Focusing on the case of the Czech Republic, this article contributes to the debate on the effect of territorial socioeconomic inequalities on political attitudes. The aim is to determine whether the socioeconomic characteristics of regions influence citizens' attitudes towards the political system of the Czech Republic. To this end, four dimensions of the relationship to the political system are defined, namely the legitimacy of democracy, political discontent, individual disaffection, and institutional disaffection. Using a combination of aggregate-and individual-level data, the article then examines (1) the connection between direct changes in the dimensions of the relationship to the political system and different territorial socioeconomic conditions, and (2) the connection between changes in the strength of individual sources of the given dimensions and the context of different local socioeconomic characteristics. The analyses show that a worse socioeconomic context directly reduces the perceived legitimacy of democracy. In some cases, individual effects increase in strength for the legitimacy of democracy and political discontent, while they weaken for both the dimensions of disaffection and political discontent. Furthermore, the results for the dimension of the legitimacy of democracy show that in regions with poorer socioeconomic characteristics, even the people who are generally a source of support for democracy in society are beginning to be sceptical about this type of regime.
This article presents a synthesis of empirical quantitative findings on the individual-level factors that influence the susceptibility to believe scientific and technological disinformation and the willingness to disseminate it. The review identifies determinants divided into three main categories: socioeconomic status (SES), attitudinal and value orientations, and psychological factors. Key findings indicate that the influence of formal education and economic capital is often moderated, or even overshadowed, by ideological orientation and deeper personality and psychological traits. The intentional dissemination of disinformation is strongly associated with two factors in particular that are part of psychology's Dark Triad theory: narcissism and Machiavellianism. Conversely, cognitive reflection (CRT) emerges as the strongest protective factor. Consequently, effective defence strategies must move away from simplistic fact-checking and focus on developing psychological resilience, metacognition, and critical thinking in recipients. Future research should shift from predominantly focusing on respondents via additive regression modelling towards investigating interaction and moderation effects and thematically towards examining the role of political and business elites as drivers of disinformation narratives.
Various models are used to teach environmental issues, with the potential to integrate civic and environmental education. Although these models provide valuable frameworks for teachers in Central Europe, they are rarely implemented. This article presents four such models, including the models of environmental literacy, citizen science, place-based education and biophilic education, and reviews the current state of research in this area, the main aspects of these models and the challenges involved in their implementation. Next, these models are deconstructed into their vital components and placed within the synthetic Integrated Model for Multidimensional and Civic Education. This model is based on the IMMERSE (Inquiry, Multisensory learning, Meaningful action, Environmental literacy, Reflection, Situated learning and Engagement) elements and may be more suitable for Central and Eastern European countries. This theory-driven synthesis proposes that IMMERSE be used to design longitudinal classroom experiments.
