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В статье рассматривается проблема потерь, с которыми может столкнуться лидер, если проводимая им внешняя политика не получит поддержки населения страны. Представлены результаты эмпирического исследования, направленного на изучение связи между реализацией интересов в области безопасности, экономического благополучия, поддержания национальной идентичности и отношением граждан к проводимой политике. Установлено, что последнее определяется, прежде всего, успехами и неудачами в экономике. При этом наиболее вероятные потери, с которыми столкнется лидер, связаны с отсутствием его поддержки в ходе выборов. ; In the article the issue of losses, encountered by a political leader when his foreign policy does not find public support, is considered. The results of empirical research, aimed to investigate the relationship between the realization of national interests in the spheres of security, economic prosperity, maintenance of national identity, on the one hand, and the attitude of citizens to the political course, their readiness to support it, on the other hand, are presented. The main method of research was quasi experiment. The respondents looked through the texts, which describe foreign policy decisions and their consequences in implementation of national interests. Then they answer the questions to reveal a) attitude to the described the foreign policy, b) readiness to support it and perform political actions, resulting in lossess for the leader (protest behavior, resignation, elections' failure). The attitude to the foreign policy course and the readiness to its support are connected mainly with the consequent effects in the economy. The most likely losses, which the leader faces, concern the absence of his support during elections by the public. At the same time, it is found that the relationship between the realization of national interests and the perception of the adopted foreign policy are estimated as moderate ones (measured by the Cramer's V-criterion). In such a way, the losses could hardly be treated as sufficient condition to deny support to the leader. Their influence is mediated by the other variables, and its further research constitutes perspective for the nearest future.

Background: This article explores the Facebook communications of Canadian oil and gas advocacy organizations, including industry-funded and nominally independent groups. Analysis: These groups are analyzed as producers of "subsidized publics," with elites providing supporters with resources that enable them to take political action on industry's behalf. A social network analysis maps how they link supporters with information from diverse sources, constructing networked publics whose members can recirculate pro-industry talking points. Conclusions and implications: These communications enact powerful forms of network-making power, programming an interconnected echo chamber that interfaces supporters with material from neoliberal extractivist discourse coalitions—networks of industry advocates that industry has itself helped cultivate over decades. Contexte : Cet article explore les communications sur Facebook faites par des organismes soutenant l'industrie pétrolière au Canada, y compris des groupes financés par l'industrie elle-même et des groupes prétendument indépendants. Analyse : L'article analyse ces groupes en tant qu'engendreurs de « publics subventionnés », où une élite accorde des ressources à des partisans de l'industrie afin qu'ils s'engagent politiquement pour le compte de celle-ci. Une analyse des réseaux sociaux montre comment ces partisans fournissent de l'information provenant de sources différentes à un public favorable à l'industrie pétrolière, créant ainsi des réseaux dont les membres peuvent à leur tour rediffuser des éléments de langage appuyant l'industrie. Conclusions and implications: Les communications de ces partisans sont puissantes dans leur capacité à former des réseaux, encourageant des échanges en vase clos qui exposent les participants à des informations provenant de coalitions d'extractivistes néolibéraux. Quant à ces derniers, c'est l'industrie elle-même qui a cultivé leurs opinions pendant des décennies.

Militaries are sustained by public money that is diverted away from other domestic ends. How the public react to the "guns-versus-butter" trade-off is thus an important question in understanding the microfoundations of Chinese military power. However, there are few studies on public attitudes towards military spending in China, whose rising power has been a grave concern to many policymakers around the world. We fielded a national online survey to investigate the nature of public support for military spending in China. We find that Chinese citizens support military spending in the abstract, but their support diminishes when considered alongside other domestic spending priorities. We also find that public support for military spending coexists surprisingly with anti-war sentiments and a significant strain of isolationism. In addition, while the conventional wisdom suggests that nationalism moves a state towards bellicosity and war, we find that Chinese citizens with a stronger sense of national pride report stronger anti-war sentiments than other citizens. (China Q / GIGA)

Many studies have developed the concepts and measurements of scientific and information literacy. However, the changes in the media environment, the complexity of scientific information, and low entry barriers have brought new challenges to scientific information communication. A single scientific or information literacy concept cannot provide a clear overview of the competencies and literacy required for individuals to access scientific information in new media contexts. This study aims to adapt the existing concepts and measurement frameworks related to information literacy in science communication and to investigate scientific information literacy and the demographic differences among the Chinese public through a cross-sectional survey (N = 2,983). The results showed that compared to self-directed information acquisition, accurate information filtering, and information sharing and dissemination, the Chinese public has relatively lower levels of information credibility assessment and opinion expression. Besides, the scientific literacy levels among the Chinese public had significant differences according to gender, age, and education. This study argues that adapting current information literacy concepts into science communication can promote public understanding of scientific information. The concept of scientific information literacy should be considered as a means of understanding the impact of new media on scientific information communication. The contribution of this study is that it adapts existing concepts into a novel context, further enriching the empirical research on scientific literacy and the research perspective on science communication.

When national security is breached, citizens systematically increase their trust in the political system and the head of state, in particular. This effect is dubbed "rally 'round the flag." For almost 50 years, research has been investigating the paradox of why public opinion rewards its leadership, despite the failure of the latter to protect the citizens. This review aggregates and critically revisits recent literature on the rally 'round the flag effect. To provide a systematic account of the literature, a classification is proposed, which accounts for the top-down and bottom-up interpretations that are offered from a rational choice perspective, and political psychology. This study highlights the significance of applying an integrative approach to advance a comprehensive understanding of the rally 'round the flag effect.

When national security is breached, citizens systematically increase their trust in the political system and the head of state, in particular. This effect is dubbed "rally 'round the flag." For almost 50 years, research has been investigating the paradox of why public opinion rewards its leadership, despite the failure of the latter to protect the citizens. This review aggregates and critically revisits recent literature on the rally 'round the flag effect. To provide a systematic account of the literature, a classification is proposed, which accounts for the top-down and bottom-up interpretations that are offered from a rational choice perspective, and political psychology. This study highlights the significance of applying an integrative approach to advance a comprehensive understanding of the rally 'round the flag effect.

The article describes the objects of administrative influences from the position of development of the sphere of fire safety. Mechanisms of state management of the fire safety sphere in Ukraine are investigated. The main causes of fires in Ukraine are identified according to experts. Proposals have been made on the necessary changes to the law of Ukraine "On the Fundamentals of National Security of Ukraine". The proposed scientific and theoretical foundations of mechanisms for the implementation of state governance in the field of fire safety. It was determined that the state should always act as a reliable guarantor of mandatory liability of organizations operating hazardous industrial facilities, establish criteria for determining the amount of financial security for civil liability for damage caused by an emergency situation related to the occurrence of a fire; introduction of scientifically sound approaches to the assessment of fire damage with the involvement of independent expert organizations; development of the regulatory and legal framework for the implementation of supervisory functions and ensuring the responsibility of managers of enterprises (institutions, organizations) and executive authorities in the field of fire safety. At the same time, it is justified that the main indicators in the state regulation should be considered: the frequency of fires, losses, the costs of measures to prevent and eliminate emergencies associated with the occurrence of a fire and prevented damage. It is specified that the understanding of the importance of fire safety as a priority component of national security is not very deep in our opinion, is also due to the fact that the losses that result from the occurrence of fires are not always properly calculated. In our opinion, the calculations of only a set of known losses can not expose all the costs that the state and society bear on the results of fires. The most obvious example is the consequences of a fire in the forest.

In this sequel to the acclaimed Damned Lies and Statistics, which the Boston Globe said "deserves a place next to the dictionary on every school, media, and home-office desk," Joel Best continues his straightforward, lively, and humorous account of how statistics are produced, used, and misused by everyone from researchers to journalists. Underlining the importance of critical thinking in all matters numerical, Best illustrates his points with examples of good and bad statistics about such contemporary concerns as school shootings, fatal hospital errors, bullying, teen suicides, deaths at the World Trade Center, college ratings, the risks of divorce, racial profiling, and fatalities caused by falling coconuts. More Damned Lies and Statistics encourages all of us to think in a more sophisticated and skeptical manner about how statistics are used to promote causes, create fear, and advance particular points of view. Best identifies different sorts of numbers that shape how we think about public issues: missing numbers are relevant but overlooked; confusing numbers bewilder when they should inform; scary numbers play to our fears about the present and the future; authoritative numbers demand respect they don't deserve; magical numbers promise unrealistic, simple solutions to complex problems; and contentious numbers become the focus of data duels and stat wars. The author's use of pertinent, socially important examples documents the life-altering consequences of understanding or misunderstanding statistical information. He demystifies statistical measures by explaining in straightforward prose how decisions are made about what to count and what not to count, what assumptions get made, and which figures are brought to our attention. Best identifies different sorts of numbers that shape how we think about public issues. Entertaining, enlightening, and very timely, this book offers a basis for critical thinking about the numbers we encounter and a reminder that when it comes to the news, people count—in more ways than one

A common assertion is that online forums are not representative of the general public opinion but would reflect the behaviour and opinions of frustrated and extremist citizens. The objective of this paper is to empirically test this assertion by looking at the online debates about the referendum on the question of whether resident foreigners should under certain conditions (that will be specified) be allowed to vote for the national elections in Luxembourg. In order to measure the opinions emerging from the online forums, the author has gathered the comments of a selection of the most read and active campaign forums (more than 50 comments) and has coded them to determine if they are in favour or against the extension of voting right to foreigners. The representativeness of the online forms is evaluated by comparing these results with, on the one hand, the referendum outcome and, on the other hand, the data of a representative post-referendum survey that compares the opinions of people who were active in the online forum with the ones of passive users (reader but no posting) and non-users.

Con el fin de contribuir a abrir un debate público sobre la instalación de una Misión Internacional contra en la Impunidad y la Corrupción (MICIC) en El Salvador, FUNDE y Acción Ciudadana presentaron a la opinión pública cuatro elementos claves que deben considerarse en el diseño institucional de la misma. El objetivo de este posicionamiento es que desde la sociedad civil se promueva una discusión informada que permita la instalación de una instancia independiente, fuerte y calificada. = In order to contribute to open a public debate on the installation of an International Mission against Impunity and Corruption (MICIC) in El Salvador, FUNDE and Acción Ciudadana presented to the public opinion four key elements that should be considered institutional design of the mechanism. The objective of this positioning is to promote from the civil society an informed discussion that allows the installation of an independent, strong and qualified body.

ObjectivesResearch suggests that issue frames emphasizing how voter ID laws might harm eligible voters can influence opinions toward the laws. This study examines the effects of frames emphasizing harm to specific groups of eligible voters—namely, elderly, college‐aged, African‐American, and Hispanic voters—on public support for such laws.MethodsWe analyze data from question wording experiments included in two state polls.ResultsWe replicate the finding that emphasizing the harmful effects of the laws on eligible voters reduces support. We also find that a frame emphasizing harm to African Americans produces an additional reduction in support. Emphasizing harm to other specific groups (the elderly, college‐aged, or Hispanics) does not produce discernible effects beyond the general framing effect. Within group analyses by race, age and political predispositions reveal additional patterns of effects.ConclusionThe results suggest political communication about specific groups can shift public opinion for voter ID laws.

This study explores how individual characteristics interact with news media choice and people's perception of mediated news events and public figures focusing on South Korean immigrants' perception of the former South Korean President Roh. Thirteen South Korean immigrants were interviewed, and the results demonstrate a three-way relationship between (a) interviewees' political orientation, (b) media choice, and (c) perception of Roh and the newspapers. The interviewees supporting Roh, who read online news on a regular basis but did not read conservative newspapers, recognized the political claim that the oligopoly of the conservative newspapers has influenced public opinion on Roh, while the readers of the conservative newspapers, who do not read on-line news, did not acknowledge the claim. Individuals' opinions on Roh and the newspapers were not directed by media framing, but interviewees selectively chose what they read and accept.

This study explores how individual characteristics interact with news media choice and people's perception of mediated news events and public figures focusing on South Korean immigrants' perception of the former South Korean President Roh. Thirteen South Korean immigrants were interviewed, and the results demonstrate a three-way relationship between (a) interviewees' political orientation, (b) media choice, and (c) perception of Roh and the newspapers. The interviewees supporting Roh, who read online news on a regular basis but did not read conservative newspapers, recognized the political claim that the oligopoly of the conservative newspapers has influenced public opinion on Roh, while the readers of the conservative newspapers, who do not read on-line news, did not acknowledge the claim. Individuals' opinions on Roh and the newspapers were not directed by media framing, but interviewees selectively chose what they read and accept.

This study investigated how journalistic story frames can affect the thoughts and feelings of readers. Two hundred and seventy-eight students participated in two studies, reading and responding to a fictitious story about possible reductions in state funding of their university. Stories were presented in one of four randomly assigned versions, all containing the same information, but varying in their opening and closing paragraphs according to the frame employed: human interest, conflict, or personal consequences. A control version contained the common body only. In Study 1, thoughts listed by participants indicated that the news frames—although they had no influence on the volume of cognitive responses—significantly affected the topical focus and evaluative implications of thoughts generated. In Study 2, evaluations and opinions offered by participants indicated that the news frames also subtly could affect audience decision making about matters of public policy. Implications for shaping public opinion are discussed.