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When personal becomes relational:Investigating the role of personality traits in affective student-teacher relationships
No full textThe affective quality of dyadic student–teacher relationships (i.e., the emotional bond between teachers and individual students) has been found to be an important context for students’ academic and social development. This dissertation addresses the limited attention given to personality traits in this field by investigating the role of personality traits in the affective quality of dyadic student–teacher relationships. This overarching aim was pursued through both a systematic review of existing research and original empirical studies. These included the development of a new measurement tool, further exploration of the personality–relationship link, and testing a mediation model in which affective student–teacher relationships serve as an underlying mechanism linking personality traits to school engagement. Findings suggest that higher levels of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness, and lower levels of neuroticism, are associated with more positive student–teacher relationships. Importantly, not only students’ but also teachers’ personality traits matter. Beyond individual traits, personality match between students and teachers may also play a role in relationship quality and warrants further investigation. Finally, students who score high on agreeableness and low on neuroticism are likely to report more positive relationship quality (i.e., higher closeness and lower conflict), which, in turn, may promote their emotional engagement. Taken together, this dissertation contributes to a deeper understanding of how personality traits shape relational and academic outcomes in schools and suggests that attention to personality traits may be a promising avenue for understanding different aspects of students’ school experiences
Foreign investment screening in the European Union:The state of exception in investment law
Get PDFThis thesis argues that the institutionalisation of security as a dominant paradigm under the FDI Screening Regulation constitutes a state of exception in EU investment law. Against the backdrop of successive crises, investment regulation has shifted from a paradigm of liberalisation to one defined by security. Drawing on the theories of Carl Schmitt, Giorgio Agamben, and Achille Mbembe, the thesis identifies three defining features of this state of exception: the tension between the security exception and the rule of law, the friend-enemy paradigm, and the conflation of security and economic interests.The European framework for investment screening is characterised by an open-ended scope of application, indeterminate screening criteria, broad discretion, a lack of transparency, and limited judicial review. These characteristics blur the boundary between law and politics and subtly erode the rule of law. Investment screening law, policy, and decision practice are furthermore shaped by a friend-enemy paradigm that frames foreign investors as trusted allies or security threats. The thesis demonstrates that investment screening pursues a wide range of security, economic and geopolitical interests. To resolve the state of exception in EU investment law, the framework should be reformed through the specification of clear, objective, and non-discriminatory screening criteria
From gut to brain:Exploring mechanisms and therapeutic targets of obesity
Get PDFIn this thesis, we aim to deepen our understanding of the pathogenesis and consequences of obesity, which is essential for developing novel strategies for both prevention and treatment.Part I emphasizes the importance of recognizing obesity and its implications during illnesses, such as COVID-19. Part II investigates the role of the gut and its interactions with the brain and metabolic health. In Chapter 3, we provide a comprehensive literature review on the gut microbiota and its interaction with the brain in the context of obesity. In Chapter 4, we demonstrate that the metabolite imidazole propionate is positively correlated with blood pressure. Part III delves into the relationship between autophagy and insulin sensitivity in obesity. Chapter 5 shows that there is no significant correlation between insulin sensitivity and the expression of autophagy-related genes and proteins in adipose tissue. Part IV focuses on the brain in obesity. Chapter 6 shows that individuals with obesity experience increased food craving, though no correlation was found between food craving and striatal dopamine transporter availability. Chapter 7 demonstrates that the dopamine receptor agonist bromocriptine significantly reduces fasting glucose levels in patients with type 2 diabetes, but without improving peripheral or hepatic insulin sensitivity. Furthermore, there was no observed dexamphetamine-induced striatal dopamine release either at baseline or post-intervention, suggesting reduced brain dopaminergic responsivity in obesity.In conclusion, this thesis addresses several mechanistic aspects and medical consequences of obesity in humans, underscoring the importance of recognizing obesity as a complex and multifaceted disease
Uncertainty in flux:The temporal dynamics of attitudinal ambivalence and risk perception
Get PDFThis dissertation investigates how temporal dynamics at both micro and macro levels influence attitudinal and motivational processes in the contexts of attitudinal ambivalence (Part I) and risk perception (Part II). It examines (a) the sequential processes underlying the emergence and resolution of felt ambivalence; (b) the motivational effects of repeated experiences of ambivalence and risk exposure across time; and (c) potential historical shifts in the roles of desires for subjective knowledge and personal control in shaping the effect of trust on risk perception. Part I (Chapters 2 to 4) investigates the mechanisms underlying the emergence and resolution of felt ambivalence, employing a temporal perspective alongside experimental and experience-sampling methodologies. Additionally, it connects the constructs of attitudinal ambivalence and cognitive dissonance across a temporal dimension. Part II (Chapters 5 and 6) examines the moderators of the relationship between trust and risk perception, focusing on the comparative effects of subjective knowledge and personal control as well as their boundary conditions of descriptive and experiential exposure to a risk.In sum, across five empirical chapters and utilizing a multi-method approach, this dissertation provides novel insights into the temporal dynamics governing attitudinal ambivalence and risk perception. The dissertation demonstrates that a temporal perspective in examining these psychological processes opens up new research questions and enhances existing theoretical frameworks. Furthermore, the findings offer practical implications for designing more effective attitude and behavior change interventions
From salt to sugar:Unravelling the role of glycosaminoglycans in the sodium balance
Get PDFThis thesis aimed to investigate sodium-induced effects on blood pressure and osmolality beyond the traditional view in which osmotic equilibration is present between the intra- and extracellular space, and changes in plasma sodium concentration will induce water shifts between the intracellular and extracellular compartment. In the first part of this thesis, we addressed the presence of a third compartment for sodium accumulation in regulating blood pressure and osmoregulation. We demonstrate that the salt-sensitive blood pressure response cannot be explained by changes in fluid balance, but seems to coincide with incapacity for vasodilation and altered sympathovagal balance. In the following chapter, we show that patients' characteristics linked to tissue sodium accumulation play a crucial role in osmo(dys)regulation. Because previous studies have suggested an important role for negatively charged glycosaminoglycans in the regulation of tissue sodium accumulation, we aimed to unravel the role of glycosaminoglycan metabolism in blood pressure regulation and maintenance of the milieu interieur during sodium loading in the second part of this thesis. With epidemiological studies and randomised controlled sodium intervention trials, we demonstrate that disturbance of glycosaminoglycan synthesis (either genetically or due to disease) influences sodium homeostasis and salt sensitivity of blood pressure. Finally, we demonstrate that sodium accumulation in the placenta is important for maternal blood pressure regulation during pregnancy. Altogether, this thesis demonstrates that the sodium balance is far more complicated than previously assumed and that glycosaminoglycans play a crucial role in the complex and precise regulation of sodium
Photolatent alkyd curing with iron
Get PDFPaint plays an important part in waterproofing metal and wood, which is vital in extending the lifetime of outdoor structures. Common paints contain several ingredients to control their (physical) properties, such as binders, pigments, fillers and diluents. Traditionally oil paints were used, with plant oils such as linseed oil as binder. Nowadays many of the binders are based on synthetic polymers such as alkyd resins: polyesters prepared by a polycondensation reaction between fatty acids derived from plant oils, a diacid and a polyol. The process of alkyd paint curing (‘drying’) relies on the formation of (conjugated) fatty acid hydroperoxides. Activation of these hydroperoxides by catalysts results in the formation of radical species which (1) can initiate the formation of new peroxide species and (2) can perform reactions leading to crosslinks, resulting in the formation of a three-dimensional network and a cured coating. In commercially available alkyd paints, cobalt-, manganese- and iron-based catalysts are applied frequently, with cobalt-based driers being particularly attractive due to their ability to produce the hardest coatings. Catalysts should however not start curing the paint during storage, and typically (volatile) inhibitors are added to prevent this. Due to legislative pressure regarding the use of cobalt-based driers and certain (volatile) inhibitors in alkyds, these compounds possibly may be banned from used in alkyd formulations in the future. Therefore, suitable alternatives need to be developed. This thesis addresses these issues, and describes new photo-latent catalytic Fe-based driers suitable to provide latent alkyd curing free from (volatile) inhibitors
Teaching historical empathy:Perspective taking in past and present using eyewitnesses
Get PDFThe aim of this dissertation is to provide history teachers insights and tools on how they can foster students’ empathy in history lessons by using eyewitnesses. The central research question is: How can history teachers promote empathy in history lessons by incorporating eyewitnesses? This thesis aims to provide insights for history teachers to address citizenship competencies through the teaching of historical empathy. The overall approach in this thesis has characteristics of educational design research in which design principles and lessons based on them are developed and tested on the basis of theoretical and empirical exploration. From the literature and interviews with history teachers and students, design principles were derived that can be considered principles for promoting empathy in the context of a history class. These design principles were used to design lesson series on Israel-Palestine in which two eyewitnesses acted as guest speakers in class and a lesson unit in which eyewitnesses were included in a documentary. These outcomes were used to organize a Professional Learning Community for history teachers on historical empathy. It can be concluded that history education, particularly focusing on historical empathy, can offer valuable opportunities for students to practice empathy by exploring the perspectives of individuals from the past and present. The combination of working with eyewitnesses and seven design principles has the potential to provide teachers with concrete tools to promote empathy in history class, allowing teachers to add emphases and make choices depending on their own preferences in teaching and their goals
The Towianist Inquests. The Roman Catholic Church against Romantic Messianism (1841-1859)
Get PDFThis dissertation focuses the reaction of the Roman Catholic Church to Towianism, the heterodox Catholic current named after the Polish religious leader Andrzej Towiański (1799-1878). Towianism was a religious and social movement that supported the affirmation of national independences and proposed a new conception of social and political relations. Its history spans from the third decade of the nineteenth century to the first half of the twentieth century, and touched Italy, France, Switzerland, Poland, Lithuania, and the German region of Hesse. Using a historical-critical methodology based on archival sources, this dissertation aims at addressing three aspects of the religious, social, and political landscape of the middle of the nineteenth century such as the attitude of the Church towards a non-institutionalised Catholic movement, its reaction to a new vision of society according to which the influence and control of the Church would be drastically reduced, and the development of a movement that was grounded on Catholicism while at the same time opposed by the Church. The dissertation is divided into five chapters. The first chapter explains the methodology, the status quæstionis, and gives an overview of Towiański’s doctrine. The second chapter displays Towiański’s travels and the rooting of Towianism in France from 1841. The third chapter shows the diffusion of Towianism across Europe. The fourth chapter is devoted to the reaction of the Roman Catholic Church to Towianism after 1854. The fifth chapter presents an analysis of the Towianist phenomenon in relation to the Church within the given historical period
Queer late/r life sex:Women and non-binary people's unruly stories
Get PDFAgeing often remains defined in contradicting narratives that pose ageing as decline or that promise “successful ageing” when sexual attractiveness and sexual availability are maintained. This dissertation centralizes the stories of people in positions that remain marginalized and invisibilized in studies on ageing, namely queer women, lesbians, bisexual women, trans women, and non-binary people. The dissertation builds upon more than forty interviews with participants between the ages of 44 and 86, as well as participant observation in various research settings (queer spaces/events, digital dating platforms, and a queer advocacy group for old/er LGBTQ+ people). This dissertation’s analysis pays careful attention to the participants’ life course trajectories, their experiences with sex late/r in life, and several stories of not (or no longer) having and/or wanting sex. In line with assemblage thinking, the analysis paid careful attention to the entangledness of materiality, discourse, and un/expected components related to sex late/r in life. Age-related, embodied change at times produced anxieties about the future, but also reshaped understandings of sex and intimacy in a move away from orgasm- and genitality-oriented understandings of sex. New or changing relations to sex included unruly ways of experiencing (sexual) pleasure, reconceptualizing new and/or existing relationships, and incorporating unruly affects and practices into the understanding of sex and intimacy. As non-normative ways of having sex, of relating to sex, and relating to others (re)configured as a result of growing old/er, the results of this research are potentially applicable to much more women’s experiences of late/r life sex and intimacy
Great expectations of sustainable finance:A critical analysis of EU sustainable finance strategy and sustainable finance regulation
Get PDFThe adoption, in 2015, of both the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement focused attention on a fundamental rethinking of many aspects of society. Indeed, the European Commission’s 2018 Sustainable Finance Action Plan called for a comprehensive shift in how the financial system works. This research explores the expectations of a sustainable financial system and critically assesses the extent to which the EU’s sustainable finance strategy, and the regulations adopted pursuant to that strategy, align with, exceed, or fall short of such expectations. The research makes three principal contributions. First, it develops an assessment framework for the critical analysis of sustainable finance strategy and regulation. Second, it presents a series of critical analyses covering the 2018 Action Plan, the Taxonomy Regulation, the SFDR and a series of amendments to existing capital markets regulations. Finally, the research offers seven concrete suggestions as to how the EU could develop a sustainable finance strategy that is more coherent, transparent, and better aligned with expectations of a sustainable financial system. In particular, it is suggested that (i) more realistic intentions are communicated, (ii) inclusiveness is better safe-guarded, (iii) a stronger conception of sustainability is adopted, (iv) greater transparency is provided with respect to the contribution of the financial system to both sustainability goals and inequitable outcomes, (v) financial regulation be reclaimed from the economic rationale, (vi) a regulatory architecture based on free-choice may be insufficient to reposition the financial system towards sustainability, and that (vii) methods be developed to manage conflicts of interest arising as a result of the co-regulatory approach adopted pursuant to EU sustainable finance regulation.The research primarily employs a critical legal studies methodology. It also, however, draws on the methodologies and work of scholars in the fields of rhetorical analysis, historical narrative analysis, systems thinking, law and economics and utilises Kuhn’s theory of paradigm shifts. The study illustrates how academic research, through the methodical construction and application of a critical assessment framework, can contribute to a better understanding of and, as necessary, the realignment of policy