In this thesis, the trade activities of two port sites, Berenike in Egypt and Thessaloniki in Greece, from their respective founding (275 BCE for Berenike and 316 BCE for Thessaloniki) until the...Show moreIn this thesis, the trade activities of two port sites, Berenike in Egypt and Thessaloniki in Greece, from their respective founding (275 BCE for Berenike and 316 BCE for Thessaloniki) until the early Byzantine era (~C.E. 700) have been researched through a comparative analysis. Both sites were important nodes in the trade networks of the ancient world, Berenike serving as a transit port between the areas of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean, and Thessaloniki focusing more on the creation, export, and import of luxury goods. While research into these networks has been growing in popularity in recent years, there has been a distinct lack of variables that can be used to identify nodes and hubs. The development of a set of variables is an important step in identifying these key features of ancient trade networks and will contribute towards a more complete understanding of complex systems like this. Therefore, the aim of this thesis was to investigate, identify, and codify a set of variables that can be used for this express purpose. The variables were identified through a comparative analysis using the aforementioned port sites as case studies, taking an interdisciplinary approach, using sources like excavation reports, relevant literature, and museum exhibitions to create a clear picture. The theoretical framework applied to this research is Network theory, initially I intended to use Globalization theory but found that the latter did not fit the research as well as the former. This process resulted in the identification of five variables – diversity in religion, local material, non-local material, production centers, and warehouses – highlighting the importance of both ports, while at the same time not shying away from their differences. While most of the results were expected like Berenike having the transit of goods as its main objective, an unexpected result is that it seems likely that Thessaloniki took part in extra-Mediterranean trade before the Byzantine era, and thus earlier than previously assumed.Show less
Master thesis | Crisis and Security Management (MSc)
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The focus of this paper is the security cooperation between FIU-NL and Europol, organizations that annually process transaction data on millions of EU-citizens. The author makes the case that...Show moreThe focus of this paper is the security cooperation between FIU-NL and Europol, organizations that annually process transaction data on millions of EU-citizens. The author makes the case that Function Creep, “the expansion of the use of a system or token to include other functions not originally envisioned by their promotors” undermines trust and therefore hinders security cooperations. Through the application of Whelans network theory and the concept of Function Creep in a case study design. The case study is of the implementation of the integration of FIU.net, a decentralized system, into SIENA, Europols centralized database. The author argues that a clear negative impact on trust is found, even when the Function Creep is only ‘intended’ and aims to expand upon the commonly understood conceptualization of Function Creep.Show less
This research aimed to analyze the effectiveness of the National Cyber Security Centre of The Netherlands (NCSC-NL) as a security network. In the analysis of this qualitative document analysis,...Show moreThis research aimed to analyze the effectiveness of the National Cyber Security Centre of The Netherlands (NCSC-NL) as a security network. In the analysis of this qualitative document analysis, five contingencies were applied to the NCSC-NL security network; the range of provided services, strengths of relationships, network structure, trust, and consensus in goals. Furthermore, literature on the typologies of security networks was applied to the NCSC-NL network. The main findings conclude that the NCSC-NL network aligns with both a knowledge-generating and an informational network. Furthermore, the contingency of network structure was critical to its effectiveness, reducing complexity and allowing for expansion of participants. A third conclusion is that while centralized networks generally experience low consensus on goals, the NCSC-NL network boosts its effectiveness by achieving a unanimous consensus on goals. Finally, while the range of provided services is assessed by the new services that participants add (Provan & Milward, 2001), the NCSC-NL network reinforces the quality of its existing service with each new participant.Show less
