There is a strong upward trend in the amounts spent on development aid. In 2022, the total amount of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) was five times higher than in 1960. The European Union is...Show moreThere is a strong upward trend in the amounts spent on development aid. In 2022, the total amount of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) was five times higher than in 1960. The European Union is responsible for about two-thirds of humanitarian aid worldwide. However, it is questionable whether development aid is actually effective. A ‘least-likely case’ is Nigeria, it received 9 billion euros from the EU in the period of 2007-2024. Yet it has one of the worst development factors in Sub-Saharan Africa. This Thesis aims to find an answer to the question of whether European development aid was really effective in Nigeria, and whether the targets the European Union set itself were actually achieved. This is done by using the National Indicative Programme (NIP) that ran from 2014-2020. The analysis shows that despite achieving some of the objectives examined in the health care sector, the NIP has mostly failed to achieve the desired impact. Primarily, the high level of corruption ensured that few development objectives have been realized. Therefore, it can be concluded that European Development aid has not really been effective. For further research, it would be valuable to look at the Multi-Annual Indicative Programme (MIP) that runs from 2021-2027. Here, slightly different targets have been set that may give different results. In addition, it may be of added value to conduct a study of how Nigerian agencies report, since there are sometimes substantial differences between the observations of NGOs and these agencies, which can lead to different interpretations. This could possibly engender a different observation of aid effectiveness as well.Show less
In recent years, the Egyptian government has embarked on an ambitious development agenda, focusing on megaprojects to enhance economic, societal, and environmental progress. Amid economic...Show moreIn recent years, the Egyptian government has embarked on an ambitious development agenda, focusing on megaprojects to enhance economic, societal, and environmental progress. Amid economic challenges, there is a recognition of tourism's potential to boost foreign currency income. The government has shifted its tourism development focus from coastal resort towns to the culturally significant St. Catherine in South Sinai. A UNESCO heritage site and a natural protectorate, the site is believed to be where Moses received the Ten Commandments and houses the oldest continuously inhabited monastery globally. The newly initiated ‘al-Tagali al-Aatham’ project aims to transform the city into a global tourist destination, sparking economic growth for the city, the region, and the Egyptian state. However, environmental and heritage concerns have arisen. This thesis investigates the socio-economic impact of al-Tagali al-Aatham on St. Catherine, employing ethnographic fieldwork to explore perspectives from both the government and local Gabaliya Bedouin. Positioned within Sinai’s history of political contestation and nation-building efforts, the thesis positions the project as a case study of state-induced development on the ‘margins’ of an authoritarian state in an ethnically complex setting. It argues that al-Tagali al-Aatham serves as a nation-consolidation measure, promoting national identity and solidifying Sinai’s integration into the Egyptian nation-state by imposing nationalism, seeking peace, and presenting Egypt as a modern nation.Show less
Receiving social feedback from others influences one’s self-view through social feedback processing. Healthy people tend to have a positivity bias toward social feedback, but many factors can...Show moreReceiving social feedback from others influences one’s self-view through social feedback processing. Healthy people tend to have a positivity bias toward social feedback, but many factors can influence social feedback processing leading to a negativity bias. Rejection sensitivity (RS) is characterized by a habit of anxiously expecting rejection with a heightened attunement. RS is often coupled with an intense reaction which is common in individuals with borderline personality symptoms. In this paper, the level of RS and developmental stage, adolescents versus adults, is predicted to influence positive and negative learning levels from feedback. 144 adults and 74 adolescents performed an impromptu speech whilst alleged judges were evaluating their performance. The participants completed self-evaluations, received feedback from the judges, and further evaluated how they felt about themselves and their performance. Affective updating, referring to the change in feelings about the self in response to feedback, was modeled using an adapted learning model. The level of RS did not predict the level of positive or negative learning rates, contrary to most previous research findings. Generally high RS has been found to pose a vulnerability to hypervigilance toward negative feedback. In comparison to adolescents, adults showed higher negative learning rates, in contrast to the general theoretical understanding of adolescents being more sensitive to social feedback. The findings suggest that future research should include additional constructs like emotion regulation, depression, and self-esteem, to investigate their influence on learning from feedback in different developmental stages.Show less
This research study explores the differences in executive functioning (EF) between normally developing children and children with Sex Chromosome Trisomies (SCT) between 1 and 8 year old. Rather...Show moreThis research study explores the differences in executive functioning (EF) between normally developing children and children with Sex Chromosome Trisomies (SCT) between 1 and 8 year old. Rather than the typical karyotype XX or XY, people with SCT have three sex chromosomes, resulting in karyotype XXY, XYY or XXX. Executive functions can be defined as mental processes that allow people to control their actions. The BRIEF, BRIEF-P and MEFS were utilized to obtain information about the development of EF. A total of 147 participants between the ages of 2,8 and 7,6 years old took part in the study. 74 participants with SCT (Mage= 4,8, SD = 1,3) and 70 (Mage= 4,5, SD = 1,0) participants without SCT. Analysis methods used were independent samples t-tests, correlations and Fisher-Z transformations. It was found that there are differences in executive functioning as a whole between children with and without SCT. The differences in working memory, inhibition and cognitive flexibility are small. Bigger differences between children with and without SCT were found with regards to their emotional control and cognitive flexibility. The research concludes that developmental delay regarding executive functioning is visible in children with SCT before the age of 8 years old. When children mature these differences become more obvious as the gap between what is expected with regards to EF increases faster than children with SCT improve their EF skills. Additional research is needed in order to discover whether the EF profile found is unique for children with SCT and what implications this has. Future studies should also investigate the ways EF impacts children with SCT and which treatments yields the most benefits for them. Support with regards to the development of EF in children with SCT is crucial in order to enable them to maximize the possibilities in their lives.Show less
This thesis is concerned with economic development in Gabon and how it relates to the large oil industry in Gabon. The thesis will discuss how oil effected politics in Gabon and discuss why the...Show moreThis thesis is concerned with economic development in Gabon and how it relates to the large oil industry in Gabon. The thesis will discuss how oil effected politics in Gabon and discuss why the presence of large oil reserves that resulted in high revenues did not result in broad economic development. Through a historical analysis this thesis will explore how current economic conditions were shaped by politics, governmental policy, and Gabon's history of colonialism. The thesis concludes that the unique relations with France, bad public policy and a volatile commodities market resulted in limited economic growth.Show less
This thesis examines the contribution of the Moroccan Diaspora to the development of Morocco, focusing on factors beyond economic remittances. Provided that economic remittances have received large...Show moreThis thesis examines the contribution of the Moroccan Diaspora to the development of Morocco, focusing on factors beyond economic remittances. Provided that economic remittances have received large attention from academia, this work aims to narrow the research gap by looking at other factors influencing the developmental potential of Moroccan migration, including “brain drain” (highly skilled human capital flight), the Moroccan government’s ‘Diaspora engagement policy’, and the case study of Moroccans in the Netherlands. The thesis draws upon a mix of primary and secondary sources to emphasise the active role of the Moroccan government in maximising the developmental potential of migration through a comprehensive Diaspora engagement policy. Continuing, it discusses the role of economic remittances on the development of housing, which has triggered economic growth and the emergence of new urban centres in historically isolated regions of Morocco, thus, raising living standards and expanding educational opportunities in rural areas of Morocco. Finally, this thesis demonstrates that Morocco is taking serious steps towards reducing the negative effects of the “brain drain” through programmes specifically aimed at increasing cooperation with and incentivizing the return of highly skilled Moroccan migrants. By exploring the implications of Moroccan migration beyond economic remittances, this thesis provides an overall picture of the various migration-related factors at play in the development of Morocco. It aims to highlight the significance of other factors often overshadowed by an overwhelmingly large focus on economic remittances alone in academia.Show less
This thesis looks at India as a development partner compared to Dutch development cooperation. This thesis aims to find out if the South-South cooperation approach to development is differing from...Show moreThis thesis looks at India as a development partner compared to Dutch development cooperation. This thesis aims to find out if the South-South cooperation approach to development is differing from a traditional donor approach to development cooperation. The comparative framework used is based on assumed differences between SSC and NSC derived from the literature review and claims made by SSC emerging partners like India. The factors are terminology, the rejection of conditionality, horizontal partnerships, agency of partner/recipient, and capacity building. This study contributes to the academic debate on the changing global power dynamics in the liberal world order, with emerging powers like India challenging the traditional development approach. They are claiming a more visible and active role in the field of international development. Through comparative analyses, the following research question will be answered: In what ways is the development partnership between India and Africa different from the traditional development cooperation approach of the Netherlands in Africa?Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
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One in 650-1000 individuals has sex chromosome trisomy (SCT), being born with an extra X or Y chromosome (XXX; XXY; XYY). SCT comes with various developmental risks. The present study was designed...Show moreOne in 650-1000 individuals has sex chromosome trisomy (SCT), being born with an extra X or Y chromosome (XXX; XXY; XYY). SCT comes with various developmental risks. The present study was designed to evaluate the relation between parental factors (parenting skills (parental reflective functioning, sensitivity, and intrusiveness) and family functioning) and the social cognitive skills and its rate of development of children with SCT. Literature suggests that parenting skills and family functioning influence social cognitive development in typical children, but this has not been researched in children with SCT. Included in this study were 106 children with SCT and 102 controls (age M = 3.65, SD = 1.78 range = .98-7.66). A free play task, the parental developmental interview, and a questionnaire were used for evaluating parental factors, and the social cognitive skills of the child were measured using the ASIEP-3. Children with SCT showed significant impairments in social cognitive skills while the rate of development of social cognitive skills proved identical to controls. Parental sensitivity, intrusiveness, and reflective functioning were similar across groups and were found to not significantly influence social cognitive development. Family functioning was found to be positively related to the social cognitive skills of SCT children. However, family functioning did not influence the rate of social cognitive development of either SCT or control groups. The findings imply other factors to be of more importance in the social cognitive development of children with SCT at the average ages of 1-2 years and 3-6 years. It is recommended to research other factors, namely brain maturation and timing of diagnosis. Further knowledge about which factors stimulate the development of the social cognitive abilities of children with SCT, to what extent and at what age, is of importance as this may help to develop and personalize prevention and intervention programs.Show less
Does globalization increase inequality by exploiting the low wage of workers in developing countries? Or does it reduce inequality by allowing the wage to catch up? In this thesis, I study the...Show moreDoes globalization increase inequality by exploiting the low wage of workers in developing countries? Or does it reduce inequality by allowing the wage to catch up? In this thesis, I study the effect of trade on wages in developing and developed countries using South Africa as a case study. Conducting a regression analysis using industry-level data in South Africa from 2013 to 2019, I find that export ratio and import penetration, as a proxy of trade openness, have no statistically significant effects on wages. Meanwhile, in a much simple supplementary test by comparing the differences in trade and wage growth in South Africa and Germany, I find some preliminary indication that the difference in wage growth between the two countries may be explained by the difference in export growth, but not in import growth.Show less
This thesis critiques the notion of development based on a philosophy of Being. Development, and learning, can only occur within Becoming. Inspired by Nietzsche and Deleuze’s project of...Show moreThis thesis critiques the notion of development based on a philosophy of Being. Development, and learning, can only occur within Becoming. Inspired by Nietzsche and Deleuze’s project of overthrowing Platonism, it is shown that transcendental principles explain the conditioning of reason, not its generation. To explain the process of genesis (of reason) we have to understand the principles that make order out of the chaos of life. My main hypothesis is that development is a process of the embodiment of differences, as a process of becoming. And learning is the process of encountering and internalising differences through involuntary memory and pure thought. Conditioning, on the contrary, is a process that reduces development and thought to functions in service of a final state, an Ideal, and therefore obstructs development. The process of development is a process of individuation where essences of becoming, grounded on an eternal return of difference, become internalised and increase someone’s power to resonate with the World. The production of a subject, however, is problematic because it is the result of conditioning, the internalisation of general identities (the symbolic order) in reaction to overpowering negative tensions. Development has its spiritual equivalent in learning and pure thought. Conditioning stops thought, it allows access to a desired feeling against the condition that someone accepts a certain state, or fact, without question. Because of this, conditioning always produces the unfortunate side-effect of anxiety, since the assumed truths lack any grounding in univocity.Show less
This research investigates if Moyee Coffee, a Dutch coffee corporation who adopts a different strategy than other fair trade coffee corporations, can contribute to the fifth goal (Gender Equality)...Show moreThis research investigates if Moyee Coffee, a Dutch coffee corporation who adopts a different strategy than other fair trade coffee corporations, can contribute to the fifth goal (Gender Equality) of the Sustainable Development Goal Agenda 2030. The research investigates the political, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of coffee in Ethiopia, known as the birthplace of Arabica coffee. It highlights how generic and fair trade coffee supply chains operate. It seeks to understand how the position of smallholder farmers could be improved through the workings of a continental and supra-national development agenda. All this whilst highlighting the position of women within each topic. The research explicitly focuses on women regarding SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and the generally marginalized position of women within global supply chains. By investigating the workings of Moyee Coffee, this research highlights to what extent there is gender equality among the smallholder farmers as employed by Moyee. By aligning the baseline measurements to the theoretical approaches of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, Gendered Commodity Chains theories, and national and regional data, it seeks to understand to what extend there is gender equality among smallholder farmers as employed by Moyee and how there is a possible contribution to SDG 5 (Gender Equality). The key outcomes of the research indicated that there is no differentiation between the position of female smallholder farmers as employed by Moyee and the regional and national female smallholder farmers. Thus, the livelihoods of female smallholder farmers, through the workings of a different type of fair trade, are not empowered nor improved. However, the regional outcomes, to which the outcomes of the data of Moyee compare, do contribute to a slight extend to the realization of SDG 5 (Gender Equality). Nevertheless, the outcomes of the baseline study invite more specific interventions targeted at improving the lives of female smallholder farmers.Show less
The people of the Lake Chad Basin area have been suffering under long periods of violence and bad governance. On top of these problems the region has historically had a lower GDP per person than...Show moreThe people of the Lake Chad Basin area have been suffering under long periods of violence and bad governance. On top of these problems the region has historically had a lower GDP per person than the rest of Nigeria, which is linked to a vulnerability to civil war. These issues have received much attention over the years, but little progress has been made in developing the region. State presence is low, with local governments abandoning the basin because of the threat of Boko Haram. This thesis argues that how three institutions, the government, Boko Haram, and the traditional authorities interact with each other is at the core of the lack of progress in breaking the vicious cycle of underdevelopment in the Nigerian part of the Lake Chad Basin. For a while the Nigerian state made little effort to assert its hegemony over the Lake Chad Basin. However, neglect of this area gave space to other groups to assert themselves. Nigeria did not feel the need to assert its control over the region because they were not dependent on that area. The discovery of oil which coincided with Nigerian independence made the federal government less reliant on tax income from the northern state which meant there was little to gain for the federal government in the Lake Chad Basin.Show less
The EU is one of the world’s largest markets and an important export destination for developing countries. Especially African countries depend on the European market and are greatly affected by its...Show moreThe EU is one of the world’s largest markets and an important export destination for developing countries. Especially African countries depend on the European market and are greatly affected by its trade policies. Trade relations between the EU and developing countries have existed since the inception of the EU. For a long period, the EU has focused on the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries alone, due to their colonial ties with the EU, disregarding other developing countries. However, since the mid-1990s, the ACP countries have faced the consequences of a shifting paradigm in the EU when it comes to trade policy and development. This research focuses on the recent trade relations between the EU and ACP countries. Once the EU wishes to conclude new international trade agreements, such as the controversial Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have important roles, which influence the course of the negotiations. This research looks at the behaviour of the Commission and the European Parliament during the negotiations of the new EPAs between 2002 and 2013. The literature on the power identity of the EU in international relations is extensive, but speaks about the EU as if it were a homogenous institution. It therefore fails to distinguish the different power identities of the European Institutions. This research provides an original contribution to existing literature by distinguishing the particular identities of the Commission and the European Parliament in international trade relations. A critical discourse analysis shows that the European Parliament prioritised the concerns of the ACP countries during the negotiations and emphasised the need for development-oriented EPAs. The European Parliament challenged the arguments and negotiation tactics of the Commission, which shows that it did not agree with the course taken and intended to hold the Commission accountable. Moreover, it illustrates that the European Parliament took on the task to represent not just EU citizens, but ACP citizens as well. The Commission, on the other hand, prioritised the opening up of ACP markets, which it claimed would lead to development, and the swift conclusion of the negotiations. The Commission avoided discussing the concerns raised by the ACP countries, tried to convince others of the positive atmosphere during the negotiations, and repeatedly claimed to only have the best interests at heart for ACP countries.Show less
Johannesburg the “city of creativity” is known for its modernity and its cultivation of a postApartheid urban identity that remains central to its profile as a contemporary South African city....Show moreJohannesburg the “city of creativity” is known for its modernity and its cultivation of a postApartheid urban identity that remains central to its profile as a contemporary South African city. However, South Africa as a nation is troubled by high levels of unemployment that disproportionally affect Black South African women. This thesis paper intends to analyse Johannesburg’s fashion and textile industry as a means to promote development through the inclusivity of women. It analyses their current roles in creative industries and the ways in which the fashion and textile industries can increase their accessibility for further inclusion of women. Additionally, this thesis looks at ways in which the fashion and textile industries can expand to promote increased income generation for the women already involved.Show less
