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A study of the relation between the nature of municipal elections in Belgium & the degree of Ur'ization of municipalities. 5 categories of electoral patterns are discerned: elections without competition; totally local; predominantly local; mixed; predominantly nat'l. Operationalizations of Ur'ization in Belgium from previous res are used. A positive r is found between growing Ur'ization & a shift from local to predominantly nat'l electoral pattern. This does not mean that the predominantly nat'l electoral pattern is found exclusively in the highest category of Ur'ization, nor that the exclusively local electoral figure & elections without competition occur only in Ru regions. But it is a fact that the gravity center of the more nat'l electoral patterns lies in the Ur'ized municipalities & towns, whereas the gravity center of local electoral patterns lies in Ru municipalities. Findings support the hyp of the "tenuous zone," formulated by S. Groenman (see SA A1165). 2 Graphs, 1 Table. Modified HA.

The recent success of ethnolinguistic politics is considered to be the outcome of friction between the existing pattern of political integration & a set of relatively new SE conditions. The development of the latter is part of what may be implied in the phrase "postindustrial society." The Belgian pattern of political integration is characterized by very low levels of differentiation between the parties, the administration, & the voluntary organizations. It implies a mode of political participation in which the recent developments in the organization of labor, expansion of the tertiary sector, geographical mobility, & urbanization lead to political marginality for the groups concerned. This marginality expresses itself in support for ethnolinguism, which serves as an alternative route to political integration. This theory is evaluated on the basis of an ecological analysis of the success of an ethnolinguistic party (the front democratique des francophones [Democratic Francophone Front]) in the 1970 & 1976 communal elections. 2 Tables. Modified HA.

Political scientists often see differences among citizens in the level of their political knowledge as an explanatory variable of their political behavior. To determine whether political interest is a motivating factor in obtaining political knowledge via the media, questionnaire data obtained in 1975 from 1,977 respondents ages 16-74 in the Netherlands were analyzed. It was expected that a high level of political knowledge would lead to a better perception of political advantage & profit. Surprisingly, the results showed that political knowledge was obtained from other channels besides the media, & that the perception of political advantage & profit did not account for the level of knowledge. The way in which the concept of political knowledge is measured deserves closer scrutiny by political scientists. 4 Tables, 4 Figures, 25 References. Adapted from the source document.

The question is explored whether municipal elections can be compared to nat'l parliamentary elections, & shifts in party-choice in Belgium in the municipal elections of 1964 & the parliamentary elections of 1965 are compared. The methodology of this study is described. Shifts of the electoral bodies in the Flemish, the Walloon & the Brussels cantons (counties) were controlled individually. These shifts were then specified according to the canton's degree of Ur'ization. It appeared that some notable party-shifts had been realized during the short period between the municipal elections of 1964 & the legislative elections of 1965. In general, a certain polarization took place, due to a centrifugal vote shift to the left. The direction of vote shifts in the municipal elections of 1964 was affirmed at the legislative elections of 1965, & was accentuated from some parties, eg, the CVP & the PVV. The size & pattern of these shifts was not the same everywhere; it differed according to linguistic region & degree of Ur'ization. The level of oscillations grew higher as the degree of Ur'ization decreased. The largest shifts took place in the Walloon cantons. The lowest oscillations were noted in the Flemish & Brussels cantons; ie, the voting behavior of the big agglomerations during the municipal elections of 1964 were the closest to the nat'l electoral pattern. It is noted that the limitations of the study do not allow generalization of conclusions. The short period between the 2 elections compared was itself an exceptional situation which may have influenced the results. 7 Tables. Modified HA.

The author introduces the article by describing why the term Jihad-terrorism shouldn't be used (it's not an ideology, but a method; the term hammers on an intrinsic link between Islam and violence). The Belgian international attitude stresses that a wrong perception within European policy will actually lead to an anti-Western radicalization, and that terminology is part of that. The article continues with four EU anti-terror strategies: proactive: prevention and protection; reactive: prosecution and response. Regarding suppression of radicalization and recruitment, three factors are mentioned: facilitating factors within a globalized world (travel and communication, money operations, internet availability); an anti-western enemy perception; structural environmental factors, the so-called root causes (social circumstances, democratic imperfection, modernization badly directed, economic and political perspectives, unsolved conflicts, lack of education). Two additional principles for Belgium: 1) fundamental rights and freedoms; 2) suppression of Jihad-terrorism in cooperation with Muslim countries. References. O. van Zijl

This paper deals with the electoral & political consequences of urban region formation. The electoral geography of new political parties differs substantially from that of traditional ones. New parties are mainly successful in different parts of urban regions. The declining traditional parties have rather a regional pattern, although some of them show new spatial patterns too. These developments are interpreted in the context of the cleavage theory, in which old & new cleavages are linked with a different spatiality. Following the Anglo-Saxon literature an increasing process of polarisation is hypothesised between the welfare state orientated city & a neo-conservative & neo-liberal suburban fringe. This article examines & proofs the existence of these processes in the urban region of Brussels by means of individual-level & ecological electoral data. Figures. Adapted from the source document.

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This contribution is a reply on the article 'De waarde van kwalitatieve strategieën voor het praktijkgericht onderzoek', written by Piet J.M. Verschuren. Using the concepts of framing, indolence, dialogue and polyphonic causality Kuiper and Houweling aim at enriching the discourse of causality perceptions in qualitative research presented by Verschuren.

Analysis of the results of three municipal district council elections in May 1984 in Rotterdam (Netherlands) reveals that the unemployed vote considerably less frequently than do the employed, a finding supported by past research. Examination of intervening variables reveals that unemployment most notably affects the f of voting for autochthonous voters of Dutch origin, particularly those with only primary school education; age has no significant influence. Unemployed persons who do vote show a deviant voting pattern in that they support the Dutch social-democratic party (PvdA) more than does the average voter. Though results provide a social-psychological picture of the average unemployed, the influence of politics & the political culture have not been investigated. Further research is suggested on the political involvement of the unemployed. 13 Tables, 1 Figure. Modified HA

In this article we explained the differential electoral appeal of the extreme right in the municipalities of Antwerp. The electoral geography of the Vlaams Blok demonstrated that the further one lives from the city of Antwerp, the less likely one is to vote for the extreme right. This phenomenon was explained trough a specific urbanization pattern & the so called contamination hypothesis. We also found that the presence of migrants & the unemployment rate had a significant correlation with the score of the VB. This helped to understand why some municipalities were characterized by a long distance from the city & yet a high score for the VB. The supply side of the VB was also analyzed. This revealed that the proportion of preferential votes for the VB correlated highly with the electoral score of the VB in the municipalities of Antwerp. Tables, Figures, Appendixes. Adapted from the source document.

The framing of a message can affect the way people think about an issue, and the framing of attitude questions influences the opinions expressed. Current research investigated political emphasis framing in the context of Voting Advice Applications. In an online survey regarding the European Elections (2019), a conservative vs. progressive frame was manipulated across 15 questions. As the original VAA did not include introductory texts to the questions, a control condition without introduction texts was also added. Participants (N = 106) were randomly assigned to one of these three conditions. Results show that there is an effect for conservative introductions to elicit answers reflecting more progressive attitudes, but only for the group of respondents with conservative voting positions (PTV). This pattern could not be explained by political sophistication: higher political sophistication is related to a main effect of more progressive answering behaviour, but does not explain the framing effect for conservative frames in the conservative group.

In dit omvangrijke en ambitieuze boek proberen de auteurs de lezers in 440 pagina's inclusief een cd-rom uit de doeken te doen hoe een interactieve kwalitatieve analyse uitgevoerd kan (en moet) worden, met als resultaat een zogenaamd 'System Influence Diagram' (SID). Een SID is een representatie van de werkelijkheid of zoals de auteurs omschrijven: 'The SID is a visual representation of the "theory in perception", grounded in the specific experiences and logic of the participants' (pagina 48).

From data panic to Moroccan panic: A qualitative analysis of large data collections using codes, code groups and networks in Atlas.ti
Large qualitative data collections can cause 'data panic' among qualitative researchers when reaching the stage of analysis. They often find it difficult to get a grip on such large data sets and to find a method of analysis that is both systematic and pragmatic and that can help them with this. In this article, I describe how I used a deductive and inductive method of analysis to get a grip on a large qualitative data collection (consisting of different formats) and how qualitative data analysis software facilitated this. This data reduction method consists of three stages: (1) deductive and inductive coding in Atlas.ti; (2) pattern coding in code groups and networks in Atlas.ti; and (3) reporting on the findings by transforming the networks into written text. This method is useful for researchers from all disciplines who want to analyze large qualitative data collections systematically, but at the same time do not want to drown in rigid methodological protocols that neutralize the creativity, reflexivity and flexibility of the researcher.

Institutional issues to likely be dealt with in an early 2000 Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) for all members of the EU are identified & discussed, arguing that the rationalization of current agreements & a focus on institutional functioning & legitimacy would be more desirable than attempting to draft a European Constitution or largely symbolical catalogues of constitutional EU rights & competences. To accomplish better institutional functioning after a year in which the entire committee was suddenly fired, (1) organizational efficiency, (2) institutional openness, & (3) the perception of democracy -- through an increased sense of proximity to residents, better representation of voters' choices in the EU institutions, & increased accountability of individuals & member states -- are deemed essential. S. Paul