Academic literature on the topic 'American Public opinion'

The author describes his 50 years of experience in studying public opinion in America, the Soviet Union and Russia. This includes research at the Institute of American and Canadian Studies of American mass consciousness, the study of Americans’ attitudes towards economic and social problems, Soviet-American relations; and collaboration with leading American public opinion polling centers — the Gallup Institute, the University of Michigan, National Opinion Research Center in Chicago, studying the work of the L. Harris and M. Field polling services, the CBS-New York Times, ABC-Washington Post centers, the polling organizations of the Democratic and Republican parties, presidential advisors on public opinion. The author implemented his American experience in organizing the study of public opinion in the USSR and then in Russia when creating the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM), the Center for Studying Public Opinion of the Presidential Administration of Boris Yeltsin, the Agency for Regional Political Research, and other survey centers. Analyzed is the use of sociological surveys in Boris Yeltsin’s presidential election campaign in 1996. The author has conducted several joint Soviet/Russian-American public opinion studies: “Television and society”, “Soviet and American children on the threat of war”, “National problems of Russia”. The author describes his experience in communicating with leading American and Russian experts in the study of public opinion — G. Gallup, L. Harris, Yu.A. Zamoshkin, B.A. Grushin.

The article is devoted to the study of Russian-American relations through the prism of public opinion of both countries. Foreign political views of citizens are an important element of international politics in the modern information society; they directly affect the development of international relations, providing an opportunity to legitimize and moralize foreign policy decisions of world leaders. Based on open secondary data from opinion polls, the article traces the history of the development of Russian-American relations in the post-Soviet period. The author proves that the formation of anti-Americanism ideas underlying the current reversion of consciousness to the Cold War era was formed by the early 2000s. The personality of President Vladimir Putin and his foreign policy strategy have become decisive for Russian-American relations, but at the same time, negative identification in the system of images of “friends and enemies” of Russians and Americans is realized by value-based foreign policy ideas, rather than by opportunistic situational value judgments. The media produces the existing crisis agenda, influencing the emotional, rather than meaningful response in citizens’ opinions. The events of 2014 triggered the current long-term crisis in Russian-American relations, a characteristic feature of which was the disparity (asymmetry) of mutual perceptions, which intensified after 2018. This period is also characterized by an increase in the ambivalence and turbulence of public opinion, primitivizing its model to the expression of the bloc consciousness “for — against”, “friend — enemy”. For Russians, their stance on the Ukrainian question alongside sanctions remain the key indicators in the perception of America. For Americans, such indicators are the strengthening of totalitarianism in Russia and interference in American elections. There are no short- and medium-term prospects for improving Russian-American relations in the current period.

This article examines public opinion as it relates to the primary tenets of the pragmatic philosophy. Anti-foundationalism, fallibilism, and an emphasis on practical consequences are observed in American public opinion. In addition, there is strong support for pragmatic politics in America. The evidence suggests that pragmatism is a common cultural attribute in American society.

Multiculturalism has emerged to challenge liberalism as an ideological solution in coping with ethnic diversity in the United States. This article develops a definition of political multiculturalism which refers to conceptions of identity, community and public policy. It then analyses the 1994 General Social Survey and a 1994 survey of Los Angeles County to assess the contours of mass support and opposition to multiculturalism, testing hypotheses concerning the role of social background, liberalism–conservatism and racial hostility. The main conclusions are that ‘hard’ versions of multiculturalism are rejected in all ethnic groups, that a liberal political self-identification boosts support for multiculturalism, and that racial hostility is a consistent source of antagonism to the new ethnic agenda of multiculturalism. There is strong similarity in the results in both the national and Los Angeles samples.

Government, through the provision of public services, plays an integral role in the lives of American citizens. In consequence, public opinion of government involvement has been consistently measured through the use of national surveys in order to better evaluate the public’s reaction to specific public policies. While measuring of aggregate public opinions on government involvement is valuable, there are certainly differences across various groups of Americans. The United States may be divided when it comes to partisanship and ideology, but perhaps there are also significant divisions between Americans based on their geography, or “place”. Using data from the American National Election Survey from 1994-2008, this study examines the differences in opinion on government spending towards public services, welfare programs, and Social Security. Rooted in the idea that different “places” harbor varying degrees of support for the government, I hypothesize that the role of government is viewed differently between urban and rural America, further demonstrating that America experiences an urban-rural division in regard to perceptions of American politics. The findings demonstrate that ideology drives Americans’ support for these specific policies and that “place” can serve as a conditioning effect on the standard ideological view. Specifically, liberals living in rural areas are less supportive of government spending than their liberal counterparts living in more urban areas. Additionally, rural liberals are less supportive of welfare spending; however, are more supportive of Social Security than liberals from urban areas.

United States foreign-policymakers have enthusiastically backed policies of promoting democracy abroad. But do the American people support these plans? Evidence from polls reveals that while people generally like the idea of exporting freedom, they do not view it as a top priority. Other concepts such as political and economic security are valued more by the American public. Backing for democracy promotion also seems to be waning in recent years. I examine these issues and offer possible reasons for this “gap” in response to democracy promotion among American people. I also explain the implications of these findings for America's foreign policy, including the types of government the US appears to support in the wake of military operations. I conclude with an examination of why the policy of democracy promotion has not been more popular with the American people, evaluating competing arguments that the policy is flawed, as opposed to simply a case of poor public relations.

One nation which paid particular attention to the American Civil War was Great Britain. Sharing a common language, important trade links, and having its largest colony border the United States, the British were, not unnaturally, close observers of the conflict. They were also very nearly participants when, in December 1861, the Union violated international law during the Trent Affair. Despite this, and other disputes over the rights of neutrals, such as the purchase and/or building of Southern sea-raiders such as the Alabama and Northern raids into Canada, Britain neither recognised the Confederacy, nor directly intervened in the war. Nonetheless, when the conflict ended, both former antagonists condemned Britain for allegedly sympathising with the other side. This thesis examines the nature of this sympathy, not from the diplomatic approach, which has already been well-researched, but from that of English public opinion. This latter area remains controversial. There exists a traditional interpretation which, simply put, divides English sentiment between progression on the side of the Union, and reaction on the side of the Confederacy. In response to this has arisen a revisionist approach which openly questions whether English opinion can be so easily divided and has challenged certain aspects and arguments of the traditional interpretation. Despite the revisionists, however, the most recent studies on the subject have largely resurrected the traditional view of English sentiment and the American Civil War. This thesis posits that the revisionist approach, far from over-correcting the traditional interpretation, has in fact been too mild a challenge. That English public opinion was not, in fact, split between two such opposing camps; that most in England were suspicious of both sides in the conflict, and that even each side's partisans were not entirely composed of any one particular social or political group.

This thesis seeks to be a contribution to a broader debate on how public opinion builds up its perceptions on foreign policy and foreign affairs. Its two main objectives are to examine: (a) which are the determinants that explain public opinion knowledge on foreign affairs; and (b) whether public opinion is sensitive to framing effects on this issue. The analysis was done by mixing quantitative methods and survey experiments, while its novelty is that brings unprecedent evidence from Latin America. The main findings of the thesis are two-fold. On the one hand, Latin American public opinion knowledge on foreign affairs is low. In this regard, both traditional individual variables and contextual ones, namely the size of the city, are useful to predict a person\'s knowledge. On the other, public opinion perceptions regarding foreign policy, either presented on a general or specific way, are sensitive to framing effects.
Esta tese procura ser uma contribuição para um debate mais amplo sobre como a opinião pública constrói suas percepções sobre política externa e assuntos internacionais. Os dois principais objetivos são examinar: (a) quais são os determinantes que explicam o conhecimento da opinião pública a respeito de assuntos internacionais; e (b) se a opinião pública é sensível a efeitos de enquadramento sobre esta questão. A análise foi feita misturando métodos quantitativos e pesquisas de opinião pública experimentais, enquanto sua novidade é que traz evidências sem precedentes da América Latina. As principais conclusões da tese são duplas. Por um lado, o conhecimento da opinião pública latino-americana sobre assuntos externos é baixo. A este respeito, tanto as variáveis individuais tradicionais como as contextuais - o tamanho da cidade - são úteis para prever o conhecimento de uma pessoa. Por outro lado, as percepções da opinião pública em relação à política externa, apresentadas de forma geral ou específica, são sensíveis aos efeitos de enquadramento.

At the end of the nineteenth century, English-Canadians and Americans faced each other across the border with old animosities. Many Canadians adhered to familiar ideas of Loyalism, imperialism and anti-Americanism to differentiate the Dominion from the republic. In the United States, on the other hand, lingering notions of anglophobia and "Manifest Destiny" caused Americans to look upon the British colony to the north as a dangerous and unnatural entity. America's rise to world power status and the Anglo-American rapprochement, however, forced Americans and Canadians to adapt to the new international reality. Emphasizing their shared language, civilization, and forms of government, many English-speaking North Americans drew upon Anglo-Saxonism to find common ground. Indeed, Americans and Canadians often referred to each other as members of the same "family" sharing the same "blood," thus differentiating themselves from other races. As many of the events of the rapprochement had a North American context, Americans and English-Canadians often drew upon the common lexicon of Anglo-Saxon rhetoric to undermine the old rivalries and underscore their shared interests. Though the predominance of Anglo-Saxonism at the turn of the century proved short-lived, it left a legacy of Canadian-American goodwill, as both nations accepted their shared destiny on the continent and Canada as a key link in the North Atlantic Triangle.

Over the past five years, American public opinion on homosexuality has rapidly shifted in a more positive direction. Its subjugation exemplifies how an intimate and singular topic can be used to ignite and potentially misguide the American people, resulting in violent demonstration and even death. Although public opinion has shifted towards a greater acceptance of homosexuality, viewpoints are still very polarized. In addition to the available literature, elements from the complete data set of the General Social Survey (1972–2014) were analyzed to better understand this polarization that persists. Subject-specific variables concerning homosexuality were extrapolated and simple Ordinary Least Squares regression models were tested using STATA version SE 12.1. The evidence gathered supports this thesis’ assertion that Snyder’s theory of hope, when applied to the topic of homosexuality, provides a uniquely useful and alternative lens through which to explain the polarization of current public opinion about homosexuality in America.

Thesis (M.A,)--George Mason University, 2008.
Vita: p. 116. Thesis director: Rosemarie Zagarri. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Aug. 28, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 110-115). Also issued in print.

Country image is an important aspect in international relations (tourism, products and services, trade etc.) thus a lot of emphasis is put on it from a marketing communication perspective, in order to influence the individuals in their view. According to the aims of the sender, the messages can have a positive or negative effect on how we perceive certain regions or entire countries and their leaders or specific policies. Nye (2004) describes this projection as “soft power” when exporting ideas towards a desired outcome, Herman & Chomsky (2008) stresses that premise of discourse is influenced by topic setting, thus interpretation of events can be changed, which are in line with the work and theories of Bernays, who among other stressed that expected form of behaviour should be impacted, with the assistance of psychological techniques and propaganda (public mass persuasions). Thus conditioning the public for certain narratives in accordance to individual or political objectives can be considered as vide spread. This involves fake news and creative new ways of distributing desired narratives through online and social media marketing, given its proliferation, accessibility and low entry barriers (from a communication perspective) makes it an ideal platform for information (message) dissemination. Presently in 2024 there are more localised and international conflicts, where belligerents aim to persuade the public (voters) of their own and of other countries in their favour, thus of their moral superiority over their adversaries. This can in turn create political support for certain desired policies. In the article, according to my modest means, I will explore these techniques and theories, and show through the conflict in Ukraine, how different groups in Hungary (according to demographic markers, marketing communication channel trust, and political party preference) have varying opinions of those countries that are in the focus, namely Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the United States of America and the European Union. During my research a primary questionnaire study has been performed and preliminary data analysis suggests a strong correlation of communication channel trust and political party preference which in turn polarises public opinion about these states, all in a trend like fashion. Thus, where the individual gathers information and news; and what kind of political affiliation the same person has, will have an effect on the country image, meaning that different narratives can be identified and their effects shown in practice.

Abstract On March 26, 1999, the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) opened the nation’s first deep geological disposal system (repository) for long-lived radioactive wastes/materials (LLRMs) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site, New Mexico, United States of America (USA). The opening of WIPP embodies gradually achieved acceptance, both local and global, on scientific, institutional, regulatory, political, and public levels. In the opinion of the author, five significant determinants for the successful siting, certification, and acceptance of WIPP, were the existence of: • A willing and supportive host community; • A strong, independent regulator; • A regulatory framework widely perceived to (over)protect public health and the environment; • A structurally simple, old, stable, host-rock with excellent radionuclide containment and isolation characteristics; and • An open siting, site characterization, repository development, certification and recertification process with regularly scheduled opportunities for information exchanges with affected and interested parties, including a) prompt responses to non-DOE concerns and b) transparency/traceability of external-input into, and the logic behind, the DOE’s decision-making process. The nation’s and the world’s next deep geological repository for LLRMs is currently scheduled to open in 2010. As follows, in addition to providing a national solution to safe disposal of LLRMs, the opening and continued safe operation of WIPP provides an international role model that effectively dispels the global myth that LLRMs cannot be safely disposed in a deep geological repository.

Finance based crisis with its effect felt in the second quarter of 2007 has acquired global characteristics, and taken held of many countries. Global crisis not only has worn down constructive opinions regarding global capitalism, which played an important role in shaping the 20 th, but it has also discredited market economies. Thus, in many countries, including the United States of America, public rescue package implementations have lead to more desirable state interventions.On the other hand, economic activities in the global arena following the crisis slowed down and it became more difficult for financial structures to exist, and reduction in global trade movements were observed.This situation has lead for countries to include protective policies against the crisis as well. In study, protective studies will be addresssed, which wear down the globalization acting as a descriptive property of both experimental and normative reality in the definition of the process we are currently experiencing. As the economic problems gradually increase, the kind of shapes trade constrictions and protective instincts illustrate themselves and possible results of this will be examined on a country basis (EURASİAN, USA, EU, OECD). Expecially, it will be examined whether protectionism is the right solition policy against the crisis on not, and then the degree of the effect of this policy in the drop experienced in the recent months in international trade will be addressed. Lastly, the type of measurements taken in the international arena regarding protectionism and suficiently of the measurements will be assessed.

Introdução: As neoplasias de mama e ginecológicas representam 43% do total de casos novos de tumores malignos em mulheres, de acordo com dados de 2020 do Instituto Nacional de Câncer José Alencar Gomes da Silva. O diagnóstico tardio, somado à evolução tumoral a despeito do tratamento, leva à limitação da cura, o que justifica alterar as medidas terapêuticas oferecidas. Os cuidados paliativos buscam promover a melhora da qualidade de vida da paciente e de seus familiares por meio da prevenção e do alívio de sintomas e do sofrimento. Objetivo: Realizar um levantamento bibliográfico de artigos sobre cuidados paliativos em pacientes com câncer de mama e ginecológico no Brasil, buscando identificar os temas, as profissões e as práticas mais publicadas. Métodos: Revisão integrativa da literatura utilizando as bases de dados PubMed, Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (Lilacs), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) e Google Acadêmico. Os descritores “cuidados paliativos”, “câncer ginecológico”, “câncer de mama”, “câncer de colo do útero”, “câncer de ovário” e “câncer de endométrio” foram utilizados na estratégia de busca. Incluíram-se artigos brasileiros publicados nacional e internacionalmente nos últimos 10 anos (2010 a 2020). Excluíram-se artigos de opinião, dissertações e teses. Resultados: Nove artigos cumpriram os critérios propostos de seleção. Sete tratavam de cuidados paliativos em pacientes com câncer de mama, um de câncer de ovário e um de câncer de colo de útero. Três eram direcionados para a área de Medicina, quatro para a de Enfermagem, um para a de Fisioterapia e um para a de Terapia Ocupacional. Quanto ao local de publicação, predominou a região Sudeste (seis artigos), seguida da região Nordeste (três artigos). Sobre o desenho das pesquisas, foram encontrados três estudos de revisão, dois estudos transversais retrospectivos, dois prospectivos, um estudo exploratório qualitativo e um relato de caso. Em relação à temática identificada em cada artigo, três abordaram os tratamentos específicos para o câncer em questão, enquanto os outros seis discorreram sobre aspectos multidirecionais dos cuidados paliativos, como eficácia, manejo e seu momento de implementação. Conclusão: Verificou-se um pequeno número de publicações que abordam cuidados paliativos e câncer de mama ou ginecológico nos últimos 10 anos no Brasil. A enfermagem é a profissão que mais publica, e a Medicina direciona o foco de suas publicações para o arsenal terapêutico. O câncer de mama é o de maior incidência entre os tipos de câncer na mulher e também o mais prevalente nos trabalhos encontrados. É necessário mais estímulo a pesquisas voltadas para os cuidados paliativos e a saúde da mulher no intuito de ampliar a atenção integral à saúde da população.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides the results of the preliminary analysis of the findings of an ongoing study that seeks to examine the social media use, cultural and political awareness, civic engagement, issue prioritization, and social activism of Gen Z students enrolled at four different institutional types located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The aim of this study is to look at the group as a whole as well as compare findings across populations. The institutional types under consideration include a mid-sized majority serving or otherwise referred to as a traditionally white institution (TWI) located in a small coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, a small Historically Black University (HBCU) located in a rural area, a large community college located in a county that is a mixture of rural and suburban and which sits on the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and graduating high school students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs in a large urban area. This exploration is purposed to examine the behaviors and expectations of Gen Z students within a representative American region during a time of tremendous turmoil and civil unrest in the United States. Background: Over 74 million strong, Gen Z makes up almost one-quarter of the U.S. population. They already outnumber any current living generation and are the first true digital natives. Born after 1996 and through 2012, they are known for their short attention spans and heightened ability to multi-task. Raised in the age of the smart phone, they have been tethered to digital devices from a young age with most having the preponderance of their childhood milestones commemorated online. Often called Zoomers, they are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation and are on track to be the most well-educated generation in history. Gen Zers in the United States have been found in the research to be progressive and pro-government and viewing increasing racial and ethnic diversity as positive change. Finally, they are less likely to hold xenophobic beliefs such as the notion of American exceptionalism and superiority that have been popular with by prior generations. The United States has been in a period of social and civil unrest in recent years with concerns over systematic racism, rampant inequalities, political polarization, xenophobia, police violence, sexual assault and harassment, and the growing epidemic of gun violence. Anxieties stirred by the COVID-19 pandemic further compounded these issues resulting in a powder keg explosion occurring throughout the summer of 2020 and leading well into 2021. As a result, the United States has deteriorated significantly in the Civil Unrest Index falling from 91st to 34th. The vitriol, polarization, protests, murders, and shootings have all occurred during Gen Z’s formative years, and the limited research available indicates that it has shaped their values and political views. Methodology: The Mid-Atlantic region is a portion of the United States that exists as the overlap between the northeastern and southeastern portions of the country. It includes the nation’s capital, as well as large urban centers, small cities, suburbs, and rural enclaves. It is one of the most socially, economically, racially, and culturally diverse parts of the United States and is often referred to as the “typically American region.” An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2021 attending a high school dual enrollment program, a minority serving institution, a majority serving institution, and a community college all located within the larger mid-Atlantic region. The survey included a combination of multiple response, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by several content and methodological experts in order to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. Finally, the survey was pilot tested prior to implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly prior to widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Over 800 individuals completed the survey with just over 700 usable results, after partial completes and the responses of individuals outside of the 18-24 age range were removed. Findings: Participants in this study overwhelmingly were users of social media. In descending order, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Tik Tok were the most popular social media services reported as being used. When volume of use was considered, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter were the most cited with most participants reporting using Instagram and Snapchat multiple times a day. When asked to select which social media service they would use if forced to choose just one, the number one choice was YouTube followed by Instagram and Snapchat. Additionally, more than half of participants responded that they have uploaded a video to a video sharing site such as YouTube or Tik Tok. When asked about their familiarity with different technologies, participants overwhelmingly responded that they are “very familiar” with smart phones, searching the Web, social media, and email. About half the respondents said that they were “very familiar” with common computer applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite with another third saying that they were “somewhat familiar.” When asked about Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard, Course Compass, Canvas, Edmodo, Moodle, Course Sites, Google Classroom, Mindtap, Schoology, Absorb, D2L, itslearning, Otus, PowerSchool, or WizIQ, only 43% said they were “very familiar” with 31% responding that they were “somewhat familiar.” Finally, about half the students were either “very” or “somewhat” familiar with operating systems such as Windows. A few preferences with respect to technology in the teaching and learning process were explored in the survey. Most students (85%) responded that they want course announcements and reminders sent to their phones, 76% expect their courses to incorporate the use of technology, 71% want their courses to have course websites, and 71% said that they would rather watch a video than read a book chapter. When asked to consider the future, over 81% or respondents reported that technology will play a major role in their future career. Most participants considered themselves “informed” or “well informed” about current events although few considered themselves “very informed” or “well informed” about politics. When asked how they get their news, the most common forum reported for getting news and information about current events and politics was social media with 81% of respondents reporting. Gen Z is known to be an engaged generation and the participants in this study were not an exception. As such, it came as no surprise to discover that, in the past year more than 78% of respondents had educated friends or family about an important social or political issue, about half (48%) had donated to a cause of importance to them, more than a quarter (26%) had participated in a march or rally, and a quarter (26%) had actively boycotted a product or company. Further, about 37% consider themselves to be a social activist with another 41% responding that aren’t sure if they would consider themselves an activist and only 22% saying that they would not consider themselves an activist. When asked what issues were important to them, the most frequently cited were Black Lives Matter (75%), human trafficking (68%), sexual assault/harassment/Me Too (66.49%), gun violence (65.82%), women’s rights (65.15%), climate change (55.4%), immigration reform/deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) (48.8%), and LGBTQ+ rights (47.39%). When the schools were compared, there were only minor differences in social media use with the high school students indicating slightly more use of Tik Tok than the other participants. All groups were virtually equal when it came to how informed they perceived themselves about current events and politics. Consensus among groups existed with respect to how they get their news, and the community college and high school students were slightly more likely to have participated in a march, protest, or rally in the last 12 months than the university students. The community college and high school students were also slightly more likely to consider themselves social activists than the participants from either of the universities. When the importance of the issues was considered, significant differences based on institutional type were noted. Black Lives Matter (BLM) was identified as important by the largest portion of students attending the HBCU followed by the community college students and high school students. Less than half of the students attending the TWI considered BLM an important issue. Human trafficking was cited as important by a higher percentage of students attending the HBCU and urban high school than at the suburban and rural community college or the TWI. Sexual assault was considered important by the majority of students at all the schools with the percentage a bit smaller from the majority serving institution. About two thirds of the students at the high school, community college, and HBCU considered gun violence important versus about half the students at the majority serving institution. Women’s rights were reported as being important by more of the high school and HBCU participants than the community college or TWI. Climate change was considered important by about half the students at all schools with a slightly smaller portion reporting out the HBCU. Immigration reform/DACA was reported as important by half the high school, community college, and HBCU participants with only a third of the students from the majority serving institution citing it as an important issue. With respect to LGBTQ rights approximately half of the high school and community college participants cited it as important, 44.53% of the HBCU students, and only about a quarter of the students attending the majority serving institution. Contribution and Conclusion: This paper provides a timely investigation into the mindset of generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. This insight is useful to educators who should be informed about the generation of students that is currently populating higher education. The findings of this study are consistent with public opinion polls by Pew Research Center. According to the findings, the Gen Z students participating in this study are heavy users of multiple social media, expect technology to be integrated into teaching and learning, anticipate a future career where technology will play an important role, informed about current and political events, use social media as their main source for getting news and information, and fairly engaged in social activism. When institutional type was compared the students from the university with the more affluent and less diverse population were less likely to find social justice issues important than the other groups. Recommendations for Practitioners: During disruptive and contentious times, it is negligent to think that the abounding issues plaguing society are not important to our students. Gauging the issues of importance and levels of civic engagement provides us crucial information towards understanding the attitudes of students. Further, knowing how our students gain information, their social media usage, as well as how informed they are about current events and political issues can be used to more effectively communicate and educate. Recommendations for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. Additionally, in other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Impact on Society: During a highly contentious period replete with a large volume of civil unrest and compounded by a global pandemic, understanding the behaviors and attitudes of students can help us as higher education faculty be more attuned when it comes to the design and delivery of curriculum. Future Research This presentation presents preliminary findings. Data is still being collected and much more extensive statistical analyses will be performed.

This report presents descriptive statistics from Colombian water and sanitation data, and corresponding public opinion data. The water and sanitation data are at the firm and municipality level and produced by several Colombian government agencies. The public opinion data are provided by the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP).

This paper assesses the effects of total public debt (external and domestic) on social expenditure worldwide and in Latin America using an unbalanced panel of around 50 countries for the period 1985-2003. The most robust and important finding is that higher debt ratios do reduce social expenditures, as popular opinion holds. Debt displaces social expenditures not so much because it raises the debt burden, but because it reduces the room (or the appetite) for further indebtedness. Loans from multilateral organizations like the World Bank or the Inter-American Development Bank do not seem to ameliorate the adverse consequences of debt on social expenditures. In accordance with popular wisdom, our results indicate that defaulting on debt obligations does help to increase social expenditures. The main policy implication is that there is no better way to protect social expenditures than to avoid over-indebtedness, especially in Latin America.

This report is the outcome of an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)regional public good (RPG) that different Latin American and Caribbean countries helped to create by identifying the information they needed to perfect the decision-making process on matters of trade and integration. The mechanism that the IDB foresaw is a three-way process, in which decisions are made in partnership with technical institutions and countries, which share their experience and knowledge of social demands. In this case, the countries of the region played a key role in designing an opinion poll on trade and integration, the results of which we compare with national statistical indicators. This was made possible by the strategic partnership between the Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (IDB/INTAL), part of the Integration and Trade Sector, and Latinobarómetro, marking the start of the dialogue between two databases with very specific features. The first of these is the highly complete information on trade and integration that INTAL has acquired over its 51-year history. The second, the public perceptions that Latinobarómetro, a pioneering public opinion poll, has been measuring in the region for over two decades. Cross-referencing the results of over 20,000 exclusive surveys that were carried out in 18 Latin American countries with national statistics has helped create a powerful tool for designing integration and trade strategies. Comparing citizens' opinions and national statistics allows researchers to find correlations and asymmetries between public perceptions and the region's actual performance, thus contributing to improving planning and impact assessment in public policy design. We believe that integration processes should reflect both dimensions: they must not overlook classic indicators but they also need to include the voice of the people of Latin America, which is an essential part of any regional strategy seeking to construct a form of governance that is underpinned by the demands of society.

This presentation brochure of the Inter-American Development Bank's Research Department (RES) contains general information intended for an external audience. This brochure promotes the department's activities which serve as inputs to Bank departments, governments, the academic community and public opinion in the region.

This document analyzes the results of a Web-based survey conducted by the Research Department to assess how the IDB is viewed by political and corporate leaders in the region. The questionnaire included 31 questions that compared the IDB to the IMF, World Bank, CAF, BCIE and CDB. The sample includes the responses of 336 representatives from the 26 Latin American and Caribbean IDB member countries. In general, the IDB has a better image than the other multilateral organizations in understanding development problems and contributing to their solutions. Its main comparative advantage is in the design of social service projects (education, health and social security). The IDB also is clearly perceived to outperform its peers in public sector modernization and infrastructure projects. The IDBs weakest areas are related to its efficiency (lengthy loan approvals) and efforts to help discipline macroeconomic and other policies. Respondents believe that all international organizations should expand their technical assistance and knowledge activities not tied to projects or loans. For the IDB, the survey results also assign a high priority to increasing projects in social areas.

This chapter examines socioeconomic inequality in Latin America through the lens of race and ethnicity. We primarily use national census data from the International Public Use Micro Data Sample (IPUMS). Since censuses use inconsistent measures of race and ethnicity, we also draw on two additional measures from the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP). Unlike censuses, LAPOP data offer a more consistent ethnoracial scheme across countries and a unique interviewer-rated skin color measure. Our study shows that black and indigenous populations and those with darker skin color experience educational, income, and occupational disadvantages, even after controlling for their social origins. However, inequality and hierarchical ordering of Afro-descendants, indigenous peoples, mestizos, whites, and others vary across countries. We include an extended examination of educational inequality in Brazil, the regions largest country. The chapter concludes with an exploration of public policy approaches to address black and indigenous disadvantage across Latin America while also highlighting the case of Brazil, where targeted antiracism policy is most advanced.

This policy brief uses data from the 2014/2015 Latin American Public Opinion Project survey to examine attitudes toward intimate partner violence and child physical discipline in six Caribbean countries. Although Latin America has a reputation for a particularly macho culture, Caribbean adults were 10.8 percent more likely to tolerate a man beating his wife if she neglects the household chores and 5.7 percent more likely to if she is unfaithful. Characteristics of those who were more tolerant of intimate partner violence included being lower income, younger, resident of a rural area, and not completing secondary education. Similarly, those who say it is necessary to physically punish children in the Caribbean - and those who experienced physical punishment frequently themselves - were more prevalent than in Latin American countries. Experiencing frequent physical punishment during childhood was found to be a statistically significant correlate of male tolerance of intimate partner violence after controlling for other individual characteristics. Policy options to prevent intimate partner violence and childhood violence are examined.

Las encuestas LAPOP (Latin American Public Opinion Project) son un instrumento útil y relevante en el análisis cuantitativo de las instituciones políticas y su relación con los ciudadanos de los países de América Latina y el Caribe. Este documento analiza las relaciones entre las instituciones políticas y temas como calidad de vida y victimización a la luz de estas encuestas. Los resultados generales muestran que los ciudadanos latinoamericanos tienen percepciones distintas frente a su vida y frente a lo que sucede en su país, y aún ven en la democracia el sistema político más deseable para la conducción de sus países.

Tracking progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is critical to evaluate how far the water and sanitation sector is from achieving these targets, and to guarantee that the solutions and strategies implemented get everyone closer to them. But this is not a simple task. To truly assess collective progress towards achieving SDG 6 (and all other goals), it is fundamental to count on standardized measures that help track all types of access, their reliability, and their quality. Existing data tend to lack comparability across sources and locations because they rely on different definitions and categories. Samples are often not representative of all groups within the population. More developed areas are more likely to collect data, which results in the overrepresentation of groups that enjoy better services. Still in some areas and for some categories of information data is not available at all. In response to these challenges, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) partnered with the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) to gather nationally representative and comparable data in 18 countries in the region. The goal of this effort was to provide an initial outlook of the current landscape of water and sanitation services in the region, using two batteries of questions in the LAPOP questionnaire for the 2018-2019 wave. The main message that arises is that the Latin American and the Caribbean region faces a wide range of challenges, that vary both across and within countries. Some areas face the primary challenge of closing access gaps, while others display higher deficiency in service quality, such as continuity. The gaps in quality of services, in particular, are not clearly perceived by users. In general, levels of satisfaction with the services received is quite high among the population, much higher than warranted by the objective measures of service quality. This raises important issues for accountability in the sector. If users are mostly satisfied with the current state of affairs, it is unlikely they will pressure governments and utilities to improve service delivery. A more in-depth analysis is required to understand the reasons behind these opinions and possible ways to raise awareness.

Countries around the world are facing important challenges to the sustainability of their pension systems. Changing policies, especially those of large scope and financial magnitude, is a political challenge. It takes a combination of willingness, capacity and enough political support to change the status quo and avoid costly subsequent reversals. Taking advantage of several waves of public opinion data in Latin America and the Caribbean, this paper aims to identify and analyze individual-level factors that are relevant to gauging political support for pension reform.