Nationalist-Religious Ideology and Civic Education:The Israeli Case

Are we riding the fourth wave of democracy,as predicted by Toffler(1984)and Huntington(1991),a post-capitalist,post-global wave?Western liberal democracy is currently responding to the dramatic change in the economic system after capitalism,the coronavirus pandemic,and the growing power of nationalist and fundamentalist ideologies.Does this process indicates a change in Western democracy or is it the end of democracy and what is the role of civic education within it?In Israel,as in other Western countries,the nationalist and fundamentalist ideologies(gained strength,undermining liberalism)threaten the conception of global citizenship and strive to shape a model of an illiberal democracy.In Israel,contrary to other Western countries,they also threaten civic equality and the very existence of the democratic rule.In the absence of a constitution and consensus,Israel is experiencing culture and religious war over values,identity and the concept of“citizenship”as a legal,political,and social framework.Thus,the struggle over civic education reflects the struggle over educational hegemony,as well as over national hegemony.In this process,nationalists and fundamentalists initiate anti-democratic legislation,violate human rights,obstruct government supervisory mechanisms,and expand ideological education in order to change Israel‟s character to a Jewish state rather than a Jewish and democratic state.

What incentives encourage local communities to collect and upload mosquito sound data by using smartphones?A mixed methods study in Tanzania

Background To detect and identify mosquitoes using their characteristic high-pitched sound,we have developed a smartphone application,known as the‘HumBug sensor’,that records the acoustic signature of this sound,along with the time and location.This data is then sent remotely to a server where algorithms identify the species according to their distinctive acoustic signature.Whilst this system works well,a key question that remains is what mechanisms will lead to effective uptake and use of this mosquito survey tool?We addressed this question by working with local communities in rural Tanzania and providing three alternative incentives:money only,short message service(SMS)reminders and money,and SMS reminders only.We also had a control group with no incentive.Methods A multi-site,quantitative empirical study was conducted in four villages in Tanzania from April to August 2021.Consenting participants(n=148)were recruited and placed into one of the three intervention arms:monetary incentives only;SMS reminders with monetary incentives;and SMS reminders only.There was also a control group(no intervention).To test effectiveness of the mechanisms,the number of audio uploads to the server of the four trial groups on their specific dates were compared.Qualitative focus group discussions and feedback surveys were also conducted to explore participants’perspectives on their participation in the study and to capture their experiences of using the HumBug sensor.Results Qualitative data analysis revealed that for many participants(37 out of 81),the main motivation expressed was to learn more about the types of mosquitoes present in their houses.Results from the quantitative empirical study indicate that the participants in the‘control’group switched on their HumBug sensors more over the 14-week period(8 out of 14 weeks)when compared to those belonging to the‘SMS reminders and monetary incentives’trial group.These findings are statistically significant(p<0.05 or p>0.95 under a two-sided z-test),revealing that the provision of monetary incentives and sending SMS reminders did not appear to encourage greater number of audio uploads when compared to the control.Conclusions Knowledge on the presence of harmful mosquitoes was the strongest motive for local communities to collect and upload mosquito sound data via the HumBug sensor in rural Tanzania.This finding suggests that most efforts should be made to improve flow of real-time information back to the communities on types and risks associated with mosquitoes present in their houses.