Effects of Rating Scale Direction under the Condition of Different Reading Direction

Because response scales serve as orientation for respondents when mapping their answers to response categories, it can be expected that the decremental (from positive to negative) or incremental (from negative to positive) order of a response scale provides information that influences response behavior. If respondents interpret the first category on a scale as signifying "most accepted," then starting an agree/disagree scale with "agree completely" or "disagree completely" may result in their forming different subjective hypotheses about the "most acceptable" response. If this principle applies in general, respondents' reactions to horizontal response scales with different orders of response categories should be similar in the two directions of reading - right to left or left to right. This paper tests two hypotheses: first, that decremental scales elicit more positive responses than incremental scales; second, that this pattern holds under the condition of different reading direction. These hypotheses were tested using a German and an Israeli student sample. Seven-point decremental and incremental scales were applied in each sample; only the scale endpoints were verbally labeled. The questions asked related to extrinsic and intrinsic job motivation and achievement motivation. For data collection, a split-ballot design with random assignment of respondents to decremental and incremental scales was applied in both samples. Results revealed that response-order effects occur similarly in the right-to-left and the left-to-right reading direction

Modeling for insights not numbers: The long-term low-carbon transformation

Limiting global warming to prevent dangerous climate change requires drastically reducing global greenhouse gases emissions and a transformation towards a low-carbon society. Existing energy- and climate-economic modeling approaches that are informing policy and decision makers in shaping the future net-zero emissions society are increasingly seen with skepticism regarding their ability to forecast the long-term evolution of highly complex, nonlinear social-ecological systems. We present a structured review of state-of-the-art modeling approaches, focusing on their ability and limitations to develop and assess pathways towards a low-carbon society. We find that existing methodological approaches have some fundamental deficiencies that limit their potential to understand the subtleties of long-term low-carbon transformation processes. We suggest that a useful methodological framework has to move beyond current state of the art techniques and has to simultaneously fulfill the following requirements: (1) representation of an inherent dynamic analysis, describing and investigating explicitly the path between different states of system variables, (2) specification of details in the energy cascade, in particular the central role of functionalities and services that are provided by the interaction of energy flows and corresponding stock variables, (3) reliance on a clear distinction between structures of the sociotechnical energy system and socioeconomic mechanisms to develop it and (4) ability to evaluate pathways along societal criteria. To that end we propose the development of a versatile multi-purpose integrated modeling framework, building on the specific strengths of the various modeling approaches available while at the same time omitting their weaknesses. This paper identifies respective strengths and weaknesses to guide such development

Barriers and Ways Forward to Climate Risk Management Against Indirect Effects of Natural Disasters: A Case Study on Flood Risk in Austria

Natural disasters, such as floods, can have severe consequences, especially as economies are becoming ever more interlinked and complex so that the cascading effects of disasters can amplify direct impacts. These trends are expected to continue in the future due to climate change and changing socio-economic structures. It is therefore important to promote climate risk management strategies that also deal with indirect effects due to natural disaster events in a proactive manner. However, there is a lack of studies which investigate the agents involved in climate risk management geared towards the indirect effects of disasters and how these indirect effects are or can be dealt with. We address this gap via a detailed case study of the Austrian flood risk management apparatus. Based on a detailed stakeholder analysis, we compile a stakeholder map of those potentially involved in indirect flood risk management as well as the relationships (or the lack thereof) among them. We further discuss current and future indirect risk management strategies and corresponding implementation barriers. Finally, based on the results obtained from the stakeholder process, we discuss and suggest possible ways forward to overcome these barriers to enable proactive management strategies for indirect climate risks. We find that although indirect risks are being considered in the Austrian flood risk management, they are managed to a marginal degree. To remedy this, we call for increased efforts in data collection, modelling and awareness raising and the revision of current financial as well as institutional structures. Greater focus should be put on interdependencies within systems as well as the adoption of long-term visions for establishing more integrated climate risk management against indirect effects

Reporting Misconduct of a Coworker to Protect a Patient: A Comparison between Experienced Nurses and Nursing Students

Purpose. Whistleblowing is the reporting of illegal, immoral, or illegitimate practices to persons or organizations that may affect the action. The current study compares experienced nurses to nursing students regarding their willingness to blow the whistle to protect a patient's interests. Methods. 165 participants were divided into two groups: 82 undergraduate nursing students and 83 experienced nurses. Participants responded to two vignettes that described a colleague's and a manager's misconduct at work. Results. The nursing students perceived the severity of the misconduct significantly lower compared to the experienced nurses. The nursing students also ranked the internal and external whistleblowing indices higher than the nurses, but the differences did not reach statistical significance. For each of the examined internal and external indices, professional experience was found to be significant in multivariate regression analyses. Conclusions. Even though nursing students perceived the severity of the misconduct significantly lower than the experienced nurses, the students demonstrated a greater readiness to blow the whistle, both internally and externally. Recommendations for handling comparable situations are offered

Revealing the indirect risks of flood events: A multi-model assessment for Austria

Flood events and the associated damages trigger direct as well as indirect effects due to economy-wide linkages. Hence, flood events pose indirect risks to complex socioeconomic systems and their individual agents. Despite their increasing importance in the light of ongoing climate change impacts, such indirect risks are not well understood. Using a set of three different economy-wide models – an input output model, a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and an agent-based model – we reveal and study indirect risks of flood events for the case of Austria. The three models are fed with high resolution data on sector-specific capital stock damages, which is a major improvement with respect to existing approaches in disaster and climate change impact assessment. We find that indirect risks are very high for most economic sectors and that only the minority of sectors can gain from flood events. Furthermore, on the side of private households we find that floods pose a risk in terms of unequal distributional effects, since capital rents tend to increase while wages tend to decrease in the aftermath of a flood, leading to a re-distribution of income from highto low-income households. The study thus offers highly relevant leverage points for indirect risk management options in Austria. The used methodologies can be transferred to other regions

Revealing the indirect risks of flood events: A multi-model assessment for Austria

Flood events and the associated damages trigger direct as well as indirect effects due to economy-wide linkages. Hence, flood events pose indirect risks to complex socioeconomic systems and their individual agents. Despite their increasing importance in the light of ongoing climate change impacts, such indirect risks are not well understood. Using a set of three different economy-wide models – an input output model, a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and an agent-based model – we reveal and study indirect risks of flood events for the case of Austria. The three models are fed with high resolution data on sector-specific capital stock damages, which is a major improvement with respect to existing approaches in disaster and climate change impact assessment. We find that indirect risks are very high for most economic sectors and that only the minority of sectors can gain from flood events. Furthermore, on the side of private households we find that floods pose a risk in terms of unequal distributional effects, since capital rents tend to increase while wages tend to decrease in the aftermath of a flood, leading to a re-distribution of income from highto low-income households. The study thus offers highly relevant leverage points for indirect risk management options in Austria. The used methodologies can be transferred to other regions

Indirect flood risk management in Austria: Challenges and ways forward

Natural disaster risks are among the greatest threats of the 21st century putting political, social and economic systems increasingly under pressure and at risk of instability (UNDRR/CRED 2020). Especially in recent years, the cascading effects and risks associated with such events have received great attention as economic losses and consequences have mounted (Handmer et al. 2020; Reichstein et al. 2021). Due to increasingly complex economic networks and interdependencies, natural disasters can result in large ripple effects including business or supply chain interruptions, changes in economic productivity or increased indebtedness. These so-called indirect losses can amount to or even exceed direct damages (Koks et al. 2015; Dottori et al. 2018). Climate change exacerbates the intensity and frequency of flood events. Accompanied by socioeconomic changes this leads to increasing flood damages. Therefore, more holistic and long-term disaster risk management (DRM) strategies that tackle indirect effects and which take into account climate change effects are called for. To implement these strategies, we require a deeper understanding of who could be involved in indirect flood risk management (FRM), which management strategies are already implemented and which should be implemented in the future, as well as what are the corresponding implementation barriers. These issues are addressed in this fact sheet in the context of Austrian climate risk management strategies discussing how indirect risks from floods are currently considered and how they could be proactively integrated on various scales (the discussion is based on Reiter et al. 2022)

Revealing indirect risks in complex socioeconomic systems: A highly detailed multi‐model analysis of flood events in Austria

Cascading risks that can spread through complex systems have recently gained attention. As it is crucial for decision-makers to put figures on such risks and their interactions, models that explicitly capture such interactions in a realistic manner are needed. Climate related hazards often cascade through different systems, from physical to economic and social systems, causing direct but also indirect risks and losses. Despite their growing importance in the light of ongoing climate change and increasing global connections, such indirect risks are not well understood. Applying two fundamentally different economic models—a computable general equilibrium model and an agent-based model—we reveal indirect risks of flood events. The models are fed with sector-specific capital stock damages, which constitutes a major methodological improvement. We apply these models for Austria, a highly flood exposed country with strong economic linkages. A key finding is that flood damages pose very different indirect risks to different sectors and household groups (distributional effects) in the short and long-term. Our results imply that risk management should focus on specific societal subgroups and sectors. We provide a simple metric for indirect risk, showing how direct and indirect losses are related. This can provide new ways forward in risk management, for example, focusing on interconnectedness of sectors and agents within different risk-layers of indirect risk. Although we offer highly relevant leverage points for indirect risk management in Austria, the methodology of analyzing indirect risks can be transferred to other regions