Dutch Citizens Research Articles

A Q methodology study on divergent perspectives on CRISPR-Cas9 in the Netherlands

BackgroundCRISPR-Cas9, a technology enabling modification of the human genome, is developing rapidly. There have been calls for public debate to discuss its ethics, societal implications, and governance. So far, however, little is known about public attitudes on CRISPR-Cas9. This study contributes to a better understanding of public perspectives by exploring the various holistic perspectives Dutch citizens have on CRISPR-Cas9.MethodsThis study used Q methodology to identify different perspectives of Dutch citizens (N = 30) on the use of CRISPR-Cas9. The Q-sort method aims at segmenting audiences based on the structural characteristics of their perspectives. Participants individually ranked 32 statements about CRISPR-Cas9 and discussed their rankings in small groups. By-person factor analysis was performed using PQMethod. Participants’ contributions to the discussions were used to further make sense of the audience segments identified.ResultsFive perspectives on CRISPR-Cas9 were identified: (1) pragmatic optimism (2) concerned scepticism; (3) normative optimism; (4) enthusiastic support; and (5) benevolent generalism. Each perspective represents a unique position motivated by different ranking rationales. Sorting rationales included improving health, preventing negative impacts on society, and fear of a slippery slope. Overall, there is broad, but not universal support for medical uses of CRISPR-Cas9.ConclusionsResearch on CRISPR-Cas9 should prioritise the broadly supported applications of the technology. Research and public debates on CRISPR-Cas9, its uses, its broader implications, and the governance of CRISPR-Cas9 are recommended. A discourse that includes all perspectives can contribute to the embedding of future uses of CRISPR-Cas9 in society. This study shows that Q methodology followed by group discussions enables citizens to contribute meaningfully to discourses about research.

Fragmented foes: Affective polarization in the multiparty context of the Netherlands

Affective polarization, or antipathy between the supporters of opposing political camps, is documented to be on the rise in the United States and elsewhere. At the same time, there are limits to our understanding of this phenomenon in multiparty contexts. How do citizens draw the line between 'ingroups' and 'outgroups' in fragmented contexts with multiple parties? Answering this question has been hampered by a relative lack of data on citizens' views towards compatriots with opposing political views outside the US. This study is based on original data collection, measuring citizens’ evaluations of various political and non-political outgroups among a population-representative sample of 1071 Dutch citizens. These data allow to study the extent and configuration of affective polarization in the highly fragmented context of the Netherlands. The analysis shows that respondents do distinguish between parties and partisans. They report more dislike towards political outgroups than towards almost all non-political outgroups. Rather than disliking all out-partisans equally, evaluations grow gradually colder as ideological distance towards a group increases. Affective polarization is especially strong between those who disagree on cultural issues, and between those who support and oppose the populist radical right. The article discusses how these findings enhance our understanding of affective polarization in multiparty systems.

Why do citizens (not) support democratic innovations? The role of instrumental motivations in support for participatory budgeting

Why do citizens (not) support democratic innovations? Existing research shows that citizens mostly support such new ways of involving citizens in policy-making for instrumental reasons: the more a democratic innovation leads to outcomes they favour, the more likely they are to express support for it. However, it remains ambiguous why citizens care so much about favourable outcomes. This study disentangles the effect of outcome favourability on support for democratic innovations by testing two mechanisms: self-interest and sociotropy. It relies on three survey experiments on Dutch citizens’ support for a local democratic innovation (participatory budgeting) ( N = 2,491). The results confirm that outcome favourability is important in explaining citizens’ support for participatory budgets (Study 1). We find evidence for both self-interest (Study 2) and sociotropy (Study 3) as drivers of the effect and present preliminary evidence that self-interest may trump sociotropy in citizens’ evaluations of democratic innovations.

The HSN and the Netherlands Indies: Challenge and Promise

In 2000 Kees Mandemakers and I started a project to trace the life courses of Dutch migrants to the Netherlands Indies. This article describes the process of data collection, the research questions and the project's main findings that have been published in various articles and a monograph. Two conclusions stand out: the first pertains to the heavily urban provenance of this migration and the second emphasizes the relatively educated and skilled background of colonial Dutch migration. This second finding contradicts earlier assumptions about the Dutch colonies as a place where undesirable elements were shovelled off. The current article further discusses findings of projects on Swiss and Luxembourger military migrations to the Netherlands Indies. An important difference between Dutch military migrants and those from other European countries regards the role of their service within a life course. While Dutch colonial military service was often the first step to make a career in colonial Indonesia, for Europeans from abroad it was rather a move of desperation as well as an attempt to earn some money that would enable them to start a business and a family in their country of birth. Their migration experience was rather a 'life cycle' migration. The article finally describes attempts to extend the HSN to the Dutch citizens born in the Netherlands Indies.

Categorisation. Classification. Confiscation. Dealing with enemy citizens in the Netherlands in the aftermath of World War II (1944-1967)

ABSTRACT Anticipating the end of the Second World War, the Dutch government in exile classed all civilians with German nationality as enemy citizens. Tens of thousands of German nationals who resided and worked in the Kingdom of the Netherlands were stripped of their assets, regardless of political allegiance or place of residence, and without any Dutch compensation. Some were arrested, imprisoned and expelled; others left of their own accord. Many appealed against their status as enemy citizens, in the hope of clearing their names and regaining their property. This article discusses the categorization and classification of German nationals as enemies of the state, and examines how politics of citizenship and nationality triggered policies of exclusion, but also informed policies of inclusion. Whilst German nationality determined a civilian’s enmity, a seemingly homogeneous Dutch national identity constituted the criteria for so-called ‘de-enemization’ (ontvijanding). German nationals were judged on their wartime and post-war behaviour, and had to prove that they behaved like ‘good Dutch citizens’. In addition, ethnicity, class and gender were used as parameters to judge civilians classed as German nationals. As the case studies in this article illustrate, thousands of civilians categorized by the Dutch government as German citizens were unjustly affected by the status of their (former) German citizenship.

Verschuivingen in informatievoorziening tijdens Covid-19

Combatting the coronavirus politicians and policy makers have to continuously make a trade-off between public health and democratic rights. How do citizens’ attitudes towards democracy develop in a pandemic? In this study we test whether changes in the information environment affect citizens’ trust in the local and national government. Moreover, we study whether changes in the information environment are associated with the perceptions about the extent to which democratic processes are under pressure. We address these questions using a five wave panel study in the Netherlands conducted between April and September 2020. We find that during this period media use and political trust decreased. Moreover, Dutch citizens are worried about the effects of the corona crisis on local and national democracy. When it comes to the effects of media use on political trust and attitudes towards democracy, we find that media use has a limited effect on attitudes towards democracy. If anything, consuming news via the public broadcaster has a positive effect on political trust. To conclude, our study provides descriptive evidence about the development of attitudes towards democracy in the Netherlands during a major public health crisis. Dutch citizens are worried about democracy but media play a limited role in amplifying or reducing these worries.

Distance Education for Dutch Citizens Detained Abroad: A Mixed-Methods Case Study of the Foundation ‘Education behind Foreign Bars’

Foreign national prisoners have less educational opportunities than national prisoners. Therefore, the Dutch foundation ‘Education behind Foreign Bars’ (Eabt) provides distance education to Dutch nationals detained abroad. A mixed-methods case study is carried out to gain insight into the perspective of professionals and volunteers who are involved with Eabt and of the students taking a course from Eabt. This study consists of individual interviews with volunteers and professionals and pre- and post-surveys among students. The qualitative results show that following a course from Eabt happens in three steps: (1) Informing, (2) applying for the course, and (3) starting with the course, doing homework, and being assessed. During the course, students receive motivational and content-related support from the Netherlands and, depending on the local prison context, also from the detaining country. The professionals and volunteers identify various success factors and challenges of Eabt. The quantitative results demonstrate that students are primarily motivated to participate by their wish to acquire knowledge and skills and to prepare for life after detention. The students are satisfied about the support received and they seem to have more confidence in the future due to the course. Overall, Eabt is highly valued by both students, professionals, and volunteers.

The Psychological and Financial Impact of Cybercrime Victimization: A Novel Application of the Shattered Assumptions Theory

While criminality is digitizing, a theory-based understanding of the impact of cybercrime on victims is lacking. Therefore, this study addresses the psychological and financial impact of cybercrime on victims, applying the shattered assumptions theory (SAT) to predict that impact. A secondary analysis was performed on a representative data set of Dutch citizens ( N = 33,702), exploring the psychological and financial impact for different groups of cybercrime victims. The results showed a higher negative impact on emotional well-being for victims of person-centered cybercrime, victims for whom the offender was an acquaintance, and victims whose financial loss was not compensated and a lower negative impact on emotional well-being for victims with a higher income. The study led to novel scientific insights and showed the applicability of the SAT for developing hypotheses about cybercrime victimization impact. In this study, most hypotheses had to be rejected, leading to the conclusion that more work has to be done to test the applicability of the SAT in the field of cybercrime. Furthermore, policy implications were identified considering the prioritization of and approach to specific cybercrimes, treatment of victims, and financial loss compensation.

Marketing Strategy to Increase Sweembath Bathrooms Village, Soppa, Bandar Huluan District, Simalungun District

The Sweembath Tour of Naga Soppa Village has long been known by tourists, both the local community and tourists who come from Medan, Asahan, Labuhan Batu and Samosir. The Sweembath Bathing Site in Naga Sopa Village, Bandar Huluan District, Simalungun Regency has an attraction where the water comes from natural springs, water clarity and natural beauty which was once a place for recreation or bathing for Dutch citizens during the colonial era. However, in its development, the Sweembath Tour of Naga Soppa Village experienced ups and downs. Therefore, it is necessary to plan a marketing strategy to increase tourism visits to the Sweembath Naga Soppa Village baths. The marketing strategy that can be done through a marketing mix strategy. The Marketing Mix Strategy consists of product, price, promotion and distribution strategies which in its application is expected to increase the desired response from the target market so that it will determine the success of marketing. This marketing mix uses the 4Ps, namely: Product is something that can be offered to the market in the form of physical goods or services. Price is an amount of money spent by consumers to buy the products or services offered. Place is a distribution channel for selected products and services to be delivered to customers and consumers. while Promotion is an activity from producers to introduce products or services produced to consumers

The Hoge Raad judgment of 20 December 2019 in the Urgenda case: an overcautious policy for reducing GHG emissions breaches Articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights

The judgment of the Hoge Raad (hereafter HR) given on 20 December 2019 in the Urgenda case upheld the Court of Appeal judgment of 9 October 2018 ruling on a collective interest action brought by the Urgenda Foundation on behalf of 886 Dutch citizens objecting to the inadequacy of measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Netherlands. The HR largely endorsed the particularly detailed advisory opinions delivered on 13 September 2019 by Procurator General F.F. Langemeijer and Advocate General M.H. Wissink. The HR judgment is of particular interest in view of the personal, temporal and substantive scope of Articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (hereafter ECHR). In recent years there has been an increasing debate on the link between climate change and positive obligations of a preventive nature that are incumbent upon States under human rights law. In the landmark Urgenda case, the HR held that, given the severity of the impact of climate change, the Dutch State is subject to a duty of care in accordance with Articles 2 (right to life) and 8 (right to privacy and family life) ECHR, which have direct effect, and is required to adopt mitigating measures. These measures must involve a 25% reduction of GHG emissions by the end of 2020, instead of the government's projected reduction of 20%. This target is deemed to be necessary so as to limit the concentration of GHG in the atmosphere to 450 ppm in order to prevent the dangerous climate change that would be associated with any temperature rise in excess of 2°C.

Internet-of-Things Skills Among the General Population: Task-Based Performance Test Using Activity Trackers.

BackgroundThe health internet-of-things (IoT) can potentially provide insights into the present health condition, potential pitfalls, and support of a healthier lifestyle. However, to enjoy these benefits, people need skills to use the IoT. These IoT skills are expected to differ across the general population, thereby causing a new digital divide.ObjectiveThis study aims to assess whether a sample of the general Dutch population can use health IoT by focusing on data and strategic IoT skills. Furthermore, we determine the role of gender, age, and education, and traditional internet skills.MethodsFrom April 1, 2019, to December 12, 2019, 100 individuals participated in this study. Participants were recruited via digital flyers and door-to-door canvassing. A selective quota sample was divided into equal subsamples of gender, age, and education. Additional inclusion criteria were smartphone possession and no previous experience of using activity trackers. This study was conducted in 3 waves over a period of 2 weeks. In wave 1, a questionnaire was administered to measure the operational, mobile, and information internet skills of the participants, and the participants were introduced to the activity tracker. After 1 week of getting acquainted with the activity tracker, a task-based performance test was conducted in wave 2 to measure the levels of data IoT skills and the strategic IoT skill component—action plan construction. A week after the participants were asked to use the activity tracker more deliberately, a performance test was then conducted in wave 3 to measure the level of the strategic IoT skill component—action plan execution.ResultsThe participants successfully completed 54% (13.5/25) of the data IoT skill tasks. Regarding strategic IoT tasks, the completion rates were 56% (10.1/18) for action plan construction and 43% (3.9/9) for action plan execution. None of the participants were able to complete all the data IoT skill tasks, and none of the participants were able to complete all the strategic IoT skill tasks regarding action plan construction or its execution. Age and education were important determinants of the IoT skill levels of the participants, except for the ability to execute an action plan strategically. Furthermore, the level of information internet skills of the participants contributed to their level of data IoT skills.ConclusionsThis study found that data and strategic IoT skills of Dutch citizens are underdeveloped with regard to health purposes. In particular, those who could benefit the most from health IoT were those who had the most trouble using it, that is, the older and lower-educated individuals.

Integrating Individual Behavior Dimension in Social Life Cycle Assessment in an Energy Transition Context

Energy transition is a result of mankind’s reaction to climate change and individuals are expected to have a crucial role in achieving it in developed countries. The purpose of this study is to apply the social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) tool and investigate the social performance of the Dutch energy transition while focusing on individual behavior, and if this is not possible, to develop indicators focusing on individual behavior dimension. The social performance of the energy transition in the Netherlands was assessed on a hotspot level. Additionally, the S-LCA guidelines were examined to identify the human dimension and behavior in the existing subcategories, and environmental psychology literature was explored to identify drivers and behavior that are important for the energy transition. Existing subcategories fail to show the extent of social progress of the Dutch energy transition nor how individuals perceive it. As a result, a total of 8 subcategories and 25 indicators at a hotspot and site-specific levels are developed. These subcategories and indicators focus on prosumer’s and individual’s behaviors, and traits of local communities. Application of the developed hotspot indicators shows that the Dutch government still subsidies fossil energy and, even though Dutch citizens show environmental concerns, the energy transition is delayed due to insufficient top-down coordination. Developed indicators are considered to be both feasible and relevant to investigate the social aspects of the energy transition in developed countries.

Mobile data donations: Assessing self-report accuracy and sample biases with the iOS Screen Time function

With digital communication increasingly shifting to mobile devices, communication research needs to explore ways to retrieve, process, and analyze digital trace data on people’s most personal devices. This study presents a new methodological approach, mobile data donations, in which smartphone usage data is collected unobtrusively with the help of mobile log data. The iOS Screen Time function is used as a test case for gathering log data with the help of screenshots. The study investigates the feasibility of the method, sample biases, and accuracy of smartphone usage self-reports on a general population sample of Dutch citizens ( n=404). Importantly, it explores how mobile data donations can be used as add-ons or substitutes for conventional media exposure measures. Results indicate that (a) users’ privacy concerns and technical skills are crucial factors for the willingness to donate mobile log data and (b) there is a strong tendency for underreporting of smartphone usage duration and frequency.

Prevalence and characteristics of older adults with a persistent death wish without severe illness: a large cross-sectional survey

BackgroundSome older persons develop a persistent death wish without being severely ill, often referred to as “completed life” or “tiredness of life”. In the Netherlands and Belgium, the question whether these persons should have legal options for euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide (EAS) is intensely debated. Our main aim was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of older adults with a persistent death wish without severe illness, as the lack of this knowledge is a crucial problem in de debate.MethodsWe conducted a survey among a representative sample of 32,477 Dutch citizens aged 55+, comprising questions about health, existential issues and the nature of the death wish. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the group with a persistent death wish and no severe illness (PDW-NSI) and several subgroups.ResultsA total of 21,294 respondents completed the questionnaire (response rate 65.6%). We identified 267 respondents (1.25%) as having a persistent death wish and no severe illness (PDW-NSI). PDW-NSI did not only occur among the oldest old. Although qualifying themselves as “not severely ill”, those with PDW-NSI reported considerable health problems. A substantial minority of the PDW-NSI-group reported having had a death wish their whole lives. Within the group PDW-NSI 155 (0.73%) respondents had an active death wish, of which 36 (0.17% of the total response) reported a wish to actually end their lives. Thus, a death wish did not always equal a wish to actually end one’s life. Moreover, the death wishes were often ambiguous. For example, almost half of the PDW-NSI-group (49.1%) indicated finding life worthwhile at this moment.ConclusionsThe identified characteristics challenge the dominant “completed life” or “tiredness of life” image of healthy persons over the age of 75 who, overseeing their lives, reasonably decide they would prefer to die. The results also show that death wishes without severe illness are often ambiguous and do not necessarily signify a wish to end one’s life. It is of great importance to acknowledge these nuances and variety in the debate and in clinical practice, to be able to adequately recognize the persons involved and tailor to their needs.

Introduction to the Tafel v-bis Dataset: Death Duty Summary Information for The Netherlands, 1921

Abstract This article introduces a newly constructed dataset (i.e. the Tafel v-bis Dataset) containing summary information for all Dutch citizens who died in 1921 and were subject to inheritance taxation. This dataset provides personal and socio-economic information on 24,263 individuals, including their total wealth, age, profession, residence and marital status at their time of death. Consequently, this dataset can be useful for researchers stemming from various academic disciplines. The article first discusses the range of possible uses of the dataset. Then the authors explain how they constructed the dataset and provide the necessary criticism regarding the underlying source material. The dataset is available via the Utrecht University data platform, yoda.

Maintaining Compliance when the Virus Returns: Understanding Adherence to Social Distancing Measures in the Netherlands in July 2020

After its relative lenient, “intelligent lockdown” approach to the COVID-19 coronavirus, the Netherlands has continued its singular trajectory in combating the pandemic. The month of July introduced further relaxations to prior mitigation measures, but also saw a resurgence of infections. This working paper examines how these developments are reflected in Dutch citizens’ compliance with safe-distance measures during this period. Building on our previous surveys during the months of May and June, we report the findings of two additional survey waves collected in early (7-10) and late (21-23) July among nationally representative samples (N = 1064 and N = 1023, respectively). The results show that the decline in compliance that was observed from May to June seems to have halted. At the same time, important predictors of compliance – such as citizens’ capacity to comply, perceptions of the threat of the virus, and support for mitigation measures – have ceased to decrease, or are increasing. Taken together, these findings suggest that Dutch citizens’ compliance with mitigation measures may be on the rise again. However, our findings also suggest that social norms for compliance continue to be eroding, which may continue to dampen citizens’ tendency to comply.

Compliance in the 1.5 Meter Society: Longitudinal Analysis of Citizens’ Adherence to COVID-19 Mitigation Measures in a Representative Sample in the Netherlands in Early April, Early May, and Late May

In the month of May, the Netherlands moved out of the “intelligent lockdown”, and into the “1.5 meter society”, which aims to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic by means of safe-distance measures. This paper assesses how Dutch citizens have complied with these social distancing measures. It analyses data from two surveys conducted in May (between 8-14 and between 22-26) among nationally representative samples (N = 984 and N = 1021). We find that a combination of factors explains social distancing compliance. On the one hand we see that people are more likely to comply if they have an intrinsic motivation to do so, when they have the capacity to comply, when they have good impulse control, when they think compliance is normal, and when they see a general duty to obey rules generally. The paper also assesses how compliance has changed over time, assessing changes in May as well as how these are different from compliance with lockdown measures in April. During this period, there has been a gradual decline in compliance that coincides with a decline in intrinsic motivations and capacity for compliance, and there has been an increase in opportunities to violate the measures. The paper assesses what these changes may mean for current and future success of COVID-19 mitigation measures.

Polish Intelligence in the Netherlands and Dutch Counter-Intelligence, 1947-1962

ABSTRACT The article examines the origins, main goals and clandestine operations conducted by Polish Intelligence Services in The Netherlands between 1947 and 1962, as well as Dutch counter-intelligence measures in order to thwart Polish espionage. By using declassified intelligence documents from Polish and Dutch archives, we stipulate that the intelligence operations of Polish civilian and military intelligence stations in The Hague were seriously hampered by the coherent and systematic counter-intelligence operations conducted by Dutch services. Accounts from Polish and Dutch archives indicate that Polish intelligence personnel working undercover as diplomats were quickly identified and put under constant surveillance. Moreover, Polish HUMINT operations aimed at recruiting Dutch citizens were surprisingly unsuccessful.

KEPRIBADIAN DAN AKTUALISASI DIRI TOKOH UTAMA DALAM KUMPULAN CERPEN SEMUA UNTUK HINDIA KARYA IKSAKA BANU (KAJIAN PSIKOLOGI SASTRA)

His research was conducted with the aim to describe the personality and self-actualization of the main character in a collection of short stories all for Hindi iksaka banu (study) literary psychology. The data was collected using the reading method and recorded through qualitative research. Research findings show that. (1) The main figure of Dutch nationality who has a different personality from the Dutch in general towards the indigenous people (2) The conflict that was felt by the main character mostly started from a clash of principles with fellow Dutch citizens (3) The main character had great attention to the interests and goodness indigenous

The Criminal Case Processing of Foreign Nationals in the Netherlands

Abstract Foreign nationals are increasingly encountering the criminal justice institutions of many European countries. Yet, basic questions about how they are punished within these institutions, particularly at the early stages of case processing, remain unanswered. This article combines linked case information from arrest through sentencing with interviews of Dutch judges and prosecutors to fill this gap. Our findings reveal considerable unexplained citizenship disparities in multiple case outcomes. Compared to Dutch citizens arrested for the same crimes and with similar criminal records, foreign nationals are more likely to have their cases referred to court, to be detained, convicted, and imprisoned. The interviews identified several mechanisms that explicate these differences, including (i) annoyance when foreign nationals are perceived to be in the country for the purpose of committing crime; (ii) logistical issues when noncitizens do not have a permanent residence, and; (iii) undermining the need for reintegration because many defendants are unlikely to remain in the Netherlands.