Mens & Maatschappij - Volume 95, Issue 2, 2020

Direct and indirect contact: how personal contact and contact through media affect attitudes towards different ethnic groups

The composition of Dutch society has altered drastically in the last decades. This expanding diversity in terms of culture and religion was accompanied by increased tension and prejudice amongst Dutch citizens. Although we already know a lot about the potential causes of anti-immigrant prejudice among adults, we know less about the processes among Dutch young adolescents (age 16-23). Young adolescents do not fear much direct economic competition yet, and they get much of the information about other cultures through (new) media. Based on contact theory we formulate assumptions with regard to direct (personal) contact as well as indirect contact (via media). In addition, we distinguish attitudes towards Turks and Moroccans from those towards Antilleans and Surinamese. We found that positive personal contact has a strong effect in enhancing positive attitudes for both groups and that social media are able to further enhance the effect of positive contact. Online news websites play the biggest role in decreasing positive attitudes. Finally, all effects showed to be stronger for attitudes towards Turks and Moroccans than towards Antilleans and Surinamese migrants.

The relevance of professional youth work for prevention

Professional youth work is one of the social work professions. Dutch municipalities need insight into the contribution of professional youth work to prevention and reduction of youth care. In this paper we analyze data collected between 2011-2015 on the functioning and results of four classic youth work methods: ‘Group work’, ‘Detached Youth Work’, ‘Information and Advice’ and ‘Counselling Services’. The studies were explorative and have been analyzed with descriptive statistics. We conclude that the contribution of professional youth work can be: (1) to form an alternative for a significant other and/or positive peer groups in the neighborhood; (2) to strengthen the self-awareness and forethought of young people; (3) to strengthen the societal and economic participation of young people; and (4) to target institutions. Effect-research is needed to determine the actual contribution.

Societal impact of personalized information delivery: Fact or fiction?

This article is about personalized information delivery in the Netherlands and is based on a review of empirical studies on this topic. The risk of echo chambers and filter bubbles is discussed and put in an international perspective. The focus is on the role government institutions, tech companies and scholars can play in this field. At present, the Dutch journalism landscape would still appear to be sufficiently diverse, delivering information that is accessed by different groups of citizens. But the precise effect of news personalization remains unclear and the growing power of tech companies also shows the need for more insights and better research methods. Without in-depth (data) knowledge, it is difficult to develop solution directions to prevent any problems that the personalization of news could entail.