85 research outputs found
Research Note: The Coverage of War: Do Women Matter? A Longitudinal Content Analysis of Broadsheets in Germany
No full textOur social consciousness reserves the role of fighter solely for men. Women are not considered as being authoritative or decisive actors in the context of war and violence. During armed conflicts or other violent crises, female acting subjects seem to leave the public (i.e. media) stage – a place where they are underrepresented even under normal circumstances. Furthermore, media coverage of war, it is said, largely assigns the role of the victim to women. However, there is not much empirical evidence to support this view due to the significant lack of longitudinal quantitative studies on media coverage of women during wartime. In order to investigate this, a framing analysis of media coverage of war between 1989 and 2000 was conducted in Germany. This article reports on the results of this framing analysis and the representation of women during wartime in quality German newspapers. It is the first longitudinal gender-specific framing analysis of war coverage ever carried out in any country
Baiba Kundrats nee Berzins in handmade coat
No full textBaiba Kundrats nee Berzins with the handmade cost her mother sewed romy uniforms4.0 Latvian Immigration into Canad
The Suitability of Apple’s iBooks Author to Create E-Learning Projects : Comparisons of Selected and Interactive Electronic Publications
No full textProgramme zur Erstellung von Lernapplikationen sowie noch nie dagewesene Kommunikationsmöglichkeiten bieten interessante Perspektiven für das schulische Lernen und das Erstellen von Inhalten für E-Learning Projekte. Zukünftige Lehrbücher können abstrakte Lerninhalte mit interaktiven Medienelementen didaktisch unterstützen.
Welche Möglichkeiten Apples iBooks Author bietet und wo es Defizite gibt, wird In dieser Arbeit in Form eines Vergleichs ausgewählter und interaktiver elektronischer Veröffentlichungen dargestellt
Sounds Local, 1997 May 10
No full textInterview with author Ellyn Bache on her new novel, The Activist's Daughter, about young people in the 1960s; Ken Bader interviews operatic soprano singer Jayne West on performing opera vs. cabaret music; Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (film) review by WHQR's film commentator, Steve Taylor; Overview of upcoming events on the cultural calendar
Embodiment design of a grocery delivery robot: From cool transport to user-friendly hand-over
No full textLast mile delivery is often seen as bottleneck for delivery service growth: it is the most costly and highest polluting segment of the delivery supply chain. By integrating delivery robots in society, last mile delivery can be automatize to create a more cost and time efficient and sustainable delivery service. This also applies to the grocery delivery service. However, no grocery delivery robot, that can operate on the sidewalk, is designed yet. How should such a grocery delivery robot look like? And how do we want the delivery robot to interact with the user? This thesis provides an embodiment design for a grocery delivery robot, with the focus on the human-robot interaction at the doorstep. A desired human-robot interaction can be achieved by creating functional, ergonomic, intuitive, functionally looking, trustworthy, aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly design that will empower the customer to feel in control of the delivery process. To realize a functioning delivery robot, a prototype and design has been created according to a form follows function approach. A prototype of the embodiment design has been integrated with the Husky platform at the AMS Institute in Amsterdam to test and validate the human-robot interaction. The design enables, a cool, temperature-controlled delivery with user-friendly hand-over. The user-friendly hand-over is envisioned by an automatic vertical crate hand-over movement, which mimics the current almost effortless interaction of retrieving crates from a grocery delivery service. This hand-over will to not only make the experience of retrieving groceries more joyful and ergonomic, but it will also enable a better future integration with entire delivery process. Last mile delivery will only be more efficient, sustainable, and able to offer customers more control of the delivery process, if the delivery robots are integrated within the entire delivery process
The application of mechanism based and equivalent frame methods for the seismic assessment of URM terraced houses in Groningen
No full textSince the 60’s the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) has been extracting gas from the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. This resulted into seismic activity. However, the buildings in Groningen are not designed to withstand any seismic loading. The assessment of the seismic behavior of the building stock of Groningen is required to verify whether a structure causes any life safety risk during an earthquake. In this thesis two main objectives are studied. Firstly, it is studied whether the simplified analysis approaches: Simplified Lateral Mechanism Analysis (SLaMA), as described in the NPR9998-2018, and the Equivalent Frame Method (EFM) as implemented into the software package 3Muri are able to describe the seismic behavior of an Unreinforced Masonry (URM) terraced house. Secondly, the influence of the geometry of the piers in a facade is assessed. Both the objectives are studied by means of two case studies. The first case study represents a typical but idealized URM structure of a terraced house from which the seismic capacity was determined in the TU Delft lab by cyclic pushover tests. The second case study concerns a specific two-storey URM terraced house located in Groningen. The case studies are characterized by large daylight openings, slender piers and a low lateral capacity into the x-direction.Civil Engineering | Building Engineerin
Empowering the Urban Females: Creating gender sensitive mass housing in Addis Ababa
No full textWith almost 110 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the largest and most populouscountry in the Horn of Africa. In the current trend of global urbanization, Ethiopia’s cities are rapidly growing. A tripling of the urban population is to be expected in 2050, putting a big pressure on the housing stock and employment opportunities. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital is growing at 3.8% per year, as more and more people from smaller villages or rural areas search for a better life standard. Statistics show that among the relatively young migrants, 6 out of 10 is female, coming from different social and cultural backgrounds. Women in Ethiopia, and to a larger extent those living in rural areas, suffer from a lower social status in the patriarchal society. They struggle more to find appropriate housing and supporting networks. This thesis invests the opportunities to create gender sensitive housing to pave the way for these new urban women. Furthermore, it proposes an alternative to the current mass housing strategy.Addis Ababa Living LabArchitecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences | Global Housin
Acquiring Chinese Venture Capital as a European High-tech Start-up: An exploratory research into the critical requirements and governmental and economic influences affecting the decision-making of Chinese Venture Capital firms investing in early-stage European High-tech Start-ups
No full textIn this research, a literature review is done to create a framework on all current known criteria other countries' VC firms set when selecting a Tech start-up. The framework also includes possible governmental and economic influences that could affect the decision-making of Chinese VC firms. Subsequently, nine in-depth interviews have been held with three different perspectives: Chinese VC firms, European start-ups, and Specialists with an external view on Chinese VC investments in Europe. By conducting interviews, it was possible to get in-depth information on Chinese investments in the past. With this, valuable information on essential criteria for Chinese VC firms when investing in Europe is obtained. After data gathering, transcripts were made, and data were grouped into themes using open coding. Finally, a within-case- and cross-case analysis have been executed to trace possible causal relationships regarding selection criteria of Chinese VC firms on one side and governmental and economic aspects on the other side. Based on the findings of this research, European start-ups can better assess the risks and understand the decision-making of Chinese VC firms investing in Europe. It appears that mainly governmental decisions from China and Europe influence the decision making of Chinese VC firms investing in Europe. Especially Chinese governmental capital requirements need to be considered before investments in European start-ups; however, VC firms try to circumvent the Chinese regulations as far as possible. The influence of the Chinese government comes forward in the fact that: 1. The investment needs to contribute to the Chinese economy 2. The European start-up should not compete with investments in start-ups funded by the Chinese government. In addition, European rules restrict Chinese investors from investing in sensitive technologies, making it increasingly challenging for Chinese investors to invest in specific European sectors. This happens mainly due to the negative coverage of US politics on China. Furthermore, this study has identified criteria Chinese VC firms particularly use when investing in European Tech start-ups. It was found that Chinese VC firms mainly focus on the following categories: 1. experience, personality, and capabilities of entrepreneur and team 2. characteristics of the market 3. characteristics of product 4. financial considerations. More specifically, based on the interviews, a list of 21 selection criteria is found that European start-ups could consider when attracting Chinese VC investments. To conclude, since every investment is unique, and the strategy of VC firms differs, it is good to consider all criteria found in this study, including the criteria found in previous literature of other countries' VC firms to get a better overview on the requirements Chinese VC firms set when investing in European High-Tech start-ups.Management of Technology (MoT
Designing with elephant grass based bioplastic
No full textThe company Vibers makes bioplastic from elephant grass, which has a positive effect on the environment. The crop grows perfectly on the Dutch soils, so the material is locally attuned. There are low fertilizer and pesticide requirements, which makes the crop relatively environmentally friendly (Lewandowski, Clifton-Brown, Scurlock & Huisman, 2000). The elephant grass has a high absorption of CO2. This material sounds promising, and therefore, research is done on the unique qualities of this material: what fitting application areas of the material are, and what questions arise when designing with this material. The project definition is as follows: exploring the possibilities of designing with elephant grass based bioplastic. During the first phase of this research the unique qualities of this bioplastic are explored and they are connected to application areas that fit the material. While doing this analysis, a method is designed that can be used for exploring the unique qualities of a new material. The Vibers bioplastic has the unique quality that it is bio-based and biodegradable, and due to its look and feel, users link it directly to a sustainable material. The elephant grass fibres have captured a large amount of CO2 from the air. Also they add stiffness to the material. With this unique quality, a structured way of opportunity finding is used in order to identify the right fit for the material.In the second phase of the report the method ‘research through design’ is used to explore the material further while designing two concepts of a veranda bench. The veranda bench is chosen to continue the project with since the unique qualities of the material add value to the product. Also this application has multiple conflicting requirements, which can lead to interesting design questions. The goal of this exploration is not to design the best veranda bench, but to get to know the material better, and to set up design guidelines for designing with Vibers bioplastic. During the design process several design questions arose that needed to be answered in order to design with this material. Answering those questions gave insights in the strength, production, UV resistance and end-of-life scenarios of the material. In the conclusion of this research, the findings are converted to design guidelines and recommendations. The design guidelines are meant to help designers that want to use this material. They explain the following: (1) The material should add value to the product. (2) The material has environmental benefits. (3) The material has a sustainable look and feel that should be used. (4) How production depends on the desired end-of-life scenario of the product. (5) What plastic the material is comparable to. (6) What the end-of-life possibilities are with this material. (7) That the material does not change colour in UV exposure. (8) How different percentages of elephant grass can change the material. (9) That the material is fit for durable and timeless design. (10) That the material is fit for modular design.The recommendations are meant to help Vibers develop their material. Firstly, a method is explained that they can use for exploring new materials. Secondly, a recommendation is given on what application areas are fit for their material. Thirdly, a to-do list is made, which explains what questions have not been answered in this thesis and thus need follow-up research. Lastly, the writer gives advice on how transparency is key to a more sustainable world.Integrated Product Desig
Global distribution of muddy coasts using a hybrid classification model: An automated method that employs multispectral satellite imagery and globally available coastal datasets
No full textThe coastal area provides important services such as valuable habitats for wildlife, resources for regional development, and buffer zones for the land against natural disasters such as storm surges. But these narrow coastal areas experience pressure from both land and ocean side. In order to regulate sustainable coastal development, protect coastal areas from natural forces, implement ecosystem protection strategies and mitigate the impacts of climate change on coastlines, it is crucial to observe and quantify the changes along coastlines that are vulnerable to these pressures. Among the various coastal environments, the focus of this master thesis is on muddy coasts. A muddy coast is defined as a coastal depositional environment that is usually formed along an unsheltered coastline exposed to low energy conditions and that consists mainly of fine sediments, which are smaller than 63 micrometres in diameter. So far, few methods have been developed to detect sandy coasts and the rate of change of sandy coastlines at global scale, but little is known about the detection and behaviour of muddy coasts. The main objective of this thesis is to develop an automated classification method to identify muddy coasts along all the coastlines of the world. The main objective can be translated into the following research question: How can a reliable global mud classification be obtained by analysing the characteristics of muddy coasts using publicly available satellite remote sensing techniques and globally available coastal datasets? To obtain a reliable global mud classification, a method based on the spectral properties of individual mud patches and on the physical geographical characteristics of muddy coasts is proposed.The spectral properties of individual mud patches are studied at pixel level using multispectral satellite images and the physical geographical characteristics of a muddy coastal system are studied using seven globally available coastal datasets. The information from the multispectral images and the information from the coastal datasets are used as the input of the development of a hybrid coastal transect classification model, in order to obtain a more reliable and robust classification model that can detect muddy coasts at global scale. With supervised machine learning the hybrid coastal transect classification model is developed, which can classify global coastlines into five coastal types: plain beaches, muddy coasts, coastal cliffs, vegetated coasts and other. 85 percent of the muddy coasts are correctly recognised by the hybrid classification model. The accuracy of the hybrid model is still increasing significantly, meaning that the model could perform even better if more training data is added to train the model. The large amount of training and validation data at both pixel and transect level resulted in a reliable, robust global mud classification model. With the addition of the coastal datasets, the model performs better than when only the multispectral satellite images are used for classifying muddy coasts. The hybrid classification model is used to classify 100000 global coastal transects from which 12 percent are classified as muddy coasts; 60 percent of the classified muddy coasts are in the tropics.Geoscience and Remote Sensin
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