In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. In response to the rapid and global spread of the disease, different countries instated different kinds of measures in...Show moreIn March 2020, the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. In response to the rapid and global spread of the disease, different countries instated different kinds of measures in different degrees, that of course triggered different outcomes. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the first case of COVD-19 was reported on February 27th of 2020 in Nigeria, and it did not take long before it spread all across the region. Despite the general challenges that the region faces in context of containing public health emergencies – relating to lack of resources and state-capacity, low accessibility of health services, poverty and a large informal sector - national responses too differed vastly. Uganda, for example, is a country often praised for its response.This stands in stark contrast with the response of neighboring country Tanzania, whose approach was characterized by simplification, denialism and dismissal of the pandemic. This thesis yields an explanation for delayed national COVID-19 responses by first comparing the cases of Tanzania and Uganda, and then taking an in-depth look at Tanzania's delayed COVID-19 response. The argument holds that, in Tanzania, contemporary political and institutional factors should be taken into account together with the post-independence, historical legacy of the ruling CCM party. It makes use of critical juncture theory and the concept of medical populism to illustrate the opening up of political-space in light of the 2020 Tanzanian Presidential elections. Further research might focus on other enablers of populism in Sub-Saharan Africa, as manifestations of populism remain under-researched there. For example, (lack of) economic development has been identified as a global cause for populism. Although this was not the case for Tanzania specifically, it might play a role elsewhere in the region.Show less
In 2021, Japan's gender wage gap was among the highest of all OECD countries. A big factor of this economic gender inequality lies in the fact that female participation in regular-work is...Show moreIn 2021, Japan's gender wage gap was among the highest of all OECD countries. A big factor of this economic gender inequality lies in the fact that female participation in regular-work is comparatively low to the participation rate in the more insecure and lower-paying irregular work jobs. Previous research has shown that there are three main obstacles to increased female participation in regular work positions. Those being the long-working-hours culture, a lack of enforcement of policies by the government, and the societal expectation that women are supposed to focus on housework and child-rearing. This paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced these obstacles and if there has been any positive change to the female participation rate in regular work. Using the concepts of exogenous shocks and critical junctures as a theoretical framework, this paper argues that the COVID-19 pandemic might have set the stage for real change in the Japanese labour market through the promotion of telework as a legitimate business practice. However, the pandemic has also highlighted or reinforced the existing obstacles to increased female participations in regular work due to the closure of schools and businesses in the hospitality industry, disproportionally affecting women.Show less
Organized crime has remained an incredibly persistent problem in Mexico in the last decades consequently causing severe levels of violence, insecurity, and corruption in the country. Historically,...Show moreOrganized crime has remained an incredibly persistent problem in Mexico in the last decades consequently causing severe levels of violence, insecurity, and corruption in the country. Historically, Mexican organized crime groups have demonstrated strong resilience and overcome various challenges posed by the Mexican and American governments. However, it is not clear how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted organized crime in Mexico. This thesis wishes to explore this by studying the changes in organized crime activity in Mexico before and during the pandemic. Based on the crime rates, it was observed that some organized crime-related activities decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, while others remained stable. These results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent regulations have had a slight, but insignificant impact on organized crime in Mexico. This strongly indicate that Mexican organized crime groups’ have the ability to show great resilience in the face of major disruptions to the social environment. This finding highlights the need for more detailed research on what mechanisms enable organized crime to remain afloat. An understanding of these mechanisms is of great significance to policymakers attempting to limit the harm of organized crime.Show less
Background: The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic led to uncertainty, stress, significant losses, and concern for physical and mental health. University students are a vulnerable subgroup affected by the...Show moreBackground: The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic led to uncertainty, stress, significant losses, and concern for physical and mental health. University students are a vulnerable subgroup affected by the outbreak. It has adversely affected their academic and social lives. Previous findings indicate heightened anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptoms. Negative coping strategies such as alcohol consumption were used to overcome the effects of pandemic fear. The aim of the study is to investigate the link between pandemic fear and negative mental health issues, and alcohol use. Methods: The study had a cross-sectional design, involving 139 university students. Online self-report measures were used to assess pandemic fear, alcohol use, depressive, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms. The covariates age, gender, and educational level were controlled for in the statistical analyses. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the relationship between pandemic fear and depressive, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms. Moderated regression was used to examine the moderating effect of alcohol use on the above-mentioned link. Bonferroni correction was used to adjust alpha levels. Results: Pandemic fear was positively linked with depressive, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms among university students. However, although alcohol use might be used as a negative coping strategy, its moderating role on the link between pandemic fear and mental health outcomes was not statistically significant. Conclusion: Overall, as pandemic fear increased, mental health issues increased in university students. Future studies with longitudinal design and larger statistical power that considers other covariates, and has measures other than self-report might be more reliable in evaluating this further.Show less
The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on Dutch public organizations, and on society as a whole. This study aims to explore the leadership preferences among public servants during times of...Show moreThe COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on Dutch public organizations, and on society as a whole. This study aims to explore the leadership preferences among public servants during times of crisis, and to make concrete recommendations for further research into the underdeveloped knowledge on public leadership preferences in times of crisis. To do so, semistructured interviews were conducted with employees from the municipalities of The Hague and Gouda, during which they were asked to report their needs in terms of three leadership styles: laissez-faire, transactional and transformational. The study found that transformational leadership was preferred during the pandemic and encourages fellow researchers to verify this using quantitative means. Further recommendations include the reexamination of the usefulness of laissez-faire leadership and the usage of different leadership frameworks to touch upon other behaviors.Show less
This paper investigates the causes behind the continual suspension of the European Union’s (EU) Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) under its general escape clause (GEC) throughout the period of 2020...Show moreThis paper investigates the causes behind the continual suspension of the European Union’s (EU) Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) under its general escape clause (GEC) throughout the period of 2020-2023. The GEC was triggered in March of 2020 on the recommendation of the European Commission to give member states fiscal room to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, but has remained in place for over three years, despite the subsiding of pandemic emergency measures, restored levels of economic activity, and the repeated recommendations and predictions from numerous European institutions that the rules were to be reinstated at the end of 2022 by the very latest. With the emergence of a legislative proposal from the European Commission to reform the SGP’s rules, questions have emerged from journalistic endeavours and academic literature as to the purpose of the extended suspension. This paper utilises explaining-outcome process-tracing as described by Beach and Pedersen (2013) to compare the expectations and assumptions of varying theories, particularly the “failing forward” theory of Jones et al., (2016) to investigate and explain the European Commission’s decision-making in the case of the SGP’s continual suspension. It concludes that the continual suspension can be minimally explained by ongoing reform efforts by the European Commission, in line with the theoretical expectations of Jones et al. and the findings of Schön-Quinlan and Sciponi (2017). It cannot rule out that the escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, and the economic knock-on effects, played a part in the decision for continual suspension. The findings of this paper have implications for understanding the European Commission as a fiscal actor in an economic crisis, and understanding the relevance of particular theories of European integration to the historical context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Show less
This paper examines the impact that the salience of the threat of contagious diseases has on Dutch citizens’ support for non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) aimed at battling this threat....Show moreThis paper examines the impact that the salience of the threat of contagious diseases has on Dutch citizens’ support for non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) aimed at battling this threat. During the COVID-19 pandemic, populations in Western countries where the salience of the threat of the coronavirus was elevated, reported high support for preventive measures. This level of support did vary between countries which led to the question of whether the outcomes would be the same for previously excluded countries, like the Netherlands. Analysing how salience influences the support for NPIs can help governments with creating the best and most supported approach to battle contagious diseases in the future. For this research, the emphasis will be on the so far understudied Dutch population. Taking previous literature on the Netherlands and its neighbouring countries, this study argues that the salience of the threat of contagious diseases will increase Dutch citizens’ support for NPIs aimed at alleviating this threat. After conducting a survey experiment, no support was found for this hypothesis since both groups, with salience and without salience of the threat, reported an equal level of support for the implementation of NPIs. Overall, as expected from previous literature, the lowest support was found for implementing a complete lockdown. Unfortunately, these findings were not generalisable to the whole Dutch population. Future research should focus on either sampling a bigger group for a similar study, or on researching what does influence the support for NPIs in the Netherlands if it is not the salience of the threat of contagious diseases.Show less
In March 2020, the Dutch government began implementing measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and to reduce the burden to the national healthcare system. Historically, Dutch mental...Show moreIn March 2020, the Dutch government began implementing measures to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, and to reduce the burden to the national healthcare system. Historically, Dutch mental healthcare has been slow to implement and utilise digital interventions, however, the new public health policies regarding social distancing presented an acute and emergent need to do so. Despite therapists’ concerns regarding its efficacy and potential technical challenges, countless mental healthcare professionals turned to videoconference therapy to conduct generalistic Basic Mental Healthcare outpatient treatments. This paradigm shift presented a rare opportunity to examine whether videoconferencing therapy yields comparable results to in-person interventions for common mental health disorders. Arkin, a large mental healthcare facility and research institute in central Amsterdam, collects routine outcome monitoring data for patients under its care, to support shared decision-making. For the purposes of this study, basic mental healthcare patients (N = 1392) were divided into three cohorts: Treatments performed prior to, treatments performed partially during, and treatments performed entirely during the COVID-19 lockdown; and pre- and post-test data were used to compare outcomes. Across the three cohort conditions, there were no differences in the treatment outcomes for videoconferencing therapy conducted during lockdowns, as compared to in-person interventions done prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, or blended treatments that had commenced as in-person treatment before the pandemic and then transitioned to videoconferencing during the lockdown. This observational study seems to indicate that videoconferencing and in-person therapies can produce similar clinical results in Basic Mental Healthcare patients with common mental health disorders, bolstering the findings of other meta-analyses and randomized controlled studies investigating this topic.Show less
Economic Governance in EU has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the suspension of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), window for reforms have become visible. To...Show moreEconomic Governance in EU has been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the suspension of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), window for reforms have become visible. To understand the implications of the proposed reforms by the EU Economic Governance Review, we conduct a case-study analysis of both COVID-19 Pandemic and the European Debt Crisis of 2009 to understand how efficient these proposed SGP reforms could be. The case-study analysis compares the public expenditures of member states to derive the efficiency of the Excessive Deficit procedure (EDP) under SGP. The author is able to derive limitations pertaining to policy failure in the analysis. Overall, even though the study might identify the subjective relevance of EDP amongst the member states, the procyclical impact of the reforms suggest further discourse in the field.Show less
Abstract Yearly, many patients get admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) worldwide, with even more admissions since the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. With the rising survival...Show moreAbstract Yearly, many patients get admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) worldwide, with even more admissions since the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. With the rising survival number, investigating the long-term Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) outcomes, which can be negatively influenced by depressive symptoms, became important. This study investigates whether there is a difference in depressive symptoms between COVID-19 and non-COVID patients that got admitted to the ICU; how depressive symptoms influence the HRQoL, and if there is a difference in HRQoL between COVID-19 patients and non-COVID patients; and if there is a relationship between the self-reported health, happiness, and satisfaction about the ICU stay and depressive symptoms. It was expected that COVID-19 patients would have a higher mean score on depressive symptoms than non-COVID patients, COVID-19 patients with depressive symptoms have lower HRQoL scores than non-COVID patients, and lastly, that there would be a negative relation between the self-reported health, happiness and satisfaction about the ICU stay and depressive symptoms. In this study, 278 patients participated. Approximately one year after ICU discharge, patients filled out a survey. For this study, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Euroqol Quality of Life (EQ6D), and general questions about the health, happiness, and satisfaction of the ICU stay were taken into account. An independent t-test demonstrated significant higher mean scores on depressive symptoms in COVID-19 patients than in non-COVID patients (p < .05). Regression analysis showed that depressive symptoms predicted HRQoL (p < .05), but HRQoL was not different between COVID versus non-COVID (p = .225). Regression analysis showed both health and happiness predicted depressive symptoms(p < .05), but not between satisfaction and depressive symptoms (p = .318). The results confirmed our hypothesis that there would be higher mean scores on depressive symptoms in COVID-19 patients than in non-COVID patients. Our findings are clinically relevant and can be used to provide better mental health care after ICU discharge. Follow-up studies should among other things focus on the length of ICU stay, the time during the pandemic that someone got admitted to the ICU, and the depressive symptoms two years after ICU discharge.Show less
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was assumed that European cooperation, both individually and collectively, would produce better results than autonomous national self-interest. Especially the...Show moreDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, it was assumed that European cooperation, both individually and collectively, would produce better results than autonomous national self-interest. Especially the demand for increased cross-national cooperation to accelerate data exchange for multilateral COVID-19 research to inform public health policy-making was highly critical. However, sharing health data for secondary purposes such as research is difficult, as technical, political, and ethical issues were identified before the COVID-19 pandemic. This thesis focused on data management issues and barriers such as a lack of metadata standards and data interoperability. Facilitating cross-border secondary use of health data to inform public health decisions has been on the EU's agenda for some time, leading to the creation of the Joint Action Towards the European Health Data Space and the European Commission’s recommendation on a European electronic health record exchange standard, among other things. The COVID-19 pandemic provided an excellent case study for determining whether these guidelines were adequate for guiding efficient data sharing in collaborative research. For instance, the EU made a significant investment in cooperative COVID-19 research projects with the goal of providing data to support public health policies. In this thesis, ReCoDID, ORCHESTRA, unCoVer, and SYNCHROS—four projects financed by the EU Horizon2020 program—are discussed in detail. The projects shed light on the challenges of sharing patient-level data from observational cohorts, particularly with regard to data management issues such as data interoperability. It was discovered that EU guidelines did enable the formation of research projects and that these projects were even aimed at improving data harmonisation and exchange in COVID-19 research. However, because there is still no EU-standardised agreement on the selection of data interoperability standards, this has become a difficult task. Specifically, none of the four projects examined was able to locate interoperability standards at the legal, policy, care process, information, application, or infrastructure levels.Show less
What happens when populist radical right parties (PRRPs) adopt an anti-lockdown stance? PRRPs in Western Europe, which in ideology are mostly comparable, have been divided on the issue of COVID-19....Show moreWhat happens when populist radical right parties (PRRPs) adopt an anti-lockdown stance? PRRPs in Western Europe, which in ideology are mostly comparable, have been divided on the issue of COVID-19. The answer does not follow automatically from their economic, cultural or anti-elitist positions, which all seem to advocate for a different strategy. In some countries, such as the Netherlands, two PRRPs have each taken a different approach: one became an anti-lockdown party, the other did not. In this study the effects of becoming an anti-lockdown party on their voter base, who either vote for economic, cultural or anti-elitist reasons, have been examined using a mediation analysis on existing panel data. This study concludes that voters, who mostly vote because they agree with the PRRPs cultural right-wing positions, might be dissuaded to vote for a PRRP that has become an anti-lockdown party. However, anti-lockdown attitudes most strongly positively affect voting for an anti-lockdown party on their own and appear to tap into a new voter base. Future research is needed in order to corroborate this finding.Show less
Recent studies have found a strong correlation between covid-19 and higher conflict intensity. Yet, scant attention has been paid to the ways in which covid-19 increased the conflict intensity of...Show moreRecent studies have found a strong correlation between covid-19 and higher conflict intensity. Yet, scant attention has been paid to the ways in which covid-19 increased the conflict intensity of pre-existing conflicts. Therefore, this is the gap that this thesis aims to fill. From the disaster-conflict literature, and the covid-19-conflict literature more specifically, I derive three possible causal mechanisms concerning 1) state capacity 2) conflict mitigation, and 3) foreign backers. Consequently, I test these mechanisms with the use of process tracing in the context of the Libyan conflict. The evidence reveals that all three mechanisms were partly present, but did not exactly function as theorized. Indeed, in contrast to the hypothesized causal mechanism, no evidence is found for the suspension of military activities by the state, suggesting that the emergence of covid-19 did not weaken state capacity. Besides, the suspension of conflict mitigating activities and the involvement of foreign backers led to an intensification of violence, despite the continued attention for the conflict during the pandemic. More research, therefore, is necessary to further explore the mechanisms linking pandemics and conflict intensity in pre-existing conflicts.Show less
Background: The coronavirus pandemic had a direct impact on mental health, influencing well-being and the choice of coping behaviors used to face this unique life adversity. Adverse childhood...Show moreBackground: The coronavirus pandemic had a direct impact on mental health, influencing well-being and the choice of coping behaviors used to face this unique life adversity. Adverse childhood experiences have been linked to specific choices of coping behaviors which could lead to poorer health outcomes, therefore worse well-being. Aim: Investigate whether adverse childhood experiences predict pandemic coping behaviors and if adverse childhood experiences moderate the relationship between pandemic coping behaviors and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methodology: This study was part of the CONNECT study within the Netherlands, which is part of a larger international longitudinal collaboration from eleven countries in Europe (ADJUST study). The participants were recruited through social media platforms from July to November 2020. Sociodemographic data were gathered, along with the following questionnaires: Adverse Childhood Experiences questionnaire (ACE) to measure adverse childhood experiences, Pandemic Coping Scale (PCS) to measure pandemic coping behaviors, and WHO-5 Well-being Index (WHO-5) to measure well-being. Descriptive analysis as well as a MANOVA and moderation analyses were performed. Results: The responses of 2,022 individuals were analyzed. The mean age of the participants was 36, females (70.4%), males (29.1%), and others (0.5%). The mean for adverse childhood experiences was 1.3 and most of the population was considered low risk (86.9%). The mean score for well-being was 13.1 and 22.4 for PCS scores, which indicate high scores in well-being and coping behaviors. The MANOVA showed a significant model equation (p = .040) and non-significant individual relationships between ACEs and each pandemic coping style (preventative actions, p = .73; healthy lifestyle, p = .929; daily structure, p = .784; joyful activities, p = .162). The moderation effect of ACE in the relationship between coping and well-being was not significant (p = .150). Conclusions: This study shows the relation between well-being, pandemic coping behaviors, and adverse childhood experiences during the current coronavirus pandemic, as well as an insight into the Dutch population's experience of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. Further research is advised.Show less
Norm compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic describes the adherence to health- protecting measures such as social distancing and hand hygiene practice. High norm compliance has been shown to...Show moreNorm compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic describes the adherence to health- protecting measures such as social distancing and hand hygiene practice. High norm compliance has been shown to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. Norm compliance involves decision-making processes which are linked to working memory (WM), the ability to manipulate and maintain information. A recent study by Xie et al. (2020) found that high WM capacity predicted social distancing compliance as measured two weeks after the US COVID-19 emergency declaration. It remains unknown, however, if and to what extent the relationship between WM capacity and norm compliance changes over time. The goal of this study was to partially replicate Xie et al. 's (2020) research and investigate whether WM capacity can predict norm compliance two weeks (T1) as well as six weeks (T2) after the mandated COVID-19 lockdown in Germany. A sample of 67 participants (60 for T2) completed two self-report questionnaires for T1 and T2 respectively (within-subject design). WM capacity was measured with the digit span backwards (DSB) and a compliance scale assessing social distancing and hand washing behaviour was developed. The results indicate that WM neither significantly predicted social distancing compliance at two weeks nor at six weeks, thereby not replicating the study by Xie et al. (2020). These inconclusive findings can be explained by the complexity of measuring norm compliance, the differences to Xie et al. 's (2020) research and the limited representativity and size of the sample. As norm compliance is crucial for a functioning society, future research should continue investigating (cognitive) predictors of compliant behaviour, thereby identifying strategies for compliance-enhancing interventions.Show less
What is environmental turbulence? How does it affect organisational performance? And how is this relationship moderated by stabilising features? This thesis delves into the topic of organisational...Show moreWhat is environmental turbulence? How does it affect organisational performance? And how is this relationship moderated by stabilising features? This thesis delves into the topic of organisational stability in the wake of turbulence stemming from the outside of (public) organisations. It uses COVID-19 crisis as an example of environmental turbulence and assesses its impact on the provision of education in The Netherlands. Moreover, this thesis investigates the moderating role of stabilising features, conceptualised as personnel stability in the form of personnel tenure, forms of employment and teacher-to-student ratio. This thesis is quantitative and deductive. In order to test this relationship, a statistical model has been set up, with the data on 429 public schools in the secondary education in The Netherlands. This thesis finds positive support for the argument that stabilising features attenuate the negative effect of environmental turbulence on the organisational performance, albeit weakly. This thesis recommends to delve further into contextual factors that could have an impact on aforementioned relationships, by choosing, for instance, a smaller N, or investigating one or few particular schools through interviews and thick description.Show less
