In the wake of neo-liberal informed global trends to set performance standards and intensify accountability, the Dutch government aimed for ‘raising standards for basic skills’. While the implementation of literacy standards was hardly noticed, the introduction of numeracy standards caused a major backlash …

From the article: "Computing is an interdisciplinary field that can be approached from different points of view. Each point of view has its goals, aims and fundamental assumptions. This makes computing a complex discipline. Moreover, new computing disciplines appear regularly. With the trend that ICT-professionals …

In the last decade, the Communist ideology has been a key point in international discussions and disputes. 1989 marked the demise of the communism and brought room for transitions. This report provides an analysis of the post-communism at the hand of economic and political transitions, as well as commemoration …

Increasingly, entrepreneurial growth is discussed in relation to business sustainability and the wider questions of ‘growth’ – economic, green, or sustainable. This chapter will discuss the challenges and opportunities of teaching circular economy and Cradle to Cradle (C2C) models of sustainable production. …

The aim of this dissertation is to analyze whether non-state actors, in the form of international governmental organizations, make states irrelevant within the global political arena. There has been a shift in the division of power in the political sphere as a result of trade openness. Indeed, international …

This city profile provides a multi-dimensional overview on the most recent social, economic, political and spatial changes in the city of Amsterdam. We map the social-geography of the city, discussing recent housing and spatial development policies as well as city-regional political dynamics. Today, …

The urgency of analysing the case of female genital cutting (FGC) increases due to the globalisation of today’s world, enhancing multicultural societies dealing with benefits and challenges with respect to cultural differences. Generally, FGC originates from and is promoted as a highly valued cultural …

The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001. Yet in 2012, it was estimated that around 87 Christian wedding officiants continued to refuse to marry gay couples due to their religious beliefs. Even though municipalities were allowed to hire these so-called …

The aim of this paper is to reflect on Russian-OSCE relations and how this has changed from Russia's constructive engagement to gradual disillusionment. The history of Russia’s engagement in the OSCE is traced back to the founding of the organisation in 1975, while there is particular focus on the Yeltsin …

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