The importance of race, gender, and religion in naturalization adjudication in the United States.

This study presents an empirical investigation of naturalization adjudication in the United States using new administrative data on naturalization applications decided by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services between October 2014 and March 2018. We find significant group disparities in naturalization approvals based on applicants' race/ethnicity, gender, and religion, controlling for individual applicant characteristics, adjudication years, and variation between field offices. Non-White applicants and Hispanic applicants are less likely to be approved than non-Hispanic White applicants, male applicants are less likely to be approved than female applicants, and applicants from Muslim-majority countries are less likely to be approved than applicants from other countries. In addition, race/ethnicity, gender, and religion interact to produce a certain group hierarchy in naturalization approvals. For example, the probability of approval for Black males is 5 percentage points smaller than that of White females. The probability of approval for Blacks from Muslim-majority countries is 9 percentage points smaller than that of Whites from other countries. The probability of approval for females from Muslim-majority countries is 6 percentage points smaller than that of females from other countries. This study contributes to our understanding of the nature of inequalities present in agency decision-making in the naturalization process.

Naturalization and immigrants' health.

The "healthy immigrant effect" refers to the well-documented fact that immigrants are healthier than natives upon arrival, but their health level converges to that of natives over time. Unfortunately, we know little about whether environmental, institutional, or selective return migration mechanisms are behind the convergence. In this paper, I test whether immigrants' naturalization influences health convergence speed. Using restricted-access Spanish health data from the National and European Health Surveys, I estimate the impact of naturalization on health by exploiting that naturalization is possible after 2 years of residence for immigrants from specific countries and after 10 years for all other immigrants. I find that naturalization worsens immigrants' health and thus accelerates the speed of convergence to natives' health. Increases in employment are potential mechanisms behind this effect.

Competing realities, uncertain diagnoses of infectious disease: Mass self-testing for COVID-19 and liminal bio-citizenship.

Diagnoses of infectious diseases are being transformed as mass self-testing using rapid antigen tests (RATs) is increasingly integrated into public health. Widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic, RATs are claimed to have many advantages over 'gold-standard' polymerase chain reaction tests, especially their ease of use and production of quick results. Yet, while laboratory studies indicate the value of RATs in detecting the SARS-CoV-2 virus antigen, uncertainty surrounds their deployment and ultimate effectiveness in stemming infections. This article applies the analytic lens of biological citizenship (or bio-citizenship) to explore Australia's experience of implementing a RAT-based mass self-testing strategy to manage COVID-19. Drawing on Annemarie Mol's (1999, The Sociological Review, 47(1), 74-89) concept of ontological politics and analysing government statements, scientific articles and news media reporting published during a critical juncture of the strategy's implementation, we explore the kind of bio-citizenship implied by this strategy. Our analysis suggests the emergence of what we call liminal bio-citizenship, whereby citizens are made responsible for self-managing infection risk without the diagnostic certitude this demands. We discuss how the different realities of mass self-testing interact to reinforce this liminal citizenship and consider the implications for the sociology of diagnosis.

Thalassophilia and marine identity: Drivers of 'thick' marine citizenship.

Changing humanity's relationship with the ocean is identified as one of ten key challenges in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). Marine citizenship is one potential policy approach for reducing anthropogenic harms to the ocean and promoting ocean recovery, and there is a need to better understand marine citizenship motivating factors and their interactions. To contribute to a more holistic understanding, we approached this problem using an interdisciplinary, mixed methodology, which prioritised the voices and experiences of active marine citizens. An online survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted to examine factors spanning environmental psychology (values, environmental identity) and human geography (place attachment and dependency). Our data uncovered a unique marine place attachment, or thalassophilia, which is a novel conceptualisation of the human capacity to bond with a type of place beyond human settlements or defined localities. It is the product of strong emotional responses to the sensorial experience of the ocean and shared social or cultural understanding of ocean place identifications. A key driver of deeper marine citizenship is marine place dependency, and it is positively influence by stimulation and non-conformity values, environmental identity, and thalassophilia. We map significant motivating factors to identity process theory and describe a novel marine identity concept. We propose this as an operational mechanism of marine citizenship action, potentially filling the value- and knowledge-action gaps in the context of marine environmental action. This research provides a cornerstone in marine citizenship research by analysing together in one study a multitude of variables, which cross human-ocean relationships and experiences. The identification and characterisation of thalassophilia and marine identity process theory will enable research and practice to move forwards with a clearer framework of the role of the ocean as a place in environmental action.

Naturalization of treated wastewater by a constructed wetland in a water-scarce Mediterranean region.

The effluents from conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), even if accomplishing quality regulations, substantially differ in their characteristics with those of waters in natural environments. Constructed wetlands (CWs) serve as transitional ecosystems within WWTPs, mitigating these differences and restoring natural features before water is poured into the natural environment. Our study focused on an experimental surface-flow CW naturalizing the WWTP effluent in a semiarid area in Eastern Spain. Despite relatively low pollutant concentrations entering the CW, it effectively further reduced settled organic matter and nitrogen. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) reaching the CW was mainly protein-like, yet optical property changes in the DOM indicated increased humification, aromaticity, and stabilization as it flowed through the CW. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that the CW released less abundant but more active bacterial populations than those received. MiSeq Illumina sequencing highlighted changes in the prokaryotic community composition, with phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria dominating the CW outflow. Functional prediction tools (FaproTax and PICRUSt2) demonstrated a shift towards microbial guilds aligned with those of the natural aquatic environments, increased aerobic chemoheterotrophs, photoautotrophs, and metabolic reactions at higher redox potentials. Enhanced capabilities for degrading plant material correlated well with changes in the DOM pool. Our findings emphasize the role of CWs in releasing biochemically stable DOM and functionally suited microbial populations for natural receiving environments. Consequently, we propose CWs as a naturalization nature-based solution (NBS) in water-scarce regions like the Mediterranean, where reclaimed discharged water can significantly contribute to ecosystem's water resources compared to natural flows.

The impact of leader member exchange quality and differentiation on counterproductive and citizenship behavior in health care teams.

BACKGROUND: Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) may increase service quality. In contrast, counterproductive work behavior (CWB) may undermine patient safety. Efforts to increase OCB and reduce CWB rely on a good understanding of their antecedents, yet there is a lack of research in health care to inform such endeavors. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of leadership, specifically leader-member exchange (LMX), in reducing CWB and increasing OCB in health care teams. METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: Team survey data were collected from 75 teams in U.S. health services organizations. Polynomial regression and response surface analysis was used to investigate our hypotheses. RESULTS: For OCB, the response surface along the line of incongruence (a3) was positive and significant, and for CWB, a3 was negative and significant. CONCLUSION: The results of polynomial regression and response surface analysis indicate that OCB increases when LMX quality is high and that LMX differentiation is comparatively lower. In contrast, CWB increases when LMX differentiation is high, whereas LMX quality is lower. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: These findings provide useful suggestions to promote valuable extra-role behaviors in health care teams. Health care team leaders should aim to develop strong exchange relationships with all members if they wish to increase citizenship behavior and decrease counterproductive behavior. Building positive exchange relationships with only a few team members is likely to undermine citizenship behavior and increase counterproductive behavior.

Examining citizenship regimes in Assam through a structural and cultural violence lens.

In this paper, we examine citizenship crisis in the Northeast Indian state of Assam through the lenses of structural and cultural violence. In 2019, close to two million people in Assam were disenfranchised by updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The vast majority of those disenfranchised are Miya people who have been subjected to legacies of persecution and violence since the early 19th century during British colonial rule. We map the contours of the citizenship crisis by centering the struggles of Miya communities who are most deeply impacted by violent citizenship regimes. Using a structural and cultural violence lens, we elucidate the linkages between colonial histories, (post)colonial policies, and institutional practices on the one hand and Miya people's everyday struggles on the other. Across these analyses, we demonstrate how current citizenship regimes operate as a form of state-sanctioned violence against Miya people. The implications of these analyses for rethinking contemporary notions of citizenship and belonging for community-engaged scholarship are discussed.

Shaping Citizenship in the Classroom: Peer Influences on Moral Disengagement, Social Goals, and a Sense of Peer Community.

Despite the important role of peers in the social process of classroom citizenship, the peer influence related to moral disengagement, social goals, and a sense of peer community remain unclear. To this end, it was examined to what extent youth become similar to their friends in moral disengagement, social goals, and a sense of peer community. Participants were 283 South Korean third to sixth graders (Mage = 9.60 years, SD = 0.97; 51.6% girls) who completed an online survey for moral disengagement, social goals, the sense of peer community and friendship network across the beginning (Time 1) and end (Time 2) of the school semester (September to December). Longitudinal social network analyses indicated that youth became more similar to their friends concerning moral disengagement and a sense of peer community, but did not select friends based on these aspects. The strength of these influence effects varied in terms of different levels of these aspects. Specifically, youth were more likely to become similar to their friends at lower levels of moral disengagement. Youth tended to be similar to the friends' level of sense of peer community. This tendency was relatively strong at the lowest and the highest levels of a sense of peer community. Future research should address the role of friendship in shaping classroom citizenship and the importance of classroom daily teaching practice in youth citizenship development.

Organizational citizenship behavior in the military context: Are we missing the mark?

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), discretionary behavior that promotes organizational effectiveness, is a well-developed construct with great importance to the military. Despite its significance, few studies have examined OCB within the armed services. Those that have tended to use existing OCB scales without additional validation and only minimal adaptation to the military context. This is problematic because of the distinctive features of the American armed services, such as the substantial power leaders possess to compel behavior and the uniqueness of behaviors that create military value. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate five OCBs and a second-order OCB factor that are fully discretionary and produce unique and substantial value for the military. These military OCBs include sacrificing, providing positive word-of-mouth endorsement of the military, voluntary retention in the organization, voluntary participation in activities, and use of services that improve welfare and readiness. Some of these behaviors are so vital that the military could not achieve its mission without them. This study also seeks to understand and assess antecedents of military OCB. Using survey data from several Army populations and a series of validation analyses, the results reveal five military OCB factors, a second-order OCB construct, and four new military OCB antecedents. Opportunities and implications for the use of military OCBs are developed and the limitations of the study are examined.

Global Citizenship: Cultural, Religious and Spiritual-An Exploratory Scoping Review.

This paper seeks to provide an exploration of the interplay between global citizenship, culture, religion and spirituality. Arksey and O'Malley's (Int J Soc Res Methodol 8(1):19-32, 2005) scoping literature review framework was utilised to qualify the research question, develop inclusion and exclusion criteria, select relevant studies, chart data and collate information. From the available peer-reviewed literature, a total of 44 articles were initially identified using the selection criteria, 19 of which were subsequently analysed. Eight main themes were identified within the literature; (1) development of global citizenship identity, (2) prosocial values and perspectives, (3) cultural competence and influence, (4) religion and religious teachings, (5) immersion experiences, (6) normative influence, (7) political compass and (8) spirituality. The literature suggests a clear link between global citizenship and spirituality. There were, however, some inconsistencies in the relationship between formalised religion and global citizenship across the studies, with evidence of religion both contributing to and detracting from prosocial values related to global citizenship. Additionally, cultural experiences, including immersion experiences, volunteering and study aboard were all positively linked to prosocial values related to global citizenship. Global citizenship provides individuals with an opportunity to develop intercultural skills, respect, sensitivity, empathy and concern for all of humanity. It is recommended that future global citizenship research should ensure adequate definitions of religion and spirituality, with caution to not generalise the two terms into one concept. Additional research into the relationship between spiritualty and global citizenship could provide a strong basis to increase understanding of the contributing factors to global citizenship identity.

Small genome size and variation in ploidy levels support the naturalization of vascular plants but constrain their invasive spread.

Karyological characteristics are among the traits underpinning the invasion success of vascular plants. Using 11 049 species, we tested the effects of genome size and ploidy levels on plant naturalization (species forming self-sustaining populations where they are not native) and invasion (naturalized species spreading rapidly and having environmental impact). The probability that a species naturalized anywhere in the world decreased with increasing monoploid genome size (DNA content of a single chromosome set). Naturalized or invasive species with intermediate monoploid genomes were reported from many regions, but those with either small or large genomes occurred in fewer regions. By contrast, large holoploid genome sizes (DNA content of the unreplicated gametic nucleus) constrained naturalization but favoured invasion. We suggest that a small genome is an advantage during naturalization, being linked to traits favouring adaptation to local conditions, but for invasive spread, traits associated with a large holoploid genome, where the impact of polyploidy may act, facilitate long-distance dispersal and competition with other species.

The dynamics of discrimination, resilience, and social support in the mental health of migrants with and without citizenship.

Perceived discrimination has a significant negative impact on indices of mental health. One potential buffering factor in this is psychological resilience, which encompasses the ability to recover from or adapt successfully to adversity and use coping strategies, such as positive reappraisal of adverse events. This study examines the role of resilience as well as social support in buffering these effects in groups of migrants both with and without local residence permits. We conducted a non-experimental observational study with a cross-sectional design, collecting a variety of health variables in migrant groups in a naturalistic setting, during the COVID-19 period. The total sample consisted of 201 subjects, 88 of whom had a German residence title and 113 did not. These two groups were compared on the following variables of interest: social support, resilience, discrimination, and general mental health. There was no evidence for a difference in mental health between migrants with and without citizenship. However, our results suggested that migrants without citizenship reported less social support, less resilience, and more discrimination, which continued to have a distinct effect on mental health beyond resilience and social support. Psychological resilience mediated the link between social support and mental health, as well as being related to the perception of discrimination in the migrant group without citizenship. In conclusion, our models of migrants with and without citizenship showed that resilience specifically directly affected perceived discrimination in those without citizenship. The high levels of discrimination and lack of social support, particularly in the migrant group without citizenship, are concerning and suggest a focus for future interventions.

Disparities in unmet needed paid leave across race, ethnicity and citizenship status among employed Californians: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: Paid leave is essential for public health in order to prevent presenteeism (i.e., working while sick), provide an economic safety net for workers when ill, and promote family well-being through parental leave. While racial and ethnic disparities in unmet paid leave (or needing but not being able to take paid leave) are well documented, little evidence of the intersecting role of citizenship status exists. This study examined disparities in unmet paid leave across race, ethnicity and citizenship status. STUDY DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study of employed adults in California, USA. METHODS: Weighted, multivariable logistic regressions were used to assess disparities in unmet needed paid leave across race, ethnicity and citizenship status categories, including non-citizen, naturalised, and citizen Latinx and Asian respondents, and naturalised and non-citizen White respondents, relative to US-born White respondents, controlling for demographic, familial, health-related and work-related covariates. This study examined a representative sample of Californian adults using the 2021 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS). A total of 24,453 people completed the CHIS from March to October 2021. This analysis was restricted to individuals who had complete data, were employed at the time of the survey and were part of the study race and ethnic groups of interest, leading to an analytical sample of 12,485 respondents. RESULTS: While 16.9% of employed Californians reported forgoing needed paid leave, disparities across race, ethnicity and citizenship status were evident. Specifically, 31.8% of non-citizen Latinx respondents, compared to 11% of US-born White respondents, did not use paid leave when they needed it due to fear of job loss, fear of negative impacts on job advancement, employers denying it, lack of information or knowledge regarding the process or ineligibility. In the fully adjusted analyses, respondents identifying as non-citizen Latinx (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.57, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.94-3.40), naturalised Latinx (aOR = 1.90, 95% CI = 1.46-2.48), US-born Latinx (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.06-1.60), non-citizen Asian (aOR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.69-3.23) and naturalised Asian (aOR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.35-2.34) had a statistically significantly higher likelihood of experiencing unmet needed paid leave compared to US-born White respondents. CONCLUSIONS: Despite its importance for health, disparities across race, ethnicity and citizenship status exist in those who experience unmet paid leave. It is recommended that the administrative and enforcement agencies in California further communicate eligibility, facilitate the application process and enforce equitable access to paid leave for all workers.

Group citizenship behaviour in healthcare organization, doctor-patient relationship, work engagement and turnover intention: A moderated mediation model.

The effective functioning of health care organisations depends on the inter-professional collaboration among healthcare professionals from diverse backgrounds, representing different work units, to provide quality services. This study aims to understand how group citizenship behaviour (GCB) that supports other work groups may moderate the relationship between doctor-patient relationship (DPR), Work Engagement (WE) and Turnover Intention (TI). The data for this study were collected through two waves of questionnaire survey at a tertiary public hospital in China. The hypothesised model was tested by Hayes' PROCESS macro. There were significant differences of perceived GCB across different professional units with work units practicing a multidisciplinary working approach and working in the high-stake working environment reported higher levels of GCB. The results show that WE mediates the relationships between DPR and TI and GCB accentuates the positive relationship between DPR and WE. Specifically, the path between DPR and WE was stronger for individuals with high perceived GCB than those with low perceived GCB. The study contributes to the development of Job Demands-Resources model with integrating GCB into the model and enriching the challenge job demand conceptualisation by focussing on DPR in Chinese health care setting. In practice, the hospital administrators should encourage GCB to improve organizational effectiveness and doctors' attitudes.

Building the Bridge to a Participatory Citizenship: Curricular Integration of Communal Environmental Issues in School Projects Supported by the Internet of Things.

Generally, there is much to praise about the rise in acknowledging the need for young citizens to exercise their rights and duties, but the belief remains that this is not yet entrenched in young citizens' overall democratic involvement. A lack of citizenship and engagement in community issues was revealed by a recent study conducted by the authors in a secondary school from the outskirts of Aveiro, Portugal, during the 2019/2020 school year. Under the umbrella of a Design-Based Research methodological framework, citizen science strategies were implemented in the context of teaching, learning, and assessment, and at the service of the educational project of the target school, in a STEAM approach, and under Domains of Curricular Autonomy activities. The study's findings suggest that to build the bridge for participatory citizenship, teachers should engage students in collecting and analyzing data regarding communal environmental issues in a Citizen Science approach supported by the Internet of Things. The new pedagogies addressing the lack of citizenship and engagement in community issues promoted students' involvement at school and in the community, contributed to inform municipal education policies, and promoted dialogue and communication between local actors.

Relationships between job burnout, ethical climate and organizational citizenship behaviour among registered nurses: A cross-sectional study.

AIM: This study aimed to investigate the levels of nurses' organizational citizenship behaviour and the associations between job burnout and ethical climate with organizational citizenship behaviour. BACKGROUND: Organizational citizenship behaviour improves adverse outcomes led by nursing shortage. However, the associations between three dimensions of job burnout and organizational citizenship behaviour are inconsistent, and little is known about whether ethical climate is related to organizational citizenship behaviour in nurses. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 1157 nurses were selected using convenience sampling from April to October 2019. Self-report surveys assessed nurses' organizational citizenship behaviour, emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, personal accomplishment and perceptions of ethical climate. RESULTS: Mean organizational citizenship behaviour was high among nurses. The regression model showed that job burnout and ethical climate explained an additional 38.6% of the variance in organizational citizenship behaviour over and above sociodemographic factors, with 44.9% of the total variance. CONCLUSION: Nurses' organizational citizenship behaviour was at a relatively high level. Depersonalization was negatively associated with organizational citizenship behaviour while personal accomplishment and ethical climate were positively related to organizational citizenship behaviour. Therefore, nurse leaders are encouraged to take measures to help nurses reduce job burnout and create a favourable ethical climate for increasing nurses' organizational citizenship behaviour.

The citizenship shield: Mediated and moderated links between immigration status, discrimination, food insecurity, and negative health outcomes for latinx immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A framework termed "the citizenship shield" is introduced to conceptualize how legal protections buffer against negative health outcomes among Latinx immigrants in the United States. In this study, we tested the citizenship shield framework in the context of the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latinx immigrants. We investigated the connection between immigration status, discrimination, food insecurity, and negative health outcomes. Analyses involved testing mediation and moderation models among a community-based sample of 536 Latinx immigrants holding five statuses (i.e., U.S. citizenship, permanent residency, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, undocumented, and temporary status). Results suggested that food insecurity mediated the link between discrimination and negative impacts from the pandemic for Latinx immigrants across all statuses. Follow up analyses suggested that two of the three paths were moderated by immigration status. This research provides novel, important data to inform health interventions and federal policy targeted for the most vulnerable immigrants in the United States.

Searching for a democratic equalizer: Citizenship education's moderating effect on the relationship between a political home and internal political efficacy.

Internal political efficacy (IPE) is an important yet unequally distributed driver of political action. Following cultural sociological explanations for political disengagement, we study how students' political home environment reproduces inequalities in IPE and how citizenship education moderates this. We test whether citizenship education compensates, reproduces, or accelerates inequalities in IPE due to differences in one's political home environment. These moderating effects are tested for three components of citizenship education; the number of civic learning experiences, open classroom climate for discussion, and active student participation at school. We consider the school a potential equalizer and a segregated breeding ground for democracy. Based on multilevel analyses employing cross-sectional data (3838 students across 147 schools) gathered to test the attainment targets in citizenship education among Flemish senior high school students (Belgium), we show that privileged students receive more citizenship education. However, each citizenship education component increases IPE and has a small yet significant compensation effect. This paper makes theoretical and empirical contributions to the literature on inequalities in political socialization processes while critically investigating the school's functioning as a democratic equalizer.

Rights for all? Living conditions and (de)citizenship of adults with intellectual and complex disabilities in Portugal.

BACKGROUND: In 2009, Portugal ratified the UN CRPD and a turn to a rights-based approach in disability law and policy has intensified since. It thus becomes important to understand whether these legal changes are furthering the social inclusion of adults with intellectual and complex disabilities. METHOD: Questionnaires were applied to a stratified sample of 127 adults with intellectual and complex disabilities attending social care and vocational training programmes across the country. RESULTS: Participants reported low rates of social participation, and many (49%) were found to live below the poverty line. High rates of discrimination and violence and feelings of loneliness and sadness were also reported, which can be strong indicators of the oppression that many of them daily endure. CONCLUSION: Adults with intellectual and complex disabilities in Portugal face exclusion, discrimination, and violence. The poverty and isolation in which many of them live compounds their (de)citizenship status in Portuguese society.