Astrid Dirikx

To frame is to explain: A deductive frame-analysis of Dutch and French climate change coverage during the annual UN Conferences of the Parties

This study examines the way Dutch and French newspapers frame climate change during the annual United Nations Conferences of the Parties. The methods used in previous studies on the framing of climate change do not allow for general cross-national comparisons. We conduct a quantitative deductive framing analysis on 257 quality Dutch and French newspaper articles between 2001 and 2007. Both countries’ newspapers seem to frame climate change through mainly the same lens. The majority of the articles make reference to the consequences of the (non-)pursuit of a certain course of action and of possible losses and gains (consequences frame). Additionally, many articles mention the need for urgent actions, refer to possible solutions and suggest that governments are responsible for and/or capable of alleviating climate change problems (responsibility frame). Finally, the conflict frame was found to be used less often than the aforementioned frames, but more regularly than the human interest frame.

Ideologies overruled? An explorative study of the link between ideology and climate change reporting in Dutch and French newspapers

This article studies the relationship between the ideology of newspapers and their climate change coverage. Previous research has focused on the British press (Carvalho, 2007; Carvalho & Burgess, 2005). Our research broadens this scope to the French and Dutch media. The results show that the ideology of newspapers in the Netherlands is not related to climate change coverage, while in France the ideology of newspapers is related to some key aspects of climate change coverage, i.e., the presentation of the necessity of actions against climate change and the tone of climate change coverage. The findings suggests that ideological cultures play a role in the coverage of climate change in countries in which global warming has brought about much discussion in the political field and that are characterized by a highly competitive media landscape which is historically related to the political field.

Police-youth relationships: A qualitative analysis of Flemish adolescents' attitudes toward the police

This article reports on focus group interview-based research conducted to improve knowledge of European adolescents’ Attitudes Toward the Police (ATP). The study explores Flemish Belgian youths’ perceptions of three main aspects of policing (performance, procedural justice and distributive justice) and how much importance they attach to those perceptions. The 106 13–19 year olds who participated in 12 focus group interviews proved to have nuanced and mature conceptions of police work. They stated that proclaiming a negative ATP is ‘part of the deal’ of being young rather than a reflection of negative perceptions of police functioning. This study shows the importance of complementing the largely survey-based research on adolescents’ ATP with qualitative research.