Erasmus University Thesis Repository
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From Signals to Success: A Study of Effective Signaling in Blockchain-Based Financing Alternatives
No full textManaging M&A - To what extent does political alignment between acquirer and target countries influence the regulatory approval likelihood of cross-border M&As, particularly in sensitive industries?
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The Influence of CEO Gender on Job Seekers’ Perceptions: Exploring the Mediating Role of Servant Leadership
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Scroll, Click, Trust? Repeat
No full textIn today's fragmented media landscape, Instagram plays an increasingly prominent role as a news source for young adults, raising concerns regarding news credibility, algorithmic influence, and misinformation. This thesis explores how Dutch Instagram users aged 18 to 35 evaluate the credibility of traditional broadcaster accounts, such as @nosstories, compared to non-broadcaster news accounts, including @cestmocro and @nieuws, within the context of the ongoing Gaza conflict. Although prior research has examined news trust on platforms like Twitter or Facebook, Instagram's visually oriented and algorithmically curated environment remains understudied, especially during polarised geopolitical events. This research combines twelve semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a deductive thematic analysis, guided by media credibility theory, uses and gratifications theory, and the concepts of filter bubbles, echo chambers, and media repertoires. The findings reveal that participants' credibility assessments are shaped by political alignment, emotional engagement, habitual news routines, and platform-specific features. Traditional news outlets are generally perceived as reliable, yet participants expressed scepticism regarding perceived bias or incomplete reporting on Gaza. Non-broadcaster accounts were praised for providing immediacy and alternative perspectives, but concerns regarding sensationalism, ideological one-sidedness, and misinformation were also prevalent. Instagram's algorithm and visual presentation further shape news engagement, reinforcing selective exposure and confirmation bias. Familiarity, convenience, and social validation often influence trust perceptions, even when critical reflection is limited. These results highlight the need for stronger media literacy, platform accountability, and journalistic adaptation to meet the expectations of young audiences. By focusing on the intersection of platform dynamics, source characteristics, and user motivations, this study offers new insights into how trust in news is constructed within the algorithmically driven, highly visual environment of Instagram
The Dynamics of Underground Culture in Warsaw
No full textThis thesis examines the organizational structure, economic practice, legitimation strategy, and spatial challenge and tactics that underground art collectives in Warsaw adopt. It conducts semi-structured interviews with lead members across various cultural initiatives and demonstrates an in-depth thematic analysis. Research confirms that Warsaw's underground has horizontal governance, volunteer-based participation, mixed economic practices, and that it creatively occupies peripheral urban space. Interviewed collectives generate substantial cultural value based on grassroots movements, radical inclusivity, and artistic innovation despite limited institutional support. Their legitimacy is based on the care for excluded communities and the production of real cultural spaces rather than searching for popularity. The thesis also examines how collectives negotiate a highly hostile urban development context that includes ever-rising rents and overall spatial uncertainty. The results show that despite Warsaw's underground culture being burdened with systemic challenges, it is still possible to persist with authentic cultural production and community work. The study contributes to the existing literature on cultural entrepreneurship, subcultural capital, and urban grassroots innovation because it offers details regarding the adaptability and resilience of informal cultural actors in post-socialist cities
Cross-Cultural Feminist Identification and Character Portrayal in Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron (2023)
No full textThis study explores the intersection of cultural identity, feminist, identification, and anime character portrayal through a case study of Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron (2023). The research addresses the gap in understanding how feminist themes in anime are perceived across different, cultural contexts, specifically between Dutch and Japanese audiences. The main research question investigates the extent to which feminist, identification and cultural identity, influence, anime character, portrayal, focusing on the films character, in particularly Kiriko, who is depicted as a younger and older woman.
The study employees, a quantitative approach using surveys to collect data from Dutch and Japanese individuals who have watched the film The Boy and the Heron (2023). The survey includes questions on feminist, identification, character, and demographic information, allowing for a cross-cultural comparison. The Feminist Identification Scale by Reid & Purcell (2004) is utilized to measure feminist identification, while character portrayal is assessed, using characteristics identified by Yang et al. (2024) in their analysis of Studio Ghibli films.
The findings revealed significant cross-national differences in feminist, identification, with Dutch participants scoring higher than Japanese participants. This difference is attributed to the contrasting, cultural and governmental approaches to feminism in the Netherlands in Japan. Higher feminist, identification is associated with more positive portrayals of both young and old female characters, indicating that feminist, ideologies influence how audiences interpret gender, portrays, and media. Gender differences are also observed with male participants being more likely to negatively perceive, young female characters, highlighting the role of gender norms in media interpretation.
Interestingly, exposure to Studio Ghibli films does not significantly predict feminist, identification, suggesting that media content alone may not be sufficient to deeply rooted ideological views. This study contributes to the feminist media studies by emphasizing the importance of cultural context and personal ideologies in audience research. It highlights the need for culturally adaptable measures and highlights the global and local influences on how female characters and anime are perceived.
The research also highlights the Importance of integrating, cultural context and personal ideologies into audience research. It illustrates that while films like The Boy and the Heron (2023) provide rich, complex portrayals of female characters, their meaning is ultimately shaped in the mind of the audience. The feminist potential of media, particularly in the realm of anime, depends, not only on representation, but also on reception of cultural identity, gender, and ideological alignment intersect in powerful and unpredictable ways. By centering, both Japanese and Dutch audiences, the study offers a comparative lens on media reception that underscores the global and local influences on how we see, understand, and value, female characters in contemporary anime
Journalism First!
No full textTijdens verkiezingsperiodes zijn media veruit de belangrijkste bron van informatie voor het electoraat. De media moeten het publiek voorzien van een breed scala aan informatie, zodat het publiek in staat wordt gesteld om een weloverwogen keuze te maken. Tegelijkertijd werken media aan de hand van routines, die ervoor zorgen dat niet alle informatie kan worden bericht. Tevens heeft dit een effect op de inhoud van nieuwsberichten. Wanneer berichtgeving een bepaalde kant op leunt, kan men spreken van een media bias. Daarnaast is het Nederlandse medialandschap in de laatste decennia drastisch veranderd: talloze media gaan onder druk van commercialisering de strijd met elkaar aan om de aandacht van de lezer. De financiële druk op de mediasector creëert een klimaat waarin het voor nieuwsmedia interessant wordt om gebruik te maken van de diensten van het ANP, wat vooral voor buitenlands nieuws geldt. De Amerikaanse presidentsverkiezingen vormen een geschikte casus voor het onderzoeken van de druk die commercialisering op de Nederlandse nieuwsmedia legt en de manier waarop media een bias hebben in termen van nieuwsselectie en framing. Specifiek wordt er gekeken naar de laatste drie verkiezingsperiodes, welke interessant zijn om meerdere redenen. De twee grootste redenen zijn echter de deelname van Donald Trump, een populistische politicus, en de deelname van vrouwen aan twee verkiezingen. Aan de hand van een kwantitatieve inhoudsanalyse op berichtgeving van zes Nederlandse nieuwsmedia wordt bepaald in hoeverre er een media bias is in berichtgeving over de laatste drie Amerikaanse presidentsverkiezingen in termen van nieuwswaarden, framing en gender bias. Daarnaast wordt er ook gekeken in hoeverre de berichtgeving van het ANP van invloed is geweest op deze media. Resultaten tonen aan dat de invloed van het ANP op Nederlandse berichtgeving rondom de Amerikaanse verkiezingen minimaal is geweest. Hiermee wordt geïmpliceerd dat Nederlandse nieuwsmedia ondanks de financiële druk van commercialisering nog altijd in staat zijn om grotendeels originele berichtgeving te produceren. Met betrekking tot een media bias concludeert het onderzoek dat er om verschillende redenen een coverage bias is geweest in het voordeel van Donald Trump, terwijl er op slechts een klein deel van de berichtgeving een gender bias jegens Kamala Harris in 2024 kan worden opgemerkt. Dit vertelt ons dat Nederlandse nieuwsmedia Donald Trump van hoge nieuwswaarde achten en dat met betrekking tot de nadruk van berichten er weinig wordt bericht op basis van seksuele stereotypen
Through the Mirror
No full textThis thesis examines the globally influential series Black Mirror. It is an anthology series that features different characters, settings and storylines each episode. This series is known for its dystopian and dark portrayals of technology. Each episode features a different form of a highly advanced technology that redefines what appears to be a normal society. The series has been widely interpreted as a critical perspective on the dangers of technological progress. However, this thesis looks beyond its dystopian reputation and examines how the series portrays technology as a tool for connectivity, escapism and memory. It answers the central research question: "How does the series Black Mirror portray technology as a tool for connecting, escaping and remembering?' It uses a qualitative methodology, specifically a thematic analysis. This thesis uses a deductive approach and analyses the concepts of connectivity, escapism and memory. It analyses a selection of twelve relevant Black Mirror episodes that are relevant to the core concepts. The episodes analysed span all seven seasons, from the first to the most recent, which aired this year. Three overarching themes emerged from the analyses, touching on the concepts of connectivity, escapism, and memory. Each main theme consists of two subthemes. The findings indicate that digital connectivity or intimacy influences real-world presence and (romantic) relationships. Digital escapism arises from unfulfilled psychological needs. This temporary refuge can serve as a liberating space for self-reflection, but it can also lead to entrapment. While mediated memories can act as psychological shields, they also recontextualise memories. Overall, this thesis shows that Black Mirror presents a more nuanced narrative than is generally recognised. The idea that the series portrays technology as inherently harmful is challenged. The criticism is not directed at the technology itself. The narrative exposes the underlying psychological motivations and vulnerabilities of its users. It addresses people's inadequacies in reconciling their online and offline presence, the tendency to avoid confronting problems or self-reflect and to accept the past without clinging to it. Technology in itself is not the cause of dystopia. This thesis shows that it can also facilitate meaningful connections, encourage personal reinvention or evoke nostalgia and give meaning to life