Skip to main content

Engaged Online: Social Media and Youth Civic Engagement in Kenya

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Digital Activism in the Social Media Era

Abstract

Historically, new technologies have led to major political, social and economic transformations. Social Networking Sites have become very popular, especially among youth. They have created new, exciting and convenient platforms for people to exchange information freely with little or no filters. They have altered people’s interactions, giving a larger base of people greater lateral and horizontal communication capabilities. Declining enthusiasm, growing apathy and high levels of cynicism among young people in civic and political sphere is major concern. However, young people spend more time online and social media platforms can be used to engage them. This study is based on the growing popularity of social media and their utilization in civic spaces. It relies on a survey of 600 university students in Kenya, aged between 18 and 35 and focus group discussions. The study found low levels of civic participation among young people in Kenya which points to a detached and disengaged youth. However, the findings indicate that social media have been utilized as effective platforms of social mobilization for citizens. The boundless nature of social media provides unlimited space to voice opinions, positions and political agenda to an expansive audience and helps in mainstreaming peripheral Issues and problems. The power of social media lies in their power to facilitate interactivity, sharing of uncensored information, creating online movements, bridging connections around a common cause, dissemination of information, and bypassing mainstream media and government restrictions. The study concludes that though social media do not directly influence offline engagement, online engagement can be used to supplement and support offline efforts.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    www.internetlivestats.com

  2. 2.

    www.statista.com.

References

  • Adler, P. S., & Kwon, S.-W. (2002). Social capital: Prospects for a new concept. Academy of management review, 27(1), 17–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Albarran, A.B., Anderson, T., Bejar, L.G., Bussart, A.L., Daggett, E., Gibson, S.,…Horst, J.L. (2007). “What happened to our audience?” Radio and new technology uses and gratifications among young adult users. Journal of Radio Studies, 14(2), 92–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barber, B.R., Mattson, K., & Peterson, J. (1997). The state of “electronically enhanced democracy”: A survey of the internet. New Brunswick, NJ: Wath Whitman center for the culture and politics of democracy, Department of Politics Science, Rutgers University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bauerlein, M. (2008). The dumbest generation: How the digital age stupefies young Americans and jeopardizes our future (or, don’t trust anyone under 30). New York: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumgartner, J. C., & Morris, J. S. (2010). MyFaceTube politics: Social networking web sites and political engagement of young adults. Social Science Computer Review, 28(1), 24–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behnke, P. (2010). Social media and politics: Online social networking and political communication in Asia. Singapore: Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, S.E. (1997). Why young Americans hate politics, and what we should do about it. PS: Political Science & Politics, 30(01), 47–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, W.L., Wells, C., & Rank, A. (2009). Young citizens and civic learning: Two paradigms of citizenship in the digital age. Citizenship Studies, 13(2), 105–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bimber, B., & Davis, R. (2003). Campaigning online: The Internet in US elections. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, D. (2006). Friends, friendsters, and myspace top 8: Writing community into being on social network sites. First Monday, 11, 12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, D. (2010). Streams of content, limited attention: The flow of information through social media. EDUCAUSE Review, 45(5), 26–36.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, D., & Ellison, N. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, 13, 210–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P., & Wacquant, L. J. (1992). An invitation to reflexive sociology: University of Chicago press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brandtzæg, P.B., Følstad, A., & Mainsah, H. (2012). Designing for youth civic engagement in social media. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the IADIS International Conference of Web Based Communities and Social Media, Lisbon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brandtzæg, P.B., Haugstveit, I.M., Lüders, M., & Følstad, A. (2015, April). Participation Barriers to Youth Civic Engagement in Social Media. In Ninth International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media, Oxford, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brehm, J., & Rahn, W. (1997). Individual-level evidence for the causes and consequences of social capital. American Journal of Political Science, 41(3), 999–1023.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bucy, E.P., & Gregson, K.S. (2001). Media participation a legitimizing mechanism of mass democracy. New Media & Society, 3(3), 357–380.

    Google Scholar 

  • Capella, J.N., & Jamieson, K.H. (1997). Spiral of Cynicism: The Press and the Public Good. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chesoni, A., Muigai, S., & Kanyinga, K. (2006). Promoting Women’s Human Rights and Enhancing Gender Equality in Kenya: Sida

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, A. (2010). Social media: Political uses and implications for representative democracy. Ottawa: Library of Parliament.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, C. J., & Kahne, J. (2011). Participatory politics. New media and youth political action. Chicago, IL: MacArthur Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman, S. (2001). Online campaigning. Parliamentary Affairs, 54(4), 679–688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK). (2016). Quarterly statistics report, first quarter sector statistics. Report for the Financial year 2015–2016, Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dahlberg, L. (2001). Extending the public sphere through cyberspace: The case of Minnesota E-Democracy. First Monday, 6(3). doi:10.5210/fm.v6i3.838.

  • Davis, R. (1999). The web of politics: The Internet’s impact on the American political system. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Debatin, B., Lovejoy, J.P., Horn, A.K., & Hughes, B.N. (2009). Facebook and online privacy: Attitudes, behaviors, and unintended consequences. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 15(1), 83–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delli Carpini, M. X. (2000). Gen. com: Youth, civic engagement, and the new information environment. Political Communication, 17(4), 341–349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, N., Steinfield, C., & Lampe, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends”: exploring the relationship between college students’ use of online social networks and social capital. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12, 1143–1168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, N. B., Lampe, C., & Steinfield, C. (2009). Feature social network sites and society: Current trends and future possibilities. Interactions, 16 (1), 6–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, N., Steinfield, C., Lampe, C., & Vitak, J. (2012). Online social network sites and the concept of social capital. Frontiers in New Media Research, 15, 115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eveland, W.P., Kwak, N., Shah, D.V., & Cho, J., (2005). Information and expression in a digital age modeling internet effects on civic participation. Communication Research, 32(5), 531–565.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, O., & Kawakami, K. (1991). Media use as predictors of political behavior: The case of Japan. Political Psychology, 12, 65–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, C., & Levine, P. (2010). Civic engagement and the transition to adulthood. The future of children, 20(1), 159–179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garramone, G.M., Harris, A.C., & Pizante, G. (1986). Predictors of motivation to use computer‐mediated political communication systems. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 30(4), 445–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Granovetter, M., Marsden, P., & Lin, N. (1982). Social structure and network analysis. Social structures and network analysis (pp. 105–130). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gueorguieva, V. (2008). Voters, Myspace, and Youtube the impact of alternative communication channels, 26(3), 288–300.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hacker, K.L. (1996). Missing links in the evolution of electronic democratization. Media, Culture & Society, 18(2), 213–232.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern, D., & Gibbs, J. (2013). Social media as a catalyst for online deliberation? Exploring the affordances of Facebook and YouTube for political expression. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3),1159–1168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helliwell, J.F., & Putnam, R.D. (2004). The social context of well-being. Philosophical Transactions-Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences, 359, 1435–1446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herring, S.C. (1999). The rhetorical dynamics of gender harassment on-line. The Information Society, 15(3), 151–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hindman, D.B. (2000). The rural-urban digital divide. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 77(3), 549–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horrigan, J., Garrett, K., & Resnick, P. (2004). The Internet and Democratic Debate. Pew Internet and American Life Project. http://www.pewInternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Political_Info_Report.pdf.

  • Huckfeldt, R.R., & Sprague, J. (1995). Citizens, politics and social communication: Information and influence in an election campaign. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, K.S. (2006). Giving and volunteering as distinct forms of civic engagement: The role of community integration and personal resources in formal helping. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35(2), 249–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kagwanja, P.M. (2005). Clash of generations? Youth identity, violence and the politics of transition in Kenya, 1997–2002. Vanguards or vandals: Youth, politics and conflict in Africa, 83–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kagwanja, P.M. (2006). ‘Power to Uhuru’: Youth identity and generational politics in Kenya’s 2002 Elections. African Affairs, 105(418), 51–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahne, J., Middaugh, E., Lee, N.-J., & Feezell, J.T. (2011). Youth online activity and exposure to diverse perspectives. New Media & Society, 14(3), 492–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kann, M.E., Berry, J., Grant, C., & Zager, P. (2007). The internet and youth political participation. First Monday, 12(8).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kariuki, C.G. (2010). Women participation in the Kenyan society. The African Executive, 296(3), 17–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kasomo, D. (2012). Factors affecting women participation in electoral politics in Africa. International Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, 2(3), 57–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenya Elections Domestic Observation Forum [KEDOF]. (2008). Preliminary press statement and verdict of 2007 Kenya’s general elections. http://www.iedafrica.org/documents/KEDOF-statement-31-12-07.pdf. Accessed 31 December 2008.

  • Kenya National Commission on Human Rights [KNHCR]. (2008). On the brink of the precipice: A human rights account of Kenya’s post-2007 election violence. Nairobi: KNCHR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, B.J., Kavanaugh, A.L., Zin, T.T., Rosson, M.B., Carroll, J.M., & Schmitz, J. (2007). Local groups online: Political learning and participation. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), 16(4–5), 375–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohut, A., Keeter, S., Doherty, C., & Dimock, M. (2008). Social networking and online videos take off: Internet’s broader role in campaign 2008. TPR Center, The PEW research center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kushin, M.J., & Kitchener, K. (2009). Getting political on social network sites: Exploring online political discourse on Facebook. First Monday, 14(11).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwak, N., Shah, D.V., Cho, J., & Eveland, W.P. (2005). Information and expression in a digital age modeling Internet effects on civic participation. Communication Research, 32(5), 531–565.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lampe, C., Ellison, N., & Steinfield, C. (2006). A Face (book) in the crowd: Social searching vs. social browsing. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 2006 20th anniversary conference on Computer supported cooperative work.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lampe, C., Ellison, N.B., & Steinfield, C. (2007). The benefits of Facebook “friends:” Social capital and college students’ use of online social network sites. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 12(4), 1143–1168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leggio, J. (2008). Mumbai attack coverage demonstrates (good and bad) maturation point of social media. CBS Interactive, 28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Macgill, A. R., & Smith, A. (2007). Teens and social media. http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Teens_Social_Media_Final.pdtime. Accessed 30 November 2016.

  • Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A., & Zickuhr, K. (2010). Social media & mobile internet use among teens and young adults. Washington, DC: Millennials, Pew Internet & American Life Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, K., Gray, K., & Meierhenrich, J. (2014). The structure of online activism. Sociological Science, 1, 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, N., Cook, K.S., & Burt, R.S. (Eds.). (2001). Social capital. Chicago, IL: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Madden, M., Lenhart, A., & Hitlin, P. (2006). Teens and technology: Youth are leading the transition to a fully wired and mobile nation. Washington, DC: Pew Internet and American Life.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mainwaring, S. (2011). Exactly what role did social media play in the Egyptian revolution? Fast Company, 14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Margolis, M., Resnick, D., & Tu, C.-c. (1997). Campaigning on the internet parties and candidates on the World Wide Web in the 1996 primary season. The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 2(1), 59–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLeod, J.M., Scheufele, D.A., & Moy, P. (1999). Community, communication, and participation: The role of mass media and interpersonal discussion in local political participation. Political Communication, 16(3), 315–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montgomery, K.C. (2008). Youth and digital democracy: Intersections of practice, policy, and the marketplace. In W.L. Bennett (Ed.), Civic life online: Learning how digital media can engage youth (pp. 25–49). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mutz, D.C. (2002). The consequences of cross-cutting networks for political participation. American Journal of Political Science, 46(4), 838–855.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nie, N.H. (2001). Sociability, interpersonal relations, and the internet reconciling conflicting findings. American Behavioral Scientist, 45(3), 420–435.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, H.L., & Citron, D.K. (2010). Government speech 2.0. Denver University Law Review, 87, 899.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oriare, P. (2009). The impact of mass media on youth political participation in the 2007 Kenya general elections in Nakuru district (Unpublished Doctoral Thesis). University of Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Outlook, A. E. (2006). OECD Publication. Paris: African Development Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palen, L., & Liu, S.B. (2007). Citizen communications in crisis: anticipating a future of ICT-supported public participation. Paper presented at the CHI ’07: Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems. San Jose, CA, ACM, pp. 727–736.

    Google Scholar 

  • Papic, M., & Noonan, S. (2011). Social media as a tool for protest. Stratfor Global Intelligence, 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parks, M.R., & Floyd, K. (1996). Making friends in cyberspace. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 1(4). http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1083-6101.1996.tb00176.x/full. Accessed 30 November 2016.

  • Paxton, P. (1999). Is social capital declining in the United States? A multiple indicator assessment 1. American Journal of Sociology, 105(1), 88–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pettersen, P.A., & Rose, L.E. (1996). Participation in local politics in Norway: Some do, some don’t; some will, some won’t. Political Behavior, 18(1), 51–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prior, M. (2005). News vs. entertainment: How increasing media choice widens gaps in political knowledge and turnout. American Journal of Political Science, 49(3), 577–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, R.D. (1995). Bowling alone: America’s declining social capital. Journal of Democracy, 6(1), 65–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Quan-Haase, A., & Wellman, B. (2004). How does the internet affect social capital. Social Capital and Information Technology, 113, 135–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Resnick, D., & Casale, D. (2014). Young populations in young democracies: Generational voting behaviour in sub-Saharan Africa. Democratization, 21(6), 1172–1194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenfeld, M.J., & Thomas, R.J. (2012). Searching for a mate the rise of the internet as a social intermediary. American Sociological Review, 77(4), 523–547.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheufele, D.A., Nisbet, M.C., Brossard, D., & Nisbet, E.C. (2004). Social structure and citizenship: Examining the impacts of social setting, network heterogeneity, and informational variables on political participation. Political Communication, 21(3), 315–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Selnow, Gary W. (1998). Electronic whistle-stops: The impact of the Internet on American politics. Westport, CT: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sheedy, C.S. (2011). Social media for social change: A case study of social media use in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. A Capstone Project Presented to the Faculty of the School of Communication, American University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A. (2013). Civic engagement in the digital age. Pew Internet & American Life Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A.W., Schlozman, K.L., Verba, S., & Brady, H. (2009). The Internet and civic engagement. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, C. (2001). The Internet and the global public sphere. In L.W. Bennett and R.M. Entman (eds) Mediated Politics: Communication in the Future of Democracy (pp. 75–95). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanley, J.W., & Weare, C. (2004). The effects of internet use on political participation. Administration & Society, 36(5), 503–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinfield, C., Ellison, N. B., & Lampe, C. (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(6), 434–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Storck, M. (2011). The role of social media in political mobilisation: A case study of the January 2011 Egyptian uprising. University of St Andrews, Scotland, 20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Syvertsen, A.K., Wray-Lake, L., Flanagan, C.A., Wayne Osgood, D. & Briddell, L. (2011). Thirty-year trends in U.S. adolescents’ civic engagement: A story of changing participation and educational differences. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21, 586–594.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tedesco, J.C. (2004). Changing the channel: Use of the Internet for communicating about Politics. In L.L. Kaid (Ed.), Handbook of Political Communication Research (pp. 507–532). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tedesco, J.C., Kaid, L.L., McKinney, M.S., & Gaddie, K. (1999). Journalistic responsibility and political advertising: A content analysis of coverage by state and local media. Communication Studies, 50(4), 279–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thackeray, R., & Hunter, M. (2010). Empowering youth: Use of technology in advocacy to affect social change. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 15(4), 575–591.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thelwall, M. (2009). Social network sites: Users and uses. Advances in Computers, 76, 19–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tufekci, Z., & Wilson, C. (2012). Social media and the decision to participate in political protest: Observations from Tahrir Square. Journal of Communication, 62(2), 363–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNDP. (2009). Road to 2015: Driving the MDGs. UNDP Kenya Annual Report. Nairobi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wanjala, S. (2002). Elections and the political transition in Kenya. In Mute, et al., (Eds.), Building an open society – The politics: A developmental approach. Boston and Toronto: Little Brown and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warner, B.R., McGowen, S.T., & Hawthorne, J. (2012). Limbaugh’s social media nightmare: Facebook and Twitter as spaces for political action. Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 19(2), 257–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren, A.M., Sulaiman, A., & Jaafar, N.I. (2014). Social media effects on fostering online civic engagement and building citizen trust and trust in institutions. Government Information Quarterly, 31(2), 291–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wattenberg, M.P. (2008). Is voting for young people?: With a postscript on citizen engagement. New York: Pearson PTR.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilhelm, A.G. (1998). Virtual sounding boards: How deliberative is on‐line political discussion? Information Communication & Society, 1(3), 313–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkins, K.G. (2000). The role of media in public disengagement from political life. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 44, 569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, C., & Gulati, G. (2008). What is a social network worth? Facebook and vote share in the 2008 presidential primaries. In Annual meeting of the American Political Science Association (pp. 1–17). Boston, MA: APSA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto, M., Kushin, M. J., & Dalisay, F. (2013). Social media and mobiles as political mobilization forces for young adults: Examining the moderating role of online political expression in political participation. New Media & Society, 17(6), 880–898. 1461444813518390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Young, I. M. (2000). Democracy and inclusion. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Youth Agenda. (2008). Who’s guilty? Youth perspective on the 2007 pre-polls electoral violence in Kenya. Nairobi: The Youth Agenda.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, W., Johnson, T. J., Seltzer, T., & Bichard, S. L. (2009). The revolution will be networked: The influence of social networking sites on political attitudes and behavior. Social Science Computer Review, 28(1), 75–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, W., Johnson, T. J., Seltzer, T., & Bichard, S. L. (2010). The revolution will be networked: The influence of social networking sites on political attitudes and behavior. Social Science Computer Review. 28:75–92

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, S. (2006). Do internet users have more social ties? A call for differentiated analyses of Internet use. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 11(3), 844–862.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samuel C. Kamau .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kamau, S.C. (2016). Engaged Online: Social Media and Youth Civic Engagement in Kenya. In: Mutsvairo, B. (eds) Digital Activism in the Social Media Era. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40949-8_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics