Radboud Educational Repository (Radboud Univ.)
Not a member yet
18924 research outputs found
Sort by
The Feminine Dilemma: Gendered Expectations and the Dispute Behavior of Female Leaders in Democratic States (1946-2014)
No full textThis thesis examines the effect of gendered expectations on state leaders’ conflict behavior. It explores whether female leaders conform to the societal stereotypes associating femininity with peace. Bridging traditional International Relations, Security Studies, and feminist theories, this research asks the question: to what extent does the gender of a state’s leader affect the level of hostility reached during militarized interstate disputes, and the likelihood of initiating such disputes? A quantitative analysis of democratic states from 1946 to 2014 investigates correlations between leader gender and dispute behavior. This is followed by a qualitative process tracing mechanism test of four female leaders – Indira Gandhi, Margaret Thatcher, Angela Merkel, and Park Geun-hye – to contextualize their behavior. While no correlation between gender and level of hostility was found, the results do reveal that female leaders are statistically more likely to initiate militarized disputes, contradicting the hypothesis. Qualitative contributions, however, emphasize the challenges inherent to studying gender as an analytical tool. The study contributes to both feminist IR and security scholarship by highlighting the importance of studying gender in conflict behavior, but also the methodological limitations that come with it
Enhancing Risk Assessment in Internal Audit Through Continuous Auditing: A Data Analytics Perspective
No full textThis study explores the transformation of internal audit functions driven by technological change and evolving strategic expectations, with a focus on continuous auditing (CA) and data analytics. It addresses a research gap by examining how organizations implement these tools, redefine effectiveness, and respond to related operational and institutional challenges. A qualitative, triangulated design integrates primary data from 13 semi-structured interviews with internal audit professionals and secondary data from publicly available audit reports across three organizations: Deloitte, UMC Utrecht, and Royal HaskoningDHV.
Using a within-case analytical approach and thematic synthesis, the study identifies seven core themes: the strategic repositioning of internal audit, evolving risk identification, integration of data analytics, adoption of real-time monitoring, implementation challenges, new effectiveness metrics, and the changing role of auditors. While CA enhances responsiveness and strategic alignment, its success depends on organizational culture, system readiness, and auditor capabilities.
This study applies a multi-theoretical lens combining COSO, ISO 31000, Contingency Theory, Resilience Theory, and Sociotechnical Systems Theory to explain how continuous auditing evolves in complex environments. It also offers practical insights for audit leaders on phased implementation, talent development, and embedding analytics into assurance functions
The moderating effect of CSR assurance on the relationship between CSR performance and financial performance for European firms
No full textThis thesis investigates the moderating effect of external CSR assurance on the relation between CSR performance and financial performance, while also addressing some endogeneity concerns. This relation was analysed with the use of a system GMM model, containing a sample of firms in similar European countries between the years 2015 and 2023. The results show a significant positive relationship between the combined ESG score and ROA. In contrast, the relationship with ROE was positive but insignificant, and with Tobin’s Q negative and insignificant. The effects of the individual pillars were mixed. For ROA, only the social pillar was significantly positive, the environmental and governance pillars were both insignificant. For ROE, none of the pillars were significant, while Tobin’s Q has a negative significant relation with the governance pillar, but insignificant results with the environmental and social pillar. The moderating effect of CSR assurance was found to be insignificant across all financial performance indicators. These results contradict the majority of research that finds a significant positive relationship between CSR performance and financial performance, which underscores the complexity and context dependency of this relationship
Beyond the Threat: Rousseau, Mouffe, and the conditions for just populism in liberal democracy
No full textPopulism, a movement that claims to represent the ‘pure people’ and distinguishes them from the ‘corrupt elite’, is seen as a threat to liberal democracy in the dominant discourse. However, recent academic debate has opened more space for viewing populism as a possible signal of a lack of legitimacy in liberal democracy as a system. Liberal democracy suffers from low trust in institutions, a weak sense of responsiveness of political governance and a declining political engagement. Populists also appeal to this democratic legitimacy by claiming to represent 'the pure people'. Drawing on the democratic theories of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Chantal Mouffe, this study formulates nine conditions under which populism does not threaten liberal democracy but can strengthen its democratic legitimacy. It distinguishes between agonistic and antagonistic populism. While both may signal a legitimacy deficit in liberal democracy, only agonistic populism can strengthen its legitimacy by contributing to plurality, democratic involvement and inclusiveness.
This study offers an alternative to the dominant discourse in political theory, which views populism and liberal democracy as fundamentally opposed, by offering a conditional framework for the just integration of populism and liberal democracy
Taglit - Birthright Israel and the Construction of the Jewish Homeland: The Impact of Birthright Homeland Tourism on the Ethnic- National Consciousness of Jewish Diasporans
No full textThe ongoing Israeli-Palestinian war has led to a proliferation of discourse surrounding
contemporary Jewish identity and the notion of Israel as the Jewish homeland. Understanding
the relationship between Jewish Diasporan identity and Israel is a crucial step towards
understanding the intricacies of the Israeli-Palestinian war. To understand the relationship
between Diaspora Jews and Israel, this thesis will examine the phenomenon of birthright
homeland tourism exemplified by the organization Taglit - Birthright Israel. Zionist
organizations such as Taglit - Birthright Israel were built on the notion that every Jew in the
Diaspora is born with the right to visit Israel, which is represented as the Jewish homeland.
This thesis will perform a multimodal critical discourse analysis of Taglit - Birthright Israel’s
promotional materials to understand how the relation between Jewish identity and the state of
Israel is framed by the organization. In addition, a discourse analysis of two research reports
by the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies will be conducted. Finally, the case study of
Taglit – Birthright Israel will be situated within a greater context of globalization and
postmodernity. In the end, this thesis will argue for the emergence of a new, hybrid Jewish
identity
De preventieve aanpak van jonge aanwas. Een onderzoek naar de preventie inititatieven voor de aanpak van jonge aanwas in de regio Noord-Limburg
No full textSinds een aantal jaar is Nederland gestart met het programma Preventie met Gezag voor de aanpak van jonge aanwas. In dit onderzoek wordt enerzijds onderzocht welke initiatieven er binnen de Preventie met Gezag gemeenten Venray en Venlo worden uitgevoerd en wat de theoretische effectiviteit is van deze initiatieven (sociale controle theorie). Anderzijds wordt onderzocht hoe het netwerk rondom de initiatieven is opgebouwd (collaborative governance) en waar de gemeenten van elkaar kunnen leren. Dit onderzoek laat ten eerste zien dat de term ‘jonge aanwas’ in het veiligheidsdomein door (samenwerkende) actoren verschillend geïnterpreteerd wordt. Niet alle preventieve initiatieven zetten in op de bindingsvorm ‘toewijding’ vanuit de sociale controle theorie, echter toont dit onderzoek aan dat resultaten vanuit deze initiatieven wel als positief worden ervaren. Daarnaast geeft dit onderzoek inzicht in de netwerken van de gemeente Venray en de gemeente Venlo, waar beide gemeenten vervolgens van elkaar kunnen leren. Zo kan de gemeente Venlo de uitvoering van het initiatief ‘Integrale Persoonsgerichte Toeleiding naar Arbeid’ door de gemeente Venray als referentie gebruiken voor het uitvoeren van het initiatief. Ook is inzichtelijk gemaakt in hoeverre de voorwaarden voor samenwerking tussen actoren aanwezig zijn. Afsluitend worden er aanbevelingen gedaan aan de Regio Noord-Limburg en voor vervolgonderzoek
With great power comes… great manipulation? Examining the relation between inclusive leadership and experienced emotional manipulation and investigating how managerial and employee power affect this relation
No full textThe current literature on inclusive leadership has mostly focused on positive effects. As a result,
the dark side of inclusive leadership and possible negative effects have received a lack of
attention. Using theoretical insights related to emotional manipulation and power dynamics,
this study examined the relation between inclusive leadership and emotional manipulation, and
the moderating roles of manager power and employee power. These relations were investigated
using a cross-sectional, quantitative research in the form of a survey, and by analysing answers
of 188 respondents. The results indicate a positive relation between inclusive leadership and
emotional manipulation. Employee power was found to moderate this relation, decreasing its
effect. When the level of inclusive leadership increases, employees experience more emotional
manipulation, especially when employee power is low. Furthermore, a direct positive relation
was found between manager power and emotional manipulation, and a direct negative relation
between employee power and emotional manipulation. These findings highlight the importance
of investigating for other negative effects of inclusive leadership in order to understand and
decrease them. Furthermore, the results show the importance of ensuring high employee power
for decreasing emotional manipulation
Appropriate Measures of Progress Within the Different Scientific Disciplines
No full textThis thesis aims to underline a weakness in the literature discussing scientific progress due to the individual necessities of the scientific disciplines and the multiplicity of approaches throughout them. I propose the division of the natural and the social sciences due to their
differences in ontology, methodology, and replicability of conclusions, causing the two forms to progress with differing methods and speeds. This indicates an urgent need for type-specific literature. Two key approaches are established: goal-oriented and origin-based progress, the first of which being most appropriate for the natural sciences and the latter for social sciences. This unifies the existing literature in both discussions and highlights the necessity of their fusion
‘’Het gaat erom wat wij het belangrijkste vinden’’; Een onderzoek naar historische significantie bij leerlingen uit de Achterhoek.
No full textIn Nederland wordt slechts fragmentarisch onderzoek gedaan naar wat leerlingen significant vinden binnen de geschiedenis. Het onderzoek dat beschikbaar is, gaat hoofdzakelijk over de verstedelijkte gebieden in Nederland. Dit onderzoek richt zich daarom op historische significantie in het plattelandsgebied Achterhoek. In dit onderzoek wordt met verschillende meetinstrumenten gemeten welke criteria leerlingen gebruiken om te bepalen wat significant is en wat niet binnen geschiedenis. De resultaten tonen aan dat criteria als impact in het verleden, invloed op het heden en de succesfactor een rol spelen bij de beeldvorming van leerlingen over geschiedenis. Door de scriptie heen worden vergelijkingen gemaakt met de bevindingen van nationale en internationale auteurs. Dit onderzoek laat daarmee vooral zien dat we in het Nederlandse geschiedonderwijs nog een weg te gaan hebben in het begrijpen van de belevingswereld van de leerling
De Valkuil van Voyeurisme: Over Ethiek, Representatie en De Kracht van Afwezigheid
No full textThis master's thesis investigates how the deliberate choice to show or withhold explicit images of conflict profoundly influences the public perception of war. It examines this central question through a comparative analysis of current Dutch military policy and the artistic practices of Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin. The research employs a qualitative theoretical-literature approach combined with image analysis, drawing insights from art history, media studies, and military strategic communication.
The study reveals that the Dutch Ministry of Defence implements a highly regulated image strategy, prioritizing operational security, institutional credibility, and maintaining a professional image. This often results in a controlled and neutral visual narrative, focusing on military materiel and exercises, rather than direct combat or its consequences, as seen in the limited public imagery from the mission in Uruzgan, Afghanistan. This approach, including embedded journalism, aims to shape public and political support, sometimes presenting a more positive reality than experienced by military personnel.
In contrast, artists Broomberg and Chanarin critically engage with the representation of conflict by often intentionally avoiding explicit depictions of violence. Their series The Day Nobody Died (2008) uses abstract, non-figurative photography to subvert traditional war reporting and challenge the voyeurism often associated with conflict imagery, encouraging critical reflection from the viewer. Similarly, War Primer 2 (2011) recontextualizes existing war photos to expose underlying power structures and media manipulation, fostering a more active and self-aware spectatorship.
The thesis concludes that both the presence and absence of explicit war imagery serve as powerful instruments of framing, each with distinct motivations and effects on public perception. While military communication prioritizes safety and public relations, artistic interventions use visual choices to stimulate critical thought about the construction and consumption of war narratives. This underscores that photography, despite its perceived objectivity, is inherently a mediated construction of reality. The research highlights how the continuous circulation of war images can lead to desensitization, emphasizing the crucial role of both image creators and viewers in critically engaging with conflict representation