Who killed the TPP?

This paper investigates the conditions which led the United States to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade agreement. The funnel of causality framework is used to determine whichcauses were mostly predominant in leading to this foreign policy decision. The paper will examine the impact of societal sources, specifically public opinion, media coverage, Congressional approvalprocesses, and interest groups. The role of each group is analysed within the context of the 2016 Presidential elections. The paper concludes that public opinion, amplified by media, is the source ofCongress’ opposition, and having trumped major interest groups, public opinion has evidently contributed to US’ withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Narratives of identity

Sweden portrays itself as a champion of human rights. Simultaneously, it violates the rights of its indigenous Saami population. To understand the dynamics of this duplicity, this interdisciplinary study explores how Saami identity is constructed and perceived in Swedish cultural memory. Avril Bell’s (2014) theory of thesettler imaginary is applied to analyse the narrative on Saami identity in Swedish school textbooks, legislation, political debates, and its historical context. The findings indicate that Saami identity, in Swedish cultural memory, has been constructed by Swedish settlers as authentic, static and incompatible with the majority of society. This image is perpetuated in the present day’s educational and political institutions. Implications of such an image are reflected in discrimination against the Saami.

Becoming 'damaged goods'

This study examines how sex education performed at a Christian private school in Oregon (USA) affects female students’ sexuality. The study collected data through the use of qualitative semi-structured interviews which were then analysed using a thematic data analysis. The results show a handful of detrimental effects on sexuality caused by abstinence-based sex education including sex guilt, shame and fear. Additionally, findings demonstrate evidence of homophobic feelings perpetuated by abstinence-based sex education. Although abstinence-based sex education propagated many of the aforementioned harmful effects, it was not the only instigator. Institutionalised religion and religious pressure play a large role in one’s perception of abstinence as well. For further research, it is suggested to continue research on one’s development of sexuality in a hyper-religious context.

Nudging people out of poverty

New insights within the field of behavioural economics have led to the discovery of irrational behaviour of economic agents. The concept of ‘nudging’ is one approach to tackle this irrationality. Weillustrate that behavioural economics could be especially helpful for tackling poverty, as the lives of the poor make them very vulnerable to income shocks. Also, the poor constantly deplete their mentalresources. Moreover, we discuss ethical regulations for policies based on behavioural economics, centered around the idea of transparency. Finally, we present ideas scholars have put forward thatcould be used to tackle poverty by using behavioural economics and evaluate them from our own perspective.

Dodging the silver bullet

I propose a new political system – sortition – to curtail populism and its negative effects of (a) exclusion, (b) alienation, and (c) tyranny. For this undertaking, it will be argued that populism is leadingto (a), (b), and (c). The argument shows that populism has a charged relationship with electoral democracies. On one hand democratic values cause populism and on the other hand they disallowbanning it. To solve this dilemma, this paper introduces the system of sortition or lottery democracy. The conclusion of this inquiry is that lottery democracy is a viable alternative to electoral democracyas it is highly democratic, while at the same time nullifying populism and its harmful effects.

So, We Meat Again...

The meat industry is being blamed for its role regarding climate change, environmental degradations as well as food insecurity in the Global-South. Additionally, the conditions in which animals are being raised and slaughtered in industrial farms are often denounced as cruel and morally unacceptable. Assuming that most meat consumers in developed countries are to a certain extent aware of the negative consequences inherent to meat consumption, how can the increasing consumption of meat be explained? In an attempt to understand what Ricard (2014) describes as a “moral schizophrenia” (p.15), this paper applies Bandura’s Moral Disengagement Theory to industrial meat production in developed countries.

Invisible Cohabitants: Investigating the Microbial Presence in the Kitchen Sponges of Maastricht

This study examines the correlation between the presence of bacteria in kitchen sponges of Maastricht students and the number of sponge users. Participants from 34 households were given a new kitchen sponge that they used for seven days. The samples were examined by performing a standard plate count on blood agar plates to approximate the number of colonies present on each sponge. Linear regression was performed using a 5% statistical significance. The number of bacteria per sponge was on average the same, indicating that the number of bacteria associated per person is smaller in larger households. Statistically significant correlations were observed between the amount of bacteria and variables such as dietary preference and gender. Keywords: sponges, house inhabitants, Maastricht, students, bacteria.

Women Working Emotions - Emotional Labour in Heterosexual Relationships

This research explores how young women experience emotional labour in heterosexual relationships. It does so against the background of three main interconnected concepts, namely those of power, gender and emotion. Thereby, subtle ways are uncovered in which women reproduce gender stereotypes in their intimate personal relationships on a daily basis. The results include that, in the private sphere, women still feel accountable for the emotional care work usually associated with the traditional female role of motherhood. Specifically, they seem to engage in a conscious process of internal, as well as, external emotional management. However, the effort undertaken by women to supervise the emotional climate of their relationships, as well as, their own feelings, was also found to be reciprocal in some cases, showing that there are complex ways in which young, modern couples resist gendered power.

Postmodernist Relativism: A Return to Polytheism?

Despite distancing themselves from traditional religions, (Western) post-secular societies are still heavily concerned with ‘spirituality’ and other forms of self-realisation. Within our working postmodernist framework, where ‘truth’, ‘knowledge’ and ‘God’ are found to be relative, this concern often translates into a combination of religiously inspired practices – such as (Hinduist) yoga or (Buddhist) meditation – and a scientific, modern approach to the knowledge of the world. Can this coexistence of practices be a new kind of polytheism? This paper shows that postmodernist, relativistic belief systems share the poly-, or multiplicity of approaches to life and reality, but not the -theist, or conceptualisation of their beliefs as ‘divine’.

Late-Life Depression & Alzheimer's Disease: A Proposal For The Bi-directional Threshold Model

Until now, the relationships between late-life depression and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and vice versa have only been investigated in terms of one-directional relationships. However, due to the central neuropathological mechanisms underlying both diseases, it is proposed that the interaction is bi-directional. These mechanisms include the stress-response hypothesis, amyloid hypothesis, inflammatory hypothesis, and genetic hypothesis. By reviewing these shared underlying mechanisms, as well as investigating the evidence for both one-directional relationships, a new model is proposed, namely the bi-directional threshold model. Whereas previous research only focused on one-directional interaction, this model is novel in accounting for the bi-directional interaction between AD and late-life depression. Thereby the model contributes to the literature on late-life depression and AD by serving as a starting point for further research. A better understanding of this new model could have major implications in ameliorating the course of both clinical conditions.