Bachelor thesis | Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology (BSc)
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Over the last decade, the usage of self-tracking wearables – that can help with everything including but not limited to sporting, sleeping, or building habits – have seen a massive rise in...Show moreOver the last decade, the usage of self-tracking wearables – that can help with everything including but not limited to sporting, sleeping, or building habits – have seen a massive rise in popularity. Consequently, a lot of research has been conducted to study how these technologies influence our autonomy. However, most of these studies focus on autonomy from the consumer’s perspective – to better understand their opinions and experiences - which does not explain with what intentions – and with what perspectives on autonomy – these technologies are created. Thus, if we want to understand why these technologies are created the way they are, it is important to understand the way designers of self-tracking technologies envision the influence of these technologies on autonomy. Therefore, this thesis will explore how the designers who produce these self-tracking technologies perceive their technology's influence on autonomy.Show less
This paper explores the nature of the EU Common Security and Defense Policy and its influence on the path to European strategic autonomy, which has increasingly become salient in EU politics in the...Show moreThis paper explores the nature of the EU Common Security and Defense Policy and its influence on the path to European strategic autonomy, which has increasingly become salient in EU politics in the past few years. Not only because of military escalation in the East or the instability in the European Neighbourhood with regard to migration, but upheaval in the structures we thought to be invincible as well: America and NATO, and Brexit. Unexpected changes don’t necessarily lead to instability when autonomy is guaranteed. How can this be achieved for the EU? After analysing said influence in four dimensions of European strategic autonomy, the reader is presented with the conclusion that the CSDP has only had a relatively small influence, and many problems with its DNA prevent the Union from taking the steps required to become self-sufficient in an increasingly hostile environment.Show less
The likelihood that someone will accept help is determined by several factors. Research in various fields of study have shown that having a higher need for autonomy decreases likelihood of...Show moreThe likelihood that someone will accept help is determined by several factors. Research in various fields of study have shown that having a higher need for autonomy decreases likelihood of accepting help. Therefore, the current research investigated the effect of need for autonomy on likelihood of accepting help in financial hardship. Furthermore, type of help was tested as a moderator of this effect. It was proposed that the effect would not exist for autonomy-oriented help, since this does not threaten people’s sense of autonomy (contrary to dependency-oriented help, which does threaten sense of autonomy). A survey in which participants were primed with financial hardship was conducted to test these effects. Need for autonomy was measured with the Index of Autonomous Functioning. Both the main effect and interaction effect were non-significant. Several explanations for these findings are proposed, such as a greater tendency to accept help among woman than among man.Show less
Purpose: This thesis aims to understand the causal mechanistic relationship between organisational centralisation and Public Service Motivation (PSM). It tests and explains one existing causal...Show morePurpose: This thesis aims to understand the causal mechanistic relationship between organisational centralisation and Public Service Motivation (PSM). It tests and explains one existing causal mechanism based on PSM theory and explores an alternative causal mechanism based on the logic of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Design and methodology: This qualitative, single-case deductive study includes some explorative elements to explain and probe causal mechanisms. Nine semi-structured interviews provide the data which this study transcribed, coded, and analysed. Findings: The results find that organisational centralisation indeed creates stark hierarchical structures and a certain degree of autonomy loss for individual employees. This negatively impacts PSM. However, centralisation of more services in organisations such as contact centres also makes their job more varied and rewarding due to direct contact with service beneficiaries and therefore satisfies four basic universal psychological needs. In turn, this positively impacts employee motivation (PSM). Originality/value: Although not a first, this thesis brings the PSM and SDT literature closer by using the latter as a logic through which the effects of an independent variable (organisational centralisation) on the former can be explained. Furthermore, organisational centralisation has barely been studied alone as an antecedent of PSM. This thesis also shifts the continued focus from quantitative PSM studies to qualitative research. Thusly advancing the internal validity of the theory and passed research. Practical implications: The findings are especially relevant for foreign affairs ministries wishing to establish a 24/7 contact centre resembling that of the Netherlands. Centralised provision of consular and other information can be excellent for providing uniform and high-quality information to people abroad. Moreover, since good public service depends on the motivation of public employees, centralised or centralising (public) organisations should balance hierarchy creation whilst maintaining high levels of employee need satisfaction.Show less
Over half of all households in the UK experienced some type of debt between 2016 to 2018. Being in debt can pose a serious threat to wellbeing. Many of these households are not able to get out of...Show moreOver half of all households in the UK experienced some type of debt between 2016 to 2018. Being in debt can pose a serious threat to wellbeing. Many of these households are not able to get out of debt by themselves. However, many of these households also do not accept the help, often existing of free debt-advice, that is provided to them. Literature from domains such as education suggest that people might not accept help due to their autonomy being limited. This thesis looked into whether this was also the case for the domain of debt. Respondents were asked to fill out a questionnaire, existing of an implicit measure of autonomy and a hypothetical debt letter. After receiving the letter, participants were asked how likely they would be to accept the help (free debt-advice) offered in the debt letter. Surprisingly, many of the participants accepted the help, leading to the rejection of our hypothesis that the need for autonomy could predict help acceptance. The results showed that there was no relationship between the need for autonomy and help acceptance. A possible reason for this finding could be that in the domain of debt, a different barrier against help acceptance, like shame or stigma, is at play.Show less
This thesis aims to address the question: “How does the representation of Kurdish cultural resistance in visual art made by the Kurdish-Dutch diaspora fit within the Kurdish political discourse?”...Show moreThis thesis aims to address the question: “How does the representation of Kurdish cultural resistance in visual art made by the Kurdish-Dutch diaspora fit within the Kurdish political discourse?” To answer this question, films by Beri Shalmashi and Reber Dosky were analyzed by means of Visual Discourse Analysis on the basis of themes and symbols that fit within Kurdish political discourse. Unlike traditional International Relations (IR), this thesis takes an aesthetic turn and presents a more expressive and critical view from a diasporic narrative of the Kurdish question, which will deepen the knowledge concerning this conflict through visual discourse analysis. The themes and symbols discussed are cultural memory and collective trauma, the geo-linguistic homeland, autonomy, feminism, and the Kurdish mountains. These themes and symbols are all linked to Kurdish nationalism and cultural resistance and play an important role in the creation of a Kurdish identity among the Kurds living in diaspora. Moreover, this thesis demonstrates how the Kurdish diasporic community represents itself and how politicized Kurdish culture is.Show less
In In Defense of Anarchism, Robert Paul Wolff claims that a legitimate authority cannot exist, as any authority will necessarily prevent its subject’s autonomy. Jospeh Raz, in contrast, argues that...Show moreIn In Defense of Anarchism, Robert Paul Wolff claims that a legitimate authority cannot exist, as any authority will necessarily prevent its subject’s autonomy. Jospeh Raz, in contrast, argues that a legitimate authority can exist and should support its subjects’ autonomy. In the argumentation to defend their conclusions, both focus on formulating their conceptions of (legitimate) authority. In this paper, I argue that the difference in their conceptions of autonomy is the basis of the disagreement in Wolff’s and Raz’s conclusions. After a comparison of the two conceptions and the role autonomy plays in the authors’ argumentations, I conclude that Raz’s conclusion is the more plausible of the two.Show less
Approaching the turn of the 21st century, many scholars and media experts anticipated that the advent of the Internet could provide a powerful and profound source of democratization; facilitating...Show moreApproaching the turn of the 21st century, many scholars and media experts anticipated that the advent of the Internet could provide a powerful and profound source of democratization; facilitating not only instantaneous and costless information dissemination but also uniquely enabling a two-way ‘many-to-many’ pathway of political communication. Two decades on and notwithstanding this utopian vision, democracy, once again, appears caught in a state of crisis. With populism on the rise and political disengagement reaching record levels, questions regarding the tangents that connect democracy and technology must be critically reengaged. Working in this vain, this thesis sets out to test the relation between search engine technologies and the deliberative model of democracy. Looking specifically at the ideals of equality, autonomy and public justification, we ask whether the algorithms underwriting search engines invite or inhibit the realization of democratic deliberation.Show less
Thaler and Sunstein argue that applying nudges to people’s everyday decision-making will steer them towards making a decision that will benefit their health, wealth and wellbeing. Thaler and...Show moreThaler and Sunstein argue that applying nudges to people’s everyday decision-making will steer them towards making a decision that will benefit their health, wealth and wellbeing. Thaler and Sunstein argue people need help when making a decision because they have bounded rationality, lack in self-control and are easily influenced by others. By having a nudge function like a GPS system, people’s ends are respected, while also making sure the ends pursued are benefitting their lives. When applying nudges, Thaler and Sunstein do not differentiate between nudges infringing on people’s autonomy differently. It will be suggested to distinguish three degrees of nudging. These degrees vary in their impact on people, infringing on their autonomy differently. This thesis will argue that, despite their own intentions, Thaler and Sunstein fail the conditions of their theory of nudging by allowing third-degree nudges to be applied to people’s decision-making process. In doing so, they fail to uphold their condition of transparency, precluding people from making a rational, autonomous decision. By aiming at the emotional response of the nudgee, their target, the safety-valve, or the option not to go with a nudge, is made invisible and inaccessible. Despite this, Thaler and Sunstein still allow third-degree nudges, limiting people's freedom of choice, thus allowing an unjust infringement on their autonomy. For this reason, this thesis will argue that third-degree nudges should be objected. First and second-degree nudges, however, are deemed permissible to be applied to the decision-making process of adults.Show less
Many modern political campaigns use psychological profiling in order to influence voting decisions. I argue that this practice threatens the autonomy of voters. In doing so, I develop a theoretical...Show moreMany modern political campaigns use psychological profiling in order to influence voting decisions. I argue that this practice threatens the autonomy of voters. In doing so, I develop a theoretical account of autonomy. In order to protect voters from psychological profiling, I suggest a form of “privacy paternalism,” which prevents people from acquiescing to the trade and aggregation of their personal data. My thesis involves two separate claims. The first is that psychological profiling is capable of violating autonomy. The second is that, because psychological profiling can violate autonomy, it should be outlawed.Show less
This thesis will aim to provide an answer to whether Brazil’s economic autonomy was significantly enhanced under president Ernesto Geisel's new foreign policy spearhead: responsible pragmatism....Show moreThis thesis will aim to provide an answer to whether Brazil’s economic autonomy was significantly enhanced under president Ernesto Geisel's new foreign policy spearhead: responsible pragmatism. Drawing on Peter Evans’ theory of the relationship between economic development and classical dependency, this thesis argues that Brazil's new attitude did not represent a major breaking point in Brazil’s foreign policy, but managed to strengthen its bargaining power on the international theatre.Show less
In 2003, Argentina took an apparent left turn, and a power couple, Néstor Kirchner and his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, ruled the country from 2003 until the final month of 2015. This work...Show moreIn 2003, Argentina took an apparent left turn, and a power couple, Néstor Kirchner and his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, ruled the country from 2003 until the final month of 2015. This work is interested in looking at the reorientation of Argentine foreign policy during the Kirchner administrations from alignment with Washington to enhanced friendship with Chávez’ Venezuela. It attempts to answer the following research questions: “What are the main reasons for Argentina’s close relations with Venezuela from 2003 to 2015?”, “in how far can the deepening of this relationship be explained and understood by Argentina’s domestic economic and political factors?”, and, lastly, “to what extent has pragmatism shaped Argentina’s rapprochement with Venezuela?”Show less
This thesis takes as its subject Octavia Butler’s science fiction trilogy Lilith’s Brood which it reads in the context of the neo-slave narrative, using the theoretical framework of posthumanism as...Show moreThis thesis takes as its subject Octavia Butler’s science fiction trilogy Lilith’s Brood which it reads in the context of the neo-slave narrative, using the theoretical framework of posthumanism as its angle of inquiry. Most criticism concerning Lilith’s Brood fails to adequately address the discursive tension in the work between these two competing discourses: posthumanism and the neo-slave narrative. The alien invasion in Dawn for example is figured in highly contradictory terms. On the one hand it is cast in the historically grounded and emotionally charged, racialized terms of American slavery and oppression, on the other hand it is embraced as an occasion for a long overdue, radical transformation of the humanist subject into a posthuman one. The question of how these two discourses conflict and interact with each other is one that this thesis engages at length by analyzing the way Lilith’s Brood reconfigures three foundational concepts that are found in humanist philosophy – rationality, autonomy, and authenticity. According to posthumanism these virtues on which the humanist subject is founded delineate a narrow and exclusionary concept of the human. In Lilith’s Brood however they are reconfigured in order to extend to non-human creatures as well. At the same time this reconfiguration of subjectivity also more accurately describes the human condition when it is exposed in the light of posthumanism and stripped of its humanist pretentions. Each chapter takes one of the novels in the trilogy and demonstrates how it deconstructs one of these foundational concept: autonomy, authenticity and rationality. At the same time the themes of slavery and subjection run as a red thread throughout the work, at times corroborating Lilith’s Brood’s posthumanist message, at times problematizing it. In keeping these themes foregrounded the trilogy gives full expression to the struggle and danger that accompanies change, bravely acknowledging troublesome conclusions such as the inevitable inequality that haunts all power relations and the necessity of sacrifice.Show less
“A República Federativa do Brasil buscará a integração económica, política, social e cultural dos povos da América Latina, visando à formação de uma comunidade latino-americana de nações” - 1988...Show more“A República Federativa do Brasil buscará a integração económica, política, social e cultural dos povos da América Latina, visando à formação de uma comunidade latino-americana de nações” - 1988 Brazilian Constitution In the Brazilian constitution of 1988 it was already determined that regional integration of Latin America on various levels would be of great relevance to Brazil’s future foreign policy strategies (Gratius and Saraiva 3). Throughout history, Brazil has used its geographical size, population, and large economy as motives for Brazil to expand its influence in the international order. Economically, Brazil has the 7th highest GDP in the world (World Bank). Much has been written about Brazilian foreign policy during various periods and under different leaders (Burges “Brazilian” 6). This thesis examines Brazil’s foreign policy during Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s and Dilma Rousseff’s presidencies. Through a theoretical framework of the concepts of pragmatism, autonomy, and regionalism, Brazil’s role in the international arena is examined. Although pragmatism and autonomy are relatively continuous elements of Brazilian foreign policy which have been discussed in academic literature extensively, their relation to the regional integration and increasing international influence of Brazil has not been researched as much. The theoretical framework thus aims to create a foundation on which further analysis of Brazil since 2003 can be based. Through a contextual analysis of post-Cold War Brazil in relation to the theoretical framework, insight is given in order to further understand Brazil’s foreign policy strategy since 2003. Thus by combining the theoretical framework with the historical background of Brazilian foreign policy, a case study of Brazilian foreign policy can be executed. Within the case study Brazil’s ambition to exert itself as a regional leader, and consequently gain influence in the international arena is discussed through Brazil’s position in Mercosur and other (regional) bodies. An analysis of Brazil’s foreign policy decisions under Lula and Rousseff regarding these aforementioned concepts give insight into the rising influence of Brazil. Furthermore, through this comparative analysis the policy implications for Brazil’s (near) future can be outlined. Thus this thesis answers the question in what ways has Brazil further established its regional and international presence through foreign policy decisions regarding regional bodies, such as Mercosur, since Lula became president in 2003? in order to gain greater insight into Brazil’s future position in the international order.Show less
In this thesis I have defended the claim that a state which is neutral about the different conceptions of the good in society, cannot guarantee the personal autonomy of its citizens.
