I explain in my thesis that there is a reason to suggest that besides marriage and singles, also childless couples are affecting Japan's fertility negatively. In regard to these childless couples,...Show moreI explain in my thesis that there is a reason to suggest that besides marriage and singles, also childless couples are affecting Japan's fertility negatively. In regard to these childless couples, I try to answer the following question in my thesis: what factors influence Japanese childless married couples in their decision to remain childless, despite their wish to have children? Through making use of available statistics and insights of researchers like Higuchi, I conclude that from an economic/attitudinal perspective, it can be stated that the factors that influence Japanese childless married couples in their decision to remain childless, despite their wish to have children are varied. However, the vast majority of the respondents to surveys conducted by the IPSS, expressed that they are either too old, not healthy enough or physically restricted and therefore unable to have children. A smaller percentage of the respondents also expressed that it costs too much to raise and educate children. Based on these results I state that economists and politicians should improve fertility among childless couples by focusing on creating policies that financially support them during the early years of their employment. This will generate a satisfying environment for childless couples to have children while they are young. This way Japan’s fertility is likely to rise again.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
The main objective of this thesis is to tackle the key questions that arise when one becomes aware of the omnipresence and seemingly unrestricted polysemy of the Czech reflexive marker se/si. Do...Show moreThe main objective of this thesis is to tackle the key questions that arise when one becomes aware of the omnipresence and seemingly unrestricted polysemy of the Czech reflexive marker se/si. Do all its different functions have something in common? And why are its equivalents in languages like English and Dutch exploited to a much lesser degree? Building on insights and solutions offered both by Czech structural grammarians and scholars working within different functionally oriented frameworks of present-day linguistics such as linguistic typology and Construction Grammar, the thesis attempts to draw a coherent picture of the semantic network underlying the different functions of the marker and to set this picture in a historical and crosslinguistic context.Show less
Shale gas offers both big opportunities and big risks. This has resulted in a fierce debate in the EU over the past years which placed research in a central role. This thesis investigates whether...Show moreShale gas offers both big opportunities and big risks. This has resulted in a fierce debate in the EU over the past years which placed research in a central role. This thesis investigates whether oil and gas producers (OGPs) use research to manipulate the debate. Between June 2013 to March 2014 all public available research has been collected in a database for the use of this thesis. The reports are ranked in tiers, distinguishing between primary, secondary, quantitative and qualitative research. Consequently the current level of knowledge on shale gas is assessed and linked to the research coverage of the different topics. This analysis shows the nascent state of research and the general lack of consensus on virtually all issues. Furthermore, it is establishes that economic research offers the biggest potential for manipulation. This economic research will be analyzed based on the organizational features and the content of three primary reports in order to establish whether OGPs manipulated the outcome of the research. Using the theory of Value Sensitive Design it will be established how this manipulation could influence the decision making process on shale gas.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
open access
After the conquest of Egypt by the Roman Empire many political, cultural and social changes occurred. Egyptian society underwent a process of transformation that had already begun in the last few...Show moreAfter the conquest of Egypt by the Roman Empire many political, cultural and social changes occurred. Egyptian society underwent a process of transformation that had already begun in the last few centuries with the government of foreign rulers. These changes affected the identity of many individuals, both Egyptians and foreigners living in the country, and left their mark on the material culture. In this study is analysed for the first time the collection of Graeco-Roman stucco masks from the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden. These funerary masks become an object that provides valuable information about the ethnicity and identity of their owners, belonging to the new elites. This analysis will be performed by an indirect observation of the objects, through photographs. Stylistic comparisons will be made with other masks from other collections. These comparisons may provide evidences that in some cases can lead to the proposal of relative dating. At the same time, this analysis will put forward interpretations about the possible identity of some of the masks’ owners.Show less
Media bepalen voor een groot gedeelte hoe wij grote bedrijven zien en hoe wij denken over deze bedrijven (Rosson & Brooks 2004, Hellgren et al. 2002). Met deze berichtgeving hebben ze niet...Show moreMedia bepalen voor een groot gedeelte hoe wij grote bedrijven zien en hoe wij denken over deze bedrijven (Rosson & Brooks 2004, Hellgren et al. 2002). Met deze berichtgeving hebben ze niet alleen invloed op het imago van het bedrijf, maar indirect ook op de identiteit ervan. Persvoorlichters ontvangen feedback op hun zorgvuldig gecreëerde imago via de media (Grandy & Mavin 2011). Accountants hebben de afgelopen jaren te maken gehad met een groot aantal schandalen waarbij werknemers samen met de bedrijven waarvan ze de boeken controleerden de regels overtraden om er zelf beter van te worden. Dit heeft invloed gehad op het imago van accountant Deloitte. In maart 2012 moest daar zelfs de hoogste baas aftreden omdat hij belangen had in een bedrijf dat Deloitte als onafhankelijk accountant zou moeten controleren. In de periode rond het aftreden van Meeter zijn veel meer schandalen aan het licht gekomen. Het is moeilijk om te zien of er voor zijn aftreden anders over Deloitte en haar accountants werd gesproken dan daarvoor, maar het is duidelijk dat journalisten al deze schandalen telkens weer achter elkaar zetten en zo een soort trend lieten zien waardoor accountancy wordt geportretteerd als beroep waar het werk wordt gezien als moreel verwerpelijk, als dirty work (Grandy & Mavin 2011). Het is niet duidelijk of al deze schandalen echt als trend kunnen worden gezien, zeker het aftreden van Meeter lijkt eerder een vergissing dan een bewuste overtreding. Accountants worden in berichtgeving over Deloitte geportretteerd als commercieel en gericht op winst (Carnegie & Napier 2010) en regelmatig ook als frauderen accountants en witte-boorden criminelen (Minkes & Minkes 2008). De taken die niets met accountancy te maken hebben, blijven buiten deze typering, ook al gaat het om hetzelfde bedrijf. Als er alleen gekeken wordt naar de accountancytak van Deloitte, wordt het stigma van accountancy als dirty work over de volle breedte van het beroep toegepast. Omdat niet alle accountants fraude plegen en omdat het ook regelmatig gaat om een verdachtmaking in plaats van een veroordeling, gaat de typering van accountancy als dirty work niet diep (Kreiner et al. 2006).Show less
Research master thesis | Middle Eastern Studies (research) (MA)
closed access
In 2011 an unprecedented wave of protests erupted from Tunisia and soon spread throughout the Arab World. While the initial euphoria was backed by the revolutions in Tunis and Cairo, the course of...Show moreIn 2011 an unprecedented wave of protests erupted from Tunisia and soon spread throughout the Arab World. While the initial euphoria was backed by the revolutions in Tunis and Cairo, the course of events in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain and ultimately Syria began to highlight that a romantic view of revolutions seems out of place. The two kingdoms of Jordan and Morocco have also witnessed significant protests in 2011 especially. However, these did not lead to a revolution – in fact, this was not their goal. The vast majority of those rallying in the streets demanded reforms of Jordan's and Morocco's political institutions, including the parliament, the electoral law and the constitution. This development, combined with the resilience of the Gulf monarchies (with Bahrain as a critical case), has once again brought the monarchy debate back into the limelight. The major underlying question here is does monarchy matter? Facing protests, both Abdullah II and Muhammad VI responded by reforming institutions. In Jordan, the constitution was amended and elections were held. In Morocco, the people could decide on a new constitution by means of a referendum and early elections were held. While ostensibly giving in to the demands of the protesters, these changes did not challenge the status quo but left Abdullah II and Muhammad VI with their almost omnipotent power. From a theoretical perspective this seems particularly interesting. Different approaches, stressing the impact of rentierism, foreign support or family participation, have attempted to explain the survival of monarchies in the Arab World over the past decades. The euphoria of the 'third wave of democratization' (Huntington) and the 'end of history' (Fukuyama) then transcended into scholarly publications during the 1990s, fostering the idea of institutions, once in place, contributing to a gradual process of democratization. During the second half of the 2000s scholars then began to realize that such effects failed to materialize in many cases. In fact, incumbents seemed to have employed democratic rhetoric and (re-)installed parliaments as well as elections while at the same time limiting their power and impact. In Jordan and Morocco these institutions also included another crucial function to Abdullah II and Muhammad VI respectively: they provided an intermediary level between king and people that can be criticized. In order to underpin this analysis, several primary sources for selected key dates since 2011 were taken into account besides the secondary literature. For Jordan, speeches of Abdullah II were considered as well as the text of the constitution, seeing that the latter was subject to change in 2011. Moreover, the coverage of the pro-monarchy newspaper Al-Dustour, the independent Ammon News and the country's main political opposition, the Islamic Action Front IAF, was analyzed. In a similar fashion, the statements of Muhammad VI and the kingdom's constitution were looked at for Morocco. Furthermore, the pro-monarchy newspaper Al-Sabah and the independent Al-Masa' were part of the analysis as well as Morocco's Islamist political opposition party, the Parti de la Justice et du Développement PJD, and the 20 February Movement, a youth group that was founded in early 2011. As the analysis suggests, the discourse about changes in the political system that erupted again in 2011 was almost entirely directed at reforming political institutions. Across the board official statements, pro-monarchy newspapers, but also independent and oppositional groups, made use of a technical language that focused on reforming the parliament, the electoral law or the constitution. These actors also approved the changes made respectively, seeing a solution and a step forward in them. Here, only little demands for a continued reform were raised. All these actors seemed to operate within the boundaries defined by the palace. The example of the 20 February Movement in Morocco stressed how deviating from this public reform discourse can result in selective repression and crackdown. The monarchies Jordan and Morocco have dodged the Arab Spring by allowing and engaging in institutional reforms. Although constitutions were amended or changed and elections were held the power balance has not changed. Accordingly, these institutions have helped Abdullah II and Muhammad VI to maintain their hold onto power rather than lowering it. Such an understanding of political institutions challenges the idea of them ultimately bringing about democratic change. Moreover, with regards to the monarchy debate the findings suggest that such a political setup, in which institutions serve as intermediary between king and people, allows the kings to remain seemingly distant from daily politics. It appears more difficult for presidents or prime minister, as heads of states in republics, to act in a similar fashion as they are by definition presiding the government.Show less
Deze scriptie beschrijft de transformatie van de Chinese vrouw onder invloed van de sociale en economische ontwikkelingen in het hedendaagse China, zoals in beeld gebracht in drie recente...Show moreDeze scriptie beschrijft de transformatie van de Chinese vrouw onder invloed van de sociale en economische ontwikkelingen in het hedendaagse China, zoals in beeld gebracht in drie recente speelfilms. Door per film te onderzoeken hoe de vrouwen worden neergezet en behandeld door anderen, tracht deze scriptie de positie van de Chinese vrouw in de hedendaagse stad weer te geven en van commentaar te voorzien.Show less
For China, 2013 was the year of anti-corruption. The starting point of my research is that anti-corruption is not just a process of punishing political or economic crimes or improving supervision...Show moreFor China, 2013 was the year of anti-corruption. The starting point of my research is that anti-corruption is not just a process of punishing political or economic crimes or improving supervision mechanisms, but also a process to reconstruct the Party’s legitimacy. Therefore, from the perspective of political legitimacy, questions concerning how to tell the story of corruption become crucial. My central research question focuses on (1) what the discursive range of anti-corruption reporting by different Chinese media was and (2) how these narratives related to the Party’s legitimacy.Show less
How should we think about causation in the law? Traditionally, the law distinguishes two kinds of criteria for legal causation. First, there are criteria to establish cause in fact. These criteria...Show moreHow should we think about causation in the law? Traditionally, the law distinguishes two kinds of criteria for legal causation. First, there are criteria to establish cause in fact. These criteria are applied to determine whether there is a factual causal connection between the agent’s behavior and another event. Second, there are criteria to establish the adequate cause. These criteria are applied to determine whether a cause in fact is a salient cause for the law. I argue that the criteria for cause in fact are insufficiently specified in traditional legal theory. The criteria for cause in fact are implicitly contrastive, but lack an account of the admissibility of the contrasts. I develop distinct accounts of the admissibility of the contrasts for tort law and criminal law, and argue that rather than ask whether the effect would still have occurred in the absence of the defendant’s behavior, the law requires us to ask whether lawful behavior by either the defendant alone or by all agents involved, as specified by the plaintiff or prosecutor, would have prevented the effect from occurring. It follows that legal relevance considerations determine the contrasts underlying the criteria for cause in fact and that the cause in fact/adequate cause distinction in the law cannot hold. Furthermore, I argue that the traditional criteria for adequate cause should limit legal responsibility for some outcomes of the contrastive causal analysis, but do not play a role in this analysis. Therefore, the traditional criteria for adequate cause should not be considered part of the concept of legal causation.Show less
In an article by Louise Edwards she mentioned the writer Wang Yigang who pointed out some similarities between the fictional character Wang Xifeng and the historical Empress Wu Zetian (625-705) of...Show moreIn an article by Louise Edwards she mentioned the writer Wang Yigang who pointed out some similarities between the fictional character Wang Xifeng and the historical Empress Wu Zetian (625-705) of the Tang dynasty. In my thesis I wanted to explore this matter further. My main question is whether Wang Xifeng in the Dream of the Red Chamber, written by Cao Xueqin (ca. 1715 - ca.1764) in the Qing Dynasty, and Wu Zetian have striking similarities. A subquestion is whether there is any evidence that Cao Xueqin modeled his character Wang Xifeng after Wu Zetian. My findings are that the good and especially the bad qualities of character largely correspond, as well as aspects of behavior and skills. The main difference is the social position of the two women. My transgressionmodel illustrates that both women crossed socially accepted borders by making use of masculine behavior (gender bending). There is not enough evidence to prove that Cao Xueqin modeled his character after Wu Zetian. This research is interdisciplinary and contributes to the academic fields of China Studies and Gender Studies.Show less
With relations to the position of the museum as an institution dealing with heritage preservation, it can be inferred from the quote above that objects have a significant influence in defining...Show moreWith relations to the position of the museum as an institution dealing with heritage preservation, it can be inferred from the quote above that objects have a significant influence in defining culture. Therefore the way that museum collections are accumulated cannot be overlooked. Indeed, according to Peter ter Keurs, collecting is not a neutral activity and in the colonial times, it is a political statement (2009, p. 147). This implies the political nature of museums and its connection with colonialism, in the way that museum collections comprise of objects considered valuable by the colonial power’s perspective. Proceeding from these concepts, my aim is to focus on the analysis of Indonesian collections in the National Museum of Indonesia and the National Museum of Ethnology in Leiden. To be more particular, the thesis seeks to enquiry the repatriation of objects as well as museum collaboration and how these affect the relationship between the two museums, and the two countries. In doing so, the thesis will also look into the practice of collecting, the birth of museums, and the debate over cultural ownership as the foundation to proceed to the discussion about repatriation, museum collaboration, and shared cultural inheritance.Show less
