Abstract Out-of-home placement decisions are complex due to unpredictable nature of the cases, major impact on the family and the involvement of professionals from multiple disciplines. Previous...Show moreAbstract Out-of-home placement decisions are complex due to unpredictable nature of the cases, major impact on the family and the involvement of professionals from multiple disciplines. Previous research on agreement regarding placement decisions shows inconsistent findings. Case factors have previously been investigated in studies for risk assessment instruments, risk factors and protective factors in families. In addition, the mindset towards change can play a role in making a placement decision. The current study investigated whether (1) there is a difference in the weight of the various case factors (child factors, professional support factors and family factors), (2) there is a relationship between the weight of the case factors and professional background and (3) there is a relationship between the weight of the various case factors and the mindset towards change. 22 children's judges, 31 youth care workers, 36 Master's students Youth Law and 38 Master’s students Pedagogical Sciences participated in the study. Participants read 4 vignettes and filled in questionnaires on the weighting of the case factors after reading each vignette. Mindset towards change was measured once with a questionnaire. The results showed that the weighting of case factors differed significantly. Child factors weighed most heavily in the decision, followed by professional support factors and family factors, respectively. Professional background was unrelated to the weighting of the case factors. There was an interaction effect for the Master's students in Pedagogical Sciences, who seemed to weigh Professional Support Factors and Child factors with almost equal value while the other groups distinguished between the two factors. Weighting of the case factors and the mindset towards change were unrelated. Future research is needed to provide tools and points for improvement for better final decisions. Keywords: out-of-home placement, decision-making, mindset, case factors, child factors, care factors, parent factors, family factors, vignettesShow less
Habitual routes are assumed to be travel paths that are, due to familiarity, energetically relatively less costly to travel on. This study derives from the idea that according to energy maximizing...Show moreHabitual routes are assumed to be travel paths that are, due to familiarity, energetically relatively less costly to travel on. This study derives from the idea that according to energy maximizing strategies, cognitively demanding situations possibly evoke more habitual route use. In this study I attempt to explore this assumption by linking ecological and behavioural attributes to movements as observed in primates. It compares and analyzes three years of ranging data of wild chimpanzees to learn about underlying mechanisms involved in decision-making processes concerning travel on habitual routes. I explored the chimpanzee’s travel strategies by testing the influence of group size, group composition, seasonal variation, weather conditions, time of day, and human-made research trails on the probability that the chimpanzees will use habitual routes. The results of this study suggest that the probability of habitual route use increases when the chimpanzee travels alone or in a small group and thus substantiates the assumption that larger groups might take on more extensive cognitive challenges.Show less
Research master thesis | Political Science and Public Administration (research) (MSc)
open access
In response to its democratic deficit, the EU has increasingly turned to stakeholder involvement in the decision-making process through consultations. Such stakeholder involvement, however, can...Show moreIn response to its democratic deficit, the EU has increasingly turned to stakeholder involvement in the decision-making process through consultations. Such stakeholder involvement, however, can potentially have a negative effect on decision-making efficiency, slowing down decision-making by increasing administrative work and the transaction costs for bargaining in legislative institutions. However, survival analyses – based on a unique dataset of the 2009- 2010 online public consultations and the follow-up (non-)legislative acts – show that the number of stakeholders involved in fact improves the decision-making efficiency. The heterogeneity of their interests, on the other hand, does not affect the decision-making.Show less
