The issue of e-government use is critical in deeply divided societies where the access to social capital is restricted for minorities. E-government use in these societies may differ by ethnic background, size of locality or both. Israel was chosen as a case since it is an example of a deeply divided society. Using data from the Israel’s Social Survey 2015, it was found that the disadvantaged minority has a lower probability of using e-government as compared to other groups. However, when segmenting this population by size of its localities, the stratification structure differs between large and small localities. The conclusion is that the inequality approaches should consider not only the ethnicity but also the size of locality as a factor differentiating between ethnic groups in terms of the specific Internet use.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures implemented to mitigate transmission may increase stress, which, in turn, can be associated with changes in cannabis use. This study examined the associations between health-related and socioeconomic stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, and reported increases in cannabis use. Indirect effects of health-related and socioeconomic stressors on increased cannabis use through cannabis coping motives were also tested. Methods: Cross-sectional survey data, based on responses from a convenience sample of 755 Israeli adults who reported frequent consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes, was analyzed using structural equation models. Results: About 35% of the respondents reported that they agreed to a large/very large extent that their cannabis use had increased since the COVID-19 pandemic had started. Both health and socioeconomic stressors were related to increased cannabis use during the pandemic, and coping motives mediated this relationship. The direct and indirect associations of socioeconomic stressors and increased cannabis use were stronger than the associations of health-related stressors. Conclusions: Cannabis consumption may serve as a means of coping with health and socioeconomic COVID-19 stressors. Particular attention should be placed on socioeconomic stressors as these may be particularly important in understanding coping related cannabis use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

No abstract

This study examined the interactive effect of ethnicity and e-government use on trust in government and of ethnicity and trust in government on e-government use by means of social inequality approaches outlined in Internet sociology studies. The data for the study was obtained from the 2017 Israel Social Survey. It was found that Arabs from small localities with varying levels of trust in government are less likely to use e-government than Israeli Jews with the same levels of trust. Yet they are more likely than Israeli Jews to have some degree of trust in government. Arabs from large localities differ from Israeli Jews in terms of e-government use only when they have some degree of trust in government. However, they do not differ from Israeli Jews regarding the trust itself. The results provide support for the social stratification approach and a justification for treating disadvantaged minorities according to the size of their residential localities.