Actual Norm Research Articles

Феномен коммуникативной демонстративности в современном дискурсе

This article is devoted to the problem of communicative demonstrativeness in the speech of a modern person. The purpose of the work is to identify and describe the leading features of the communicative category of demonstrativeness as a new phenomenon of modern discourse that has emerged as a result of socio-cultural evolution. As a result of the study, it is established that communicative demonstrativeness is an actual universal norm of interaction, which is the communicative tonality that structures the process of verbal communication and performs the function of self-manifestation and means of emotional influence on the addressee. Demonstrativeness is considered as a universal component of the sign, objectifying and conveying a certain meaning. Communicative demonstrativeness is actualized at all language levels and is implemented in speech products through the use of various linguistic and non-linguistic means. It is found that the leading means of expression of this communicative category are explicit semantic means, peripheral — lexico-grammatical means and paralinguistic signs. Its main types are positive and negative varieties. Communicative demonstrativeness is manifested in all circumstances of communication within the framework of socially communicative spheres. Being a form of mental reflection of reality, demonstrativeness determines the national communicative behavior of an individual people and the standards of the global communicative space.

Providing normative information increases intentions to accept a COVID-19 vaccine

Despite the availability of multiple safe vaccines, vaccine hesitancy may present a challenge to successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic. As with many human behaviors, people’s vaccine acceptance may be affected by their beliefs about whether others will accept a vaccine (i.e., descriptive norms). However, information about these descriptive norms may have different effects depending on the actual descriptive norm, people’s baseline beliefs, and the relative importance of conformity, social learning, and free-riding. Here, using a pre-registered, randomized experiment (N = 484,239) embedded in an international survey (23 countries), we show that accurate information about descriptive norms can increase intentions to accept a vaccine for COVID-19. We find mixed evidence that information on descriptive norms impacts mask wearing intentions and no statistically significant evidence that it impacts intentions to physically distance. The effects on vaccination intentions are largely consistent across the 23 included countries, but are concentrated among people who were otherwise uncertain about accepting a vaccine. Providing normative information in vaccine communications partially corrects individuals’ underestimation of how many other people will accept a vaccine. These results suggest that presenting people with information about the widespread and growing acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines helps to increase vaccination intentions.

In defence of systemic validity: extra-systemic and unconstitutional norms

ABSTRACT Systemic validity has been criticised based on its supposed inability to account for the validity of so-called extra systemic norms and unconstitutional statutes. The article argues that these criticisms are not sound by demonstrating that no truly extra-systemic norm is actually recognised as valid within the legal system and by claiming that there is nothing non-systemic with unconstitutional statutes. On the other hand, with respect to norms of public international law, foreign law applied in cases of conflict of laws and the norms of the former legal system, what is concerned is not the incorporation of the norms themselves, but the contents thereof. This means that there is a norm within the legal system identical in content with an actual extra-systemic norm. This content-based incorporation is usually carried out with two different methods respectively called ‘dynamic’ and ‘static’ incorporation and neither case provides a challenge for the understanding of systemic validity.

How laws affect the perception of norms: Empirical evidence from the lockdown.

Laws not only affect behavior due to changes in material payoffs, but they may also change the perception individuals have of social norms, either by shifting them directly or by providing information on these norms. Using detailed daily survey data and exploiting the introduction of lockdown measures in the UK in the context of the COVID-19 health crisis, we provide causal evidence that the law drastically changed the perception of the norms regarding social distancing behaviors. We show that this effect of laws on perceived norms is mostly driven by an informational channel and that the intervention made perceptions of social norms converge to the actual prevalent norm.

Certifying Global Optimality for the L∞-Norm Computation of Large-Scale Descriptor Systems

We present a method for the certification of algorithms that approximate the L∞- or H∞-norm of transfer functions of large-scale (descriptor) systems. This certification is needed because such algorithms depend heavily on user input, and may converge to a local maximizer of the related singular value function leading to an incorrect value, much lower than the actual norm. Hence, we design an algorithm that determines whether a given value is less than the L∞-norm of the transfer function under consideration, and that does not require user input other than the system matrices. In the algorithm, we check whether a certain structured matrix pencil has any purely imaginary eigenvalues by repeatedly applying a structure-preserving shift-and-invert Arnoldi iteration combined with an appropriate shifting strategy.Our algorithm consists of two stages. First, an interval on the imaginary axis which may contain imaginary eigenvalues is determined. Then, in the second stage, a shift is chosen on this interval and the eigenvalues closest to this shift are computed. If none of these eigenvalues is purely imaginary, then an imaginary interval around the shift of appropriate length is removed such that two subintervals remain. This second stage is then repeated on the remaining two subintervals until either a purely imaginary eigenvalue is found or no critical subintervals are left.We show the effectiveness of our method by testing it without any parameter adaptation on a benchmark collection of large-scale systems.

Social norms, misperceptions, and mosquito net use: a population-based, cross-sectional study in rural Uganda

BackgroundMosquito net use is an essential part of malaria prevention. Although previous research has shown that many people sleep under a mosquito net in endemic areas, it is unknown whether people underestimate how common it is to sleep under a net every night. Furthermore, perceived social norms about whether most others sleep under a mosquito net every night may contribute to personally sleeping under a net, given decades of research showing that people often mimic others’ behaviours.MethodsPopulation-based data were collected from 1669 adults across eight villages in one rural parish in southwestern Uganda. Individuals’ perception about whether most adults in their community sleep under a mosquito net every night was compared with whether daily mosquito net use was the actual norm in their community to identify the extent of norm misperception. The association between whether an individual perceived daily mosquito net use to be the norm and personal mosquito net use was assessed while adjusting for the ratio of nets:people in the household and other factors.ResultsAlthough the majority (65%) of participants reported sleeping under a mosquito net every night (and 75% did so among the 86% of people with at least one net), one-quarter of participants thought that most adults in their community did not sleep under a mosquito net every night. Another 8% were unsure how many nights per week most adults in their community sleep under a mosquito net. Participants who perceived that daily mosquito net use was the norm were 2.94 times more likely to report personally sleeping under a mosquito net every night (95% CI 2.09–4.14, p < 0.001) compared to participants who thought doing so was not normative, adjusting for other factors.ConclusionsResults suggest an opportunity for anti-malarial interventions to reduce misperceptions about mosquito net use norms and emphasize the commonness of daily mosquito net use in malaria-endemic regions. If people correctly perceive most others to sleep under a net every night, then they may personally do so when possible and support others to do so too.

Learner corpora nella didattica delle lingue: uno studio sui costrutti possessivi della lingua russa

Lo scopo di questo studio è mostrare il modo in cui i learner corpora paralleli, ovvero le raccolte elettroniche delle traduzioni verso la seconda lingua (L2) effettuate dagli studenti, possono contribuire non solo al miglioramento della didattica della traduzione attiva, ma anche allo studio della L2 in generale. Verranno presentati i risultati di una ricerca basata sul primo learner corpus italiano-russo, che raccoglie traduzioni dall'italiano al russo, svolte da madrelingua italiani che studiano la lingua russa come L2 all'università. Ci si soffermerà soprattutto sulle particolarità dell’uso di alcune espressioni di possesso. Le traduzioni dal learner corpus verranno paragonati ai dati del Corpus Nazionale della Lingua Russa da un lato, e ai dati di alcuni precedenti studi sulla categoria di possesso dall’altro. Tale analisi contrastiva metterà in evidenza le difficoltà nella scelta di alcuni costrutti possessivi in base ai contesti e nella valutazione degli stessi dal punto di vista della norma attuale della lingua russa.

Norm Uncertainty and Voluntary Payments in the Field

We investigate behavioral reactions toward exogenous changes of implicit norm-relevant information in a natural field setting where customers are free to choose if and how much to pay for a service. Customers’ voluntary payments are significantly affected by subtle information cues: cues that signal a high rather than a low payment norm increase payments by some 27%. Consistent with the conjecture that this effect is in large part driven by customers’ uncertainty about the actual norm, responses are mitigated when explicit norm-relevant information is provided. Additional treatments suggest that the reactions to the cues are not driven by mere saliency but by the information deduced from the cues in the presence of uncertainty. Data are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2937 . This paper was accepted by Uri Gneezy, behavioral economics.

Bringing the outsiders in: an interactionist perspective on deviance and normative change in international politics

In this article, we draw on insights from the interactionist perspective in sociology and international relations (IR) norm contestation literature to explore the relationship between deviance and normative change in international politics. In IR, this is still largely unexplored territory: we already know a great deal about how norms change, yet we know much less about the actual role norm violations play in this process. In order to address this gap, we conceptualize three types of normative contestation and affirmation that take place in connection with deviance (re)construction: (1) applicatory contestation and affirmation, reconstructing the meanings of international norms; (2) justificatory contestation and affirmation, challenging and reaffirming the legitimacy of international norms; and (3) hierarchical contestation and affirmation, contesting and reaffirming the relative value and importance of international norms. We discuss how, as a consequence of these dynamics, deviance-making produces both stability and change in the normative structure of world politics.

On the translation-proper of toponyms in Romanian translations at the beginning of the 19th century

The translation of certain toponyms that had not yet been assimilated to the Romanian language at the beginning of the 19th century represented a real challenge for translators at that time. A first aspect to be considered here is the linguistic status as proper names and the possible translation options that could not be correlated to any tradition. A second aspect is the precarious stage of Romanian geographical terminology, reflected by the terminological variation for the same concept and the lack of semantic affinity, either real or related to the actual terminology. This article addresses mainly the first aspect mentioned above. The issues addressed are as follows: a concise presentation of the concept of proper names translation, the distinction between untranslatable and translatable or partially translatable proper names, the factors motivating the option of translating or not the translatable terms from a toponymic collocation. Our corpus reflects the incipient stage of the translation of translatable or partially translatable toponyms in Romanian, a stage in which the translator is free to decide upon translatability. Compared to the actual norm, the different choices from one translator to another or even those opted for by the same translator—especially the option of not translating toponyms that are nowadays translated in most languages—reveal the lack of importance of linguistic meaning (that is the lexical meaning of the etymon) of the proper name as far as its functioning was concerned, as well as the role of this non-functionality in identifying the linguistic status of a proper name.

Insidious Assumptions

Pluralistic ignorance occurs when individuals misperceive a group norm and attempt to match the perceived—rather than actual—norm. Little is currently known about its role in the undergraduate classroom. The present research examined the pluralistic ignorance of studying behavior and its relationship with examination performance across four studies. Results suggested that students underestimate the amount of time their peers spend studying (Study 1), the extent of their estimation error is related to exam performance (Study 2), and that the relationship is mediated by a perceived lack of preparation (Study 3). Finally, a brief classroom intervention (Study 4) may be able to eliminate the pluralistic ignorance. Implications for the theory of pluralistic ignorance, and college teaching, are discussed.

Uncovering Pluralistic Ignorance to Change Men's Communal Self-descriptions, Attitudes, and Behavioral Intentions.

Gender norms can lead men to shy away from traditionally female roles and occupations in communal HEED domains (Healthcare, Early Education, Domestic sphere) that do not fit within the social construct of masculinity. But to what extent do men underestimate the degree to which other men are accepting of men in these domains? Building on research related to social norms and pluralistic ignorance, the current work investigated whether men exhibit increased communal orientations when presented with the true norms regarding men’s communal traits and behaviors vs. their perceived faulty norms. Study 1 (N = 64) revealed that young Belgian men indeed perceive their peers to hold more traditional norms regarding communal and agentic traits than their peers actually hold. Study 2 (N = 319) presented young Belgian men with altered norms to manipulate exposure to men’s actual normative beliefs (i.e., what men truly think), their perceived norms (i.e., what men believe other men think), or a no information control. When men were presented with actual rather than perceived norms, they altered their own self-descriptions, future behavioral intentions, and broader gender-related social attitudes in a more communal direction. In particular, men who were presented with information about men’s actual beliefs regarding the compatibility between communal and agentic traits exhibited the strongest movement toward a more communal orientation. The findings show that participants in conditions that uncover pluralistic ignorance adapted their attitudes and behaviors to be more in line with the actual norm: adopting a more communal self-concept, having lower intentions to hide future communal engagement, and supporting more progressive gender-related social change. The results are discussed in terms of influences of norms on men’s communal orientations and broader attitudes toward gender-related social change, and the down-stream implications for increased gender-equality in HEED domains where men remain highly underrepresented.

Normative Pressures and Change in International Relations: Looking at “Democratic Intergovernmental Organizations?” and Beyond

This article summarizes the main arguments from my book, “Democratic Intergovernmental Organizations? Normative Pressures and Decision-making Rules.” The book asks how democratic norms have shaped decision-making rules in intergovernmental organizations. It discusses developments over almost two centuries, across six major organizations and finds that “normative pressures,” and states' varied reactions to such pressures, have slowly brought the rules of such organizations closer to the ones in the domestic realm that we generally associate with democracy. I also explain here how the book can lead to further research on intergovernmental organizations, norms, and, more broadly, on international relations. I do so by responding to a number of important questions raised by three reviewers, especially those referring to the actual norm dynamics leading to change in the international realm, the implications of my findings for future democratic trends in global governance, and the implications of this research for other aspects of international relations.

On the sharpness of the Rüssmann estimates

Estimating the norm of the solution of the linear difference equation u(θ)−u(θ+ω)=v(θ) plays a fundamental role in KAM theory. Optimal (in certain sense) estimates for the solution of this equation were provided by Rüssmann in the mid 70's. The aim of this paper is to compare the sharpness of these classical estimates with more specific estimates obtained with the help of the computer. We perform several experiments to quantify the improvement obtained when using computer assisted estimates. By comparing these estimates with the actual norm of the solution, we can analyze the different sources of overestimation, thus encouraging future improvements.

Actual Versus Perceived HIV Testing Norms, and Personal HIV Testing Uptake: A Cross-Sectional, Population-Based Study in Rural Uganda.

HIV testing is an essential part of treatment and prevention. Using population-based data from 1664 adults across eight villages in rural Uganda, we assessed individuals' perception of the norm for HIV testing uptake in their village and compared it to the actual uptake norm. In addition, we examined how perception of the norm was associated with personal testing while adjusting for other factors. Although the majority of people had been tested for HIV across all villages, slightly more than half of men and women erroneously thought that the majority in their village had never been tested. They underestimated the prevalence of HIV testing uptake by 42 percentage points (s.d.=17 percentage points), on average. Among men, perceiving that HIV testing was not normative was associated with never testing for HIV (AOR=2.6; 95% CI 1.7-4.0, p<0.001). Results suggest an opportunity for interventions to emphasize the commonness of HIV testing uptake.

Triangular truncation and its extremal matrices

SummaryThe triangular truncation operator is a linear transformation that maps a given matrix to its strictly lower triangular part. The operator norm (with respect to the matrix spectral norm) of the triangular truncation is known to have logarithmic dependence on the dimension, and such dependence is usually illustrated by a specific Toeplitz matrix. However, the precise value of this operator norm as well as on which matrices can it be attained is still unclear. In this article, we describe a simple way of constructing matrices whose strictly lower triangular part has logarithmically larger spectral norm. The construction also leads to a sharp estimate that is very close to the actual operator norm of the triangular truncation. This research is directly motivated by our studies on the convergence theory of the Kaczmarz type method (or equivalently, the Gauß‐Seidel type method), the corresponding application of which is also included. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley &amp; Sons, Ltd.

Normative Misperceptions of Alcohol Use Among Substance Abusing Army Personnel

This research examines discrepancies among perceived norms, actual norms, and own behavior for alcohol in the military. Participants included 159 substance-abusing, active-duty U.S. Army personnel. Participants’ estimates of the average number of drinks consumed by Army personnel were significantly higher than the actual norm. Participants also overestimated the percentage of Army personnel who have engaged in heavy episodic drinking relative to the actual percentage. Participants’ own drinking was associated with their overestimations of other military personnel drinking but not other civilian drinking. Results provide foundational support for the use of military-specific normative feedback as a potential intervention strategy.

Evaluation of heating energy consumption patterns in the residential building sector using stepwise selection and multivariate analysis

The aim of the present study is to evaluate historical consumption of natural gas for heating, between 1996 and 2009, in multifamily buildings, using stepwise selection and multivariate analysis. 72 apartments of the capital of the province of La Pampa, Argentina, were studied. Some apartments were previously monitored, thus information about their thermal and energy behaviour is available. There are many variables that could influence the winter energy and annual consumption of the apartments. Based on the characteristics of buildings in Argentina and on previous research, ten variables were selected, from which the most representative ones were selected by using a stepwise method. Then, the apartments were grouped by applying clustering techniques, and the centroids for each cluster were determined by averaging the variables that describe the cluster. It was shown that the apartments monitored in previous works, having good thermal behaviour, are close to the centroids of the group to which they belong and could be taken as references of their group. The annual heating energy consumption average for the sample is 118.2kWh/m2/y. However, a significant percentage of apartments showed energy consumptions lower than 70kWh/m2/y, which is a widely accepted value to define a building as a “low-energy” one. Thus, some apartments could be classified as “low-energy”, but for the actual Argentinean Norm they do not qualify even for the worst energy level label. The results make evident a strong disagreement between the Argentinean standard label and the real energy consumption for heating. This fact should be considered as fundamental in order to review the Norm.

Using peer injunctive norms to predict early adolescent cigarette smoking intentions

The present study investigated the importance of the perceived injunctive norm to predict early adolescent cigarette smoking intentions. A total of 271 6th graders completed a survey that included perceived prevalence of friend smoking (descriptive norm), perceptions of friends' disapproval of smoking (injunctive norm), and future smoking intentions. Participants also listed their five best friends, in which the actual injunctive norm was calculated. Results showed that smoking intentions were significantly correlated with the perceived injunctive norm but not with the actual injunctive norm. Secondly, the perceived injunctive norm predicted an additional 3.4% of variance in smoking intentions above and beyond the perceived descriptive norm. These results demonstrate the importance of the perceived injunctive norm in predicting early adolescent smoking intentions.

The impact of vessel crowding on the probability of tourists returning to whale watching in Banderas Bay, Mexico

This article examines the influence of vessel crowding on the probability of tourists returning for whale watching at Banderas Bay in Mexico. We estimate a conditional probability model of the intention to return, which includes vessel crowding and other factors such as income and conservation attitudes as explanatory variables. We use a representative survey of 410 whale watching tourists. Our empirical results show that perceived crowding and reported crowding negatively affect the probability of tourists returning for a whale watching trip, while variables such as conservation attitude, specifically subjective norm, have positive impacts on such probability. Results show that most of the surveyed tourists would return if the number of boats around the whales were about two. These results suggest that well designed coastal management policies should include appropriate regulations on vessel crowding not only to protect the whales but also to increase the probability of tourists returning to the site. Proposed regulations on crowding might include evaluation of the actual norm and maintenance of permits as a regulation strategy, a code of conduct for all vessels and a zoning area.