An exploration of the voting behaviour of South African university youth : a study of a select group of university students

It is generally accepted that the youth are overall apathetic towards political activities and that such apathy is evidenced in low voter turnout during elections. Such conventional wisdom seems to be based mainly on findings in Western democracies and generates concern as to the future nature and resilience of democracy. When a significantly large proportion of the voting population shows apathetic attitudes towards the processes that enable participation of the public in democracy, it questions the extent to which a democracy can be consolidated. In the past the South African youth played an important role in the process of transformation to democracy and thereby possibly left a legacy of youth involvement. However, in the developing world, which includes South Africa, the youth seems to show the same sort of abstaining behaviour as their Western counterparts towards elections. This is problematic as the South African youth comprises a significantly large proportion of the voting population. This dissertation focuses on South African university youth and their political and voting behaviour. They have been chosen for the focus of this study as they are widely considered to be the future elite and leadership of South Africa. The aim of this study is to determine the extent to which Western scholarly explanations of youth voting behaviour can be applied to South African university youth. Western literature on voting behaviour identifies various models of voting behaviour (which comprise the Sociological Model, Michigan Model, Party Identification Model, Media/Dominant Ideology Model and Rational Choice Model) and age effects on voting behaviour (Cohort Effect, Individual Ageing Effect and Life Cycle Effect). Each of these seeks to explain voting behaviour and in order to determine how applicable they are to South African university youth, an analytical framework was developed in order to analyse and interpret the data gathered by means of questionnaires and focus group discussions. Ultimately it was found that most Western models and age effects are to some extent applicable in explaining the voting behaviour of South African university youth (albeit to a greater or lesser extent).Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012.Political Sciencesunrestricte

Do Household Characteristics Really Matter? A Meta-Analysis on the Determinants of Households’ Energy-Efficiency Investments

Most environmental policies that aim to encourage households to invest in more climate- friendly technologies and retrofits, e.g., solar panels, electric cars, or attic insulation, are broadly targeted and do not take households’ individual investment behaviour into account. Scholars have, therefore, emphasised the need to account for household heterogeneity in policy design in order to ensure effective and efficient policy outcomes. However, such a policy design requires the existence of easily accessible household characteristics, which can reliably and consistently explain households’ investment behaviour in a variety of investment scenarios. Using the vast empirical literature on the determinants of households’ investments in energy-efficient home improvements as a case study, we conduct a meta-analysis to (i) determine the magnitude of the effects of easily accessible household characteristics, and; (ii) test the stability of these effects under a variety of circumstances. We integrate the empirical results from 63 publications that investigate the impact of socio-economic characteristics on households’ energy-efficiency investments and examine potential model- and sample-specific factors to explain the variation in the estimated effects. Our findings for the household characteristics: income, age, education, household size, and homeownership, show that significant effects only exist for some of these characteristics, with income and homeownership showing the greatest impact. Furthermore, the results confirm a strong situational component in the effect of these household characteristics on households’ investment decisions, which challenges the practicality of tailored policy design

COVID-19 government measures and their impact on mental health: a cross-sectional study of older primary care patients in Germany

BackgroundWith the outbreak of COVID-19, government measures including social distancing and restrictions of social contacts were imposed to slow the spread of the virus. Since older adults are at increased risk of severe disease, they were particularly affected by these restrictions. These may negatively affect mental health by loneliness and social isolation, which constitute risk factors for depressiveness. We aimed to analyse the impact of perceived restriction due to government measures on depressive symptoms and investigated stress as mediator in an at-risk-population in Germany.MethodsData were collected in April 2020 from the population of the AgeWell.de-study, including individuals with a Cardiovascular Risk Factors, Aging, and Incidence of Dementia (CAIDE) score ≥9, using the depression subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4). Feeling restricted due to COVID-19 government measures was surveyed with a standardized questionnaire. Stepwise multivariate regressions using zero-inflated negative binomial models were applied to analyse depressive symptoms, followed by a general structural equation model to assess stress as mediator. Analysis were controlled for sociodemographic factors as well as social support.ResultsWe analysed data from 810 older adults (mean age = 69.9, SD = 5). Feeling restricted due to COVID-19 government measures was linked to increased depressiveness (b = 0.19; p < 0.001). The association was no longer significant when adding stress and covariates (b = 0.04; p = 0.43), while stress was linked to increased depressive symptoms (b = 0.22; p < 0.001). A final model confirms the assumption that the feeling of restriction is mediated by stress (total effect: b = 0.26; p < 0.001).ConclusionWe found evidence that feeling restricted due to COVID-19 government measures is associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms in older adults at increased risk for dementia. The association is mediated by perceived stress. Furthermore, social support was significantly associated with less depressive symptoms. Thus, it is of high relevance to consider possible adverse effects of government measures related to COVID-19 on mental health of older people

Do Household Characteristics Really Matter? A Meta-Analysis on the Determinants of Households’ Energy-Efficiency Investments

Most environmental policies that aim to encourage households to invest in more climate- friendly technologies and retrofits, e.g., solar panels, electric cars, or attic insulation, are broadly targeted and do not take households’ individual investment behaviour into account. Scholars have, therefore, emphasised the need to account for household heterogeneity in policy design in order to ensure effective and efficient policy outcomes. However, such a policy design requires the existence of easily accessible household characteristics, which can reliably and consistently explain households’ investment behaviour in a variety of investment scenarios. Using the vast empirical literature on the determinants of households’ investments in energy-efficient home improvements as a case study, we conduct a meta-analysis to (i) determine the magnitude of the effects of easily accessible household characteristics, and; (ii) test the stability of these effects under a variety of circumstances. We integrate the empirical results from 63 publications that investigate the impact of socio-economic characteristics on households’ energy-efficiency investments and examine potential model- and sample-specific factors to explain the variation in the estimated effects. Our findings for the household characteristics: income, age, education, household size, and homeownership, show that significant effects only exist for some of these characteristics, with income and homeownership showing the greatest impact. Furthermore, the results confirm a strong situational component in the effect of these household characteristics on households’ investment decisions, which challenges the practicality of tailored policy design