International Migration, Integration and Social Cohesion online publications
Not a member yet
484620 research outputs found
Sort by
Ion the prize:The dynamic role of ions at the solid-liquid interface
No full textUnderstanding solid–liquid interfacial interactions is essential for controlling chemical reactivity, material synthesis, and electrochemical behaviour. These interfaces play a key role in a wide range of applications, from energy conversion and storage to the fabrication of functional materials. This thesis examines how ions in solution influence the organization of solvent molecules and the energetics at interfaces, both in equilibrium and under applied potential. The first part of the thesis focuses on the solution-based synthesis of low-dimensional perovskite materials, particularly butylammonium lead iodide. It demonstrates that the oxidation state of the lead precursors (Pb²⁺ versus Pb⁴⁺) significantly impacts ion-solvent complexation, leading to distinct crystallization behaviours and morphologies. These findings underscore the importance of precursor chemistry in directing material formation at the molecular level. The second part of the thesis applies Electrochemical Atomic Force Microscopy to quantitatively map adhesion forces at electrified interfaces with high spatial resolution. By examining various electrolyte compositions and electrode materials, the thesis reveals how interfacial forces depend on ion identity, surface structure, and electrochemical conditions. These findings provide insights into the nanoscale organization of the electric double layer and uncover ion-specific effects that challenge traditional models of electrochemical interfaces. This thesis highlights the active and dynamic interplay of all system components, including ions, solvents, and solid surfaces, in shaping interfacial structure, chemical pathways, and electrochemical behaviour.</p
What you water, grows:Development and evaluation of a community-led approach to enhance the protection of children
No full textThis dissertation focuses on the protection of children from violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation, specifically through the development and evaluation of a community-led child protection approach called Seeds. The seven chapters provide an overview of the global issue of violence against children, review existing literature on community-level child protection approaches, and describe the development of Seeds, including a formative study in Lebanon and a field test in Sri Lanka. The dissertation also presents the development and assessment of a tool to measure children’s sense of protection (PROTECT), which was co-developed with children in Bogotá and demonstrated good reliability in preliminary testing. In a next chapter, the results of a feasibility study in Colombia are presented. The study assessed both the Seeds approach and its evaluation procedures, finding that while some outcomes moved in the expected direction, others showed no or unexpected changes. Qualitative findings suggested that community-led action improved perceptions of child protection, increased awareness of risks and protective factors, and fostered more positive attitudes toward protecting children. Based on the feasibility study results, the subsequent chapter outlines a protocol for a mixed-methods evaluation of Seeds. Both quantitative and qualitative data are planned to be collected in eight communities, four intervention and four control. Overall, this dissertation aimed to help fill the gap in evidence on violence prevention strategies, deepen understanding of community-led protection, and provide a model for evaluating community-based prevention programmes. Recommendations for future research and practice highlight the need for context-specific measures balanced with global comparability, as well as attention to both individual- and community-level change
Let's chat about sex, baby!:Leveraging chatbots for sexual health promotion
No full textSexually transmitted infections remain a major concern among youth, especially new couples who often stop using condoms early. This dissertation explores how conversational agents can support STI prevention by facilitating sexual health discussions. It emphasizes user-centered, qualitative methods to design and evaluate chatbots for individuals and couples. Towards improved CAs that can engage new, young couples through interactions about condom use for STI prevention, this dissertation takes a progressive approach to design, and assess the user acceptance of, two conversational agents: Mish (for individual use), and MishSync (for couple use). Specifically, this dissertation provides an overview of sexual health CAs and identifies user acceptance factors relevant for this context (Chapter 2), after which Mish (Chapter 3) and MishSync (Chapters 4 and 5) are designed and evaluated (on the basis of the identified user acceptance factors) through interviews (see Table 1 for an overview of Mish and MishSync). This research sheds light on key factors influencing user acceptance of sexual health chatbots, and highlights the role of machine-specific schemas in shaping user perceptions of chatbot interactions. Findings reveal that motivational interviewing can be successfully adapted for a chatbot-based sexual health intervention, fostering comfort and self-disclosure. Moreover, the user-centered design approach demonstrated that couples-based CAs are well-received but require distinct considerations, particularly regarding trust-building and partner dynamics. While CAs show promise for engaging young people in sexual health discussions, future research is needed to refine human-chatbot interactions for greater real-world adoption
Coagulopathy assessment by rotational thromboelastometry and current treatment practices in cardiac surgery and critical care
Full text linkThis thesis investigated the role of viscoelastic testing, specifically rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM), in guiding coagulation management for patients undergoing cardiac with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and patients supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). It also reviewed current coagulation correction strategies in cardiac surgery, critically ill patients, and ECMO-supported patients, aiming to improve diagnostics and treatment outcomes.In Part I, the thesis identified that ROTEM reference ranges for cardiac surgery patients differ from manufacturer standards, indicating a somewhat hypercoagulable state without clinical symptoms. Female patients showed a slightly more hypercoagulable profile preoperatively. ROTEM interpretation showed high reliability among experts, though discrepancies between expert decisions and local transfusion protocols highlight a need for refined clinical decision tools. The transition from ROTEM Delta to ROTEM Sigma devices was explored, revealing differences in clotting time measurements in the EXTEM channel that might require local transfusion protocol adjustments. Preoperative ROTEM profiles helped identify distinct coagulopathy subphenotypes in acute type A aortic dissection patients, with hypocoagulability linked to worse outcomes. No significant preoperative coagulation differences were found between bicuspid and tricuspid aortic valve patients. In patients supported by ECMO, ROTEM cannot predict a bleeding event better than conventional coagulation tests (all models performed poor to moderate), and combining them did not significantly improve performance. Part II reviewed coagulation management practices, highlighting limited available evidence supporting intravenous hemostatic agents in particularly thoracic aortic surgery, and noted variable clinical approaches to reversing antithrombotic agents in critically ill patients, often lacking specific protocols. Plasma transfusions were frequently given without active bleeding or guideline-based indications in critically ill and ECMO-supported patients, underscoring the need for improved guideline adherence and targeted research to optimize coagulation management
Living the postcolony:Egyptian (be)longings in Paris
Full text linkThis dissertation examines how Egyptian migrants make a life in postcolonial Paris. It is based on fourteen months of fieldwork between January 2017 and February 2018 in Paris and its suburbs. Convening the many ways in which Paris is lived as a postcolony, it examines the poetics and politics of differentiated belonging, postcolonial relationalities, bureaucratic resilience, parenting dilemmas and migrant futures. It centers on the repertoires, ways of life, everyday references and frames of Egyptians in Paris. While these lives unfold within institutionally channeled and politically coded regimes, it deliberately foregrounds the perspectival locations through which migrants understand and make their presence in this postcolonial space and the ways in which they seek to make familial and familiar lives there. By doing so, this research provides a crucial relational phenomenological understanding of postcolonial belonging in Europe
Enhancing consistency between climate and energy law and policy in fossil fuel-rich LDCs:A case study of Uganda
No full textThe central research question of this thesis focuses on how Uganda and similar fossil fuel-rich LDCs can improve consistency in implementing climate and energy laws and policies in the context of the global climate change legal regime. The study highlights a literature gap, particularly the lack of emphasis on the climate change implications of energy laws in fossil fuel-rich LDCs. Existing research mainly discusses the resource curse and development, without adequately discussing the intersection with climate policy. Further, implication for climate change action of energy laws and policies that co-exist with climate change legislation and policies in fossil fuel-rich LDCs is not addressed. The thesis contributes findings, recommendations and identifies areas for future research that could benefit both policy makers in fossil fuel-rich LDCs and North-South international law scholars
Track & trace transcription factor localization and dynamics
No full textTranscription factors (TFs) are key regulators of gene expression. These proteins need to find and bind specific sequences in the DNA to regulate expression of their target genes. How TFs are organized within cells and how they localize their targets is unclear. In this thesis, we use advanced live-cell imaging techniques to study the regulation of transcription factor localization & dynamics in budding yeast. Chapter 2 is a review on how studying dynamics of transcriptional proteins provides insights in the molecular mechanisms underlying gene transcription. Chapter 3 is a protocol on how to perform live-cell single-molecule fluorescence imaging in budding yeast. In Chapter 4, we studied a yeast TF which localizes in clusters inside cells, to identify the regulatory mechanisms of TF clustering and its role in gene regulation in an endogenous context. Finally, in Chapter 5, we present the use of a novel single-molecule imaging technique and apply this to measure both the search time and binding time of this yeast TF at a specific target locus in living cells, combined with genomic perturbations, to study the regulation of TF binding dynamics at their genomic targets
Handelsbescherming:De Koninklijke Marine en de bescherming van de Nederlandse koopvaardij 1935-1991
No full textIn Handelsbescherming staat een vaak onderschat maar strategisch cruciaal thema centraal: de bescherming van koopvaardijschepen tegen geweld op zee. De centrale onderzoeksvraag luidt: op basis van welke theoretische inzichten, historische ervaringen en bondgenootschappelijke invloeden ontwikkelde handelsbescherming zich in 1946-1991? Hoewel klassieke seapower-denkers het onderwerp uitvoerig behandelden en de geallieerden tijdens de Tweede Wereldoorlog kostbare lessen leerden, toont dit onderzoek hoe moeizaam Nederland en zijn bondgenoten die kennis in de Koude Oorlog toepasten.Handelsbescherming kreeg hernieuwde aandacht binnen de Koninklijke Marine (KM) omstreeks 1935. Na 1945 werd het de voornaamste marinetaak en voor de NAVO waren veilige trans-Atlantische zeeverbindingen van strategisch belang. Toch was het meer dan een militair vraagstuk: effectieve bescherming vereiste nauwe samenwerking tussen de KM, het Ministerie van Verkeer en Waterstaat en de reders, die uiteenlopende belangen en verantwoordelijkheden hadden. Uit omvangrijk archiefonderzoek in binnen- en buitenland blijkt dat deze samenwerking herhaaldelijk vastliep op financiële, bestuurlijke en culturele spanningen.De studie laat zien dat de structurele problemen voortkwamen uit drie dimensies van de complexiteit van handelsbescherming: onduidelijke begripsvorming, uiteenlopende krijgskundige opvattingen en een bestuurlijk complexe uitvoering. Het onderzoek verkent daarnaast de relatie tussen de nationale maritieme identiteit en de mate van aandacht voor handelsbescherming, en introduceert het begrip onderlinge seablindness: het wederzijds onbegrip tussen maritieme actoren dat effectief beleid belemmerde.Dit onderzoek levert zo een vernieuwende bijdrage aan het inzicht in de samenhang tussen maritieme strategie, beleid en cultuur. Het onderstreept de blijvende actualiteit van handelsbescherming in een tijd van hernieuwde geopolitieke spanningen
Patchwork gentrification:Fragmented urban governance, residents' experiences and resistance in Lima
Full text linkThis dissertation examines the trajectories of gentrification in Lima through the lens of urban fragmentation and neoliberal urban governance. Focusing on the central districts of Barranco and Lince, it investigates four key dimensions characteristic of gentrification processes after the neoliberal turn: new-build gentrification, touristification, privatisation of public spaces, and resistance of local residents. Drawing on qualitative methods, including ethnographic observations, interviews, and document analysis, the research traces how state-led and private sector interventions converge with local practices to produce uneven patterns of urban transformation. Building on existing gentrification debates, the dissertation introduces the concept of patchwork gentrification to account for the fragmented, locally variegated, and often non-linear trajectories observed in Lima. This framework is operationalised through three analytical layers: metrics, interpretations, and practices. It allows for a nuanced understanding of how real estate speculation, symbolic displacement, and selective investment reinforce existing inequalities without necessarily producing mass physical displacement. By bridging theoretical discussions on neoliberal urbanism with an in-depth empirical study of Lima, the dissertation contributes to debates on urban fragmentation and the differentiated impacts of gentrification in Latin America. It highlights how governance logics, market dynamics, and resident strategies interact to reshape urban space in ways that are both contested and contingent. In doing so, it advances knowledge on the assemblage of actors, forces and practices that drive urban change and offers a framework for analysing gentrification processes in cities characterised by entrenched socio-spatial inequalities
Health outcome after preterm birth:A microbiota perspective
Full text linkIn this dissertation, we seek to understand health after preterm birth from a gut microbiota perspective. Neonatal antibiotic exposure and fecal metabolic and microbial changes were examined as potential risk factors for acute and chronic conditions after preterm birth. In addition, techniques for fecal odor analysis and spatial orientation of gut bacteria were explored in preterm infants. Our results might contribute to strategies to predict, prevent, recognize and treat necrotising enterocolitis, neonatal sepsis and meningitis, and long-term non-communicable diseases