Cross-national Perspective Research Articles

Securing Moral Authority: A Cross-National Analysis of Protestant Engagement in the Implementation of Morality Policies in Western Europe

Churches have a hard time defending their moral values in the political sphere of an ever more secular and liberal Western Europe. A largely neglected means of navigating this crisis is through the Church’s role as a charitable provider during the implementation of morality policies. This paper examines this type of church involvement from a cross-national and cross-sectoral perspective. We describe the activities of Protestant churches in four morality policy areas in three European countries: Germany, England, and Denmark. The variation in religious engagement observed in these areas and countries appear to be driven by the churches’ room to maneuver and their policy congruence with state goals, whereas governance capacities are secondary. Thus, the provision of social services can still serve as a means by which Protestant churches can exert moral authority, especially if these social services are related to moral issues.

Back to normal? The health care situation of home care receivers across Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications on health.

The COVID-19 pandemic began impacting Europe in early 2020, posing significant challenges for individuals requiring care. This group is particularly susceptible to severe COVID-19 infections and depends on regular health care services. In this article, we examine the situation of European care recipients aged 50 years and older 18 months after the pandemic outbreak and compare it to the initial phase of the pandemic. In the descriptive section, we illustrate the development of (unmet) care needs and access to health care throughout the pandemic. Additionally, we explore regional variations in health care receipt across Europe. In the analytical section, we shed light on the mid- and long-term health consequences of COVID-19-related restrictions on accessing health care services by making comparisons between care recipients and individuals without care needs. We conducted an analysis using data from the representative Corona Surveys of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Our study examines changes in approximately 3,400 care-dependent older Europeans (aged 50+) interviewed in 2020 and 2021, comparing them with more than 45,000 respondents not receiving care. The dataset provides a cross-national perspective on care recipients across 27 European countries and Israel. Our findings reveal that in 2021, compared to the previous year, difficulties in obtaining personal care from someone outside the household were significantly reduced in Western and Southern European countries. Access to health care services improved over the course of the pandemic, particularly with respect to medical treatments and appointments that had been canceled by health care institutions. However, even 18 months after the COVID-19 outbreak, a considerable number of treatments had been postponed either by respondents themselves or by health care institutions. These delayed medical treatments had adverse effects on the physical and mental health of both care receivers and individuals who did not rely on care.

Privatization of preschool education: The implications for educational inequalities in cross-national perspective

Preschool education is regarded by many researchers and policymakers as a potential equalizer of educational opportunities. Yet, cross-national research shows that there exist large variations in the equalizing effects of preschool education across countries. In this paper, we study to what extent the national level of privatization of the preschool sector can explain these cross-national differences by examining its impact on the equalizing effects of preschool education. For this purpose, we use data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2016 for 24 countries. The results show that having spent more time in preschool is more strongly associated with primary school achievements for children of disadvantaged families. We find some modest support that this compensatory pattern—in which preschool compensates for a reduced set of resources in the home environment—is somewhat weaker in societies with higher levels of privatization, though not reaching conventional standards of statistical significance. The study highlights the relevance of considering the impact of national preschool settings on the distribution of preschool benefits across children with varying socioeconomic backgrounds.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Based Technology Adoption in the Construction Industry: A Cross National Perspective Using the Technology Acceptance Model

The research has chosen the workers in construction-related companies in South Korea and the United Kingdom (UK) as research subjects in order to analyse factors that influence their usage intention of Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technologies. The perceived usefulness had a positive impact (+) on technological satisfaction and usage intention in terms of the commonalities shown by the construction industry workers in both countries, South Korea and the UK, in adopting AI-based technologies. Moreover, the most remarkable differences were personal competence and social influence when choosing AI-based technologies. It was analysed that in the case of South Korea, personal competence had a positive impact (+) on perceived ease of use, whereas the UK had a positive impact (+) on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. This study holds particular significance in the domain of cross-cultural research within the construction industry. It conducts an analysis of the factors influencing the adoption of AI-driven technologies or products, with a specific focus on the cultural differences between two nations: South Korea and the UK, which represent Eastern and Western cultural paradigms, respectively.

The impact of financial insecurity on self-reported health: Europe in cross-national perspective

Using the EU-SILC 2008 module on over-indebtedness and financial exclusion, this paper analyses how perceived future-orientated economic insecurity alters individual self-assessed health (SAH), once controlling for past and current financial situation in a range of European countries. Those effects differ by gender and by country. Our results also suggest that country characteristics explain a larger part of the unknown variability of individual levels of SAH than individual-household characteristics. Thus, our findings might be of help in designing the most effective policies intended to alleviate the individual welfare costs of perceived financial insecurity provoked by upcoming business-cycle downturns.

Parental absence and student academic performance in cross-national perspective: Heterogeneous forms of family separation and the buffering possibilities of grandparents

Many children around the world reside separately from one parent or both parents. Analyzing cross-national student performance and survey data, we investigate whether forms of family separation show distinctive associations with academic performance. Three findings emerge: 1) Students separated from both parents are most academically disadvantaged, while those living separately from mothers are usually more disadvantaged than those living without fathers. 2) In households with co-resident grandparents and in national contexts conducive to multi-generational or extended family co-residence, disadvantages associated with father-absent and dual-parent-absent households attenuate. 3) Academic disadvantages associated with parental absence attenuate as national emigration exceeds immigration.

Corruption and Palm Oil in a Cross-National Perspective: How India Contributes to Forest Loss in Peripheral Nations

Drawing on the ecologically unequal exchange theory, we assess whether palm oil exports from peripheral nations to India are related to increased forest loss in the peripheral nations in the context of petty and grand corruption, which has not been done before. We go on to build upon previous cross-national work by examining if petty and grand corruption interacts with the ecologically unequal exchange of palm exports from peripheral nations to India. We test this hypothesis using ordinary least squares regression for a sample of 78 peripheral nations and find that palm oil exports to India are related to more forest loss in peripheral nations with higher rather than lower levels of petty and grand corruption. We conclude by discussing the theoretical, methodological and policy implications that follow from our findings.

Exploring the pivotal role of community engagement on tourists’ behaviors in social media: A cross-national study

With the prevalence of social media networks (SMNs) as platforms for community engagement, substantial attention from academics and practitioners has been paid to investigating the antecedents and consequences of community engagement. Yet, more research is needed to understand the motivations/de-motivations of this concept and its behavioral consequences. Against this backdrop, this study builds on several research streams, including the adapted framework from Hollebeek and Macky, supported by the uses-and-gratifications (U&G) theory and the social exchange theory, and proposes a new framework that explains key individual-level antecedents and first-, second-, and third-tier consequences. This study then goes a step beyond and validates our proposed framework from a cross-national perspective. Data were collected from tourists in the United States and China and analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings suggest that perceived anonymity triggers three levels of tourist community engagement (i.e., “consumption” “contribution” and “creation” in SMNs, while these levels enhance cold and hot brand relationship quality (BRQ). Cold and hot BRQ boost trip decision-making and cross-buying decisions. There are some differences between the American (group 1) and the Chinese (group 2) tourists. For example, in the relationship between perceived anonymity and the three levels of engagement, the effects were stronger for group 1. However, the effect of creation on hot BRQ, and the effect of cold BRQ on cross-buying decisions were stronger for group 2. These findings contribute to the existing research and practice of SMNs as platforms for community engagement in the tourism context.

Incremental population density improvement via missing middle housing under density-based and form-based zoning ordinances

Purpose The purpose of the study is to observe the feasibility of missing middle housing’s (MMH) realization under density-based zoning, form-based zoning and a combination of both while simultaneously providing affordable housing, improving quality of life and making efficient use of land. Design/methodology/approach This study takes a theorist approach and designs three hypothetical cottage court projects that comply with all relevant official local zoning ordinances to showcase design feasibility, followed by an analytical component in the form of a financial model constructed using official local economic and demographic conditions. Findings MMH, and in particular cottage clusters, can be implemented under rigorous density-based, form-based and hybrid (density-based + form-based) zoning ordinances and provide affordable housing (Atlanta, GA), improve quality of life (Blackpool, UK) and make efficient use of land (Jinan, China). All hypothetical projects are financially feasible under reasonable conditions. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first in the body of knowledge to discuss how the MMH can be integrated into urban density-based zoning rather than converting density-based zoning into form-based so that the MMH can fit. The paper also takes a cross-national perspective and discusses the feasibility of MMH in the resolution of housing issues in the USA, China and the UK. The study also concludes that the issue of housing unaffordability in the UK was caused by high construction cost relative to median income.

Benchmarking countries' technical efficiency using AHP-based weighted slack-based measurement (W-SBM): A cross-national perspective

ObjectivesThe objective of the research is to assess the technical efficiency of national health systems in OECD member countries and to provide ideas to improve the efficiency of health systems in countries that have been identified as having a lower degree of efficiency as a result of the findings. MethodsThe technical efficiency scores were calculated using one of the data envelopment analyses (DEA), the Weighted Slack-Based Measure (W-SBM). The Analytic Hierarchy Process was used to establish the aforementioned weights (AHP). Weights are calculated separately for both input and output variables. ResultsThe technical efficiency of the relevant countries' health systems is around 0.79, according to the data, and just 13 (36.1%) of the 36 countries have a fairly efficient health system. ConclusionsThe outcomes of the study were supposed to aid health policymakers and management in improving system efficiency. In addition, since the number of studies examining the health systems of OECD countries with the W-SBM method is limited, it is thought that this study will make an important contribution to the literature.

Young People’s Perceptions of Transitioning from School to Higher Education: A Cross-National Perspective

Education can provide individuals access to work and career possibilities. It may also contribute to greater societal equality, facilitating social mobility. The transition from secondary school (SEC) to higher education (HE) (and beyond) is particularly important, impacting both on individuals’ lives and on society more widely (e.g., by supplying labor markets with required qualifications). Taking an interdisciplinary, cross-national perspective, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 young people from Germany, Argentina, and Chile, aiming to enhance understanding of individuals’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators of transitioning from SEC to HE, in the context of their personal/family situations, social structures and cultural environments. Thematic data analysis pointed to commonality in terms of what young people from the three countries consider as facilitators (e.g., personal ambition; support from family/friends) and barriers (e.g., high expectations of oneself/family/friends; lack of interest in study subject). Unsurprisingly, given the three countries’ distinct educational systems, societal structures, cultural values etc., the findings also revealed some differences across the three cases, such as role models acting as an important facilitator much more in Germany compared to Chile and Argentina. We conclude that many contextual and personal factors can both facilitate and hinder young people from accessing to and thriving in HE, most of which are relevant to individuals regardless of their country of origin. Further research could expand our qualitative study, for instance, through a large-scale, quantitative study across a wider range of countries.

Exploring public risk perceptions of microplastics: Findings from a cross-national qualitative interview study among German and Italian citizens.

Microplastics are receiving growing attention in the public debate, while the scientific assessment of risks of microplastics to ecological and human health is still ongoing. Previous studies suggest concerns among the general public with country-specific differences. However, little is known about the reasoning underlying these concerns. By conducting qualitative interviews with German (n=15) and Italian citizens (n=15), this study adopted a cross-national perspective to investigate which concepts shape citizens' perceptions of microplastics. A qualitative content analysis was used, with coding categories and subcategories developed inductively. Results showed that interviewees formed assumptions around microplastics despite own uncertainties, transferred knowledge from macro- to microplastics, and used the concepts of accumulation and dose-response relationship to make sense of the topic. Moreover, they saw the domains of human health and the environment as intertwined and expressed helplessness when discussing solutions to the microplastics issue. Many themes on the topic were similar in both samples, but there were also some differences. For instance, whereas Italian participants talked about marine-related microplastics, German participants talked about airborne sources; also, German participants tended to recognize more strongly the actions their country was putting in place to address the problem. These findings underscore the need for proactive risk communication despite remaining gaps in scientific risk assessment. Beyond providing technical information, communicators should consider the reasoning behind risk perception on microplastics and address scientific uncertainty as well as the interconnectedness between the domains of human health and the environment.

Life history data from the gateway to global ageing data platform: resources for studying life courses across Europe

Research from a range of disciplines highlights the need to adopt a life course perspective that considers earlier life courses to explain outcomes in later life (e.g. later life health, cognitive ageing or retirement behaviour). This includes a more comprehensive assessment of earlier life courses over time and of how they are shaped by societal and political contexts. But quantitative data with detailed information on life courses that allow to address these questions are rare. Or, in case the data are available, the data are rather difficult to handle and appears to be underused. This contribution introduces the harmonized life history data from the gateway to global ageing data platform from two European Surveys, SHARE and ELSA, with data from 30 European countries. Besides providing some details on the collection of life history data in the two surveys, we also describe the way how raw data were rearranged in a user-friendly state sequence format and additionally give some examples based on the resulting data. This illustrates the potential of collected life history data from SHARE and ELSA, clearly going beyond the description of single aspects of the life course. By providing harmonized data of two prominent studies on ageing in Europe in a user-friendly format, the gateway to global ageing data platform provides a unique data source that is easily accessible for research, and permits to study life course and their links to later life in a cross-national perspective.

A Cross-National Study of Nomophobia Among Brazilian, Chinese, French, and U.S. Young People: The Role of Materialism

Why do young people from Generation Z (born between 1995 and the mid-2000s) become nomophobic consumers of smartphones? This research aims for a better understanding of nomophobia, the fear of being without mobile phone contact, and this from a cross-national perspective. Data collected from 1,326 young people (aged 16-24) from Brazil, China, France, and the United States demonstrate that nomophobia is positively related to materialism, the value that consumers place on the acquisition of material objects. A structural equation model shows that the different dimensions of materialism do not affect nomophobia uniformly across national identity. Nomophobia is positively related to the happiness dimension (possessions needed for happiness) in Brazil, to the success dimension (possessions as indicators of success) in China, and to the centrality dimension (possessions as central for the self) in France and the United States. These findings have notable implications for practitioners and researchers.

Political Ideology and Childhood Vaccination in Cross-National Perspective, 1995 to 2018

Although the Covid-19 pandemic has renewed attention to the problem of vaccine hesitancy, vaccination rates for common childhood vaccines such as measles and pertussis have declined in many countries around the world for over a decade. To investigate the potential role of politicization in this decline, I analyze the relationship between the ideological composition of societies and childhood vaccination rates for measles, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus in 88 countries between 1995 and 2018, using pooled cross-national data from the World Values Survey, World Bank, and other sources. Controlling for other key determinants of vaccine uptake, coverage is highest in ideologically moderate societies and lowest in countries that skew to the Right of the political spectrum, while vaccination rates increase when countervailing ideological views are sufficiently well represented in a society. I relate these findings to theories of identity construction and maintenance, focusing especially on the “plausibility structures” approach in the phenomenological tradition and the “subcultural identity” perspective developed in religious contexts.

Social Relationships as Mediators of Material Deprivation, School Bullying Victimization, and Subjective Well-Being among Children Across 25 Countries: A Global and Cross-National Perspective

Social Relationships as Mediators of Material Deprivation, School Bullying Victimization, and Subjective Well-Being among Children Across 25 Countries: A Global and Cross-National Perspective

Does employment status matter for job quality? A cross-national perspective.

Dual labour market theory raises questions about the relationship between non-standard employment and job quality. While scattered empirical evidence exists, there is a paucity of systematic evidence on the relationship between workers' employment status and job quality. The authors investigated the relation between workers' employment status (e.g., open-ended, long- and short-term fixed contracts, economically dependent and independent solo self-employment, and self-employment with employees) and important dimensions of job quality (JQ) (e.g., employment prospects, physical work environment, skills and discretion, and working times quality). Cross-national variation in that relation and causes of that variation (e.g., country-level unemployment rate and labour market efficiency) were also investigated. Hierarchical regression modelling was applied using a sample of 34,094 workers from the European Working Conditions Survey 2015. The study highlighted a negative association between fixed-term contracts and JQ. For self-employed workers (except economically dependent self-employed workers) a generally positive association was observed. In this study, also positive associations were found between labour market efficiency at the country-level and some JQ indicators. National unemployment rates were negatively associated to most JQ indicators. Non-standard employment contracts exhibited poorer job quality than open-ended contracts. Stronger labour market organization centred around indicators of both flexibility and equity related to more beneficial job quality for all employment statuses, thereby promoting more labour market inclusivity.

Factors affecting mentoring services - cross-national perspective

Abstract The research aims at the identification of factors influencing mentoring services with a particular emphasis on the country of origin of the mentor and the mentee. The quantitative research was conducted in four Central and Eastern European countries, i.e., Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania and one Southern European country, Italy. The implemented methodology covered Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis, which were performed to identify factors influencing the process of communication in the mentor–mentee relationship. Moreover, to diagnose statistically significant differences between individual countries in terms of factors influencing the effectiveness of communication, the Kruskal–Wallis H Test and the Mann–Whitney U Test, as well as pair-wise comparisons, were used. Factors influencing communication in the mentor–mentee relationship are mentor traits, mentor’s personal background, mentor’s professional background, non-verbal communication channels, communication barriers, written communication channels, online communication, quality of content and the ability of content processing by the mentee. There are differences in the perception of individual factors in the analysed countries. So far, no cross-country comparison has been conducted of factors influencing mentoring services. As a direction for future research, more detailed research can be recommended concerning factors of the mentoring process in such countries as Lithuania, Latvia and Italy by developing separate models (or EFA) for mentors and mentees.

Perceived stress and mental health during the pandemic of COVID-19: an examination of Taiwanese police officers

PurposeThis study aims to examine Taiwanese male and female police officers' perceived stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachData were analyzed based on surveys conducted with 1,671 officers in various cities and counties between May and July of 2021, during the period of level 3 alert of COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan.FindingsIt was found that officers who perceived poor inter-agency coordination and higher risk of infection, and those who were assigned to home quarantine duty and stationed in the metropolitan areas of Taipei, which suffered the worst spread of infected cases, were more likely to exhibit a higher level of stress. On the other hand, police identity, COVID-19 self-legitimacy, supervisor support, COVID-19 information and adaptive emotion regulation were found to be associated with an enhanced level of mental health.Research limitations/implicationsThe surveys were conducted at the beginning of the community outbreak. Given the cross sectional nature of the data, the findings may not reflect officers' mental health at different phases of the pandemic.Originality/valueSuch study can add a cross-national perspective that can be utilized to generalize about policy perspectives related to police mental health at times of health crises, such as COVID-19 pandemic.

Collateral consequences of criminal records from a cross-national perspective: An introduction

Collateral consequences of criminal records from a cross-national perspective: An introduction