An attempt at reconstructing the practice of bird-divination for the speakers of Proto-Indo-European by comparing the terminology for this practice in Greek, Latin and Hittite texts.
Research master thesis | Asian Studies (research) (MA)
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This thesis analyses the development of Ryukyuan narratives of political legitimacy under the influence of the imperial Chinese tributary system. For centuries, the Ryukyu Kingdom, which was...Show moreThis thesis analyses the development of Ryukyuan narratives of political legitimacy under the influence of the imperial Chinese tributary system. For centuries, the Ryukyu Kingdom, which was annexed by Meiji Period Japan in 1879 and is today divided among Japan's Okinawa and Kagoshima Prefectures, formed an important linking bridge between China and Japan, East Asia's two dominant political entities. Based on a close reading and partial translation of relevant passages from several historical documents, most notably the kingdom's two official histories Chūzan Seikan and Chūzan Seifu, the thesis investigates the socio-political shift in succeeding conceptualisations of Ryukyuan kingship, the monarch's political legitimacy, and the country's state doctrine that occurred from the late fifteenth and early sixteenth to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.Show less
This objective of this thesis is to discuss how an interface can give access to digitalized museum collections. In order to achieve this research objective, this thesis discusses the research...Show moreThis objective of this thesis is to discuss how an interface can give access to digitalized museum collections. In order to achieve this research objective, this thesis discusses the research question How does the interface of Google Arts&Culture give the user access to the oeuvre of Claude Monet? By using the three principles of Information Flaneur Model, this thesis critically examines Claude Monet’s (1840-1926) collection interface provided by Google Arts&Culture from the perspectives of Exploration, Orientation and Playfulness. The analysis shows the importance of a browsing-based interface concerning the improvement of visitors’ exploratory experience and the significance of building up a media visualization interface overview with a clear navigation structure. Additionally, this thesis also discusses the advantage of providing interactive, playful and creative digital approaches for the visitors to view museum collections online.Show less
Martin Schongauer's schilderij Die Geburt Christi wordt in dit werkstuk onderzocht op drie verschillende gebieden, namelijk het schilderij zelf, wat staat erop? Als tweede een vergelijking met de...Show moreMartin Schongauer's schilderij Die Geburt Christi wordt in dit werkstuk onderzocht op drie verschillende gebieden, namelijk het schilderij zelf, wat staat erop? Als tweede een vergelijking met de prenten van Schongauer zelf, welke elementen zijn herkenbaar of juist verschillend van aard vergeleken met het schilderij? Als derde enkele inspiratiebronnen van Schongauer, wie waren dit, zijn er elementen uit deze werken terug te vinden in Schongauer's werk? Zo ja, hoe en welke elementen?Show less
Multivariate binary data with multiple binary response variables arise in many areas of research, including biology, psychology, medicine, dentistry, and other empirical sciences. In such data, the...Show moreMultivariate binary data with multiple binary response variables arise in many areas of research, including biology, psychology, medicine, dentistry, and other empirical sciences. In such data, the effect of a predictor on the response variable and the effect of a predictor on the association structure between the response variables is of interest. Multinomial Restricted Unfolding (MRU) is a probabilistic multidimensional unfolding model that can be used to analyse multicategory response variables in the presence of predictors. In this thesis, we investigated an extension of the MRU model to analyse multivariate binary data focusing on how diagnoses of depressive and anxiety disorders are influenced by personality traits and how the association between two disorders is affected by these personality traits. We compared the results using usual and squared Euclidean distances for the main effects and associations MRU models. We have demonstrated that MRU models using squared and usual Euclidean distances can be used to analyse multivariate binary data, representing well the changes in log odds and the changes in log odds ratio. Our results indicated that the MRU models using squared Euclidean distances are more straightforward and easier to be interpreted than those using usual Euclidean distance. However, despite the more complicated interpretation, the model using the usual Euclidean distance is more flexible, which might lead to a better model fit. Regarding the change in log odds of having GAD, the main effects model results indicated a constant change in slope between different pairs of categories that represent GAD. For the associations model, the parallel lines indicate that the change in the slope was constant within a pair of categories that represents GAD but not the same for different pairs of categories. When usual Euclidean distances were used, the change in slope was not constant for both main effects and associations models. Regarding the interpretation rules to express the change in the log odds ratio, the main effects model showed that the association structure does not dependent on the value of the predictor variable. However, for the associations model, the log odds ratio is dependent on the value of the predictor variable, in which a constant change in slope is shown. When using usual Euclidean distances to explore the association structure between two response variables, the change in slope was not constant for both models.Show less
Spatial cognition deficits can be caused by various factors including aging, neurodegenerative disease, stroke, or TBI, and have thus far received inadequate attention in the literature. This study...Show moreSpatial cognition deficits can be caused by various factors including aging, neurodegenerative disease, stroke, or TBI, and have thus far received inadequate attention in the literature. This study aims to further our understanding of spatial cognition in order to progress the field and assist in the assessment and diagnostics of associated deficits in affected populations. Research has outlined the practicality of VR in assessing cognitive complaints. VR can provide ecological validity to navigation assessments and can be used alongside neuropsychological tools to further understand cognitive deficits. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to investigate the relationships of presence and subjective navigation ability with objective navigation performance in VR, and to further examine the effect of gender on navigation performance. The van der Ham et al. (2020) online task battery was used to assess spatial navigation ability by requiring participants to complete five tasks testing landmark, location and path knowledge. The experiment was conducted online on a computer or phone screen. Sense of presence in the virtual environment and subjective navigation ability were measured using the IPQ (Schubert, Friedmann, and Regenbrecht, 2001) and the WQ (Claessen et al., 2016). A test-retest design was employed to investigate the gender differences in performance over time. The results of this study indicate that presence is not a significant predictor of navigation performance in the VR task. However, subjective navigation ability did predict objective navigation performance. Additionally, gender differences were found in performance over time, with males consistently performing better than females. These findings suggest a need to further investigate the different navigation mechanisms used by males and females, and the effect that stereotypical beliefs have on performance. In conclusion, this study determined that assessment of navigation abilities is not affected by experienced presence, and thus can be made accessible in an online format. The findings for gender differences and the relationship between subjective navigation ability and objective navigation performance also have the potential to contribute evidence-based improvements in assessments, diagnostics and rehabilitation interventions. Further research is required to investigate the effect of different levels of immersion on sense of presence and performance as this could affect VR assessment of navigation.Show less
Most nations are a mix of various ethnicities and backgrounds, especially prevalent within the European Union. With the emphasis that is currently based on nationality and ‘belonging’, the European...Show moreMost nations are a mix of various ethnicities and backgrounds, especially prevalent within the European Union. With the emphasis that is currently based on nationality and ‘belonging’, the European Migrant Crisis, brought these sentiments to the forefront. With the sudden rise in asylum applications, the shock was reverberated throughout the continent. Since its creation, the EU and its member states have always been a goal destination for those seeking asylum. When member states aim to join the union, they must adhere to certain regulations with regards to various concepts, such as the right to asylum. As each nation had its own asylum system that was not unified under supranational regulations, the communication between the nations were blocked. With the realisation that a unified asylum system had to be created, the EU set out to complete this. But with the unification of asylum processes and regulations, the member states had to change their national asylum systems in accordance with EU regulation as well. But unifying more than 20 asylum systems proved difficult. As an emphasis is primarily based on the EU perspective, this research will be conducted from a member state perspective. This an attempt will be made to further identify and consequently understand the causes of variation within the member states. Instead of focusing on the EU aspect of this, an emphasis will be made in understand the variation from a bottom-up aspect, essentially from the view of the case studies.Show less
The multiverse analysis can be used as a way of assessing the influence of different analysis choices that could reasonably be made by researchers, instead of only presenting the result of one...Show moreThe multiverse analysis can be used as a way of assessing the influence of different analysis choices that could reasonably be made by researchers, instead of only presenting the result of one research ‘path’ as is often done in studies. While the multiverse analysis increases transparency about the results, it is still unclear how researchers can best summarize the results of this analysis more formally. Moreover, as far as we are aware, no previous studies have examined how the multiverse analysis performs under different research conditions. In this study, we simulated data under different research conditions. In addition, we built a generic multiverse analysis that was used to analyze this data. Two methods were used to summarize the results of this analysis, namely the mean p-value and the harmonic mean p-value (HMP). The results of this study showed that the mean p-value may be the preferred summarization method, as it provides a more conservative estimate of the different paths in the multiverse and has less false-positive results than the HMP in a situation where data was simulated under the null hypothesis. In addition, our study shows that the summarization methods of our multiverse analysis are robust against variations regarding the number of variables that are part of the analysis, the amount of missing data in a dataset and changes in the correlation between variables. However, the summarization methods in our multiverse were not robust against underpowered data. Only if the different research paths in our multiverse analysis had adequate power, the HMP was generally able to find a significant result in at least 90% of cases. However, future research is needed to see if these results can be replicated, since the definition of a generic multiverse analysis may differ depending on the research field.Show less
Master thesis | Classics and Ancient Civilizations (MA)
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Julius Caesar beschrijft in de De Bello Gallico dat hij 430.000 Usipetes en Tencteri heeft gedood. Een enorm aantal slachtoffers dat in onze maatschappij al snel de stempel genocide zou krijgen. In...Show moreJulius Caesar beschrijft in de De Bello Gallico dat hij 430.000 Usipetes en Tencteri heeft gedood. Een enorm aantal slachtoffers dat in onze maatschappij al snel de stempel genocide zou krijgen. In de Romeinse tijd werd Caesar hier niet voor aangeklaagd, maar werd er een aanklacht ingediend tegen hem om het breken van officieuze internationale wetten. Dit laat al een verschil in perspectief zien tussen de Romeinse en onze maatschappij. In dit onderzoek wil ik in kaart brengen wat het verschil is in perspectief van de Romein en van de moderne mens met betrekking tot de vele Germaanse slachtoffers in de veldslag tussen Caesar en de Usipetes en Tencteri in 55 v.Chr en hoe Caesar dit beeld heeft kunnen beïnvloeden door middel van het schijven van de Gall.Show less
In 2019, the occurrence of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest gained worldwide attention. Actors at different political levels thereby exhibited conflicting understandings of the issue,...Show moreIn 2019, the occurrence of forest fires in the Amazon rainforest gained worldwide attention. Actors at different political levels thereby exhibited conflicting understandings of the issue, appropriate responses to it and responsibility to be taken. As linkages were drawn between the perception of the rainforest fires as a global environmental problem, and ramifications for the pursuance of economic interests, the case of the political discussion around the 2019 Amazon rainforest fires is illustrative of valuations of the environment within a Global Political Economy (GPE) context. In order to further understanding of these valuations, this thesis looks into the use of particular conceptions of nature-society relations and spatial scales, which both come forward in political ecology literature. Through a textual analysis of statements by civil society actors, Amazonian countries and foreign governments, it finds that ecological change is made political, and political legitimacy is created or limited for different involved actors, through references to the value of the Amazon rainforest and the scale of this value. This leads to the conclusion that conceptions of nature-society relations and spatial scales reflect and have implications for the ways in which we define environmental problems, politicize the environment and allocate forms of environmental responsibility to different actors.Show less
The CBM maze task is used in education to indicate and monitor the progress in reading proficiency. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the CBM maze and reading...Show moreThe CBM maze task is used in education to indicate and monitor the progress in reading proficiency. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the CBM maze and reading comprehension. To examine this relationship the scores between the CBM standard maze (a maze that follows the standard rules) and the scrambled maze (a maze with distorted coherence) were compared. Furthermore, the effects of standards of coherence and genre on the difference in scores between the CBM standard maze and scrambled maze were examined. Expected was that the scores on CBM maze would reflect reading comprehension. A group of 40 Dutch bachelor-students participated in the study. The data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. The repeated measures ANOVA consisted of two within factors (type maze: CBM standard maze vs scrambled maze and genre: expository vs narrative) and one between factor (standards of coherence: high vs low). The results show a significant difference in scores between the CBM standard maze and the scrambled maze F(1, 38) = 103,349; p = < .001, η2 = .731 with scores on the CBM standard maze being higher than the scores on the scrambled maze, suggesting that scores on the CBM standard maze reflect text-level reading comprehension. No influence of standards of coherence, F(1, 38) = ,340; p = ,563, or genre, F(1, 38) = ,340; p = ,563, was found on the difference in scores between the CBM standard maze and the scrambled maze. A limitation of this study is its limited generalizability to the target group of the CBM maze. A study in which children are participants is recommended.Show less
