Erasmus University Thesis Repository
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Artificial Intelligence for the Protection of Archaeological Heritage: Policy Gaps and Opportunities in European Union and UNESCO Frameworks
No full textArtificial Intelligence (AI) and its tools are starting to hold an undeniable place in our lives. Every day, new tools and software are being incorporated into various fields, with cultural heritage being one of them. In particular, archaeology is a unique case of AI applications as it is a traditional and delicate domain with numerous peculiarities. Hence, this thesis aims to explore the ways that cultural policies control the integration of AI into the domain of archaeology and suggest future directions for it. This research starts by building an extensive theoretical framework to reveal the interrelatedness between archaeology, AI, and cultural policies. Then the thesis employs qualitative content analysis to analyze 10 policy and industry documents released by the European Union and UNESCO. The documents were selected through purposive sampling and were coded thematically using Atlas.ti to identify trends and gaps related to AI governance and innovation in tangible and archaeological heritage management. The analysis was strengthened by the mini case study of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii to ground the findings in a real-world context through discussing the AI applications there from the same analytical lenses. This investigation reveals that even though AI is recognized as a transformative tool in heritage conservation due to its benefits, such as public engagement and conservation, there is a significant sector- specific policy gap regarding AI utilization in archaeological heritage. Policies emphasize the significance of digitization, ethics, free access, and equality; however, they remain too broad and fragmented and more suggestive than enforceable. Pompeii, while showcasing the advantages of AI, also highlights the absence of interoperability standards and shared ethical guidelines. This results in a need for horizontal and comprehensive archeology-specific cultural policies to primarily close the existing policy gap and ensure equal conditions for the digital transformation of cultural institutions. This thesis adds to the intricacies of cultural policy by providing more dynamics and dilemmas to be managed to ensure the success and sustainability of both AI and archaeological heritage. The ultimate goal of this thesis is to serve as a foundational tool to interpret the current landscape and a charter for its future by making AI's benefits and challenges in archaeology explicit
Understanding Resistance And Resentment Towards DEI Policies: Evidence from Employees Working in the Netherlands
No full textDiversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives have gained increased popularity across organizational settings, aiming to foster more inclusive workplaces. Even though these strategies are made with positive intentions, they have also caused growing resistance and resentment among certain employee groups, particularly in Western societies where DEI has become a more controversial and debated topic. This thesis aimed to better understand the possible factors that cause these negative attitudes, with a specific focus on employees that work in the Netherlands. In this country, where the workforce is highly diverse, examining how employees respond to DEI initiatives provides valuable insight into how such efforts are perceived in a European context, where social, cultural, and political conditions differ from the ones in USA.
The main research question that guided this study was: How and to what extent do employees in Netherlands-based companies experience resistance or resentment toward DEI policies? To address this question, a quantitative study was conducted with an online survey which was distributed to employees working in the Netherlands (N=226). The study examined how perceived threat, perceived procedural injustice, and DEI fatigue predict negative responses toward DEI. The differences in resistance and resentment between Dutch and non-Dutch employees was also tested, aiming to identify whether ethnic background influences perceptions of DEI. Furthermore, the thesis investigated whether empathy and intergroup contact moderate these relationships.
The findings reveal that all three predictors are significantly associated with higher levels of resistance and resentment toward DEI initiatives. The analysis also demonstrated that no significant differences were found between the Dutch and non-Dutch employees and their resistance/resentment levels. Empathy showed some moderating potential in weakening these relationships, but the effect was only partially supported. Intergroup contact, on the other hand, did not moderate the relationships between the negative perceptions and attitudes.
Theoretically, the thesis contributes to DEI literature by offering a more nuanced understanding of resistance and resentment, and by showing that such responses are shaped more by individual perceptions and experiences than by cultural background. It also calls for future research to examine how different organizational, sectoral, and other demographical contexts shape employee engagement with DEI efforts. Practically, the study underscores the need for organizations to pay closer attention to how DEI policies are perceived internally, particularly in terms of fairness, transparency, and emotional impact. It highlights the importance of reducing performative actions and embedding DEI into everyday organizational processes that build trust and inclusive workplaces
Picturing Decolonisation
No full textThis thesis analyses how the legacy of Algerian decolonisation has visually resonated in history textbooks published in France since 1970. With increasing tensions between Algeria and France and the role of colonialism remaining a central point of contention in French public debates, the memories of the Algerian War of Independence are as relevant as ever. Their transmission in textbooks has long been a source of controversy in France. As they are multifaceted mediums subject to political, economic, and social interests, this thesis aims to highlight that historical narratives in textbooks are in constant flux - and that visuals are not neutral conveyors of history. The main question guiding this research is: how have French history textbooks visually represented Algerian decolonisation since 1970? How has that representation evolved? Through a qualitative approach, this study analyses textbook iconography over 50 years to trace and outline the development of how textbooks visually engage with the history of the Algerian War of Independence.
The research reveals that the visual representation of Algerian decolonisation gradually shifted to depict the more controversial and obscured events of the conflict, continuously anchored in a French context. The findings highlight a cautious and non-linear remediation of the war according to contemporary societal self-descriptions and issues. They demonstrate how politics of memory, through the demands of external actors, has shaped visual representations, and the role of various textbook elements in constructing overarching narratives. This thesis contributes to existing research on French textbooks through its visual approach and analysis of recent textbooks, and emphasises the need to study how visuals contribute to the construction of historical narratives in this educational medium
Evolving Feminisms on TV
No full textThe demands for feminist representation have shifted from requests for visibility to more nuanced expectations regarding authenticity, inclusivity, and intersectionality. Viewers are no longer content with superficial representations of strong women; there is growing demand on media to depict real-life experiences influenced by race, class, sexuality, and cultural background. Representation is now anticipated to confront structural inequality instead of avoiding it with individualistic stories. With feminist discourse gaining greater visibility, audiences are increasingly scrutinizing which narratives are presented, who narrates them, and how power flows through media channels that assert progressive ideologies. In this thesis, I address how feminist discourse is depicted and mediated in HBO's Sex and the City, Girls, and Insecure. All three of these series, which debuted in separate decades, present us with their own takes on womanhood, empowerment and identity. I was also curious about the way each series responds to the political and cultural demands of its day, and in what those changing approaches said about the larger shifting demands for feminist representation on TV. My central research question is: How do HBO's Sex and the City, Girls, and Insecure reflect the evolving demands for diverse representation in feminism? I approach this by combining thematic analysis with critical discourse analysis. I analyze four episodes per series, selected for their narrative weight and relevance to feminist themes. This includes the pilots and finales, as well as episodes that sparked discussion or explicitly addressed gender, race, or empowerment. I use feminist media theory to guide my reading, drawing on work by scholars such as Gill, Banet-Weiser, Rottenberg, Crenshaw, and hooks. Throughout my analysis, I found that Sex and the City presents empowerment largely through consumption, confidence, and emotional control. It promotes a version of postfeminist freedom that is appealing but narrow, where choice is central but structural critique is absent. Girls shifts the tone by making visible the discomfort, contradiction, and privilege that underlie this model. Its feminism is messier and more ambivalent, though often still centered around white middle-class subjectivity. Insecure moves further by centering Black womanhood, showing how race, community, and emotional labor shape the meaning of confidence and success
Special purpose acquisition companies as an alternative asset class and a way for retail investors to invest in private equity
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