Crisis of democracy in Poland: Does it affect the subnational levels?

On 25 November 2008, Tunisia adopted a national strategy to combat violence against women. In this context, the Pilot Project was launched: ‘Setting up intersectoral mechanisms for the care of...

Poland is a case of a state in which the role of legislative bodies in the political system has been gradually reduced at the various levels – national, regional, and local. Recently, this process has been related to executive aggrandisement observed in Poland, but the roots of this phenomenon can be traced back to the political transformation of this country observed after 1989. At the national level, the deteriorating legislative role of parliament manifests itself in four general processes: (1) The executive power treats the Sejm (lower chamber) as a subordinate institution. This involves formally introducing laws forced by the government in the form of proposals written by members of parliament (MPs) (as a way to shorten the legislative process and limit public consultations required by law); (2) Speeding up of parliamentary works – the Sejm is treated as a voting machine and not as a forum where debates and discussion take place; (3) Public consultations are superficial and the regulatory assessment impact is minimal; (4) The influence of the opposition on legislative processes is reduced to almost zero. Similar processes can be observed at the regional and local levels. The subnational legislative bodies are often under the control of executives. Instances of voting with no or limited discussions (favouring the governing majority) can be sometimes observed during the sessions of local and regional councils. This paper analyses the weakening of the legislative function in Poland at different levels, using a qualitative approach and data from desk research, media analysis, in-depth individual interviews and focus group interviews.

Aim. To comprehensively consider both the relationship between online and offline modes in the field of transformation of the regional electoral process and the specifics of the introduction of digital technologies in the modern Russian electoral sphere at the regional level of the Russian Federation.Methodology. The research is based on universal and general scientific principles and research methods. The work uses private scientific (political science) methods such as neoinstitutional, comparative political, etc., and unique specifically sociological methods, in particular an expert focus group and expert in-depth interviews. The focus group was set up in Moscow, the federal city. Expert interviews were held in Vladimir, Alexandrov, Murom, Kolomna, Sergiev Posad, Tver, Tula, St. Petersburg, Sosnovy Bor (Leningrad Region), Pskov, Tyumen, Tobolsk, Ishim, Khanty-Mansiysk, Surgut, Ufa and Saratov. In total, 36 experts were interviewed in 12 regions, 17 cities and towns.Results. The elements of the digital political transformation process in online and offline environments have been analyzed. The influence of digital technologies on the regional political process has been shown and argued. The specifics of the introduction of digital political technologies (by the example of REV) into the regional political process are highlighted and described.Research implications. The main provisions of the work have theoretical and practical significance for further comprehensive research devoted to the specifics which the impact of digital technologies cause on the regional political process in modern Russia. The work may be useful for political consultants and political strategists since it contains an analysis of the specific features that belong to functioning of digital political technologies, especially at the regional level of the Russian Federation.

The purposes of this study are to explore the principles and rules of human-service robot division and interaction when introducing service robots into the catering service industry. Focus group interview and in-depth expert interview were conducted. The results indicated that the participants had high acceptance of importing service robot into catering service. They feel the service robots are somewhat novel and attractively. From the perspective of task orientation, the participants think that the service robots could be introduced to all of the catering service process in the future. However, they also hoped that the human and robots can cooperate and work together in the processes. They hope to have more interaction with robots. They are delight to see the service robot can bring customers different feelings and experience. They don't want to face a standard and ice-cold robot. The participants hope that the service robots have a wide variety of external appearance to meet the style of restaurants. They also anticipate the robot can act various body movements and facial expression. Immediate assistance to customers and service workers are expected. Incorrect message transmission can be tolerant by the customers, however, exact communication with service personnel is considered to be very important. The service workers have willing to work together with service robots and hope the high-risk and heavy work can be done by service robots to reduce accidents and improve the reliability and safety. The feeling of safety and more affect feeling is needed for the customers. Besides, the participants are more concerned about the value that service robots can generate. Cost down of human resources and reduced workload was expected especially. Application of service robots does not necessarily imply that manual and cognitive tasks will be replaced by machines. It is essential to serve and observe the emotional needs of customers and service workers. High-skilled workers may become more productive as they become co-workers of machines and both complement each other even at the same level of value creation. Therefore, thinking about how to cooperate and work together for the workers and service robot while introducing service robot into catering service is an important topic. The customers and service workers are looking forward to get along with an interactive, emotional, and reliable service robot.

This article endeavoured to empirically explore the perceptions of first year students attending tutorship programmes on the services of the tutors. The study used mixed methods of qualitative and qualitative approaches with qualitative approach being the dominant. The study therefore used a case study and a mini survey as designs with an interview guide and a questionnaire as research instruments. Document analysis, focus group discussions and interviews gathered qualitative data while a questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data. Findings indicate that tutorials were a panacea (beneficial) to the student support programme, but lacked professional discipline and integrity. On the other hand tutees embraced low confidence with the tutors, most were only interested in the marks that tutorials gave and not serious learning, and tutorials were viewed to be creating dependence syndrome for the learners. The paper recommends that tutors selection criteria be strengthened and the coordinators strengtrhen the monitoring and coaching of the tutors. The support programme also need to educate the students of the importance of the tutorial programmes especially during orientation. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p991

Despite the abundance of counseling centres in most higher education institutions as a strategy to assist students who are experiencing social-psychological problems that inhibit their learning and retention, there seem to be concern that most of the students do not make use of this service. The aim of the study was to seek the role of culture in influencing students’ consumption of counseling services. The study adopted mixed methods design employing qualitative and qualitative approaches. Specifically the study used a case study design and mini survey. However the qualitative approach was more dominant. An interview guide and a questionnaire as research instruments were also used. Document analysis, focus group discussions and interviews gathered qualitative data while a questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data. The sample consisted of 220 conveniently sampled first year students drawn from two former black Universities. These students were largely coming from rural and semi-urban parts of South Africa. Findings indicate that culture was more influential to students’ dispositions to use counseling services. It emerged that more than half of the first year students who participated in the study had not used counselling services even though they were aware of its existence. Reasons for non use included stigma from fellow students who associated counseling with failure for one to solve their own problems. Also viewed from African cultural lenses, students felt that counselors were not members of the clan or immediate family for one to share their problems. These findings therefore support the view that African traditional cultures may not adequately fit into the western centric counseling counseling services. The paper recommends that counselling co-ordinators strengthen their marketing of counselling services to allay the fears and distrust students have. Also culturally sensitive counselling procedures may be required to build confidence among those students who make use of the services. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n27p1050

Countries with scarce resources need timely and high-quality data on coverage of health interventions to make strategic decisions about where to allocate investments in health. Household survey data are generally regarded as "gold standard," high-quality data. This study assessed the comparability of intervention coverage time trends from routine and survey data at national and subnational levels in Mali. We compared 3 coverage indicators: contraceptive prevalence rate, institutional delivery, and 3 doses of diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT3) vaccine, using 3 Mali Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS 2001, 2006, and 2012-2013) and routine health system data covering 2001-2012. For routine data, we used local health information system (HIS) annual reports and an HIS database. To compare time trends between the data sources, we calculated the percentage point change and 95% confidence interval from 2001-2006 and 2006-2012. We then computed the absolute and relative differences between the 2 data sources for each indicator over time at national and regional levels and assessed their level of significance. The direction and magnitude of the time trends of contraceptive prevalence rate, institutional delivery, and DPT3 vaccine from 2001 to 2012 were similar at the national level between data sources. At the regional level, there were significant differences in the magnitude and direction of time trends for institutional delivery and the DPT3 vaccine; contraceptive prevalence trends were more consistent. Routine data tended to overestimate DPT3 coverage, and underestimate institutional delivery and contraceptive prevalence relative to survey data. Routine data in Mali-particularly at the national level-appear to be appropriate for use to inform program planning and prioritization, but routine time trends should be interpreted with caution at the subnational level. For program evaluations, routine data may not be appropriate to draw accurate inferences about program impact.

Introduction Different systems and methodological approaches have been developed internationally for the early identification of new and emerging occupational risks as well as for the monitoring of work related diseases. In Spain, a variety of them have been implemented at national and regional levels. This study is not only aimed to provide an up to date comprehensive perspective of all of them, but also to identify current challenges and barriers in their practical implementation and potential solutions. Methods Literature review and in-depth description of existing systems at local and National levels in Spain through interviews of National experts (n=17) and qualitative analysis. Adding to that, professionals involved in those systems were invited to complete a questionnaire (participants: General Practitioners, Medical Doctors from the Spanish National Health System, Occupational Physicians, experts and Occupational Health workers from Mutual Societies and private companies; n=306). Results Spanish existing systems at National and local levels are described and compared. The exception to the regional fragmentation is the nationwide system of epidemiological health surveillance of workers exposed to asbestos. Furthermore, one of the main limitations to the early identification of new and emerging occupational risks is the lack of dissemination of the existence of these systems among professionals responsible for the Occupational Health within private companies. In fact, only 36% of these professionals have been informed on them and 45,1% stated to be aware of Occupational Diseases notification systems. Another challenge to overcome is the poor communication between private companies and the public health system. Discussion This study adds the Spanish perspective to an issue that is being deeply measured in Europe, and possibly pointing towards the need of promoting integrative approaches that involve Health and Work Administration and private firms, etc., in Early Detection of New and Emerging Occupational Risks.

Gender discrimination turns women and girls into a part of a marginalized community. As a traditional value-centric and gender biased society, people in Bangladesh undervalue the contribution of women in family and community. Goal five of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), nevertheless, calls directly for achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls. Some analysts also intend that gender equality is connected with achieving all the 17 goals of SDGs. As such, promoting gender equality through media portrayal is a key to the sustainable development of Bangladesh. Different literature also focused on media professionals’ responsibilities for eliminating gender-based discrimination. However, media mainly give more concentration on the central or core level issues of society. Thus, the representation of local or peripheral gender issues in media remains poor. Media professionals, local journalists in particular, could play a significant role in promoting local gender equality issues. Under the given context this study aims to analyze to what extent the local journalists play roles in achieving gender equality for sustainable development. Incorporating a multi-level social ecological framework, this study adopted both the quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Employing convenience sampling, 32 local journalists from different media in Chittagong city, a Southeastern coastal city of Bangladesh, were surveyed. In addition, five in-depth interviews from gender and media analysts were taken using purposive sampling. The findings of the study demonstrated that based on journalistic principles a significant portion of local journalists plays a positive role to promote local gender issues from the individual level to the policy level. Thus, they accelerate the course of achieving sustainable development goals. This study also suggests guidelines for the policymakers to use local journalists for promoting gender equality at the local level.

In response to increasing care needs, the development of elderly care systems has become a prominent policy concern across the OECD. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the increasing economic constraints led to the rise of policies that focus on the improvement of “coordination” and “integration” of administrations and services – in other words, policies that aim at reducing the fragmentation of health and social care system. As a result, a growing number of studies focus on innovative integrated care schemes and their transferability from one national context to another. Yet they do not systematically investigate the political, organizational, cultural and societal contexts in which they have emerged neither do they link them to the diverse conceptions of integration or coordination carried by the multiple actors concerned. In this paper, we identified three policy-making mechanisms underpinning integration policies at both national and local levels. Theory/Methods : The POLIA-INLOVE comparative research investigates integration/coordination policies in three European countries – France, Sweden and UK. Its analytical framework borrows from sociology, public policy analysis and management studies. Based on a qualitative and diachronic perspective, not presupposing the existence of any integration/coordination policy in the countries studied, it focuses on the understanding of whether, when and how the need for professional, institutional and organizational integration/coordination came to be formulated. Our approach seeks to deconstruct the meaning of integration and coordination policies led in the three countries, and to understand their institutional, organisational and historical contexts. This paper presents the first results of a literature review and an empirical survey by semi-directive interviews led since 2013 in France (n=27), Sweden (n=22) and the UK (n=28). It covers two levels: interviews with national experts at the macro level of policies developed and implemented nationally and with actors at the micro level concerning specific schemes implemented locally, to take into account the organizational particularities in each of the countries and on chosen territories Results : The analysis of the policies in France, Sweden and UK shows the impact of both the national and the territorial contexts, which varies from one country to the other. It leads us to identify three different policy-making processes towards coordination/integration. We provisionally named them “layers”, “chains” and “lineages”. These logics are unequally shared out between the three countries: the layering process can be identified as a dominant trend in France whereas the chaining logic is dominant in Sweden. The lineage metaphor, finally, looks more appropriate when it comes to analyze the history of attempts for reducing fragmentation in England. Yet, further analysis including concrete solutions experimented on both national and local levels shows that there come to be a mix of logics mobilized in each concrete situation. Thus, the different logics are not directly opposed and they can be expected to work together Discussion : Qualitative comparison raises significant challenges due to the risk of comparing schemes or elements which are not comparable, particularly for locally implemented models developed in specific territorial contexts, unless one focus on the learning and adaptation processes. Secondly, comparison between countries representing different welfare models runs the risk of reducing the observed outcomes to the same variables used for the identification of the welfare models. By putting the accent on identifying the underpinning logics of integration/coordination policies in the three countries rather than running a systematic comparison of their content, we address these challenges in two ways: - The three logics identified articulate both macro and micro analysis since they are based on the identification of the mechanisms underpinning both national policies and locally implemented measures. -The three logics are analyzed in relation to the different welfare state models and to the wider political projects they belong to. Conclusion : The next step of the research consists in identifying common cross-cutting issues in at least two of the three countries studied: -The impact of the political variable on the orientation and the content of integration/coordination policies; -Interactions between local and national levels as opportunities and constraints for integration; -The issue of New Public Management in the integration/coordination process Taken as basis for comparison, these issues can inform aspects of processes of integration/coordination that are often analyzed in one single national/local context.

The vast majority of party and electoral researches, including the countries of the Visegrad Group, focuses on the impact of elections and electoral systems on the institutionalization of parties and party systems, predominantly at the national level. However, the proposed article broadened this analysis mainly at the national level, in particular by analyzing regional elections and regional party systems. This is due to the fact that party-electoral interconnection is not one-tier, but instead is determined territorially, including territorial or administrative heterogeneity during elections. In other words, the study aims to show how region and regional elections (in the format of party system regionalization) affect the national political process, and, conversely, how national elections (in the format of party system nationalization) influence the regional political process in the context of the countries of the Visegrad Group. In this regard, the indicators of voter turnout, electoral volatility, influence of regional parties and coalitions, peculiarities and consequences of electoral blocsʼ and coalitionsʼ formation, parameters of territorial and socio-political cleavages and constructions of electoral systems and formulas were the directories of this relationship, both at national and regional levels, in the proposed study. Their use at the example of the Visegrad countries has made it possible to argue that the relationship between regional and national level of electoral competition and the parameters of the structuring of party systems in the analyzed region is largely reflected in nationalization processes at both national and regional level. Although it is theoretically found that such a relationship is bilateral and counter-dependent on the processes of regionalization of national elections and national electoral systems, or instead on nationalization of regional elections and regional party systems.
 Keywords: national elections, regional elections, party systems, nationalization and regionalization of party systems, the countries of the Visegrad Group.

Education is the most effective tool for enabling immigrants’ integration into the country they live in. The aim of this research is to determine teachers’ views related to the education of Syrian students attending state schools. By presenting them through the experiences of their teachers, this paper deals with how the educational experiences at school of Syrian children of school age are shaped in state schools. The research is planned with a qualitative approach as a case study design. The participants of the research were 34 teachers working in state schools and having Syrian students in their classes. The research data were collected via focus group interviews and semi-structured interviews in Rize, Turkey between the years 2017-2019. The data in the focus group and semi-structured interviews were supported by means of observations. The research findings reveal that the biggest problem in teachers’ opinions was the language problem and the communication and academic barriers resulting from this, that Syrian students suffered from depression and trauma because of war and migration, that they had a feeling of loneliness, and that nevertheless, they were happy at school. Therefore, this research reveals that teachers working with Syrian students are in need of vocational training and development consolidation in order to provide academic and psychological support for these students. Successfully addressing the educational needs of Syrian students in school will be especially beneficial for enabling Syrian children’s integration into society. Keywords: education experience, qualitative research, Syrian students, teacher reflection, Turkey

In order to ascertain the current status of and challenges posed by the incidence and prevalence of rare diseases in China, this study teases out data on the incidence and prevalence of 121 rare diseases listed in China's First List of Rare Disease to provide rationales and references for the development and promotion of rare-disease-related policies. The National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China issued the Rare Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Guide (2019) (denoted here as China's Rare Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Guide), which cited data on the incidence/prevalence of 21 rare diseases (21 of 121 rare diseases, 17.36%). Data on 68 diseases (56.20%) were found in monographs, literature databases, and official websites. Data on the incidence/prevalence of 70 diseases were compiled, though no data were available for the 51 remaining diseases. There are published data on the incidence/prevalence of only 14 diseases at the national level. Sources of data on the incidence and prevalence of rare diseases mainly include cases counts from hospitals (40.56%), other sources of data (24.48%), screening (20.98%), cross-sectional studies (8.39%), and estimates from models (7.69%). Data on the incidence/prevalence of rare diseases in China are limited and typically lack accuracy, uniformity, and timeliness. Epidemiological data at the national level are greatly lacking, and data are not amenable to comparison. China recently initiated epidemiological studies of rare diseases at the national and regional level. The country will continue to promote, use, and update its list of common rare diseases, actively encourage the coding and registration of cases of rare diseases, and take actions to collect, share, and use that information.

This exploratory research introduces and evaluates the effectiveness of a “citizen forum” transparency initiative. Survey research shows that most U.S. citizens have a weak sense of connection to news organizations. Many U.S. Americans question the news media’s trustworthiness, believe that their news media sources undervalue their audience, and feel that news media do a poor job of explaining story production. Designed to address such disconnects, this research initiative involved conducting two day-long events in two different U.S. Midwestern towns. Inspired by “citizen academies” facilitated in other local civic contexts, the initiative featured in-person panels and forum discussions with journalists and journalism educators. Panel participants talked about journalism-related issues and engaged with audience-posed questions/comments. Employing survey questionnaires and focus group interviews, this study’s mixed-method research agenda was structured to examine the extent to which such citizen forum programming can serve to promote understanding of journalism, facilitate a sense of connection with local journalism, and bolster/sustain news trust more generally. Ultimately, this multi-pronged case study offers evidence of positive outcomes relative to citizen forums promoting “engaged journalism,” though not without caveats and challenges.

The effects of urbanization on China's forest loss from 2000 to 2012: Evidence from a panel analysis