Analysis of the public perception and acceptance of gene-editing technology and gene-edited agricultural products in South Korea

Individuals may experience positive changes or gain growths after struggling with traumas or challenging circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess potential levels of posttraumatic growth (PTG) of the general public during the COVID-19 pandemic and PTG's associations with perceptions of transformational leadership in local government and public trust. The data of a probability sample of 1011 community-dwelling adults (61.2% females; Mean age = 41.2 years, SD = 15.8) in Macao, China, were collected via a telephone poll survey. Multiple regression analyses were conducted and a bootstrapping approach was utilized to test the hypothesized moderating effects and mediating effects of trust in local government on the association between perceived transformational leadership and PTG, respectively. Results showed that about half of the respondents reported at least a medium level of PTG. Whereas perceived transformational leadership in the Macao local government was positively associated with four individual aspects of PTG (i.e., appreciation of life, new possibilities, personal strength, and relating to others) as well as the overall PTG, while controlling for the demographic variables, trust in the local government showed no moderating or mediating effects in these associations. Our findings suggest the value of governments’ transformational leadership in promoting people's PTG in the face of public crises such as COVID-19. More transformational leadership behaviors, such as attending to citizens’ personal needs and conveying an inspirational vision, in government are called for to bring about greater positive responses from individuals and ensure social vitality and resilience during this long-term public health battle.

This study investigates the determinants of community preparedness for volcanic eruptions in Batangas ‎using an integrated Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) framework. Employing a mixed-methods design, the ‎research combined a structured survey and focus group discussions to assess the roles of hazard knowledge, media ‎reliance, risk perception, subjective norm, attitude, and perceived behavioral control among residents, barangay ‎officials, and disaster risk reduction officers. Stratified sampling ensured representation across high-risk and ‎vulnerable groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, SEM, and thematic analysis. Results revealed ‎that subjective norm (β = 0.59), perceived risk proximity (β = 0.63), and media reliance (β = 0.57) were the strongest ‎predictors of preparedness, while hazard knowledge alone was insufficient to drive action without supportive ‎community structures and resources. Notably, preparedness levels were higher among residents with strong social ‎networks and frequent engagement with official risk communication channels. However, gaps in resource access ‎and persistent misinformation on social media hindered effective preparedness, particularly among marginalized ‎groups. The study proposes a multi-channel, community-driven disaster risk reduction framework and the ‎development of the "Bantay Bulkan Para sa Mamamayan" toolkit to enhance capacity-building, information ‎verification, and inclusive preparedness strategies.

Mass shootings, COVID-19, political partisanship, and natural disasters have made government leadership more challenging and more complex. Unfortunately, the government's current leadership development approaches have been under resourced, ineffective, not comprehensive, and not fully infused with the concept of the public stewardship and public trust. This paper explores an understanding of leadership and its application to government through an exploration of leadership models from emerging research and the literature. The value of this approach is to take a plethora of dispersed complex models and combine them in a context suitable for a smart, needed, and relevant discussion.

The term digital divide entered our vocabulary in the mid-1990s as a response to the large gaps in computer access and use among people. Recently there have been mixed reports on the status of this gap, the pace at which it is closing, and the shape of spur dreams for technology as an equalizing force. Clearly the measures used to make the original diagnosis for the problem are showing healthy signs of improvement. But as technology has advanced, so have our expectations of quality, access, and utility. Because what we measure will often define what we seek to accomplish, it is important to reexamine our notions of this so-called divide. This chapter seeks to address the data behind the reports that might suggest that our measures of the digital differences we've labeled a divide should also be reconsidered. For more than a decade now, governmental leaders from across our political spectrum have been holding out the hope that technology would one day be the great equalizer. Especially in education, there have been extensive initiatives to facilitate the spread of technology and connectivity in schools. The goal is to take advantage of the Internet content explosion in the hope of providing high-quality education to all children. In the midst of all this progress, however, there has been the concomitant fear captured by the alarming phrase “the digital divide,” The term digital divide entered our vocabulary in the mid-1990s as a response to the large gaps in computer access and use among people. In common use, the term implies that there are individuals on the “wrong side” of the digital divide who have limited access to information (and thus education) and that merely providing access will serve to close the divide and provide equal educational access to all individuals in our society. The emphasis of a myriad of government programs has been to close the gap created by the digital divide by providing more computers and Internet connections. Recently there have been mixed reports on the status of this gap, the pace at which it is closing, and the shape of our dreams for technology as an equalizing force. Technology as an equalizing force is not a new concept. So often, when a new technological breakthrough occurs, it immediately has been embraced as a mechanism for the improvement of the educational and social system. In 1922, Thomas Edison proclaimed that “the motion picture is destined to revolutionize our educational system and that in a few years it will supplant largely, if not entirely, the use of textbooks” (as cited in Cuban, 1986, p. 9). When radio became a reality, Benjamin Darrow (1932), founder and first director of the Ohio School of the Air and a tireless promoter of radio in the classroom, proclaimed, “The central and dominant aim of education by radio is to bring the world to the classroom, to make universally available the services of the finest teachers, the inspiration of the greatest leaders... and unfolding world events which through the radio may come as a vibrant and challenging textbook of the air” (cited in Cuban, 1986, p. 19). Despite the enthusiasm surrounding revolutionary technologies, they never seem to reach their potential. The Radio Division of the U.S. Department of Commerce began licensing commercial and educational stations beginning in 1920. State departments of education sponsored radio use and by 1932 nine states were providing regular broadcasts of either weekly or monthly programs. In 1943, a 6-year study sponsored by the Federal Communications Commission concluded, “radio has not been accepted as a full-fledged member of the educational family” (Woelfel & Tyler, 1945, cited in Cuban, 1986, p. 24). Problems with federal regulations, commercial development of the airwaves, and the obstacles teachers faced in accessing and utilizing the technology in the classroom prevented widespread use of radio as an educational tool. The radio never became die “textbooks of the air,” apparently due to many of the same challenges that create the barriers to technology as the great equalizer today.

This study aims to analyze the tension between legal autonomy and political dependency in shaping prosecutorial power and its effectiveness in corruption investigations. This study employs a narrative review method using descriptive analysis, drawing from peer-reviewed academic literature, international legal reports, and comparative case studies published between 2020 and 2025. The material covers various jurisdictions to examine structural differences in prosecutorial independence, appointment mechanisms, oversight structures, and political interference. Sources include theoretical discussions, legal analyses, and empirical findings that reflect global variations in the prosecution of corruption cases. The review finds that prosecutorial autonomy is a critical factor in the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts. Countries with strong legal and institutional safeguards—such as transparent appointments, fixed terms, and operational independence—exhibit higher rates of successful prosecutions and greater public trust. In contrast, jurisdictions with high political dependency demonstrate selective justice, delayed investigations, and diminished institutional credibility. The chilling effect of political pressure on prosecutorial discretion is a recurring theme, particularly in systems with weak legal protections. Public trust, media oversight, and international monitoring mechanisms serve as important buffers against political interference but vary in effectiveness depending on local contexts. Prosecutorial independence is essential for maintaining the integrity of anti-corruption enforcement. Effective reform requires balancing legal autonomy with institutional accountability, adapting oversight frameworks to national contexts, and reinforcing public trust in legal institutions. Long-term success depends on the resilience of both legal frameworks and democratic norms.

This paper attempts to examine Ghana's quest to use ICT as a tool to enhance transparency and build public trust in government. The questions the paper attempts to answer are: what are the main challenges confronting the government's e-governance initiative as a tool to ensure transparency and citizens' trust in the public sector? What steps are being taken to address these challenges? We argue that while Ghana seems to have made remarkable progress in this endeavour, it still faces a number of significant obstacles, which must be addressed if the objectives of its e-governance project are to be fully realized. Key challenges include infrastructure development for the growth of ICT, the huge gap in access to ICT (or what may be described as the digital divide), and the change in organizational culture to enhance easy accessibility to public documents.

Judicial reform constitutes a sub-program within the Justice System Reform Program (JSRP) which is underway in Ethiopia since 2002. Its targets have been consistently articulated in the 2005 Comprehensive Justice Sector Reform Program, the First Growth and Transformation Plan and various strategic plans. However, the outcome and impact as, inter alia, manifested in public trust and confidence seem to be declining. The core problems in the Ethiopian justice system (including the judiciary) that were identified in the 2005 Comprehensive Justice Sector Reform Program were (a) gaps in accessibility and responsiveness to the needs of the poor, (b) inadequacy of “serious steps to tackle corruption, abuse of power and political interference in the administration of justice,” and (c) inadequate funding which “aggravates most deficiencies of the administration of justice”. As these problems still persist, I argue that future judicial reform pursuits require a new path which facilitates court-level and institution-level reform through grassroots empowerment including enhanced independence and resource allocation. Subject to justice sector reform harmonization, there should be an independent judicial reform which is not conflated with other components of justice sector reform. It is also argued that justice sector reform should not be subsumed under the Good Governance Reform Cluster which should rather be limited to macro-level harmonization of reform pursuits. In the absence of such measures, the various targets, aspirations and pledges for judicial reform may eventually end up in promise fatigue and regression.Key terms: Judicial reform, judiciary, judicial independence, rule of law, GTP, Ethiopia

Villages are the smallest administrative units that play a strategic role in national development, but there are still problems in the management of village funds that have led to low public trust. This study aims to analyze the influence of budget transparency, financial accountability, and the use of village fund allocations on public trust. This study employs a quantitative method using a survey approach and the distribution of questionnaires to 125 respondents in Colomadu District. The results indicate that budget transparency does not significantly influence public trust, while financial accountability and the use of village fund allocations have a positive and significant impact on public trust. Based on these findings, to enhance public trust, it is necessary to strengthen accountability practices and the effective use of village fund allocations, although budget transparency has not yet become a decisive factor in building local public trust

SARS was Singapore's worst experience of an infectious outbreak in its brief history as an independent nation. The key instruments in managing public fear and panic were transparency and trust. The highest levels of government were mobilised and every conceivable channel and medium utilised to educate the domestic populace and reassure the international community. Maintaining transparency and nurturing trust did not come easy. There was concern over public morale and resilience, the absence of an international level playing field and the difficulty in differentiating Singapore from countries which managed SARS badly. Achieving trust of the domestic populace was the more difficult task and the government and political leaders had to be seen doing and initiating a range of tangible actions and activities to reassure the public. Singapore also came in for much criticism from other countries for its ‘draconian’ measures to contain the disease through home quarantine orders and other stern measures on social discipline. Risk communications is an established methodology and lessons can be drawn from the experience of many countries in managing outbreaks touching on public health. While Singapore may be unique for its particular circumstances, its experience highlighted the critical importance of ensuring transparency and public trust in confronting the disease. This paper is based on a presentation to the plenary session at the first World Health Organization (WHO) Expert Consultation on Outbreak Communications held in Singapore from 21–23rd September, 2004.

The general public in both the developed and developing worlds has expressed a loss of trust in their governmental leaders and political representatives. A crisis in public trust has emerged in many countries, especially since the 1980s. What bearing does this loss have for the privatized industries and other privatized organizations? Will there be a new spate of loss of public trust in regard to privatization nationally and internationally? How can trust and integrity be integrated into privatized functions? This commentary analyzes these issues, aided by two case studies: the privatization of British Rail and the proposed privatization of British Nuclear Fuels Limited. Proposals are then put forward for how privatized industries and others might gain public trust and integrity.

An individual's genetic-relative family health history can lead to the identification of high-risk individuals and through this can result in highly effective disease prevention for those at risk. In this symposium, readers will see the very different lived experiences of adopted persons whose access to genetic-relative family health history is limited. All share a common experience of facing obstacles within the U.S. healthcare system related to lacking family health history. Genomic technologies now offer tremendous promise to fill gaps in access to this vital health information.

Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and other genome editing technologies have the potential to transform the lives of people affected by genetic disorders for the better. However, it is widely recognised that they also raise large ethical and policy questions. The focus of this article is on how national genome editing policy might be developed in ways that give proper recognition to these big questions. The article first considers some of the regulatory challenges involved in dealing these big ethical and social questions, and also economic issues. It then reviews the outcomes of a series of major reports on genome editing from international expert bodies, with a particular focus on the work of the World Health Organization's expert committee on genome editing. The article then summarises five policy themes that have emerged from this review of the international reports together with a review of other literature, and the authors' engagement with members of the Australian public and with a wide range of experts across multiple disciplines. Each theme is accompanied by one to three pointers for policymakers to consider in developing genome editing policy.

This paper focuses on the infamous case of Hwang Woo Suk, the South-Korean national hero and once celebrated pioneer of stem cell research. After briefly discussing the evolution of his publication and research scandal in Science, I will attempt to outline the main reactions that emerged within scientific and bioethical discourses on the problem of research misconduct in contemporary biosciences. What were the ethical lapses in his research? What kind of research misconduct has been identified? How this kind of misconduct affects scientific integrity? How to avoid it? Focusing on these questions, the paper interprets the Hwang's case as a case study that might shed light on the worst aspects of highstakes global science. This case presents a group of problems that might endanger scientific integrity and public trust. Regulatory oversight, ethical requirements and institutional safeguards are often viewed by the scientific community as merely decelerating scientific progress and causing delays in the application of treatments. The Hwang's case represents how unimpeded progress works in contemporary science. Thus, the case might shed light on the often neglected benefits of "the social control of science".

This study examines the effectiveness of restorative justice as an alternative approach to traditional punitive measures in handling corruption cases. While punitive approaches emphasise deterrence through imprisonment and fines, restorative justice focuses on accountability, reparation, and reintegration. The study is grounded in Restorative Justice Theory, which emphasises repairing harm and fostering offenders’ accountability. Using a qualitative research methodology, the study analyses case studies, policy evaluations, and expert interviews to assess the implementation and impact of restorative justice in corruption cases. Thematic analysis is applied to identify patterns in asset recovery, voluntary disclosures, and public trust in anti-corruption institutions. Findings indicate that restorative justice can enhance transparency, increase asset recovery rates, and encourage whistleblowing. However, challenges such as political interference, legal constraints, and public perceptions of leniency hinder its effectiveness. The study concludes that while restorative justice is not a standalone solution, it serves as a valuable complement to punitive measures. Strengthening legal frameworks and institutional safeguards can enhance its role in anti-corruption efforts, making justice systems more inclusive and effective.

BackgroundInequality between most Canadians and those from Inuit and First Nations communities, in terms of both access to oral health care services and related health outcomes, has been a long-standing problem. Efforts to close this equity gap led to the creation of dental therapy training programs. These programs were designed to produce graduates who would provide services in rural and northern communities. The closure of the last dental therapy program in late 2011 has ended the supply of dental therapists and governments do not appear to have any alternative solutions to the growing gap in access to oral health care services between most Canadians and those from Inuit and First Nations communities.MethodsA policy analysis of the rise and fall of the dental therapy profession in Canada was conducted using historical and policy documents. The analysis is framed within Kingdon’s agenda-setting framework and considers why dental therapy was originally pursued as an option to ensure equitable access to oral health care for Inuit and First Nations communities and why this policy has now been abandoned with the closure of Canada’s last dental therapy training school.ResultsThe closure of the last dental therapy program in Canada has the potential to further reduce access to dental care in some Inuit and First Nations communities. Overlaps between federal and provincial jurisdiction have contributed to the absence of a coordinated policy approach to address the equity gap in access to dental care which will exacerbate the inequalities in comparison to the general population. The analysis suggests that while a technically feasible policy solution is available there continues to be no politically acceptable solution and thus it remains unlikely that a window of opportunity for policy change will open any time soon.ConclusionIn the absence of federal government leadership, the most viable option forward may be incremental policy change. Provincial governments could expand the scope of practice for dental hygienists in the hope that it may support enhanced access, consumer choice, and efficiency in the delivery of oral health care to Inuit and First Nations communities in Canada.