Favorable Public Opinion Research Articles

Where you stand depends on where you sit: The effect of status and evaluative identities on human rights perception

What shapes an individual’s perception of domestic human rights conditions? Although scholars have begun to examine public perception of human rights in recent years, existing literature has not adequately considered that one’s perception of human rights conditions is closely tied to one’s lived experiences within society. We argue that individuals’ perceptions of domestic human rights conditions are shaped by their relative socio-economic status within their society (status identity) and their self-assessment of well-being (evaluative identity). Using data from the World Value Survey Wave 7 (2017–2022), we find that individuals who are at a relatively higher standing in society are more likely to have a positive perception of domestic human rights conditions. This article contributes to the literature on human rights perceptions and improves our understanding of individuals’ assessment of human rights. The article also has important policy implications for international institutions and nongovernmental organizations aiming to improve human rights situations. An example is to potentially differentiate strategies among different segments of the population for more effective advocacy and to create favorable public opinion toward human rights causes.

ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТЬ МЕЖДУНАРОДНОЙ ЧЕРКЕССКОЙ АССОЦИАЦИИ ПО ПОДДЕРЖАНИЮ МЕЖНАЦИОНАЛЬНОГО МИРА В СОВРЕМЕННЫЙ ПЕРИОД

It has been revealed that the propaganda of the maintenance of interethnic peace at the interna-tional, federal and regional levels is a priority in the activities of the ICA in the modern period. In this activity of the ICA, the most effective and widespread were those conducted in 2014-2023 scientific and practical conferences, round tables, etc., the purpose of which is to promote: harmo-nization of interethnic relations, development of international and interregional cooperation using public diplomacy methods, strengthening ties with foreign compatriots, forming a favorable pub-lic opinion about Russia abroad, interaction between government bodies, public, religious and ed-ucational organizations. The active work of the ICA in the maintenance of interethnic peace was highly appreciated at the federal level. President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, in his ad-dress to the participants of the XIII ICA Congress, noted special recognition of the association’s efforts to maintain peace and harmony in the North Caucasus, constructive dialogue with govern-ment agencies and civil society institutions. The peacekeeping position of the ICA on the political situation in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine, which escalated in March 2014, was to support Russia’s policy aimed at its peaceful settlement. After the start of the special operation of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine (February 2022), the position of the ICA is to support this measure, criticize the founders and participants of the “Free Circassia” movement, created in Warsaw in 2022, as well as calls for the Circassian people – unite and resist the provocations of anti-Russian forces.

Информированное добровольное согласие пациента: институализация практик в современной России

The state has initiated the institutionalization of voluntary consent practices before medical intervention, recognizing that social well-being is a crucial factor in the provision of medical care. Today, informed voluntary consent (IVC) of the patient is being formalized, but the problem of trust in the healthcare system remains. An analysis of social patients' practices shows that consent has not been formalized, and a favorable public opinion about the healthcare system as an institution of trust in the medical system has not yet occurred. The conclusions are based on data from a survey of young people aged 18 to 35 years – patients of medical organizations in St. Petersburg. The sample is multi-stage, with nests (medical organizations) being selected first, followed by a purposeful sample, and the selection criterion for respondents is receiving medical care at the institution during the study period. This article presents an analysis of violations in signing informed consent and the reasons for their occurrence, as well as a patient assessment of the procedure and the IVC document. The obtained findings allow us to state that in order to improve the quality of medical care and increase trust in medical organizations, it is necessary to conduct additional explanatory work on medical interventions in written and accessible form for people who do not have special knowledge and are not familiar with medical and legal terminology. The IVC should have a place for indicating the performer of the medical intervention and special conditions that could be filled in considering the individual characteristics of the patient and the capabilities of the organization providing medical services. In a broader research perspective, it is worth paying attention to the discussion of bioethical documents, which are not always conducted from a conservative position; on the contrary, the principles of bioethics are questioned and new grounds are sought for its modernization; there is talk of "ambiguous ethics" and the impossibility of solving all problems within the framework of institutionalization theory.

Flawed reports can harm: the case of supervised consumption services in Alberta

Supervised consumption services have been scaled up within Canada and internationally as an ethical imperative in the context of a public health emergency. A large body of peer-reviewed evidence demonstrates that these services prevent poisoning deaths, reduce infectious disease transmission risk behaviour, and facilitate clients’ connections to other health and social services. In 2019, the Alberta government commissioned a review of the socioeconomic impacts of seven supervised consumption services in the province. The report is formatted to appear as an objective, scientifically credible evaluation of these services; however, it is fundamentally methodologically flawed, with a high risk of biases that critically undermine its authors’ assessment of the scientific evidence. The report’s findings have been used to justify decisions that jeopardize the health and well-being of people who use drugs both in Canada and internationally. Governments must ensure that future assessments of supervised consumption services and other public health measures to address drug poisoning deaths are scientifically sound and methodologically rigorous. Health policy must be based on the best available evidence, protect the right of structurally vulnerable populations to access healthcare, and not be contingent on favourable public opinion or prevailing political ideology.

Theory of Sino–Japanese Coexistence: Japanese Civilian Foreign Policy Propaganda Before and After the Washington Conference, 1919–29

After the First World War, to cope with the constraints of the Versailles-Washington system, Japan proposed a so-called coordinated foreign policy aimed at maintaining cooperative relations with Britain and especially the United States and expanding Japan’s interests and privileges in China on the basis of respecting China’s sovereignty. At that time, the Japanese people also participated in the publicity of the country’s external actions. This paper examines the activities of the East Asian Association of Tongwen in China, which is Japan’s oldest nongovernmental organization in China. Because the organization believes that the key to the success of coordination diplomacy lies in obtaining sympathy and support from China, it puts forward an argument based on ‘Japan and China coexist’, publicizes Japan’s policy toward China, and tries to form a favorable public opinion for Japan. Based on the analysis of the content of this propaganda activity in the political process, this paper points out that its propaganda only starts from the standpoint of the government and proposes the essence of the content that is only beneficial to Japan. The conclusion of the analysis is that the argument based on the very utilitarian position has greatly weakened the role of policy propaganda, but it is extremely helpful to understand the characteristics of Japanese diplomacy at that time.

The EU as an ATM? Media Perception Analysis of Next Generation Funds in Spain

The Covid-19 pandemic has been a turning point in terms of communication and economics within the borders of the EU. Hence, the economic response to the consequences of the pandemic has been different from previous crises. Both factors influence the media’s representation of the European project, and the construction of this image is particularly relevant to generating a favourable public opinion towards the European project. This research aims to determine how the Spanish media represent the Next Generation recovery funds and to determine the main discourses around this issue. We analysed news items disseminated by a sample of six leading Spanish news media through qualitative and quantitative methods by applying content and critical discourse analysis. The selection collects data via Twitter from July 2021 to March 2022. We found that media discourse reflects a pro-European sentiment, departing from previous Eurosceptic views. Next Generation funds have positively influenced Spanish perception of the EU and shifted the narrative towards Europeanisation. The EU’s support for Spanish funds management advances European integration, but concerns about transparency and control remain. The findings show how the Spanish media present a pro-European view, placing the economic response as a window of opportunity for profound political, societal, and economic structural changes in Spain.

‘Sovereign Democracy’: Russian Response to Western Democracy Promotion in the Post-Soviet Space

Russia became apprehensive after the outbreak of Colour Revolutions in three former Soviet republics. Post-revolution, Russia’s foreign policy in general and its outlook toward the West in particular transformed significantly. Russian response to Western democracy promotion became more pronounced. Against this backdrop, the concept of Sovereign Democracy has to be understood. It aims to not only defend the Russian regime from Western meddling but also undertake a vigorous international campaign to assert its great power status. This article deals with the meaning and rationale of Sovereign Democracy as a response to Western democracy promotion in a nuanced way. The study attempts to deal with the following research questions: How does Russia perceive and react to Colour Revolutions? How Sovereign Democracy enables Russia to restructure its foreign policy to challenge the Western democracy-promotion agenda in the post-Soviet space? How do the political institutions and historical narratives of anti-Westernism allow Russia to respond to Colour Revolutions? Lastly, whether Putin is able to reshape public opinion in Russia not only in favor of having an alternative model of democracy against the dominant Western one but also a favorable public opinion to justify Russian actions in Georgia, Ukraine, and Syria.

A Supporter in Vienna: Simon Wiesenthal and the War in Bosnia

Abstract The author gives an inventory of Simon Wiesenthal’s advocacy for Bosnia during the 1992–1995 war. Though Wiesenthal played an active role in speaking up for Bosnia, his activism has been largely neglected in the existing literature. Based on primary sources at the Simon Wiesenthal Archive in Vienna, this article pieces together the story of how the famed Nazi hunter supported Bosnia-Herzegovina. Wiesenthal acted by speaking up about the atrocities in Bosnia, writing letters to influential decision-makers, and keeping Bosnia on the agenda. He supported a greater and more assertive American involvement to end the war and was a strong advocate of a UN war crimes tribunal, which materialized as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). By lending his voice and moral stature, Wiesenthal helped shape public opinion in favour of a more assertive international reaction to the war.

Microplastic Hazards and Possible Mitigation

Overuse of plastic that live on in nature has created a global crisis on our ecosystem and environment. Small particles of plastic of diameter upto 5mm called microplastics are found everywhere clogging the arteries of our mother nature. Microplastics absorb organic contaminants and act as vectors of potentially hazardous chemicals in living system. To save the flora and fauna of the earth from hazards of microplastics, the potential sources of microplastics should be identified and use of plastics be controlled and if possible terminated, Plastic litters should be recycled and reprocessed. To decrease our dependency on plastics, alternatives should be found. Research on plastic recycling and finding plastic alternatives should be scaled up. Most importantly common people should be made aware of the hazards of use of plastic. Public opinion in favour of termination of plastic use would be the most powerful weapon in saving the earth from this crisis

Environmental aspects of the public examination of the construction of an Incineration complex

The article examines the case of preparation for public expertise on a project for the construction of a waste incineration complex. Public expertise is a legal requirement and often leads to the cancellation of a project for which preparation resources have already been spent. The authors conducted a field study, which assists to develop a methodology for forming a favourable public opinion regarding the designed complex, as well as compose recommendations for the implementation of the program. An important element of the study is to identify the main concerns of the population regarding the project, as well as to identify the target audience, its channels for consuming information and the features of the implementation of information through these channels. The study will significantly reduce the risks of a ban on the project, as well as the resistance of the local population.

Surveillance Capitalism in America ed. by Josh Lauer and Kenneth Lipartito

Reviewed by: Surveillance Capitalism in America ed. by Josh Lauer and Kenneth Lipartito Dolores E. Janiewski (bio) Surveillance Capitalism in America Edited by Josh Lauer and Kenneth Lipartito. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021. Pp. 288. Inspired and provoked by Shoshona Zuboff's Age of Surveillance Capitalism, the creators of this volume situate contemporary surveillance techniques and institutional imperatives in a history ranging from Caribbean slave plantations to the now ubiquitous digital trackers innocuously called cookies. Challenging Zuboff's origin story that surveillance capitalism started with Google, editors Josh Lauer and Kenneth Lipartito and the other contributors discuss earlier examples of operational methods, economic imperatives, the collection of information, and efforts to control workers, customers, and public opinion. In a telling rebuttal of Adam Smith's "invisible hand," Lauer and Lipartito state that surveillance provides [End Page 230] the market's "eyes and ears" (p. 5). The diverse technologies, bureaucratic processes, and information collection discussed in the chapters that follow their illuminating introduction raise expectations about scope that cannot be fully met in an introduction, nine interventions into a history that spans three centuries, and a brief afterword by Sarah E. Igo. As the editors admit in their introduction's conclusion, the volume marks a "starting point" and an invitation for additional research rather than providing a comprehensive history of capitalist surveillance in America (p. 26). For those who focus on computational architecture, networked devices, and social media's intrusive collection of personal information, the final three chapters discuss the contemporary iterations of surveillance capitalism. In detailing the "war on drugs" in the workplace in the 1980s and 1990s, James Milloy points to the longer-term consequences of subjecting employees to intrusive drug testing as normative. Not only did the acceptance of urinalysis and other screening procedures lead to greater biometric surveillance, but it also turned workers' bodies and social lives into profitable sites for the drug-testing industry. Dan Guadagnolo's exploration of a failed attempt at marketing tobacco to African American consumers comes with a warning that personalized digital advertisements make resistance more difficult by concealing a racial agenda within their digital infrastructure. Meg Leta Jones adds a discussion of cookies and web privacy that attributes the failure of resistance to these recent examples of surveillance capitalism to the history that has created "powerfully entrenched structures, ideas, and mechanisms," which allow social media corporations to evade scrutiny and restrictions to their intrusions on personal privacy (p. 202). Three useful chapters compare historical surveillance methods from slave plantations in the late 1700s and early 1800s and the rivalries between detective agencies in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. According to Caitlin Rosenthal and Cameron Black, slave plantations operated according to a capitalist logic that included what Zuboff identified as the unprecedented social media goal of "behavioral modification." They add bureaucratic record keeping, enslaved watchmen, and media to this form of surveillance capitalism. As they note, the Jamaica Watchman, an antislavery newspaper, conducted countersurveillance on planters to suggest the difficulties of controlling the circulation of intelligence. Richard K. Popp jumps forward a half century to document a publishing company's collection of names and personal data using the postal service and correspondence to turn lists of names into "new forms of commoditized identity" (p. 63). Jamie L. Pietruska's analysis of paperwork, bureaucracy, and surveillance discusses the Pinkerton National Detective Agency's investigation of competitors who used the family's name by creating a documentary archive on their allegedly fraudulent rivals as an essential part of a surveillance infrastructure that used filing systems and cabinets instead of algorithms to defeat their adversaries. [End Page 231] Successive chapters analyze a twentieth-century economy where workers in customer-focused occupations lost their ability to express their authentic feelings while being subjected to surveillance by managers and the public as emotional labor became a job requirement. Viewing the emphasis on courtesy as a strategy to create a favorable public opinion and fend off government ownership, Daniel Robert extends the reach of capitalist surveillance from the open office to telephone conversations, homes, and the visible expression of emotions as technology and corporate strategy entrenched private ownership. Megan J. Elias finds that hotels demanded...

Pekanbaru Mayoral Election 2024: Critical Discourse Analysis Review

This study was motivated by the widespread coverage of the nomination for Mayor of Pekanbaru in 2024 by Riau's local media. This study's objective is to examine the alignments of GoRiau.com in shaping the reputation of political actors in the Pekanbaru Mayoral election for the years 2024 to 2029. This study employs the Fairclough model's text analysis, discourse practice, and sociocultural practice approaches. This research's fundamental technique is tapping, with the method of analyzing social change models. According to the results of this study, GoRiau.com is aligned with Agung Nugroho. In addition to being among the names that dominate the number of reports, he also benefits from the media's political narrative. Agung Nugroho's news history is dominated by political issues, and the content produced has generally resulted in favorable public opinion. Several conditions affect the neutrality of the mass media, including the Democratic Party's two-period political dominance in Pekanbaru City, Agung Nugroho's success in obtaining the most votes in Pekanbaru City during the 2019 Riau Legislative Election, and Agung Nugroho's strategic position as Deputy Chair of the Riau Legislative Institution, in addition to being the chairman of the Riau Democratic Party. This mass media alignment will benefit Agung Nugroho in the upcoming 2024 Pekanbaru mayoral election, as one of the largest media outlets in Riau. Keywords: Election, Pekanbaru, Critical Discourse Analysis

Law Enforcement Through Social Media Pressure

Problems related to efforts to apply the law from the past have seized the attention of the Indonesian people because they are considered a very important phenomenon because it has the potential to have significant implications for Indonesian law which is basically still widely misused by legal practitioners. If viewed from the perspective of legal policy formulation that is correlated with various legal institutions at various levels, the performance of the work shown is categorized as not yet ideal and has not been able to realize the actual target of implementing the law. This encourages people to often express their disappointment through social media. From information and dissemination of social media news, it often develops into public opinion which in the language of social media communication is often called “viral news” which sometimes leads to the encouragement of law enforcement to act no longer because of law enforcement efforts but has become the fulfillment of public satisfaction and tends to ignore legal norms. Social media has made people sometimes change their image in the hope of getting sympathy and favorable public opinion for them so that it often becomes hyperreality, not reality anymore. Hyperreality is a form and state where you cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy. Through this paper, the researcher tries to do mini research through the socio-legal method where through this method the author seeks to explore further and at the same time explore law enforcement by not only based on the study of legal norms or doctrines, but also trying to see the full context of norms and their application. This study is solely aimed at providing an overview to the justice-seeking community that in the midst of uncertainty and rampant politicization of law enforcement, social media can be used as a force of coercion (pressure) as a means of law enforcement with justice.

Relações Públicas e Astroturfing na perspectiva relacional / Public Relations and Astroturfing from a relational perspective

O presente artigo trata sobre o astroturfing, relata casos ocorridos em diversas partes do mundo e tensiona-o com a área das Relações Públicas. Esta é uma pesquisa exploratória de caráter qualitativo, com base teórica na perspectiva relacional da comunicação (SILVA, 2013). A partir de uma pesquisa de estado da arte e bibliográfica embasamos a discussão em Silva (2013), Attkisson (2015), Henriques e Silva (2014; 2021), Simões (1994), Kunsch (2003) e no Conselho Federal, CONFERP. Em linhas gerais, percebem-se aproximações entre as duas áreas, por outro lado, as RRPP estão sustentadas em um código de ética que deve balizar a atuação dos profissionais, consequentemente, conferindo responsabilidade e qualidade às relações estabelecidas no mercado.Palavras-chave: Astroturfing, relações públicas, perspectiva relacional. AbstractThe public relations activity is defined as an area of strategic communication which acts on building mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their audiences. Constant social transformations have an impact on the social perception of different themes, which in turn also directly affects the positioning of organizations. In this scenario, we discuss the term “astroturfing” and its similarities and/or differences concerning public relations based on a relational perspective of communication. This article is characterized as an exploratory research based on a bibliographic analysis. The object of study is astroturfing in the context of public relations; therefore, a qualitative approach has been used. We observed that the extreme usage of digital social networks has contributed to numerous scenarios of misinformation which, therefore, end up encouraging deceptive or simulated practices arising from different social institutions. Thus, it is in such a context that the practice of astroturfing can be seen. This practice emerged in the 1980s in the United States during an election campaign in which there were disputes for a favourable public opinion. The term is an analogy to the word “grassroots, that is, how spontaneous popular manifestations are known in the US, and AstroTurf is a brand of artificial grass created by Monsanto in the 1960s, which is famous for its similarity to the appearance of real grass” (Silva, 2013: 14). The phenomenon can be seen as the creation of public manifestations by an audience that does not exist in order to achieve a favourable scenario for organizational objectives. In a practical way, communication processes can act as astroturfing drivers, thus contributing to the emergence of artificial contexts. In this article, we investigate the communication process by reflecting on the importance of the PR professional who looks at the public from a relational perspective. The connection of such a phenomenon with the field of public relations derives from the practices of international agencies that have subtly used astroturfing to achieve the goals of their clients in such a way that organizational ethics committees do not clearly perceive it. This is one of the aspects that leads professionals in the area to question what would or would not be ethical. Public relations, as an expression of strategic communication, has the ability to observe scenarios, mobilize forces and elaborate narratives that enable the construction of an organizational image and reputation. Perhaps an adequate translation of these strategic efforts is to recognize the connections among public relations, its audiences and the public opinion. In this scenario, there are ample information flows from the mediatized context that sometimes can create gaps for the practice of astroturfing. We understand that the phenomenon is consolidated as a contemporary challenge in the market, mainly in communication. Therefore, we highlight on how the ethical dimensions of public relations permeate the purpose of balance and harmony of interests. It is urgent to act, not only for the aesthetics but also for the ethics of the profession, in favour of the strengthening of the subjects and, consequently, the quality of the established social relations.Keywords: Astroturfing, public relations, Relational perspective.

Relações Públicas e Astroturfing na perspectiva relacional

The public relations activity is defined as an area of strategic communication which acts on building mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their audiences. Constant social transformations have an impact on the social perception of different themes, which in turn also directly affects the positioning of organizations. In this scenario, we discuss the term “astroturfing” and its similarities and/or differences concerning public relations based on a relational perspective of communication. This article is characterized as an exploratory research based on a bibliographic analysis. The object of study is astroturfing in the context of public relations; therefore, a qualitative approach has been used. We observed that the extreme usage of digital social networks has contributed to numerous scenarios of misinformation which, therefore, end up encouraging deceptive or simulated practices arising from different social institutions. Thus, it is in such a context that the practice of astroturfing can be seen. This practice emerged in the 1980s in the United States during an election campaign in which there were disputes for a favourable public opinion. The term is an analogy to the word “grassroots, that is, how spontaneous popular manifestations are known in the US, and AstroTurf is a brand of artificial grass created by Monsanto in the 1960s, which is famous for its similarity to the appearance of real grass” (Silva, 2013: 14). The phenomenon can be seen as the creation of public manifestations by an audience that does not exist in order to achieve a favourable scenario for organizational objectives. In a practical way, communication processes can act as astroturfing drivers, thus contributing to the emergence of artificial contexts. In this article, we investigate the communication process by reflecting on the importance of the PR professional who looks at the public from a relational perspective. The connection of such a phenomenon with the field of public relations derives from the practices of international agencies that have subtly used astroturfing to achieve the goals of their clients in such a way that organizational ethics committees do not clearly perceive it. This is one of the aspects that leads professionals in the area to question what would or would not be ethical. Public relations, as an expression of strategic communication, has the ability to observe scenarios, mobilize forces and elaborate narratives that enable the construction of an organizational image and reputation. Perhaps an adequate translation of these strategic efforts is to recognize the connections among public relations, its audiences and the public opinion. In this scenario, there are ample information flows from the mediatized context that sometimes can create gaps for the practice of astroturfing. We understand that the phenomenon is consolidated as a contemporary challenge in the market, mainly in communication. Therefore, we highlight on how the ethical dimensions of public relations permeate the purpose of balance and harmony of interests. It is urgent to act, not only for the aesthetics but also for the ethics of the profession, in favour of the strengthening of the subjects and, consequently, the quality of the established social relations.

On American Public Diplomacy in the Era of Post-Cold War

Public diplomacy, which is a specific concept in international relations research, refers to "guiding the public attitude" in other countries, and thus affecting foreign policy of its government. Public diplomacy is different from "traditional diplomacy", and is also different from the ordinary "non-governmental diplomacy". Public diplomacy transcends the formal diplomatic relations between countries, and gradually affects the people’s political beliefs and political behaviors in other countries by this informal diplomacy. The active and extensive public diplomacy carried out by the American government played an extremely important role in the victory of the Cold War. But after the end of the Cold War, public diplomacy was marginalized in the United States. In the 21st century, the United States wavered in its world hegemony, so American government urgently needed to reshape its image of hegemony and repropose "public diplomacy" for its foreign strategy. New media, such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter in the US, becoming the main tools usually used by the American politicians, rapidly spread American history, culture, values and social system in the world, and Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are used to create a favorable public opinion environment for the American political project. Meanwhile, the other countries’ communication platforms are restrained seriously in the US, in order to promote the implementation of American foreign policy. The heyday of American public diplomacy is coming step by step from Joe Biden being the owner of White House. His main purpose, advocated by the policy of "restoring middle-class diplomacy", is to expand the global influence of "American globalism" by secretly curbing the development of rival countries, and ultimately serve the national foreign strategy of the United States. But the strong hegemonism inevitably makes American public diplomacy set narrow shackles. Sovereign states must pay attention to their image positioning in the international community and avoid being shaped by other countries and the public as their enemies. Profitable public diplomacy is important to sovereign states in the world, and should not be ignored or limited.

The Chinese Diplomacy and the Battle for Truth During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This article analyzes Chinese diplomacy during the Covid-19 crisis and the struggle for control of narratives aimed at constructing an image of a responsible nation. In this paper I assume that the emergence of COVID-19 represented a critical problem for the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party, forcing the authorities to fight not only to contain the spread of the virus but also to create and maintain a favorable public opinion regarding management of the crisis both nationally and internationally. It is in this context that the Chinese government launched an active diplomacy offensive, presenting itself as a responsible state through both “Wolf Warrior Diplomacy” and “Mask Diplomacy”. Based on Foucault´s approach to the Regime of Truth, I analyze the narratives and activities of the Chinese government and how diplomacy was employed in order to create a truth about the coronavirus outbreak. In addition, I review how social mechanisms and conventions were utilized to emphasize and validate knowledge linked to power systems. I conclude that if the Chinese government has the “truth” as a part of a regime, it both enhances the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party and increases its power. At the same time a strong Chinese government is able to devote significant resources to spreading a discourse both nationally and internationally which is purportedly true. The point of the discourse however is to further strengthen the power of the CCP, rather than to achieve global hegemony.

No licence for love versus same-sex relationships - partner relations and interpersonal commitment.

Like heterosexual ones, homosexual partners strive to fulfil their needs for belonging and love. They also build their relationships in countries where less favourable public opinion exists towards same-sex relationships, due in part to the lack of equivalent legislation between heterosexual and non-heterosexual persons and couples. As opponents of such relationships claim them to be less stable and of lower quality, the current study examines whether the sexual orientation of partners may determine the quality of their relationship and their commitment to it. The study was conducted in a group of 530 cohabiting persons, aged 18-44 (230 persons with a homosexual orientation and 300 heterosexual) living in Poland. The participants were tested with three tools: a sociodemographic survey, the Polish version of the Partner Relations Questionnaire by Halhweg, adapted by Janicka, and the Interpersonal Commitment Inventory (KZI) by Janicka and Szymczak: the Polish adaptation of the Commitment Inventory by Stanley and Markman. The findings indicate that sexual orientation of women and men may influence their tendencies to change partners and their interpersonal commitment, interpreted as their dedication and obligation to stay in the relationship. Some detailed analyses suggest that cohabitations between gay women portend better than those of gay men.

Europe ‒ Latin America: Migratory Space Development

The migration ties between Latin America and Europe at the beginning of the XXI century were manifested in a massive migration flow, resulting in the dramatic growth of the number of South American natives in Europe. The Migratory Space concept is applied to the current stage of transatlantic mobility, which makes it possible to determine the territorial limits of the involved states, to distinguish the transatlantic space from the general panorama of the Latin America migration movement as well as from the European migration context. At the present stage, the South American states are mainly the migration donors, while the European states are recipients. The historical ties between continents, their linguistic commonality and the social networks between migrants contributed to the transatlantic mobility. The majority of the Latin American migrants is localized in Spain and Italy. The high degree of integration into the host communities contributed to generally favorable public opinion about the migrants in the recipient countries. A large-scale migration presence also became an important factor in strengthening economic and political ties in the Iberoamerican Community of Nations.

Eighty-six percent of Sri Lankans Wish to Receive COVID-19 Vaccine: A Window of Opportunity for Rolling Out a Successful Vaccination Campaign

All countries look up to the COVID-19 vaccine as the panacea against the pandemic. COVID-19 vaccination campaigns have been rolled out globally, while Sri Lanka, too, is ready for its own. To assess the public opinion concerning the COVID-19 vaccination in Sri Lanka, we carried out an online survey from 17.12.2020 to 18.01.2021. Eighty-six percent (n = 1080) of the respondents reed to accept the vaccine. In the meantime, 9 % (n = 108) did not agree to receive the vaccine, while 5% (n = 62) had no idea. The protection given by the vaccine, trends in spreading the disease in the country, and the trust in the vaccine were reasons given for agreeing to get it. Reasons for not agreeing to get the vaccine were “being developed too fast”, the concern of side effects, and lack of trust in the vaccine. Ninety-one percent (n = 1120) of respondents agreed that other preventive measures such as handwashing, social distancing, and wearing face masks must be continued even with COVID-19 vaccination. The respondents prioritized frontline staff, elderly persons, and persons with chronic diseases for receiving the COVID-19 vaccine first. Transparent and accountable vaccine procurement, a robust health system with a well-performing Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI), and creative vaccine financing tools were seen as key strengths in the COVID-19 vaccination program. Besides, Sri Lanka, a health-literate and vaccine loving nation with an almost non-existent anti-vaccination movement, was also seen as a crucial contributor. While the current public opinion provides an ideal ground for a successful COVID-19 vaccination program, due to the inherent vulnerability of misinformation and outrages associated with adverse events following immunization, existing programs for surveillance of adverse events following immunization and surveillance risk communication strategy must be augmented. The window of opportunity of favorable public opinion must be utilized to roll out a successful COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Sri Lanka. Keywords: COVID-19, Vaccine acceptance, Vaccine hesitancy, COVAX, Sri Lanka