the fortifications and try to understand the various cultural relationships that appeared in central Anatolia during the Hellenistic-Roman period. The research finally exposes that the ‘Galatian’ fortifications were local creations but that they were also used as active agents to express a notion of ‘belonging’ to the wider global Hellenistic world.Show less
Over the last few decades, several methods have been explored and applied to circumvent the Abbe-Rayleigh diffraction limit, probably most importantly, stochastic super-resolution fluorescence...Show moreOver the last few decades, several methods have been explored and applied to circumvent the Abbe-Rayleigh diffraction limit, probably most importantly, stochastic super-resolution fluorescence microscopy methods. Another possibility, relying only on linear classical optics, is to exploit optical superoscillations, and is far less explored to date. In this project we explore the use of optical vortices for super-resolution far-field imaging. For this, we investigate strongly focused optical fields using a number of theoretical methods, we implement an experiment where a micro-pinhole is scanned through the focus, and, explore spin-orbit interactions of strongly focused optical fields. We find that our micron-sized pinhole is able to discern structures much smaller than its own size and leads to an enhancement of the spin-orbit interaction. Our method can be implemented as a simple and fast tool for characterizing the intensity distribution of a focused field with high resolution.Show less
We characterized an alternatively designed, low-cost “electron bombarding based” silicon L-shell radiation source, to be applied for metrology in the Extreme Ultra Violet Lithography process. The...Show moreWe characterized an alternatively designed, low-cost “electron bombarding based” silicon L-shell radiation source, to be applied for metrology in the Extreme Ultra Violet Lithography process. The design of the source enables adjustable focusing of the electrons on the target. A transmission grating spectrometer as well as a silicon drift detector were used to determine the radiation spectrum. In our electron-based source, we found that the maximum source power input was 80 W. Experiments with the grating spectrometer showed that for electrons with an energy of 5 kV, the source produced a power of 2 * 10^(-6) W/sr and the conversion efficiency amounts to 8 * 10^(-8)/sr for radiation around 13.5 nm. Regarding spectrum detection, the sensitivity of the silicon drift detector appeared too low to measure the silicon L peak. A decreased signal of silicon L-shell radiation was observed associated with the growing of carbon K peak.Show less
In this research, we aim to achieve sub-mK effective electron measurements to better analyze effects that occur at these very low temperatures. We do this by using a Faraday cage, through which we...Show moreIn this research, we aim to achieve sub-mK effective electron measurements to better analyze effects that occur at these very low temperatures. We do this by using a Faraday cage, through which we send a signal using sets of inductors. In order to test this, we define an effective frequency range for our signal by analyzing the theoretical electrical side effects that occur in our system. We perform multiple room temperature tests on our system within the defined frequency range, and work towards testing the effectiveness of our system at millikelvin temperatures as well.Show less
Master thesis | Statistical Science for the Life and Behavioural Sciences (MSc)
open access
Currently, platelet transfusion is the main treatment for patients with thrombocytopenia due to haematological malignancy and intensive chemotherapy. When the platelet count is low, transfusion is...Show moreCurrently, platelet transfusion is the main treatment for patients with thrombocytopenia due to haematological malignancy and intensive chemotherapy. When the platelet count is low, transfusion is given to prevent bleedings. However, the platelet count is not the only determinant of bleeding (Ypma et al., 2019). Other biomarkers might additionally or even better predict bleeding such as the albumincreatinine ratio measured in urine. This thesis project will determine the predictive value of these new biomarkers where we would like to predict the ”untreated risk” of bleeding: the risk of bleeding if patients would not receive a transfusion. We used a real dataset that contains 88 patients with 116 thrombocytopenic episodes in which patients’ platelet counts are low and they may develop a bleeding. A problem is that the patients who received transfusions cause diculty in predicting the “untreated risk”. Another problem is that transfusions were given partly based on the platelet counts, which makes the e↵ect of transfusion on bleeding confounded by platelet count. We considered two situations. One was to predict the bleeding during the day based on the platelet count that was measured in the morning (the one-day situation). The two-day situation was to predict bleeding in the next two days, but before the second day-night based on the platelet count that was measured on the first day morning. In the first part of this thesis, we structured the relationship between biomarkers, transfusions and bleeding by expressing them in causal diagrams. Using the causal diagrams, we found the reason why the conventional models failed to predict untreated risk in the two-day situation. We found that the marginal structural model might be a solution. In the second part, we set up a simulation to verify whether the marginal structural model or conventional regression models can handle the confounding in the one-day situation and the time-dependent confounding in the two-day situation. Based on our simulation studies, we concluded that for the one-day situation the regression model including treatment and predictor was well equipped, while in the two-day situation the marginal structure model is recommended to estimate the “untreated” risk. In the third part, we applied the models to the dataset. We found that in the one-day situation urine albumin/creatinine ratio and the platelet count have potential predictive value for predicting same day bleeding, while, for the two-day situation, only the urine albumin/creatinine ratio was significantly associated with the risk of bleeding in all models. Additionally, there was not a clear e↵ect of transfusion detected in the one-day situation and two-day situation.Show less
Phase-based conductivity mapping using MRI data contains an assumption of locally constant complex permittivity and use of a differential operator which result in significant inaccuracies at tissue...Show morePhase-based conductivity mapping using MRI data contains an assumption of locally constant complex permittivity and use of a differential operator which result in significant inaccuracies at tissue boundaries and amplification of noise in data. This work focuses on the implementation of an iterative model-based nonlinear optimization algorithm that aims to surpass these rising inaccuracies. The algorithm is designed to optimize conductivity maps using phase data acquired from MRI. In addition to optimization, the algorithm focuses on regularization which further improves the optimized outcome of the conductivity maps. Successful results are demonstrated using both simulated as well as phantom data. The comparison between results of a conventional phase-based conductivity mapping and the iterative algorithm shows improved accuracy for the latter. In addition, the model-based algorithm possesses potential for reduced acquisition time as it is capable of reconstructing accurate conductivity maps with relatively low SNR. In the future, experiments on in-vivo data can be performed. Additionally, to improve the accuracy of the conductivity maps even further, implementation of optimal methods to determine regularization parameters and regularization functions is possible.Show less
