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Since 2015, refugee numbers in Europe have risen to an all-time high. Despite the desperate conditions of most refugees, many European countries have been reluctant to accept them. We investigate how refugees are received in five European countries (Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Turkey) and the perceptions of the general population on these refugees. Our data were collected through face-to-face interviews (N = 2,649) in Turkey and an online survey (N = 6,000) in Western Europe. Our findings indicate that positive socio-economic conditions are related to more positive attitudes at the country level, whereas a high number of refugees are related to more negative attitudes. On the individual level, we find that attitudes are shaped by economic class, religiosity, religious piety, and settlement conditionality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study constructs and tests the building of social capital and integration among Turkish minorities (n = 967) residing in three countries with different integration policy realities according to the Migrant Integration Policy Index for Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. Through online and offline surveys, the study examines the extent to which bridging and bonding social capital, the dominant language of media use, and the socio-demographic characteristics of respondents affect their degree of integration. The results show that the degree of integration increases with a sense of belonging to a faith, length of stay in Europe, exposure to European mainstream media, and through bridging with natives in the host society. Integration levels decrease, however, with the retention of Turkish citizenship. The degree of integration among the Turkish diaspora varies widely across the three countries under study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on social protest movements raises many complicated methodological issues. This article systematically explains the methodological quandaries the authors confronted when studying demonstrations and online and offline activism by ethnic Turks in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands in support of the Gezi Park protesters in Turkey. It explains how participants were recruited and surveyed in this complex and extremely sensitive environment. It offers lessons learned that can be applied to other studies involving surveys of ethnic minorities engaged in social protest movements. More generally, they may also apply to surveys of any vulnerable population about sensitive issues. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this research we focus on ethnic minorities, one of the underserved groups in Europe. In particular, we address the internet use of Turkish ethnic children, aged 9 to 16, in several EU countries. We examine the extent to which they can be considered digitally disadvantaged when compared to the majority population in those countries. We also compare Turkish children living in Turkey to those in the diaspora as well as to the majority children living in those same European countries. The data used for this analysis is part of the EU Kids Online research (www.eukidsonline.net). Of the three groups of teenagers examined, those in the Turkish diaspora take a position in between their native European peers, who are the most fervent surfers on the internet, and the Turkish children living in Turkey, who use the internet least often. Generally speaking that is also true for online competencies and online activities. As far as exposure to online risks is concerned, European majority children are more familiar than the two other groups with receiving sex-related images and messages and with face-to-face meetings with online contacts. By contrast, children in the Turkish diaspora are relatively more familiar with cyberbullying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated online and offline news consumption among Turkish (N = 539), Moroccan (N = 482) and Flemish (N = 753) youngsters between the ages of 12 and 19 as well as the motivations behind their news use. The potentially explanatory role of culture-specific and socio-demographic antecedents was examined. The results showed that news plays a more prominent role in Moroccan and Turkish youngsters' lives than in that of native Flemish youth. A striking finding was that Dutch television news is primarily looked at, particularly by the Moroccans, for its perceived credibility and for its function as a guide through the world. Flemish youngsters' most prevalent motives for news consumption on television are its intriguing content as well as the information it provides to talk about with peers and family members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]