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Who do citizens blame for the recent European economic crisis? In this paper, we test theories about blame attribution with respect to the economic crisis. We argue that blame for the crisis is partially conditioned by partisan bias and framings of the crisis as being related to globalization. We test the argument with new survey data and a survey experiment from Spain. In the experiment, respondents receive different framings of the economic crisis which are endorsed by different political parties and non-partisan organizations. We obtain the following findings: (i) blame for who is responsible for the economic crisis is greatly affected by partisanship; (ii) making globalization as a cause of the crisis salient exonerates the government of blame, but only for co-partisans of the government; and (iii) citizens are willing to blame other globalization-related factors for the crisis, in particular, European governments and blame the domestic government less. The results expand our understanding of public opinion dynamics during major economic recessions and also suggest conditions under which 'scapegoating' globalization can occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The extreme social circumstances caused by declared COVID-19 pandemic deeply intervene people's everyday life and should not be neglected but seen through the view of social reality pinpointing the 'ordinary' people. In this article, authors explored basic segments of everyday and their subjective perception to what extent sleeping habits, physical inactivity, physical activity, nutritional habits and smoking have changed. Methods The online survey was conducted in nine European countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo*, Italy, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain) in 4108 participants, aged 15–82 years. The survey took place 30–40 days after World Health Organization declared COVID-19 pandemic state, from 15 April to 3 May 2020. Results The results have shown 30 min longer sleeping time, 50% longer physical inactivity time, 65% longer screen time, 43% shorter walking time, 24% shorter sport time and 37% longer physical work time. Additionally, body mass gains (0.3 kg) could be explained in 20.6% with meals sizes, unhealthy food consumption, screen time and sport time. Further, respondents reported more regular meals (44%) and healthier meals with less alcohol consumption and less smoking, which have been positive outcomes of home confinement. Conclusion The findings draw attention to negative changes in everyday praxis (inactivity, body mass gain) after such a short period. Because of possible risk to population's health (especially of countries such as Italy and Spain with serious threat and more stringent measures), findings enable development of recommendations for maintaining healthy lifestyle habits with minimal negative health consequences in similar pandemic circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the human dimensions of forest fires is a crucial, although often overlooked, aspect of wildfire research, since wildfires often have important socio-economic impacts and humans are nowadays the main cause of wildfires in many areas of the world. We carried out a telephone survey (N D345 interviews) in one of the most fire-prone areas in Europe (NW Spain) in order to assess citizens' awareness about wildfire causes and risks, their perception of the value of the vegetation and of administrative measures to fight against fires. Perceptions of respondents about fire causes were in general realistic although fires caused by pyromaniacs and for profit were overestimated, while vegetation management was comparatively underestimated. Citizens were broadly aware of the fire risk associated with different vegetation types, rightly considering native oak forests and agricultural fields as less risky than shrublands and pine and eucalypt plantations. Tree-dominated vegetation was more valued than treeless formations, and native forests more than tree plantations, which seems related to a preference for ecological value over utilitarian considerations. In addition, the value of eucalypt plantations was clearly affected by the education level of respondents, being less valued as the education level increased. Most citizens considered that the administration was not doing enough to fight against fires. The law that compels landowners to reduce fuels in wildland-urban interfaces was considered effective by most respondents (72%), but 50% considered it difficult to implement by landowners. This may explain the poor degree of compliance of this law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]