Participation In Civic Activities Research Articles

Generating Changes Against Sexism in Adolescents Through a Citizenship Training Program

The issue of gender discrimination is a global challenge, and Ecuador is no exception. Within the Ecuadorian population, the importance of addressing gender as a means to achieve equal rights in historically discriminatory areas has been recognized. In this present study, the general objective was to develop a civic education program to improve high school students' attitudes towards sexist behaviors. To achieve this, research was conducted, which included a survey administered to 320 students aged between 15 and 18 years old. The results revealed a significant negative relationship between civic education and sexist attitudes among high school students. It was concluded that the majority of respondents exhibit a high level of active and engaged participation in civic activities. However, it was also identified that entrenched beliefs in certain gender stereotypes still persist.

Exploring the Complexities of Social Engagement Among Young Adults

This study aims to enhance understanding of young adults’ social outcome. The existence of large multinational Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) data provides the opportunity to explore the relationship between young adults' propensity to volunteer and various background data in several countries. The focus of this study was on investigating the relationship between young adults volunteering and their educational attainment, social trust, gender, participation in lifelong learning, and cognitive skills in numeracy. The findings suggest that while significant characteristic differences exist among millennials who engage in volunteering activities, only a few of these characteristics such as their numeracy skills, participation in lifelong learning, and social trust influenced their propensity to engage in civic activities. These findings contribute to our understanding of the factors that influence millennials' participation in civic activities.

Perceived School Characteristics Fostering Civic Engagement Among Adolescents in Italy

It has been widely argued that effective citizenship education should focus on more than mere teaching of civic knowledge, but should provide a wider range of opportunities for the experience of participation and development of skills, efficacy and interest instrumental to active citizenship. Opportunities for critical reflection such as open classroom discussions, fairness at school, institutional efficacy and student participation at school activities have been linked to the development of civic and political attitudes. The capacity of school education to provide opportunities for critical reflection on students’ participative experiences, however, has not been explored empirically sufficiently. This paper aims to identify the contribution of different school characteristics to the development of civic and political attitudes and their impact on students’ level of participation in civic activities through a mixed methods study. Questionnaire data collected in two waves with 685 adolescents from Italy were analyzed through structural equation modeling to test the effects of school characteristics at Time 1 (democratic climate, student participation and critical reflection) on civic participation at Time 2, mediated by institutional trust, civic efficacy and political interest. In order to explore the quantitative findings and examine further students’ perceptions of the school aspects that support their civic involvement, focus group discussions were conducted with students from secondary schools with different tracks.The results highlight the importance of opportunities for active involvement in school and critical reflection in fostering political interest, efficacy and civic participation. Democratic school climate was found to impact institutional trust and civic efficacy, but not participation. Students’ accounts of schools’ citizenship education activities highlight further the need for a participative environment that rises above information transmission by inviting critical reflection and giving value to students’ active involvement in the institution.

The effect of early career social capital on long-term income development in Finland

PurposeIn this study, the authors examine whether social capital embedded in individuals' social networks is connected to employees' long-term income development in Finland.Design/methodology/approachAnalyses are based on 25–35-year-old employees from the Finnish Living Conditions Survey of 1994 combined with register data on earned incomes from 1995 to 2016. The authors used questions addressing the frequency of meeting parents or siblings, spending free time with co-workers and participation in associational, civic or other societal activities as measures of the extent of network capital. Ordered logistic model was used to examine whether the size and composition of social networks differ by gender and socio-economic status. Linear growth curve models were employed to estimate the effect of social capital on long-term income development.FindingsResults indicate minor differences in network composition according to gender, but large differences between socio-economic groups. The authors found that income development was faster for those who participated in civic activities occasionally or who met their relatives or co-workers on a monthly basis, that is, for the “middle group”.Research limitations/implicationsResults are generalizable only to Finnish or Nordic welfare state context. The authors’ measures of social capital come from cross-sectional survey. Thus, the authors are not able to address the stability or accumulation of social capital during life course. This restriction will probably cause the authors’ analysis to underestimate the true effect of social capital on earned incomes.Practical implicationsModerate-level investments to network capital seem to be the most beneficial with regard to the long-term income development.Social implicationsThe study results give support to the idea that social capital can be transformed into economic capital. The results also imply that in economic terms it is important to balance diverse forms of social capital. At the policy level, a special emphasis should be directed to employees with low-socio-economic position. These people are especially vulnerable as their low level of income is combined with network composition that hinders their further income development.Originality/valueThe combined survey and register data give unique insight on how the social capital embedded in individuals' social networks is connected with long-term income development.

Sibling relationships and civic engagement: A longitudinal study of Chinese young adults

This study examined the longitudinal associations of sibling intimacy and conflict with civic attitudes and behaviours among Chinese young adults. At two time points separated by about 12 months, questionnaire data were collected from 272 Chinese college students (mean age at Time 1=19.68 years; 69% female), students who studied in Hong Kong and had at least one sibling. Students rated their intimacy and conflict with their siblings and their parents at Time 1, and their civic attitudes and behaviours at both time points. Hierarchical regression revealed that, controlling for demographic characteristics and parent-child intimacy and conflict, sibling intimacy predicted increases in both civic attitudes and behaviours. Sibling conflict was a non-significant predictor, however. Findings highlighted the roles of siblings in understanding civic development in young adulthood and the utility of targeting sibling intimacy as means to foster young adults' positive attitudes to and active participation in civic activities.

Basic Determinants of ‘Aging in Place’ in the Context of Environmental Gerontology and Its Correlation with the Process of Active Aging

'Yerinde Yaşlanma' kavramı, genellikle, yaşlanırken evde kalabilmek için ideal olan politikayı ifade etmek için kullanılır. Yerinde yaşlanmanın felsefesi, evde yaşam ortamının sürekliliğini, toplumda bağımsızlığın korunmasını ve sosyal içermeyi kapsamaktadır. Çevresel gerontoloji alanında çalışan bilim insanları, bireylerin yaşlandıkça, yaşadıkları mekânın fiziksel ve sosyal ortamına daha fazla bağlandıklarını iddia etmektedir. Söz konusu çevresel bağlam ile kişisel kimlik arasındaki etkileşimin yansımaları, çeşitli sosyal, psikolojik ve fiziksel konular bağlamında gözlemlenebilmektedir. Sağlık ve sosyal bakım maliyetlerini sınırlandırmaya yönelik finansal zorunluluklar tarafından bakımevinde kalmaya yönlendirilmelerine rağmen, yaşlı insanlar da, genellikle, yerinde yaşlanmayı tercih etmektedir. Yaşadığı çevredeki sivil faaliyetlere katılım, yaşlıların sosyal ilişkilerini sürdürmelerini, mahalle etkinliklerine ve politikalarına katılmaya devam etmelerini sağlayarak, yerinde yaşlanmanın önemli bir belirleyicisi olmaktadır. Bu çerçevede, makalemizde, öncelikle, çevresel gerontoloji literatüründeki kuramsal tartışma ve bulgulardan hareketle “yerinde yaşlanma” olgusunun temel belirleyicileri üzerinde durulacaktır. Makalemizin ikinci kısmında ise, yerinde yaşlanma olgusunun aktif yaşlanma süreciyle ilişkisi tartışılacak ve sosyal etkileri değerlendirilecektir.

How do schools affect inequalities in political participation: compensation of social disadvantage or provision of differential access?

Both direct and indirect influences have been assumed to impact the transmission of political orientations within families. A lower socioeconomic status is related to lower intended political participation of adolescents. Within this context, schools play a crucial role in political socialisation, as citizenship education is assumed to either equalise or maintain these social disparities. We analyse a sub-dataset of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016 which includes 14-year-old students in four European countries: Belgium (Flanders), Denmark, Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia) and the Netherlands. Multi-level regression analyses reveal that formal citizenship education compensates the relationship between students’ socioeconomic status and intended electoral participation in Denmark, Germany (NRW) and the Netherlands, but not in Belgium (FL). Further, the composition of school classes is related to the perception of an open classroom climate in each of the four countries and to participation in civic activities at school in three countries.

Civic Participation and Engagement in Electronic Social Networks: Trends in Lithuania

The debates on how to foster civic participation have intensified in current years, especially with the coming of digital era. New electronic social networks and other digital platforms promising the unseen possibilities for variety of activities including civic participation, has been emphasized as a factor facilitating civic engagement (Smith, 2013). In this article, we test a hypothesis that people, who are actively engaged in electronic social networks at the same time are more likely participate in civic activities. The findings show that electronic social networks generally have a positive relationship with participation in various civic activities. More specifically, we find that engagement in specific networked activities, such as “offering topics for discussion”, “contributing to organized events” or “publication of content” have more influence on civic participation than others.

Does participation in uniformed group activities in school improve young people’s non-cognitive outcomes?

Recent concerns about extremism, and young people’s vulnerability to exposure of radicalisation and such negative influences, have increased interest in young people’s participation in civic activities. There is some evidence that such activities at school can have a positive influence on young people’s attitudes and behaviour, but such evidence has been largely based on correlational, small-scale and somewhat biased studies. This paper presents the results of the first large independent randomised controlled trial in the UK to test the impact of participation in uniformed group activities in school on young people’s social and reported behavioural outcomes. The one-year trial involved 7781 thirteen to fourteen year olds across 71 secondary schools in England. Outcomes were measured before and after the intervention using a bespoke questionnaire survey. Attrition was negligible. The results showed positive ‘effects’ on a range of wider outcomes including self-confidence, teamwork, resilience, career aspirations, empathy and self-reported charitable activities. These effects are somewhat muted since not all pupils in the treatment schools actually took part in the intervention. Process evaluation suggests that the intervention was well-received, but strong leadership support is crucial for successful implementation. The findings provide evidence of the promise of the benefits of such uniformed group involvement for young people. If these activities are deemed worthwhile in their own right, because of the costs, then there is enough evidence here to pursue such a course.

Is mid-life social participation associated with cognitive function at age 50? Results from the British National Child Development Study (NCDS)

BackgroundSome studies have indicated that social engagement is associated with better cognitive outcomes. This study aimed to investigate associations between life-course social engagement (civic participation) and cognitive status at age 50, adjusting for social networks and support, behavioural, health, social and socio-economic characteristics.MethodsThe vehicle for the study was the National Child Development Study (1958 Birth Cohort Study), which is a general population sample in England, Scotland and Wales (9119: 4497 men and 4622 women) participating in nationally representative, prospective birth cohort surveys. The primary outcome variable was cognitive status at age 50, measured by memory test (immediate and delayed word recall test) and executive functioning test (word fluency and letter cancelation tests). The influence of hypothesised predictor variables was analysed using linear multiple regression analysis.ResultsCognitive ability at age 11 (β = 0.19;95% CI = 0.17 to 0.21), participation in civic activities at ages 33 (0.12; 0.02 to 0.22) and 50 (0.13; 0.07 to 0.20), frequent engagement in physical activity (sport) (β from 0.15 to 0.18), achieving higher level qualifications (β from 0.23 to 1.08), and female gender (β = 0.49;95% CI = 0.38 to 0.60) were positively, significantly and independently associated with cognitive status at age 50. Having low socio-economic status at ages 11 (β from -0.22 to -0.27) and 42 (β from -0.28 to -0.38), and manifesting worse mental well-being at age 42 (β = -0.18; 95% CI = -0.33 to -0.02) were inversely associated with cognitive status at age 50. The proportion of explained variance in the multiple regression model (18%), while modest, is impressive given the multi-faceted causal nature of cognitive status.ConclusionsThe results indicate that modest associations between adult social engagement and cognitive function at age 50 persist after adjusting for covariates which included health, socio-economic status and gender, supporting theories of neuroplasticity. In addition to the continuing emphasis on physical activity, the encouragement of civic participation, at least as early as mid-life, should be a targeted policy to potentially promote and protect cognitive function in later mid-life.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40359-016-0164-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Measuring Trust in European Public Institutions

The problem of measuring the general level of trust in public institutions is addressed. A very general framework to compute an index of trust in public institutions is proposed and it is shown how to perform an uncertainty analysis of an index of trust to test its robustness. An application to data from the sixth round of the European Social Survey is presented. It is found that Scandinavian countries are the most trustful European countries in public institutions, whereas former communist countries as well as Iberian and Mediterranean ones are much less trustful. The governments of the least trustful countries in public institutions should be very careful in monitoring this issue and should think about introducing reforms to improve citizens’ trust. Improving trust in public institutions is central to improve social capital, participation in civic activities and law-abiding behavior and then governmental legitimacy.

Neighborhood storytelling networks, Internet connectedness, and civic participation after the Great East Japan Earthquake

This study examines how the neighborhood storytelling network, which is conceptualized in communication infrastructure theory and includes interpersonal, organizational and community media connectedness, and an individual's Internet connectedness affected participation in civic activities in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake, which occurred on 11 March 2011. Responses from 544 randomly selected people residing in Tokyo reveal that connectedness to a neighborhood storytelling network and one's Internet connectedness have positive effects on participation in civic activities in response to the earthquake. However, the two independent factors (neighborhood storytelling and Internet connectedness) do not exhibit a significant relationship with each other. The result suggests the existence of two different conduits for civic engagement in disaster situations – neighborhood storytelling networks and Internet connectedness – mainly distinguished by age.

The Contribution of Leisure Participation and Leisure Satisfaction to Stress-Related Growth

This study examined the contribution of leisure participation and leisure satisfaction on the experience of stress-related growth (SRG). Some types of leisure activity may be beneficial for SRG under certain circumstances. In addition, leisure satisfaction may be positively related to the stress-related growth experience. The participants of this study were 318 undergraduate students at an eastern Canadian university. The results indicated that frequent participation in civic activities and leisure satisfaction were statistically significant predictors of SRG. The findings in this study provided further evidence that positive leisure experiences and specific types of leisure activity not only help people cope with various stresses, but also facilitate growth-related changes.

Bowling Alone: Urban Tribes in Concrete Jungles

Utilising the modern social network theory, the present descriptive article has examined the art of urbanites’ ‘bowling alone’ in concrete jungles and its negative effect on their social and civic life. Mainly, such a process has resulted in the formation of ‘urban tribes’ characterized by their isolation from the mainstream social life influenced by people’s ego-centric and limited personal networks in the form of cliques with clique culture, dominated by rugged individualism, instead of developing broad social networks based on reciprocity that generate social capital with community feeling, collective consciousness and altruism. Their silent withdrawal from social intercourse has affected urbanites propensity to pitch into the common tasks that bind people together with a ‘we feeling’. The net result is, today, people in large cities have collectively turned away from the responsibilities of community building, community development and community participation in civic activities and social and public affairs. The article in this context has identified some of the factors that have contributed to this urban pathology and civic malaise and, finally, offers some possible and feasible remedies to control and contain this social malady.

Multiculturalism and young people’s leisure spaces in Finland: perspectives of multicultural youth

The article sums up the main results of a research project Multicultural Youth, Leisure and Participation in Civic Activities carried out in Finland 2004–2007. Through empirical analyses, interpretations can be made concerning the readiness of youth’s leisure communities to adapt to the situation where their members are more and more diverse with regard to their cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Formal education and labour market are crucial but not the only significant areas of integration, especially when young people are in the focus of discussion. Tolerance for multiculturalism in leisure environments and youth communities is still a topic, which has remained largely unexplored. Multicultural youth, whose experiences are analysed in this article, seem to share the opinion that concrete and continuous forms of multicultural leisure action are often lacking, as well as active participants with divergent ethnic backgrounds. The experiences of multicultural youth thus challenge the general optimism of an anti-racist leisure policy. Skin colours, cultural distances and ethnic hierarchies are still elements that regulate informally youth’s possibilities to participate in common leisure activities.

Creation of Intellectual Capital in Hospital Organizations and Factors Influencing Creation of Intellectual Capital

Purpose: This study was designed to identify creation of intellectual c apital and factors influencing the creation of intellectual capital in hospital organizations. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used, with a convenience sample of 300 nurses from three general hospitals in Gwangju and South Cholla province. The tools used for this study were scales measuring creation of intellectual capital (8 items), social capital (20 items), knowledge management (8 items). Data was analyzed with descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation coefficient and regression using the SPSS WIN 18.0 program. Results: There were significantly positive relationships between social capital and knowledge management with creation of intellectual capital. The mean score for creation of intellectual capital in hospital organizations was 4.59 poi nts. Factors influencing creation of intellectual capital in hospital organization were identified as knowledge management (β=.625), shared values & action (β=.166), and participation in civic activities (β=.118). These factors explained 59.3% of the variance in creation of intellectual capital in hospital organizations. Conclusion: The results indicate which factors are major factors influencing creation of intellectual capital and therefore, serve as predictors of creation of intellectual capital in hospital organizations.

Barriers and Facilitators to Civic Engagement Among Elderly African Immigrants in Oslo

The numbers of elderly immigrants are increasing in Norway and their participation in civic activities is recognized to be crucial to their health and wellbeing. A qualitative study of 24 African immigrants aged 50 years and over was carried out in Oslo. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore barriers and facilitators to civic engagement among elderly African immigrants. The study discovered a number of barriers to participation of elderly immigrants in civic organizations. These barriers include poor health conditions, lack of information about relevant organizations, language difficulties and mistrust towards organizations. The elderly immigrants also pointed to the effectiveness of organizations in addressing community issues as a factor motivating their civic engagement. We argue that the barriers identified by this study pose challenges to achieving Norwegian policy goals of integration and Norwegian policy for active ageing. Hence, there is a need for service providers and policy makers to ensure voluntary organizations address those barriers effectively.

Role of livestock projects in empowering women smallholder farmers for sustainable food security in rural Kenya

Women are a major human resource and assure adequate nutrition, health and cognitive development of their households and children in their formative years. However, women are over-represented among the poor, suffer heavy workloads and have little control over resources for family care. Poverty and food insecurity are enhanced by lack of access to, and control over assets, and lack of access to institutions that provide opportunities and buffer from shocks and crises. The need to improve household food security and empower women in households has seenthe implementation of agricultural projects, particularly livestock projects that target women smallholder farmers. These projects are used as one of the major strategies to expand agricultural output in rural areas. Livestock contributes a higher share of income to rural households, improves food security and possibly enhances women’s participation in civic activities. Livestock development projects seek to empower women through increased household incomes, improve household incomes of women and nutritional status of women and other members of the households. This paper sought to establish a link between participation in livestockprojects, socio-economic status and nutritional status of index women. A crosssectional survey with a case-control model was conducted to establish the link between participation in a livestock project. Socio-economic and nutritional status of women from beneficiary and non-beneficiary households of livestock projects in Vihiga District, Kenya was assessed using both the Body Mass and the Brokas Index. A total of 300 beneficiary and non-beneficiary women were interviewed and their heights and weights measured during the study. Results revealed better incomes, education levels and nutritional status among the beneficiary women.Development projects can attain their objectives when there is deliberate effort to ensure that the project goals are understood by all stakeholders, to create commitment to resource re-direction and embrace the purpose of the project. There has to be proper understanding of the familial and community cultures and practices if the course of women is to be addressed profitably, with full support of their husbands and the entire household for the success of the project.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AMONG SMALL-GROUP PARTICIPANTS: CREATING COMMUNITY OR SELF-ABSORPTION?

Small support groups are a relatively new form of voluntary association appearing in the American landscape. Examining the larger implications of the “small group movement” for civic life has led some to see an overall positive effect on wider community activities, while others have viewed small-group participants as self-absorbed and withdrawing from participation in civic activities. Using a national sample of small-group participants, we examine the effects on civic engagement stemming from the social characteristics of participants, the type of small group (religious, secular, or mixed), and the opportunity to develop social capital through participation in small groups. Findings indicate that members of religious small groups do not actively engage in civic affairs, but members of secular and mixed groups do participate in a broad range of civic activities. Differences in social participation can be attributed to characteristics of the small groups (formalization and cohesion) and to some characteristics of members (education). When small support groups offer members the opportunity to acquire civic skills, to exchange information, and to develop self-efficacy, there is more interest and activity in civic affairs.

Music preferences and civic activism of young people

This study examines the relationship between music preferences and civic activism among 182 participants aged 14–24 years. Our analyses show that participants who regularly listened to certain music genres such as classical, opera, musicals, new age, easy listening, house, world music, heavy metal, punk, and ska were significantly more likely to be engaged in civic activism than those who preferred other music genres. Previous literature had shown that political expression was associated with certain music genres, but our analysis provides empirical evidence that music genres associated with political expression are related to actual participation in civic activities, not just ideology. Discussion revolved around the importance of clustering music genres and music as part of youths’ lifestyles in the context of civic activism.