Influence of time delay on choice between gambles: Savoring the emotion

In two laboratory studies involving 285 undergraduate students presented with a one-shot real choice we observe a systematic influence of time delay on the preferences for two lotteries, equal in expected value, but different in the degree of probability and outcome. The more the outcome is postponed (2 weeks, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months), the more individuals prefer the lottery offering a higher value (400 Euro) but a lower probability (.02) compared to the one offering a lower value (14 Euro) but a higher probability (.60). We explain these findings assuming a savoring hypothesis according to which, for highly emotional events, individuals prefer to postpone the desirable outcome, enjoying the savoring experience of anticipating the future emotions. It also suggests that for decisions where uncertainty resolution is postponed in the future, people will underweight the probability and overweight the outcome.intertemporal choice, time delay, time horizon, gambles, risk

Trust and attitude in consumer food choices under risk

In this paper, attitude and trust are studied in the context of a food scare (dioxin) with the aim of identifying the components of attitude and trust that significantly affect how purchases are determined. A revised version of the model by MAYER et al. (1995) was tested for two types of food: salmon and chicken. The final model for salmon shows that trust is significantly determined by perceived competence, perceived shared values, truthfulness of information and the experiential attitude (the feeling that consuming salmon is positive), but trust has no impact on behavioural intentions. Consumer preferences seem to be determined by a positive experiential attitude and the perception that breeders, sellers and institutions have values similar to those of the consumer. The model for chicken gave very similar results.trust, trust antecedents, attitude, food scare, purchase intention, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Risk and Uncertainty,

Communicating Seismic Risk Information: The Effect of Risk Comparisons on Risk Perception Sensitivity

Communicating seismic risk to individuals can be difficult for an institution because it involves providing technical and scientific information, including the low probability of an adverse event, that is not always easy to understand. One way to facilitate understanding of low probabilities is to provide comparisons with the probability of occurrence of other more familiar events. In a randomized trials experiment, we investigated the effect of providing individuals with a set of risk comparisons on their sensitivity to different levels of seismic risk (1 in 100, 1 in 1,000, and 1 in 10,000). The findings show that providing risk comparisons increased individual risk sensitivity to information about the likelihood of experiencing a seismic event. Our findings are explained by the evaluability hypothesis, which states that a single probability value is better understood if the recipient is given some reference data to evaluate it. Our results have implications for disaster risk communication, providing ways to increase risk awareness and, consequently, disaster prevention

Countering vaccine hesitancy through medical expert endorsement

Scientists and medical experts are among the professionals trusted the most. Are they also the most suitable figures to convince the general public to get vaccinated? In a pre-registered experiment, we tested whether expert endorsement increases the effectiveness of debunking messages about COVID-19 vaccines. We monitored a sample of 2,277 people in Italy through a longitudinal study along the salient phases of the vaccination campaign. Participants received a series of messages endorsed by either medical researchers (experimental group) or by generic others (control). In order to minimise demand effects, we collected participants’ responses always at ten days from the last debunking message. Whereas we did not find an increase in vaccination behaviour, we found that participants in the experimental group displayed higher intention to vaccinate, as well as more positive beliefs about the protectiveness of vaccines. The more debunking messages the participants received, the greater the increase in vaccination intention in the experimental group compared to control. This suggests that multiple exposure is critical for the effectiveness of expert-endorsed debunking messages. In addition, these effects are significant regardless of participants’ trust toward science. Our results suggest that scientist and medical experts are not simply a generally trustworthy category but also a well suited messenger in contrasting disinformation during vaccination campaigns

Opposing roles of miR-21 and miR-29 in the progression of fibrosis in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

AbstractExcessive extracellular matrix deposition progressively replacing muscle fibres is the endpoint of most severe muscle diseases. Recent data indicate major involvement of microRNAs in regulating pro- and anti-fibrotic genes. To investigate the roles of miR-21 and miR-29 in muscle fibrosis in Duchenne muscle dystrophy, we evaluated their expression in muscle biopsies from 14 patients, and in muscle-derived fibroblasts and myoblasts. In Duchenne muscle biopsies, miR-21 expression was significantly increased, and correlated directly with COL1A1 and COL6A1 transcript levels. MiR-21 expression was also significantly increased in Duchenne fibroblasts, more so after TGF-β1 treatment. In Duchenne fibroblasts the expression of miR-21 target transcripts PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) and SPRY-1 (Sprouty homolog 1) was significantly reduced; while collagen I and VI transcript levels and soluble collagen production were significantly increased. MiR-29a and miR-29c were significantly reduced in Duchenne muscle and myoblasts, and miR-29 target transcripts, COL3A1, FBN1 and YY1, significantly increased. MiR-21 silencing in mdx mice reduced fibrosis in the diaphragm muscle and in both Duchenne fibroblasts and mdx mice restored PTEN and SPRY-1 expression, and significantly reduced collagen I and VI expression; while miR-29 mimicking in Duchenne myoblasts significantly decreased miR-29 target transcripts. These findings indicate that miR-21 and miR-29 play opposing roles in Duchenne muscle fibrosis and suggest that pharmacological modulation of their expression has therapeutic potential for reducing fibrosis in this condition

Approaches to ‘vulnerability’ in eight European disaster management systems

Orru, K., Hansson, S., Gabel, F., Tammpuu, P., Krüger, M., Savadori, L., Meyer, S.F., Torpan, S., Jukarainen, P., Schieffelers, A., Lovasz, G. and Rhinard, M. (2022), Approaches to ‘vulnerability’ in eight European disaster management systems. Disasters, 46: 742-767. https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12481While social vulnerability in the face of disasters has received increasing academic attention, relatively little is known about the extent to which that knowledge is reflected in practice by institutions involved in disaster management. In this study, we chart the practitioners’ approaches to disaster vulnerability in eight European countries: Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Estonia. The study draws from a comparative document analysis and 95 interviews with disaster managers and reveals significant differences across countries in terms of the ontology of vulnerability, its sources, reduction strategies, and the allocation of related duties. To advance the debate and provide conceptual clarity, we put forward a model for explicating different understandings of vulnerability along the dimensions of human agency and technological structures as well as social support through private relations and state actors.acceptedVersio

The engagement of informal volunteers in disaster management in Europe

Oliver Nahkur, Kati Orru, Sten Hansson, Pirjo Jukarainen, Miia Myllylä, Marco Krüger, Matthias Max, Lucia Savadori, Tor-Olav Nævestad, Sunniva Frislid Meyer, Abriel Schieffelers, Alexandra Olson, Gabriella Lovasz, Mark Rhinard, The engagement of informal volunteers in disaster management in Europe, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, Volume 83, 2022, 103413, ISSN 2212-4209, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103413. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221242092200632X)Informal volunteering is increasingly important in disaster management, but authorities remain cautious about collaborating with informal volunteers. Relatively little is known about the extent to which informal volunteers are integrated into European disaster management systems. We try to remedy this gap by examining Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Estonia, focusing on (1) the policies and institutional arrangements for integrating informal volunteers, (2) the methods and tools used for their engagement, and (3) the presumed benefits and challenges of involving volunteers in disaster management. 95 expert interviews combined with desk research and four online table-top exercises in 2019–2020 involving analysis of 11 disaster cases show that disaster management systems in these countries are taking modest steps toward opening traditional command-and-control structures to informal volunteers. In Sweden and Norway, where volunteering is more common, the engagement of informal volunteers is somewhat regulated, providing an opportunity to formally insure them. In Belgium and Italy, the engagement of informal volunteers is not encouraged, but formal volunteering is encouraged. In Germany, Hungary, Finland, and Estonia, it is done on an ad hoc basis. In most of the countries studied, campaigns to raise volunteers’ awareness of support possibilities are backed up by practical training that focuses primarily on first aid. In all countries, except Germany, social media has been used by disaster management authorities to inform, guide, or register informal volunteers on an ad hoc basis. The studied cases indicate that disaster response is more efficient when procedures for informal volunteer engagement exist.publishedVersio

Risk perception and protective behavior during the COVID-19 outbreak

Risk perception and protective behavior during the COVID-19 outbrea