This study is focused on a small village in Tuscany and explores how citizens evaluate the actions and communication strategies applied by the local government during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopted a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods: semi-structured interviews with local administrators, and a survey with a representative sample of the local population. The findings show a limitedly articulated yet meaningful relationship between the central administration and the local one, a positive evaluation by citizens of the local government's management of the emergency and, generally, good social cohesion, albeit not fully supported by the engagement of civic cultures that were heavily restricted by the socially restrictive measures imposed during the pandemic.
Given the rise in far-right and populist rhetoric in Europe, particularly in light of the 2015 refugee crisis and the racist and xenophobic responses to it, this paper provides a multimodal analysis of the campaign slogans and posters of Slovenian political parties that gained parliamentary seats during the 2018 parliamentary elections that were, alongside focusing on issues pertaining to the Slovenian political landscape, heavily infused with concerns and potential solutions on how to tackle the challenges currently faced by Europe. The aim is to examine the linguistic and visual tools used by parties across the political spectrum, and to find out if the use of certain elements is characteristic of a determined political orientation. A brief outline of Slovenian party dynamics and the conditions that have contributed to them is followed by an analysis of the parties' political campaigns. Using the tools of political discourse analysis, the first part is centred around parties' choice of syntax and lexis in their political slogans, as well as the imagery on their posters, whereas the second is devoted to a linguistic analysis of how parties frame and address five key common issues in their political programmes: pensions, corruption, finance, healthcare and safety. Their stances and how these differ or coincide based on their place on the political spectrum are exemplified by short excerpts from the programmes. ; Given the rise in far-right and populist rhetoric in Europe, particularly in light of the 2015 refugee crisis and the racist and xenophobic responses to it, this paper provides a multimodal analysis of the campaign slogans and posters of Slovenian political parties that gained parliamentary seats during the 2018 parliamentary elections that were, alongside focusing on issues pertaining to the Slovenian political landscape, heavily infused with concerns and potential solutions on how to tackle the challenges currently faced by Europe. The aim is to examine the linguistic and visual tools used by parties across the political spectrum, and to find out if the use of certain elements is characteristic of a determined political orientation. A brief outline of Slovenian party dynamics and the conditions that have contributed to them is followed by an analysis of the parties' political campaigns. Using the tools of political discourse analysis, the first part is centred around parties' choice of syntax and lexis in their political slogans, as well as the imagery on their posters, whereas the second is devoted to a linguistic analysis of how parties frame and address five key common issues in their political programmes: pensions, corruption, finance, healthcare and safety. Their stances and how these differ or coincide based on their place on the political spectrum are exemplified by short excerpts from the programmes. ; Given the rise in far-right and populist rhetoric in Europe, particularly in light of the 2015 refugee crisis and the racist and xenophobic responses to it, this paper provides a multimodal analysis of the campaign slogans and posters of Slovenian political parties that gained parliamentary seats during the 2018 parliamentary elections that were, alongside focusing on issues pertaining to the Slovenian political landscape, heavily infused with concerns and potential solutions on how to tackle the challenges currently faced by Europe. The aim is to examine the linguistic and visual tools used by parties across the political spectrum, and to find out if the use of certain elements is characteristic of a determined political orientation. A brief outline of Slovenian party dynamics and the conditions that have contributed to them is followed by an analysis of the parties' political campaigns. Using the tools of political discourse analysis, the first part is centred around parties' choice of syntax and lexis in their political slogans, as well as the imagery on their posters, whereas the second is devoted to a linguistic analysis of how parties frame and address five key common issues in their political programmes: pensions, corruption, finance, healthcare and safety. Their stances and how these differ or coincide based on their place on the political spectrum are exemplified by short excerpts from the programmes. ; Given the rise in far-right and populist rhetoric in Europe, particularly in light of the 2015 refugee crisis and the racist and xenophobic responses to it, this paper provides a multimodal analysis of the campaign slogans and posters of Slovenian political parties that gained parliamentary seats during the 2018 parliamentary elections that were, alongside focusing on issues pertaining to the Slovenian political landscape, heavily infused with concerns and potential solutions on how to tackle the challenges currently faced by Europe. The aim is to examine the linguistic and visual tools used by parties across the political spectrum, and to find out if the use of certain elements is characteristic of a determined political orientation. A brief outline of Slovenian party dynamics and the conditions that have contributed to them is followed by an analysis of the parties' political campaigns. Using the tools of political discourse analysis, the first part is centred around parties' choice of syntax and lexis in their political slogans, as well as the imagery on their posters, whereas the second is devoted to a linguistic analysis of how parties frame and address five key common issues in their political programmes: pensions, corruption, finance, healthcare and safety. Their stances and how these differ or coincide based on their place on the political spectrum are exemplified by short excerpts from the programmes. ; Given the rise in far-right and populist rhetoric in Europe, particularly in light of the 2015 refugee crisis and the racist and xenophobic responses to it, this paper provides a multimodal analysis of the campaign slogans and posters of Slovenian political parties that gained parliamentary seats during the 2018 parliamentary elections that were, alongside focusing on issues pertaining to the Slovenian political landscape, heavily infused with concerns and potential solutions on how to tackle the challenges currently faced by Europe. The aim is to examine the linguistic and visual tools used by parties across the political spectrum, and to find out if the use of certain elements is characteristic of a determined political orientation. A brief outline of Slovenian party dynamics and the conditions that have contributed to them is followed by an analysis of the parties' political campaigns. Using the tools of political discourse analysis, the first part is centred around parties' choice of syntax and lexis in their political slogans, as well as the imagery on their posters, whereas the second is devoted to a linguistic analysis of how parties frame and address five key common issues in their political programmes: pensions, corruption, finance, healthcare and safety. Their stances and how these differ or coincide based on their place on the political spectrum are exemplified by short excerpts from the programmes. ; V luči pojava skrajno desne in populistične retorike v Evropi, ki je bila zlasti posledica migrantske krize leta 2015, ter rasističnega in ksenofobnega diskurza, ki je bil premnogokrat odgovor nanjo, članek podaja multimodalno analizo političnih sloganov in plakatov slovenskih strank, ki so na državnozborskih volitvah leta 2018 osvojile parlamentarne sedeže. Volitve so bile namreč poleg osredotočanja na problematike, lastne slovenski politični krajini, prežete z govorom o tem, kako se spopasti z izzivi, s katerimi se sooča Evropa. Cilj raziskave je preučiti, katerih jezikovnih in vizualnih sredstev so se posluževale stranke na najrazličnejših straneh političnega spektra in ali bi lahko za nekatere elemente dejali, da so značilni za določeno politično usmerjenost. Kratkemu pregledu slovenskih strankarskih dinamik in pogojev, ki so pripomogli k njihovemu razvoju, sledi analiza političnih kampanj strank. Zavzemši držo politične analize diskurza se prvi del osredotoča na leksikalne in skladenjske odločitve strank v političnih sloganih in na podporno slikovno gradivo, medtem ko je drugi del namenjen jezikoslovni analizi načina, kako politične stranke v svojih predvolilnih programih naslavljajo pet glavnih tem: pokojnine, korupcijo, finance, zdravstvo in varnost. Njihova stališča in razlike med njimi glede na politično usmerjenost so ponazorjene z izbranimi izseki iz strankarskih programov.
Sub-Saharan Africa is a very diverse region with extensive natural wealth, great human potential, and a rich history. However, the majority of its countries are among the poorest in the world and about half of its 800 million inhabitants live in extreme poverty. Sub-Saharan Africa produces only 1.5% of the world's GDP and its share in world trade has fallen from 6% in 1980 to 2% today. The region's exports remain dominated by primary goods (fuels, ores, and agricultural products). The roots of the region's economic weakness lie variously in the past colonial relationships with European countries and in unjust global trade patterns as well as in misuse of power by ruling political elites in the post-independence era. Numerous civil wars and other conflicts have fragmented the sub-Saharan countries into many factions and parties fighting for domination. The region is lagging behind developed countries because of corruption, lack of infrastructure, weakness of its institutions, heavy indebtedness, lack of education and health services, and unfavorable natural conditions, among other factors. Subsistence agriculture is the source of livelihood for most Africans. Nevertheless, average yields per hectare are low and heavily dependent on climatic conditions. Compared to urban areas (except for slums), people living in rural areas have worse infrastructure and are further from achieving the UN's Millennium Development Goals. The recent increase in food prices is threatening the limited progress in reducing hunger and malnutrition (28% of children under age five are underweight and particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases). Little progress has been made in reducing child and maternal mortality; mortality rates remain the highest in the world. In the previous decade, life expectancy in sub-Saharan countries has fallen due to the spread of HIV/AIDS and it still remains below fifty. In addition, many negative socioeconomic effects are the result of malaria, which kills approximately one million people every year, 91% of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa. In order to promote gender equality and empower women, education is of vital importance. Compared to other (especially developed) regions, school enrollment rates are considerably lower and dropout rates considerably higher, particularly for girls. The majority of countries in subSaharan Africa will not be able to achieve their educational goals by 2015. Despite the fact that the region is not exceeding the carrying capacities of its environment (as measured by its ecological footprint), environmental problems in some areas are severe. Deforestation, desertification, coral bleaching, negative effects of climate changes (sea level rise, reduced freshwater availability, extreme weather events, etc.), loss of biodiversity, and soil degradation are the most worrying. Population growth is exacerbating these environmental problems and is making it more difficult to achieve a higher standard of living for all. Owing to the complexity of developmental problems, sub-Saharan Africa will have to use its own resources very wisely and make the most of development aid from developed countries.
