Laws regulate behaviour. However, human beings do not always obey the law. This makes it important to identify how law enforcement can stimulate compliance. This thesis investigates multiple gaps... Show moreLaws regulate behaviour. However, human beings do not always obey the law. This makes it important to identify how law enforcement can stimulate compliance. This thesis investigates multiple gaps in the literature on instrumental and normative pathways to compliance and counters some of the limitations in previous research. It contains three empirical studies that answer the following questions. Do citizens update their perceived sanction risk in response to changes in police activity? Does police behaviour that signals higher quality of treatment or decision-making lead to higher perceived procedural justice? Howdo instrumental and normative motivations translate into greater compliance with traffic laws?All results are based on field research conducted with the help of the Dutch National Police between January and August 2017. During this period data was collected at routine traffic control check-points for mopeds. The combination of data gathered through surveys, structured social observations and an experimental manipulation contributes to a better and more precise understanding of pathways to compliance. Show less
How does question design regarding non-substantive response options affect survey outcomes? This research question, and specifically the effect of using non-substantive response options – the Don’t... Show moreHow does question design regarding non-substantive response options affect survey outcomes? This research question, and specifically the effect of using non-substantive response options – the Don’t Know option, filter question and follow-up question – on item nonresponse and the substantive overall distribution of opinions was examined by conducting three experiments with three Dutch internet panels (the LISS panel, the EenVandaag Opiniepanel and Team Vier’s internet panel). The effect of offering a non-substantive response option is that item nonresponse changes, but not the resulting picture of public opinion in terms of majorities or pluralities. The effect of a non-substantive response option for substantively different issues was expected to vary per the relation to a major political dimension (resulting in less item nonresponse) or to foreign policy issues (resulting in more nonresponse). The results were mixed; more research is needed to differentiate between question content. The follow-up question, which differentiates between permissive and directive opinions, resulted in about two-third of the respondents expressing a directive opinion, which was more than expected. The main recommendation is to start including the most basic non-substantive response option, the explicit Don’t Know option, as a response category for opinion questions. Show less
As the de facto industry standard for software modeling, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is used widely across various IT domains. UML__s wide acceptance is partly because the language offers... Show moreAs the de facto industry standard for software modeling, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is used widely across various IT domains. UML__s wide acceptance is partly because the language offers flexibility and freedom in modeling software systems: 1) UML provides an extensive set of modeling notations that can be used to model various concepts; 2) UML can be used both in a casual and formal manners. In the context of model-driven software development, the degree of freedom in which UML is used raises an important issue related to model quality. Different styles and rigors in using UML affect the quality of the resulting models. It is then logical to think that the level of quality of the UML model may affect the quality of the resulting software. This thesis reports on a series of empirical studies performed to address a pivotal question concerning the benefits of UML modeling in software development, particularly from a quality perspective. The results of these empirical studies show that the use of UML provides benefits in terms of increased quality and productivity in software development. The availability of UML models also allows early prediction of defects in software systems. Such prediction is potentially useful for identifying and fixing defects early during software development, and for prioritizing testing. Show less
