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Welzijn is zorg. Onderzoek naar de impact van welzijnsorganisaties in de gemeente Monterfeland in de contex van stijgende zorgkosten en dubbele vergrijzing
No full textDonkere wolken boven het Sociaal Domein in gemeenteland: dubbele vergrijzing, stijgende zorgkosten en een dreigend ravijnjaar. Gemeenten voelen druk om de beweging naar voren te maken, een transitie van zorg naar welzijn. Ook de gemeente Montferland, waarvoor dit onderzoek is uitgevoerd. Welzijnsorganisaties kunnen hierbij een impactvolle rol spelen door inwoners preventief, voorliggend, vroegtijdig en laagdrempelig te ondersteunen. Dit onderzoek heeft de doelgroep 60-plussers. De ‘maatschappelijke impact van welzijn’ is geoperationaliseerd op basis van wetenschappelijke literatuur in dimensies, subdimensies en indicatoren. Vervolgens zijn op basis van deze uitwerking interviews gehouden, monitors en jaarrapportages geanalyseerd en observaties uitgevoerd. Op basis van de data zijn de welzijnsorganisaties beoordeeld op de verschillende indicatoren. Alle drie de welzijnsorganisaties scoren minimaal voldoende. Huiskamer Anne-Wil is door haar unieke werkvorm een concept dat wordt aanbevolen om verder in de gemeente Montferland uit te rollen. Betreffende Welcom en Stadskamer is de conclusie dat het qua effectiviteit op orde is, maar dat er qua het bereiken van inwoners kansen liggen. Met name in het opbouwwerk, het bedienen van kernen middels dorpshuizen en het integraal netwerkend werken. Ook de gemeente Montferland wordt aanbevolen hier meer op te sturen en de welzijnsorganisaties hierin te facilitere
De lege schoot van Frances - Een onderzoek naar de leemte in het schilderij Mr and Mrs Andrews van Thomas Gainsborough
No full textThis thesis re-examines Thomas Gainsborough’s Mr and Mrs Andrews (c. 1750), focusing on the enigmatic, unfinished area in Frances Andrews’ lap. The small, centrally located unpainted patch has prompted numerous interpretations since the painting entered the National Gallery’s collection in 1960. Art historians have proposed four principal theories: the dead pheasant theory, the reservation theory (suggesting a later addition of a baby), the broken-commission theory, and the evocation theory. Each is critically assessed through visual, iconographic, socio-historical, and technical analysis.
The first three theories are found to lack sufficient evidence and are ultimately untenable. The evocation theory — which proposes that the empty space was deliberately left blank to provoke thought or to function as a joke — is considered the most plausible. There are indications that the intended humour is ironic. Robert and Frances Andrews posed as members of the seated gentry, yet lacked noble titles or heraldic credentials. The painting is thus repositioned as a conversation piece that not only portrays the sitters, but also subtly enacts their social aspirations.
The vacant lap becomes a focal point of narrative ambiguity: a part of a private joke, possibly, and a visual site of indecision. As such, the work is interpreted as a performative construction in which the couple, in collaboration with Gainsborough, enact a social role. The thesis recommends further research into this private joke theory, understood here as a nuanced strand of the broader evocation theory
Balancing green ambitions and social needs: exploring sustainability and affordable housing in KnoopXL Eindhoven, while avoiding the risks of greenwashing
No full textAs cities emerge and expand, achieving both sustainability and affordable housing presents a challenge for cities to tackle climate change while being liveable. The KnoopXL project Eindhoven aims to transform a grey office district into a dynamic, green, and sustainable city hub with 9,000 new homes. However, conflicting interests between urban densification, green space, and housing affordability pose challenges during the planning and implementation phases. This research explored how KnoopXL has addressed sustainability and affordable housing without running the risk of greenwashing. Greenwashing is an emerging challenge in urban planning as planners propose development plans claiming to be sustainable while not providing a meaningful environmental or social benefit. By using KnoopXL as a case study, it provides an understanding of the different aspects that shape the development of affordable housing and sustainability in relation to greenwashing, including stakeholder dynamics, technological innovations, economics pressures, and transparency and communication in planning. Ultimately, through the perspectives of various stakeholders involved in the project, this research will show how complex the balance between sustainable and affordable housing is, but greenwashing risks can be mitigated. This research aimed to reveal more appropriate strategies for urban area development, and to improve social equity and environmental quality
The role of sustainability assurance in corporate sustainability reporting: Exploring the association between assurance choices and corporate sustainability and financial performance
No full textThis thesis examines the association between combinations of sustainability assurance choices and both corporate sustainability performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP). Transparent and credible sustainability reporting is essential for corporate accountability, but concerns remain about the credibility and reliability of such disclosures. Voluntary assurance has emerged as a tool to enhance credibility and reliability, yet its effectiveness is questioned due to weak standards and potential managerial influence. Some firms may adopt symbolic assurance practices, such as limited assurance on selected sections, to manage stakeholder perceptions and improve CPF without improving actual CSP. This study examines whether different combinations of assurance level, scope, and provider are associated with CSP and CFP. Using multilevel mixed-effects linear panel data regression analyses on 2,108 firm-year observations from 509 listed companies across 37 countries (2019–2023), this study finds no consistent associations between combinations of high-quality assurance and either CSP or CFP. A notable exception is a negative relationship between limited assurance with full scope and short-term CFP, possibly due to higher assurance costs. In contrast, a positive association between Big Four assurance providers and long-term CFP suggests that provider reputation may enhance long-term CFP
Happy cow or milk machine? Framing animal welfare in the Dutch dairy industry
Get PDFThis research explores how animal liberation movements contest the dominant animal welfare frame in the Dutch dairy industry in order to discover their potential to become the dominant frame. The research is structured by the core framing tasks and the concept of resonance. In order to gain knowledge, the websites of nine Dutch animal welfare organisations are analysed by frame analysis. The research found that all organisations were quite united in the definition of the problem and the solution in general. However, there were differences in who is to blame for the problem, in the elements of the problem that were included and in how the solution should be reached and who should take responsibility in this
The impact of political polarisation on strategic consensus
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the impact of political polarisation within governance boards on the likelihood of achieving strategic consensus specifically within Dutch water management organisations. Recognising that boards often operate in highly polarised environments, the study addresses a critical gap in understanding how polarisation and particularly affective polarisation disrupt collaborative decision-making processes. Building on theories of group polarisation and social identity, this study employs a quantitative analysis of board meeting transcripts combined with linguistic expression metrics via LIWC to quantify affect and polarisation indicators. The findings indicate that increased affective polarisation measured by linguistic markers, reduces the probability of consensus especially in high-salience issues. Contributions with more unique speakers also tend to have a negative effect on unanimous decisions further impeding consensus-building. Although some evidence suggests polarisation may impair unanimous decision-making, effects are context-dependent and moderated by issue salience indicated by a non-significant but plausible curvilinear relationship. The study concludes that institutional design and targeted conflict mitigation strategies are essential to mitigate polarisation's adverse effects, thereby enhancing governance effectiveness in ideologically divided settings
Boosting ESG scores with M&A?
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This paper examines the question whether acquiring a target with a high ESG score increases the ESG score of the acquirer. Using panel data of 735 mergers worldwide, from 2003 through 2023, I find insignificant results with regard to the hypothesis that acquiring a high ESG target increases acquirer ESG scores. Furthermore, this research examines the effects of performing a merger on acquirer ESG scores, irrespective of target ESG. Using a market control group of 1154 companies this paper finds inconsistent results. Further research should delve more into this topic. This research should be of great interest to scholars interested in the effect of M&A on ESG performance, corporate managers that involve in ESG practices. And also to policy makers, because policy affecting M&A might in turn effect ESG practices of companies. This is especially important because countries are trying to reach their SDG’s
“LES PROLÉTAIRES ET LES FEMMES SONT DES ESCLAVES” Discourses of subordination in French feminist periodicals from the 1830s
No full textThe periodical press is often considered an important site for disseminating ideological views, public debate and politics. Specifically in the nineteenth century, the (French) women’s press allowed women access to the public sphere and these public and political debates. During the 1830s specifically, feminism and the feminist press reemerged in French society. Women’s periodicals tried to mobilise their female readers to fight for the improvement of their condition and occasionally even that of other disadvantaged groups. They for example also discussed topics such as social inequality and reform. According to some scholars, nineteenth-century (French) feminists also expressed themselves on the issue of slavery and the condition of enslaved people and people of colour. However, not all researchers agree on this. Rather, there are those who argue that these feminists merely deployed a language related to slavery in order to discuss and denounce women’s condition.
Focussing on French feminist periodicals from the 1830s, this thesis studies exactly these matters by focussing on the ways in which different types of subordination, specifically those based on social class and race, appear in a larger feminist discourse focussed on the subordination of women. It furthermore analyses the ways in which connections are established between (individuals from) different subordinate groups of society, specifically women, members of the working class, and enslaved people. The research also considers what the motives of these feminists behind linking these different subordinate groups might be.
The thesis does so by studying a corpus of three feminist periodicals: La Femme libre (1832-1834), Le Conseiller des femmes (1833-1834) and the Gazette des femmes (1836-1838). It uses a mixed methodology which combines computational analysis and qualitative analysis. The first chapter discusses the historical context of the nineteenth-century women’s/feminist periodical press as well as some possibilities and limitations of using digital approaches to study periodicals. This chapter also elaborates on the method of this research. The second chapter then looks at each periodical, its contents and social/political positioning. The third chapter consists of a computational analysis of the corpus on the basis of text-mining software AntConc, focussing on keywords related to the different types of subordination and the different subordinate groups under study in this thesis and their collocates. Finally, the fourth chapter further studies the construction of a feminist discourse and discourses related to subordination in each periodical. It qualitatively analyses this and the ways in which different types of subordination intersect and people from different subordinate groups are connected in the periodicals by close reading a selection of articles and conducting a discourse analysis
Samenwerking kringloopwinkels en gemeenten
No full textDeze scriptie onderzoekt hoe de samenwerking tussen kringlooporganisaties en gemeenten het hergebruik en de afvalreductie binnen de circulaire economie beïnvloedt. Hoewel er veel literatuur is over gemeentelijke samenwerkingen, is er weinig bekend over de rol van kringlooporganisaties, terwijl hergebruik en afvalreductie juist hun kernactiviteiten zijn. Voor het onderzoek is er gebruik gemaakt van bestaande literatuur en is een empirisch onderzoek uitgevoerd. Het onderzoek combineert een literatuurstudie met een kwalitatieve casestudy, bestaande uit interviews en een most similar systems design (MSSD).
Uit het onderzoek is gebleken dat een intensievere samenwerking tussen kringlooporganisaties en gemeenten leidt tot meer hergebruik en afvalreductie. Gemeenten en kringlooporganisaties werken samen als partners die elkaar aanvullen en gezamenlijk bouwen aan circulaire doelen. Sterkere samenwerkingen leiden tot betere communicatie, meer circulaire initiatieven en een toename in de betrokkenheid van burgers.
Daarnaast laat dit onderzoek mogelijkheden voor het versterken van duurzame samenwerkingen zien. En biedt deze scriptie aanknopingspunten voor het ontwikkelen van nieuwe strategieën om hergebruik en afvalreductie verder te optimaliseren. De scriptie kan als een waardevolle basis dienen voor zowel toekomstig onderzoek als duurzame beleidsvormingen welke bijdragen aan een efficiëntere circulaire economie
Power, politics, and paramilitaries; why nations stand with Russia or Ukraine
No full textThe war in Ukraine has not just affected Ukraine and Russia, but has made ripples around the world. Due to its global impact, states decide to support one side or the other. It is crucial for policy makers to understand what makes a state choose a side, and for researchers to understand alliance formation in general. Current theories in the field of International Relations each identify their own factors that could explain position taking, but it is unclear which are most important in this case.
This thesis investigates position taking in the Ukrainian-Russian war as a case of position taking in general. This is done through a three-step method: a literature study into general theories behind position taking, a literature study about the different motivations for position taking in this conflict specifically, and a regression model to test which of the variables from the second step have been significant so far.
We found that multiple variables were of importance. These were, in order of decreasing importance: past voting similarity to the West, strength of democracy, economic stability, past voting similarity to Russia, NATO membership, political stability, presence of Russian PMCs, the size of the armed forces, and imports from Russia. This is a mix of security, economic, and ideological concerns. We take this to mean that there is no International Relations theory that can explain position taking by itself, as the factors are highly diffuse, and do not solely focus on a single topic like security, economy, or ideology