Experiences Of Citizens Research Articles

Pengalaman Informasi Warga Muhammadiyah di Malaysia Dalam Memanfaatkan Facebook Sebagai Media Informasi Persyarikatan

The primary appeal of Facebook at this time is its friendship networking feature. This phenomenon gives rise to the view that this social media provides a distinctive experience for its users in the present, including those in the Malaysian context. The objective of this study is to ascertain the experience of Muhammadiyyah citizens in Malaysia with regard to the utilisation of Facebook. This study employs a phenomenological approach, complemented by qualitative data collection methods. The existing symptoms will be elucidated through the utilisation of semi-structured interviews with informants. The informants for this study were selected using the purposive sampling technique. The data will then be subjected to analysis. Thematic analysis was employed as the technique for analysing the data in this research. The study yielded two primary themes: the utilisation of Facebook as a conduit for disseminating the activities of the Association and the use of Facebook as a platform for disseminating the views of Muhammadiyah to a broader audience. It can be concluded that the information experience obtained by Muhammadiyah citizens in using Facebook is both positive and non-harmful.

Cognition, Language, and Ideology. Conflicting Cognitive Models of Pregnancy, Birth and Maternity during Romania’s Communist Era (II)

One of the first political decisions of the Ceaușescu regime, with significant implications for the private lives of citizens in communist Romania, was the prohibition of abortion through Decree 770/1966. This act marked the beginning of an aggressively enforced pronatalist policy, facilitated by the repressive apparatus of the dictatorship, resulting in tragic consequences, especially for women in Romania – illegal abortions, loss of lives, orphaned children, and more. The imposition of this pronatalist policy relied on highly ideologized rhetoric, underpinned by a patriarchal Idealized Cognitive Model (ICM), redefined through conceptual metaphors with a "socialist" twist, adapted to the new political context. This official Idealized Cognitive Model became incompatible with the real experiences of Romania's citizens regarding pregnancy, birth, and maternity. This two-part article describes and analyzes, based on the theory of Idealized Cognitive Models, the conflicting tension within the discourse on maternity during Ceaușescu's dictatorship. It explores the conflict between the officially sanctioned cognitive model of maternity, ideologically embraced by the regime (evident in its official rhetoric), and the personal experiences of women, revealing emotional pain, physical anguish, and trauma (visible in the corpus of oral testimonies, interviews, and narratives). In the examined corpus, which includes private and official narratives, as well as press releases regarding Romanian legislation on population growth, we seek to reveal the conventional schematization of concepts related to birth, pregnancy, and maternity, iconographically fixed by several conceptual metaphors emphasizing the "glory of bearing and raising as many children as possible." The article intends to highlight an elevated political and ideological specificity attached to these metaphors. One of the primary objectives is to establish a methodology for the comprehension of the conceptual operations of harmful political policies with substantial ideological dimensions.

Estimating Civic Awareness and Willingness to Pay (WTP) for Rooftop Greenhouses: A Study of Seoul Residents

Background and objective: In hardscape-dominated cities, rooftop greenhouses(RGs) are considered a viable alternative for providing high-quality food, greenery, and experiences to citizens. However, existing research has predominantly focused on conventional urban agriculture, and rooftop greenhouses remain under-researched on an international scale. In this study, we use the contingent valuation method (CVM) to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) for RGs among residents of Seoul, South Korea, and evaluate their comprehensive value.Methods: A questionnaire including items on respondents’ characteristics, WTP, and civic awareness of RGs was prepared, and WTP was estimated using the double-bounded dichotomous choice (DBDC) model. On the basis of these copies, utility theoretic analysis and the logit model of CVM were employed to estimate the WTP for RG among Seoul residents.Results: The per capita WTP for RG among Seoul residents was 30,260. On the basis of this result, the value of RGs in Seoul was approximately 220 billion KRW. Most respondents preferred a combination of crop production and experiences. This outcome suggests that future RGs in buildings should include spaces for citizen experiences and education. Respondents suggested that the most necessary measure to promote RGs was providing customized education on building and managing rooftop greenhouses, followed by providing and subsidies, and promoting related policies and projects.Conclusion: The findings of this study can be utilized to convey the global importance of RGs and as a basis for establishing related policies and increasing the participation of local residents. In addition, considering that Seoul has recently implemented a project to install RGs on existing commercial buildings, the results of this study will be highly useful.

Integrating Citizen Experiences in Cultural Heritage Archives with a Linked Non-Open Data Hub

This article explores and presents innovative methods and technologies for supporting citizen curation of cultural heritage. Relevant outcomes of the Social Participation, Cohesion and Inclusion through Cultural Engagement (SPICE) project are presented, focusing on enhancing the state of content management and delivery strategies in museums and memory institutions. We argue that citizen curation requires a principled way of managing and integrating citizen responses, contributions and dataflows in the domain of cultural heritage, raising challenges and opportunities such as integration of distributed and diverse data sources, authoritativeness, interdependence, privacy, data reuse and rights management. The solution is a Linked Data Hub (LDH), which integrates museum collections and user-generated content and repurposes them to end-user systems tailored to specific use cases for citizens and museum practitioners. Such LDH must be non-open , by offering an approach that gives citizens and organisations, such as museums or engagement agencies, meaningful control over their data by implementing user-tailored policies and negotiated access and terms of use. Additionally, our solution addresses privacy violations in user-contributed content by offering a near-real-time content monitoring framework. We present the LDH discussing pilot applications within the EU-funded project SPICE, including ‘Deep Viewpoints’, which currently supports the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in citizen curation activities. Overall, this article serves as a critical milestone in closing functional gaps and advancing the state of technology in managing citizen responses and contributions in the cultural heritage domain.

The state as auteur: Timing digitisation in Africa's Silicon Savannah

Kenya is in the midst of an information revolution and has recently unveiled a set of digitisation initiatives to become the Silicon Savannah of East Africa. While the African state is often examined through the notion of absence or failure, we argue that we need to pay more attention to timing as a mode of statecraft in a digital era. Drawing upon a Deleuzian conceptualisation of ‘time-images', we argue that the Kenyan state operates as an ‘auteur’ to give meaning and significance to a seemingly asynchronous set of disconnected digitisation initiatives across spaces, scales and institutions. Timing as a form of state power determines which initiatives are prioritised, what gets executed, in what sequence and at what pace. As an auteur, the state presents a linear narrative from the past to the future, but in the end, as with all auteurs, the state's identity and authority are defined in part through the actions of its actors and the experience of citizens.

Affective governmentality and gendered labour in education policy: Sites of non-traditional coproduction

In recent years shifts in education policy in Australia have generated new governance arrangements which have increased the material and affective labour of parents associated with school education. However, affective labour undertaken by parents is often understood as a private concern and an issue of personal choice. This article challenges this view by examining the labour of parents in connection with the aims of public policy in school education. By employing the concept of affective governmentality to connect governing strategies with citizen experience, the article explores the connection between the emotional labour of parents’ and policy aims in school education policy. Based on interviews and qualitative questionnaires with parents of school-aged children in Australia, the study uses an interpretive lens to unpack the role of emotional labour. The study reveals the dual role of parents, mostly mothers who serve both as recipients and active agents in public policy. The research shows that emotional responses and gendered labour are interconnected - depicting them as dynamic forces that both motivate and mobilise support for policy objectives. This research contributes to our understanding of the interplay between emotions, policy dynamics and gendered labour and has implications for our understanding of what constitutes a ‘policy actor’.

Wanshou(万寿） Palace at Nanchang : Reproduction of the Past and Consuming history in Modern China

This paper discusses the past reproduction and consuming historical phenomenon of Wanshou(万寿） Palace historical and cultural Block in Nanchang under the background of modern China. Wanshou(万寿）Palace, bearing a historical precipitation of more than 1700 years, is a symbolic cultural landscape of Nanchang. Its restoration and block protection are not only the material reproduction of buildings and blocks, but also the continuation of the cultural and spiritual aspects of Wanshou(万寿） Palace. The research uses the qualitative analysis method to deeply analyze the development process of the Tiezhu Wanshou（铁柱万寿） Palace, the architectural art characteristics and the concept and practice of modern China heritage protection. It is found that the Wanshou(万寿） Palace historical and cultural block, through the mutual support and cooperation of the Nanchang municipal government, scholars and the community, has profound practical significance for the reproduction of the past history and consuming history. Effectively combine Wanshou(万寿） Palace culture with modern consumption to provide an immersive cultural experience for citizens and tourists. However, the behavior of consuming history in the process of cultural heritage protection has a two-sided nature. People need to pay attention to the authenticity of culture in the process of protecting historical heritage and inheriting cultural value. This study provides practical planning suggestions and impact assessment for the historical and cultural construction and the sustainable development mode of cultural tourism in Nanchang, and provides valuable classics for the protection of historical heritage and the integration of historical reproduction and modern consumption in other cities.

Exploring social contracts of disaster risk through twitter narratives during a major storm

Exploring social contracts of disaster risk through twitter narratives during a major storm

Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to predict waste source separation

Appropriate solid municipal waste management is an important topic in the EU. Abiding by the amended EU Waste Framework Directive and the amended EU Landfill Directive, Greece has set ambitious goals for waste reuse and recycling and for landfill minimization in its recent National Waste Management Plans. These goals however can only be reached through the improvement of the mixed recyclable waste scheme (the "blue bin" scheme for paper/carton, plastic and metal) and the establishment of collection containers for separate waste streams (separately for biodegradable waste, for glass, for paper/carton and for the rest). Active participation of citizens in waste source separation is paramount for this program. As such, the determinants that favor waste source separation intention were measured in approximately 1600 residents in the city of Thessaloniki in Northern Greece, through the application of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The determinant of Moral Norms (MN) was included in the basic model [that contains the determinants Attitude (ATT), Subjective Norms (SN) and Perceived Behavioral Control (PBC)]. Each determinant was measured through four or five declarations while the Behavioral Intention (BI) contained ten subsections. The model was able to satisfactorily predict the intention of the respondents to perform waste source separation. Specifically, the model successfully predicted respondents' intention to engage in waste source separation, explaining 36% of the variance, indicating that a moderate amount of variance can be explained by the constructs. There was a significant direct effect of ATT (β=0.486, p<0.001), SN (β=0.091, p<0.05), and PBC (β=0.091, p<0.05) on BI. Additionally, MN showed statistically significant mediating effects; a mediating effect on BI via ATT (β=0.479; p<0.01), via SN (β=0.046; p=0.015), and via PBC (β=0.057; p=0.017) was noted. Implications of these results on waste separation policies include the following: launching comprehensive public education campaigns to reshape positive attitudes, improving infrastructure to strengthen the real or perceived behavioral control of citizens experience, increasing "peer pressure" via community engagement activities, such as recycling workshops, clean-up drives, and competitions. The important role of moral obligations in the community should be underlined and it may be the long-term key solution; educational programs and campaigns should emphasize the moral obligation of waste separation and integrating environmental ethics into school programs can instill these values from a young age.

INTRODUCTION: Africa's quest for inclusion: Trends and patterns

Social inclusion is a multifaceted concept and is a critical pillar for transformative economic development. Its opposite, social exclusion entails the lack of or denial of resources, rights, goods and services, and the inability to participate in normal relationships and activities, available to people in a society, whether in economic, social, cultural, or political contexts. It affects the quality of life of individuals, the equity and cohesion of society and the lived experiences of citizens (Levitas, Pantazis, Fahmy, Gordon, Lloyd, &amp; Patsios, 2007). Social inclusion, considers the terms of engagement of individuals and or groups in society, assessing the ability of the system to improve the capability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged based on their identity (World Bank, 2024). The inability of individuals or communities to make meaningful and consistent contributions reflects their exclusion. Exclusion can be based on age, gender, occupation, ethnicity, race, religious beliefs, citizenship, disability, or sexual orientation (World Bank, 2024). There are differing levels of exclusion. When exclusion is deep, it is characterised by a lack of access to one or more domains resulting in severe negative consequences to quality of life, well-being, and future life chances (Levitas et al., 2007).

The Art of Not Stopping: Grit Among the Breadwinner Senior Citizens in Pilar, Bataan

Approximately fifty percent of elderly individuals in the Philippines are currently employed. A significant number of them are exposed to health hazards and have a low socioeconomic level despite having worked for a considerable number of years. The current study aims to provide a detailed account and analysis of the core essence of the experience of breadwinner senior citizens as they strive to maintain their grit for numerous years. The findings revealed four themes, or 4K of grit, namely: keep on, keep at, keep up, and keep growing. Each theme generated subthemes that further elaborated on the experiences of breadwinner senior citizens. Keep on is divided into five subthemes: familial’s sake, financial autonomy, fortitude in the past, and founding leisure. Keep at is divided into two themes, namely the personification of aging and perceived hardships. Meanwhile, the keep-up had four subthemes: guarding the mind, being God-centered, getting support, and having greater focus in the body. Lastly, the keep growing is composed of two themes the steadfastness in work and senescence’s’ joy. While the participants have shown resilience in the face of several challenges, it is strongly recommended that local government agencies improve and closely supervise the current program and activities aimed at addressing the financial difficulties as well as the physical and mental difficulties of the breadwinner senior citizens. More so, the said research will add additional fund of knowledge in the field of gerontology and psychology in the Philippines.

Conscious walk: integrating soundscape, biodiversity, and air quality metrics for holistic urban environmental assessment

The impact of environmental noise, poor biodiversity, and air pollution on urban populations poses a significant challenge to public health. Addressing these concerns requires a comprehensive approach that considers the perceptual experiences of citizens and objective environmental data. The Conscious Walks introduce a hybrid methodology designed to address the perceptive impact of citizens on their environment. Conscious Walks are citizen-science participative projects that combine the active involvement of citizens with scientific data collection. Implemented and tested in Barcelona, Conscious Walks provide a unique opportunity to assess urban soundscapes, and this contribution specifically evaluates the soundscapes of the Ciutadella Park in Barcelona for three consecutive years. The gathered data is carefully cross-referenced with information on air quality and biodiversity obtained during the walks. The novelty of this research lies in the development of integrated indicators that comprehensively capture the interplay between biodiversity, noise pollution, and air pollution. These indicators provide an understanding of urban environmental quality, offering valuable insights for sustainable urban planning and policy-making. The results presented in this contribution underscore the significance of adopting holistic methodologies to address the complex challenges posed by urban environments, emphasizing the need for integrated indicators in assessing the multifaceted aspects of urban sustainability.

Toward an assessment of the relevance of proposed public policy in contemporary African society: A retrospective review of Kenya's now‐defunct building bridges initiative, with special reference to post‐election violence

AbstractWhereas competing interests characterize the African public policy sphere today, the lens of mass‐elite differences has hardly been employed to study electoral violence. Accordingly, this article juxtaposes the lived experiences of ordinary Kenyan citizens, obtained through focus groups, with the content of the now‐defunct Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), a comprehensive set of public policy changes proposed by Kenya's political protagonists Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga in 2017. It poses the following broad question: did the BBI proposals truly intersect with the opinions and lived experiences of the masses? I find that various factors, including the lack of electoral and judicial integrity, and a winner‐takes‐all democratic system, are responsible for post‐election violence according to citizens. A comparative analysis of citizen perspectives and the BBI Report reveals considerable congruence in the understanding of the causes of post‐election violence. The study partly concludes that African leaders should continue to engage in policy entrepreneurship.Related ArticlesHodzi, Obert. 2020. “African Political Elites and the Making(s) of the China Model in Africa.” Politics &amp; Policy 48(5): 887–987. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12380.Kouladoum, Jean‐Claude. 2023. “The Role of Freedom of Communication in Modulating the Effect of Political Participation on Electoral Outcome in Africa.” Politics &amp; Policy 51(4): 588–613. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12539.Onyango, Gedion. 2024. “DHR‐PA—Democracy and Human Rights in Public Administration in Africa.” Politics &amp; Policy 52(2): 426–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12584.

Understanding How People Perceive and Interact with Public Space through Social Media Big Data: A Case Study of Xiamen, China

Public space is a crucial forum for public interaction and diverse activities among urban residents. Understanding how people interact with and perceive these spaces is essential for public placemaking. With billions of users engaging in social media expression and generating millions of data points every second, Social Media Big Data (SMBD) offers an invaluable lens for evaluating public spaces over time, surpassing traditional methods like surveys and questionnaires. This research introduces a comprehensive analytical framework that integrates SMBD with placemaking practices, specifically applied to the city of Xiamen, China. The result shows the social sentiment, vibrancy heatmaps, leisure activities, visitor behaviors, and preferred visual elements of Xiamen, offering urban designers valuable insights into the dynamic nature of citizen experiences. The findings underscore the potential of SMBD to inform and enhance public space design, providing a holistic approach to creating more inclusive, vibrant, and functional urban environments.

Navigating the infodemic: assessing digital literacy and misinformation vulnerability among senior citizens in Vietnam during COVID-19

This research examines the digital literacy and misinformation vulnerability among senior citizens in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aims to understand how senior citizens navigate the infodemic and identify factors contributing to their susceptibility to misinformation.The study utilizes participant observation and interview methodologies to explore the experiences of senior citizens with digital literacy and the impact of COVID-19 misinformation.The findings highlight the challenges faced by senior citizens in accessing accurate information and discerning misinformation. Lack of familiarity with news and social media platforms, and concerns regarding trust, privacy, and security hinder their digital literacy skills. Moreover, senior citizens are particularly vulnerable to misinformation, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions to enhance their digital literacy and empower them to navigate the infodemic effectively.

The European Union Settlement Scheme Data Linkage Project in Wales: Findings relating to mental health and education

Objective Following the UK’s exit from the European Union (EU) a settlement scheme was introduced for EU nationals currently living in the UK to apply to continue living in the UK. The European Union (EU) Settlement Scheme project compares the living experiences of EU and UK citizens in Wales. ApproachWe conducted a retrospective population cohort study within the Secure Anonymised information Linkage (SAIL) Databank to explore the mental health, educational experiences and involvement in the Welsh labour market of EU citizens living in Wales in comparison to British citizens. UK Census data relating to country of birth, sex, week of birth, date of arrival in the UK and socio-economic status have been linked to variables of relevance in the Education for Wales and Welsh General Practice datasets respectively and analysed. ResultsFindings indicate statistically significant differences in secondary school attendance and attainment between Welsh born pupils and pupils born in EU countries. We will present findings on our exploration if differences exist between Welsh born and EU country born individuals in relation to diagnosis of depression and anxiety. Additional findings from this linking and analysis reveal other interesting differences between EU and UK born citizens. ConclusionsLinking data in this way has gained a better understanding of the experiences and outcomes of EU citizens in Wales, generating better evidence to inform policies and services that address the needs of this population and a dataset of interest to academics. Reproduceable analytical pipelines have been created for other researchers to use.

Navigating the Spectrum of Multi-, Inter-, and Transdisciplinarity in Service Design

Both in academia and in professional practice, multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity offer unique pathways to innovation and holistic understanding. But what sets them apart? And why should we care? Imagine diverse experts tackling the redesign of a digital service, improving the experience of citizens or solving a complex service challenge. Each scenario requires different levels of collaboration, reflecting these three approaches. The shift from pooling knowledge to fully integrating and transcending boundaries can transform problem-solving.

Identification and Analysis of Ecological Corridors in the Central Urban Area of Xuchang Based on Multi-Source Geospatial Data

With the development of ecological civilization construction, urban planning and development in China have entered a phase in which optimizing and constructing ecological spaces is required. As a national livable city, Xuchang has experienced rapid economic development in recent years, leading to significant urban expansion that has impacted the layout of ecological space networks in the central urban area and its surroundings. Therefore, identifying and optimizing the spatial layout of ecological corridors in Xuchang City are crucial for ecological development and park city construction. This study utilizes multisource geospatial data to identify and extract ecological corridors in the central urban area of Xuchang City. Ecological resistance and gravity models are employed to identify and verify that the primary ecological corridor pattern in Xuchang City is situated in Weidu District, which is a central urban area. Finally, 11 main ecological corridors in the central urban area are delineated. In response to the identification of ecological corridors, this study integrates spatial analysis methods and text analysis methods to evaluate the characteristics of urban ecological corridors. The results indicate that Xudu Park extends outward, serving as the hub of the ecological network, and that West Lake Park and Luming Lake Park form the core of the urban park system. Finally, based on the spatial relationships, ecological benefits, and citizen experience of each ecological corridor and the green parks it traverses, strategies for optimizing the layout of urban ecological corridors are proposed.

“Every Day is like Hell": Civilian Abductees Released from Captivity in Gaza

Captivity, particularly in the context of civilian abduction, significantly affects the immediate and long-term psychological well-being of abductees. While most studies have concentrated on military captivity, the experiences of civilian abductees remain underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of adult citizens abducted during the Israel-Hamas War, as recounted in their initial press interviews upon their release. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, the researchers analyzed existing media interviews with 27 civilians aged 18 to 85, who were abducted from their homes during the war outbreak, held captive for 44 to 55 days, and subsequently released through negotiations. Analysis of the interviews revealed several key findings. The abductees faced traumatic events, including murder and life-threatening situations, which led to intense feelings of shock and resignation to the prospect of death. Their captivity involved a loss of autonomy, social isolation, unsanitary and humiliating conditions, and pervasive fear. Additionally, they experienced profound grief over the deaths of family members and uncertainty about the wellbeing of their friends and relatives. These factors collectively create an environment in which psychological trauma is inevitable. This study’s findings advance our understanding of loss and trauma in the context of civilian captivity, underscoring the complex psychological impact and highlighting the critical need for specialized, multifaceted interventions that address the unique challenges faced by abductees and their communities in the aftermath of such traumatic experiences.

Data Analysis and Congestion Prediction Model in Intelligent Transportation Systems

The relentless march of urbanization has led to a surge in population density and a dramatic increase in the number of motor vehicles, with traffic congestion emerging as a significant barrier to urban development. Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) utilize advanced information technology to monitor and analyze traffic flow in real time, playing a pivotal role in alleviating urban traffic pressures and enhancing road usage efficiency. This paper aims to propose a data analysis method based on machine learning algorithms for real-time traffic monitoring and congestion prediction, thereby providing scientific decision support for urban traffic management. The research encompasses methods of traffic data collection, including data on vehicle location, speed, and flow; preprocessing and feature extraction techniques for traffic data to improve data quality and extract features useful for congestion prediction; and the application of various machine learning algorithms to establish a traffic congestion prediction model. Additionally, this paper assesses and optimizes the model and tests it with actual traffic data to verify its effectiveness and practicality. The research findings indicate that the proposed machine learning-based method can effectively predict traffic congestion, providing a powerful tool for traffic management departments, aiding in preemptive measures to reduce traffic delays and improve the travel experience for citizens. This study not only enriches the field of intelligent transportation systems research but also provides theoretical foundations and technical support for urban traffic management practices.