EFR Eclaire May 2012

VOLUME 32 > MAY 2012 > NUMBER

the psychology oF discoveRy: how to open ouR minds to new expeRiences 9

the business week on location

to beRlin and beyond 20

Reality tv

youR secRet pleasuRe 26

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Index

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Editor-in-Chief letter

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• Exploring the Earth in the 21st century

• The Orange tsunami: the EC-2012 craze

The theme for this Eclaire is discovery. Usually The theme for this Eclaire is discovery. Usually when we think of discovery, we think of men in safari helmets running around Africa, or the great explorers of the 15th century, travelling around the globe to untilthen unknown lands. It’s been a while since these western-centric events have passed, but we still went on discovering. Discovering ourselves, science, social conventions; it seems as if mankind’s only constant is the need to discover.

Even the Eclaire is rediscovering itself. We are currently rethinking the design (and the concept) of the Eclaire. If you compare this edition against our previous ones, you might even see some small changes already. However, we can’t do this without your help. I’d like to ask you to send us feedback on how we’re doing. Then we know what we’re doing right and, maybe more importantly, what we’re doing wrong. With your help, we can keep improving the Eclaire, to make it the best student magazine of the Netherlands.

Road trips around the world: > West Coast Trippin’

Tim Langstraat

The articles in this Eclaire prove that this urge to explore is ever-present indeed. Winter van der Vlist’s article about the Mariana Trench is strikingly current, as famed movie director James Cameron descended to the deepest part of the oceans last March. With the summer coming up, and holiday plans quickly taking shape, we look at some of the breathtaking roadtrips you can take in faraway places. And, if you’re not into the outdoors, we even have an article about the psychology of discovery, about how we discover new things.

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Road trips around the world: The South-African Garden route >

• How mould became medicine

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• Unique architecture in Rotterdam

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A look at some of the more surprising (but often forgotten) buildings in Rotterdam.

• Farewell to monetary incentives

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Written by guest writer Sander Geenen, a compelling argument for an alternative bonus structure.

• The institution of marriage

• An interview with NIBC

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• Rotterdam Restaurants: Ten to Three Bakery

• Rotterdam Restaurants: Taj Mahal

• Does the weather still make sense

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Tim Langstraat Eclaire@EFR.nl

Colophon

Editorial Address: Burgemeester Oudlaan 50 3062 PA Rotterdam, Kamer VB-24 Tel: 010 - 40 81 146 Fax: 010 - 40 82 892 E-mail: eclaire@efr.nl

Visual styling and printing: OCC dehoog media partners www.occ-dehoog.nl Editor in Chief: Timothy Langstraat

Writers: Vanessa Abeyawardena Martin Jaakola Leigh de Jager Nicole Stelea Winter van der Vlist Ashleigh Woodend Nadia Zafirah

G e n e r a l

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the business week on location: > to beRlin and beyond

• cRiminal behavioR in modeRn society

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A look at the strange behaviour of criminals

• dRug use in the netheRlands

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statistics netheRlands –making undisputed statistics that count

• Find youR inneR daRedevil

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• Reality tv – a guilty pleasuRe

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Presidential

Thomas Dekker Dear reader, When I was thinking about the theme ‘’discovery & exploration’’, immediately the images of well-known explorers like Christopher Columbus and Roald Amundsen came to mind. Brave men who discovered the undiscovered and contributed to the legacy of adventurous explorers worldwide. Since mankind has walked the earth, we have always tried to expand our horizon in the search for knowledge, power and prosperity.

Although these adventurers are still part of our imagination, times have changed dramatically. Nowadays we can admire our planet by just a few clicks behind our desks. And whether this is something good or bad; it is certain that our planet became relatively small compared to the past. It has become possible to explore the entire world yourself!

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Best regards, Thomas Dekker President of the 48th board

marketing officer: Sten Boerkamp, marketing@efr.nl

eFR membership: Alissa Dauer, secretary.vp@efr.nl

commercial officer: Joris Winkelman, commercial@efr.nl

subscription: Price: €29 Contact EFR-Eclaire at eclaire@efr.nl

Frequency: Sent six times a year to all students of the Economic Faculty at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, including the one-time special edition: the EFR-Eclaire Special with a circulation of 35.000 copies.

Copyright ©2012, EFR

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It is a unique experience where students will apply everything they learned so far on the Erasmus University in order to help these people. When we look at the numerous applications, we can conclude it is still a nature of mankind to widen one’s world. I hope that in the future you will discover what the EFR organizes and that you will explore the boundaries of what you are capable of doing. Meet your ambition!

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Since it is our mission to bridge the gap between theory and practice, we continuously try to provide you with opportunities beneficial for your personal development. In our vision the discovery and exploration of foreign nations contributes significantly to this. And therefore EFR is proud of one of its upcoming events: EFR Involve. In July & August a group of 20 students will do research on new manners to construct & maintain a decent water supply in Cameroon. They will first prepare themselves with a few research days in the Netherlands, after which they will hop a on a plane to take a look at the actual situation in Cameroon. If they succeed in their project, their plan will actually be used in Cameroon!

circulation: 6.000 units website: efr.nl/eclaire

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Road trips around the world: The South-African Garden route

By Leigh de Jager

If winding roads, beautiful nature, mountain passes and coast line is your idea of a wonderful get-away, the South African Garden Route is the road trip to take!

The route The Garden Route follows the coast line of South Africa, with the possibility to venture inland for a complete experience.

This route is well known for its tourist attractions with regards to nature, as along the journey wetlands, dunes, beaches, lakes, mountains, rivers and forests can be encountered. This diversity is what attracts many people to drive along the route and stop at the various cities and towns along the way. One of the main attractions on the Garden Route is the Titsikamma Canopy Tours, where you can walk high up amount the top of the trees in the nature reserve. Strawberry picking is also often done at the Red Berry Farm, which is a bundle of tasty fun. An active outing is the Eden to Addo Hike, which is more for the advanced hikers if they are up for a challenge. These are just a few of the activities that are offered along the route.

This and that along the way Along the way, while traveling the garden route, there are many stops that can be made. Recommended is the Tsitsikamma National Park where you can see a forest full of huge trees and ferns. Another option is to enjoy the farstretching beaches or high-end shopping at Plettenbery Bay. Knysna is also a pit-stop to take, with the Knysna Heads and activities such as abseiling, bungee jumping and hiking. The Cango Caves and Ostrich farms in Oudshoorn also offer a completely different experience. If whale spotting appeals to you, Mossel Bay could also be a stop to add onto your list, with the opportunity to wind-surf or eat some mussels and oysters. The Garden Route offers a diverse range of tows and activities that can be enjoyed by the whole family. So if you want an active, passive or informative road-trip, the Garden Route caters to all needs!

Road trips around the world: West Coast Trippin’

By Kim van Adrichem

Many people think of NYC when I mention the USA, but this vast country has so much to offer, that just that one dream trip to NYC should not be enough to sate your desire for American culture. One of the states that offers magnificent scenery and a whole different lifestyle experience is California. And I am not talking about Hollywood.

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The panoramic route of the Pacific Coast Highway is 198 km long and takes you past cliffs, ocean views, and scenery that is specific to the Pacific Ocean. The journey starts near Sacramento and, as you go South, you may choose to venture inland to discover the vineyards at Santa Rosa for wine tasting.

The route also takes you past remote state parks, forests, and canyons where you can enjoy private views of the rough

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Pacific Ocean. The nature on land is almost as spectacular as the views of the wild waters roaring against cliffs.

Going further South, you will pass through San Francisco and Los Angeles where you can get a taste of two fairly different American lifestyles. While San Francisco is alternative and very relaxed, the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan Los Angeles area is far more fast-paced and in some ways also more glamorous. South of Los Angeles is Monterey and then as you head toward the Mexican border, don’t forget to stop in San Diego where you can experience Europeanstyle streets with outside terraces where tapas are a popular way to celebrate the end of yet another beautiful day in the sunshine state.

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Exploring the Earth in st the 21 century T

he days of Christopher Columbus and John Cabot exploring the continents and sailing off in wooden ships are over. We’ve explored every last bit of land; everything is mapped and even photographed from space. So, is there no place here on earth left to explore? Luckily the answer is no. While humanity is already exploring the universe, there is still a lot of Earth to explore! The deep seas still hold mysteries, and even today remain largely unexplored.

By Winter van der Vlist

parts of the oceans with greater ease.

One of the most recent developments is a vehicle that operates on its own. This

"We have better maps of the surface of the moon than we do of the earth’s ocean floor."

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle takes pictures and samples and is operated by a computer program. Even though these machines have made exploration easier and safer, humans are still far from redundant.

Not so easy There’s a simple reason why we haven’t explored the underwater world.

Unfortunately for us, it’s not that easy to travel to the depths of the oceans.

While humans can now scuba dive to about 300 meters under water for a short period of time with the help of mixed gasses, deeper destinations are still off-limits to almost everyone.

At almost 11 kilometers, the Mariana Trench is the ultimate in deep-sea exploration: so far, only 3 people have gone down there, the latest attempt only last March. New technologies like Remotely Operated Vehicles allow humanity to get glimpses of the deepest

as you get deeper and deeper in the ocean. One major study over the last decade has discovered more than 1200 new species! These new species aren’t just some dull microbes and bacteria either. A lot of the species that we’re unfamiliar with live in completely different environments. Some of them live in parts of the oceans where there is no light. Those food chains

rely on chemosynthesis rather than photosynthesis to survive in these areas. Some of those creatures don’t even have mouths or digestive organs.

Among the discoveries is this ‘Fathead’ that reminds me a little of Squidward from Spongebob. The Marine Dragon looks more vicious and would be a scary creature indeed if it wasn’t as large as a banana.

Different times, but still exciting

Frequent and astounding discoveries of new life forms Because humans have only recently started actively exploring the deeper parts of the oceans using modern-day techniques, discoveries of new marine life are very frequent. In contrast to what most people believed in the recent past, biodiversity doesn’t drop

Thinking of exploration, most people’s minds will probably go to brave men centuries ago, discovering America and mapping the coast lines, while fighting off Indians and pirates. Granted, today’s exploration sounds somewhat less adventurous than the journeys of Lewis & Clark. Modern-day explorers are even a bit geeky compared to their historic counterparts. However, at the end of the day, we still have a lot left to discover, and even more to be excited about.

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In 2011 Google and Columbia University announced the addition of new maps on Google earth. The new maps allow virtual explorers to view parts of the ocean floor in much greater detail than was previously possible. The data used for the new maps was acquired through research cruises that travelled almost 3 million miles across the oceans over the past two decades. Despite the tremendous time and effort that went into collecting the information, the maps still only make up about 5% of the oceans floor. In fact we have better maps of the surface of the Moon than we do of the Earth’s ocean floor!

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Google going below the waves

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Enterta i n m en t

The Orange tsunami: the EC 2012 craze

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his summer the Netherlands will be under the spell of Orange, one that will unite us again, and from which marketers will surely profit. Queen’s Day, on the 30th of April, always gives the Dutch a feeling of unity. However, supporting our men at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine, and then at the Olympics in London will spread craziness throughout this country. Look into past and you’ll see the impact of sports events on countries and people all over the world. Nevertheless, the orange tsunami has something unique which is hard to define: the Dutch invasion of Austria and Switzerland during the European Cup in 2008 is a perfect example. How do marketers benefit from this tsunami?

By Youvale van Dijk

National pride With a flag consisting of red, white and blue, the orange tint attached to the flag refers to the Dutch royal family. In 1974, during the World Cup football, the craze started and fans suited up in orange to follow the national team.

Corporations have a tendency to profit from the national pride that emerges during these sports events. Take, for example, supermarkets and beer suppliers. Often the consumer is attracted to buy from a store or brand by means of gadgets.

Bavaria used the Leeuwenhose, Heineken had a drinking hat, and Albert Heijn the Wuppies.

"The underlying feeling resonating with the people is often that of unity and positivism."

Wuppies Albert Heijn has benefited the most from the orange obsession. Their most popular advertising campaign was probably during the World Cup of 2006. They introduced the Wuppies, World Unique Promotional Product Identity & Emotion, and consumers received one for every 15 Euros of groceries. With a production of 15 million small and 700.000 large Wuppies Albert Heijn expected to meet the demand.

Even Albert Heijn’s wildest dreams couldn’t account for the run on Wuppies. They ran out of Wuppies, and substituted them with stickers. Experts say that running out of the gadgets was a marketing strategy, not a pitfall. According to them, the sales had to be four times normal levels for this to happen, which was highly unlikely.

Nevertheless, whether they intentionally had a shortage or not, the gadgets were a success story. Albert Heijn took full advantage of the craze surrounding the event and benefited from it, not in the least through name exposure.

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Jumbo

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This success does not mean that all advertising campaigns surrounding sports events are beneficial. For this reason Jumbo, another supermarket chain, boycotted the World Cup of 2010.

Even though advertising for these events can increase revenue periodically, it became more and more a case of defending market share. Consumers seemed to expect supermarkets to have gadget-related advertising - without it they would feel ‘let down’ by the firm. However, the campaigns became more alike. Jumbo stood out, by saying it did not conform to their goals of low prices and good service. Some consumers found the boycott refreshing, but the real effects on the bottom line are unclear.

Guerilla advertising Another way for firms to market their products is guerilla advertising. Sports events have agreements with companies about sponsoring – for example, Budweiser and the World Cup. During the last World Cup, Bavaria, a beer supplier and competitor of Budweiser, used guerilla advertising. The Dutch brewer, Bavaria, gave away orange dresses with their packs of beer. Soon after, women started wearing those dresses during games, attracting attention to themselves. After this happened a few times, with the same ladies involved, they were arrested.

Even though the firm denied it being a marketing stunt, it was too great a coincidence. The girls got arrested, and there was worldwide coverage leading to a lot of free publicity.

Sports events are the perfect opportunity to advertise and get exposure: lots of people gather, are involved, and unity and positivism is the underlying feeling.

"Running out of gadgets was a marketing strategy."

Overall, there are many opportunities for marketers to market their brand, products, or chain during sports events. With gadgets, supermarkets can ride the wave of unity in a country where everyone wants to belong. This year again there are many opportunities, other than just gadgets and guerilla advertising. The main opportunity lies in exposure, as the reach can be enormous. But with many firms competing for attention, the orange tsunami might turn into pandemonium for the consumer.

Anouk Marcelis is audit trainee bij de Auditdienst Rijk (ADR), onderdeel van het ministerie van Financiën. Zij studeerde Bedrijfseconomie in Antwerpen.

Anouk is in september 2011 begonnen als audit trainee. Haar traineelichting bestaat uit financial auditors (accountants) en IT auditors.

Auditdienst Rijk De ADR is een rijksbrede dienst die de interne auditfunctie van de ministeries vervult. Hieronder valt de wettelijke controletaak (accountantscontrole) en de vraaggestuurde auditfunctie (opdrachten op verzoek).

Anouk werkt als financial auditor bij het klantcluster Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport. Anouk heeft al een leuke klus achter de rug. Ze heeft een controle uitgevoerd bij de BES-eilanden. ‘Ik heb gecontroleerd of ze niet teveel geld hebben ontvangen en of ze het geld ook daadwerkelijk hebben uitgegeven aan de op voorhand aangegeven zaken.’

Audit Traineeship Tijdens het Audit Traineeship draait Anouk twee jaar volledig mee op verschillende werkplekken. Op deze manier doet ze ruime praktijkervaring op met de politieke, bestuurlijke en financiële werkelijkheid van de Rijksoverheid. Naast het werk volgen de trainees een Post Masteropleiding, bijvoorbeeld een RA-opleiding. Anouk volgt de opleiding Public Sector Auditing aan Nyenrode. ‘Zowel werk als studie zijn uitdagend en op hoog niveau, ik ben blij dat ik hiervoor gekozen heb.’

Trudy Andriessen is financial trainee bij de directie Begrotingszaken, die deel uitmaakt van het ministerie van Financiën. Zij studeerde Politicologie in Amsterdam.

Trudy is in september 2010 als financial trainee begonnen. ‘Voor mij een ideale manier om in twee jaar tijd de Rijksoverheid goed te leren kennen.’

Beheer jij de sleutel van de schatkist? Wij zijn op zoek naar ambitieuze audit en financial trainees!

Kijk voor meer informatie over de traineeships op www.werkenvoornederland.nl/minfin. Solliciteren kan tot en met 20 mei 2012!

Directie Begrotingszaken De directie Begrotingszaken is betrokken bij het opstellen van de Rijksbegroting, coördineert de Miljoenennota en organiseert het begrotingsproces. Trudy werkt voornamelijk aan de begrotings-presentatie. Ze kijkt welke informatie in de begroting moet komen. ‘Hier zijn allemaal voorschriften voor en op dit moment richt ik me op de herziening van deze voorschriften.’ Dit moet ervoor zorgen dat de begroting voor iedereen duidelijk leesbaar is.

Financial Traineeship Tijdens het Financial Traineeship werkt Trudy op verschillende werkplekken. Ze is begonnen bij Economische Zaken, Landbouw en Innovatie. Trudy heeft zich bezig gehouden met het coördineren van de Algemene Rekenkameronderzoeken. Momenteel werkt Trudy voor een half jaar bij het ministerie van Financiën en vervolgens gaat ze aan de slag bij Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen. ‘Het leuke is dat je meteen volwaardig meedraait en direct verantwoordelijkheden krijgt.’ Trudy volgt ook een opleiding op de Rijksacademie voor Financiën, Economie en Bedrijfsvoering. De verschillende trainees trekken veel met elkaar op.

‘Het is heel fijn om ervaringen met elkaar uit te wisselen.’ Naast politicologen komen ook economen, bestuurskundigen en bedrijfskundigen in aanmerking voor het Financial Traineeship.

St u d e n t

l i fe

How mould becomes medicine

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n 1928, after a holiday with his family, Alexander Fleming returned to his laboratory to a fundamental finding – of mould. Mould that happened to produce a substance that would become known as penicillin. It’s almost funny now, this classic example of accidental discovery. But that doesn’t diminish his achievement. It takes as much creativity to make the best of what seems like a failed experiment, as it does to work your way all the way up to a discovery. That’s where perception and judgment come in. What’s the point in being knowledgeable if you can’t take it to new, exciting places?

By Vanessa Abeyawardena

Look further than intelligence First, let’s take a look at what it takes to actually start exploring. By now it’s been widely documented that, as you get more intelligent, you are more likely to explore.

Whether that’s through the use of drugs, or actually going out there and discovering new lands, it’s your intellect that decides that you’ll get out of bed and do something new today. So, as far as university students go, you’ve already got an advantage: most of you have a healthy dose of intelligence to start exploring with.

However, if all it took was intelligence, then life would be easy, and we should be up in the stars already, instead of not knowing what’s at the bottom of the ocean. Most of us suffer from cognitive bias: we all view life through our own perspective. There are some who would take that even further: it’s been said that we all live in our own private universe, shaped and molded by the experiences and emotions we have.

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Old habits die hard

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In psychology, the most famous of personality tests is five-factor personality test, measured on five scales, one of which is openness to new experiences. This openness is what separates us from the 17thcentury explorers, who colonized the world with their own ‘good’ values.

While they travelled around the world, they didn’t truly explore it. Instead, they brought their own values, imposed them over the countries they visited, and wondered why it was that the local population would rather see them dead. Our openness to new experiences, then, is what allows us to follow the

ancient philosophy: if you regard your cup as full, it won’t accommodate any more. Learning can only be achieved when you go into new situations without the presumption of knowing everything. Unfortunately, though we’ve come a long way since colonization, we still all adhere to prejudice.

Losing the glasses Now, look at it from a new perspective. Look at things from the perspective of those people you don’t like, or feel no affinity for.

If you do this often enough, you’ll notice that your perspective of the world will change as well. Then, you’ll start to truly explore. This is the same mechanism that allows students on exchange to come back as changed people: pulled out of their comfort zone, people often realize how strange their own points of view are, and that other people aren’t wrong, they’re usually just different.

So, how can all of this be applied to discovery? Well, a few basic things. First, if you want to open your mind, break your own routine. Also, don’t immediately dismiss new ideas: even though they’re outlandish, they’re not wrong. They’re just not what you’re used to. Finally, admit that when you’re actually wrong, you really are wrong. Don’t try to justify it, but accept it and move on. Those are the steps to truly create an open mind.

Of course, marketing basics dictate that once you have opened your eyes to new possibilities, remember to give your product a proper name. No one wants sour wine, foot-squashed grape juice or fermented curd. Everyone wants vinegar, wine and cheese. Perhaps Fleming learned this the hard way, after the 6 months it took him to change the name to penicillin from “mould juice”.

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Unique Architecture in Rotterdam b

esides The erasmus bridGe and The CubiC houses, why is roTTerdam Considered a melTinG poT of uniQue arChiTeCTure? well, afTer The bombinGs of The 1940s, muCh of The CiTy had To be rebuilT, QuiCkly. now, buildinGs seem almosT haphazardly seT around The CiTy buT are easily aCCessible by anyone who would like To see Them. a diverse array of desiGners and arChiTeCTs were involved in The proCess leadinG To a Colorful and unprediCTable desiGn. below are five uniQue sTruCTures ThaT are a reQuiremenT for anyone livinG in roTTerdam To know and be able To explain.

By Martin Jaakola

het witte huis One of the only skyscrapers to survive the bombings of World War II, “Het Witte Huis” was the very first sky-scraper in Europe, completed in 1898. Standing at 43 meters, the best view comes from the restaurants and bars located at the Oude Haven.

blue building Another unique aspect of Rotterdam’s impressive collection of unique buildings is the surprisingly simple blue building in Delftshaven. A company, tasked with making the building look nice until it could be repurposed, decided to paint it completely blue. Now it is one of the most photographed buildings in Rotterdam.

cool tower Moving towards more modern architecture developed after the bombings, there is Rotterdam’s Cool Tower, built to showcase Rotterdam’s incredible views, such as the skyline or of the Maas. With a 360 degree view of the city, white facades were used to emphasize the modernist explorations of the 1930s villas. Sustainability is also a central concept realized with the Cool Tower as its design, materials, and even roof are designed to limit sun exposure and allow low-energy usage.

hotel new york As emigrants were leaving Rotterdam in the 1800s to depart to America, many passed through an area which is now known as the Wilhelmina pier. The Holland America Line had many people pass through on their journey, but progressively the beautiful premises were turned into a hotel and restaurant, opening on May 5th, 1993.

Designed by J. Muller, Droogleever Fortuin, and C.B. van der Tak, the building is considered Jugendstil architecture which makes use of long, sinuous, organic lines and originated out of Germany.

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Consisting of two separate skyscrapers, the taller portion standing at 151 meters, this pair of skyscrapers was finished in 1992. The majority of the taller building is used by a branch of ING’s insurance company called, “Nationale Nederlanden” which is where the nickname originates from. As it is located close to the metro station Rotterdam Centraal, only one floor is located underground as a metro passes underneath. This is unique as many similar buildings require an extensive subterranean base. During the day, this building may look impressive considering its size, but nighttime is when it is optimal to view it as stars and even a comet illuminate all 41 floors.

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gebouw delftse poort

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CommerC e

Farewell to monetary incentives

By Sander Geenen

w

OULD WE ACT WITHOUT INCENTIVES? afTer all, we sTudy To inCrease employmenT poTenTial, enGaGe in relaTionships To feel loved, eaT To saTisfy hunGer. our world is sTronGly foCused on inCenTives –more preCisely, on moneTary inCenTives. we sense This in firms and amonGsT our erasmus universiTy fellows. buT whaT if we were To Think ouTside The CurrenT frame and rid ourselves of moneTary inCenTives? To answer This QuesTion, leT’s foCus on The bankinG seCTor.

capping doesn’t work

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The financial crisis of 2007-2009 demonstrated the importance of constructing incentives with care: large rewards drove decision makers to focus on the short run, ballooning salaries while disregarding the long run. Such incentives and subsequent risk-loving behaviours contributed to bankrupting the world’s largest financial institutions.

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shareholders satisfied, already acts as a motivator to perform. However, I would like to put emphasis on stronger, internal motivators. Given certain conditions a working environment is created stimulating this internal drive, so that people could excel in their work.

monetary incentives create conflict

We should step away from monetary Dan Pink, journalist and author of incentives. They do not improve the desired the bestselling Drive: The Surprising long-term vision the financial sector Truth of What Motivates Us, points to needs. High salaries are needed in a The UK Financial Service Authority and three of these conditions: autonomy, competitive sector where good managers the US Fed have introduced guidelines mastery and purpose. As long as are scarce and executives are powerful, to limit cash bonuses to 30% of the total people can be creative and provide own but linked to short-run performance, bonus, a move which, though definitely input (autonomy), take pride in their they’re dangerous. Managers want to intuitive, might not automatically lead to increasing skill (mastery), and sense do their work well. Monetary incentives better practices. that their work adds value to the world create conflict. Just like we don’t give professors a bonus for every graduating (purpose), they will be motivated and First, synchronising US and UK student (think of the dedicated. The highest regulatory measures would be a difficult we output value is then "Incentives are of repercussions!), but necessary step to address the highly realised. should not pay managers little importance in for their short term profitmobile banking sector. If European managers were paid more than their A 2003 article by MIT decision-making" generating behaviour.

American counterparts, workers would researchers The focus should be James simply move to the more lucrative on internal rather than Heyman and Dan Ariely labour market. Second, regulatory external (enforced by money) motivation. (on which Pink built his theory) put work-arounds are fairly easy: base forward the shocking proposition that salaries can be increased to make up “Effort in exchange for no payment can The financial sector comprises highly for bonus losses. Finally, the preceding be higher than effort in exchange for educated and above all highly motivated seems to prove that the incentive itself low monetary payment”. Taking this people. So here’s a social experiment: is of little importance further, we can view Let’s get rid of the bonus structure. in decision-making. salary as one large Let’s be confident that workers with "What if we rid Instead of altering the compensating wage the incentives of autonomy, mastery, incentive structure, ourselves of monetary differential.

Sure, and purpose will act responsibly. Jobs base salaries are management jobs should be designed to fit the person, not incentives?" upped, leading to the can be unpleasant at the other way around. And with the right conclusion managers times but, for the most drive, salaries might even drift to levels don’t care about higher returns, but part, managers like what they do. In that reflect their real economic value. higher paychecks, rendering incentives other words, their jobs offer the three ineffective. Surprising? prerequisites for motivation. There is no clear reason why there should be an sander Geenen studies economics external incentive structure: motivation at the university and works for the internal motivators matter more comes from within. And there is a great Erasmus School of History, Culture and Let’s see what happens with decision makers in the higher echelons. Selected chance it will improve the health of the Communication. ESHCC research looks industry, if it is run by those possessing at the implications of money outside for their impressive CVs, financial the economic model. Comments and analysts work at the centre of attention, passion for their job, instead of thirst for money. questions can be directed to the editorial and have to live up to high expectations. staff or the author (geenen@eshcc.eur.nl).

This external pressure, such as keeping

wo r l d

The institution of marriage

By Ashleigh Woodend

w

the future of marriage

Marriage, unlike many other human practices, has stood the test of time and is said to pre-date reliable recorded history. The reason? While many have been put forward, no one reason suffices in explaining the predominance of marriage in our society. Whether it was because men wanted assurance that their kids were actually not the butcher’s nor the baker’s, or that women wanted to make sure that men didn’t ‘dine-and-dash,’ we will never know. Reasons aside, it is certainly safe to say that marriage has grown to become a fundamental part of most cultures, going back millennia into the past.

Nonetheless, the view towards marriage has shifted in recent years. We now are more open to the possibility of not getting married, and there’s a greater acceptance of homosexuality. The notion of an official male-female union is not as dominant in our paradigm as it was before. Is this necessarily a bad thing?

This is a very subjective question and depends very much upon one’s culture and beliefs, but I think that given that marriage is essentially a human invention, we cannot simply see it is as the only option. Little girls dream of the day when they will ‘Marriage is a business. It's not about love or be able to walk down a logical explanation So can marriage simply emotional connection...it's about feeling like you the aisle in a pretty be explained by our white dress and can rightfully own another person.’ innate desire to feel safe have everyone dote and loved, or is it also upon them, and so due to a craving we have to ‘own’ our partner? The quote marriage will probably continue to be engrained in our above seems to strongly support this, and it may indeed seem collective thinking. Admittedly, marriage does bring a plausible. However, owning something generally allows some sense of order to society and legitimacy to a relationship, form of control over it, and in this sense gives the owner a however it only has as much meaning as we give to it. If sense of security. Why would one want security? the trend in negative attitudes towards marriage continues on its current path, it is not implausible that we may one Well, if you think about love, what you essentially do is open day live in a society where the legitimacy of a relationship, yourself up to the possibility of pain. Given our logical aversion whether it be between opposite or same sexes, is judged by to pain, we need to have assurances that can allow us to a completely different standard. reduce the probability of heartache. In this sense, marriage seems a very logical option, and although divorce rates have risen in recent decades, at the beginning of a relationship the choice to marry is not so absurd.

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the origins of marriage

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hen heidi klum and seal announCed Their separaTion, i found myself sTarTinG To doubT The viabiliTy of marriaGe. so ofTen you see Two people who seem so happy ToGeTher, suddenly deCide They would raTher be aparT. This lefT me a liTTle Curious as To why humans Generally see marriaGe as The defaulT opTion, why we do iT, and wheTher soCieTy miGhT be beTTer off wiThouT iT.

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Adv erto ri a l

Interview with NIBC N

IBC is a Dutch bank with both corporate and consumer banking activities. Corporate banking stretches from advice, financing and co-investments in sectors such as Food, Agri & Retail; General Industries; Technology, Media & Services; Commercial Real Estate; Shipping & Intermodal, Oil & Gas Services; and Infrastructure & Renewables in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, UK and Singapore. Its Consumer Banking activities include residential mortgages and online retail saving deposits via NIBC Direct in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

By Sten Boerkamp

Operating in the Netherlands, Belgium Germany, UK and Singapore. Today, we’re talking to Steijn Ribbens, a recent graduate from Erasmus University.

Sten Boerkamp: Thank you for doing this interview with us. To start off, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Steijn Ribbens: I am Steijn Ribbens, and I’ve been working full-time at NIBC since September 2011, as an analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions department.

While studying at Erasmus University, I came into contact with NIBC. I applied for an internship, and was accepted in February 2011. My internship only lasted three months, but NIBC offered me a full-time position to start in September.

I accepted, and I’ve been working there ever since.

SB: What made you choose for NIBC?

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SR: My choice for NIBC was easy: the company culture and organisation attracted me immediately.

The organisation has a very flat structure, with very little hierarchy. As the organization is relatively small, its much easier to meet the head of corporate banking and to have a chat with him in at one of our many coffee corners in the building]

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SB: An open culture is always good.

What’s the work like?

Does NIBC conform to the hectic lifestyle of other big banks?

As with all jobs, you have to work hard when working at NIBC. However, you’ll

have enough free time to have a personal life. Yes, my working hours are usually not nine to five, but it is not only working until late at night. In my department, we try to exercise every Wednesday during the day, and we try to keep the weekends free of work.

Talking about the actual work, it varies greatly. Work comes in waves, with periods in which you have to do a lot of work and then we have tight deadlines and tough orders. In other periods the workload is less. For me, dealing with these challenges makes my work all the more fun.

SB: Could you tell us a bit about what NIBC is looking for, and what they offer to their new employees?

SR: Getting a job at NIBC is quite competitive. We take in about 20 new students every year, both Dutch and international, all of them starting as analysts. They go through tests and interviews before we can make a decision on who to hire. However, tests aren’t everything; extracurricular activities and an entrepreneurial spirit are just as important, and you need to fit in well with the team. If you don’t fit in you won’t be able to connect with your colleagues, which is important in a job like this.

Once you’ve got through the hiring process, NIBC helps you get started.

Every analyst participates in the Analyst Program, a four-week program set up together with the Amsterdam Institute of Finance. During 4 one-week courses, divided over the year, you learn everything there is to know about the bank, and get the opportunity to develop your own network. Every week, you’ll spend 3 days working on your so-called hard skills, your financial knowledge and capabilities. After that, there are two days in which you learn about interaction and cooperation, developing your personal skills.

The program is not only limited to the Dutch branche. The German, UK and Belgian departments send their new analysts to this program as well, so you meet people from every part of the company.

SB: How do you see your own future at NIBC? SR: I can definitely see myself staying at NIBC. They give you the opportunity to develop yourself, as long as you are willing to work for it. You can even shift within departments, if you want to explore other parts of the business.

In my part of the company, you grow quickly from one job to the next, almost like a dynamic process. I’m planning to stay here, and work for a few more years in Mergers and Acquisitions. What happens after that, we’ll just have to wait and see.

http://www.careeratnibc.com/why-joinus/opportunities/analyst-program Look here for more information on NIBC, and how to join this exciting company.

I n d e x

At NIBC, entrepreneurial bankers start at the deep end As a trainee banker at NIBC, you also have a daily job. Your assignments and responsibilities start from day one. And you’ll

A flying start at the bank that thinks and acts like entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.careeratnibc.com.

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company training programme at the Amsterdam Institute of Finance, led by professors from international business schools.

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have the chance to specialise, in for example mergers and acquisitions. You and your fellow analysts will follow our in-

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St u d e n t

l i fe

Rotterdam Restaurants: Taj Mahal Mariniersweg 18, Rotterdam

By Tim Langstraat For most of us, a trip to India is not in our near future. Even if we could afford the thousand-euro plane ticket, there’s no time to go and explore the entire country. Thankfully, there’s an easier way to experience the famous flavours of India: Taj Mahal.

The delicious papadum with chutney is only the start of the meal, but it’s an impressive start nonetheless. Our party of eight (because when reviewing a restaurant, you always need to go and have a taste) ordered several dishes, which were spread out before us. Rice, naan bread and more curries than we could eat were set on a heater, making sure that everything stayed warm while trying the food. It didn’t disappoint one bit.

Located in a small shop house on the Mariniersweg, Taj Mahal looks unimpressive: the tables are plain, and the walls are covered in simple mosaic.

However, when you sit down and are greeted with the traditional Indian hospitality, you know you’ve hit the jackpot. After that, it only gets better.

The naan bread comes still warm from the tandoor oven, and the rice is flavoured with the traditional cardamom

and other spices. The curries are beyond compare, and taste no different than what you would expect from a restaurant in India. One curry might be sweet, and a bit creamy, while another is hot and spicy, leaving your tongue tingling with heat. No curry is the same, and no curry is bland.

For us it was an excellent evening.

With such a varied group, everyone still managed to find something they liked.

So, if you feel like eating proper Indian food, in a friendly setting, this is the place to go.

Rotterdam Restaurants: Ten to Three Bakery Aert van Nesstraat 24

By Kim van Adrichem

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When you walk into this cute bakery, hidden behind the Bijenkorf, the first thought to pass through your mind will likely be “pink”. Because that’s what this bakery is. It’s pink bliss with an Alice in Wonderland theme. In a stranger world, you could easily see yourself enjoying a high tea with the Mad Hatter in this establishment. And that’s exactly what the bakery specializes in: high tea delicacies and… cupcakes.

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This cupcake bakery serves both large and mini versions of their popular cupcakes. There’s your standard vanilla and chocolate, but also more outlandish flavours like green tea or carrot. I would recommend the salted caramel cupcake which tastes just like heaven.

The bakery is cozy and if you can’t find a place to sit, then you can always take a cupcake home. When you take one

home you get a pink box and paper bag that make the purchase the perfect gift (for someone else or yourself!).

The bakery serves high tea, cream tea, lunch sandwiches, and hot beverages in porcelain cups. Admittedly, this is a feminine locale; the perfect location to have a cuppa tea and a sweet treat after a long day of shopping.

"Think Pink at Ten to Three Bakery."

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Does the weather still make sense?

By Nadia Zafirah

I

t was just a few months ago when we experienced an unusually cold winter in Europe. The wind from the North Pole flowed past Siberia and brought with it heavy snow to mainland Europe. Eastern Europe and several other countries in central Europe were badly affected. The extreme unusual temperature and heavy snow caused villages to lose power for several hours, and left hundreds dead from hypothermia. Meanwhile, heavy storm was blasting throughout Asia causing floods and some advertisement billboards to fall in Jakarta. The bizarre weather continued into North Africa, when it snowed in the Sahara and Algeria for the first time in 30 years. What does this mean to us? It simply means that climate change is very real. It doesn’t only affect the weather but also our traveling schedule and our health.

It was raining so little that some experts labeled the situation as a drought, resulting in little to almost no snow in some ski resorts, causing low demand. The optimists triumphed at the end when the temperature went lower and lower and it was finally snowing heavily in February.

"It was snowing in the Sahara and Algeria for the first time in 30 years."

The Netherlands was more fortunate compared to the Balkan countries, where the heavy snow in February made it difficult for people to travel between cities and villages, with some places experiencing a blackout.

In places that regularly experience this, Scandinavia and Siberia, it may not be a problem but for the rest of Europe, hundreds died due to hypothermia and other cold-related causes.

The combination of the extreme change in weather patterns and the rise of the sea level also caused storms

to appear more often at sea. As a direct result, traveling by sea got more difficult and dangerous. We are reluctant enough now to go on a cruise after what happened to the Concordia, and with the choppier waves, traveling by sea is to be avoided. It becomes trickier to plan for holiday traveling because you can’t really know when the bad weather will hit and leave you stranded on the airport.

"You don’t know when bad weather will hit and leave you stranded on the airport."

How this affects our body Extreme change in weather may also lead to diseases spreading to new areas. For example, as temperatures and humidity are slowly increasing, dengue, or yellow fever, is making its way up to the northern European countries. On top of that, our body cannot adjust quickly if the weather change is extreme, and that’ll impair our immune system even further. Diseases due to unsanitary conditions in developing countries when flash floods occur will also develop, while extreme cold brings about hypothermia or possibly ear infection.

The change in weather may or may not be extreme because as time goes by, we get used to this abrupt change.

Compared to decades ago, the weather today is more severe. Summer is becoming warmer, winter is cooling down; the average temperature in the tropics is rising. If we don’t do more to reduce the rate of climate change, we have to brace ourselves, as the worse is yet to come.

2 01 2

Unlike the past two winters, we couldn’t be so hopeful last December when it still hadn’t snowed by the 24th.

The dream of a white Christmas had to go and while some optimistic students were still hoping for that first bit of snow, the rest of us resigned to our fate, since it was still dry on the 25th. Although it felt good to have such a sunny weather in an otherwise gloomy Netherlands, there was a downside to it.

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Is it snowing yet?

17

Grant Thornton orntonbiedt biedteen een uitdagende Grant Th uitdagende leercurve waarbij hoehoe snelsnel leercurve waarbijjejezelf zelfaangeeft aangeeft je wilt groeien. je groeien.

Transaction advisory services (TAS) “An instinct for growth” Transaction services (TAS) “An instinct for growth” De juiste prijs. Daar advisory gaat het om bij een fusie of overname. Risico’s Grant Thornton focust op dynamische organisaties die willen van fi nanciële, operationele of administratieve aardfusie beïnvloeden groeien.

Als gevolg hiervan ondergaan deze organisaties verandeDe juiste prijs. Daar gaat het om bij een of overname. Ris Grant Thornton focust op dynamische organisaties die willen de prijs.

De verkopende partij probeert een zo positief mogelijk ringen en hebben zij behoefte aan een breed scala (geïntegreerde) van financiële, operationele of administratieve aard beïnvloede groeien. Als gevolg hiervan ondergaan deze organisaties verandebeeld de vanprijs. zijn onderneming te schetsen.

Als TAS-specialist breng je diensten. kunnen middelgrote bedrijven zijn als grote De verkopende partij probeert een zo positief mogelij ringen en Dit hebben zij zowel behoefte aan een breed scala (geïntegreerde) risico’s én kansen van de verkopende partij in beeld. (internationale) ondernemingen.

Wij helpen bedrijven bij het beeld van zijn onderneming te schetsen. Als TAS-specialist bre diensten. Dit kunnen zowel middelgrote bedrijven zijn als grote benutten van hun groeipotentie. risico’s én kansen van de verkopende partij in beeld. (internationale) ondernemingen. Wij helpen bedrijven bij het Een belangrijk onderdeel is het onafhankelijke due diligence benutten van hun groeipotentie. onderzoek. Een onderzoek waar veel vakgebieden samenkomen en Wat verstaat Grant Thornton onder groei? Hieronder verstaan we Een onderdeel het onafhankelijke due diligence waarbij metbelangrijk veel specialisten wordtissamengewerkt.

Door betrokzowel kwantitatieve als kwalitatieve groei. Dat wil zeggen, naast onderzoek.

Eenvan onderzoek waarkrijg veel jevakgebieden samenkom Wat verstaat Grant onder groei?

Hieronder verstaan wekenheid bij het proces begin tot eind, als TAS-specialist financiële groei ook Thornton groei in cliëntrelaties, persoonlijke groei van waarbij met veelvan specialisten samengewerkt.

Door betro zowel kwantitatieve als kwalitatieve groei. Dat wil zeggen, naast snel diepgaande kennis het gehelewordt overnameproces.

Je werkt medewerkers en het aanmoedigen van innovatie. kenheid het proces vanfibegin totinvesteerders eind, krijg je(private als TAS-spec financiële groei ook groei in cliëntrelaties, persoonlijke groei van voor kopers en bij verkopers en voor nanciële equity-huizen).

Jouw mogelijkheden binnen Grantvan Thornton snel diepgaande kennis van het gehele overnameproces. Je wer medewerkers en het aanmoedigen innovatie.

Audit & assurance voor kopers en verkopers en voor financiële investeerders (pri Restructuring & performance improvement (R&PI) Een ondernemer moet kunnen op zijn cijfers. Maar equity-huizen).

Jouw mogelijkheden binnenvertrouwen Grant Thornton Bij restructuring gaat het om verbeteringen die de kasstroom van ook zijn investeerders, de belastingdienst en andere belanghebAudit & assurance het bedrijf in stand houden. De focus ligt daarbij primair op het benden kijken kritisch mee. Wij verrichten wettelijk verplichte én Restructuring & performance improvement (R&PI) Een ondernemer moet kunnen vertrouwen op zijn cijfers. Maar beheren van het werkkapitaal en cash. Als R&PI-consultant zoek vrijwillige audits, financiële en niet-financiële controles. OnafhanBij restructuring gaat het om verbeteringen die de kasstroom v ook zijn investeerders, de belastingdienst en andere belanghebje naar oplossingen om bijvoorbeeld de kostenstructuur en de kelijkheid is daarbij van groot belang. We zijn in het bezit van een het bedrijf in stand De focus benden kijken kritisch mee.

Wij verrichten wettelijk verplichte én van het bedrijfhouden. te optimaliseren.

Jeligt kijktdaarbij hierbij primair verder op he AFM-vergunning voor het verrichten van wettelijke controles, ook winstmarges beheren van het werkkapitaal en cash. Als R&PI-consultant zo vrijwillige audits,van financiële enbelang. niet-fiDit nanciële controles.

Onafhan-dan alleen financiële indicatoren. voor organisaties openbaar onderstreept de kwalije naar oplossingen om bijvoorbeeld de kostenstructuur en de kelijkheid is daarbij van groot belang. We zijn in het bezit van een teit die je bij Grant Thornton vindt. winstmarges van het bedrijf te bedrijf optimaliseren. kijkt hierbij ve AFM-vergunning voor het verrichten van wettelijke controles, ook Bij performance improvement ziet een ruimte omJehaar marktpositie te verbeteren.

Maar hoe?

Als R&PI-consultant zoek Corporate fi nance dan alleen financiële indicatoren. voor organisaties van openbaar belang. Dit onderstreept de kwalije naar verbeteringsmogelijkheden op het gebied van interne Een corporate fi nance adviseur begeleidt fusies & overnameteit die je bij Grant Thornton vindt. processen, mogelijke kostenverlagingen of het aanboren trajecten van begin tot eind. Van de informatiefase tot het beklinBij performance improvement ziet een bedrijf van ruimte om haar nieuwe groeimarkten.

Ook hier kijk je verder dan alleen naar de ken van de deal.

Op zoek naar de best passende match, tegen de marktpositie te verbeteren. Maar hoe? Als R&PI-consultant z Corporate finance financiële indicatoren. meest optimale voorwaarden. Als corporate finance adviseur houd je naar verbeteringsmogelijkheden op het gebied van interne Een corporate finance adviseur begeleidt fusies & overnameje niet alleen rekening met de financiële cijfers, maar ook met de processen, mogelijke kostenverlagingen of het aanboren van trajecten van begin tot eind. Van de informatiefase tot het beklinemoties van de ondernemer. Ook bij waardebepalingen van nieuwe groeimarkten. Ook hier kijk je verder dan alleen naar d ken van de deal.

Op zoek naar de best passende match, tegen de ondernemingen speel je een rol. Bijvoorbeeld bij verkoop, het financiële indicatoren. meest optimale voorwaarden.

Als corporate finance adviseur houd zoeken naar investeerders of samenwerking met een nieuwe jepartner. niet alleen metnodig de financiële cijfers, maar ook met de En isrekening er extra geld om een fusie, overname of inemoties van de ondernemer.

Ook bijjewaardebepalingen van vestering te fi nancieren, dan adviseer over de haalbaarheid hiervan. ondernemingen speel je een rol. Bijvoorbeeld bij verkoop, het

zoeken naar investeerders of samenwerking met een nieuwe partner. En is er extra geld nodig om een fusie, overname of inMeer informatie over Grant vestering te financieren, dan Thornton adviseer je over de haalbaarheid Grant Thornton bij jou in de omgeving: Alphen aan den Rijn - Amsterdam - Boskoop - Gouda - Leiden Grant Thornton is een sterk groeiende middelgrote accountancyhiervan. en adviesorganisatie verankerd in het gerenommeerde internationale netwerk van Grant Thornton International. Je hebt hiermee toegang tot de expertise van meer dan 30.000 professionals wereldMeer over Grant Thornton wijd ininformatie circa 100 landen.

Rijswijk - Rotterdam - Woerden

Grant Thornton is een sterk groeiende middelgrote accountancyen adviesorganisatie verankerd in het internatioGrant Thornton kenmerkt zich door eengerenommeerde pragmatische aanpak en een open en persoonlijke sfeer.

We begeleiden je goed en waarderen nale netwerk van Grant Thornton International. Je hebt hiermee een eigentot inbreng. toegang de expertise van meer dan 30.000 professionals wereldwijd in circa 100 landen.

Grant Thornton kenmerkt zich door een pragmatische aanpak en een open en persoonlijke sfeer. We begeleiden je goed en waarderen www.carrierebijGT.nl een eigen inbreng.

Grant Thornton bij jou in de omgeving: Alphen aan den Rijn - Amsterdam - Boskoop - Gouda - Leide Rijswijk - Rotterdam - Woerden

“Groeien “Groeien tottot hethet hoogste tothoogste het hoogste niveau niveau mijvo “Groeien niveaudat dat voor voordat mij haalbaar is. Dat mijntoekomstvisie.” haalbaar haalbaar is. Dat isis.is mijn Dat istoekomstvisie.” mijn toekomstvisie.”

Marc Buijs, gevorderd assistent accountant Marc Buijs, gevorderd Marc Buijs, assistent gevorderd accountant assistent a

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Onze ruimte, jouw groei Meer weten over de carrière van Marc en zijn collega’s? Of benieuwd naar onze mogelijkheden? Scan de QR of surf naar onze website.

Onze ruimte, Onzejouw ruimte, groei jou

Meer weten over de carrière Meer weten van Marc over de carrière van Marc en zijn collega’s? Of benieuwd en zijn collega’s? naar onzeOf benieuwd naar onze mogelijkheden? Scan de mogelijkheden?

QR of surf naar Scan de QR of surf naar onze website. onze website. www.carrierebijGT.nl

Accountancy - Belastingen - Advies

sTu d en T

l i fe

The Business Week on Location: to Berlin and beyond

T

his year’s businessweek on loCaTion Trip, held in berlin, emphasized The week’s ouT-of-Thebox Theme.. berlin is a CiTy of abouT 3.5 million inhabiTanTs, and home To some of The world’s Top sTarT-ups and world Class Clubs. simply puT, There is someThinG for everyone, and The sTudenTs who parTiCipaTed in This Trip Took advanTaGe of every opporTuniTy.

By Martin Jaakola

Before we left, there was an air of uncertainty within the freezing group of strangers about to embark on a nine hour bus ride to Germany’s capital; what would we encounter? Who would we meet? Would this trip be worth it?

It suffices to say that the next few days would prove it was certainly worth our while.

Bahn, Germany’s railway corporation. A detailed look at the company’s history and strategy followed, after which we were able to ask any question we wanted. One interesting fact was that after introducing competition, DB has gone from no competitors to over 300, which have spurred many of the innovations and strategies undertaken.

arrival

Next was our visit to Coca-Cola; a visit many of us anticipated, as it was rumored we’d be able to drink as much soda as we wanted. Luckily, our wishes

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After a few hours rest we arrived at our hostel, changed into business attire and left for our first presentation at Deutsche

20

were obliged and we were able to drink a wide range of Coca-Cola brand beverages during the presentation. The presentation was once again detailed and was relevant for any student studying business. They outlined a wide range of issues, mostly centered upon how Coke is more than just a sugary drink, and how they invest their profits in various projects such as making sure poor Indian villages have fresh water and providing bottles made out of sustainable materials.

St u d e n t

After what was supposed to be a tame night (Dutch fraternity students know how to party) we began a tour of Berlin first thing in the morning. Armed with a Dutch tour guide, we toured West Berlin learning about urban gentrification –upgrading run-down properties to a better standard, but in the process

Later on, we met some of those people taking advantage of low property and start-up costs to try and make a name for themselves. Located in an incubation center where multiple different businesses operate, we were divided into groups to take on a case study. My group was to analyze a business which produced and filmed shows which targeted specific niche groups like wine drinkers. We had to come up with two new ideas and present a way to market our idea to the masses on YouTube.

After we presented our idea, our

entrepreneur criticized our ideas and explained how they could be improved or used in his show. Essential for any budding entrepreneur, this experience was most people’s favorite business activity of the trip as it required us to use our knowledge to provide solutions for a real business. The last night was spent at a range of nightclubs, ranging from dingy bars to upscale nightclubs such as the Watershed.

On the bus ride home there was much to think about. Many students discussed how they had gone from knowing no one to feeling like they had known their new friends for years. Furthermore, discussing business with experienced professionals was motivating and reinforced why we wanted to study at Erasmus in the first place. Berlin turned out to be an incredible trip and only one question remains –will you be up for it next year?

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What We Learned

pushing out local shops and raising property prices.. What we discovered during the tour was that in Berlin, a subculture of people exist who do not want change and live in commune-like conditions, often sharing addresses with more than fifty other people.

This type of out-of-the-box thinking may be successful these days, but is being threatened as investors and businessmen move in to take advantage of cheap housing prices.

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During the question and answer session, Erasmus students, being the critical thinkers they are taught to be, decided to question Coke’s representative about their claim that Coke was a healthy drink, which received too much negative media coverage. After some discussion, it was explained that Coke can be a healthy drink, in moderation, and portraying Coke as a world-saving beverage is not just a marketing ploy, but reality. A great example of outsidethe-box thinking, Coke demonstrated that companies must go beyond simply providing a product; they must be creative in providing solutions to social problems to stay competitive.

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Enterta i n m en t

Criminal behaviour in modern society "A mind can be evil without being abnormal."

G

iven the wide reach of media in today’s society, it’s no wonder we hear so often about criminal behavior around the world. This often leaves me with the feeling that our humanity is dwindling. With teenagers murdering children in order to ‘experience what it feels like to kill someone,’ and the most friendly of people turning out to be pedophiles or rapists, you can hardly be blamed for not trusting anyone. Call it absurd, or a little sadistic in itself, but crime is quite fascinating. I often wonder what motivates such heinous behavior and at what point in the criminal’s consciousness, does their behavior become justifiable? Let’s have a look if the following crimes can shed some light on the matter.

By Ashleigh Woodend

A surgeon in the making

A friendship gone wrong

Take Robert Ackermann, a young German teen who moved to a home for the mentally ill in Austria. In Ackermann’s early years he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and was subsequently put on medication. He took part in petty crimes such as theft and embezzlement, but despite desperate pleas by his mother to have him permanently institutionalized, he was classified as too sick for prison but not sick enough to be put into a state hospital, and so was allowed to roam free.

This decision turned out to be detrimental for his elderly Austrian roommate, Josef Schweiger.

In 2000, two Spanish teens were on trial, claiming that ‘they stabbed their friend to death because it was a new experience and it would make them famous.’ The two girls dumped Clara Garcia’s mutilated corpse in a nearby field, and proceeded to enjoy a night out. When law enforcement later visited their homes and went through their possessions, they found letters of admiration for another Spanish teen, who killed his parents and sister with a Samurai sword.

The two were known to quarrel excessively; however when Schweiger stole one of Ackermann’s possessions, the feud escalated and Ackermann bludgeoned Schweiger with a 22-pound dumbbell. Unfortunately, this was not the end of the crime. The next morning, when Ackermann discovered that Schweiger was dead, he saw the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dream of seeing exactly how humans functioned.

Ackermann grabbed a butterfly knife and sliced Schweiger open from groin to throat. He reached into Schweiger’s abdomen, tasted his blood and then removed his brain to feed on it.

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Ackermann, coined the Cannibal of Vienna, now resides in a high security mental hospital, and says he plans to use his time institutionalized to study medicine, so that if he's ever released he can fulfill his lifelong ambition of becoming a surgeon.

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On a lighter note Thankfully, not all crimes are as gruesome and morbid.

Sometimes, they turn out to be relatively innocent attempts, often conducted rather clumsily. Take, for example, Eric Lee King who in 2012 stole a 19-inch television and shoved it in his pants, hoping no one would notice. Or, the case of Guess Wayo, who had had such a busy morning performing home invasions and car robberies that on his last ‘job,’ he was found asleep in the home-owner’s closet!

Crime will forever be a part of our society, and although crimes due to poverty may one day disappear, those that are the result of ‘insanity’ will always remain a part of the human experience. The more worrying thing is that these criminals are often rational and calculating. As Dennis Nilsen - a British serial murderer who kept the corpses of his victims as roommates and took part in necrophilia - put it, "a mind can be evil without being abnormal." Nilsen is perhaps not the most reliable source on the subject, but I think given a little thought, his statement is not so ridiculous.

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Coffee Shops: Should They Stay or Should They Go? U

niversity is a time in life where one discovers many different aspects of oneself; socializing, studying, and having fun make up the theme of a student life. New discoveries are not limited to innocent friend–making, as some students begin using drugs. While the majority of the population limits their consumption to simply alcohol and tobacco, many also choose to try drugs, such as cannabis. For better or for worse, drug use has been prevalent over the course of thousands of years and will continue to be so, probably for thousands of years more.

By Martin Jaakola

The Facts A 2009 study conducted by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction showed that lifetime cannabis use, among Dutch adults, averages at 5.4%, compared to the rest of Europe at 6.8%. This highlights that traditional Dutch tolerance is not a facilitator for increased cannabis consumption; there’s a reason that Dutch adults use cannabis less than their European and American counterparts.

Proponents would say this is the result of years of drug education. Health education has been a requirement in Dutch primary schools since 1985. What is taught in schools can be summarized as, “you shouldn’t do drugs, but here are the effects and consequences if you do.” Fortunately, drug education is not limited to the Netherlands; the United States utilizes a program

The Path to Success Holland is at the metaphorical fork in the road. There are two different types of approaches that can be taken in an attempt to lessen demand and supply of drugs. The first is the Portugal route.

Ten years ago Portugal decriminalized all drugs and instead focused on treating those who needed help because they had become addicted.

The Cato institute compiled a report stating the numbers. Two years after decriminalization, cannabis use among 12-18 year olds fell from 14.1% to 10.6%.

The second approach, which the Netherlands is currently heading towards, is that of the rest of the European Union.

This approach advocates putting a cap on the amount of THC of 15%, (the component that gets you “high”) closing coffee shops to tourists, and closing all coffee shops within

Whichever approach you may be in support of, one similarity is clear, the goal is to provide citizens with an environment where drug use is as low as possible and if one needs help, one can get it. Whether or not Holland’s newfound restrictions will be beneficial we will only find out over time, but in the meantime, caution should be exercised.

University is a time where you will learn many skills that will be used throughout your life, such as socializing and the ability to focus. Spending your time in a haze, whether it is alcohol or THC induced, will probably not be conducive to success and personal responsibility should be emphasized. Perhaps this is the point that Holland and Portugal have emphasized, and the rest of the world has yet to discover.

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The current situation in Holland regarding cannabis is complicated at best. In 1976 it became a written policy in the Netherlands that certain violations concerning cannabis, such as possession of small amounts, were to be addressed with non-enforcement. In recent years, coffee shops have begun to close down and change is beginning to become apparent. While some are confident that this change will bring benefits, unintended consequences must be considered.

Perhaps, it is all about legality. A curious statistic in the Netherlands is that treatment rates are quite high, much higher than in other countries. Moreover, the United States almost exclusively forces treatment by court mandate as opposed to choice. It is likely if someone has a drug problem, they will seek out treatment themselves with the goal of being rehabilitated instead of being treated like a criminal with the possibility of arrest.

a perimeter of 250 meters of schools.

The risk this method holds is that it could undermine progress this country has already made. Dutch coffee shops are only allowed to sell “soft drugs” distinguishing them from shady dealers who may introduce kids to harder drugs such as cocaine or ecstasy. This current trend diverges from a system which may not be perfect, but works. If this trend continues, the black market will flourish; a situation which is less than ideal and could result in further consequences such as increased crime.

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abbreviated D.A.R.E. to educate students about the harm drugs may induce.

Drug education may not be homogenous abroad, but this still suggests that education is only part of the explanation.

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Adv erto ri a l

Statistics Netherlands:

making undisputed statistics that count To contact the CBS for an internship, call them at 070-337 57 68 or send an email to stageverzoek@cbs.nl

Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek

S

tatistics Netherlands is the ubiquitous source of day-to-day information about a great many aspects of our lives. Whether you need information about the growth of the Dutch economy, the number of new jobs or how many students are attending university, you will be using its statistics. We had an opportunity to talk to one of the institute’s statisticians, Erik Veldhuizen, about his work, and what Statistics Netherlands, or in Dutch, Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS), means to him.

By Tim Langstraat

Eclaire: First of all, thank you for doing this interview. To start off, could you introduce yourself briefly?

Erik Veldhuizen: Certainly. My name is Erik Veldhuizen, and I’ve been working at the CBS for six years now. I studied Business Economics at Erasmus University Rotterdam and received my Master’s degree in 1999. After that, I started my PhD at Delft University of Technology, doing research focused on market information processing and product innovation by Dutch high-tech companies. I started working for the CBS in the final years of my PhD: I worked for four days a week, and one day a week I was given the opportunity to finish my degree. After that, I started working full-time at the CBS. At the moment I am a project manager in the National Accounts department. In this position I am responsible for productivity measurement and the annual compilation of the so-called non-financial balance sheets. With these statistics we are able to show the efficiency of the Dutch economy, and to assess the wealth of our nation.

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EC: So the CBS was very helpful in allowing you to finish your degree. Could you tell me more about the organisation?

EV: Statistics Netherlands is responsible for a large part of the statistics you see in everyday life. If you watch the evening news on television and hear a report on the growth of the economy, those figures likely came from us or our colleagues at the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB). However, we do more than compiling economic statistics. There are three pillars in the CBS: social statistics, business statistics and macro-economic statistics. The social statistics cover topics such as health care, crime rates and population growth, while the business side focuses more on things like company sales, producer confidence and how much the private sector spends on innovation. Finally, macro-economic statistics, where I work, does the calculations of macro-economic aggregates such as investment by industry, government expenditure and total spending by the Dutch population.

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EC: What kind of people work at the CBS? EV: Just as in any organisation, many different people work here. There is not one ‘type’ of person, neither in terms of personality, nor in terms of background. Staff here includes economists, business analysts, mathematicians, and even psychologists and biologists. There is one thing that everybody has in common, though: a passion for statistics. Everyone here works hard to make sure that all the statistics are delivered on time, and of course that they are accurate and reliable.

EC: Does the CBS help students who want to come and work at the CBS? EV: Definitely. When I started working for the CBS, about six years ago, I was still working on my PhD. They gave me the option to use one day a week to work on my own research.

The CBS also provides the opportunity for students to write their thesis, or to do an internship, and work on actual data.

Writing your thesis at the CBS is a great opportunity to get to know the organisation and a good preparation for applying for a job when you’ve completed your Master’s. And, if you’re ambitious, the CBS offers training programmes, so that you can develop your own career within the organisation.

EC: What can people look forward to if they come to work here?

EV: Contrary to what most people think, you won’t be spending all your time calculating numbers. You’ll be in meetings, explaining and interpreting statistics, writing articles for scientific and news media, doing presentations, and even travelling. For example, we’ve just received a delegation from Vietnam, who want us to come to Vietnam and work with them there. Most of all, though, you’ll see an open, dedicated culture with hardworking people and a lot of passion. You’ll work on relevant statistics, making a real contribution to society. I think the most significant thing to look forward to is this contribution: you’ll be making real undisputed statistics that count.

E n t e r ta i n me n t

Find your inner daredevil D

o you want to find your inner ninja or the daredevil within? If common sports are not enough and you want a new challenge, these three sports could be the thing for you.

By Leigh de Jager

Strangely enough, this sport is popular enough to even have subsports associated with it. This can come in the form of freediving spear fishing or apnea competitions. Apnea competitions are most popular, where the divers strive to reach record depths while holding their breath. Often the goal of a record time or distance swum on a single breath is also a large part of freediving.

Sandboarding Out of the ocean and onto the sand. This sport is like snowboarding, but instead of snow it is done on sand dunes instead. This is where any similarities end. Sandboarding mainly takes place in deserts or coastal areas where the dunes are large enough. Instead of lifts

to take you back to the top of a dune four-by-four vehicles or dune buggies are used. Also this sport can be done all year round, but a warm country generally is a requirement. In countries such a Namibia, there is now even the possibility to take part in sand-skiing.

Crashed ice In contrast to the warm inviting excitement that sandboarding offers, there is the cold and fast sport of crashed ice. Crashed ice is a fast paced sport which combines elements of ice hockey, downhill skating and snowboard-cross. Snowboard cross is snowboarding down a course, similar to skateboarding, where the participants are given scores for tricks made. In crashed ice, four competitors race down a steep icy track made up of bumps, twists and turns. Dressed in protective ice-hockey gear, the first competitor to make it done to the bottom of the track is the winner. The main event for this sport is the Red Bull Crashed Ice competition, where competitors from all over the world can go head to head in a race to the finish.

Fire Jumping Now that sports dealing with sand, sea and ice have been explored, it’s time to bring in a sport related to fire. Fire jumping is a sport that originated in ancient Persia, based on the religious festival of Chaharshanbe Suri. This sport has an obvious health risk, and thus regulations enforce the fact that participants are to be dressed in flame retardant clothing. The fire jumping also has variants with fire hurdles and competitions where participants compete to see who can jump over the highest fire. Nevertheless, as this sport is still quite new there are no official well-known competitions, there are still many developments to come!

So if holding your breath until your face turns blue, gliding down sand dunes, skating at break-neck speeds appeals to you or you even want to feel like Jack jumping over a huge candle stick, these are the sports to try out!

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At first glance, this sport might sound like an alternative form of skydiving.

Instead, this sport is centred around unconventional underwater diving. The divers who take part in freediving do not make use of any diving apparatus or scuba gear, but rely solely on their lung capacity and their ability to hold their breath for a long period of time.

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Freediving

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Enterta i n m en t

Reality TV: a Guilty Pleasure W

ant to become famous just by being… you? Have no talents? No problem! Just become a reality TV star. A lot of people have a love/hate relationship with reality TV. On the one hand, it draws us in with its dramatic real life portrayals of hopefuls attempting to become famous in shows such as Idols, X-Factor, and The Voice. Yet, nowadays many shows are scripted and because of the pressure for next season participants to attract an audience, shows are becoming more and more extreme. Fame can make you do crazy things to stand out.

By Kim van Adrichem

Subgenres You may not realize how many subgenres of reality TV there are. Sometimes it seems like “celebreality” overpowers all the others, but that is probably because the media pays a lot more attention to beautiful women (sorry, guys). Here a list with a few of the reality TV subgenres is provided.

Idols is a competitive game show where the participants are instant celebrities as they attempt to gain the audience’s favor.

I remember the first Dutch Idols when I nearly cried that Hind was eliminated (note: at that time, the author of this piece was 10). The Dutch enjoy their reality TV. The numbers don’t lie as proven by Boer Zoekt Vrouw’s spectacular viewing rates.

Only when the national football team plays in a qualification or EC/WC game more people are glued to their television sets.

4 million people tune in on Sunday to watch boehoer farmer Frank cry about his difficulties with choosing one of his willing ladies. Interesting fact; Boer Zoekt Vrouw has lead to 23 children being born to the happy couples. The perfect example of feel good TV.

Why Watch?

X is proud to sponsor this show”, but sometimes it’s more sneaky. If the entire Kardashian family is sporting the new AT&T phone and are gushing about how awesome it is, you may take a look at the product the next time you are in the store, unwittingly making these advertisers attain their goal through celebrity endorsement.

"It’s much more fun to watch something that is ‘real’"

When we watch reality TV we escape our own reality and, for one blissful moment, get to experience someone else’s existence.

That’s why all the extravagant shows are so popular. But just beauty and money won’t keep you interested. Real reality-TVjunkies need something more: drama. My personal favorite is The Real Housewives of New Jersey; I mean, who gets into a fight at a christening party? The incredibility and unexpected twists are what makes this extremely dramatic show so fun.

Actually, people are interesting beings, and their personalities are what makes good TV.

The Fake

Product Placement

Most of us, when we hear such allegations, turn back to our reality TV shows and imagine that it is not all scripted. After all, it’s much more fun to watch something that’s ‘real’ or genuine.

The Kardashians can reshoot their scenes all they want, but it’s not going to stop viewers from watching. Reality TV, may not be so real, but still a great (guilty) pleasure.

A new phenomenon to hit reality TV is product placement.

Think of a shows such as The Voice and you will see that while waiting for the auditions, the hopeful stars are munching away on product X and sipping Y. Sometimes product placement is obvious, especially when the first commercial states “Product

A shocking revelation came from “Keeping up with the Kardashians”. These women are known for not wearing the same thing twice. So, when Kim was spotted wearing the same outfit in Dubai and in Hollywood, questions were raised. The gossip shows compared the audio quality of the conversation (about why Kim got divorced from Kris) and found out that an entirely new part was edited into the original episode. Thus, a scene re-taped in Hollywood meant to have taken place in Dubai was completely scripted to make the Kardashians look better.

The special types of reality TV

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Special living environment – Big Brother, Expeditie Robinson Professional activities – Miami Ink, Choccywoccydoodah Dating based competition – The Bachelor, Tila Tequila, Boer Zoekt Vrouw Job search – Project Runway, ANTM, Hell’s Kitchen, Popstars, Scream Queens, The Apprentice Social experiment – Wife Swap, Nanny 911, Echte Meisjes in de Jungle, Wie is de Mol? Self improvement/makeovers – Biggest Loser, Extreme Home Makeover, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy

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Marleen van Dijsseldonk, 26 jaar Junior adviseur KPMG Advisory “Onderweg naar een opdracht bij een klant in #Barcelona. Weekendje shoppen eraan vastgeplakt met vriendin daar.”

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