In this dissertation, I draw on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork with Egyptians in Amsterdam to study how the nationalization of our imagination and social-legal and material infrastructures... Show moreIn this dissertation, I draw on twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork with Egyptians in Amsterdam to study how the nationalization of our imagination and social-legal and material infrastructures mediates social life. I describe how, just like the group of people categorized as Egyptian in Amsterdam is diverse, the Dutch state is too, consisting of a a range of images, laws, organizations, and people that embody them. I argue that this Dutch state multiple structures almost all aspects of life, but ultimately cannot define who we are, or what we do. Show less
This dissertation examines the educational positions of children of immigrants in the Netherlands from 1980 to 2020. In particular, the influence of migration background and socioeconomic factors... Show moreThis dissertation examines the educational positions of children of immigrants in the Netherlands from 1980 to 2020. In particular, the influence of migration background and socioeconomic factors on educational positions is studied. Findings reveal substantial progress in education for migrant children overall, especially among the second generation, younger cohorts, and girls with a migrant background, indicating promising upward mobility within the education system for many of these children. The family environment impacts educational outcomes, with socioeconomic background playing a crucial role. Higher parental incomes correlate with higher education levels for children in both the short and long term. Additionally, the living environment affects outcomes such as school dropout rates, especially among boys from migrant backgrounds in larger cities. They are more prone to leaving education prematurely than their female or non-migrant peers. Despite institutional barriers and discrimination within the education system, these children demonstrate an upward trend in education, highlighting the need for further research incorporating discrimination as a factor. Show less
The East Baltic languages, Lithuanian and Latvian, are well known for their conservative phonology with respect to Proto-Indo-European. This has led to a stereotype that these languages have... Show moreThe East Baltic languages, Lithuanian and Latvian, are well known for their conservative phonology with respect to Proto-Indo-European. This has led to a stereotype that these languages have developed in relative isolation without much contact with other languages. In this dissertation, I take a deep dive into the East Baltic lexicon, peeling away the layers of prehistoric borrowings in the process. As well as significant contact events with known languages, like the Russian dialect of Novgorod-Pskov, Gothic and the ancestors of modern Finnish, Sámi and Mordvin, the lexicon also reveals evidence of contact with unattested languages from which earlier populations must have shifted upon the arrival of the Balts in the Baltic region. The fragments obtained not only shed light on the linguistic features of these lost languages, but also provide a new perspective on the sociolinguistic scenario which led the earlier populations of the region to undergo language shift. Show less
Organisms often need to adapt more efficiently and devise new strategies for surviving difficult ecological circumstances. Mammals indeed spend the winter in hibernation to conserve energy, food,... Show moreOrganisms often need to adapt more efficiently and devise new strategies for surviving difficult ecological circumstances. Mammals indeed spend the winter in hibernation to conserve energy, food, etc., for future purposes. Microbial populations also possess similar characteristics, where organisms enter into a state of low metabolic activity in response to adverse environmental conditions. In plant populations, the analogous strategy is the suspension of seed germination for an extended period of time. Several studies suggest that this bet-hedging strategy has important evolutionary consequences and plays a crucial role in maintaining genetic diversities in a population. In this thesis, we draw motivations from biological populations featuring this trait and investigate its effect in a probabilistic framework. In particular, we introduce a mathematical notion of dormancy in several well-known stochastic interacting systems and study how it changes the qualitative and quantitative properties of the systems by characterizing their behaviors in the long run. The construction of our model is built upon a well-known stochastic process in mathematical population genetics called the Moran model. The Moran model describes the genetic evolution of a single, reproductively active, finite population without seed-bank. We modify the model to include dormancy and extend it to the context of spatially structured populations with varying sizes. Show less
This thesis explores how urban night spaces have been, and how they are currently produced, imagined, experienced, and narrated among the Cabo Verdean migrant community in Rotterdam. The common... Show moreThis thesis explores how urban night spaces have been, and how they are currently produced, imagined, experienced, and narrated among the Cabo Verdean migrant community in Rotterdam. The common thread that runs through this research is music, which is analysed through lyrics, performances, and as an integral part of nightlife. The Netherlands and Rotterdam are sung about or mentioned in many songs by Cabo Verdean artists from different generations. Cabo Verdean music about Rotterdam is distinctive in that it contributes significantly to processes of place-making as it reflects on and generates representations of specific places which were important during the times in which that music was written. It traces places and routes through the city and uncovers daily and nocturnal rhythms, echoing a particular atmosphere. Simultaneously, night spaces were used to mobilize the community politically in times of the independence struggle against Portugal and are still essential in generating a collective sense of self. With Rotterdam continuously developing, the histories of particular Cabo Verdean night spaces are appropriated in contemporary nightlife, as organisers draw on collective memories of historical nightlife events. As such, cultural texts and events not only shape Cabo Verdean life in the city, but they also facilitate the re-memorisation and re-experiencing of diasporic lives in current events and cultural productions. Show less
In populations with a seed-bank, individuals can temporarily become dormant and refrain from reproduction until they can become active again. The repository of all dormant individuals in the... Show moreIn populations with a seed-bank, individuals can temporarily become dormant and refrain from reproduction until they can become active again. The repository of all dormant individuals in the population is called the seed-bank. Seed-banks are observed in many taxa, including plants, bacteria and other micro-organisms. Typically, they arise as a response to unfavourable environmental conditions. In this thesis we study the effect of a seed-bank on the genetic diversity in a population. The individuals in the population carry one of two gene types, live in colonies and can be either active or dormant. Active individuals can migrate between the colonies, resample and become dormant. Dormant individuals can only become active: they do not migrate and they do not reproduce themselves. The model is described by a system of interacting Fisher-Wright diffusions. Analysing this system of interacting diffusions, we show that the seed-bank enhances the genetic diversity in a population. If the individuals can become dormant for long enough times, the seed-bank can even prevent that a gene type becomes extinct. Show less
There has never been a more pertinent time to discuss the accountability and the legal responsibility of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, for fundamental rights violations. In a... Show moreThere has never been a more pertinent time to discuss the accountability and the legal responsibility of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, for fundamental rights violations. In a period that hosts the first legal actions vis-à-vis the agency and a series of relevant non-judicial investigations, including by the European Parliament, this dissertation aims to address the main problem underlying these accountability efforts, namely the ‘problem of many hands’. As conceptualised by Dennis Thompson, this problem is where the multiplicity of the actors involved obscures the various responsibilities and creates gaps in accountability.To address it, this work contests the dominant ways of looking at the concepts of responsibility and accountability, and reimagines them for their optimal function.It adopts a holistic approach, taking into account not only judicial, but also other forms of accountability, studying not only EU liability law, but also other legal remedies before the CJEU, the ECtHR, and domestic courts, building bridges between international and EU law, and traveling from the empirical to the conceptual, to the normative, and from there to the applied.It creates the foundations for the accountability of the agency inside and outside courts, within the EU borders and beyond. Show less
Between the American Revolutionary War and the US Civil War (roughly 1775-1861), thousands of enslaved African Americans fled from the US South to the northern ‘free’ states and British Canada.... Show moreBetween the American Revolutionary War and the US Civil War (roughly 1775-1861), thousands of enslaved African Americans fled from the US South to the northern ‘free’ states and British Canada. While many fled to British lines during wartime, other self-emancipators availed of interracial freedom networks commonly known as the Underground Railroad. Within their respective receiving societies, slave refugees established new lives as free men and women. At the same time, they encountered numerous challenges and obstacles, such as poverty and unemployment, racial prejudice and discrimination, and the threat of re-enslavement. Through a comparative and transnational lens, Northward Bound re-examines the various migrations of African American freedom seekers from the South to the North and Canada. It explores the motivations behind self-emancipation, the routes taken by freedom seekers, and the nature of escape to the North and Canada. Furthermore, Northward Bound analyzes the experiences of slave refugees in the northern US, the Canadian Maritimes, and southwestern Ontario. Following Damian Pargas’ recent typology, this study demonstrates that British Canada emerged as a space of ‘formal’ freedom for African American freedom seekers, whereas the northern US developed into a space of ‘semi-formal’ freedom. Show less
Environmental degradation in combination with other factors, can lead to forced migration. This multi-causal and complex phenomenon is hard to capture under international law. The protection of... Show moreEnvironmental degradation in combination with other factors, can lead to forced migration. This multi-causal and complex phenomenon is hard to capture under international law. The protection of environmental refugees can be approached as a human rights, security and State responsibility issue. Each approach provides different legal protection regimes, which addresses different actors. The approaches also cover different periods in time and address different types of environmental refugees. In this thesis, current legal regimes are interpreted in the context of environmentally forced migration. Also new protection possibilities are identified through the combined application of international law regimes. Show less
Border control has changed significantly in recent decades. Whereas globalisation appear s to have diminished the relevance of international borders, states have simultaneously sought ways to... Show moreBorder control has changed significantly in recent decades. Whereas globalisation appear s to have diminished the relevance of international borders, states have simultaneously sought ways to regain some form of control over cross-border mobility. In this process, alternative and novel means of border enforcement have emerged. What do these bordering practices look like? How are they implemented on the ground and experienced by those subjected to them? These are the main questions this dissertation aims to answer. To that end, it looks at bordering practices in the Netherlands through the lens of crimmigration, the term used to refer to the growing merger of criminal justice and migration control. Relying on extensive empirical fieldwork – including observations, focus group discussions, surveys, and in-depth interviews – the dissertation examines two border ing practices: intra-Schengen migration policing and the punishment and deportation of criminally convicted non-citizens. The different empirical chapters highlight the various ways these contemporary bordering practices are shaped by and in their turn shape the criminal justice system, and how this ultimately results in considerable challenges for the legitimacy of both the migration control and the criminal justice system. Show less
Controlling mobilities in the EU is increasingly depending on information and information technology. Abolishing permanent border control between Schengen Member States has created the dilemma... Show moreControlling mobilities in the EU is increasingly depending on information and information technology. Abolishing permanent border control between Schengen Member States has created the dilemma of economic benefits versus security issues of the freedom of movement. The solution to this issue is often sought in the development and implementation of information technology. While expectations of information and information technologies are high, empirical research on how such border technologies are used in practice is scarce and subsequently little is known about to what extent the envisioned benefits are actually achieved. This dissertation aims to gain more insight in the use of information and information technology in controlling mobilities in intra-Schengen border areas by using a case study of the Mobile Security Monitor as carried out by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. Through extensive observations of border checks, focus groups with border patrol officers, interviews with Marechaussee staff members, discourse analysis of political debates and policy documentation and quantitative data, this dissertation aims to gain insight in the decision-making process on the political, organizational and street-level and the role of information and information technology therein. Show less
This thesis examines gender differences in recorded criminality in early modern Frankfurt and the way that these differences were shaped by the local context. For a long time it was considered that... Show moreThis thesis examines gender differences in recorded criminality in early modern Frankfurt and the way that these differences were shaped by the local context. For a long time it was considered that the criminality of women is a marginal phenomenon and that this was invariable over time and place. Historical studies, however, have demonstrated that women played a much more prominent role in recorded crime in the early modern period, and could even make up half of all defendants in specific locations. At the same time, there were also large regional differences. Until now, historians focused only little on the differences, and instead looked for general explanations for female deviance in this period. This thesis studies the structural impact of the local context on women’s offending and their prosecution. It shows that the pattern in Frankfurt was both similar and different to that of other European cities. Strong informal control within the household, which is normally associated with close-knit communities in the countryside, played an important role in the urban community of Frankfurt and influenced prosecution patterns. Owing to the reliance on household control, cities like Frankfurt am Main knew a distinct type of urban female offender. Show less
Eurasians were privileged groups of mixed ancestry in Asian colonial societies. They were the result of unions between European males and indigenous women. They neither belonged to the... Show moreEurasians were privileged groups of mixed ancestry in Asian colonial societies. They were the result of unions between European males and indigenous women. They neither belonged to the colonizers, nor to the colonized. When colonization came to an end, the Eurasians found themselves in a difficult position. The European rulers, on which their status was based, were gone. The new indigenous rulers usually perceived them suspiciously as colonial remnants and sometimes even as traitors. In this chaotic, sometimes violent situation, they had to decide where they belonged: in the country of their European fathers or the former colony, the country of their Asian mothers. This was a serious dilemma since they only knew the mother country from stories and lessons at school. In this project I have compared the position and options of the Indo-Europeans with those of similar groups from two other former Asian co lonies, the Anglo-Indians from British India and the Métis people from French Indochina. This study of Eurasians from three former colonies showed that an emancipation paradox of acquiring more rights while discriminated against more at the same time was instrumental in creating the framework in which Eurasians had to make their choices. Show less
This dissertation studies the indigenous Mexican game of pelota mixteca. In the first part, the possible pre-Columbian origins of the game are examined. The second part focuses on the ways... Show more This dissertation studies the indigenous Mexican game of pelota mixteca. In the first part, the possible pre-Columbian origins of the game are examined. The second part focuses on the ways in which 20th- and 21st-century globalization, labor migration and state politics of indigenism have influenced the way the game is represented and used in political discourse, both by the state and by the players itself. Show less
Dit proefschrift onderzoekt de waarde van CT om de resultaten van cochleaire implantatie te evalueren en zo mogelijk te verbeteren. Hoofdstuk 2 beschrijft de elektrodepositie en het opvallend goede... Show moreDit proefschrift onderzoekt de waarde van CT om de resultaten van cochleaire implantatie te evalueren en zo mogelijk te verbeteren. Hoofdstuk 2 beschrijft de elektrodepositie en het opvallend goede spraakverstaan na herimplantatie met hetzelfde implantaat bij 15 patiënten met een defecte CI door een productiefout. Hoofdstuk 3 toonde retrospectief in 10 van de 35 patiënten (29%), waarbij twee sequentieel verkregen postoperatieve CT-scans beschikbaar waren, elektrodemigraties aan. Deze kunnen blijkbaar ook voorkomen in CI-patiënten zonder klachten van bijvoorbeeld een verminderd spraakverstaan. In Hoofdstuk 4 wordt aan de hand van pre- en postoperatieve CT scans van 336 patiënten de cochleaire morfologie en diens invloed op de elektrodepositie onderzocht. In Hoofdstuk 5 wordt een chirurgisch sturingshulpmiddel ontwikkeld dat in zijn finale vorm ruim 78% van de variatie in elektrodepositie kan voorspellen. In Hoofdstuk 6 kon geen enkele relatie aangetoond worden tussen diverse aspecten van de elektrodepositie op spraakverstaan met CI. Wel werd de invloed van verscheidene uit de literatuur bekende patiënt-gerelateerde variabelen op spraakverstaan herbevestigd. De algemene conclusie is, dat met CT-scans zowel de cochleaire anatomie als de positie van CI-elektrodes goed kan worden bestudeerd, maar dat de relatie tussen deze informatie en het resultaat van CI vooralsnog onduidelijk blijft. Show less
The central question in this book is whether there is a human right to family unification. This book identifies the key elements of the right to family unification. By investigating different... Show moreThe central question in this book is whether there is a human right to family unification. This book identifies the key elements of the right to family unification. By investigating different sources of international, European and domestic law, it assesses whether and how the different legal systems involved affect each other in shaping the right to family unification. By identifying the key elements of the right to family unification, the book can be an important source for immigration lawyers, policy makers and scholars. Show less
The study looks at the experience of railway development in the countryside between Kano and Zaria. It looks at the ways the inhabitants perceived, appropriated and domesticated the railroad and... Show moreThe study looks at the experience of railway development in the countryside between Kano and Zaria. It looks at the ways the inhabitants perceived, appropriated and domesticated the railroad and how their lives were transformed by it. The communities are located in the two Hausa states of Kano and Zaria. Situated strategically on trade routes and the rail line, all the communities with the exception of one were nineteenth century creations. They became significantly important with the construction and operation of the railway in the twentieth century. The railway as the study argued was the most important innovation which transformed the communities from almost nothing to economically significant center's on the rail line. It played a critical role in their social, economic and cultural life much more than previously recognized. The railway is also a double edge sword. It opened many frontiers of opportunities and at the same time indirectly endangered many. It also bread crimes and provided platforms for criminals to operate. The impact of the railway, as the study severally demonstrates differs between the communities. Show less
This dissertation examines the memory cultures of Netherlandish migrants who left their homes during the Dutch Revolt (ca. 1568-1648) and the religious persecutions preceding it. It shows how... Show moreThis dissertation examines the memory cultures of Netherlandish migrants who left their homes during the Dutch Revolt (ca. 1568-1648) and the religious persecutions preceding it. It shows how narratives of exile and victimhood were transmitted between generations and cultivated in various social and religious settings until the eighteenth century. The consciousness of a shared past connected Netherlandish diaspora groups all over Europe and at the same time provided them with models of identification with their various local host societies. Integration into the various host societies in Germany, England and the Dutch Republic did not inhibit the commemoration of the refugee past, but led to an incorporation of exile narrative into new memory canons. New generations could often benefit from identifying with the fate of persecuted ancestors, especially in pietist and puritan circles in Germany and England. Having suffered for one’s faith served as a proof of religious steadfastness and the identification with the persecuted ‘small flock of true Christians’ appealed to many pietists without a migrant background. Exile narratives were increasingly shared by migrants and non-migrants and allowed individuals to participate in cultures of religious exclusivity Show less
Many of the recognition molecules and mechanisms involved in immune responses have no bias towards external stimuli, but also sense and respond to pathological and physiological changes of non... Show moreMany of the recognition molecules and mechanisms involved in immune responses have no bias towards external stimuli, but also sense and respond to pathological and physiological changes of non infectious origin taking place within the body. Aiming at defining potential immuno-therapeutic strategies to treat human atherosclerosis, the focus of this work was the modulation of immune processes determinant of atherosclerosis lesion progression or cessation in mice, such as hematopoiesis, diapedesis and intravasation, leukocyte differentiation, cholesterol uptake apoptosis and cell survival. Modulation of these processes, by using bone marrow transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells with genetic deficiencies or over-expressing human or mouse engineered genes, demonstrated to alter the fate of atherosclerotic lesions at the balance between macrophage accumulation and lesion vulnerability versus resolution of inflammation and wound healing. This thesis demonstrates that processes responsible for the development and progression of atherosclerosis are dynamic and can be modulated to induce lesion stabilization and disease resolution. These results are promising for the development of novel therapeutics and challenge the current notion that atherosclerosis has a predetermined fate towards lesion vulnerability to rupture, which in humans results in thrombosis and clinical manifestations such myocardial infarction or stroke and sudden death. Show less
In dit proefschrift heb ik onderzocht wat de klinische waarde is van migratie van totale knie protheses (TKP) en totale heup protheses (THP) gemeten met Radiostereometrische Analyse (RSA)in de... Show moreIn dit proefschrift heb ik onderzocht wat de klinische waarde is van migratie van totale knie protheses (TKP) en totale heup protheses (THP) gemeten met Radiostereometrische Analyse (RSA)in de context van een gefaseerde klinische introductie. De studies in dit proefschrift tonen aan dat onveilige (hoog revisie percentage voor loslating) TKP en THP met RSA studies kunnen worden ge_dentificeerd in slechts 2 jaar follow-up. Vroege identificatie met RSA van deze onveilige TKP en THP voorkomt wijdverbreide gebruik. De gefaseerde klinische introductie van nieuwe implantaten op basis van RSA studies met 2 jaar follow-up kan leiden tot betere en veiligere pati_ntzorg en tot een reductie van de kosten in de zorg ten gevolge van revisie van TKP en THP. Follow-up in nationale implantaten registers is noodzakelijk om de resultaten van de implantaten te blijven vervolgen, nadat deze op de markt zijn gekomen. Show less
