Public Support Research Articles

Exploring the Nexus: Homeschooling and Library Engagement in Connecticut

ABSTRACT In the dynamic landscape of education, homeschooling continues to offer a compelling alternative to traditional schooling. Homeschool numbers surged through the pandemic and have not decreased to pre-pandemic levels. This study examines the shared connections between homeschooled families in Connecticut and local public libraries by looking at how home educators use library resources and participate in library programming; and examining how Connecticut libraries perceive and respond to the diverse needs of homeschooling communities. Based on 2 Connecticut statewide surveys, one sent to public librarians and another to homeschoolers, the study sought to identify areas of strengths, weaknesses and disconnects in the homeschool community and public library relationships in Connecticut. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected and reviewed to identify potential improvements to the evolving role of libraries in supporting alternative education pathways, and the potential for an infusion of public library support from the homeschool community.

Community-University Partnerships: The Benefits of Collaboration in Measuring Public Support for a Community Recreation Center

Community-University Partnerships: The Benefits of Collaboration in Measuring Public Support for a Community Recreation Center

Who are the immigrants that Israeli Jews prefer? The interplay between reasons for migration, religion, and religiosity

This study focuses on the impact of three attributes of migrants – their reasons for migration, religion, and level of religiosity – on public support for allowing migrants to come and live in Israel. We rely on a factorial survey that was conducted in a representative sample of the Israeli Jewish population analyzing the assessments of 600 respondents of various vignettes (N = 3,595) of hypothetical migrants about admitting them to the country. The findings reveal that Israeli Jews do not evaluate all immigrant groups equally. Preferences for specific groups of migrants are primarily structured along two main attributes: religion and reasons for migration. The result is a hierarchical distinction between immigrants of Jewish ancestry and those who are non-Jewish. Jewish repatriates are perceived as “deserving migrants” who can make legitimate claims about belonging to the host society. As such, they enjoy an ethno-religious premium based on ancestral rights. By contrast, there is less support for the entry of non-Jewish migrants, whether asylum seekers or labor migrants, as their presence is viewed as a threat to the Jewish character of the state and the hegemony of the Jewish majority. The impact of the immigrants’ attributes on attitudes varies based on the level of religiosity of the Jewish population, especially in the case of non-Jewish migrants. Support is stronger in the case of secular respondents and much weaker among their more religious counterparts. The findings are discussed in light of existing theories.

Blame and obligation: The importance of libertarianism and political orientation in the public assessment of disinformation in the United States

AbstractDisinformation concerns have heightened the importance of regulating content and speech in digital communication environments. Perceived risks have led to widespread public support for stricter control measures, even at the expense of individual speech rights. To better understand these preferences in the US context, we investigate public attitudes regarding blame for and obligation to address digital disinformation by drawing on political ideology, libertarian values, trust in societal actors, and issue salience. A manual content analysis of open‐ended survey responses in combination with an issue salience experiment shows that political orientation and trust in actors primarily drive blame attribution, while libertarianism predominantly informs whose obligation it is to stop the spread. Additionally, enhancing the salience of specific aspects of the issue can influence people's assessments of blame and obligation. Our findings reveal a range of attributions, underlining the need for careful balance in regulatory interventions. Additionally, we expose a gap in previous literature by demonstrating libertarianism's unique role vis‐à‐vis political orientation in the context of regulating content and speech in digital communication environments.

How did refugees and migrants’ solidarity initiatives become an intervention for disaster and humanitarian response during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cape Town, South Africa?

The impact of COVID-19 on refugees and migrants in South Africa has been profound and multifaceted. Refugees, that is, people who are vulnerable due to displacement, have faced a series of challenges exacerbated by the pandemic. These challenges include health risks, limited healthcare access, economic hardships, food insecurity, disruptions in education, mental health concerns, stigmatization, and xenophobia. The pandemic disrupted asylum procedures and hindered the delivery of humanitarian assistance. While there were efforts to address these issues, the highlighting the need for targeted support and policies to protect and assist this vulnerable population during and after the pandemic. Refugees and migrant communities are among the most vulnerable groups during disasters and humanitarian responses. This vulnerability could be exacerbated by their presence in foreign lands, where they are legitimately discriminated against due to illegality, unrecognized documents/permits, or simply being foreign. Additionally, when new arrivals or immigrant groups are perceived as poorly integrated or as rivaling locals for limited resources, declining public support might occasionally limit the scope for robust humanitarian protection measures. To minimize the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the South African government implemented a financial stimulus package that supported complimentary monitoring measures for the citizens. However, the government’s response to refugees and migrants focused mainly on closing the land border, with limited social protection for refugees and asylum seekers. Perhaps the most significant benefit of COVID-19 was global solidarity to curb its spread and humanitarian assistance in the areas of health, finance, and other relief items such as food. One can assume that the collective self of the global community exhibited high levels of solidarity despite some discrimination being observed in the areas of vaccines. Indeed, disaster-stricken communities need solidarity, not charity, as observed during the pandemic. This article theorizes how the existing structure of solidarity scholarship purposefully incorporates both the necessity of tangible responses to people’s needs and the alternative conceptions of participation and self-organization. This study utilized a qualitative approach, collecting data from selected migrant and refugee communities in urban centers of Cape Town, including participants from Bellville central business district (CBD), Parow Centre, Goodwood Centre, and Cape Town CBD, who provided humanitarian support during the pandemic. In total, seven interviews were carried out, and participants were selected depending on their availability using a combination of purposive and snowball sampling techniques. Data were analyzed thematically based on the research question. The study drew on the pragmatic realities of refugees and migrants’ solidarity initiatives and explored how they contributed to the COVID-19 humanitarian response in Cape Town, South Africa. This research aimed to investigate how solidarity initiatives led by refugees and migrants have functioned as interventions for disaster and humanitarian response in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Cape Town, South Africa. The study findings from participants revealed that members of refugee and migrant communities relied on a vital solidarity initiative as coping strategy in order to deal with the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine restrictions.

The effects of a defendant's childhood physical abuse on lay support for sentencing: The moderating role of essentialism.

Research suggests that a defendant's history of experiencing childhood abuse, and its effects on their life and later decision-making, may impact public support for a defendant's sentencing, particularly mitigation. However, no existing research has examined how and why sentencing support may vary based on the time period when the abuse occurs during a defendant's childhood. This experiment, using a sample of the U.S. public (N=400), examines how the age at which a defendant's childhood physical abuse occurs affects lay support for the goals of their sentencing. We hypothesized that participants with higher levels of social and biological trait essentialism would moderate their increased support for more punitive sentencing goals-particularly when a defendant was abused earlier, rather than later, in childhood. Results suggest that social essentialism is associated with increased support for restoration and rehabilitation toward defendants with histories of childhood physical abuse, potentially indicating that the public views the effects of child abuse as more of a social, versus biological, process which may affect support for utilitarian punishment goals.

Polish Dairy Farm Transformations and Competitiveness 20 Years after Poland’s Accession to the European Union

Poland is one of the leading milk producers in the EU, being the fifth largest after countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and the Netherlands. From Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004 up to 2022, Polish milk production experienced dynamic development. In this, there occurred a strong decline in the number of dairy farms (by −78%) and the number of cows (by −21%), an increase in dairy herd size (3.5 times) and increase in milk production (+60%) and milk yield per cow (by +62%). These were among the highest growth dynamics among the analysed countries. As a result of this significant transformation, Poland maintained an important position in milk exports, with a 31% export share in production in 2022. The scale of milk production was the basic factor determining the efficiency and competitiveness of dairy farms in Poland. Milk yield, farmland productivity, labour productivity, milk price, and the Corrected Competitiveness Index (based on labour and land opportunity costs) all showed a positive relationship with cow herd size on the farm. Milk production is highly uncompetitive for smaller farms (<15 cows). Despite substantial public support, the smaller farms, where subsidies equal up to 47% of total production value, could not earn sufficient income to cover the cost of capital, risk, and management in 2008, and even more so in 2021. This is because the farm income is too small to cover the extremely high opportunity cost of labour. The larger farms (with 30 cows and more) are competitive and responsible for the majority (~60–70%) of milk produced and delivered to the market. The most challenging from the sectoral policy point of view are medium farms (10–29 cows), whose share in production and deliveries is still important. To survive as economically viable units, these farms have to increase in scale and improve productivity. Otherwise, they will be gradually supplanted by larger farms.

Three Pillars of Support for Orphan Drug Programs: Individual Valuations, Societal Valuations, and Anonymous Altruism

To identify and describe potential societal and individual sources of support for orphan drug programs. The generalized risk-adjusted cost-effectiveness (GRACE) method shows that acute illness and disability severity increase individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) for health gains. We develop a social welfare function (SWF) that incorporates individuals' own values, combined with politically- or ethically determined weights. We introduce the concept of horizontal equity-that individuals in similar situations should be treated similarly-into the SWF. Finally, we introduce anonymous altruism into individuals' utility functions-the desire to help others, without knowing their identity. Combined with the empirical link between disease severity and rarity, GRACE demonstrates heightened WTP for health gains, leading rational individuals to support orphan drug programs, our first pillar of support. Adding horizontal equity to the SWF further increases societal support for orphan drug programs. Anonymous altruism, focusing most strongly on those in the most-dire circumstances, leads to altruistic support for those with severe disorders. Because innovators' economic incentives lead them to focus on larger markets, anonymous altruistic individuals to specifically support orphan drug programs. The presence of free-rider problems translates this into public program support. We identify supporting three pillars for orphan drug programs: (1) individuals' desire for treatments to treat rare disease that are often severe and life-threatening; (2) the concept of horizontal equity in our SWF: (3) anonymous altruism, the desire to people, even when unknown, in dire circumstances.

From Perception to Policy: Exploring Public Support for Sleep Health Initiatives.

From Perception to Policy: Exploring Public Support for Sleep Health Initiatives.

Bug city life: Public acceptance of urban insect-friendly meadows in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland

Reports of continuing declines in some insect populations have raised concerns and calls for action to protect insects. The establishment of insect-friendly meadows in urban areas provides an opportunity to conserve both insect and plant diversity. However, public acceptance can be an obstacle to the implementation of such meadows, for example, due to competing land use interests and the perception that tall meadows are visually unattractive. To address these concerns and align urban green spaces with both public preferences and environmental needs, a systematic understanding of the factors influencing public acceptance of meadows is essential. To this end, a representative online survey was conducted in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with 899 participants to assess the acceptance of insect-friendly meadows in urban areas. The study shows significant support for insect-friendly meadows across all subgroups and within each country-specific subgroup. The factor that most influences their acceptance is the recognition of the ecological benefits of these meadows. It is therefore highly recommended to prioritize public awareness campaigns that highlight the complex relationship between plant and insect diversity. Such efforts can contribute to a better understanding of the benefits of insect-friendly meadows for biodiversity, thereby increasing public support for these conservation measures. Additionally, considerations related to perceived aesthetics, appreciation of an increase in insect abundance, preference for public funding, and a general sense of safety around these meadows should inform the development and communication strategies for insect-friendly green spaces, as they significantly influence public acceptance. These design and perception aspects of meadows were shown to have a stronger influence on the acceptance of meadows than individual, attitudinal characteristics such as environmental attitudes or attitudes toward insect decline. While this study provides insights into the general public acceptance of insect-friendly meadows, more research is needed to understand the influence of the specific local context on meadow acceptance.

Bridging gaps, building futures: evaluating a multinational’s employment programme vs. work-first for youth with diverse education levels

ABSTRACT In the Netherlands, public work-first support tends to cause unemployed young people to exit into primarily non-standard jobs. A worldwide-renowned Dutch company, Royal Philips, has offered since the mid-1980s a two-year lasting work experience and vocational training programme to long-term unemployed youth as an alternative to public work-first support. This quasi-experimental study uses data from the company programme's participants and national longitudinal register data for the matched control group receiving public work-first support. The present study observes the employment impact of this private company's employment programme compared to the public programme for inadequately skilled youth (aged 16–35) by education level. Participants’ employment levels are compared with a carefully matched public work first-subjected control group up to a maximum of ten years later. Fixed-effects panel regression models show that, due to its upskilling and work experience features, the employment programme positively affects sustained wage-fitted employment over ten years compared with the control group subjected to public work-first support. The programme's employment effect associated with upskilling is achieved notably with low-educated participants who received vocational training. In contrast, participating high-educated young people seem to profit from human capital and signalling effects.

Development and Support of Ukrainian Domestic Entrepreneurship in the Knowledge Economy

This paper explores the elements of support and development of entrepreneurship in Ukraine. It suggests that digitalization is an important organizational component in the development of the business sector in the knowledge economy. The authors present a comprehensive study of the most advanced domestic business ecosystems (Diia, UNIT.CITY, Genesis) and highlight their key characteristics, i.e., type of ownership, structure, mission and vision, services for entrepreneurs, investment fund availability, and areas and types of investment. The paper concludes that support for entrepreneurship in Ukraine is based on the principles of efficiency, accessibility, social security, openness, and transparency. Entrepreneurship support is considered as a set of measures of the state-funded and private institutions and organizations aimed at ensuring the sustainable functioning of small and medium-sized business entities and stimulating their development by creating the following favorable conditions: building a competitive environment and increasing competitiveness; fostering investment and innovation efforts; promoting manufactured goods (works, services) or knowledge-based products in domestic and foreign markets; ensuring employment by supporting the citizens’ entrepreneurial initiatives. Areas of public and private support of domestic entrepreneurship include provision of information, consultancy, and special services. Moreover, the paper pays special attention to the forms and methods of supporting businesses and entrepreneurship under martial law in Ukraine in 2022.

Police reform from the top down: Experimental evidence on police executive support for civilian oversight

AbstractThe accountability of police to the public is imperative for a functioning democracy. The opinions of police executives—pivotal actors for implementing oversight policies—are an understudied, critical component of successful reform efforts. We use a pre‐registered survey experiment administered to all U.S. municipal police chiefs and county sheriffs to assess whether police executives’ attitudes towards civilian oversight are responsive to 1) state‐level public opinion (drawing on an original n = 16,840 survey) and 2) prior adoption of civilian review boards in large agencies. Results from over 1,300 police executives reveal that law enforcement leaders are responsive to elite peer adoption but much less to public opinion, despite overwhelming public support. Compared to appointed municipal police chiefs, elected sheriffs are less likely to support any civilian oversight. Our findings hold implications for reformers: we find that existing civilian oversight regimes are largely popular, and that it is possible to move police executive opinion towards support for civilian oversight.

A broad battle: public opinion and the 1945–1946 General Motors strike

ABSTRACT This article explores the 1945–1946 strike at General Motors, a massive dispute involving 320,000 workers. The 113-day walkout was the longest of the 1945–1946 strike wave, which saw over three million U.S. workers mobilize. A key feature of the strike – and one particularly overlooked – is public reaction. The strike secured widespread press coverage, and much of the United Automobile Workers’ (UAW) strategy revolved around appealing for public support. Drawing on under-utilized strike records, this article argues that reaction to the dispute highlights why labour would be on the defensive in succeeding decades. While many citizens were supportive, seeing this as an emblematic dispute, opponents were vociferous. In a rich body of letters, they outlined key arguments that were used later to justify attacks on unions – that their demands were selfish and excessive, that they caused strikes and violence, that they hurt business competitiveness, and that their leaders were ‘union bosses’ and ‘racketeers’.’ Opponents particularly opposed UAW calls for GM to ‘open its books’ to prove they could not afford big wage increases. Overall, the strike set the stage for post-war labour relations, where unions made economic gains but were unable to impinge on executives’ ‘right to manage’.

The Disenfranchisement of Practitioners and the Public Sector in Innovative Urban Farming in Sub-Saharan Africa: Insights from Nigeria

Innovative urban farming is crucial for enhancing food security, nutrition, livelihood resilience, and environmental sustainability in Sub-Saharan African cities. However, agricultural policies and extension services often overlook urban contexts, presumably due to resource constraints. Yet, to improve productivity, understanding the challenges and opportunities of innovative urban farming is essential. Exploratory qualitative research, including focus group discussions, was conducted in, Lagos, Nigeria, to gather insights from stakeholders. The analysis, using mind maps and a consensus index, compared the perspectives of private urban farmers and public sector representatives. The urban farmers recognize the potential of circular agri-food technologies, like hydroponics, aquaponics, recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), drip irrigation, sack farming, and waste upcycling, to boost productivity. However, the urban farmers perceive a lack of public sector support for these innovations. The public sector representatives see the problem as urban farmers’ behavioral and educational shortcomings, particularly their lack of coordination and commitment to adopting innovations. These differing views highlight the complex dynamics between urban farmers and local agricultural policymakers. This study emphasizes the need for structural changes and local-level stakeholder dialogues for developing effective urban farming policies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Perceived Social Support and Health Care Spending as Moderators in the Association of Traditional Bullying Perpetration with Traditional Bullying and Cyberbullying Victimisation among Adolescents in 27 European Countries: A Multilevel Cross-National Study

Existing research has documented the association between bullying perpetration and bullying victimisation. However, it is still unclear how different sources of social support moderate the association between bullying perpetration and bullying victimisation at a cross-national level. Using multilevel binary logistic regression models, this study examined the moderating role of public health care spending and perceived social support (i.e., family and teacher support) in the association between traditional bullying perpetration and victimisation by traditional bullying and cyberbullying among adolescents across 27 European countries. Country-level data were combined with 2017/18 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey data from 162,792 adolescents (11-, 13-, and 15-year-olds) in 27 European countries. Results showed that adolescents who perpetrated traditional bullying had a higher likelihood of being victimised by traditional bullying and cyberbullying than adolescents who did not bully others. Results also indicated that the magnitude of the positive association between traditional bullying perpetration and victimisation by traditional bullying and cyberbullying was mitigated among adolescents with more family, teacher, and public health care support. These findings support the notion that multilayered systems of social support could play a vital role in bullying prevention and intervention strategies to address bullying among adolescents.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Mental Health Courts in Reducing Recidivism: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis

Mental Health Courts (MHCs) are a type of treatment court created to divert offenders with mental illness away from incarceration and into community-based treatment. While research on the impact of MHCs on recidivism has produced mixed results, there is a need to determine whether MHCs are effective. In light of this need, and of public support for the balanced justice approach toward mentally ill offenders, this study aims to assess the impact of MHC participation on recidivism. As such, the current study is a systematic review and a meta-analysis which replicates a study conducted by Lowder and colleagues while incorporating modifications to the methodology to reflect the new Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to determine the effect of MHC participation on recidivism. Results from the 15 included studies show a significant reduction (42.46%) in recidivism for individuals who participated in MHC treatment program. Policy implications, in light of the MHC model’s reduction in recidivism and alignment with the ideals of balanced justice, are discussed.

Judicialization and Public Support for Compliance with International Commitments

Abstract What effect does judicializing international commitments have on incentives to comply with international law? We study this question using experiments embedded in a survey of the American public. We find that non-compliance signals from an international court work precisely as theories of non-compliance anticipate, raising perceptions of legal obligation and support for returning to compliance relative to non-compliance signals from foreign state parties (i.e., the “victims” in a given dispute). At the same time, we find that signals from courts are no more (and no less) effective in generating public support for returning to compliance than identical non-compliance signals sent by international organizations or domestic political elites. These results suggest that courts are not uniquely positioned to shape the politics of compliance and that the often-rancorous debates over institutional design may be just as much about conflicts over institutional control as they are about conflicts over institutional forms or labels.

Slovenia: Political Developments and Data in 2023

AbstractThe political arena was lively in Slovenia, even though no elections or referendums were held in 2023. Both the government and all three governmental parties, especially the biggest one, the Freedom Movement, as a new party, experienced considerable turbulence—such as changes in the parliamentary party group and changes in the four ministerial positions falling within that party's quota. Having previously been the successful manager of an energy company, the Prime Minister encountered a multitude of challenges in the political arena. While the government announced many reforms, it managed to deliver substantially less. It also faced many (threats of) strikes and protests, particularly by public sector employees and farmers. Even though in the first year of its term the government enjoyed high public support, by November 2023, the situation was very different, with just 18 per cent of voters assessing its work as (very) positive. Parallel to this, two opposition parties were facing their own challenges.

Public Support for Tobacco Endgame Policies: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

An increasing number of countries are adopting the tobacco endgame goal. High levels of public support can accelerate momentum towards implementing tobacco endgame policies. We aimed to conduct a systematic review of public support for tobacco endgame policies and to examine the geographical distribution of studies, support among key populations (adolescents and young adults, people who smoke), and the association between survey design and support. We searched Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for studies published from 2013 onwards. Google was used to search the grey literature. The reference lists of included articles were hand-searched. Studies were included if they reported the proportions of people supporting one or more endgame policies. Risk of bias was assessed using the JBI checklist for prevalence studies. Forty-seven articles were included. Aotearoa/New Zealand and the United States were the countries with the most studies (n=11, respectively). Three-level meta-analyses showed the highest support for mandating a very low nicotine content in tobacco products (76%, 95% CI 61-87%). Meta-regressions were performed to assess the associations of population subgroup and survey design with support levels. The level of support was lower among people who smoke compared to the general population (β range: -1.59 to -0.51). Support for some policies was lower when neutral or don't know response options were included. Public support for most tobacco endgame policies was high. Assessing public support can assist with progressing tobacco endgame policies. Policies that are widely supported by the public may be more politically feasible to implement. Qualitative studies and trial studies can further inform communication and implementation strategies for tobacco endgame policies.