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Negotiating entrepreneurship in refugee context:Multi-level analysis of Syrian entrepreneurial activities in urban areas in Lebanon
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Experiments and insights on climate-relevant behaviours
No full textClimate change is strongly linked to human behaviour and socio-economic systems. The complexity and heterogeneity of contributing factors make each climate-relevant domain worthy of attention. This thesis focuses on understanding the incentives needed to discourage carbon-intensive behaviours and support more sustainable choices at the individual level. It explores drivers in three climate-relevant domains: food choices, greenwashing practices, and applications for green jobs. While the emphasis is on individual behaviour, the work also touches on systemic considerations and broader policy prescriptions. The research uses three different experimental methods — field, lab, and online — to explore: a) The role of social observability on food choices, through a field experiment at a large environmental and resource economics conference. Ultimately, do people care and change their food choices towards more climate-friendly options when they know that they are visible to others?; b) The impact of increased detection probability on greenwashing behaviour in a laboratory market setting, examining both sellers’ deceptive practices and buyers’ willingness to pay for potentially false green claims. Essentially, to what extent is green consumption affected when its authenticity is reasonably in doubt?; c) the existence of preferences for green jobs and how intertemporal preferences and peer pressure affect job applications through an online survey experiment. Fundamentally, what are the main determinants of preferences for green jobs, and how does social pressure affect that? Unexpected and confirmatory findings contribute to the literature on behavioural climate policy by offering novel experimental evidence that informs the design of interventions across distinct yet interrelated domains
The periconceptional diet and digital lifestyle coaching in reproductive health
No full textDiet is the most important lifestyle factor which connects to various aspects of human health.Besides its pivotal role in individual growth, metabolism, and influencing chronic diseaserisks, evidence is convincing that the maternal and paternal diet are essential in reproductionand early human health [1-4]. We refer to reproduction as the trajectory that begins withgametogenesis, continues through fertilization, implantation, embryo, fetal and placentaldevelopment, and ends after birth of the offspring [4]. With diet being an important daily andmodifiable factor, understanding associations between diet and human reproduction willprovide insights for interventions aiming at the prevention and management of adversereproductive health outcomes [5, 6]
Different medium, same processes?:Reading comprehension instruction in primary school incorporating audio and video
Full text linkReading comprehension is an important skill for academic success and functioning in society more broadly. However, nowadays, there is an increasing amount information available in spoken form, providing new ways for learning and acquiring information. The dissertation evaluates how children understand informative videos relative to informative texts, and explores the possibilities of audio and video as part of reading comprehension instruction. It describes four experimental studies conducted in the context of Dutch primary education. Part I of the dissertation focuses on providing insight into how children proceed in understanding information presented in text versus video form. Results showed that understanding texts and videos that present the same information is associated with similar comprehension processes (Chapter 2 and 3). This provides empirical evidence for the theory of a general comprehension skill underlying comprehension of different media. The findings speak against the common assumption that videos are processed more passively or superficially than written text. This provided the foundation for Part II of the dissertation, which focused on investigating whether audio and video materials can be used to foster inferencing. Inferences are implicit relations in a text that readers need to fill in. The ability to recognize these ‘gaps’ of information is an important skill for understanding both written and non-written media, like videos. It was, however, found to be difficult to stimulate the generation of inferences (Chapter 4 and 5), both during reading and during listening to audio and videos.<br/
The effect of music and its (listener) characteristics on pain and well-being
No full textThis thesis investigates how music and listener characteristics influence pain and well-being. While music is widely recognized for its therapeutic benefits in healthcare, it remained unclear which types of music are most effective. We first analyzed music commonly used for pain and anxiety relief, finding that calm, slow, and mostly instrumental music is more frequently selected. A pilot study showed that AI-generated music can reduce emotional arousal and increase positive feelings, depending on personal taste. Next, we examined listener characteristics. Personal music preference had a stronger impact on pain tolerance than the genre itself. People responded better to music they chose themselves, regardless of their socio-cultural background. We also explored how listening duration affects pain. Twenty minutes of music improved pain perception, though further research is needed. A global survey revealed that most people want music during painful experiences, and some chose classical music even when it wasn’t their actual preference. Further investigation into individual attitudes highlighted that people have different needs and concerns about music in healthcare. Finally, this thesis investigated the effect of live music. Responses differed depending on whether the musician was physically present. Attending live concerts with the musician being present can enhance well-being. Overall, our findings demonstrate that music is a powerful tool in alleviating pain and improving overall well-being, especially when tailored to individual preferences and delivered in a culturally sensitive way.<br/
‘We gave them the glass, now it’s up to them to pour the tea’:Exploring farmers’ appropriation of water user associations in rural Morocco
No full textIn the early 1990s, Morocco adopted participatory irrigation management (PIM) and irrigation management transfer (IMT) as key policy frameworks in irrigation management following international donors’ agendas. As part of this framework, Water User Associations (WUAs) were implemented to decentralize resource management, promote farmers’ participation, and reduce irrigation system maintenance costs. By the early 2000s, evaluations reported mixed results and challenges in promoting active participation and securing financial support. Factors explaining these outcomes include insufficient training and capacity building, unequal power relations and elite capture, and the unclear definition of WUA roles. More broadly, disappointing performances are often attributed to the mismatch between donor-driven, state-imposed bureaucratic WUA frameworks and the complex socio-cultural and political context in which they were implemented. Externally imposed frameworks often fail to account for long-established, embedded institutions and traditional practices shaping irrigation management, contributing to weak institutional embeddedness, reduced management efficiency, and low local ownership of imposed models.Research examining WUAs globally has analysed factors contributing to these outcomes from different angles and regional perspectives. Despite contextual differences, common challenges have emerged across studies. A subset has examined the interaction between WUAs and pre-existing traditional forms of irrigation management, exploring the capacity of local communities to transform, reject, and reconfigure bureaucratic institutions, shedding light on local-level dynamics driving institutional transformation and adaptation processes. Research in rural Morocco shows that WUAs, depending on context and actors, may become innovative arenas serving socially valued purposes through locally driven reconfiguration processes.This thesis contributes to this body of research by examining how local farmers appropriate or reject WUAs and how communities reshape and repurpose WUAs through micro-level institutional bricolage processes. The study situates this analysis within the structure-agency interplay, examining how local actors navigate political and socio-cultural dynamics, as well as the role of state public policy, agrarian transformation, and the impact of climate change on water resources.An original analytical framework is developed, combining the notion of appropriation of space adapted from Henri Lefebvre with institutional bricolage theory as conceptualized by Frances Cleaver. The framework focuses on the transformative potential of place politics, examining how WUAs are locally reshaped or rejected. It explores how communities selectively draw on bureaucratic and customary practices, as well as their own experiences, to integrate different institutional logics in local irrigation governance. The framework was refined through iterative engagement between theoretical reflections and empirical observations, grounded in local perspectives. This approach provides insight into institutional change dynamics in response to evolving socio-political and ecological conditions, and policy implementation, revealing how these factors redefine local irrigation governance.Empirically, the thesis is based on qualitative, participatory, and exploratory research in two municipalities on the Moroccan Atlas. A comparative case study of 12 WUAs in small-scale irrigation systems in Ain Leuh (Ifrane Province) and the Zat Valley (Al Haouz Province) identifies common patterns and divergent trajectories. Comparative analysis allows a nuanced understanding of how community-endogenous factors and external pressures shape irrigation management. Ethnographic approaches combined with participatory methods enable deep contextual understanding and incorporation of local perspectives, complementing the qualitative inquiry.A key finding is that WUAs initially functioned mainly as ‘contractual’ entities, adopted primarily to access state funding for infrastructural development. Following this phase, most returned to customary management, highlighting limits of externally imposed models. Over time, communities engaged with WUAs through three distinct processes of institutional appropriation, each contributing to reconfiguration through institutional bricolage, involving selective borrowing, adaptation, and recombination of bureaucratic and customary systems. Civic-driven appropriation involves new forms of rural leadership integrating local practices within bureaucratic institutions. Partial appropriation refers to coexistence and interaction of customary and bureaucratic logics, resulting in hybrid modes. Cultural non-appropriation describes cases in which WUAs are primarily contractual for infrastructure, while customary institutions retain water management control. Together, these processes illustrate the plurality of local responses and highlight the role of bricolage in generating adaptive, contextually grounded, and socially legitimate water management institutions.The thesis is structured around eight chapters. Following the introduction of the research design and problem framing, the methodological approach is described. The theoretical and analytical framework is then presented. Historical, socio-cultural, and political dimensions of irrigation management in Morocco are examined to understand the interplay between legacies, state-driven policies, socio-political changes, and climate dynamics influencing local irrigation management. This contextual analysis informs empirical findings, discussed for Ain Leuh and the Zat Valley. Comparative analysis shows that WUA reconfiguration is a dynamic process evolving over time, with varying engagement and approaches depending on local socio-cultural factors, intra-community politics, and external factors such as climate change and development policy. Communities borrow and selectively recombine elements from customary and bureaucratic domains, producing diverse locally elaborated water management institutions. Some WUAs are repurposed to address locally identified needs and functions.The thesis offers theoretical, empirical, and methodological contributions. Empirically, it sheds light on the interplay between externally introduced bureaucratic practices and socio-culturally embedded institutions. By combining institutional bricolage with appropriation of space, the thesis offers a lens for understanding locally-led institutional adaptation and the emergence of novel governance arrangements. Methodologically, it demonstrates the value of community-based, comparative, participatory, and ethnographic research in capturing micro-level institutional transformations from farmers’ perspectives. Theoretically, it links appropriation of space with institutional bricolage, revealing local dynamics and the ways actors transform imposed models. It highlights how communities rework, hybridize, or reject WUAs to produce governance arrangements reflecting local norms and needs.The thesis suggests future research should investigate how WUAs are reshaped to become embedded in rural settings and repurposed to serve community-based functions. When locally legitimized, WUAs may support adaptation practices, infrastructural co-design, local agricultural development, and act as innovation platforms. Comparative and participatory research can reveal historical, socio-cultural, political, and external drivers shaping institutional reconfiguration. Policy implications emphasize reconsidering the WUA model, adopting a flexible, context-sensitive framework accommodating locally elaborated functions and management options, integrating locally produced practices to better serve and empower communities.<br/
Music in perioperative care and delirium prevention
No full textNon pharmacological interventions such as deprescribing and perioperative music are becoming increasingly relevant in healthcare. Deprescribing helps reduce medication burden and related risks in older adults with multimorbidity, while perioperative music has demonstrated benefits including reduced anxiety, pain, sleep problems, and opioid use. However, the reporting quality of studies on these interventions is often insufficient. Using the TiDieR checklist, this thesis found gaps in methodological reporting for both deprescribing and music trials.To better understand how music can reduce anxiety, a large dataset of 36,000 tracks was analysed. Music used for coping with anxiety showed distinct characteristics—lower BPM, loudness, energy, and valence—compared to general listening patterns, with genres like lullabies, pop, and hip hop being most common. A systematic review further confirmed that perioperative music significantly reduces pain, stress, anxiety and improves patient satisfaction. A multicentre randomised controlled trial investigating elderly hip fracture patients (MCHOPIN trial) showed mixed but promising results: while the intention to treat analysis did not show a significant reduction in delirium, modified analyses did, alongside fewer postoperative complications and high patient satisfaction.Economic evaluations revealed that perioperative music is likely cost effective for preventing postoperative delirium in elderly hip fracture patients, with comparable healthcare costs between intervention and control groups. In neurosurgical patients, however, the evidence was less conclusive, with no significant differences in delirium. Overall, perioperative music remains an attractive, low risk, and inexpensive intervention with multiple demonstrated benefits. In line with current Dutch guidelines, the thesis recommends considering perioperative music for surgical patients.<br/