Russia Pew Survey: Recent Pew Survey shows Global trust in Russia and its leadership at its lowest level ever.

According to a report released Monday by the Pew Research Center, the global perception of Russia and its leader, Vladimir Putin, is at an all-time low.

The study, conducted across 24 nations, found that, on average, 82% of respondents say they have little or no confidence in the Russian leader to "do the right thing regarding world affairs."

Read more at :https://www.dw.com

EU: Euro-barometer survey: SMEs and Cybercrime

28% of European SMEs have experienced at least one type of cybercrime in 2021. SMEs are very concerned about the risk of hacking online bank accounts (32%) and phishing, account takeover or impersonation attacks (31%), and viruses and spyware or malware (29%). This Eurobarometer survey conducted on the phone addresses the impact of cybercrime on small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). Key topics covered by the survey include: the extent to which SMEs’ staff are aware about cybercrime risks; the level of concern about cybercrime among SMEs; experiences of SMEs with cybercrime over the last 12 months and SMEs’ preferred channels for reporting cybercrime. The COVID-19 crisis led to an increased digital transformation for small and medium sized enterprises and at the same to a higher exposure to cybercriminal activities.

Read more at: SMEs and Cybercrime - May 2022 - - Eurobarometer survey

EU -Open Society: New Report Finds Overwhelming Support Among Europeans for Open Society Values

Over 90 percent of Europeans surveyed in recent research by German think tank d|part and the Open Society European Policy Institute believe that the rule of law, pluralism, and the protection of individual rights are essential for a good society. As part of a collaborative project called Voices on Values, researchers asked more than 6,000 Europeans in six countries what they think about values such as media freedom, pluralism, and protection of minorities—and found strong support.

“Across Europe, there are politicians who believe talking about values loses votes, but this research shows that hidden under all the populist hullaballoo about an ‘illiberal Europe’ is a huge well of support for liberal values,” said Heather Grabbe, director of the Open Society European Policy Institute. “Politicians should not assume that just because people hold some closed society values, they also reject the open society ones.”

On average, 91 percent of Europeans consider the values associated with more open societies to be essential or “very essential.” Freedom of expression is the top priority for people in all six countries—France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, and Poland—followed by the right to criticize the government. When presented with lists of open and closed society attributes, people often chose items from both lists. Fifty-nine percent of respondents valued attributes associated with both open societies and closed societies, debunking the myth that Europeans are polarized in opposing camps. In fact, the majority of respondents did not regard open and closed society values as mutually exclusive. Just five percent chose closed society values only, such as cultural homogeneity and unquestioning media support for the government.

Even in countries with populist governments, support for open society values is strong:

• In Hungary, 94 percent believe in freedom of expression and 86 percent that media should be able to criticize the government.
• Poland has strong support for open society values, with over 70 percent believing newcomers should be treated equally and 80 percent that minority rights should be protected.
• Ninety-five percent of Italians believe in free speech, and 78 percent support the equal treatment of newcomers.
• Support for NGOs actively engaging with governments is the highest in Hungary and Poland—where NGOs have been attacked by authorities.

“Most people are more complex in their thinking than many politicians believe. For most it is no contradiction to value, for example, national cultural traditions highly and at the same time consider the protection minority rights important,” says Researcher Jan Eichhorn of the Berlin think tank d|part. “Rather than assuming that people just take extreme positions, politicians should try to better address the hidden majority that wants both aspects to be dealt with well.”

“This research shows the potential for bringing Europeans back together,” commented Grabbe. “Political campaigns in the run-up to the European elections should look for the common ground, which is proved to be much bigger than it seems in a debate dominated by voices of division and blame.”

Read more: New Report Finds Overwhelming Support Among Europeans for Open Society Value

Britain: Survey shows: Over half of Britons (55%) see EU membership as a benefit - what now?

The 2017 'Parlemeter' survey, which looks at public perceptions of EU membership as well as attitudes towards Parliament, its priorities, actions and mission, finds that the share of all EU citizens who believe that their country has benefited from EU membership is 64%, an increase of four percentage points compared to 2016.

In Britain 55% consider membership to have been of benefit to the country. Conversely the number of Britons who believe the UK has not benefited from EU membership has dropped by 7 percentage points to 27%.

47% of EU citizens and 40% of Brits feel that their voice counts in the EU, the best result since the European elections 2009.

The Parlemeter survey confirms the citizens' increasingly favourable view of the EU, continuing a trend visible in surveys since 2016.

EP President Antonio Tajani welcomed the results, which showed that, "in general, people increasingly see the EU as a key player in tackling the big challenges and protecting them against common threats such as terrorism, unemployment or poverty and exclusion."

On Parliament's image, the share of citizens who have a neutral image of the European Parliament is 42%, while 33% have a positive image, up eight points within one year. In the UK, 27% of respondents have a positive image of the European Parliament - a growth of 4 percentage point in the last 12 months.

European citizens also clearly expect the EU to help protect them against certain threats. When asked which threats EU should focus on, both Britons and EU citizens cited terrorism (65% and 58% respectively) as a top priority. This was followed by poverty and exclusion (34% and 42%) and unemployment (29% and 43%). Interestingly less than a quarter of Britons listed uncontrolled migration as a top threat compared to 35% of all EU citizens.

When it comes to EU's objectives, Britons feel that the EU should protect the freedom to travel, work and study across the EU as a matter of priority (46%). This was closely followed by fundamental right and freedoms (43%), safety in terms of health standards (31%) and environment (28%). EU citizens expect the Union to safeguard fundamental rights (44%), freedom to travel, work and study across the EU (36%), labour rights (34%), adequate pensions (34%) and economic well-being (33%).

The 2017 Parlemeter survey is based on face-to-face interviews with 27,881 Europeans, aged 15 or more, in all EU 28 member states, between 23 September and 2 October 2017.

Read more: Over half of Britons see EU membership as a benefit: survey — EUbusiness.com | EU news, business and politics

Central Europe’s Outlook on the EU and Foreign Policy - by Milan Nič, Vít Dostál

A consortium of four Central European think tanks has published and presented a unique regional survey on foreign policy trends in the four Visegrad Group (V4) countries—the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.

The study is based on data collected in mid-2015 that allowed the authors to examine and compare the views held by over 400 foreign policy experts and opinion makers from the V4. The survey looked at a variety of national and European policy issues such as foreign and EU policy priorities, allies and partners, successes and failures, cooperation among the Visegrad countries, EU policies, and transatlantic relations.

The survey was finalized at the beginning of September as the V4 leaders closed ranks amid Europe’s migration crisis to resist the EU’s refugee relocation mechanism. The leaders also reduced their previous differences of opinion on Russia and the Ukraine crisis.

An analysis of the responses gives an insight into the divisions and overlaps among national visions and perceptions in the Visegrad region, as well as expectations in the European context.

The results indicate several interesting trends. First of all, the Visegrad Group will remain a cohesive bloc on the EU level on some relevant issues such as energy and migration. Perceptions of priorities on the national and the EU levels overlap a lot. Also, bilateral relations within the Visegrad Group are now perceived as excellent—which has not always been the case and is part of the success of EU integration and Visegrad cooperation.

While the ongoing migration crisis has brought about a major parting between Berlin and the V4 capitals, Central Europeans still consider Germany their most important partner.

On the future of EU integration, Visegrad expectations are quite divergent and fragmented. Poles and Czech expect more differentiated (multispeed) integration, Hungarians think that larger member states will increasingly dominate, and Slovaks—the only eurozone country in the grouping—expect a reinforcing of the euro area.

Read more: Central Europe’s Outlook on the EU and Foreign Policy - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Auto Industry: VW Still More Popular Than GM, Chrysler

Volkswagen has confessed to equipping millions of diesel cars with software intended to fool emissions tests, especially in the United States, but so far the German auto company is hanging in there popularity-wise. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted on September 22-23, 2015 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. 

Read more: VW Still More Popular Than GM, Chrysler - Rasmussen Reports™

The third European Quality of Life Survey

Fieldwork for the third European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) took place from the end of September 2011 to early February 2012 in the 27 European Union Member States. The survey was published  in September 2013.

The report of the findings, Quality of life in Europe: Impacts of the crisis, is now online.  It can also be downloaded as a PDF file  .

European Quality of Life Survey 2012

Food Industry: The Ethics of Big Food

Last month, Oxfam, the international aid organization, launched a campaign called “Behind the Brands.” The goal is to assess the transparency of the world’s ten biggest food and beverage companies concerning how their goods are produced, and to rate their performance on sensitive issues like the treatment of small-scale farmers, sustainable water and land use, climate change, and exploitation of women.

Consumers have an ethical responsibility to be aware of how their food is produced, and the big brands have a corresponding obligation to be more transparent about their suppliers, so that their customers can make informed choices about what they are eating. In many cases, the biggest food companies themselves do not know how they perform on these issues, betraying a profound lack of ethical responsibility on their part.

Nestlé scored highest on transparency, as they provide information on at least some of their commodity sources and audit systems. But even its rating is only “fair.” General Mills was at the bottom of the ranking.

In addition to this lack of transparency, Oxfam’s report identifies several deficiencies common to all of the Big 10 food companies. They are not providing small-scale farmers with an equal opportunity to sell into their supply chains, and when small-scale farmers do have the opportunity to sell to the big brands’ suppliers, they may not receive a fair price for their product.

The Big 10 are also not taking sufficient responsibility to ensure that their larger-scale farm suppliers pay a decent living wage to their workers. There are 450 million wage workers in agriculture worldwide, and in many countries they are often inadequately paid, with 60% living in poverty.

Some of the Big 10 are doing more than others to develop ethical policies in these areas. Unilever has committed itself to sourcing more raw materials from small-scale farmers, and has pledged 100% sustainable sourcing for all of its main commodities by 2020. This policy gave Unilever the highest score on openness to small farmers, with a rating of “fair.” Danone, General Mills, and Kellogg’s were at the bottom, with a rating of “very poor.”

Read more: The Ethics of Big Food | New Europe

Survey: Obama Still Popular in Europe, Romney Unknown to One-in-three

The 11^th annual Transatlantic Trends survey out today reveals that transatlantic majorities still approve of U.S. President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, and that Mitt Romney is largely an unknown in Europe.
Transatlantic Trends 2012 (www.transatlantictrends.org) shows 82% of Europeans said they had a favorable opinion of the American president.

When Europeans were asked about Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee, 38% of respondents either said they did not know or refused to answer, and 39% said their view was unfavorable; 23% reported a favorable view.

The survey of European and American public opinion also shows that despite the economic crisis, 61% of Europeans still considered membership in the EU to be a good thing for their economies. The euro currency, however, fared much worse in public opinion, with 57% saying the currency had been or would be bad for their economy. When asked whether their country should leave the eurozone, one-in-four respondents in Spain (27%) and Germany (26%) agreed.

Fifty-two percent of Europeans approve of the way German Chancellor Angela Merkel has handled the economic crisis, but there was a clear North-South split in her ratings. Approval was high in France (64%) Germany (63%), and Sweden (61%), and disapproval was highest in Italy, Spain (both 63%), and Portugal (61%), three countries hardest hit by the economic crisis.
Read more: Survey: Obama Still Popular in Europe, Romney Unknown to One-in-three |

J-ENT: US SURVEY-25% OF WOMEN 18-34 PREFER BEING “AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL” THAN WIN NOBEL PEACE PRIZE BUT 75 % WOULD SHAVE HEAD TO SAVE A STRANGER

For the complete report from J-ENT click on this link

US SURVEY-25% OF WOMEN 18-34 PREFER BEING “AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL” THAN WIN NOBEL PEACE PRIZE BUT 75 % WOULD SHAVE HEAD TO SAVE A STRANGER

Oxygen Media today released a study, conducted by TNS, into the minds of women (18-34) and their personal relationship to outer beauty versus inner beauty. Overall the study, which interviewed more than 2,000 adults, paints a surprisingly complex portrait of today’s women who sometimes walk a fine line of vanity and morality. The poll covers five key themes in women’s lives – appearance, fame & fortune, friendships, relationships and current events/finance. Surprisingly nearly 25% of women would rather win “America’s Next Top Model” than the Nobel Peace Prize. However, putting physical appearance aside, 75% of women said that they would be willing to shave their heads to save the life of a stranger. Body consciousness is still important with nearly 25% of women saying they’d rather be thin than smart.

And while tech savvy women live and die by their PDAs, an astonishing number — 88% of young women 18-34 — would give up their cell phone, jewelry and makeup to keep a friendship. Although loyal to their friends to the point where they’d give up their most prized possessions, there’s still 26% of women 18-34 who would make their best friend fat for life, if it meant they could be thin.

newsobserver.com: US economy: Gloom pervades AICPA business survey - by Alan M.Wolf

For the complete report from the newsobserver.com click on this link

Gloom pervades AICPA business survey by - by Alan M.Wolf

In a survey of 1,606 financial officials conducted by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School showed that only 9 percent expect the economy to begin to improve before the second half of 2009. And 48 percent see no improvement until 2010 or later. They blame the credit crisis, increasing unemployment and declines in consumer spending and consumer confidence.

"CPAs are trained to be objective and analytical and are not prone to hype and emotion, so when they foresee our economic problems extending well into 2009 and beyond, it is a troubling forecast," said Arleen Thomas, AICPA senior vice president, in a prepared statement.