Tips for Political Action

Community-driven network building in health care: creating an exploratory social space to pursue co-production following reformsIntroduction:Integrated care requires engaging and empowering people and communities to take an active role in designing and delivering health services (WHO 2019). Their capacities to co-produce health outcomes alongside formal providers are key to assuring sustainability and equity. However collaborative dynamics are compromised by power differentials that limit recognition of community capacities, and are vulnerable to system reforms. Much of the literature on co-production focuses on provider-side initiatives to engage communities. This paper provides an alternate view, exploring how community actors forge network alliances to gain legitimacy and power to co-produce care.Methods:We conducted a longitudinal case study of the network development efforts of a community working group (WG) concerned with access to health services following reforms in Québec, Canada. The WG brought together concerned citizens along with community organizations working with seniors, minorities, immigrants, youth, and people with disabilities. Data were collected over three years from observation, documents and interviews, and social network analysis was conducted to reveal the evolution of relationships among community actors, and between community and public actors. Actor-network theory (Callon) was used to distinguish stages of network maturation. These analyses explored how interactions contributed to identifying and opening pathways for co-production.Results:The WG pursued network building in two stages. A first focused on problem definition: WG members brought their existing networks together to validate access problems perceived in their constituencies, then reached out as a group to public sector contacts to achieve a better understanding of precisely what had changed in the system. In a second stage, the WG mobilized this network of community and public actors to equip a broader public to more effectively draw upon public and community resources to meet their needs. Two factors appeared to impede co-production: the limited influence of front-line actors on public system processes; and discrepancies between community priorities and system mechanisms for participation.Discussion:In the context of reforms, 'problematization' was an especially important stage in network development and showed signs of consensus development on 1. the existence and nature of problems, and 2. interdependencies between public and community actors in identifying and implementing solutions.Conclusions:Network development through the WG enabled community actors to gain the "organizational infrastructure" to participate in collaborative governance (Ansell and Gash 2008). Community efforts can open new spaces to enhance co-productive capacities of people and communities; public provider ability to integrate these capacities into processes is reduced by reforms.Lessons:Network interactions enable the recognition of interdependencies and the development of consensus, and in this way create conditions for collaboration even among actors of different strengths (Benson).The fragility and disruption through reforms of links between public and community actors impede co-production.LimitationsLonger follow-up and comparison with other community initiatives may have provided additional insight into community strategies for gaining legitimacy in co-production.Future researchResearch on factors limiting the effectiveness of longstanding 'concertation' venues after reforms would be helpful, as would exploration of territorial dimensions of co-production between public and community actors in healthcare services.

To the Editor: Politicians have an important influence on the structure and function of our health care system. As a result, it seems likely that physicians and their patients might discuss political issues of consequence to health care. Yet, little is known about physicians' attitudes and activities in this regard or about their level of personal political participation.1,2,3,4 We conducted a survey to examine the political attitudes and activities of physicians and to identify characteristics associated with physician willingness to address political issues with clinic patients. We developed a 23-item, 1-page questionnaire and pilot tested it with 8 physicians. The instrument measured personal political activities, political activities in the clinic, and attitudes about addressing political issues with clinic patients. Excluding demographics, response options were dichotomous (yes/no) or 5-point Likert scales. The University of Pennsylvania Institutional Review Board approved the study, which was conducted after Pennsylvania's voter registration deadline but before Election Day (October 5 to November 1, 2004). All primary care physicians (PCPs) in the Division of General Internal Medicine practicing in the University of Pennsylvania Health System were asked to complete the questionnaire. Six practices in urban and suburban Philadelphia were surveyed. Hospitalists and clinician-researchers were excluded. Participation was optional and consent implied. Questionnaires were self-administered and anonymous. For analyses, Likert responses were dichotomized (agreement/disagreement) and “unsure” responses were excluded. Bivariable associations were examined with χ2 or Fisher's exact tests as appropriate using STATA 8.0 (Stata Corp., College Station, Tex). Of the 37 eligible PCPs, 36 (97%) participated. Study PCPs practiced clinical medicine for medians of 9 years (25% to 75% interquartile range (IQR) 7 to 15) and 32 hours per week (IQR 20 to 40), and 19 (53%) were male. All PCPs had indigent patients but 6 (17%) primarily served patients with annual household incomes less than $25,000. Table 1 summarizes our survey findings. Overall, 34 PCPs (94%) discussed voting or a politically oriented health care issue with a patient and 20 (56%) initiated such discussions. Twenty-two (63%) were willing to offer voter registration in their clinics, while 30 (83%) were willing to offer information on voter registration. Thirty-one (86%) agreed that political communication with patients, either through brochures or direct discussion, was appropriate. Male PCPs were more likely to contribute money to political campaigns (15 of 19 vs 8 of 17, P =.05) and to initiate discussions with patients about politically oriented health care issues (12 of 19 vs 5 of 17, P =.04). Physicians who contributed money or volunteered time to political campaigns were more likely to support voter registration in the clinic (18 of 23 vs 4 of 12, P =.02). PCPs who primarily served low-income patients were less likely to regard discussions about politically oriented health care issues as appropriate (0 of 5 vs 13 of 22, P =.04). In conclusion, the majority of our study PCPs discussed voting or health care politics with their patients. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that the personal political activities of physicians are associated with their willingness to address political issues with clinic patients. Moreover, we found that gender was associated with political activity inside and outside the clinic, a finding consistent with a study of English PCPs.5 Our study was limited by the small sample size, the single health care system source of our cohort, unadjusted analyses, and self-report. Future studies should continue to explore the political attitudes and activities of physicians in different populations and settings, in addition to addressing the influence of such activities on the patients they serve. Moreover, we believe that a debate on the ethical issues surrounding political discourse in the practice setting is warranted.— Table 1 Political Activities and Attitudes of UPHS Clinician Cohort (N=36)

The higher institutions are known for where ideologies are formed. They also serve as instruments of motivating students. Tertiary education in particular is fundamental to the construction of knowledge and knowledge itself has become a vital factor for political education. Nigerian students are politically active and have in no small measure influenced policies within their universities and in the nation as a whole. Nigerian universities have produced a lot of activists that are presently influencing the Nigerian political landscape. These activists have been known to have developed their political ideologies and activism while in the university. The major objective of this study is to determine whether in reality universities play a role in political education of students. A number of factors, such as, curriculum, media, peer influence and lecturers’ influence are also used to determine the agents of political socialization of the students within the university. The study also highlighted which of the agents seem to have the greatest impact on the students’ political education within the university. The study design is survey research using a questionnaire tagged “Political Education of Students in the University” (PESUQ). The study population is Obafemi Awolowo University. The university is selected because it is deemed to be one of the most politically active among Nigerian universities. The study sample is 1,000 students. 536 new students and 464 old students were selected through a disproportionate stratified random sampling. The questionnaire is divided into two sections. The first section is the personal data of students while the second section addresses students’ agents of political education.The study was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics; such as mean, frequency, T-test and chi-square to test relationships, using the SPSS package. Findings revealed that the students are politically influenced in the university system. However, more old than new are influenced. In the same to the male students are more politically socialised than female. It was also found that the main agents of students’ political education are the curriculum, the students union and the lecturers. Key words: Political education, political socialisation, ideologies, international politics, campaign for democracy, official curriculum, political agents.

A systematic analysis of stakeholder interaction and the barriers towards upscaling urban residential solar PV: The case of Shanghai, China

An analysis of the participation of social and political actors in the process of formulating health policy allows one to understand the specific characteristics of the organization and operation of a health system. This study analyzes the drafting process for the General Health Act (LGS) in Spain with the purpose of establishing the relationship between social, political, and economic actors in both the formulation of the Act itself and the organization of the Spanish Health System. A case study was carried out from 1982 through 1986. Documentary parliamentary data, the medical press, national magazines and journals, and press reports by political, social, and public health actors were analyzed. The first version of the General Health Act presented by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) proposed a health system with funding and public administration aimed at achieving universal health coverage, integrated care, community participation, and health education. This proposal was submitted to a complex negotiating process with business groups, unions, and health professionals. The General Health Act as finally approved excludes the principles of equity and incorporates private interests in health: "free choice of doctor and hospital", public funding and private administration of the health system, and the establishment of Social Security as the core of the entire health system.

The discourse on prefigurative politics often revolves around politics and political actions, especially political actions that are actively and consciously engaging with certain tenets of prefiguration. While several scholars have advocated for blurring the boundaries between knowledge and praxis, the implications of prefigurative politics and its (im)possibilities in contemporary modes of funded and participatory research have still not been mapped, barring a few exceptions. The paper will draw from a series of auto/ethnographic vignettes spread between 2014 to 2019 encompassing my sporadic fieldwork (2019–2025) with an autonomous worker’s collective active in Faridabad—an old industrial town in North India to explore the contours and dilemmas of thinking/doing prefigurative politics in research in the contemporary. The paper will weave auto/ethnographic insights that oscillate between situated and experimental knowledge(s) that redefine the epistemological boundaries and the grounds of knowledge production to explore where, when and how prefigurative politics begins and ends in contemporary research and writing practices reflecting on moments of transition, transformation, and crises.

Even today, the name of the Prussian-Lithuanian printer and publicist Martynas Jankus (1858–1946) remains prominent in Lithuanian literature, although the person and his historical role remain unknown to the German public. This article attempts to present aspects of the political situation in the German “Kaiserreich” after 1871 from the Lithuanian perspective. The political situation was influenced by the concept of the national state and the endeavour to establish it as an ethnically and vocally homogeneous German state. Legislation and cultural policy of the united German Reich had substantial effects on the ethnic minority of Prussians-Lithuanians in the then north-eastern East Prussia. The Lithuanian language was particularly affected during the displacement as the taught language from schools. Martynas Jankus, one of the most important voices of Lithuanian ethnic groups, came into conflict with the local authority in East Prussia in the 1880s through his political and publicist activities. What was considered by the Lithuanians as a substantial suppression of the identity and culture of the minority and as a rigid assimilation and Germanisation is partly put into perspective by the fact that a small ethnic group would rather stand on the edge of the attention from the former German minority’s political stance. Much more rigorous legislation and administration intruded into the rights of the much larger – and more politically active – Polish ethnic groups. The Prussians-Lithuanians remained opposed to the political language measures of the Reich until the 1930s, always contradictory and inconsistent. Jankus became associated mainly because of his actual and also alleged connections with the then Russian Lithuania and to activists of the Polish national movement under the scrutiny of the regional authorities. After 1918 he was more closely observed due to his separatist views and activities. In this article, informers’ reports to the German authorities are analysed to establish the importance of the role Jankus played in linking the Lithuanian speaking areas to the young Republic of Lithuania. It shows that he was not considered in any of the examined dossiers to be the most important and, for Germany, the most dangerous personality amongst the protagonists of the national Lithuanian movement.

The relationship between political philosophy and real-life politics is one that is heavily contested. On the one hand, it has been argued that political affiliation is a biasing force that stands in the way of our ability as political philosophers to maintain an objective perspective (Van der Vossen, 2015; 2020). On the other hand, it has been argued that political philosophers run the risk of bias whether they are politically active or not (Jones, 2020). In this paper, I nuance the debate at hand: I specify what kind of activism we should be concerned with as a biasing force, elaborate on what biases we should aim to mitigate as political philosophers, as well as what tools we have at our disposal in combatting biases within the discipline. This allows me to argue that participation in certain forms of political activism can be a powerful method for avoiding the most pernicious and pervasive biases we are prone to, namely biases against marginalised groups, and in favour of the political status quo. This has the implication that we must avoid a blanket ban on political activism within political philosophy, and instead recognise the epistemic merits of political activism where it is due.

ABSTRACTBased on a quantitative content analysis of political actors’ Facebook posts (N = 1915), this study investigates profile-level and post-level drivers of user engagement (comments, likes, and shares) by employing a multilevel approach. For the first time in extant research, we also examine the factors that drive political actors to react to user comments. Findings indicate that the number of followers, the use of an official fan profile, and party vote share were negatively related to political actors’ reactions to user comments. Furthermore, party profiles were least successful in stimulating user engagement. On the post level, we found that reasoning, post length, and references to competitive political actors have the potential to increase different types of user engagement. Negative, but not positive tonality increased user engagement and positive emotional expressions had a stronger effect on user engagement than negative emotions. Furthermore, humorous posts were more likely to be commented, liked, or shared, while mobilization cues had predominantly negative effects on user engagement.

Executive Directors' Political Activities Get access Edward J. Pawlak, Edward J. Pawlak Edward J. Pawlak, PhD, ACSW, is Professor, and John P. Flynn, PhD, is Professor, School of Social Work, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008. This research was partially supported by a Western Michigan University Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award granted to the principal author. The contributions of M. Field, K. Cody-Fitzpatrick, P. Baer, S. Randall Edmond, B. Hepp, R. Hoekstra, T. Kastein, M. Muilenberg, R. Palmer, P. Royster, and S. Burke are gratefully acknowledged. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar John P. Flynn John P. Flynn Edward J. Pawlak, PhD, ACSW, is Professor, and John P. Flynn, PhD, is Professor, School of Social Work, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 49008. This research was partially supported by a Western Michigan University Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award granted to the principal author. The contributions of M. Field, K. Cody-Fitzpatrick, P. Baer, S. Randall Edmond, B. Hepp, R. Hoekstra, T. Kastein, M. Muilenberg, R. Palmer, P. Royster, and S. Burke are gratefully acknowledged. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Social Work, Volume 35, Issue 4, July 1990, Pages 307–312, https://doi.org/10.1093/sw/35.4.307 Published: 01 July 1990 Article history Accepted: 23 October 1989 Published: 01 July 1990

Aim/Purpose This research aims to investigate the relationship between digital citizenship behavior and political engagement among Generation Z (Gen Z) in Indonesia, with a particular focus on their participation in online boycott movements. The study examines the factors underlying Gen Z’s consumer activism in the digital era. Background People often perceive Gen Z as being tech-savvy and socially aware, but there has been limited research on how their online actions influence their political or consumer behavior in the real world. This article fills that gap by examining how digital citizenship activity is linked to political activism and boycotting. Methodology This study employed a quantitative methodology, surveying 100 Gen Z participants in Bandung City, Indonesia, utilizing electronic questionnaires disseminated via social media and Google Forms. Data were examined utilizing Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) to evaluate the associations of digital citizenship activity, political involvement, and boycott behavior. Contribution This research expands existing knowledge by presenting empirical evidence on the non-significance of digital citizenship activity in predicting political activism and boycott behavior, while highlighting political activism as a key predictor of boycotts among Generation Z. Findings Key findings indicate that: (1) digital citizenship behavior does not significantly affect political activism or boycott behavior; (2) political activism positively influences boycott behavior; and (3) political activism does not mediate the relationship between digital citizenship behavior and boycott behavior. Recommendations for Practitioners Marketers and governments must acknowledge that although Gen Z is digitally engaged, their political and consumer behaviors are driven more by activism and specific issues than by generic internet activity. Recommendations for Researchers Future research should investigate alternative mediators, including ethical awareness, social influence, and perceived consumer efficacy, to enhance understanding of the connections between digital behavior, activism, and consumer choices. Impact on Society The findings underscore the importance of promoting meaningful political engagement among young people, as political activism, in conjunction with digital literacy, influences their social and consumer behaviors, thereby potentially shaping the future civic and economic environments. Future Research Future research should employ larger and more diverse samples, disaggregate the dimensions of digital citizenship, and include previously unexamined factors such as peer influence and trust in institutions to enhance the understanding of Generation Z’s activism and boycott behavior.

This paper examines which types of political communication strategies are more likely to be negatively framed by journalists. For political actors, the risk of negative framing is significant: while their statements may reach readers, journalists’ negative interpretations can alter the intended context and meaning. To explore the message-related factors influencing journalists’ negative framing, we analyze data from the second wave of the Comparative Campaign Dynamics project, a cross-national study encompassing manual content analysis of newspaper articles from 16 general election campaigns across 10 European countries. Political actors’ statements are classified into six categories based on two dimensions. The first distinguishes between self-directed and other-directed messages. The second categorizes statements as (a) policy issue-related, (b) character assessments, or (c) character assessments based on issue positions or performance. Our findings reveal that journalists are more likely to negatively frame self-directed statements by political actors, while other-directed and negative campaign messages are more often reported neutrally. This suggests that negative messages not only attract media attention more effectively but also reach voters with minimal distortion from journalists’ negative evaluations. Additionally, journalists appear more critical of parties’ self-assessments than their issue-related statements, reflecting their tendency to challenge political actors’ character evaluations.

Political action (volunteering, protesting) is central to functioning democracies, and action is often motivated by negative emotion. However, theories of emotion regulation suggest that people often strive to decrease such negative emotions. Thus, effective emotion regulation (e.g., reappraisal)-while helping people feel better-could have the unintended consequence of hindering political action. We tested this hypothesis in Clinton voters after the 2016 U.S. election (Ntotal = 1552). Studies 1a (conducted November 2016) and 1b (conducted November 2016, with a follow-up in January 2017) assessed individuals' recent use of reappraisal in managing emotions evoked by the election. Studies 2a and 2b (conducted March 2017) exposed individuals to Trump-focused news footage and assessed individuals' reappraisal during the clip and subsequent emotional responses. Studies 3a and 3b (conducted June 2017) experimentally manipulated reappraisal and measured subsequent emotional responses to Trump-focused news footage. Each study assessed recent or intended political action. In Studies 1a and 1b, we found that reappraisal predicted lower political action; in Studies 2a and 2b we observed an indirect effect such that reappraisal predicted lower negative emotion which in turn accounted for lower intentions to engage in political action; and Studies 3a and 3b provided experimental evidence for this indirect effect. These results suggest that effective emotion regulation like reappraisal may be beneficial in the short-run by helping restore emotional well-being after upsetting political events but may also be costly in the long-run by reducing the potential for productive political action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

In this article, we examine how private regulatory initiatives (PRIs) – which define standards for corporate responsibility (CR) issues and sometimes monitor their application by firms – create opportunities and constraints for activist groups aiming to push firms towards more stringent CR activities. Drawing on social movement theory, we conceptualize how private regulation opportunity structures affect such CR‐based activist groups' targets and tactics at both the firm and field levels. At the field level, we argue that both radical and reformative activist groups direct most of their time and resources towards PRIs with comparatively more stringent standards. At the firm level, while radical activist groups are likely to target firms participating in more stringent PRIs, reformative activist groups target firms participating in less stringent PRIs, or those that do not participate in PRIs at all. When facing unfavourable opportunity structures, CR‐based activist groups tend either to advocate the creation of new PRIs or to shift their activities to pressure other focal points. This article contributes to moving beyond extant literature's emphasis of PRIs as settlements of contentious firm–activist interactions towards also viewing them as starting points for activist groups aiming to push firms towards a more substantive CR engagement.

As a consequence of a unique confluence of political, economic, and social factors, the Great Society programs established by President Lyndon B. Johnson helped broaden the basis for citizen participation in poor urban communities across the U.S. In the context of the Civil Rights Movement and an apparently strong and growing economy, Johnson declared a War on Poverty in his State of the Union address in January of 1964.(1) The Economic Opportunity Act (EOA) of 1964 became the legislative linchpin. It called for maximum feasible participation of residents living in the poor neighborhoods served by newly established community action programs.(2) In his State of the Union Message, Johnson explained: propose a program which relies on the traditional time-tested American methods of organized local community action to help individuals, families, and communities to help themselves (quoted in Sundquist, 1969: 23). Yet the designers of community action unprepared for the political challenge that participants would pose to the established political regimes in different locales (see, e.g., Sviridoff, 1989; Yarmolinsky, 1969). City officials from across the U.S. responded to the challenge by pressuring the president to limit the poor's policymaking role.(3) Nevertheless, the War on Poverty expanded local citizenship, albeit for a short time. This contrasts sharply with the disenfranchisement and urban disinvestment that characterizes the contemporary policy context. Commitment to maximum feasible participation of the poor has disappeared from the welfare policies of the 1980s and 1990s. Emphasis on community action and comprehensive, multiservice, community-based approaches to fighting poverty has receded from public discourse. So have calls for local community control over the assessment of community needs and the design and implementation of antipoverty programs. Contemporary welfare reform shifts control over funds for social support to the individual states, but it does not require or invite the active participation of community residents and welfare recipients in program design, resource allocation, and implementation. However, certain features that prominent in the Community Action title of the EOA have gained renewed popularity in the contemporary conservative political climate: namely, community service and decentralization. In this article, I demonstrate how the progressive aspects of community action shifted to serve conservative ends in the 1990s. Contemporary welfare policy reform embodies this shift, which narrows rather than expands the citizenship of the poor. Low-Income Women in the War on Poverty Community action programs (CAPs) funded under the Economic Opportunity Act provided the opportunity for women from low-income communities, particularly women of color, to gain leadership experience and to get paid for much of the work they already doing for their communities for free (see Naples, 1998a). Symbolically, if not also in practice, CAPs merged antipoverty policy with the expansion of citizenship rights (see also Sarvasy, 1994; Slim, 1994). During the War on Poverty, CAPs provided resources to low-income communities and offered sites designed to expand poor residents' political participation. In particular, the CAPs created a context for women with no training in community work to develop their political skills and for those with previous experiences to share their political analyses and develop their political networks. As a consequence of the War on Poverty, many community workers deepened their political perspectives and organized much more broadly than they did when they first began as community workers. Analysts disagree over the extent to which designers of the EOA actually intended for the CAPs to organize the poor. In fact, in a 1966 study of how 20 cities implemented community action, Stephen Rose (1972) reports that less that three percent of the CAPs were in any way designed to organize the poor, to transfer power, or to change the institutional structure. …