Transnational evaluation of the Sympathy for Violent Radicalization Scale: Measuring population attitudes toward violent radicalization in two countries

Countering violent radicalization is a priority in many countries, prompting research that assesses attitudes and beliefs about violent radicalization in the general population. The majority of violent radicalization assessments have been developed among specific populations, with limited investigation into the generalizability and cross-cultural applicability of measurement tools. A transcultural investigation raises questions about the implicit assumptions and norms that inform instrument development. This research examined the psychometric properties of the Sympathy for Violent Radicalization Scale (SyfoR), a measure developed for use with Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrant groups in the UK, in two convenience samples of youth and young adults in North America and Western Europe. We investigated the factor structure, reliability, and construct validity of adapted versions of the SyfoR among convenience samples of youth and young adults living in Belgium ( N = 2014) and in Quebec, Canada ( N = 1364) via online surveys administered to students engaged in secondary and post-secondary education. Results indicate that, in both samples, a reduced, 8-item version of the SyfoR has a 3-factor structure with good model fit statistics using confirmatory factor analysis and good internal consistency reliability. More studies are needed to assess the appropriateness of the SyfoR for use in diverse contexts and among diverse populations. The potential usefulness and harmfulness of measures of violent radicalization should balance the benefits of obtaining local data with the risks associated with pathologizing social dissent.

“SARS-Cov-2 testing in the United Arab Emirates: Population Attitudes and Beliefs”

ObjectivesThe United Arab Emirates responded to the SARS-COV-2 pandemic and widely implemented test-and-trace strategy. In this cross-sectional questionnaire-based study 531 subjects presenting for SARS-COV-2 testing were recruited to study population’s beliefs and choices regarding testing and were compared to 156 who never been tested.ResultsThe community uptake in Abu Dhabi Emirate reached 90% (average of 68% overall). In the great majority it was self-motivated as 6% only had doctor referral. Those who had not taken a test were younger in age (p < 0.001), more likely performing activities such as shopping and eating out (p = 0.001), have a medical illness (p < 0.0001), and working from home (p = 0.005). The tested group reported significantly more agreement with the statement, if someone had negative result no need to stay home or wear mask. In conclusion, SARS-COV-2 testing had extensive coverage and high acceptability in the UAE. Acting on concluded beliefs and attitude are key to ensure the testing coverage efficiency and public empowerment.

Country-level structural stigma, identity concealment, and day-to-day discrimination as determinants of transgender people’s life satisfaction

Purpose Discriminatory laws, policies, and population attitudes, surrounding transgender people vary greatly across countries, from equal protection under the law and full acceptance to lack of legal recognition and open bias. The consequences of this substantial between-country variation on transgender people’s health and well-being is poorly understood. We therefore examined the association between structural stigma and transgender people’s life satisfaction across 28 countries. Methods Data from transgender participants (n = 6771) in the 2012 EU-LGBT-survey regarding identity concealment, day-to-day discrimination, and life satisfaction were assessed. Structural stigma was measured using publicly available data regarding each country’s discriminatory laws, policies, and population attitudes towards transgender people. Results Multilevel models showed that country-level structural stigma was associated with lower life satisfaction, an association largely explained by higher levels of identity concealment in higher-structural-stigma countries. Yet identity concealment was also associated with lower day-to-day discrimination and therefore protected against even lower life satisfaction. Conclusion The results emphasize the importance of changing discriminatory legislation and negative population attitudes to improve transgender people’s life satisfaction, and also highlight targets for intervention at interpersonal and individual levels.

Marketing in social innovations targeted at healthcare

The paper deals with the implementation of marketing in social innovations, types of marketing, and the effects they can bring in the sphere of social innovations. The principalaim of the paper is to explain the possibilities of marketing approach implementation in social innovations and point out some specific areas of marketing which can contribute to more efficient applicability of social innovations and reaching a desirable change with social added value. The authors focused on the sphere of health and the population attitudes to its protection, emphasizing breast carcinoma prevention. The research was implemented on a sample of Slovak women to identify the level of women’s awareness of this issue, whether they are familiar with the methods of protecting their health and whether they use them. This study involved the methods of cluster analysis and binary logistic regression. The research uncovered the facts that are truly alarming from the perspective of societal benefit and women’s health protection. The respondents’ insufficient awareness and low activity in the field of their health protection result in the low level of prevention in this area on the side of women and on the side of medical doctors – specialists, particularly gynecologists. Such a situation includes the women’s insufficient awareness of prevention, low motivation, insufficient accessibility and validity of the needed data and precision, and doctor specialists’ lack of awareness of the possibilities and tools available to improve this area. That is exactly the space allowing for the use of marketing in a whole spectrum of its tools and processes and specific solutions capable of delivering the desired societal change and influencing women’s behavior in the preferred direction. Besides, it is especially effective to implement social marketing and social marketing programs that would mediate necessary information to the receivers and stimulate their motivation towards the desired approach to their health protection. The use of neuromarketing would be beneficial. It would be reflected in the better accuracy of the survey and thus the higher quality of the answers obtained. Based on them, it is subsequently possible to create better-targeted campaigns and strategies of social marketing that would approach the target audience more effectively than in acquiring the information via traditional marketing research methods. The findings would benefit marketing agencies, medical doctors (gynecologists, mammologists), and non-profit organizations actively working in this field.

The Event of Croatia’s EU Accession and Membership from the Croatian High School Students’ Perspective

The knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of the high school students on Croatia’s European Union (EU) accession event were omitted in numerous public opinion polls conducted since the 2013 accession. Therefore, the paper shows key benefits of Croatia’s EU accession and the recent attitudes of high school students about the meaning of this event for their future lives. Research methods include desktop analysis regarding previous researches of the population attitudes and a quantitative survey conducted in January 2017 on a sample of a total of 1944 school graduates who were interviewed on issues of knowledge, perception and attitude to the event of Croatia’s entrance and membership in the EU. The results point out that although Croatia acquires significant benefits from the EU accession, the very event is not recognized as being the key one by high school students. Considering that in many cases the youth opinion is the best indicator of overall social problems and considering the future programs and obligations as well as the role expected from the youth in implementation of these programs, the research findings on the perception of the event of Croatia’s accession to the EU are a field within which future policy activities are envisaged.

Country-Level Structural Stigma, School-Based and Adulthood Victimization, and Life Satisfaction Among Sexual Minority Adults: A Life Course Approach

Country-level structural stigma, defined as prejudiced population attitudes and discriminatory legislation and policies, has been suggested to compromise the wellbeing of sexual minority adults. This study explores whether and how structural stigma might be associated with sexual minorities’ school-based and adulthood experiences of victimization and adulthood life satisfaction. Using a sample of 55,263 sexual minority individuals (22% female; 53% 18–29 years old; 85% lesbian/gay, 15% bisexual) living across 28 European countries and a country-level index of structural stigma, results show that sexual minorities, especially men, reported school bullying in both higher- and lower-stigma countries. Higher rates of school bullying were found among sexual minorities living in higher-stigma countries when open about their identity at school. Past exposure to school bullying was associated with lower adulthood life satisfaction, an association partially explained by an increased risk of adulthood victimization. These findings suggest that sexual minorities living in higher-stigma countries might benefit from not being open about their sexual identity at school, despite previously established mental health costs of identity concealment, because of the reduced risk of school bullying and adverse adulthood experiences. These results provide one of the first indications that structural stigma is associated with sexual minority adults’ wellbeing through both contemporaneous and historical experiences of victimization.

POPULATION ATTITUDES TOWARDS COMMITTING FRAUD IN SERBIAN COMPANIES

Fraud in companies, regardless of its scope and shape, creates some loss not only for the company, but very often for the wider community. Moreover, no company in the world is immune to fraud, be it small or large, in one country or another, at any level of economic and social development. Practical experience has shown that fraud, as well as damage it causes, is inevitable. For these reasons, preventing and detecting all forms of fraud in companies’ operations is very important. To prevent fraud, companies need to understand what motivates people to manipulate and make financial loss. Theorists cite a number of factors that motivate fraud perpetrators to commit manipulation, but all agree that, to commit fraud, three things need to be matched: motivation, opportunity and rationalization. For this reason, the research subject in this paper is a detailed analysis of all the factors that motivate and create opportunities for people of Serbia to commit fraud in companies, as well as the most common excuses they use to justify their manipulations. We surveyed 306 respondents to analyze their motives for possible fraud, as well as their attitude on the number and forms of fraud in the business operations of Serbian companies.