Weather conditions and daily television use in the Netherlands, 1996–2005

This study examines the impact of daily atmospheric weather conditions on daily television use in the Netherlands for the period 1996–2005. The effects of the weather parameters are considered in the context of mood and mood management theory. It is proposed that inclement and uncomfortable weather conditions are associated with lower human mood, and that watching entertainment and avoiding informational programs may serve to repair such mood. We consequently hypothesize that people spend more time watching television if inclement and uncomfortable weather conditions (low temperatures, little sunshine, much precipitation, high wind velocity, less daylight) coincide with more airtime for entertainment programs, but that they view less if the same weather conditions coincide with more airtime devoted to information fare. We put this interaction thesis to a test using a time series analysis of daily television viewing data of the Dutch audience obtained from telemeters (T = 3,653), merged with meteorological weather station statistics and program broadcast figures, whilst controlling for a wide array of recurrent and one-time societal events. The results provide substantial support for the proposed interaction of program airtime and the weather parameters temperature and sunshine on aggregate television viewing time. Implications of the findings are discussed

Wikipedia page visits during the COVID-19 pandemic

Daily visits to Wikipedia articles about COVID-1

Een gekleurde blik op de wereld: Een studie naar de relatie tussen blootstelling aan media en opvattingen over etnische minderheden

Contains fulltext : 19140_geklblopd.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)161 p

Is the voter only a tweet away? Micro blogging during the 2009 European Parliament election campaign in the Netherlands

This study explores the use of Twitter by candidates, in particular their networking and micro-blogging activities in the election campaign for the European Parliament elections of 2009 in the Netherlands. The main focus is on identifying what political aspects (e.g. party characteristics and candidate characteristics) influences their use of Twitter as a campaign tool. Furthermore, we explore the effectiveness of candidates' activities on Twitter in gaining votes

Tijdsbesteding aan televisie in Europese landen: crossnationale vergelijkingen en verklaringen

Deze studie richt zich op de verklaring van de tijd die individuen in vijftien landen besteden aan televisiekijken op basis van persoonskenmerken. Ook crossnationale verschillen in het aantal zenders per land en de aard van het televisieaanbod worden aangemerkt als verklaring voor de tijd besteed aan televisie. Time spent on television in European countries: Cross-national comparisons and explanations Time spent on television is an important topic in communication science. This study aims to explain the variation in time spent on watching television in 15 countries, not merely with determinant defined at the individual level, but also with characteristics defined at the national level, such as the number of channels and nature of the television supply. The results of the multilevel analysis show that individual’s time devoted to obligatory activities across countries limits the time people spend on watching television. The number of channels in countries has no effect on time spent on television. However, the more diverse the program supply on national public broadcasting channels in different countries, the less time people spend on watching television. However, this relation decreases when more commercial channels are available to watch. This suggests that people, having commercial channels as alternatives, avoid a diverse program supply in favour of commercial program supply.