Online only: Which Czech young adults prefer online civic participation?

This study examined whether people who prefer online over offline civic participation differ from those who participate in both environments, who prefer offline participation, or do not participate. Using a cross-sectional sample of young adults (age 18-28) recruited in the Czech Republic (N = 720), we compared these four groups (defined by their types of civic participation) regarding their socio-demographic profiles, trust (social, individual, and in the media), relationship to politics (political interest, exposure to politics in the media, and internal political efficacy), and political ideology (left-right orientation, concern with environmental issues, and support for immigrants’ rights). Results showed that people who prefer online participation adhere to conservative political ideologies than people with other types of participation. Their relationship to politics is as positive as in the case of people active in both environments. No substantial differences in trust and socio-demographics were found

Role of school climate and personality in the development of Czech adolescents’ political self-efficacy

This study examined the effects of school climate (open classroom and positive student relationships) and personality dispositions (shyness and need for cognition) on adolescents' political self-efficacy. Data were collected in 2014 from 1,954 Czech ninth- and tenth-graders (mean age = 15.60). A multilevel analysis showed that school-level political self-efficacy predicted self-efficacy for local politics. However, schools and classrooms were rather homogeneous in terms of students’ mean political self-efficacy and students' self-reported acquisition of civic skills at school. Hence, school characteristics had only limited associations with adolescents' political self-efficacy. At the same time, students' political efficacy had a considerable association with lower shyness and higher need for cognition. These results suggest that the development of political efficacy at school goes beyond simple general influences of school environment and individual differences between students must be considered

The Effect of Media and Political Beliefs and Attitudes on Trust in Political Institutions : A Multilevel Analysis on Data from 21 European Countries

While trust in political institutions is a necessary condition for the working of democracy, its level is constantly in decline in Western democracies. Therefore, in this study, we examine factors that are associated with the perceived trust in political institutions. In this investigation, we centred on the role of media, specifically news consumption, internet usage, and cross-country differences concerning the relationship between media and politics. Using data from the 2016 European Social Survey (N = 37,159 respondents, 52% males, age M = 49.47), we tested a multilevel model predicting trust in political institutions by media factors, political beliefs and attitudes, and demographics. We also tested the moderation effects between news consumption and political beliefs and attitudes, as well as for the effect of the media system on a national level. The findings show that news consumption had no single direct effect on trust, but it moderated the effect of political interest. The effect of Internet usage on trust was only negligible and not significant after the inclusion of political beliefs and attitudes in the model. There were also differences between media models. Countries belonging to the Democratic Corporatist Model (but also Ireland and the United Kingdom) were characterised by overall higher trust than countries in the Polarized Pluralist Model and Central and Eastern European Model

The Direct and Indirect Effects of Online Social Support, Neuroticism, and Web Content Internalization on the Drive for Thinness among Women Visiting Health-Oriented Websites

One of the debates about media usage is the potential harmful effect that it has on body image and related eating disturbances because of its representations of the “ideal body”. This study focuses on the drive for thinness among the visitors of various health-oriented websites and online platforms because neither has yet been sufficiently studied in this context. Specifically, this study aims to bring more insight to the risk factors which can increase the drive for thinness in the users of these websites. We tested the presumption that web content internalization is a key factor in this process, and we considered the effects of selected individual factors, specifically the perceived online social support and neuroticism. We utilized survey data from 445 Czech women (aged 18–29, M = 23.5, SD = 3.1) who visited nutrition, weight loss, and exercise websites. The results showed a positive indirect link between both perceived online social support and neuroticism to the drive for thinness via web content internalization. The results are discussed with regard to the dual role of online support as both risk and protective factor. Moreover, we consider the practical implications for eating behavior and weight-related problems with regard to prevention and intervention

Cyberostracism : Emotional and behavioral consequences in social media interactions

This study focuses on the effect of cyberostracism on social networking sites. Based on the temporal need-threat model of ostracism, we examined a) reflexive reactions, specifically worsened mood and threats to the four fundamental needs (i.e., belongingness, self-esteem, meaningful existence, and control), and b) reflective reactions, in the form of prosocial, antisocial, and avoidance behavior. We also focused on the role of social anxiety. Using the experimental tool Ostracism Online, we conducted an online experiment to manipulate ostracism, measure self-reported reflexive reactions, and measure reflective reactions in a newly developed cooperative financial game. The participants were 196 young Czech adults (age 18-30; 62% women). T-tests showed worsened mood and higher threat connected to all four of the fundamental needs in the reflexive stage in ostracized participants. Regression models showed that social anxiety had a small effect on reflexive reactions, but it did not moderate the effect of ostracism. The type of threatened need and social anxiety did not predict a reflective reaction. The only significant predictor of antisocial response was experienced ostracism. Even a mild form of ostracism such as the lack of reactions by strangers to a shared post can lead to negative emotional and behavioral consequences

When Age Matters: Patterns of Participative and Communicative Practices in the Czech Republic

After a long history, research on the relation between participative and communicative practices was revived in the late 1990s because of the proliferation of new media. New studies have taken into account both online and offline participation and the ability of new media to provide citizens with easier access to information and a broader repertoire of actions. In this article, which is based on a representative survey of the adult Czech population and a survey of Czech adolescents, we address participative and communicative practices as intertwined sets that are typically preferred by certain groups of citizens. As media-related and political practices usually vary due to generational and historical experience, the aim is to discover whether people with similar generational backgrounds and with similar repertoires of action manifest similar sets of commu- nication practices, i.e. similar media ensembles. Hence, we build this study on the assumption that the politi- cal- and media-related agencies are structured by historical experience as well as by biographical experience linked with life-cycle phases. Using cluster analysis, we focus on the various participative and communicative practices employed by three distinct adult generational groups and by contemporary adolescents, all of whom experienced the process of socialization in their own specific historical contexts

Bullied Online but Not Telling Anyone : What Are the Reasons for Not Disclosing Cybervictimization?

Although telling an adult can be effective at ending bullying, not all bullied children tell someone about their victimization. The aim of the current study was to examine: 1) if being bullied online and not telling anyone was associated with the perceived intensity and harm experienced from being bullied, 2) the reasons for not telling anyone, and 3) if these reasons were related to the level of harm experienced from being bullied. The data used in this study consisted of responses from 451 Czech adolescents aged 12–18 who had been cyberbullied. The results showed that more boys (47%) than girls (19%) did not tell anyone about being bullied online. There was an association between experienced harm and cybervictimization disclosure; 42% of adolescents with little experience of harm did not tell anyone about it, which was more often than the case for those adolescents with a medium level of harm (19%), and those with intense harm (19%). The reasons for not telling differed among groups, where intensely harmed adolescents more often reported that they did not trust anyone and were afraid of making the situation worse and respondents with medium harm reported to a greater extent not having anyone who could help them. The most common answer for adolescents with a low experience of harm was that they did not tell anyone because they thought they would manage on their own (54%)

The Chicken or Egg Question of Adolescents’ Political Involvement : Longitudinal Analysis of the Relation Between Young People’s Political Participation, Political Efficacy, and Interest in Politics

Research on the political behavior of young people often approaches psychological factors such as political efficacy or interest as antecedents of political participation. This study examines whether efficacy and interest are also outcomes of participation and if this effect differs across three types of political participation. Data from a two-wave longitudinal survey of 768 Czech adolescents (aged 14–17 years at Time 1, 54% females) was used. Findings support the proposition that psychological factors are affected by participatory experiences. Cross-lagged models showed longitudinal effects from participation to changes in psychological factors, but not effects in the opposite direction. Protest participation predicted higher interest and internal political efficacy, but lower external political efficacy, volunteering predicted higher external political efficacy, and representational participation had no effects on psychological factors. Overall, our findings point out the formative role of participatory experiences in adolescence and the diverse effects of different types of political participation on political development

Open Science and the Science-Society Relationship

Nowadays, the prevailing trend in the science-society relationship is to engage with the broader public, which is beneficial for the public, scientific institutes, scientific findings, and the legitimacy of science as a whole. This article provides a broad review of the rapidly growing research on Open Science and identifies the gaps in the current knowledge for future research. The review focuses on the science-society relationship, such that knowledge from this field is summarised and systematised. Insight into the most salient topics, including science communication, public engagement with science, public cognition of science, and challenges and potential unintended consequences connected to interactions with the public are examined. The first section of the paper focuses on science communication which involves efforts and approaches to inform the public about science by the most effective means. The section on public engagement reviews how scientists and scientific institutions are increasingly involved in direct interactions with the public and different groups of stakeholders to make science more open. The section focusing on public cognition of science provides information about public knowledge, perception, and trust regarding science, which both determines and is formed by public engagement. Last, risks, ethical issues, and data issues connected to the implementation of Open Science principles are reviewed, as there are many unintended consequences of Open Science which are examined by this current research. In conclusion, research covering the science-society relationship is rapidly growing. However, it brings multiple challenges as well as opportunities which are captured and discussed in a variety of existing studies. This article provides a coherent overview of this field in order to bring more comprehensible knowledge to scientists, scientific institutions, and outreach professionals

Report on the role of critical information skills in recognising mis- and disinformation

Online mis- and disinformation poses threats to societies and individuals, and young people form a group that may be particularly vulnerable to the potential negative consequences of exposure to such false information on the internet and on social media. Therefore, digital skills, news literacy, and particularly the skills that allow them to evaluate the credibility of online news and information and to distinguish between true and false, have become increasingly essential. This report presents the findings from a multi-method study about young people’s (12 to 15 years old) skills to cope with online mis- and disinformation in three countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Finland. Through an online survey, a news exposure phase comprising a credibility evaluation performance test, and focus groups, this study aimed (1) to gain more insight into how 12- to 15-year-olds understand and engage with online news; and (2) to assess to what degree they are able to differentiate between truths and falsehoods and how they arrive at these judgments, and to understand the role of digital skills in these processes.publishedVersio