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Following the collapse of communism, religious observance increased dramatically in Russia. Many observers believed that religion would provide a basis for political mobilization, but this has not eventuated. According to nationally representative surveys conducted in 1993 and 1996, levels of church attendance in postcommimist Russia have stabilized; about three-quarters identify themselves as Orthodox and 17 percent as atheist, although only about one in ten attend church at least once a month. Frequent attenders were less likely to vote in 1993, but in the rather different circumstances of the 1995 Duma election they were more likely to vote than self-declared atheists. Frequent attenders were also more likely to engage in other forms of political participation, particularly writing to the press and contacting officials. But there were relatively weak consequences for voting, in December 1995 or in the 1996 presidential election, in the absence of major parties that deliberately mobilized a confessional vote. Several explanations are advanced to account for the weak influence of religion on politics, notably the absence of a civil society and of competition between denominations.

Following the collapse of communism, religious observance increased dramatically in Russia. Many observers believed that religion would provide a basis for political mobilization, but this has not eventuated. According to nationally representative surveys conducted in 1993 and 1996, levels of church attendance in postcommimist Russia have stabilized; about three-quarters identify themselves as Orthodox and 17 percent as atheist, although only about one in ten attend church at least once a month. Frequent attenders were less likely to vote in 1993, but in the rather different circumstances of the 1995 Duma election they were more likely to vote than self-declared atheists. Frequent attenders were also more likely to engage in other forms of political participation, particularly writing to the press and contacting officials. But there were relatively weak consequences for voting, in December 1995 or in the 1996 presidential election, in the absence of major parties that deliberately mobilized a confessional vote. Several explanations are advanced to account for the weak influence of religion on politics, notably the absence of a civil society and of competition between denominations.

"Carved into a rock overlooking the Columbia River stands the arresting image of Tsagaglalal, or "She Who Watches," an ancient female chief. As the Wishram people recount, when men replaced women in positions of power, Tsagaglalal was turned to stone by Coyote so that she could forever guide her community and guard its development. Using the story of She Who Watches as her guide, Armitage shows that even though women were barred from positions of public authority until recently, they have always worked quietly and informally to assure the stability and security of their families and communities. Women's community-building and cooperative skills have been decisive in developing the societies of the Pacific Northwest--Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana, and British Columbia. Like She Who Watches, women have never been mere observers, but watchful guardians and active shapers of the public good. Drawing on her three decades of research and teaching and based on hundreds of secondary sources, Armitage's account explores the varied ways in which, beginning in the earliest times and continuing to the present, women of all races and ethnicities have made the history of our region. An accessible introduction for general readers and scholars alike, Shaping the Public Good restores a missing piece of Pacific Northwest history by demonstrating the part that women--"the famous, the forgotten, and all the women in between"--Have always played in establishing their families and building communities."--

Purpose
Information systems (IS) play an important role in contemporary society, but critical questions remain on their potential use and impact on democracy. This study aims to contribute to the discussion on which technology can be adequate to which major challenge of democratic governance, through the identification and pairing of challenges of democratic governance with specific information technologies with the potential to be used in applications related to this challenge. This perspective can be considered positioned in the confluence between IS, political science and public administration.


Design/methodology/approach
Design science research, a research approach in IS, was used. The suggestion of a conceptual framework with pairs of challenges in democratic governance and information technologies was initially developed. In a subsequent phase, this framework was discussed and assessed through interviews with a panel of selected experts in e-government and IS, reaching a revised conceptual framework.


Findings
Results suggest that the conceptual pairing of challenges in democratic governance with IS's solutions such as artificial intelligence, systems integration or blockchain technologies, for instance, if used in a critical, transparent and accountable way, can play a role in capacitating the delivery of better public services and contribute to encouraging citizen trust and political participation. These results may contribute to open a methodological agenda dedicated to the selection of adequate IS resources to address specific challenges of democratic governance, as well as to help in the development of public policies in the area.


Originality/value
Previous studies on digital government offer important insights on the impact of information and communication technologies-enabled public governance tools for government openness, public service efficiency and user-friendliness, and for citizen political participation and societal mobilization. But the literature still lacks a systematic conceptual framework mapping and assessing the role of distinctive IS instruments in democratic challenge-solving and specifying functional relationships between specific technology and democratic outcomes. This paper aims to contribute to filling this analytical gap.

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- Introduction: Narratives, Intersections, and Dialogues / Kleinberg, S. Jay / Boris, Eileen / Ruiz, Vicki L. -- 1. Where the Girls Aren't / Burnard, Trevor G. / Little, Ann M. -- 2. "Your Women Are of No Small Consequence" / Macleitch, Gail D. -- 3. From Daughters of Liberty to Women of the Republic / Branson, Susan -- 4. Southern Women of Color and the American Revolution, 1775–1783 / Wood, Betty -- 5. From Dawn to Dusk / Dornan, Inge / Kleinberg, S. Jay -- 6. To Bind Up the Nation's Wounds / Grant, Susan-Mary -- 7. Turner's Ghost / Armitage, Susan -- 8. Gender and U.S. Imperialism in U.S. Women's History / Briggs, Laura -- 9. Chinese American Women in U.S. History / Hune, Shirley -- 10 Migrations and Destinations / Gabaccia, Donna R. / Ruiz, Vicki L. -- 11. African American Women and Migration / Brown, Leslie -- 12. Morena/o, Blanca/o, y Café con Leche / Ruiz, Vicki L. -- 13. The Woman Suffrage Movement, 1848–1920 / Clapp, Elizabeth J. -- 14. Engendering Social Welfare Policy / Boris, Eileen / Kleinberg, S. Jay -- 15. Interrupting Norms and Constructing Deviances / Meyer, Leisa D. -- 16. Strong People and Strong Leaders / Curtin, Mary Ellen -- 17. A New Century of Struggle / Celello, Kristin -- CONTRIBUTORS -- Index

In the article, the author examines the activities of Kazakh scientist, archaeologist, orientalist, historian, literary critic, art critic, and academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, Alkey Khakanovich Margulan, and his contribution to the development of historical culture of Kazakhstan. The author comprehensively explores his scientific activity in Southern Kazakhstan and focuses on his contribution and new scientific discoveries on the territory of the Kazakh land. Alkey Khakanovich Margulan began his career in the field of science at a time when the ideological press was pressuring many scientists. The article considers the change of perspective from the study of Kazakh folk folklore to the study of monuments of material culture and ancient art, as well as his activities as a researcher at the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, taking part in the creation of a scientific publication "The History of the Kazakh SSR (from ancient times to the present day)". He made a great contribution to the development of archeology on the territory of Kazakhstan in the difficult post-war years. The author separately examines the activities of academician Alkey Margulan as the founder of archeology in Kazakhstan, as well as the influence of Stalinist repression and ideological pressure on the work of the academician. Special attention is paid to his study of the folk epic, and the influence on the future fate associated with the study of archaeology. The article uses documents of the central archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including the Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the archive of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, periodical press materials, scientific papers. The author studied the sources and historiography of the problem devoted to the topic under study.

PurposeMuch of the contemporary methodological literature tends to be self-referential and frequently ignorant of the breadth and depth of philosophical assumptions underpinning various methodological positions. Without a clear understanding of the philosophical underpinnings, logically deriving applicable validity criteria becomes very difficult (if not impossible). As a result, the purpose of this paper is to present a critical review of historical and more recent philosophical arguments for qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research in social science.Design/methodology/approachA targeted review of seminal philosophy of science papers dealing with ontological and epistemological assumptions of, and relation between, natural and social science.FindingsThe paper highlights the link between ontological/epistemological assumptions and methodological choices in social science. Key differences between the natural and social science are discussed and situated within the main paradigms.Originality/valueThe paper draws attention to a range of difficulties associated with the adoption of the natural sciences and the related positivist approaches as a role model for work in the social sciences. Unique contributions of interpretive and critical approaches are highlighted. The paper may be of value to scholars who are interested in the historical context of the still-ongoing qualitative-quantitative debate.

For political fact-checking enterprises to be effective, two conditions must be met. Voters must be interested in fact-checks, and the fact-checks must encourage voters to reevaluate their beliefs. Here, we study the former: whether voters are interested in reading fact-checks of political candidates' statements. We use a simulated campaign environment in which participants' exposure to fact-checks are voluntary. We find that voters are interested in fact-checking, especially for negative campaigns and personal (versus issue) campaigns. We also find that topics salient to voters are most often fact-checked. Finally, we provide evidence for the operation of a motivated reasoning process, as statements made by less preferred candidates were more deeply scrutinized.

This special issue of Studies of Transition States and Societies focuses on youth political participation in Estonia. The articles explore diff erent dimensions of participation, providing examples of how politics is practiced by young people in a society that has undergone a relatively recent and substantial social, economic and political transformation: the shift from being an integral part of the Soviet Union to full membership of the European Union. This transition is refl ected in changing patterns of activism among Estonian youth and the nature of the issues with which they engage, with participation influenced by, one the one hand, the legacies of the communist period and, on the other, the challenge of living in contemporary Europe.

In 2004 the mayors of two municipalities in the Aymará region of the Andes were lynched—the apparent culmination of bitter conflicts within their communities and between those communities and the central government. These two cases illustrate the recent transformation of the organization and internal dynamics of Andean communities and the conflictive articulation of local politics with wider processes and institutions. They point to the importance of recent political-institutional processes, as opposed to traditional cultural factors of alleged indigenous nationalism, for understanding the cultural and political transformation of communities and the ways in which they process their internal conflicts as well as those with the wider state.