scholarly journals Mass Observation, Apathy, and Electoral Politics in England, 1937–1950

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
David Thackeray
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
The Public ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Popular Engagement ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
Election Studies ◽  
Public Politics ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract While various historians use Mass Observation sources to study popular engagement with politics in the 1940s, they tend to rely on file reports summarizing research or the writings of the national panel, which paid limited attention to how the public engaged with key aspects of electioneering. By contrast, we re-examine Mass Observation's various election surveys to explore people's assumptions about how election campaigns should be conducted, the qualities looked for in political parties, and their reflections on the records of governments. Our conclusions shed light on the transformation of British public politics after 1918. During the interwar years it became common thinking to assume that parties would centre their campaigning around a detailed programme for government. Whereas Mass Observation's employees often claimed that much of the public was apathetic about politics, a reanalysis of the survey results indicates that many people were eager to be seen to be able to offer a considered assessment of the veracity of the competing parties’ promises. Mass Observation's election studies were criticized for their supposed amateurism. However, they offer richer insights into how the public engaged with party programmes than the quantitative surveys that came to dominate election studies in the 1950s and beyond.

scholarly journals How Do Women Interpret the NHS Information Leaflet about Cervical Cancer Screening?

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (7) ◽  
pp. 738-754
Author(s):  
Yasmina Okan ◽  
Dafina Petrova ◽  
Samuel G. Smith ◽  
Vedran Lesic ◽  
Wändi Bruine de Bruin
Keyword(s):  
Cervical Cancer ◽  
Cancer Screening ◽  
Cervical Cancer Screening ◽  
The Public ◽  
Screening Programs ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Screening Participation ◽  
Sequential Mixed Methods ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
Key Aspects

Background. Organized screening programs often rely on written materials to inform the public. In the United Kingdom, women invited for cervical cancer screening receive a leaflet from the National Health Service (NHS) to support screening decisions. However, information about screening may be too complex for people to understand, potentially hindering informed decision making. Objectives. We aimed to identify women’s difficulties in interpreting the leaflet used in England and negative and positive responses to the leaflet. Methods. We used a sequential mixed-methods design involving 2 steps: cognitive think-aloud interviews ( n = 20), followed by an England-wide survey ( n = 602). Data were collected between June 2017 and December 2018, and participants included women aged 25 to 64 y with varying sociodemographics. Results. Interview results revealed misunderstandings concerning screening results, benefits, and additional tests and treatment, although participants tended to react positively to numerical information. Participants were often unfamiliar with the potential harms associated with screening (i.e., screening risks), key aspects of human papillomavirus, and complex terms (e.g., dyskaryosis). Survey results indicated that interpretation difficulties were common ( M correct items = 12.5 of 23). Lower understanding was associated with lower educational level (β’s >0.15, P’s <0.001), lower numeracy scores (β = 0.36, P < 0.001), and nonwhite ethnicity (β = 0.10, P = 0.007). The leaflet was evaluated positively overall. Conclusions. Despite previous user testing of the leaflet, key information may be too complex for some recipients. As a consequence, they may struggle to make informed decisions about screening participation based on the information provided. We discuss implications for the improvement of communications about screening and decision support.

Challenges to multiparty governments

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 793-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heike Klüver ◽  
Jae-Jae Spoon
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Party Competition ◽  
Combine Data ◽  
Coalition Governments ◽  
Issue Attention ◽  
The Comparative Study ◽  
Election Studies ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Shed Light

How does governing in coalitions affect coalition parties’ responsiveness to voters? In this article, we seek to understand the relationship between political parties’ participation in multiparty governments and their responsiveness to voters. We argue that the extent to which coalition parties respond to policy priorities of voters is influenced by the divisiveness of policy issues within the cabinet and the ministerial responsibility for policies. To test our hypotheses, we combine data on the issue attention of 55 coalition parties from the Comparative Manifestos Project with data on government composition and data on the policy priorities of voters from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems and various election studies in 45 elections across 16 European countries from 1972 to 2011. While we find that intra-cabinet divisiveness decreases coalition parties’ responsiveness, we find no effect for portfolio responsibility. Our findings shed light on the relationship between party competition and coalition governments and its implications for political representation.

Dilemmas of Inclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafaela M. Dancygier
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
Electoral Politics ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Political Incorporation ◽  
Party Positions ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Muslim Communities ◽  
Equality And Diversity

As Europe's Muslim communities continue to grow, so does their impact on electoral politics and the potential for inclusion dilemmas. In vote-rich enclaves, Muslim views on religion, tradition, and gender roles can deviate sharply from those of the majority electorate, generating severe trade-offs for parties seeking to broaden their coalitions. This book explains when and why European political parties include Muslim candidates and voters, revealing that the ways in which parties recruit this new electorate can have lasting consequences. The book sheds new light on when minority recruitment will match up with existing party positions and uphold electoral alignments and when it will undermine party brands and shake up party systems. It demonstrates that when parties are seduced by the quick delivery of ethno-religious bloc votes, they undercut their ideological coherence, fail to establish programmatic linkages with Muslim voters, and miss their opportunity to build cross-ethnic, class-based coalitions. The book highlights how the politics of minority inclusion can become a testing ground for parties, showing just how far their commitments to equality and diversity will take them when push comes to electoral shove. Providing a unified theoretical framework for understanding the causes and consequences of minority political incorporation, and especially as these pertain to European Muslim populations, the book advances our knowledge about how ethnic and religious diversity reshapes domestic politics in today's democracies.

From Circles to Parties. Genesis of Party System in Russia in the Beginning of 20th Century

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 464-470
Author(s):  
Kirill A. Solovyov
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Party System ◽  
Revolutionary Era ◽  
The Public ◽  
Party Organizations ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
In The Beginning

The article is devoted to the general patterns of political parties formation in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. They were preceded by proto-party organizations that were far from being ideologically monolithic. Under the conditions of rapid differentiation of political forces, the existing alliances were often accidental and situational. They hung on to the legacy of the pre-revolutionary era, when the public was just “learning” to talk about politics, and the boundaries between different ideological structures were quite rather relative.

To Show, But Not to Disclose. The Willingness of Polish Political Parties to Disclose Information On their Structures

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-21
Author(s):  
Ewa Skrabacz
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Information Bulletin ◽  
The Public ◽  
Maximum Value ◽  
Election Manifestos ◽  
Internal Structures ◽  
Central Statistical ◽  
Central Statistical Office

AbstractConstituting the key element of a democratic system, political parties are among entities obliged by the Polish legislator to comply with the principle of disclosure by providing public information. The main objective of this paper is to determine the level of Polish political parties’ disclosure, understood here as their willingness to disclose information on their own structures. It seems that the practice of disclosing such basic organizational data may constitute a specific measure of Polish political parties’ respect for the idea of disclosure. The subject matter of the conducted research was particular parties’ sites in the Public Information Bulletin as well as their official websites. An attempt was made to acquire data concerning party structures by way of direct contact with particular parties’ organizational units – questionnaires were sent to both central and regional/district organizational units. In order to acquire a wider perspective, the research also included data provided by the Central Statistical Office concerning political parties’ organizational structures and election manifestos. The conducted analysis was summarized in the form of a ranking of the examined political parties based on a proposed political party disclosure index. This attempt to measure disclosure on the basis of data on internal structures provided by parties themselves is of a preliminary character which, nevertheless, makes it possible to capture the general properties of the phenomenon under analysis. Among the examined parties, it is PSL, SLD, and PO that, to an acceptable degree, follow the principle of disclosure in the analysed scope (indexes at the level of 60%-80% of the maximum value). Four other parties, i.e. N, Wolność, Razem, and Kukiz’15, are on the edge of the zone making it possible to regard their disclosure as sufficient (indexes at the level of around 50% of the maximum value). In the case of PiS, whose index does not reach 20% of the maximum value, it should be concluded that this party implements the principle of disclosure at a minimum level. The ranking did not show relationships between parties’ willingness towards providing information and their sizes or positions on the political scene (parliamentary parties vs. extra-parliamentary parties).

Our universities away from partisan Altsarat

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
أ.د.عبد الجبار احمد عبد الله
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
Moral Duty ◽  
The Political ◽  
Public Office ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
The Public ◽  
The University

In order to codify the political and partisan activity in Iraq, after a difficult labor, the Political Parties Law No. (36) for the year 2015 started and this is positive because it is not normal for the political parties and forces in Iraq to continue without a legal framework. Article (24) / paragraph (5) of the law requires that the party and its members commit themselves to the following: (To preserve the neutrality of the public office and public institutions and not to exploit it for the gains of a party or political organization). This is considered because it is illegal to exploit State institutions for partisan purposes . It is a moral duty before the politician not to exploit the political parties or some of its members or those who try to speak on their behalf directly or indirectly to achieve partisan gains. Or personality against other personalities and parties at the expense of the university entity.

Attentional capture helps explain why moral and emotional content go viral

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Brady ◽  
Ana P. Gantman ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Attentional Capture ◽  
Emotional Content ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Psychological Process ◽  
Emotional Stimuli ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Lab Experiments ◽  
Perceptual Systems ◽  
Shed Light

Our social media newsfeeds are filled with a variety of content all battling for our limited attention. Across three studies, we investigated whether moral and emotional content captures our attention more than other content and if this may help explain why this content is more likely to go viral online. Using a combination of controlled lab experiments and nearly 50,000 political tweets, we found that moral and emotional content are prioritized in early visual attention more than neutral content, and that such attentional capture is associated with increased retweets during political conversations online. Furthermore, we found that the differences in attentional capture among moral and emotional stimuli could not be fully explained by differences in arousal. These studies suggest that attentional capture is one basic psychological process that helps explain the increased diffusion of moral and emotional content during political discourse on social media, and shed light on ways in which political leaders, disinformation profiteers, marketers, and activist organizations can spread moralized content by capitalizing on natural tendencies of our perceptual systems.

Still Connecting with Society?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elin Haugsgjerd Allern ◽  
Tània Verge
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
The Public ◽  
Organized Interests ◽  
Social Interests ◽  
Sources Of Variation ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Formal Status ◽  
Formal Rules

How parties structure their interaction with social groups is a key determinant of their capacity to provide linkage between the institutions of government and the public at large. This chapter investigates the extent to which modern political parties use formal measures to connect to relevant societal interests and strengthen their anchorage in society. The analysis centres on parties’ use of formal rules governing affiliation and representation to link with externally organized interests and parties’ establishment of sub-organizations with representation rights within the party. The chapter authors develop and test several hypotheses concerning cross-country and within-country sources of variation in formal linkage and test them empirically. In addition, they examine whether formal status and representation rights shape parties’ ability to represent descriptively the associated latent social interests focusing on the case of women and ethnic minorities.

Re-municipalization of local public services: incidence, causes and prospects

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232110064
Author(s):  
Daniel Albalate ◽  
Germà Bel ◽  
Raymond Gradus ◽  
Eoin Reeves
Keyword(s):  
Public Management ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
The Public ◽  
Local Public Services ◽  
High Profile ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
The Us ◽  
House Production ◽  
Shed Light

Since the turn of the century, a global trend of re-municipalization has emerged, with cities reversing earlier privatizations and returning infrastructure and public service delivery to the public sector. The reversal of privatization measures is not an entirely new phenomenon. In the US, for example, returning public services to in-house production has been a long-standing feature of ‘pragmatic public management’. However, many cases of re-municipalization that have occurred since the early 2000s represent a distinctive shift from earlier privatization policies. High-profile cases in cities including Paris and Hamburg have thrust re-municipalization into the limelight as they have followed public campaigns motivated by dissatisfaction with the results of privatization and a desire to restore public control of vital services, such as water and energy. Just as the reform of public services towards privatization spawned a vast body of scholarship, the current re-municipalization phenomenon is increasingly attracting the attention of scholars from a number of disciplinary perspectives. The articles contained in this symposium contribute to this emerging literature. They address some of the burning issues relating to re-municipalization, but they also point to issues yet to be resolved and shed light on a research agenda that is still taking shape.

scholarly journals Drink, but don't drive? The alcohol industry’s involvement in global road safety

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Connie Hoe ◽  
Niloufer Taber ◽  
Sarah Champagne ◽  
Abdulgafoor M Bachani
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Road Safety ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Expert Interviews ◽  
Mixed Methods Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Alcohol Industry ◽  
Alcohol Control ◽  
Mapping Review ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract Drink-driving is a major cause of global road traffic fatalities, yet few countries have laws that meet international best practices. One possible reason is the alcohol industry’s opposition to meaningful policies that are perceived to directly threaten sales. Our primary objectives are to document alcohol industry involvement in global road safety policies and programmes and to critically evaluate the responses of public health and road safety communities to this involvement. Under the guidance of the Policy Dystopia Model, we used a mixed methods approach in which data were gathered from expert interviews and a mapping review of 11 databases, 5 watchdog websites and 7 alcohol industry-sponsored initiatives. Triangulation was used to identify points of convergence among data sources. A total of 20 expert interviews and 94 documents were analysed. Our study showed that the alcohol industry acknowledges that drink-driving is an issue but argues for solutions that would limit impact on sales, akin to the message ‘drink—but do not drive’. Industry actors have been involved in road safety through: (1) coalition coupling and decoupling, (2) information production and management, (3) direct involvement in policymaking and (4) implementation of interventions. Our study also shed light on the lack of cohesion within and among the public health and road safety communities, particularly with regard to the topics of receiving funding from and partnering with the alcohol industry. These results were subsequently used to adapt the Policy Dystopia Model as a conceptual framework that illustrates the ways in which the alcohol industry has been involved in global road safety. Several implications can be drawn from this study, including the urgent need to increase awareness about the involvement of the alcohol industry in road safety and to build a cohesive transnational alcohol control advocacy alliance to curb injuries and deaths related to drink-driving.

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