Coronavirus Pandemic Response and Voter Choice

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 197-214
Author(s):  
Josip Glaurdić ◽  
Christophe Lesschaeve ◽  
Michal Mochtak
Keyword(s):  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Political Competition ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Research Note ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
The Public ◽  
National Governments

Does the public perception of governments’ coronavirus pandemic responses actually make a difference to their electoral fortunes? In this research note, we answer that question by presenting the preliminary results of a survey of more than 3,000 voters in Croatia and Serbia conducted on a dedicated mobile app and web platform directly preceding parliamentary elections that took place in these two countries during the summer of 2020. This survey was part of our larger project tracking political competition, public discourse, and conspiracy theories in Southeast Europe during the coronavirus pandemic. The preliminary findings presented in this research note demonstrate Croatian and Serbian voters were rationally retrospective and rewarded parties in power based on evaluations of their crisis management performance. We also find evidence of voters who have personally witnessed the health consequences of the coronavirus being more likely to support the parties in power. We believe this is evidence of the coronavirus pandemic increasing affected citizens’ expectations of and trust in national governments where those governments respond strongly to the pandemic’s first wave, as was the case in both Croatia and Serbia.

Women, the Parliament and Political Participation in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cholpon Turdalieva ◽  
Medet Tiulegenov
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Parliamentary Elections ◽  
Party Leaders ◽  
The Public ◽  
Women's Participation

This paper explores women’s participation in parliamentary elections in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. Using various methods, it offers an interdisciplinary perspective on factors that affect the likelihood of women participating successfully in parliamentary elections. This study supports the general literature on the effects of gender quotas and proportional representation, but its results on other factors are mixed. The factor of financial resources is significant, though its impact has been reduced with the introduction of gender quotas, while other factors—such as social status—may not be particularly important. The public perception of a woman in politics is not the greatest obstacle to women’s representation, and a female candidate’s professional status may often be attractive to party leaders.

scholarly journals Public Discourses on (Sectoral) Energy Policy in Switzerland

2021 ◽  
pp. 313-343
Author(s):  
Lena Maria Schaffer ◽  
Alessio Levis
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
News Media ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Energy Transition ◽  
The Public ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Future Policy ◽  
Transition Policy

AbstractEnergy transitions are based upon policy choices of sovereign nation states. Hence, politics plays a role in determining which policies governments implement and which sectors are targeted. Our chapter looks at the evolution of public discourse on energy policy as one important factor reflecting policy discussion and contestation within the political arena. Our descriptive and explorative analysis of the early public discourse in Swiss energy policy between 1997 and 2011 contributes to three main issues. First, it makes a case for the disaggregation of energy policy and its public perception to add to our understanding of energy transition pathways. We argue that looking at sectoral discourses as well as sectoral policy outputs allows for a more comprehensive understanding of the idiosyncrasies of Swiss energy policy regarding temporal as well as sectoral variation. Second, an increased politicization of energy policy may affect future policy choice, and thus any account on energy transition policy needs to scrutinize potential feedback effects from policies that manifest via policy discourse. Third, and on a more methodological stance, we argue that our approach to use news media as a representation of the public discourse via structural topic models can help to explore and explain the evolving national policy priorities regarding energy transition.

A Conversation on Immigration in Prince George's County

2013 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 42-45
Author(s):  
Heidi Fishpaw
Keyword(s):  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Collaborative Effort ◽  
Immigrant Community ◽  
Prince George's County ◽  
University Of Maryland ◽  
The Public ◽  
Maryland College ◽  
The University

This article describes and analyzes research that I carried out in the context of a collaborative effort to market and plan events around a mobile exhibit on the immigrant experience in Prince George's County, Maryland. The project aimed to shine light on and tease out the factors that play a role in public perception of immigrants and immigration as well as to understand, in the first place, what the range of public perceptions is. I participated in this project as an intern for the Anthropology of the Immigrant Life Course Research Program (2010) of the University of Maryland, College Park's Department of Anthropology. I focused on understanding how the public imagines the immigrant community in Prince George's County and the public discourse about immigration as an issue more broadly.

scholarly journals Can political rhetoric ever be “too persuasive”?

Jezikoslovlje ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 285-303
Author(s):  
Andreas Musolff
Keyword(s):  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Pragmatic Development ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Commitments ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Eu

Can the use of linguistic devices to achieve persuasion, such as metaphor, irony and hyperbole, ever be “too persuasive”, i.e., overshoot its rhetorical aim? More specifically, can the combination of such devices be “too much of a good thing” in that it commits speakers (and approving hearers) to actions that they were not part of their persuasion intentions? This paper investigates the semantic and pragmatic development of the Brexit-related applications of the metaphorical proverb, You cannot have your cake and eat it, during 2016–2019 in British public discourse. At the start of that period, the proverb’s reversal into the assertion “We can have our cake and eat it!” by the then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and other “Brexiteers” became a highly prominent endorsement of Brexit and its supposed benefits for the UK; it even temporarily set the agenda for the public perception of UK–EU negotiations. Over time it became an object of hyperbolic praise as well as derision and recently seems to have lost much of its persuasive force. The paper argues that the proverb’s new reversed application by Johnson was initially successful in reviving its metaphorical meaning and framing it in a hyperbolic rhetorical context but that it also pushed Brexit proponents to an “all-or-nothing” outcome of the conflict narrative, both vis-à-vis the EU and within the British political debate. Thus, rhetorical success can lead to argumentative (and political) commitments that may have been not foreseen by the speaker and may run counter to their persuasive interests.

scholarly journals “Beauty” premium for social scientists but “unattractiveness” premium for natural scientists in the public speaking market

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Weilong Bi ◽  
Ho Fai Chan ◽  
Benno Torgler
Keyword(s):  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Public Speaking ◽  
Facial Attractiveness ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Natural Scientist ◽  
The Public ◽  
Beauty Premium ◽  
The Face ◽  
Natural Scientists

Abstract In the face of scientists’ increasing engagement in public discourse, we examine whether facial attractiveness affects their market value (i.e., audience willingness to pay). For a sample of scientists who participate in public speaking, we find that facial attractiveness is uncorrelated with internal academic achievements (as measured by publications and citations) and is only weakly but positively linked to attention outside of academia. Notably, we find that the effect of facial attractiveness on external influence is only robust to measures where speakers’ physical appearance is likely to be most apparent to the public, such as invitations to give TED talks or Google web page counts while the effect on the number of book publications or book awards is not significant. Our results also suggest that these relationships do not differ across scientists’ fields of research. However, we find that in terms of speaking fees, social scientists benefit substantially from being more attractive, whereas unattractiveness is a comparative advantage for natural scientists. A similar divergence in the direction of the relationship between speaking fee and facial attractiveness is also evident for nonacademic speakers from different fields: whereas those from a natural science (job) background gain from unattractiveness, those with a social science history benefit from a beauty premium. This market premium for unattractiveness conforms not only to the common stereotype of the natural scientist but also to a belief that the more unattractive of these researchers engage in higher quality work. Overall, the findings indicate that facial appearance is important in the public perception of academics and, to some extent, their dissemination of knowledge.

scholarly journals Empowering Parents and Protecting Children in an Evolving Media Landscape

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Palfrey ◽  
Urs Gasser ◽  
danah boyd
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Young People ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
The Public ◽  
New Information ◽  
Technology Changes ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities

When it comes to youth and technology, issues of concern about the future – rather than issues related to opportunities – often dominate the public discourse. This is understandable. First, parents and grandparents are often baffled by, and sometimes concerned about, the habits of their children and the generations that follow – and this shift in behavior by many youth is surely no exception to that rule. Second, we are in the midst of radical transformations in the information technology environment and in patterns of usage of technology, changes that are bringing with them much creativity but also challenges to existing hierarchies. And third, adults perceive that their children are more likely to use these new information technologies in ways that are at best perplexing and at worst dangerous to themselves and to society. The data collected by social scientists about young people, how they use technologies, and the challenges and opportunities they face often are at odds with this public perception. We appreciate the frame of the FCC’s NOI, which encourages respondents to focus on the empowerment of parents as well as the protection of our children with respect to online behaviors.

scholarly journals Public Discourse Against Masks in the COVID-19 Era: Infodemiology Study of Twitter Data

10.2196/26780 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. e26780
Author(s):  
Mohammad Al-Ramahi ◽  
Ahmed Elnoshokaty ◽  
Omar El-Gayar ◽  
Tareq Nasralah ◽  
Abdullah Wahbeh
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Population Control ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Relationship

Background Despite scientific evidence supporting the importance of wearing masks to curtail the spread of COVID-19, wearing masks has stirred up a significant debate particularly on social media. Objective This study aimed to investigate the topics associated with the public discourse against wearing masks in the United States. We also studied the relationship between the anti-mask discourse on social media and the number of new COVID-19 cases. Methods We collected a total of 51,170 English tweets between January 1, 2020, and October 27, 2020, by searching for hashtags against wearing masks. We used machine learning techniques to analyze the data collected. We investigated the relationship between the volume of tweets against mask-wearing and the daily volume of new COVID-19 cases using a Pearson correlation analysis between the two-time series. Results The results and analysis showed that social media could help identify important insights related to wearing masks. The results of topic mining identified 10 categories or themes of user concerns dominated by (1) constitutional rights and freedom of choice; (2) conspiracy theory, population control, and big pharma; and (3) fake news, fake numbers, and fake pandemic. Altogether, these three categories represent almost 65% of the volume of tweets against wearing masks. The relationship between the volume of tweets against wearing masks and newly reported COVID-19 cases depicted a strong correlation wherein the rise in the volume of negative tweets led the rise in the number of new cases by 9 days. Conclusions These findings demonstrated the potential of mining social media for understanding the public discourse about public health issues such as wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results emphasized the relationship between the discourse on social media and the potential impact on real events such as changing the course of the pandemic. Policy makers are advised to proactively address public perception and work on shaping this perception through raising awareness, debunking negative sentiments, and prioritizing early policy intervention toward the most prevalent topics.

scholarly journals Public Discourse Against Masks in the COVID-19 Era: Infodemiology Study of Twitter Data (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Al-Ramahi ◽  
Ahmed Elnoshokaty ◽  
Omar El-Gayar ◽  
Tareq Nasralah ◽  
Abdullah Wahbeh
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Population Control ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Relationship

BACKGROUND Despite scientific evidence supporting the importance of wearing masks to curtail the spread of COVID-19, wearing masks has stirred up a significant debate particularly on social media. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the topics associated with the public discourse against wearing masks in the United States. We also studied the relationship between the anti-mask discourse on social media and the number of new COVID-19 cases. METHODS We collected a total of 51,170 English tweets between January 1, 2020, and October 27, 2020, by searching for hashtags against wearing masks. We used machine learning techniques to analyze the data collected. We investigated the relationship between the volume of tweets against mask-wearing and the daily volume of new COVID-19 cases using a Pearson correlation analysis between the two-time series. RESULTS The results and analysis showed that social media could help identify important insights related to wearing masks. The results of topic mining identified 10 categories or themes of user concerns dominated by (1) constitutional rights and freedom of choice; (2) conspiracy theory, population control, and big pharma; and (3) fake news, fake numbers, and fake pandemic. Altogether, these three categories represent almost 65% of the volume of tweets against wearing masks. The relationship between the volume of tweets against wearing masks and newly reported COVID-19 cases depicted a strong correlation wherein the rise in the volume of negative tweets led the rise in the number of new cases by 9 days. CONCLUSIONS These findings demonstrated the potential of mining social media for understanding the public discourse about public health issues such as wearing masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results emphasized the relationship between the discourse on social media and the potential impact on real events such as changing the course of the pandemic. Policy makers are advised to proactively address public perception and work on shaping this perception through raising awareness, debunking negative sentiments, and prioritizing early policy intervention toward the most prevalent topics.

Discursive construction of an anti-immigration Europe by a Sweden Democrat in the European Parliament

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-439
Author(s):  
Kamber Güler
Keyword(s):  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Direct Democracy ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Social Power ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Cognitive Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Group

Discourses are mostly used by the elites as a means of controlling public discourse and hence, the public mind. In this way, they try to legitimate their ideology, values and norms in the society, which may result in social power abuse, dominance or inequality. The role of a critical discourse analyst is to understand and expose such abuses and inequalities. To this end, this paper is aimed at understanding and exposing the discursive construction of an anti-immigration Europe by the elites in the European Parliament (EP), through the example of Kristina Winberg, a member of the Sweden Democrats political party in Sweden and the political group of Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy in the EP. In the theoretical and methodological framework, the premises and strategies of van Dijk’s socio-cognitive approach of critical discourse analysis make it possible to achieve the aim of the paper.

Editorial: Antisemitism in the UK Labour Party

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley Klaff
Keyword(s):  
Open Access ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Research Note ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Exciting Development

I am pleased to publish an open-access online preprint of two articles and a research note that will appear in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism 3, no. 2 (Fall 2020). This preprint is a new and exciting development for the Journal. It has been made possible by the generous donations from sponsors, including BICOM's co-chairman, David Cohen, whose support for the work of the Journal allows for timely scholarly analysis to be put into the public sphere.

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