In this case study, we want to gain insights into how residents of three municipalities communicate about the new murder scenario of the cold case of Marianne Vaatstra and the possibility of a large-scale DNA familial searching. We investigate how stakeholders shape their arguments in conversation with each other and with the police. We investigate the repertoires that participants use to achieve certain effects in their interactions with others in three focus groups. The results show that the analyzed repertoires are strong normative orientated. We see two aspects emerge that affect the support for large-scale DNA familial searching. These are: 1. Cautious formulations: respondents showed restraint in making personal judgments and often formulated these on behalf of others. Participants would not fully express themselves, but adjusted to what seemed the socially desirable course. 2. Collective identity: respondents focused on the similarities between themselves and the needs, interests, and goals of other participants. Participants also tried in a discursive way to convince each other to participate in the large-scale familial searching. These two major discursive activities offered the communication discipline guidance for interventions into the subsequent communication strategy.
MULTIFILE
Sports are activities enjoyed by many across the globe, regardless of age. The existence and promotion of youth sports has often been based on various assumptions about its value and role in society. Sports participation is assumed to be fun and good and is assumed to contribute to the development of young people. As a result, sports are often seen as an essential part of life for youth. Participation in sports and physical activity is assumed to help young people to develop in a context in which they are able to learn important positive societal values (Fraser-Thomas et al., 2005; Holt, 2008). Although there is a widespread belief in the positive dimensions of sports participation for young people, there is a need for research and theory that identifies and critically looks at the processes through which sports participation by youth is experienced and shapes their lives (Coakley, 2011). I return to this critical perspective after I elaborate on the ways sports are viewed as important effective activities for positive youth development.
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We review over 10 years of research at Elsevier and various Dutch academic institutions on establishing a new format for the scientific research article. Our work rests on two main theoretical principles: the concept of modular documents, consisting of content elements that can exist and be published independently and are linked by meaningful relations, and the use of semantic data standards allowing access to heterogeneous data. We discuss the application of these concepts in five different projects: a modular format for physics articles, an XML encyclopedia in pharmacology, a semantic data integration project, a modular format for computer science proceedings papers, and our current work on research articles in cell biology.
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