COVID-19 information disorder:six types of harmful information during the pandemic in Europe

{Sten Hansson and Kati Orru and Sten Torpan and Asta Bäck and Austeja Kazemekaityte and Sunniva Frislid Meyer and Johanna Ludvigsen and Lucia Savadori and Alessandro Galvagni and Ala Pigrée}, {COVID-19 information disorder: six types of harmful information during the pandemic in Europe}, {Journal of Risk Research}, {24}, {3-4}, {380-393}, {2021}, {Routledge}, {10.1080/13669877.2020.1871058}, { https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2020.1871058}The outbreak of a novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 propelled the creation, transmission, and consumption of false information – unverified claims, misleading statements, false rumours, conspiracy theories, and so on – all around the world. When various official or unofficial sources issue erroneous, misleading or contradicting information during a crisis, people who are exposed to this may behave in ways that cause harm to the health and well-being of themselves or others, e.g., by not taking appropriate risk reducing measures or blaming or harassing vulnerable groups. To work towards a typology of informational content that may increase people’s vulnerability in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, we explored 98 instances of potentially harmful information that spread in six European countries – France, Italy, Norway, Finland, Lithuania, and Estonia – between March and May 2020. We suggest that during the pandemic, exposure to harmful information may have made people more vulnerable in six ways: (1) by discouraging appropriate protective actions against catching/spreading the virus, (2) by promoting the use of false (or harmful) remedies against the virus, (3) by misrepresenting the transmission mechanisms of the virus, (4) by downplaying the risks related to the pandemic, (5) by tricking people into buying fake protection against the virus or into revealing their confidential information, and (6) by victimising the alleged spreaders of the virus by harassment/hate speech. The proposed typology can be used to guide the development of risk communication plans to address each of these information-related vulnerabilities.publishedVersio

Life satisfaction during temporary housing after an earthquake: Comparing three cases in Italy

A disaster has a considerable impact on people who have lost their homes. We analyzed the life satisfaction of displaced people accommodated in temporary housing after three strong earthquakes that occurred in Italy in 2009 (Abruzzo), 2012 (Emilia), and 2016–17 (Central Italy). Information was obtained through an anonymous survey on a large number of variables related to socio-demographic features, temporary housing type and quality, social support and protection network, personal psychological resources and preparedness, and psychophysical health. Responses were collected through face-to-face and telephone interviews, stand-alone paper-and-pencil questionnaires, or online (N = 261). In the whole-sample analysis, the significant predictors of life satisfaction were earthquake preparedness, which earthquake out of three was experienced, protection network, accommodation type and quality, and general health status, thus highlighting the complex and multi-faceted nature of the underpinnings of life satisfaction in people displaced after an earthquake. However, different predictors explained life satisfaction in the analysis of each earthquake, pointing to the need to consider their specificity and the local context. Nevertheless, the perceived quality of the accommodation was a significant predictor both in the whole-sample analysis and in the analysis of two earthquakes (2009 Abruzzo and 2012 Emilia), highlighting the importance of providing temporary houses with appropriate properties (privacy, space, thermal and acoustic insulation, light, quality of materials, surroundings) and placed in locations that allow the resumption of life activities (e.g., education, work, socialization, health and public facilities and services)

Antimicrobial activity, toxicity and accumulated hard-tissue debris (AHTD) removal efficacy of several chelating agents

Aim: To evaluate the antimicrobial, toxicity and cleaning effectiveness of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and maleic acid (MA) alone and combined with cetrimide (CTR). Methodology: Cytotoxic and genotoxic effects were assessed on Chinese hamster cells V79 using the MTT, clonogenic and micronucleus assays, respectively. The bacterial inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC, respectively) were determined on a strain of Enterococcus faecalis. Antimicrobial tests were performed on a biofilm model after treatment with the chelating agents by using a biofilm eradication concentration (MBEC) and confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) assays. Quantification of cell biomass and percentage of live and dead cells in the biomass were assessed for each group. The percentage reduction of accumulated hard-tissue debris (AHTD) after root canal preparation and final irrigation protocols was evaluated by micro-CT. Statistical tests of one-way analysis of variance (anova), Bonferroni test, Kruskal\u2013Wallis test, Dunn\u2019s multiple comparison test and Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank tests were used. Results: Cetrimide alone as well as in combination with EDTA and MA at dilutions of 1/10 and 1/100 was significantly more toxic as compared to untreated controls (P < 0.001). All tested mixtures were nontoxic at a dilution of 1/1000. EDTA retained a weak inhibitory and bactericidal effect against planktonic cells, whilst MA inhibited cells growth and killed 99.9% of the cells when diluted. CTR revealed the most prominent effect, being inhibitory and bactericidal, also when diluted. Cetrimide alone or combined with EDTA was able to remove, respectively, 40% (P < 0.01) and 60% (P < 0.001) of the entire biomass after 1 min. Conversely, MA alone and in combination with CTR did not have a significant effect on biomass reduction. After final irrigation, the AHTD volume was significantly decreased in all groups (P < 0.05). EDTA + CTR and MA + CTR were associated with a significant reduction in the percentage of AHTD on the entire root canal compared to the same solutions without surfactant. Conclusions: 7% MA was less cytotoxic in comparison with 17% EDTA. The addition of cetrimide to EDTA and MA removed accumulated hard-tissue debris effectively from the canal walls and increased their antimicrobial activity when compared to the same solutions without detergents

Food Risk/Benefit Communication: A Systematic Review

A systematic review relevant to the following research questions was conducted (1) the extent to which different theoretical frameworks have been applied to food risk/benefit communication and (2) the impact such food risk/benefit communication interventions have had on related risk/benefit attitudes and behaviors. Fifty four papers were identified. The analysis revealed that (primarily European or US) research interest has been relatively recent. Certain food issues were of greater interest to researchers than others, perhaps reflecting the occurrence of a crisis, or policy concern. Three broad themes relevant to the development of best practice in risk (benefit) communication were identified: the characteristics of the target population; the contents of the information; and the characteristics of the information sources. Within these themes, independent and dependent variables differed considerably. Overall, acute risk (benefit) communication will require advances in communication process whereas chronic communication needs to identify audience requirements. Both citizen's risk/benefit perceptions and (if relevant) related behaviors need to be taken into account, and recommendations for behavioral change need to be concrete and actionable. The application of theoretical frameworks to the study of risk (benefit) communication was infrequent, and developing predictive models of effective risk (benefit) communication may be contingent on improved theoretical perspectives

Color and abundance: Influencing children's food choices

Packaging color and product availability are factors influencing consumer preferences. However, their impact on children's choices is scarce. The current research examines whether the size of the set of items and the packaging color might shape children's choices. In three experiments (N = 887), we investigated the effect of these two variables on children's choices of food items in a laboratory setting. The results showed that food items provided in larger piles of identical products were preferred to those provided in smaller piles of identical products, even though children could only choose one item to take away, showing evidence of an "abundance bias". In addition, food products packaged in red were preferred to those packaged in green. A moderation effect was also observed whereby children preferred red-packaged items more when offered within a larger group of identical items (abundance) and less when offered within a smaller group of identical items. The findings provide insight into the psychology of color and abundance as choice attractors in children's consumer preferences for food products