Domestic servants a ubiquitous feature of Latin American society, they are fully embedded in everyday life and seem invisible in real life and even in visual media. Recently, there has been an...Show moreDomestic servants a ubiquitous feature of Latin American society, they are fully embedded in everyday life and seem invisible in real life and even in visual media. Recently, there has been an increase in the representation of lower classes on screen and domestic servants have more representation, even though it is limited. The attention on the previously ignored is a shift from traditional values and breaks social taboos. The movies La Nana (Sebastian Silva, Chile, 2009) and Que Horas Ela Volta? (Anna Muylaert, Brazil, 2015) focus on these invisible characters and the traditional social oppression of the maid. This thesis provides a cultural study on film narrative and style, covering class, gender and ethnicity differences on the maids in a comparison of La Nana and Que Horas Ela Volta?. These movies aim to present class division in Chile and Brazil with the maid as narrative and make the maid visible. However, this thesis argues that maids are a little visible with their presence in movies, but unheard. The hypothesis is that the movies address the social oppression of domestic servants and although the new identity-forming of lower classes is somewhat broken through, the maid remains a largely invisible, ambiguous, and unrepresented character.Show less
Since the turn of the millennia, considerable rethinking of modern development aid has taken place. In this context, the High Level Fora on Aid Effectiveness which took place in Paris in 2005, and...Show moreSince the turn of the millennia, considerable rethinking of modern development aid has taken place. In this context, the High Level Fora on Aid Effectiveness which took place in Paris in 2005, and Busan in 2011, can both be regarded as important turning points. While the first brought about greater recognition of recipient ownership in the development process, the second strengthened the role of private sector actors. Against this background, this thesis sets out to investigate the ways in which collaboration between public and private actors has been realized in the case of Swedish development aid, and the role that recipient ownership has received in this context. Having been among the most progressive actors in the field of development aid, Sweden has sought close cooperation with the private sector, as well as aid recipients throughout its practices. In order to gain a better understanding of the changes which have taken place over the course of the years, a case study analysis is conducted of Sweden’s past engagement in the form of the ‘Small Industries Program’ in Tanzania on the one hand, and its recent private sector support through the ‘Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund’ on the other.Show less
Among the vast variety of cultural categories in Japan, there is one that has been growing in strength and popularity since the 1970s and is now one of the most sought-after professions among...Show moreAmong the vast variety of cultural categories in Japan, there is one that has been growing in strength and popularity since the 1970s and is now one of the most sought-after professions among teenagers in Japan: seiyū (voice actor). Annually, hundreds of students apply for vocational schools and agencies in order to get training to become a voice actor. The profession is highly romanticized, but the reality of it includes many problematic aspects as well. This research focusses on the seiyū industry of Japan, its educational properties, and the way it supports the anime market and vice versa.Show less
An account of Mozi's political philosophy from the perspective of his synthesis of power and knowledge through the formulation of a meritocratic bureaucracy designed to employ and empower officials...Show moreAn account of Mozi's political philosophy from the perspective of his synthesis of power and knowledge through the formulation of a meritocratic bureaucracy designed to employ and empower officials with the appropriate skills and expertise for governing.Show less
The relationship between Britain and Singapore was tied under colonial history, and it is known that post- colonial relationships are sensitive in nature. In order to determine the nature of the...Show moreThe relationship between Britain and Singapore was tied under colonial history, and it is known that post- colonial relationships are sensitive in nature. In order to determine the nature of the relationship, there is another significant figure that shared parallel political endeavours with Lee Kuan Yew, and that is Britain’s first female prime minister Margaret Thatcher. On top of that, both prime ministers shared the same reputation of being tenacious and often acted dictatorially. Among two other British prime ministers during Lee Kuan Yew’s tenure, Margaret Thatcher had a significant relationship with the Singaporean prime minister. They also both ended their premierships on the same day, 28th November 1990. A country’s prime minister can act as the main representative of the government and often the leader reflects the country’s policy. Therefore, this BA thesis will analyze the questions: How does the relationship of Lee Kuan Yew and Margaret Thatcher illustrate the alliance between the former coloniser and the colonised? And how did they perceive each other as prime ministers?Show less
This research examines support for the Mujahideen insurgency in Afghanistan during the Cold War. It provides critical literature analysis of intelligence reports created during the conflict. It...Show moreThis research examines support for the Mujahideen insurgency in Afghanistan during the Cold War. It provides critical literature analysis of intelligence reports created during the conflict. It then explains key choices within the proxy war through International Relations theory.Show less
This thesis examines China’s transition from empire to nation by looking at intellectual changes and educational reform. There were many continuities between what the (late) Qing state,...Show moreThis thesis examines China’s transition from empire to nation by looking at intellectual changes and educational reform. There were many continuities between what the (late) Qing state, respectively the (early) Republican government, sought to inculcate into the populace, and both sought to use education to do so. This thesis explores why this was the case and argues that some of the causes for these continuities are to be found in the following factors: pre-existing notions of China as an imagined community, nationalism and patriotism; the respective internal and external pressures that were present; intellectual movements (that sometimes constituted a sort of bottom-up initiative); the role of the press in articulating views from elite intellectuals that participated in such movements, as well as the role of the press in disseminating state views; and continuities in education personnel.Show less
The thesis deals with the reception of Lā Sakākīn fī Maṭābikh Hādhihi al-Madīna, a novel about an aristocratic family living in Aleppo, that disintegrates more and more due to the influence of the...Show moreThe thesis deals with the reception of Lā Sakākīn fī Maṭābikh Hādhihi al-Madīna, a novel about an aristocratic family living in Aleppo, that disintegrates more and more due to the influence of the ruling party. It was composed by Syrian writer Khaled Khalifa, and published in 2013. For the research project, a combination of online sources was examined, namely official reviews published on websites of newspapers, and reader responses on social networking site Goodreads. After giving an overview of reception theory and Arabic literary criticism over time, the method used for analysing the texts is described. It was derived from an article by Wendy Griswold, in which she divided readers into different audiences and described their evaluations. The same is done in the thesis, readers are divided according to the language they communicate in (Arabic vs. English / Dutch), as well as concerning the way they publish their reactions (use of social media vs. official websites). Succeeding chapters discuss important findings, firstly with regard to literary value, secondly regarding politics, and thirdly concerning social morals. Its excellent reception in the Arabic world was called into question, as well as the assumption that ‘Western’ critics do not comment on the literary value of Arabic novels. The thesis concludes by summarising its results, of which the most outstanding may be the critical attitude towards authority of users of social media in combination with their, on the whole, conservative ideas.Show less
Hiroshi Ono, een Japanse professor die gespecialiseerd is in educatie, sociologie en economie, bespreekt in zijn “Does Examination Hell Pay Off?” het beruchte fenomeen in Japan waarin prestatiedruk...Show moreHiroshi Ono, een Japanse professor die gespecialiseerd is in educatie, sociologie en economie, bespreekt in zijn “Does Examination Hell Pay Off?” het beruchte fenomeen in Japan waarin prestatiedruk hoog ligt. Japanse middelbare scholieren met de aspiraties om te studeren aan het hoger onderwijs zijn zich bewust van het intensieve proces dat hen te wachten staat. Vanwege de Japanse cultuur staat het namelijk zeer hoog in het vaandel dat zij terecht komen op een universiteit van hun voorkeur. Deze zijn vaak prestigieus van aard. Hoe hoger de instituut in het klassement staat, hoe groter de kans is om na de studie te belanden in een bedrijf dat eveneens prestigieus van aard is. Bedrijven met een hoog aanzien hebben de grootste voorkeuren vanwege de goede startersfunctie, de garantie op een permanente functie en de opbouw van een succesvolle carrière. Om deze droom te verwezenlijken, storten Japanse scholieren zich volledig op de voorbereiding van de toelatingstoetsen en worden ze sinds de kinderjaren klaargestoomd voor die momentopname. De toelating tot de universiteiten is geheel afhankelijk van de toetsresultaten, waardoor de prestatiedruk extreem hoog ligt. Deze periode van voorbereiding heeft daarom de naam toegewezen gekregen als juken jikoku 受験地獄, wat letterlijk naar het Nederlands wordt vertaald als examenhel (Ono, 2007, 271). Deze fase bezorgt de studenten een hoop stress, met somatische gevolgen van dien. Uit het onderzoek van Trueba et al. is bijvoorbeeld gebleken dat de lichamelijke condities van een groep Amerikaanse studenten tijdens de examenperiode achteruit zijn gegaan, hoewel er voor aanvang van het onderzoek is aangetoond dat zij in goede gezondheid waren. Examenstress kan dus negatieve emoties opwekken, waaruit fysieke klachten kunnen voortkomen. Depressie, een psychologische aandoening, ontstaat uit een chronisch patroon van negatieve stemmingen en blijkt een correlatie te hebben met de verzwakking van het immuunsysteem en daarnaast een verminderde werking van de longfunctie (Trueba et al., 2013, 206).Show less
New Religious Movements in Japan are both inspired by and inspire the contents of Japanese works of fiction. This influence is notable in the fictional works of anime and manga in particular, which...Show moreNew Religious Movements in Japan are both inspired by and inspire the contents of Japanese works of fiction. This influence is notable in the fictional works of anime and manga in particular, which have always contained varying degrees of religious themes. Three new religions are discussed in this paper: Soka Gakkai, Aum Shinrikyo, and Kofuku no Kagaku. All of these religions have used manga as a tool for self-promotion, but have also indirectly been inspired by the medium itself. Two of the larger inspirations for the religions Aum Shinrikyo and Kofuku no Kagaku were the feature animation films Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind and Akira. This and other examples are used to create an image of the interconnected web that links these religious movements and anime and manga together.Show less
This thesis provides an in-depth analysis on the #NiUnaMenos movement in Argentina which will show that the movement has correctly framed its social movement action by being congruent and having...Show moreThis thesis provides an in-depth analysis on the #NiUnaMenos movement in Argentina which will show that the movement has correctly framed its social movement action by being congruent and having credibility which has resulted into a unification of power through mass mobilization which has directly confronted the state and society in general. Therefore #NiUnaMenos can be described as an influential actor to combat violence against women in Argentina.Show less
A Bite of China is a food-themed documentary that was broadcast on the China Central Television(CCTV) on May 14, 2014. It has soon become popular among both domestic and International audiences....Show moreA Bite of China is a food-themed documentary that was broadcast on the China Central Television(CCTV) on May 14, 2014. It has soon become popular among both domestic and International audiences. However, the show is not considered to be just food-related, but a way to present China's history and culture through the country's cuisine. The popularity of A Bite of China has spurred my curiosity to investigate the factors that contribute to the attractiveness of the series. Food serves as a window through which both domestic and international audiences get to understand China's culinary culture. According to the statements of Director Chen Xiaoqing, the main motivation to create the series is to show China's culinary culture to the whole world in order to promote Chinese culture. Since it is challenging to collect and analyze the audiences' feedback about the show, l will focus on the producers' perspectives to investigate the production and presentation of A Bite of China. In this thesis, the concept of soft power which proposed by American scholar Joseph.S.Nye will be applied in the analysis of the show. The connection between China's soft power and the presentation of the show will be built to some extent.Show less
This research begins with a critical analysis of the kawaii and the cyberspace literature in the Japanese context. Based on that framework, I distinguish three main kawaii discourses: as...Show moreThis research begins with a critical analysis of the kawaii and the cyberspace literature in the Japanese context. Based on that framework, I distinguish three main kawaii discourses: as advertisement and for attraction; as a statement or rebellion; and as soft power. I select three Japanese organisations, belonging to different sectors, in order to examine whether there is an intention behind utilising their respective kawaii aesthetics to communicate a particular idea. While the messages differ based on the organisation, similar visual techniques are expended in all three cases. I hypothesise that the visual kawaii content of each organisation would fall into one of the aforementioned three main types of kawaii discourse. All examined organisations are not directly associated with the culture of cuteness. Analysis of the materials is made through visual discourse analysis, website scraping and website crawling. It revealed that indeed, all of the organisations have an agenda, put forward through the respective cute imagery. However, that agenda did not necessarily fit within the above straightforward categories that the literature suggested. Therefore, for the particular circumstances of my research, I revised the aforementioned kawaii categories to also encompass: kawaii discourse as a tool for continuity and ease; as a contraption of attraction; as a quest for peace. Finally, I conclude that cyberspace is a much more versatile medium than any of the historical kawaii channels and therefore, its contemporary communication implications do not necessarily fall into a particular category – it can address multiple ones simultaneously, reaching a vast audience. In addition, I present a visualisation of the Japanese governmental sector website network, which reveals unforeseen external digital connections of the Ministry of Defense website with closely related to kawaii organisations.Show less
Because Kirchner was elected in a time of political disenchantment, it was necessary for him to show his worth and respond to the population’s demands. The realm of human rights violations was a...Show moreBecause Kirchner was elected in a time of political disenchantment, it was necessary for him to show his worth and respond to the population’s demands. The realm of human rights violations was a grand opportunity to revive political interest and gain legitimacy in Argentina. In such a context, Kirchner’s democratic “Republica” should have been exemplary in the respect of human rights, or so was thought. Several articles and CELS reports have shown that human rights violations still occurred under Kirchner. However, this information seems to be mostly disregarded in Argentina considering that Kirchner is still the most popular president in the country’s history (Manzetti, 176). In the hope of understanding how this dissonance came to be, this piece will assess how Kirchner’s human rights discourse allowed him to deal with past human rights violations while avoiding scrutiny for present ones.Show less
