The paper analyses public opinion towards immigrants in Slovenia, especially in terms of openness and acceptance. It begins by providing some key theoretical background on the topic and then draws on ...selected empirical data from the European Social Survey from a cross-temporal perspective. According to survey data, respondents in Slovenia have become more open towards immigrants in recent years. However, there are significant tensions between those who are more open to and those who oppose immigration. This divide between immigration supporters and opponents is a persistent social tension that characterises political orientations in Slovenia in general. Despite the shifting public opinion towards greater tolerance, right-wing populist politicians may still target and mobilise those who remain sceptical or hostile towards immigrants.
Članek predstavlja ugotovitve raziskave o odnosu javnosti do obnovljivih virov energije – OVE (SJM 2019/1) in jih postavlja v kontekst mednarodne primerjave stališč o podnebnih spremembah, kot se ...kažejo iz podatkov Evropske družboslovne raziskave ESS 2016 (modul: Climate Change). Rezultati kažejo na splošno visoko stopnjo soglašanja javnosti s podnebno paradigmo, pri konkretnejših okoljskih ukrepih pa je (tudi evropsko) javno mnenje nekoliko bolj zadržano. Podobne ugotovitve najdemo v študiji OVE. Ta pokaže izrazito favoriziranje vetrnega in sončnega scenarija, ki sta s stališča javnosti podrobneje predstavljena s prednostmi in slabostmi. Pri obravnavi konkretne prostorske umestitve pa se kaže, kako javnomnenjski razmislek počasi drsi iz polja okoljske v polje ekonomske, tržne miselnosti. Primerjalna analiza podatkov ESS kaže podobno sliko, še posebej, ko opazujemo razlike med okoljsko razvitejšimi zahodnoevropskimi in nordijskimi državami ter državami srednje in vzhodne Evrope. Avtorja v zaključku poudarita, da okoljska transformacija (tudi z implementacijo OVE) ne bo uspešna brez širše družbene transformacije, ki bo zagotovila pravično porazdelitev koristi in tveganj. Ključni pojmi: podnebne spremembe, obnovljivi viri energije, ESS, javno mnenje, vetrna elektrarna, sončna elektrarna, prostorski učinki
The article presents the circumstances of the fieldwork phase of the European Social Survey (ESS) round 10 in Slovenia, which took place during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. It is an ...exceptional situation, making it very difficult to conduct a survey based on a personal interviewing approach, especially when any other solution was not viable. The national team was faced with several additional tasks related to carrying out fieldwork activities in exceptional circumstances. The article presents the dynamics of the epidemic in Slovenia and the necessary measures to conduct the survey. Two primary objectives were pursued: data quality assurance despite the aggravated circumstances, and ensuring the safety of respondents and interviewers from possible risk of contact. The first was ensured by using all available tools and approaches as under normal pre-pandemic circumstances; while for the second we introduced a series of measures that went beyond the national safety measures (which were in many ways similar to those in most European countries). The ensuring of risk-free contact and additional motivational training among interviewers, also played an influence on the first objective (the quality of the data); namely, no significant hesitation or fear of possible infection was perceived among the respondents during the fieldwork. One of the critical points that prevailed in the decision to start the fieldwork in early autumn 2020, was having at least two months of pleasant weather conditions, which allows a significant part of interviews to be conducted outdoor, which would significantly reduce the possibility of risky contacts between the interviewer and the respondent. The sharp deterioration of events with the outbreak of the second wave dictated that the survey had to be conducted in two batches. This posed some new implementation requirements for researchers. The results of the sample realisation of two fieldwork intervals and the outcome of the ESS in Slovenia – the first among ESS countries that successfully completed the fieldwork round 10 (ESS 2020) – are also presented.
The paper outlines fieldwork monitoring techniques that have been used in the fieldwork phase of the European Social Survey (ESS) in Slovenia in round 9 (2018), previous rounds and other national ...surveys in Slovenia. The transition to computer-assisted personal interviewing which we adopted a decade ago at the Public Opinion and Mass Communication Research Centre (POMCRC), University of Ljubljana, has been consistently used throughout the national research program. The ESS was one of the first surveys through which we established higher standards by using digitized survey tools. Over the years, these tools have been continuously developed and digitalization of contact data has been introduced, which has opened up additional possibilities for monitoring and maintaining survey data quality. Because of our awareness of unwanted interviewer behaviour and the human factor in recording people’s opinion, we anticipate various anomalies that might occur and could be observed and dealt with during the fieldwork and later on, such as: response rate, interviewers' week-by-week work dynamics, the result of the last visit, logical and consistency checking, duration of an interview and other factors. In the report we would like to show some of these indicators in a comparative context.
The purpose of this article is to shed light on the issue of undecided voters who represent a heterogeneous group of the electoral body considering both voting behaviour and voter turnout. Based on ...the theoretical elaboration in the introduction, the central part of this article presents the results of research conducted among undecided voters at the time of local elections held in the City Municipality of Ljubljana in 2010. The results show that undecided voters can be categorised in four representative groups: 'superficial tactics', 'informed critics', 'wavering sceptics' and 'disappointed passive voters'. Voter turnout was ensured with the first two groups, it was uncertain with the third one, while the fourth group of voters tends to abstain. The findings also reveal that undecided voters are not indifferent about the results of elections. The reasons for their growing abstinence can primarily be seen in their wavering trust in political decision-making mechanisms and political players. Because of this, a large segment of the electoral body no longer sees any purpose in participating in elections.
The article stresses the potential to use the Life satisfaction indicator as an indicator of social well-being. For a long time it has seemed that the economic deterministic evaluation of social ...development itself has become insufficient. In the first part, the text presents arguments concerning why the Life satisfaction indicator can become a leading evaluative indicator 'beyond the GDP paradigm'. Its potential stems from the fact that it represents a comprehensive (holistic) assessment of an individual's life. In the second part, the authors outline the problems of its practical use in public policy in Slovenia, especially in terms of the non-equivalence between different research methodologies and the irregularity of measurement intervals. In the final part, the text illustrates the indicator from the European Social Survey data. The life satisfaction assessment in the last decade in Slovenia shows that this indicator's dynamics are not directly related to the dynamics of the economic, statistical indicator (e.g. the unemployment rate). Although the area of public policies is gaining awareness of the importance of subjective wellbeing indicators as an appropriate base for assessing social performance, the authors stress that the indicator has not yet found satisfactory affirmation in the professional and political environment.
Seroprevalence surveys provide crucial information on cumulative severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposure. This Slovenian nationwide population study is the first ...longitudinal 6-month serosurvey using probability-based samples across all age categories.
Each participant supplied two blood samples: 1316 samples in April 2020 (first round) and 1211 in October/November 2020 (second round). The first-round sera were tested using Euroimmun Anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA IgG (ELISA) and, because of uncertain estimates, were retested using Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 (Elecsys-N) and Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (Elecsys-S). The second-round sera were concomitantly tested using Elecsys-N/Elecsys-S.
The populations of both rounds matched the overall population (n = 3000), with minor settlement type and age differences. The first-round seroprevalence corrected for the ELISA manufacturer's specificity was 2.78% (95% highest density interval HDI 1.81%–3.80%), corrected using pooled ELISA specificity calculated from published data 0.93% (95% CI 0.00%–2.65%), and based on Elecsys-N/Elecsys-S results 0.87% (95% HDI 0.40%–1.38%). The second-round unadjusted lower limit of seroprevalence on 11 November 2020 was 4.06% (95% HDI 2.97%–5.16%) and on 3 October 2020, unadjusted upper limit was 4.29% (95% HDI 3.18%–5.47%).
SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in Slovenia increased four-fold from late April to October/November 2020, mainly due to a devastating second wave. Significant logistic/methodological challenges accompanied both rounds. The main lessons learned were a need for caution when relying on manufacturer-generated assay evaluation data, the importance of multiple manufacturer-independent assay performance assessments, the need for concomitant use of highly-specific serological assays targeting different SARS-CoV-2 proteins in serosurveys conducted in low-prevalence settings or during epidemic exponential growth and the usefulness of a Bayesian approach for overcoming complex methodological challenges.
Trends in subjective health assesment between 1981 and 2011 as an indicator of persistent social inequalities Background: Historically speaking, public health systems were established to guarantee ...every citizen equal access to health care and to separate the issue of an individual's health from issues of material welbeing. Using social science methodology, the study set out to explore how successful the welfare system in Slovenia was in achieving this goal during the last three decades, i.e. to what extent social inequalities in Slovenia are being reproduced as health inequalities. Methods: The study is based on six waves of Slovenian Public Opinion surveys carried out between 1981 and 2011 on representative samples of the adult Slovenian population. The main dependent variable is the respondent's self-assessed health and the main independent variable is his or her socio-economic status. The relationship between them was examined using Chi-square tests and regression analysis. Results: The thirty year trend shows persisting inequalities in health as throughout the entire period, self-assessed health is significantly lower at the bottom of the educational and income scale. The largest differences between social strata are observed in the 30 to 60 age group when labour market pressures are most pronounced. Conclusions: The results indicate that inequalities in health are almost impossible to eliminate as long as their deeper causes lie in social inequality. An additional factor that decreases self-assessed health in Slovenia compared to Western Europe is the low level of trust in people and social institutions, which is the likely reason why the relatively favourable statistical picture of social inequalities is not translated into an equally favourable picture of subjective health. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Abstract
Background:
This article researches gender inequality in health based on subjective assessments of health, the
accessibility of health care services and trust in the health care system ...between different social categories of women
in Slovenia.
Methods:
The study is based on the Slovenian Public Opinion survey (ISSP Health Module) carried out in 2011 on
representative samples of the adult Slovenian population. In the data, we investigated the gender differences and
difference between different socio-economic categories within the female sub-sample in self-assessed health, and
some other related topics such as: trust in doctors, trust in health care system, access to health care services and
attitude to the health care policy in Slovenia.
Results:
The data shows significant inequalities in self-assessed health between different social strata. Self-assessed
health is significantly lower among women at the bottom of the educational and income scale. The data also reveals
strong support for the preservation of the available public health.
Conclusion:
Neoliberal economic reforms (of health care) affect vulnerable social categories the most, and women
are particularly exposed. The use of women’s unpaid work in the family belongs among the basic (neo)liberal saving
strategies. These want to take more care and health work within families from the shoulders of the state and place
it onto the shoulders of family members, which mainly means women. In these circumstances, it is understandable
that women subjectively assess their health as being worse than men’s. Moreover, conditions are being established
that de facto could lead to worse health in the female population in Slovenia.
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