Mobility Of Citizens Research Articles

Migrants’ Experiences With Limited Access to Social Protection in a Framework of EU Post‐National Policies

It has been argued that nation‐states confront migrant protection with a highly diverse array of measures ranging from excluding strategies (often labelled as “welfare chauvinism”) to more inclusionary, post‐national approaches. While exclusionary strategies are often guided by nativist principles such as citizenship, post‐national approaches of social protection are usually based on residence. Building on an international comparative project with a focus on free movement within the European Union, and involving four pairs of EU member states, this article argues that the extremes of these two ways of understanding nation‐state approaches to migrant social protection are not mutually exclusive, as has been discussed so far, but, instead, are intertwined with one another. While there is a common (and globally unique) framework on the EU level for the coordination of mobile citizens’ social protection, EU member states determine their strategies using residence as a main tool to govern intra‐EU migration. We differentiate between three main intertwining strategies applied by nation‐states in this respect: generally, selectively, and purposefully gated access to social protection. All three potentially lead to the social exclusion of migrants, particularly those who cannot prove their residence status in line with institutional regulations due to their undocumented living situations or their transnational lifestyles.

Discursive Communities, Protest, Xenophobia, and Looting in South Africa: A Social Network Analysis

The article informs on a study that employed a digital ethnographic approach to analyse a network of human relationships and connections based on the physical and social phenomena of political protest and xenophobia, accompanied by looting and the destruction of property in South Africa. It examines how social media have been used to fuel violence, protest, xenophobic attacks, and the looting of shops, and for ordinary citizens to post videos or images of protest actions on the internet. This article uses the tenets of propaganda (the propaganda model) as a social media theory to analyse online activism in various forms, such as journalism and political protest for citizen mobilisation and participation. The article finds that participation in groups (reflected by hashtags) is determined by shared interests or grievances (mob psychology) and shaped by propaganda. It concludes that social media are tools or platforms that can be used for good or bad, echoing realities on the ground, such as poverty and social inequalities, as causes of political protest, xenophobia, and looting in South Africa. Political players and activists drive their own agendas by exploiting or emphasising the causes of poverty and social inequalities, thereby attracting followers who reaffirm their messages by tweeting and retweeting. The article concludes that social media are weaponised for protest, causing panic, anxiety, and discomfort that linger for an unspecified period until another outbreak.

Misinformation and Fact-checking on the disturbances of the Procés of Catalonia : Digital impact on Public and Media

The outbreak of misinformation and computational propaganda added to the invasion of fake news and the prominence of audiences on social networks becomes a hallmark of the political and media agenda. The publication of the Sentence of the Supreme Court that sanctions the rebellion of independent politicians during the Procés of Catalonia provokes citizen mobilizations that occupy the front pages of the media. The general objective is to know the number and theme of hoaxes spread about the riots on different digital platforms. We apply a content analysis methodology to a general sample (n1=4.500) of hoaxes reported by factchecking agencies (Maldito Bulo, Newtral, Verificat) and news (n2=190) published in the national and international press (El País/el Mundo, El Periódico/Ara, The Guardian/Le Monde). The results confirm that private users are the main authors of fake news and that journalists use verification codes to combat misinformation.

Promises and challenges of deliberative and participatory innovations in hybride regimes: The case of two citizens’ assemblies in Serbia

A worrying trend of autocratization that has been spreading globally in recent years, has thrust forward a new wave of appeals for deliberative and participatory democracy as a remedy for the crisis. With a few exceptions, the majority of participatory and deliberative institutions were implemented in stable democracies. The efforts to institutionalize participatory and deliberative models are almost completely absent in Serbia and other Western Balkan countries. Yet, there has been a trend of citizen mobilization in the form of social movements and local civic initiatives, which are both a symptom of unresponsive and quite openly authoritarian institutions, as well as a potential pathway to democratization. The pace and scope of these developments in the undemocratic societies of the Western Balkan region, in terms of both bottom up and top-down democratic experimentation, call for a better understanding of their internal dynamics, and their social and political impact. Responding to this need, the articles in the special issue focus on social movement mobilizations and deliberative experimentation. To begin with, our introductory article focuses particularly on understanding the possible role deliberative institutions could have in hybrid regimes. It looks at the first two cases of deliberative mini publics (DMPs) ever organized in Serbia, analyzing their rationale, specific design, implementation, as well as considering the possible role deliberative institutions could play in the hybrid regime of Serbia.

Health, out-of-home activities and digital inclusion in later life: Implications for emerging mobility services

This paper focuses on the question of how digital technologies are differentially embedded in day-to-day practices and associated with mobility and health of older citizens. The motivation is to look for evidence that helps us anticipate opportunities and barriers of digital technologies and innovative transport services in enhancing independent living, social inclusion, health and well-being in ageing societies. Using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), we identify six groups with different day-to-day leisure practices and find that the use of digital technology (Internet use, smart phones) is associated with higher frequencies of out-of-home activities. Barriers associated with lower levels of engagement include health-related restrictions, the same barriers that also prevent patronage of public transport. Although digital technology use has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of skills, access to equipment and health problems contribute to a continued Digital Divide. We conclude that the digitalisation of both public and transport services is unlikely to support independent living for all by itself and could indeed exacerbate existing inequalities. Instead, addressing issues of exclusion among less active, mobility-restricted groups require targeted service designs that respond to differential health and skills-related barriers in using digital technologies.

Anatomy of a Social Crisis and Performance as Protest ritual in Postmodernity: The Chant of the Yellow Vests.

Protest has long occurred as an effective communication tool for societies that have suffered from the oppression of their ruling structures. This article therefore aims primarily to analyze the components of the social drama and conflict that gave rise to the citizen mobilizations of the “Gilets jaunes” Yellow Vests in France at the end of 2018 and throughout 2019. In this sense, the ritual dimension is studied, emphasizing the role of performance and its diffusion on social media as fundamental elements of the current activist context. The symbolic object, performative acts such as music and, especially chants, are configured as an indispensable part of citizen mobilizations.
 For this analysis, the methodology employed was through the ethnographic observation in situ during the marches on the city of Paris; in addition to the hemerographic review and the netnographic monitoring of the protests after 2018 in other cities of France. Through comparative analysis, these observations were contrasted with a part of the bibliography relevant to the different elements that compose this object of study comprises and with other protests that have had an important broadcasting in the globalized world.
 The above confirms the importance given by democratic societies to protest as a form of citizen communication, as well as to its ritual codes. In the French context, La Marseillaise and Le Chant des Partisans stand out for their symbolic and textual load of civil resistance and active opposition to the alienations produced by the governing structures.
 Finally, this research aims to offer an approximation of the forms of peaceful resistance in the specific phenomenon of the Yellow Vests, a model that, in a general way, will allow us to study to a certain extent the most relevant cases of protest in recent years. The function of their performative codes, their reception and dissemination on the various platforms that support social networks, whose easy accessibility does not imply the infinite return to nostalgic memory, but a forceful evidence and the clamor for justice.

Efficiency and problems of distance learning: Experience of Russia and Kazakhstan

The last decade has been marked by large-scale and rapid changes in education, taking place on the basis of modern infocommunication and digital technologies, new hardware and software, as well as teaching methods updated in accordance with this. The limited mobility of citizens due to the coronavirus pandemic further intensified these processes, when, even with a low readiness of educational institutions to switch to distance (electronic, remote) technologies, teachers and students had to quickly master these technologies and use them in practice. The resulting experience allows us to identify not only problematic, sometimes even negative, features of distance learning, but also to make sure of the undoubted advantages of these technologies. The article points out the need for a systematic analysis when deciding on the use of e-learning, taking into account both technical and methodological, as well as personnel readiness for the implementation of this technology.The article analyzes these problems using the example of teaching both technical and humanitarian disciplines. The experience of distance work is analyzed on the example of cooperation between the Moscow Technical University of Communications and Informatics (Russia) and the L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (Kazakhstan), which in its practical activities purposefully invites foreign professors to deliver lectures, guide undergraduates, etc., including those based on distance technology. The data of an anonymous questionnaire survey of students of these universities are given, allowing to assess the effectiveness of the decisions made, as well as to clarify the existing problems.

Inclusive trends of urban development: Temporalspatial social practices

The article presents the results of a review of the data of Russian and international research of social-urban development as presented at the scientific events in the Saratov region. In contemporary urbanism, there is a number of trends: temporal, of universal design, and social-cultural. The Russian urban development follows agglomeration trends that are increasingly evident in the processes of settlement, which means active development of suburban areas, changes in their landscape characteristics, cultural spaces, and mobility of citizens. The covid-19 pandemic had a complex impact on the social-urban features of cities in Russia and the world by transforming the structure and functionality of many urban locations, creating conditions for the emergence of a post-coronavirus city. The empirical data show that such a city is the most socially sensitive to negative and positive aspects of social life and to manifestations of inclusive practices that unite people. Under the low, fragmented accessibility of social, cultural and other infrastructure of cities that are designed for healthy people, there is a synchronization of urban infrastructure elements in the context of inclusion due to the social demand for a coronavirus transformation of the architectural and urban environment in terms of social distancing. Based on the research data from different regions of Russia, the authors identify priority directions of the inclusive development of social urbanism: models of the inclusive culture of urban communities; monitoring of the city accessible environment for citizens of different age and mobility (in particular, with the tracing and walk along approaches); model of participatory urban planning and social expertise of the inclusiveness of the urban space; educational model of professional training in the field of social urbanism and universal design.

Gender and Public Space: Mapping Palimpsests of Art, Design, and Agency in Shahbag, Dhaka

Public space is an essential social infrastructure for the continuous negotiation of city life and democracy because it offers (ideally) an interactive platform for people from diverse social and cultural backgrounds and the forms of public life they cherish. This contribution inquires how public space’s design and materiality play a fundamental role in popular struggles for social justice. By focusing on the differentiated access of women to public space, the role of gender in its design, and appropriation through a feminist intersectionality lens, this article aims to understand better the complex interplay between urban space and its non‐human material agency vis‐à‐vis citizen mobilizations, movements, and socially engaged art interventions. Drawing from extensive participant observation and spatial analysis, the exemplary public space of Shahbag Chattwar (a public square/plaza) will shed light on the “gendered spatiality” of pivotal popular mobilizations and reclamations from the historical momentum of the 1952 language movement, over the 2013 contemporary Shahbag protests, and to the 2020 anti‐metro rail protests at the Dhaka University campus. Analyzing urban space as a “palimpsest,” this research reflects on both historic and ongoing scenarios of popular protests as they repeatedly occupy public space and leave spatial traces through spatial design and art. In sum, the article seeks to gain insight into public space as a principal site of contestation and negotiation of juxtaposed layers of gendered dynamics, civil rights, secularism, and fundamentalism.

Increasing acceptance of a vaccination program for coronavirus disease 2019 in France: A challenge for one of the world’s most vaccine-hesitant countries

France is one of the most vaccine-hesitant countries in the world, including for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). After 10 months of restrictive measures and media coverage of the dangers of COVID-19, French attitudes towards a vaccine continue to deteriorate. The communication strategies of the government have not helped; in fact, they have made the situation worse.Empirical studies on the national strategy for management of the COVID-19 pandemic in France have shed light on the reasons for vaccine hesitancy. These studies have identified four pillars for the vaccination strategy: i) Communication regarding the importance of herd immunity, ii) making healthcare workers the focus of the vaccination campaign, iii) citizen mobilization and guaranteed consultations, and iv) access to free vaccines without delay. This paper discusses the evidence supporting this strategy.

Problematic use of the internet during the COVID-19 pandemic: Good practices and mental health recommendations

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the accelerated spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus came jurisdictional limitations on mobility of citizens and distinct alterations in their daily routines. Confined to their homes, many people increased their overall internet use, with problematic use of the internet (PUI) becoming a potential reason for increased mental health concerns. Our narrative review summarizes information on the extent of PUI during the pandemic, by focusing on three types: online gaming, gambling and pornography viewing. We conclude by providing guidance for mental health professionals and those affected by PUI (with an outline of immediate research priorities and best therapeutic approaches), as well as for the general public (with an overview of safe and preventative practices).

A survey on server-based electronic identification and signature schemes to improve eIDAS: with a new proposal for Turkey.

The design, development, and implementation of e-Government applications aim to improve the quality of daily life and facilitate the mobility of citizens by reducing the constraints imposed by existing borders. This study examines previous research in the literature on electronic identification (eID) credentials technologies and the projects carried out in Europe. This study focuses especially on server-based e-signing methods. In the light of these reviews, the applicability of a server-based mobile electronic signature model without disrupting local initiatives has been examined as a case study. As an exemplary case, Turkey’s eID structure is examined from a technical and legal perspective. When creating the proposed server-based eID model, it was especially inspired by Austria’s server-based approach in use. In this process, the suitability of the existing structure with the server-based e-signing method was examined. In addition, some suggestions were made to eliminate the problems that may prevent the use of the proposed server-based e-signing method. This study revealed that a server-based electronic signature approach would develop a more user-friendly and flexible solution in identity management. It was concluded that using a server-based signature approach would help achieve international standards for cross-border online identification methods.

Analysis and Assessment of New Permanent Teacher Training Activities under the Erasmus+ Program from the Perspective of the Participants of Spain in Times of COVID-19

The Erasmus+ program (2014–2020) is one of the main initiatives developed by the European Commission in the field of education and is the final joint evolution of other minor and prior actions that provide schools and teachers with funding to carry out international mobility projects with a variety of formative activities. The benefits of carrying out international mobility activities to strengthen student learning and teacher training are well known and have been researched or reported even from the early stages of a program that was born back in the 1980s but has always been focused on the university level. When considering teachers at early levels (schools and high schools), the 2014–2020 Erasmus+ program was the main source of funding to grant Spanish teachers permanent training activities abroad with a direct positive impact on their careers. The year 2020 is the last year of the first evolution of the Erasmus+ program, which has been renewed, extended, and strengthened for a new six-year term (2021–2027). However, 2020 has also been a significant year. The COVID-19 global pandemic continues to affect the mobility of citizens within the different territories of the union and, thus, have a direct negative impact on international teacher and student mobility. Being 2020 the end of a cycle and a critical moment, it is the perfect time to conduct an analysis of the data associated with the participation of teachers and schools in Spain, their perceptions of the program, the different activities carried out, and the impact of the pandemic. This research study is based on an analysis of an opinion survey through a nationwide sample of teachers participating in KA101 Erasmus+ projects. This paper gathers and presents data and conclusions using information previously not available that most of the time is published in official reports globally without considering the particularities of the different states of the European Union.

Guilty, until Proven Innocent: The Fossilization of Discriminatory Practices in Visa Law and Policy as portrayed in Anna Segher’s Transit and Juan de Recacoechea’s American Visa

Visas play a crucial role in facilitating international travel and immigration in contemporary times, particularly in enabling global mobility for citizens from the Global South. However, visa law and policy, from the time of their inception, have contributed to systemic human rights violations and loss of applicants’ dignity. Although the right to freedom of movement and human dignity are celebrated in multiple international covenants, material practices of visa law and policy impinge on these very rights and dignities; from the 1930s when visas were primarily used to limit the mobility of Jews, to contemporary times when the objects of visa law are primarily citizens from the Global South. This paper highlights the problem of the fossilization of such discriminatory practices embedded in visa law and policy by putting in conversation policy and legal research with close readings of two literary texts from Germany and Bolivia; Transit by Anna Seghers (1944) and American Visa by Juan de Recacoechea (1994). Although experiences of discrimination, violation, disrespect, and denial of rights are consistently and repeatedly experienced by visa applicants across time and space, as evident from the literary and non-literary examples discussed in this paper, only limited research exists on how visa law and policy impinge on human rights and dignity. This paper presents a critique of discriminatory practices that have become bureaucratized and normalized through visa law from the 1930s onwards. It identifies and problematizes ethical violations rising out of the practice of visa law and policy as they apply to citizens from the Global South. This work engages the evocative, empathetic, and representational capacity of literary texts to highlight existing issues related to the material practices of visa law and policy, which are categorized under four main types of violations: 1. pre-submission indignities 2. consular interactions and intimidations 3. indignities rising from the arbitrary collection of personal data and 4. the bureaucracy of documentation.

Determinants of success and constraints of integrated ridesharing in rural areas

Ridesharing is often seen as a possibility to increase the mobility of citizens in rural areas, especially in connection with existing public transport. Two platforms were examined and evaluated in the research project “GetMobil”, which focuses on the barriers and potentials in relation to the effects achieved. This was done with several surveys, analysis of usage data and expert interviews. The research showed that one common feature of both platforms was the low number of successfully completed rides. The question arising from this is: how should a ridesharing platform be designed in order to achieve a high proportion of matches between ridesharing offers and requests, motivate as many people as possible to participate actively and increase the mobility of residents in the region. Based on the examinations, recommendations were compiled for implementing ridesharing services.

COMMUNITY RESPONSES OF NORTH BANDUNG SUBURBS TO LAND CONVERSION

The northern suburbs of Bandung City are an expansion area of the development of Bandung City. The regional development in suburban areas can cause land conversion problems. The objective of the present study was to identify the community's response and the factors of land conversion in the northern suburbs of Bandung City. A descriptive quantitative method was employed through the presentation of percentages and the results of interviews with 108 respondents. Findings reveal that the people’s responses to land conversion exhibited positive and negative responses. Among the positive responses were that land conversion was perceived appropriate for regional development; road construction could increase citizen mobility and create job opportunities. Meanwhile, among the negative responses were that land conversion could result in hot temperatures, barren fields, humidity, lack of water sources, and the loss of agricultural land. The factors affecting land use conversion included population growth, the development of the Bandung City area, construction of residential and tourist areas, increased land prices, and socio-cultural factors of the Sundanese people.Keywords: community response, land function conversion factors, suburbs of the north of Bandung, land function conversion

Analisis Parameter Fisik-Kimia Air Sungai Kadia pada Tahun Pertama Pandemi COVID-19 di Kota Kendari

The high risk of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has caused the government set a various of policies to limit citizen mobility. The imposition of this mobility restriction has a significant impact on the environment. This study aims to analyze several physic-chemical waters parameters in Kadia River during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of this study indicate that temperature, turbidity, DO at low tide and BOD exceed the required quality standard. The contribution of household domestic waste is very likely to have an effect on the height of some of these parameters, because in the first-year people are more active at home (work from home). The other parameters (DHL, pH, NO2, PO4) are still within the quality standard threshold level. Therefore, it is necessary to control and manage waste water from urban domestic so that the sustainability of river ecosystems can continue in the future.

Citizens’ Perceptions of Local Government Services and Their Trust in Local Authorities: Implications for Local Government in Mauritius

The linkage between local perceptions of municipal services and the level of trust in the local government is an under-researched and yet relevant aspect for a small multi-ethnic island like Mauritius. This research draws from the opinions of some 400 Mauritian inhabitants gathered through a Citizens’ Satisfaction Survey carried out in 2018 to evaluate the attitudes of citizens towards local government services and trigger further research on future options for improving the local government sector. The results from a structural equation modelling (SEM) indicate that satisfaction with local outputs is a significant predictor of trust in local authorities. Trust in public institutions is also found to be a possible mediator in this nexus. Further probing into citizens’ responses reveals that their preferences for local public goods differ across jurisdictions and vary with level of education. Findings also point to a tendency for citizen mobility which can have important implications for improving local services through fiscal decentralisation.JEL Classification: H1, H3, H4

El Comportamiento de la Pandemia en las Alcaldías. De cómo Contribuyen las Alcaldías para el Desarrollo de la COVID-19 en la Ciudad de México

This paper discuss the extent to which municipalities (alcaldias) in Mexico City contributed to the magnitude of the COVID-19 health emergency. To do so, we use the language of the communications to citizens to explain the behavior of the pandemic and the mobility of citizens across municipalities. We use the prevalence of confirmed cases to conjecture about active cases, particularly concerning the time until flattening the curve. The main objective is to show the behavior of the pandemic by visualizing the evolution that the pandemic (as a health phenomenon) had throughout the year. We use three important dates to show how likely (or not) citizens were to follow stay-at-home restrictions. We also discuss which municipalities' trends are likely to explain the city's trends. The main goal of this project is to help understand and explain the pandemic as a phenomenon as unexpected as it was and which may have no short or medium-run solution.

Behavioural changes in transport and future repercussions of the COVID-19 outbreak in Spain

COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) brought about a huge change in the behaviour and mobility of citizens in all parts of the world. This change was mainly a consequence of the strong measures of isolation and social distancing taken by the different governments in most countries through the world. The specific measures adopted in each country, in combination with the particular characteristics of the spread of the virus, generated differentiated, although similar, behavioural changes. This article presents the analysis of a survey carried out in Spain in March 2020, where citizens were asked about their mobility preferences before, during and after the lockdown due to the virus. In turn, questions were asked about the preferred modes of transport in each of the situations and the perception of safety on public transport in their current conditions. The mobility questions were differentiated between commuting to work or studies, shopping and leisure. The results show that public transport was the most affected transport mode, with a considerable increase in the use of the bicycle and walking trips. At the same time, changes were observed in the behaviour of shopping trips, including a considerable decrease on the use of large supermarkets. Citizens perceived great uncertainty in planning leisure trips, the consequence of which could be that a higher proportion of people not being able to carry out their planned trips.