Different Groups Of Citizens Research Articles

Improving Knowledge and Awareness and Contributing to Policy Making on River Pressures through a Citizen Science Approach: Tagus Web Viewer Case (Spain)

Citizen science is considered one of the most appropriate tools to raise public awareness of environmental issues. With the aim of improving knowledge on river environments, this article presents a web application for mobile phones and other portable devices that allows, through the active participation of society, the collection of detailed and systematic information on the main problems facing rivers. The initiative uses a web viewer (Tagus Web Viewer—TagusWV) developed as a pilot project in the Tagus River basin (Spain). This web viewer allows information on river pressures to be collected and the aggregated data to be visualised and extracted for interpretation and analysis. Pressure is defined as any use or activity, legal/illegal, authorised/unauthorised, that has an impact on water quality, morphology, river dynamics or the ecosystem. The data are mainly collected by different groups of citizens. In addition to contributing to the environmental education of citizens involved in a river environment, the data provided in the TagusWV are of particular interest to river managers. The tool is designed to be relevant for any river basin in the world, by simply loading the map, the names of the rivers and the corresponding locations.

Authoritarian responsiveness online: social media strategy of Russian regional governance centers

ABSTRACT This article is dedicated to authoritarian responsiveness and feedback mechanisms that autocratic regimes exploit to keep citizens loyal, using the example of Russia. The study aims to describe how the Russian government uses online feedback mechanisms in political communication. I focus on the activities of the Regional Governance Centers, i.e. project management offices designed to establish communication between authorities and citizens. This communication system represents a proactive approach where authorities initiate engagement with citizens rather than passively receiving complaints. I analyze the content of VK communities operated by these project management offices, where they report how the authorities solve citizens’ problems initially indicated by citizens on social media. The explorative text analysis shows that Regional Governance Centers mostly report on how authorities process citizens’ complaints and solve problems indicated by them. They also promote live Q&A sessions with regional and local authorities and advertise financial support that different groups of citizens can get from the government. Posts containing information about how to communicate directly with officials, warnings about bad weather conditions, information about financial assistance from the government, and self-promotion of these Regional Governance Centers are the most popular in getting user reactions.

The politics of anger: emotional appraisal mechanisms and the French pension reform protests

In this article, using the French pension reform in 2020 as a case, we demonstrate how a focus on emotions helps us to better understand important policy dynamics. While existing approaches of welfare state reform typically focus on rational-materialist and institutionalist approaches, we use appraisal theory of emotion to explain how the reform project and process on the one hand and interest group behaviour and protest on the other are linked via a mechanism of anger. Material interests of different groups of citizens and trade unions clearly matter, but they cannot sufficiently explain the process through which disagreement could erupt in one of the largest and longest protest movements in recent French history. Theoretically integrating material interests and moral reasoning and using a variety of qualitative and public opinion data, we trace the escalation of conflict between key actors which ultimately impeded a comprehensive reform in 2020. Our findings have important implications for research on the role of emotions in policymaking.

Aging, Inflammation, and Comorbidity in Cancers-A General In Silico Study Exemplified by Myeloproliferative Malignancies.

(1) Background: We consider dormant, pre-cancerous states prevented from developing into cancer by the immune system. Inflammatory morbidity may compromise the immune system and cause the pre-cancer to escape into an actual cancerous development. The immune deficiency described is general, but the results may vary across specific cancers due to different variances (2) Methods: We formulate a general conceptual model to perform rigorous in silico consequence analysis. Relevant existing data for myeloproliferative malignancies from the literature are used to calibrate the in silico computations. (3) Results and conclusions: The hypothesis suggests a common physiological origin for many clinical and epidemiological observations in relation to cancers in general. Examples are the observed age-dependent prevalence for hematopoietic cancers, a general mechanism-based explanation for why the risk of cancer increases with age, and how somatic mutations in general, and specifically seen in screenings of citizens, sometimes are non-increased or even decrease when followed over time. The conceptual model is used to characterize different groups of citizens and patients, describing different treatment responses and development scenarios.

International threats and support for European security and defence integration: Evidence from 25 countries

AbstractWhen member states of the European Union face serious international threats, does this serve as a catalyst or obstacle for European integration in the security and defence domain? To gain purchase on this question, this paper examines public opinion from a common instrument fielded in 24 EU member states (and the United Kingdom) with a total sample size of more than 40,000 respondents. We argue that theoretical accounts of perceived threat produce rival hypotheses. Threats might have either uniform or differential effects on different groups of citizens and could lead to either convergence or divergence of public opinion. We show that perceptions of foreign threats are associated with more favourable views on integration in the security and defence domain. Importantly, this association is as strong among Eurosceptics as among Europhiles. The findings presented here are consistent with the view that functional pressures may temporarily convince Eurosceptics to accept integration in the foreign and security domain.

Participatory methodology guidelines to promote citizens participation in decision-making: Evidence based on a Portuguese case study

Citizens' role evolved to become active agents in decision-making. However, existing policy definition procedures are still not tailored to engage citizens and the participation of specific groups. Moreover, it is vital to understand citizens' interests and motivations to set the methods and build democratic methodologies that make them feel comfortable and willing to participate. In this context, this paper explores how policymakers view the role of citizens in policymaking. Specifically, it looks at the obstacles outlined by policymakers to the involvement of citizens in the policy definition. Second, it explores how citizens view their participation and the respective challenges. This study was conducted within the Portuguese context, following a methodology supported by mixed methods research, which combined interviews with policymakers and questionnaires applied to citizens. Furthermore, this research shows detailed data about how the Portuguese population and how particular groups wish to engage in decision-making. Guidelines are presented in the following areas: willingness to be identified, subjects, topics, methods, and channels to participate. The findings suggest there is significant heterogeneity on the engagement modes. Therefore, to promote the inclusion of different groups of citizens, policymakers should tailor participatory methodologies to these, in line with the guidelines of this paper.

Green Spaces of Omsk in Late 19th — Early 20th Centuries: Projects and Initiatives for Greening City

The issue of creating green spaces in the cities of the Russian Empire, relevant for the turn of the 19th—10th centuries, is considered. Particular attention is paid to the city of Omsk, for which this problem was the most acute, since the landscaping of the space was supposed to improve the city in sanitary terms, improve the climate by reducing dust storms and creating recreational areas for citizens. It is noted that the creation of green spaces in Omsk was part of the policy for the improvement of the city and was on a par with the creation of water supply, sewerage, etc. It is shown that during this period many projects for the gardening of Omsk were considered, but only some of them were fully or partially implemented, the reason for which was a rather modest budget. It was revealed that the main direction was the renovation of existing green spaces and the design of parks and squares in the city center near administrative buildings. It is emphasized that projects to change the urban space were put forward by different groups of citizens, including merchants and representatives of the Orthodox Church. In conclusion, it is noted that the gardening of Omsk in the late XIX — early XX centuries was continued after the revolution and turned into a large project to create a garden city.

How Frugal Innovation can empower citizens to make their life simpler and more sustainable. Insights from two ongoing initiatives

Frugal innovation, well managed, offers numerous opportunities for the development of novel solutions with the participation of ordinary citizens, including those belonging to marginalized or vulnerable groups. Since it is about developing solutions that are not only useful and durable, but also affordable, with a clear economy of means, it is an option that cities and regions should consider, as they normally struggle with tight budgets and a lack of inspiring ideas while trying to keep up with a rapidly changing environment. Unlocking the creative potential of citizens in collaboration with the business sector through frugal innovation challenges, for example, can result in better services and products and help reposition the city or region as a hub of innovation, thereby attracting new talent and investments.The European project FRANCIS aims to develop frugal innovations through open innovation challenges involving different groups of citizens with the support of scientists and industry throughout the innovation process. Citizens can join the challenges through an online and face-to-face platform. Overall, FRANCIS does everything possible to activate and motivate civil society to participate in these challenges and ensure that potential barriers are overcome. In addition, behavioural testing and analysis is used to understand the most frequently encountered barriers at different stages of the frugal innovation process and to generate effective mitigation strategies. The project also aims to align the challenges with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) indicators.To maximize its impact, FRANCIS works consistently to encourage and engage interested cities and regions in the frugal innovation process together with their citizens. The city of Bielefeld in Germany is one of the pioneers that wants to increase its innovation potential through the establishment of international innovation partnerships, which in turn will attract and retain the highest level of talent and expertise.This paper will present the tools developed to date by FRANCIS project to guide and support the frugal innovation process with citizens so that it leads to a successful outcome, in addition to commenting on the Bielefeld case as an example for other cities interested in following the same path of innovation.

Similar citizen portrayals? Converging media-based othering in tabloids and broadsheets

Political communication researchers studying the news media coverage often distinguish between broadsheets and tabloids when sampling relevant news outlets. But recent work has pointed towards a ‘tabloidization’ of news coverage, complicating the empirical distinction between the two. Computational methods for text analysis can help us better understand how distinct the news coverage between these two types of news outlets is. We take the Brexit referendum as a case study illustrating various aspects in which broadsheets and tabloids cover an issue permeated by othering and divisive rhetoric. We focus on Brexit-related news coverage before and after the referendum (N = 32,946) and use word embeddings to analyze the portrayal of different groups of citizens that can generate an in- and outgroup divide. First, we document the presence of media-based othering in the form of overly similar migrant and European Union citizen representations that are, in turn, very dissimilar to the UK citizen representation. Second, we show partial convergence between tabloid and broadsheet newspapers, as differences in the degree and characteristics of media coverage are rather small and specific.

The Centre and Periphery: The Role of City Embankments and Youth Practices

The article focuses on city embankments as social and spatial developments, which are an essential attribute of the city and an integral element in the lifestyle of citizens. As a contact point between the city and the water, embankments act as public spaces that exercise a wide range of functions. They also become points of attraction for various social groups, including young people. In the study conducted in autumn of 2021, we focused on the embankments of a large industrial city (Yekaterinburg, Russia). The “centre-periphery” vector was used as the basis for the typology of embankments, and the value young people attach to embankments has been determined. Using the methods of observation and interviews (n = 16), it was found that the leading functions of the central embankments in the views of city youth are communicative, aesthetic, integrative, leisure, including flânerie, cognitive, transit, self-awareness, security, and identity assertion. Peripheral embankments structure the city space, develop neighbourhood identity and support the function of spending free time. At the same time, undeveloped areas of the periphery are being marginalised and become dangerous. The article argues for the need to develop peripheral embankments through well-maintained footpaths, access to water, leisure and recreational infrastructure, creating comfortable living conditions for the “appropriation” of embankments and their social production through the actions and interactions of different groups of citizens, including young people.

Inequities in Health Care Services Caused by the Adoption of Digital Health Technologies: Scoping Review.

BackgroundDigital health technologies (ie, the integration of digital technology and health information) aim to increase the efficiency of health care delivery; they are rapidly adapting to health care contexts to provide improved medical services for citizens. However, contrary to expectations, their rapid adoption appears to have led to health inequities, with differences in health conditions or inequality in the distribution of health care resources among different populations.ObjectiveThis scoping review aims to identify and describe the inequities of health care services brought about by the adoption of digital health technologies. The factors influencing such inequities, as well as the corresponding countermeasures to ensure health equity among different groups of citizens, were also studied.MethodsPrimary studies and literature, including articles and reviews, published in English between 1990 and 2020 were retrieved using appropriate search strategies across the following three electronic databases: Clarivate Analytics’ Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus. Data management was performed by two authors (RY and WZ) using Thomson Endnote (Clarivate Analytics, Inc), by systematically screening and identifying eligible articles for this study. Any conflicts of opinion were resolved through discussions with the corresponding author. A qualitative descriptive synthesis was performed to determine the outcomes of this scoping review.ResultsA total of 2325 studies were collected during the search process, of which 41 (1.76%) papers were identified for further analysis. The quantity of literature increased until 2016, with a peak in 2020. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway ranked among the top 3 countries for publication output. Health inequities caused by the adoption of digital health technologies in health care services can be reflected in the following two dimensions: the inability of citizens to obtain and adopt technology and the different disease outcomes found among citizens under technical intervention measures. The factors that influenced inequities included age, race, region, economy, and education level, together with health conditions and eHealth literacy. Finally, action can be taken to alleviate inequities in the future by government agencies and medical institutions (eg, establishing national health insurance), digital health technology providers (eg, designing high-quality tools), and health care service recipients (eg, developing skills to access digital technologies).ConclusionsThe application of digital health technologies in health care services has caused inequities to some extent. However, existing research has certain limitations. The findings provide a comprehensive starting point for future research, allowing for further investigation into how digital health technologies may influence the unequal distribution of health care services. The interaction between individual subjective factors as well as social support and influencing factors should be included in future studies. Specifically, access to and availability of digital health technologies for socially disadvantaged groups should be of paramount importance.

On the relationship between party polarization and citizen polarization

Do party policy offerings simply reflect public opinion or do parties shape public demand for policies? Theories of party position-taking and the operation of democracy expect parties to track their supporters’ positions, while scholarship of public opinion has shown voters often adopt the position of their preferred parties. We apply both of these theoretical expectations to the relationship between citizen polarization and party polarization and additionally argue that the relationship between them should be stronger among politically more engaged and sophisticated citizens. We draw on aggregated survey data from 174 cross-national and national election studies from 19 established democracies, to assess the extent to which citizen polarization responds to party polarization, the extent to which parties respond to changes in citizen polarization, and whether these relationships differ across different groups of citizens. We estimate seemingly unrelated error-correction models employing data on party and citizen positions from 1971 to 2019. Our findings suggest that citizen polarization follows party polarization and also that politically engaged and sophisticated citizens are more responsive to changes in party polarization than the politically less engaged and unsophisticated. In contrast, we find little evidence that party polarization responds to changes in citizen polarization.

Подростки в городе: методы и технологии вовлечения в принятие решений (на примере исследования «Лестница детского участия: право детей на город, в котором они живут»)

The movement towards participatory design of urban spaces in Russia has caused a number of legislative initiatives in this area and an appeal to the opinions of different groups of citizens, including through the creation of public councils, public hearings, etc. Children and adolescents are city residents just like adults are, so they should have the opportunity to express their opinions on various urban processes, as well as be involved in planning, improvement, and assessment of the urban environment. Unique socio-psychological characteristics of adolescence— a focus on socially useful activities, shaping sustainable interests, exploring the urban area and self-identification—force adults to look for new methods and technologies to involve young citizens in solving issues related to the city. A participatory approach involves turning to the knowledge and experience of children as an important resource for urban development. In this area, a careful selection of age-appropriate research methods and technologies is required. The article provides an overview of methods for studying the opinions of adolescents about the city and the technologies for involving them into urban processes and shaping them as active citizens. The data used for the analysis was obtained in the course of the study “Ladder of child participation: the right of children to the city in which they live”. Three groups of methods and technologies are conditionally identified and described: academic research methods (their task is to identify the adolescent’s opinion about the city, its problems, risks and resources), methods facilitating expression by adolescents (their task is to stimulate the social activity of the adolescents and help them develop a reasoned position in relation to urban processes) and teaching technologies (their task is to strengthen the adolescents’ subjective position, training the appropriate skills).

Do health vouchers broaden the choices of citizens with low socioeconomic status? An analysis of Medicaid in Brooklyn

ABSTRACT Governments worldwide have committed to extending choices in public management to deliver services effectively; yet, how these programmes ensure equality remain unclear. This study investigated whether such programmes widened choices among different groups of citizens, focusing on Medicaid in Brooklyn, New York, in the 2000s. Information on patient admissions from the Statewide Planning Research and Cooperative System and hospitals from the American Hospital Association was analysed using a difference-in-difference-in-differences approach. Findings indicate that Medicaid programme failed to broaden the spatially confined choices of hospitals to patients with low socioeconomic status compared to non-Medicaid or uninsured groups.

Variations of Public Opinion Towards Face Veiling: Arguments in the Swiss Debate

AbstractThis study focuses on public opinion towards the face veiling of Muslim women and investigates the possibility of identifying different groups of citizens supporting distinct combinations of arguments regarding face veiling criticisms. Two groups are expected to argue for or against face veiling. Also, two other groups are expected to vary depending on their idea of liberalism inherent in face‐veiling arguments: a specific way of life versus respect for different ways of life. Using latent class (regression) analysis, the findings show that different groups emerged and that the political leftists were more diverse regarding argument patterns than the political rightists. Following the debate of why many political leftists have negative attitudes towards religious practices, this study does not find empirical support that anti‐Muslim and anti‐Islam attitudes systematically differ between the observed groups.

What drives compliance with COVID-19 measures over time? Explaining changing impacts with Goal Framing Theory.

The COVID‐19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to study which factors drive compliance and how the evolving context in society –virus fluctuations and changing government measures – changes the impact of these factors. Extant literature lists many factors that drive compliance – notably enforcement, trust, legitimacy. Most of these studies, however, do not look across time: whether a changing context for citizens changes the impact of factors driving compliance. In this study, we use Lindenberg's Goal Framing Theory to explain the dynamics of these drivers of compliance during the COVID‐19 pandemic. We formulate hypotheses for pro‐socialness, trust in government, observed respect for rules, rule effectiveness, rule appropriateness, fear of COVID‐19 (severity and proximity), opportunities for pleasure and happiness, as well as worsened income position. We test our hypotheses with data collected at three different moments during the beginning of the COVID‐19 crisis in Flanders, Belgium. Findings show that over time the constellations of factors that drive compliance change and, later in the pandemic, more distinct groups of citizens with different motivations to comply are identified. The overall conclusion is that the voluntary basis for compliance becomes more fragile over time, with a more differentiated pattern of drivers of compliance emerging. Public policy and communication need to adapt to these changes over time and address different groups of citizens.

Factors influencing walking trips. Evidence from Gdynia, Poland.

Political support for active mobility is growing for many reasons, including land use planning, health, and improved mobility. As the vital part of many cities is their central area, decision-makers need to know what factors are essential for increasing walkability. This paper aims to identify the main factors affecting the walkability of the city centre of Gdynia (Poland). To achieve this, the research design was adjusted to the specificity of the local use case. Based on primary data collected via personal interviews, factor analysis was applied to rule out potential collinearity and reduce dimensions. Logistic regression models were then constructed. The results were compared with the research carried out in other cities. The results show that only two of the analysed factors are significant, namely accessibility and safety. Both are extensive categories and include many subcomponents that are influential among different groups of citizens. Our research also confirms that walkability is a city-specific issue that is influenced by many local factors.

Greek Revolution and Art. The protagonists on Marble. Illustrative and Typological Specimens

The Greek Revolution of 1821 was one of the most important issues in Europe of the early 19th century on a political and military level. The outbreak of the Greek Revolution was not supported by the Great Powers of the time, since as a liberation struggle it violated the terms of the Holy Alliance (1815), however it managed to prevail thanks to the support of the people of Europe as they regarded this an effort of a small nation to claim its freedom and oppose to slavery and authoritarianism. After all, we are in the time of Romanticism and this kind of struggle enjoyed the support of intellectuals, collectives, and different groups of citizens. Philhellenism was on the rise, and painters like Delacroix made a huge impact with works that made a strong impression on Europe. After the success of the Revolution, many foreign artists came to Greece, some on their own initiative as travelers and others carrying out their King’s orders. Some of them were painters (both amateur and professional) that painted live portraits of the leading figures of the Revolution, leaving behind a remarkable oeuvre when seen from a historical, factual, and artistic point of view. And since at that point in Greece there could be no room for domestic artistic creation, the work of these artists is considered particularly important in terms of portraiture, history, facts, and artistic value. The most important out of the painters that were in Greece at that critical time are the Bavarians Karl Krazeisen and Peter von Hess, who painted portraits of Greek fighters and these portraits have since become the blueprints that other artists, painters, and sculptors based their work on resulting in the perpetuation of the historical memory.It is worth mentioning that in the 200 years of independence these works remain of enduring value when paying tribute and respect to the first martyrs of the Greek Struggle.

Usability and Accessibility Assessment of Saudi Arabia Mobile E-Government Websites

The rapid spread of smart mobile technology is transforming the way how governments provide information and services to their citizens. We all are rely more on our devices, namely smartphones, laptops, or desktop to get information and a wide range of services from government websites. Such heavy usage of government websites results in an increased need for efficient and effective delivery of government services. Therefore, mobile government websites' usability and accessibility are essential dimensions that determine the quality and accessibility of mobile e-government. The main objective of this research is to analyze the accessibility and usability aspects of selected public sector websites in Saudi Arabia. This study investigates how well the Saudi mobile e-government websites comply with usability standards and accessibility guidelines recommended in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Websites assessments were conducted using manual evaluation and complemented by different automated analysis tools. This study applies a number of evaluation techniques to assess Saudi government websites accessed from desktop or mobile devices, such as an automated website testing technique, mobile-friendliness testing, and content observation technique. Various tools have been used for site evaluation, such as GTmetrix (PageSpeed Score, YSlow Score), WAVE, Google mobile-friendly test, and Dareboost for mobile websites. The study uncovers shortcomings regarding non-compliance to international web standards recommendations. The findings revealed usability and accessibility problems that affect the performance of government websites. In order to improve these websites within these aspects, several recommendations were suggested for improving the usability and accessibility of websites in Saudi Arabia that will make sure different groups of citizens are satisfied with the website features and services provided by them.

The Russian Empire as a Multicultural Society: Between Assimilation and Ethno-Religious Segmentation

The article analyzes the policy of the Russian Empire government in relation to various ethno-religious communities in the XVIII – early XX centuries. In that time the official ideology represented the Russian Empire as a monoethnic state, in which there were national minorities, which were numerically significantly inferior to the titular nation. The officially titular nation in the Russian Empire was the “Russian people”, which included not only Russians, but also Ukrainians and Belarusians. The prospect of recognizing Ukrainians and Belarusians as separate nations was seen by the government as a threat to the internal strength of the state. Therefore, the development of Ukrainian national culture in the Russian Empire has always been considered in a political context. Hence the severe restrictions on the Ukrainian national movement.Based on the classification of Goran Therborn, the author shows that the Russian Empire was a pre-modern multicultural society. However, the government’s approach to different «inocultural» communities was extremely heterogeneous. The author considers the national and cultural policy of the Russian government in relation to the Grand Duchy of Finland, the Kingdom of Poland, the Baltic provinces, Central Asia, the Caucasus. Particular attention is paid to the status of so-called «Inorodtsy». This category in the Russian Empire included, first of all, the indigenous tribes of Siberia, Chukchi, Kalmyks, Kyrgyz, nomads of Central Asia and the North Caucasus, as well as Jews. The author shows that the strategic goal of the government has always been to form a Russian political nation, ie a multinational and multicultural community that would be loyal to the ruling dynasty and realize itself as a single political entity. Achieving this goal involved providing varying degrees of national-cultural or even political autonomy to different groups of citizens.