Conservation of geosites as a tool to protect geoheritage: the inventory of Ceará Central Domain, Borborema Province - NE/Brazil

The Ceará Central Domain, in the northern Borborema Province/NE Brazil, encompasses important geological records (geosites) which allow understanding a relevant period of the Earth’s evolution, mainly associated to Neoproterozoic Brazilian/Pan-African Cycle and West Gondwana amalgamation, besides Neoarchean to Ordovician records. The presented geoheritage inventory aims to characterise the geosites with scienti c relevance of Ceará Central Domain. By applying a method for large areas, the nal selection resulted in eight geological frameworks represented by 52 geosites documented in a single database. This is the rst step for a geoconservation strategy based on systematic inventories, statutory protection, geoethical behaviour and awareness about scienti c, educational and/or cultural relevance of geosites.We specially thank all experts that helped us with this inventory: Afonso Almeida, Carlos E.G. de Araújo, César Veríssimo, Christiano Magini, Clóvis Vaz Parente, Felipe G. Costa, Irani C. Mattos, Neivaldo de Castro, Otaciel de Melo, Sebástian G. Chiozza, Ticiano Santos and Stefano Zincone. We are also thankful to Kátia Mansur, Ricardo Fraga Pereira and anonymous reviewers for their valuable contributions. PM is grateful to Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for PhD mobility scholarship PDSE Program/Process n 88881.132168/2016-01info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This crosscountry, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one's core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people's existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

Guidelines for management of geoheritage: an approach in the Sertão Central, Brazilian Northeastern Semiarid

The characterisation of geoheritage and the understanding of the physical and socio-cultural features of a territory are essential to achieve the major geoconservation goals: protection and sustainable use of exceptional elements of geodiversity. This research was done in the Sertão Central, an economic vulnerable area in the hinterland of northeast Brazil, remarked by the Caatinga Biome and a rocky, semiarid landscape. The area comprises an assemblage of deformed igneous and meta- morphic rocks, such as gneisses, TTG rocks, schists, and granites. Starting from a regional geoheritage inventory done in 2015, fourteen geosites were selected and assessed, representing a wide regional tectonic evolution from the Precambrian West Gondwanan orogenesis to the Cenozoic development of particular examples of Brazilian granitic inselbergs. In addi- tion to the inventory of geosites, six geodiversity sites were also evaluated, along with five geocultural sites, highlighting the cultural value of geodiversity in the area. Based on the available information, an analysis with the main features and spatial configuration of the geoheritage was developed, allowing to designate the most appropriate use for each geological site. Considering geoconservation as a geoscientific fostering for the sustainable development, our study suggests a set of general guidelines for the management of geoheritage, in order to facilitate the decision-making process by local managers and stakeholders as well as to promote the discussion on geotourism strategies for the region. Organised according to well- defined geoconservation strategies, these guidelines could enhance the sustainable development of vulnerable regions, such as Sertão Central itself.The authors would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for the accurate and valuable comments on the original manuscript. In particular, PM is grateful to the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES/Brazil) for her post doctorate scholarship (306365/2013-01/PNPD

In COVID-19 health messaging, loss framing increases anxiety with little-to-no concomitant benefits: experimental evidence from 84 countries

The COVID-19 pandemic (and its aftermath) highlights a critical need to communicate health information effectively to the global public. Given that subtle differences in information framing can have meaningful effects on behavior, behavioral science research highlights a pressing question: Is it more effective to frame COVID-19 health messages in terms of potential losses (e.g., "If you do not practice these steps, you can endanger yourself and others") or potential gains (e.g., "If you practice these steps, you can protect yourself and others")? Collecting data in 48 languages from 15,929 participants in 84 countries, we experimentally tested the effects of message framing on COVID-19-related judgments, intentions, and feelings. Loss- (vs. gain-) framed messages increased self-reported anxiety among participants cross-nationally with little-to-no impact on policy attitudes, behavioral intentions, or information seeking relevant to pandemic risks. These results were consistent across 84 countries, three variations of the message framing wording, and 560 data processing and analytic choices. Thus, results provide an empirical answer to a global communication question and highlight the emotional toll of loss-framed messages. Critically, this work demonstrates the importance of considering unintended affective consequences when evaluating nudge-style interventions