“To Tarnish the Pure and Illuminate the Tainted”: Russian Perceptions of the Potential Risks of Fake News

Subjects rated how likely they would be to use threats and promises to resolve interpersonal, intergroup, and international conflicts. Threats were rated as more likely to be employed in intergroup and international than in interpersonal disputes; promises were rated as more likely to be employed in interpersonal than in intergroup or international disputes. Questions dealing with subjects' general impressions regarding type of conflict revealed that subjects differed in their perceptions of interpersonal and intergroup conflicts. For example, interpersonal disputes were seen as being safer than intergroup or international disputes. In addition, subjects differed in their perceptions of intergroup and international conflict; subjects thought it was more important to do well, use strength, and employ physical force in international conflict than in intergroup or interpersonal conflict. The results are discussed in terms of the group schema hypothesis, and a recommendation is made for researchers to make a distinction between intergroup and interpersonal conflict

Research demonstrates reciprocal relationships between personality and depression as well as the important role interpersonal conflicts play, but rarely explores these risk factors in older adults. This study aimed to examine relationships of personality traits, processes, and the impact of emotional involvement and distress during an interpersonal conflict on depression in older adults. The study also investigated whether emotional involvement or interpersonal distress moderate the relationship between personality pathology and depression. Depressed middle and older adult inpatients (N=37; mean age=65.73, SD=7.81; 56.8% female; 86.5% White/Non-Hispanic) completed self-reports and interview-based assessments regarding personality traits (NEO-FFI Neuroticism, Agreeableness), interpersonal problems (IIP-25), and depression (GDS). Narrative responses regarding an interpersonal conflict were obtained and rated for contamination themes as well as emotional involvement and distress. Overall, findings indicated that living with others predicted higher depression (p= .046) and was related to higher neuroticism and interpersonal problems. Personality traits (Neuroticism) (r= .485, p= .001) and processes (Interpersonal problems-trend) (β= .307, p= .058), as well as higher levels of emotional distress (r= .486, p= .001) and involvement (r= .475, p= .001) in an interpersonal conflict were also tied to depression in bivariate but not multivariate analyses. The moderating effects of emotional involvement or distress on the relationship between personality and depression were not supported. Depressed older inpatients who live with others appear at higher risk of depression. Personality traits and processes may be more distal risk factors for depression. Findings are discussed in relation to stress generation as well as clinical implications targeting emotional regulation.

COVID-19 related negative emotions and emotional suppression are associated with greater risk perceptions among emergency nurses: A cross-sectional study

Perceptions of risk and adherence to care in MS patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

Public health and social measures (PHSM) are critical aspects of limiting the spread of infections in pandemics. Compliance with PHSM depends on a wide range of factors, including behavioral determinants such as emotional response, trust in institutions or risk perceptions. This study examines self-reported compliance with PHSM during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBIH). We analyze the association between compliance and behavioral determinants, using data from five cross-sectional surveys that were conducted between June 2020 and August 2021 in FBIH. Quota-based sampling ensured that the 1000 people per wave were population representative regarding age, sex, and education level based on the data from the latest census in Bosnia and Herzegovina. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to identify significant changes between studies on determinants and PHSM measures. Regression was used to find relations between behavioral determinants and PHSM. Participants reported strong emotional responses to the rapid spread of the virus and its proximity to them. Risk perception was spiking in December 2020 when rates of infection and death were particularly high. Trends in policy acceptance were divergent; participants did not rate PHSM as exaggerated, but perceived fairness was low. Trust in institutions was low across all waves and declined for specific institutions such as the health ministry. In five wave-specific regression analyses, emotional response (βmin/max = .11*/.21*), risk perception (βmin/max = .06/.18*), policy acceptance (βmin/max = .09/.20*), and trust in institutions (βmin/max = .06/.21*) emerged as significant predictors of PHSM. This study contributes to the body of research on factors influencing compliance with PHSM. It emphasizes the importance of behavioral monitoring through repeated surveys to understand and improve compliance. The study also affirms the impact of public trust on compliance, the risk of eroding compliance over time, and the need for health literacy support to help reinforce protective behaviors.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a sustained state of emergency, causing uncertainty and risk taking. Israeli nurses were required to follow new regulations and safety measures issued by the Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH). This study aimed to examine nurses' compliance with MOH regulations and its association with their risk and threat perceptions and their positive and negative emotions. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 346 Israeli nurses. The study model was examined with path analysis. Most nurses reported complying with MOH regulations either fully (49%) or very often (30%). Negative emotions were positively associated with perceptions of both threat and risk, yet only risk perception was positively associated with nurses' compliance. A significant mediated relationship was found between negative emotions and nurses' compliance, with the possible mediator being risk perception. Hence, higher negative emotions were associated with a greater risk perception, which was associated with higher compliance. Health systems leaders must strategize to deal with the wave-like character of the pandemic. Solutions to nursing teams' negative emotions must be provided to keep the balance between feelings of complacency and a situation of high-level, intense negative feelings, which might lead to abstention, burnout, or emotional injury.

This research investigated the role of perceived food safety on customer trust and its mechanism via perceived risk in the food delivery service business during the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey data were collected from 600 food delivery customers in the Bangkok area. However, only 505 sets of questionnaires were completed and returned to the researcher with a response rate of 84.16%. The data were proceeded using WarpPLS 7.0 program to perform partial least squares Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), which was proven suitable for this research. The results showed that perceived food safety could directly promote customer trust (β=0.528; p<0.001). On the other hand, it can also indirectly foster customer trust by decreasing perceived risk (β=-0.123; p=0.003), which will eventually promote customer trust (β=-0.179; p<0.001). In other words, perceived risk partially mediates the association between perceived food safety and customer repurchase intentions (t=2.273; p=0.022). Therefore, customers' trust can be built by providing food safety standards to foster their confidence and perceive minimal risk levels. The findings provided additional empirical evidence of marketing knowledge that the social exchange theory can explain. The results can be applied as a guideline for food delivery service businesses to escalate their service and standards to build customer trust and gain competitive advantages, particularly during pandemics when customers are more health-conscious than ever.

Iconic events have traditionally instigated progression in the fields of crisis and disaster science. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pressing question is how this global health emergency impacted the research agendas of our field. We reviewed contributions in ten important crisis and disaster journals in the two and a half years following the COVID-19 outbreak from 1 January 2020 to 30 June 2022. Specifically, we conducted a bibliometric review using thematic mapping analysis to distill the major themes covered by the emerging COVID-19 literature within crisis and disaster science (N = 239 articles). Our results indicate that several well-known topics are applied to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as risk, crisis communication, governance, resilience and vulnerability. The pandemic also gave rise to new topics, such as citizen behavior, state power, and the business and mental health impact of crisis measures. Several studies are already looking ahead by identifying lessons for preparedness and mitigation of future pandemics. By taking stock of the surge of COVID-19 studies while this academic literature is still taking shape, this review sets the stage for future contributions to the crisis and disaster literatures. It provides valuable lessons for what topics are studied and what themes need more attention. The COVID-19 pandemic is destined to become an iconic event for our literature that not only strengthens and deepens existing debates, but also clearly offers the opportunity to draw in new perspectives and broaden the horizon of crisis and disaster science.

Vaccine Safety: Injecting a Dose of Common Sense

The characteristics of the electoral process in European countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are described in this article. Following the pandemic, the world has been adjusting to changes in the social and political realms that have occurred over the previous year. Because political institutions are accountable for decisions made, restrictions put on businesses and citizens, and the efficiency of the coronavirus fight, the electoral institutions, which face challenges in all European nations, receive the most attention. To do this, the author provides an outline of electoral geography as a popular tool for understanding political processes, analyzes elections as a credible institution required for power legitimization, and identifies electoral practices in the COVID-19 pandemic. Electoral geography methods and a comparative analysis of electoral practices are used in the research. Trust, it is decided, creates a climate in society, which contributes to the development and successful settlement of problems. In a trusting society, residents can choose from a variety of voting options, and elections become the most crucial measure of that trust. Electoral practices have been reflected in the pandemic restrictions. However, there is a clear trend toward the active implementation of remote electronic voting, which isn’t flawless yet but is a strategic goal in current election campaigns. Simultaneously, greater demands are placed on the election process’ security, control, openness, and transparency.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Serbian tourists’ risk perception on their intentions to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic with the control of socio-demographic characteristics. This research was conducted in the period from 18 May until 24 May 2020, on a sample of 348 respondents, through an online questionnaire. The principal component analysis identified five categories of the perceived risk affecting travel intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic: the health risk, the psychological risk, the financial risk, the destination risk and the travel risk. Logistic regression was used to examine the way in which risk perception affects the intentions and destinations of travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research findings indicate that the risk perception (health, psychological, financial and destination risks) among Serbian tourists negatively affects their travel intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of travel destinations, the results indicate that the travel risk negatively affects travel abroad, while the health risk, being on the verge of significance, proved to be a predictor of travel abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the variable of monthly income of the respondents was singled out as a significant predictor of travel abroad during the pandemic. Finally, the implications, limitations and recommendations for future research are presented in the paper.

Although research has identified a range of opportunities, risks, and harms related to online social networking, the public debate on online risks follows a set pattern by which members of older age groups (parents, regulators) hold a picture of members of younger age groups (teenagers, digital natives) at a uniformly high level of risk. Perceptions of online risk, however, are prone to third-person effects in which individuals perceive risks to be more apparent in others than themselves. This study investigated third-person effects across age groups to further our understanding of the set positions found in current public debate. Multivariate analysis was used to compare adolescent and adult users’ personal and third-person perceptions of common psycho-social risks associated with social networking engagement in a sample of 506 UK-based Facebook users (53% male; 13–77 years). Results indicated that rates of exposure to online vulnerabilities were similar for both age groups. However, differences in adult and adolescent perceptions of risk highlighted apparent mismatches between reported exposure to risk and an individual’s perceptions, with adults demonstrating lower personal perceptions and higher third-person perceptions of risk than their adolescent counterparts. The research considers the implications of risk perception on an individual’s online vulnerability.

The effect of fake news on the conceptualisation of the role of the face mask during the Covid-19 pandemic in Poland. A cognitive linguistic perspective

Effects of Fake News and Propaganda on Management of Information on Covid-19 Pandemic in Nigeria

The Covid-19 has spread rapidly, becoming a global health crisis. In crises, especially in public health problems such as a pandemic, it is important to reach the target audience effectively. In this process, the use of visuals helps to convey risk messages effectively. To control the pandemic and prevent its spread, individuals’ risk perception, self-efficacy and behaviors towards the pandemic are of great importance. The aim of this study is to measure how the visuals those individuals are exposed to about the Covid-19 pandemic affect their perceived risk level and self-efficacy, and how these relationships direct their behavior towards the pandemic. For the implementation of the study, data were collected from 410 people working in public institutions, in Türkiye. Structural equation modeling, t-test and Anova techniques analyzed the data collected in the survey conducted in the survey model. According to the research results, gender and educational status significantly affect employees’ attention to visuals and risk perception. According to the results of the research model, the research factors affect each other positively. Individuals’ interest in visuals increases their perceived risk and self-efficacy perceptions. Perceived risk and self efficacy for the epidemic, on the other hand, affect their behavior towards the epidemic.