Measuring International Online Human Values with Word Embeddings

As the Internet grows in number of users and in the diversity of services, it becomes more influential on peoples lives. It has the potential of constructing or modifying the opinion, the mental perception, and the values of individuals. What is being created and published online is a reflection of people’s values and beliefs. As a global platform, the Internet is a great source of information for researching the online culture of many different countries. In this work we develop a methodology for measuring data from textual online sources using word embedding models, to create a country-based online human values index that captures cultural traits and values worldwide. Our methodology is applied with a dataset of 1.7 billion tweets, and then we identify their location among 59 countries. We create a list of 22 Online Values Inquiries (OVI) , each one capturing different questions from the World Values Survey, related to several values such as religion, science, and abortion. We observe that our methodology is indeed capable of capturing human values online for different counties and different topics. We also show that some online values are highly correlated (up to c = 0.69, p < 0.05) with the corresponding offline values, especially religion-related ones. Our method is generic, and we believe it is useful for social sciences specialists, such as demographers and sociologists, that can use their domain knowledge and expertise to create their own Online Values Inquiries, allowing them to analyze human values in the online environment.

Mapping Perceptions of Violence Across Asian Regions and Countries

Violence is increasing in Asia. However, limited research exists on the prevalence and types of violence across Asian regions and countries; a comprehensive study on a continental-scale in Asia has been understudied. Guided by the World Health Organization’s definition of violence, this study used World Values Survey Wave 7 ( n = 35,435) to map the perceptions of the justifiability of three categories of violence (self-inflicted, interpersonal, collective) with five subtypes (suicide, intimate partner violence against wife, child abuse, violence toward other people, political violence) in six regions and 24 countries in Asia. Findings indicate that perceptions of the justifiability of violence are significantly different across regions in Asia. Perceptions of the justifiability of various types of violence differed across Asian countries. Considering the complexity and diversity of violence across Asian regions and countries, this study may be a cornerstone for violence research in Asia.

The Influence of Gender Equality on Volunteering Among European Senior Citizens

This research analyzes how gender equality influences the participation of European senior citizens in a range of volunteering activities (Social Awareness, Professional and Political, Education, and Religion). The main contribution is the simultaneous consideration of different levels of data aggregation: individual, national and welfare system. This allows conclusions to be drawn on the effects of variables linked to sociodemographic characteristics, gender equality and welfare systems. The empirical estimation utilised microdata from the World Values Survey (2005/09 and 2010/14) and the United Nations Development Programme. Results suggest that the European senior citizens appear to believe that they are more equal than the official statistics of their countries indicate. Men are more likely to participate in professional and education activities; women are more likely to be involved in religious organisations. Welfare systems influence volunteering behaviours. The promotion of macro-policies for gender equality could be important for increasing participation in non-profit organisations.

Russian Parental Values in the international Context, 1990/1991–2017/2020

The aim of the paper is to analyze parental values in Russia and 33 other countries, and explore how they’ve changed between 1990 and 2017–2020. Russian dynamics are shown on 7 waves, international — on 2 waves. We used a combination of data from the World Values Survey and the European Values Study. We found that in 1990 the Russian value agenda in regards to children was essentially directed towards survival. By 2017–2020 certain changes had occurred: Russians no longer considered survival values to be as important (such as hard work, thrift, obedience); self-expression values (e.g., independence and imagination) became more popular; humanistic values lost much of their importance for Russians. In 33 countries humanistic values remained as popular as in 1990, while survival values seem to be less important. Russian parental values change in the same direction as do Russian personal values.

Physician-Assisted Suicide in Dementia: Paradoxes, Pitfalls and the Need for Prudence

There has been an increasing drive towards the legalization of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) in patients with dementia, particularly in patients with advanced disease and severe cognitive impairment. Advocacy for this position is often based on utilitarian philosophical principles, on appeals to the quality of life of the patient and their caregiver(s), or on economic constraints faced by caregivers as well as healthcare systems. In this paper, two lines of evidence against this position are presented. First, data on attitudes towards euthanasia for twenty-eight countries, obtained from the World Values Survey, is analyzed. An examination of this data shows that, paradoxically, positive attitudes towards this procedure are found in more economically advanced countries, and are strongly associated with specific cultural factors. Second, the literature on existing attitudes towards PAS in cases of dementia, along with ethical arguments for and against the practice, is reviewed and specific hazards for patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals are identified. On the basis of these findings, the author suggests that the practice of PAS in dementia is not one that can be widely or safely endorsed, on both cultural and ethical grounds. Instead, the medical field should work in collaboration with governmental, social welfare and patient advocacy services to ensure optimal physical, emotional and financial support to this group of patients and their caregivers.

Are they different?A comparative study of European populist party members

Party membership is in decline across the established democracies, but populist parties appear to be reversing this trend. The expansion of populist parties’ membership base raises the question whether these parties are fulfilling their role as actors who serve as a “corrective to democracy” by mobilizing the socially and politically marginalized to become politically active. Using large comparative datasets from the European Social Survey and the World Values Survey, we examine the characteristics of populist party members in terms of their socio-demographic background and their political attitudes. We show that, with the exceptions of income levels and church attendance, the members of populist and non-populist parties look very much alike and hold similar political attitudes. These findings imply that mobilizing the politically disaffected remains a challenge, even for populist actors.

Is Religion a Determinant of Financial Development?

Studies on the determinants of financial development have been silent on the role of religion. Growing evidence in the literature about how financial development positively affects economic growth and development highlights a greater interest in understanding the determinants of financial development. Despite the growing interest in this direction, less focus has been given to the role of religion in financial development. Using data from the World Values Survey, this study explores the relationship between finance and religion. In this study, finance is modelled through different measures of financial development and religion is represented by the intensity of religiosity. Results showed that on average there is a significant negative relationship. Subsequent analysis showed that as countries become financially developed, this negative relationship becomes insignificant. The quantile regression technique was employed to capture the nature of the relationship at different levels. The analysis showed that as countries become financially developed, the negative relationship becomes insignificant to financial development. These results account for some of the differences in the level of financial development between developed and developing countries where the latter tend to be more religious than the former.

ЕКОНОМІЧНІ ЦІННОСТІ УКРАЇНСЬКОГО СУСПІЛЬСТВА: ЗА ДАНИМИ СЬОМОЇ ХВИЛІ WORLD VALUES SURVEY

Стаття присвячена аналізу ціннісних орієнтацій українців в одній з основних сфер життя сучасного суспільства – економічній. У фокусі уваги авторів знаходяться різні аспекти економічної сфери життя: зайняття бізнесом, професійна діяльність, різниця в доходах, проблема безробіття, ґендерна та вікова нерівність, ставлення до конкуренції, форма власності, місце роботи тощо. Для вивчення системи економічних цінностей використано дані, отримані в ході Сьомої (останньої на сьогодні) хвилі найбільш масштабного міжнародного дослідницького проєкту вивчення соціальних цінностей – World Values Survey. Здійснено аналіз відповідей українських респондентів на низку запитань, які напряму або опосередковано стосуються соціального інституту економіки. Визначено окремі особливості ціннісних орієнтацій українців у залежності від вікової та ґендерної ознак.

Learning Right from Wrong: A Cross-national Analysis of Education, National Scientific Investment, and the Morality of Science

Opposition to and skepticism of science have important social consequences, as highlighted by contemporary debates about vaccines and climate change. Recent studies suggest that opposition to science is rooted in moral concerns and reflects a belief that science breaks down traditional conceptions of right and wrong. This article turns attention to the education system and to national contexts to examine how people see science as a moral threat. We analyze data from the World Values Survey using multilevel regression models and find that individuals with higher levels of education are less concerned about the effects of science on morality. Yet, education differences in moral concern about science are more than twice as large in countries with the highest levels of scientific investment compared to those with the lowest. We conclude that although the link between education and the moral consequences of science is not limited to specific countries, its intensity varies across national contexts. We discuss these findings in light of recent scholarship on political and religious opposition to science, noting the importance of understanding publics’ views of the moral consequences of science.