This thesis delves into how the Catalan drought is depicted in regional and national newspapers, examining diverse perspectives and thematic emphases. A qualitative content analysis was conducted...Show moreThis thesis delves into how the Catalan drought is depicted in regional and national newspapers, examining diverse perspectives and thematic emphases. A qualitative content analysis was conducted on 30 articles from El Periódico de Catalunya and El País to identify key themes such as water usage restrictions, economic impacts, public health, and policy failings. The articles were systematically coded using Atlas.ti, employing an inductive approach to allow frames to emerge from the data. The study revealed significant disparities in how regional and national newspapers framed the issue. National newspapers focused on the broader socio-economic and public health impacts, portraying the drought as a severe national crisis necessitating urgent policy responses. Conversely, regional newspapers highlighted the immediate local impacts, such as specific economic losses in agriculture and tourism, and provided detailed accounts of water usage policy implementations. The research emphasises the crucial impact of media framing on shaping public discussion and government reactions to environmental challenges. The broader perspective offered by national media can influence national policy actions, while regional media can address local issues. This dual approach can lead to a more holistic strategy for managing drought. This study adds to academic conversations about media framing and environmental communication, highlighting the media's ability to shape public opinion and policy during environmental crises.Show less
Financial scarcity and one’s income have long been studied in relation to people’s financial risk-taking behaviors. In recent years, however, a more recent concept has been introduced in the field...Show moreFinancial scarcity and one’s income have long been studied in relation to people’s financial risk-taking behaviors. In recent years, however, a more recent concept has been introduced in the field of economic psychology research, perceived financial scarcity, which refers to one’s subjective perception of their own financial standing. Considering its novelty, perceived financial scarcity has not been the subject of much research, and its relation to risky behavior even less so. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between perceived financial scarcity and two dimensions of risk behavior, risk preference and risk tolerance, as well as observe the potential moderating effect of gender on these relationships. Using a sample of 100 participants recruited through an online platform, the results of our research indicated positive associations between risk preference and risk tolerance, in addition to a significant relationship between perceived financial scarcity and risk tolerance. Interestingly, no gender differences were found when testing risk preferences with perceived financial scarcity, while a significant effect of gender was uncovered for the association between perceived financial scarcity and risk tolerance. The results of the study can hopefully provide more clarity regarding the differences between risk preference and risk tolerance, in addition to providing more information that could break down harmful gender stereotypes.Show less
Financial scarcity and one’s income have long been studied in relation to people’s financial risk-taking behaviors. In recent years, however, a more recent concept has been introduced in the field...Show moreFinancial scarcity and one’s income have long been studied in relation to people’s financial risk-taking behaviors. In recent years, however, a more recent concept has been introduced in the field of economic psychology research, perceived financial scarcity, which refers to one’s subjective perception of their own financial standing. Considering its novelty, perceived financial scarcity has not been the subject of much research, and its relation to risky behavior even less so. The purpose of this study was to explore the associations between perceived financial scarcity and two dimensions of risk behavior, risk preference and risk tolerance, as well as observe the potential moderating effect of gender on these relationships. Using a sample of 100 participants recruited through an online platform, the results of our research indicated positive associations between risk preference and risk tolerance, in addition to a significant relationship between perceived financial scarcity and risk tolerance. Interestingly, no gender differences were found when testing risk preferences with perceived financial scarcity, while a significant effect of gender was uncovered for the association between perceived financial scarcity and risk tolerance. The results of the study can hopefully provide more clarity regarding the differences between risk preference and risk tolerance, in addition to providing more information that could break down harmful gender stereotypes.Show less
When it is presented as a strictly epistemological problem, both Kant and Nietzsche are critical of the possibility of self-knowledge. Kant, in his Anthropology, issues a warning for self...Show moreWhen it is presented as a strictly epistemological problem, both Kant and Nietzsche are critical of the possibility of self-knowledge. Kant, in his Anthropology, issues a warning for self-observation of unintentional or involuntary perceptions of our thoughts and feelings, because this leads to ‘enthusiasm’ and ‘madness’. This is because of different forms of self-deception and the fact that Kant holds that self-observation should be observation of voluntary mental representations. With this warning, I argue, the risk of self-observation becomes a problem of moral psychology. Nietzsche also offers a warning or atleast a stipulation of the fact that ‘digging into one’s self’ might lead to hurting ourselves. Instead, Nietzsche argues for self-observation through ‘the outside path’ of the world, which we can then relate back to ourselves. This enables us to be self-creating individuals. In this self-creation however there is still a risk of isolation, but Nietzsche takes this for granted. I compare both thinkers and what I have laid out about their views on the risk of self-observation. I argue that both thinkers recognize risks involved in self-observation, but for different reasons. I also offer a Nietzschean argument against the warning of Kant. Nietzsche would and does argue that not everything we think is voluntary and that philosophy in general is related to the morality we aim at. This also goes for Kant and the warning he issues in the Anthropology, which Nietzsche would argue springs from Kant’s universal morality.Show less
Research master thesis | Developmental Psychopathology in Education and Child Studies (research) (MSc)
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Affective empathy and emotion recognition deficits are hypothesized to underlie impaired social interaction in children exhibiting antisocial behaviour. However, few studies have examined the...Show moreAffective empathy and emotion recognition deficits are hypothesized to underlie impaired social interaction in children exhibiting antisocial behaviour. However, few studies have examined the possible emotion recognition deficits and affective empathy. This study compared facial affect recognition, vocal emotion recognition and affective empathy of children at risk for criminal behaviour to that of normally developing children. It was expected that children at risk of criminal behaviour had impaired emotion recognition and affective empathy, and that emotion recognition deficits and affective empathy were partially related to each other. The high-risk children were recruited through and intervention project connected to several municipalities in the Netherlands, focusing on the underage siblings or children of delinquents and those exhibiting antisocial and disruptive behaviour according to teachers. Facial and vocal recognition of happy, sad, angry and fearful emotions were respectively measured with the Facial Emotion Recognition (FER) test and the Prosody test of the Amsterdam Neuropsychological Tasks (ANT). Affective empathy was assessed by recording heart rate (HR) while showing video clips with neutral and emotional content (happiness, fear, pain and sadness). It was found that the high-risk group were less able to recognize fear and sadness in still-faces, and had an overall lower percentage corrected when recognizing emotions from voices, compared to healthy controls. The high-risk group also showed reduced HR to pain and fear, but this was not related to emotion recognition deficits. These findings suggest that children that engage in antisocial behaviour have impaired emotion recognition and reduced affective empathy, but that lack of empathy cannot solely be explained by a less ability to recognize emotions.Show less
