1,722,022 research outputs found
Het domesticeren van de rat: Rat-mens relaties in de twintigste eeuw in het Westen
No full textIn de afgelopen eeuw heeft zich een opvallende verschuiving voorgedaan in de relatie tussen mens en rat. Terwijl de rat rond het begin van de twintigste eeuw in het algemeen nog ondubbelzinnig als ongedierte werd beschouwd, zijn ratten momenteel zowel een populair huisdier als het ultieme model van de mens in de laboratoria. Maar tegelijkertijd blijven ratten ook een last doordat ze ziektes verspreiden en oogsten verslinden, en is de term rat een bekend scheldwoord en een negatieve metafoor. Deze ambiguïteit heeft wetenschappers doen concluderen dat de rat in essentie dubbelzinnig is, en de rat wordt beschreven als een ´shape-changer´, een ´boundary crosser´ en als ´essentially elusive´. Ik zal desalniettemin stellen dat de rat is gedomesticeerd. De mens heeft in steeds positiever zin haar licht laten schijnen op het wezen dat floreert in haar schaduw
(I Can’t Get No) Saturation: A Simulation and Guidelines for Minimum Sample Sizes in Qualitative Research
No full textThis paper explores the sample size in qualitative research that is required to reach theoretical saturation. I conceptualize a population as consisting of sub-populations that contain different types of information sources that hold a number of codes. Theoretical saturation is reached after all the codes in the population have been observed once in the sample. I delineate three different scenarios to sample information sources: “random chance,” which is based on probability sampling, “minimal information,” which yields at least one new code per sampling step, and “maximum information,” which yields the largest number of new codes per sampling step. Next, I use simulations to assess the minimum sample size for each scenario for systematically varying hypothetical populations. I show that theoretical saturation is more dependent on the mean probability of observing codes than on the number of codes in a population. Moreover, the minimal and maximal information scenarios are significantly more efficient than random chance, but yield fewer repetitions per code to validate the findings. I formulate seven guidelines for purposive sampling and recommend that researchers follow a minimum information scenario
Is ons huidige innovatiesysteem geschikt voor de energietransitie? Essay op basis van keynote speech voor werkconferentie Topsector Energie, oktober 2016
No full textSharing for people, planet or profit? Analysing motivations for intended sharing economy participation
No full textThe sharing economy is a fast-growing and heavily debated phenomenon. This study provides an overview of motivations of people willing to participate in different forms of the sharing economy. A survey was held amongst 1,330 respondents from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Using stated preference data, we investigate the relative importance of (1) economic, (2) social and (3) environmental motivations to participate in peer-to-peer sharing. Hereby we consider differences between (a) sectors of the sharing economy, (b) socio-demographic groups, and (c) users and providers. Results are descriptive as well as based on ordered logit models. Notable differences are observed in the motivations for sharing between sectors. To a lesser extent there is variety in sharing drivers between socio-demographic groups. Finally, users seem more economically motivated than providers of goods
The impact of privatization on sustainability transitions: A comparative analysis of dynamic capabilities in three water utilities
No full textThis paper analyzes the ability of water utilities to contribute to sustainability transition processes. More specifically, we compare the capacity of utilities, embedded in purely public, mixed and largely private governance modes, to innovate. We employ dynamic capabilities as core indicators for innovativeness and therefore as major enabling factors for sustainable sector transitions. We assess the relationship between governance modes and innovation by conducting an in-depth comparative analysis of three water utilities, each within a differing governance mode along the public-to-private continuum: Zurich, Berlin and Leeds. While we find that the private and mixed governance modes have an increased degree of innovativeness, they perform lower in terms of static sustainability criteria than the public mode. We therefore conclude that the impact of privatization on sustainability transitions in the water sector involves multi-dimensional trade-offs between static and dynamic sustainability criteria
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