In times where governments are increasingly unable to solve problems on their own, it is important to understand what motivates citizens to engage in co-production. Drawing on identity theory and on ...a sample of 966 citizens in Zurich, Switzerland, we analyze how public service motivation (PSM) is related to engagement in a digital co-production platform enabling citizens to support public service provision. As our dependent variable, effort intensity in platform use, is a behavioral outcome, we provide insights into the actual behavioral implications of PSM, going beyond self-reports. Using negative binomial regressions, we found a positive relationship between engagement and the PSM dimension "commitment to the public interest", and a negative one with the dimension "compassion". Additionally, social identification with the city moderates the relationship with engagement for certain PSM dimensions. In sum, our study contributes to a better understanding of what motivations drive citizens to collaborate with public organizations, which is an ongoing trend in many countries around the world.
Die Entscheidung, ob eine Leistung in kleinen Gemeinden ausgelagert oder in Eigenerstellung erbracht werden soll, erfolgt vor allem unter dem Druck zur Effizienzsteigerung und gleichzeitigen ...Einsparungen der Kosten in den Verwaltungen, sich wandelnden Anforderungen und Erwartungen, einem steigenden Bedürfnis nach Professionalisierung sowie zunehmender Komplexität der zu bearbeitenden Materien. Durch diese Herausforderungen sehen sich besonders die Kleingemeinden gefordert. Die Studie geht der Frage nach, welche Aufgaben Gemeinden, insbesondere die Kleingemeinden im Kanton Zürich, überhaupt noch selbständig erfüllen und welche Aufgaben schon mehrheitlich ausgelagert wurden. Zudem werden die Gründe eruiert, warum manche Aufgabenbereiche fast ausschliesslich in Eigenerstellung erbracht werden, während anderes fast vollständig ausgelagert wurden.Die Studie basiert auf einer quantitativen Befragung von 51 Kleingemeinden im Kanton Zürich sowie auf Interviews mit sieben Gemeindeschreiber:innen.
The KlimaSeniorinnen judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has been the subject of intense debate for several weeks. One focus was on the question of standing, i.e., who can bring a ...lawsuit connected to climate change and human rights before the ECtHR. However, less attention has been paid to the question of the impact of the judgment on currently pending climate change cases before the ECtHR. This blog post sheds light on “climate change case number four”, a case against Austria primarily challenging the shortcomings of the Austrian Climate Protection Act.
AbstractObjectivesTo examine longitudinal changes in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) seroprevalence and to determine the clustering of children who were seropositive ...within school classes in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland from June to November 2020.DesignProspective cohort study.SettingSwitzerland had one of the highest second waves of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Europe in autumn 2020. Keeping schools open provided a moderate to high exposure environment to study SARS-CoV-2 infections. Children from randomly selected schools and classes, stratified by district, were invited for serological testing of SARS-CoV-2. Parents completed questionnaires on sociodemographic and health related questions.Participants275 classes in 55 schools; 2603 children participated in June-July 2020 and 2552 in October-November 2020 (age range 6-16 years).Main outcome measuresSerology of SARS-CoV-2 in June-July and October-November 2020, clustering of children who were seropositive within classes, and symptoms in children.ResultsIn June-July, 74 of 2496 children with serological results were seropositive; in October-November, the number had increased to 173 of 2503. Overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence was 2.4% (95% credible interval 1.4% to 3.6%) in the summer and 4.5% (3.2% to 6.0%) in late autumn in children who were not previously seropositive, leading to an estimated 7.8% (6.2% to 9.5%) of children who were ever seropositive. Seroprevalence varied across districts (in the autumn, 1.7-15.0%). No significant differences were found among lower, middle, and upper school levels (children aged 6-9 years, 9-13 years, and 12-16 years, respectively). Among the 2223 children who had serology tests at both testing rounds, 28/70 (40%) who were previously seropositive became seronegative, and 109/2153 (5%) who were previously seronegative became seropositive. Symptoms were reported for 22% of children who were seronegative and 29% of children who were newly seropositive since the summer. Between July and November 2020, the ratio of children diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection to those who were seropositive was 1 to 8. At least one child who was newly seropositive was detected in 47 of 55 schools and in 90 of 275 classes. Among 130 classes with a high participation rate, no children who were seropositive were found in 73 (56%) classes, one or two children were seropositive in 50 (38%) classes, and at least three children were seropositive in 7 (5%) classes. Class level explained 24% and school level 8% of variance in seropositivity in the multilevel logistic regression models.ConclusionsWith schools open since August 2020 and some preventive measures in place, clustering of children who were seropositive occurred in only a few classes despite an increase in overall seroprevalence during a period of moderate to high transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the community. Uncertainty remains as to whether these findings will change with the new variants of SARS-CoV-2 and dynamic levels of community transmission.Trial registrationNCT04448717
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