Public Judgment Research Articles

Drivers of Public Opinion on the Acceptability of Distorting Performance Measures

ABSTRACT Agents often inflate measured performance by distorting operating decisions (e.g., real earnings management) and/or reporting decisions (e.g., accruals management). Across four studies, we find that public judgments of distortion’s acceptability largely reflect assessments of how harmful and norm-violating the distortion is. Judgments of operating distortion primarily reflect assessments of harm, whereas judgments of reporting distortion primarily reflect assessments of norm violation. These results are consistent with the Theory of Dyadic Morality (Gray, Waytz, and Young 2012; Schein and Gray 2018). We also find that those who perceive an accounting system as more unfairly withholding an agent’s bonus assess distortion (especially reporting distortion) to be less norm-violating. Those who perceive the performance measure as less appropriate for capturing the value of performance to stakeholders assess distortion (especially operating distortion) to be more harmful. Assessments of distortions’ harm and norm violation explain a substantial portion of the variation in acceptability judgments.

Mothers of Children with Stuttering and Their Daily Concerns: A Qualitative Study

Background: Stuttering is one of the most important speech disorders in children, which causes anxiety and worry in parents, especially mothers. The present study sought to investigate and identify the types of anxiety experienced by mothers of children with stuttering. Methods: This qualitative study adopted reflexive thematic analysis (Brown & Clark) to investigate the anxiety and concerns experienced by mothers of children with stuttering. The participants were 15 mothers of children with stuttering who visited speech therapy centers in Isfahan and were selected through homogenous purposive sampling. The data were collected through interviews with the participants for 45 days and analyzed by the thematic analysis method. Results: Data analysis revealed two core categories, four organizing themes, and nineteen subthemes. The two core categories identified in this study were mother-centered anxiety (anxiety about public judgments on the mother and anxiety about the appropriateness of the mother’s behavior with the child who stutters) and child-centered anxiety (concerns about public reactions to the child’s stuttering and the concerns about the child’s future life and treatment). Conclusion: The findings indicated that the mothers of children with stuttering were mostly concerned about public reactions to the stuttering child and their judgments about the mother. Thus, promoting a sense of self-worth in these mothers can reduce such concerns. Moreover, raising public awareness about how to treat children with stuttering and their parents can make social life easier for such children and their mothers.

A Critical Discourse Analysis of American News Reports on the Opening Ceremony of Beijing Winter Olympics

The opening ceremony of Beijing Winter Olympic Games in 2022 has been extensively covered in international news reports. Although these news reports seem impartial and objective, they carry underlying ideologies that can influence public opinions and judgments. This paper examined the discursive representation of China in American news reports on the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics using Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis model as the theoretical basis. News stories from American media were collected and analysed in terms of headline, collocation, and quotation pattern. The research found that American news reports present mixed and multifaceted views toward the host country. They showed appreciation for the host country’s success in delivering a spectacular opening ceremony, but they tended to frame China negatively, portraying it as an intimidating power and a geopolitical threat. This study can improve our understanding of the discursive practice of news reports and enhance critical awareness in interpreting news texts.

Understanding Social Judgments of and Proclivities to Commit Upskirting.

Against a backdrop of legislative change that sees the taking of private sexual images underneath the clothing of a non-consenting other being made a criminal offence - upskirting - there is a need to understand the public's judgments of and motivations to perpetrate said behavior. In this study (N = 490), we investigated whether judgments of upskirting differed as a function of the sex of the person who was upskirted (male, female) and their perceived attractiveness (attractive, unattractive), as well as how variation in voyeuristic interest, belief in a just world, and dark personality traits predicted judgments of and proclivity to engage in upskirting. We consistently observed more lenient judgments of upskirting behavior when the person who was upskirted was attractive and male, with such judgements predicted by older age across all conditions. Moreover, proclivity to engage in upskirting was predicted by past voyeuristic behaviors, higher psychopathic personality, and being male and of older age. We discuss our findings in the context of needing to qualitatively understand the rationale underpinning these judgments, combating barriers to disclose victimization, and practitioner implications.

Introducing the 3MT_French dataset to investigate the timing of public speaking judgements

AbstractIn most public speaking datasets, judgements are given after watching the entire performance, or on thin slices randomly selected from the presentations, without focusing on the temporal location of these slices. This does not allow to investigate how people’s judgements develop over time during presentations. This contrasts with primacy and recency theories, which suggest that some moments of the speech could be more salient than others and contribute disproportionately to the perception of the speaker’s performance. To provide novel insights on this phenomenon, we present the 3MT_French dataset. It contains a set of public speaking annotations collected on a crowd-sourcing platform through a novel annotation scheme and protocol. Global evaluation, persuasiveness, perceived self-confidence of the speaker and audience engagement were annotated on different time windows (i.e., the beginning, middle or end of the presentation, or the full video). This new resource will be useful to researchers working on public speaking assessment and training. It will allow to fine-tune the analysis of presentations under a novel perspective relying on socio-cognitive theories rarely studied before in this context, such as first impressions and primacy and recency theories. An exploratory correlation analysis on the annotations provided in the dataset suggests that the early moments of a presentation have a stronger impact on the judgements.

Applied cratology and the political process through the prism of the scientific heritage of E. I. Kozlova

The will of the multinational people of Russia is the basis of the political process of a modern state. The values enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation are a guideline for the political process, legal consolidation of goals and objectives facing the state and civil society; the basis for specific legal regulation and act as a criterion for balancing various interests. The article analyzes the creative heritage of Professor E. I. Kozlova in terms of her study of fundamental issues of the theory of democracy and various forms of its manifestation and mechanisms of implementation. Over the course of many years of her creative life, Ekaterina Ivanovna Kozlova has studied the evolution of the conceptual foundations of democracy in the Russian Federation, the quintessence of which is the will of the people. In light of the constitutional amendments of 2020 and the digitalization of state and public life, ideas, fears and judgments about the significance of the will of the people of the classics of state (constitutional) law take on a new meaning. The institutionalization of the political process and its legal concept is the basis of the modern theory of practical cratology. The author’s vision of the constitutional design of the foundations, tasks and subjects of the political process is proposed.

He's to blame, she is lying: Judgments of child sex trafficking survivors

AbstractUS Federal legislation mandates the treatment of underaged youth induced to sell themselves for commercial sex as victims and not criminal offenders of prostitution laws. Nonetheless, state prosecutors often take action in juvenile court against these youth. This study explored the impact of negative moral emotions, victim blame, and victim believability on public judgments of child sex trafficking victims under varying case facts. We presented an online scenario involving a trafficking case to 682 participants and manipulated youth sex, trafficker sex, vulnerability background, and prior arrest history to determine how emotions, victim blame, and believability mediate child sex trafficking decisions. Two different paths emerged depending on the youth's sex. Participants reported greater victim responsibility and greater negative moral emotions towards a male youth trafficked by a female when he had a prior commercial sex arrest, which in turn predicted a lower certainty of recommending social services over legal consequences. With the same facts, participants reported lower believability for a female youth when she had a prior commercial sex arrest, which in turn predicted a lower certainty of recommending social services over legal consequences. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of the findings for practice and theory.

Using Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) to predict criminal charges and sentences from Taiwanese court judgments.

People unfamiliar with the law may not know what kind of behavior is considered criminal behavior or the lengths of sentences tied to those behaviors. This study used criminal judgments from the district court in Taiwan to predict the type of crime and sentence length that would be determined. This study pioneers using Taiwanese criminal judgments as a dataset and proposes improvements based on Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT). This study is divided into two parts: criminal charges prediction and sentence prediction. Injury and public endangerment judgments were used as training data to predict sentences. This study also proposes an effective solution to BERT's 512-token limit. The results show that using the BERT model to train Taiwanese criminal judgments is feasible. Accuracy reached 98.95% in predicting criminal charges and 72.37% in predicting the sentence in injury trials, and 80.93% in predicting the sentence in public endangerment trials.

The Application of Customs in Adjudication of Dowries Return Disputes—Analysis Based on 210 Public Judgment Documents in 2024

The Application of Customs in Adjudication of Dowries Return Disputes—Analysis Based on 210 Public Judgment Documents in 2024

Using Game Theory to Analyze the Effects of Different News Communication Strategies on Public Opinion Formation

Abstract In this paper, the public opinion game model is introduced through the analysis of game theory and news dissemination theory. According to the basic assumptions to form the payment matrix, the mathematical derivation of the benefit expectation function, to get the replication of the main body of the dynamic equations, and its equilibrium point of the stability of the test, so as to complete the construction of the public opinion game model under different news dissemination strategies. The model of this paper is validated and analyzed when the news dissemination to the public economic loss Lg is higher, leading to the rise of the probability of strict government regulation, prompting the public judgment and self-opinion ability to improve. If the government does not intervene in the news media, the gray gains of the news media Re 2 gradually increase, resulting in the lack of relevant, correct knowledge of the public. In this paper, we study the impact of different news communication strategies on the formation of public opinion and promote the formation of public opinion.

Causes of Action Identification in Disputes over Construction Project Contracts Using Hierarchical Learning Based on BERT

Abstract Causes of action identification enables appropriate classification of legal cases, which is of substantial significance for case management and resolution. This paper explores the application of artificial intelligence in identifying causes of action in disputes over construction contracts. This study utilizes a dataset comprising public judgment documents and employs the TextRank method to condense judgment documents while maintaining essential information. The classification model incorporates BERT for embedding and the fully connected layer for classification. A hierarchical learning method is proposed to address the performance decrease due to dataset imbalance. The initial dataset is employed to create several training sub-datasets, in which categories with fewer data are merged into a single category to approximate the balance in the data distribution. Each training sub-dataset is used to train a separate classification model. The trained models are then applied sequentially for text classification, and a hash table is used to correlate classification results with their respective causes of action. The effectiveness of this method is validated through 5-fold cross-validation and benchmarked against other methods, demonstrating the superiority of the proposed method in identifying causes of action. In conclusion, this paper presents an innovative method for identifying the cause of action via artificial intelligence.

Which body functions and activities matter for stroke patients? Study protocol for best–Worst scalings to value core elements of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

Background Stroke is a common, serious, and disabling healthcare problem with increasing incidence and prevalence. Following a stroke, identifying the factors associated with decisions about rehabilitation interventions is important to assess rehabilitation after stroke. The aim is to guide clinical staff to make patient-centered decisions. Fundamentally, decision makers cannot draw on evidence to consider the relevance of distinct functions and activities from the patient’s perspective. Until now, outcomes of rehabilitation are generally categorized using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). This can be seen as a conceptual basis for the assessment of health and disability. Since the ICF does not distinguish importance between these aspects there is a need to value the most important clinical factors as well as related activities from a patients and public perspective to help guide therapists in effectively designing post-acute rehabilitation care for individuals following stroke. The research question is which ICF body functions and activities are of value to stroke patients? Which trade-offs are patients willing to make within the core elements? Health preference research (HPR) answers the need to develop additional preference weights for certain ICF dimensions. Patient preference information (PPI) values health conditions based on the ICF from a patient perspective. Methods In this study we conduct three best–worst scaling (BWS) experiments to value body function and activities from patients’ and public perspective. Out of all ICF dimensions this research covers health conditions relevant to stroke patients in terms of body function, perception, and activities of daily living. Stroke patients as well as members of the general population will be recruited to participate in the online BWS surveys. Fractional, efficient designs are applied regarding the survey design. Conditional and multinominal logit analyses will be used as the main analysis method, with the best–worst count analysis as a secondary analysis. The survey is being piloted prior to commencing the process of data collection. Results are expected by the autumn of 2023. Discussion The research will add to the current literature on clinical decision-making in stroke rehabilitation and the value of certain body functions as well as related activities in neurorehabilitation. Moreover, the study will show whether body functions and activities that are currently equally weighted in international guidelines are also equally important from the point of view of those affected, or whether there are disconcordances in terms of differences between public judgements and patients’ preferences.

Big Little Election Lies: Cynical and Credulous Evaluations of Electoral Fraud

Abstract The ‘Big Lie’ in American politics has sparked intense concern about the erosion of public confidence in the integrity of US elections—raising questions about the legitimacy of the authorities, institutions, and principles of democratic governance. Cynicism generated from misinformation about trustworthy elections has attracted a growing body of individual-level social-psychological research in America and Europe. Another common problem found around the world, however, which has received far less attention, concerns credulous citizens who express considerable faith and confidence in flawed contests. This study theorises that at macro-level, the accuracy of any public judgments about trustworthy elections is likely to be mediated by the information environment in open and closed societies, as well as by the type of regime. To understand these issues, Part I summarises the conceptual and theoretical argument about trust and trustworthiness. Part II describes the sources of evidence. To apply the theory, data on public opinion is drawn from around 85 societies around the globe included in Waves 6 and 7 of the World Values Survey (2010–2022), with measures of electoral trust and subjective perceptions of electoral integrity among ordinary citizens. Institutional electoral performance indices are drawn from the Varieties of Democracy project (V-Dem 12.0). Part III analyses how far these independent estimates match public judgments of the trustworthiness of elections in each country – and how far such relationships are conditioned by the type of information society as well as by the type of regime. Part IV highlights the key findings and considers their broader implications for understanding the macro-level conditions for trust and trustworthiness.

Research on Hybrid Teaching Based on Chaoxing Learning Platform—Take the Course of “Network Public Opinion Research and Judgment” as an Example

Research on Hybrid Teaching Based on Chaoxing Learning Platform—Take the Course of “Network Public Opinion Research and Judgment” as an Example

Understanding the incidence of street children in Accra, Ghana through the public opinion, mass media, recognition and judgement perspectives in social work

Introduction: Throughout the entire change process in social work practice, power plays a vital role. Social workers, organizations, governments, and service users exert some form of power in the process of addressing social problems and implementing interventions. The arguments in this article demonstrate how these various viewpoints affect the prevalence of children on the streets. Approach: Drawing from existing literature and diverse theories, this article critically examines the power dynamics and perspectives that emerge within the design and implementation of interventions for street children in Accra, Ghana, using the lens of social work, mass media, and public opinion, as well as the recognition and judgment in social work perspectives. When the predominance of street children in Ghana is examined through the lens of public opinion and mass media in social work, it becomes clear how Ghana's status as a liberal state influences the public and the media’s negative conception of street children. In addition, a critical analysis of the recognition and judgement theory in the Ghanaian context emphasizes how street children's fundamental rights are violated, which results in low self-esteem and confidence. Conclusions: By offering practical suggestions for social workers, the paper's conclusion contributes to social work research and practice. Social workers, governments, and organizations may help street children by creating and putting into action rescue plans, raising awareness through advertisements and social media campaigns, and allocating enough human and financial resources.

Dampak Magang Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka Bagi Mahasiswa Akuntansi

An internship is an integral part of the higher education curriculum to broaden students' practical understanding of the real world. This research focuses on the Magang Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) program, which was introduced by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia in early 2020. The program aims to facilitate students' gaining real-world experience through relevant work practices in their field of study, thereby enhancing graduates' hard and soft skills. Therefore, this research aims to identify the skills acquired by accounting students during their participation in MBKM internship activities across various industries. This study utilized a survey method by distributing a Google Form through social media to accounting students throughout Indonesia who participated in the MBKM internship. The valid sample size obtained was 90 out of 105 eligible respondents, and the data was analyzed using descriptive statistical approaches. The analysis results indicate that the majority of surveyed students have made progress in both hard and soft skills required in the workplace. The majority of students agree that their internship has helped them enhance their confidence in working in the field of accounting and their abilities to work independently and solve problems autonomously, collaborate with others, present in front of the public, analyze data, and exercise judgment in task completion. This study also found that the internship program is effective in enhancing the skills required by the business and industry sectors, resulting in the majority of internship participants receiving job offers upon graduation

More than Mere Child’s Play: Youth Activism, Ephebic Appeals, and Environmental Communication

ABSTRACT In this essay, age is considered a relevant and significant subject position in which ecological advocates put forth ideologies and cultural constructions of youth to communicate about and for the environment. Young activists employ ‘ephebic appeals’ to raise awareness of certain issues, display public critical thinking, advocate for society-wide solutions, and empower audiences. The author analyzes the ephebic appeals Greta Thunberg, Autumn Peltier, and Mari Copeny to better understand how age operates rhetorically to justify youth’s entrance and involvement in civic and political deliberations, render public judgments, and enable similar reflections and critiques in others. Overall, the essay considers how ephebic appeals expand disciplinary boundaries as they relate to rhetorical agency, protest and social change, and citizenship.

Prioritization of Off-Grid Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Residential Communities in China Considering Public Participation with Basic Uncertain Linguistic Information

In recent years, the adoption of Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRESs) is rapidly increasing globally due to their economic and environmental benefits. In order to ensure the smooth implementation of HRESs, it is important to systematically capture societal preferences. However, few studies focus on the effective integration of public opinion into energy planning decisions. In this study, a decision-making approach for public participation in HRES planning is proposed to optimize the configuration of off-grid HRESs. First, an HRES evaluation index system considering public participation was constructed; to address the situation where the public from different backgrounds may have limited and inconsistent understanding of indicators, the basic uncertain linguistic information (BULI) is introduced to express evaluations and associated reliability levels. The indicator weights were then determined through the evaluation of both the public and the expert opinions. Second, the BULI-EDAS decision approach was developed by extending the EDAS method to the BULI environment to optimize HRES planning. Finally, the proposed model was applied to identify the optimal configuration in rural China. The comparative analysis results show that the proposed method can avoid misunderstandings and facilitate realistic public judgments. The selected optimal plan has a standardized energy price of 0.126 USD/kWh and generates 45,305 kg CO2/year, resulting in the best overall performance. The proposed HRES planning method provides a practical approach for decision makers to conduct HRES planning in a public participation environment to promote clean energy transitions.

The Research on the Impact of Fake News about Russia-Ukraine War upon Users

In recent years, due to the constant changes in the international situation, fake news has experienced a increasing emerging, making it more difficult for users to distinguish between the truth. This article intends to conduct a research based on the recent fake news case of the Russia-Ukraine war, to focus on how the fake news impact on the mass public. The results of this research indicated that majority of the users would believe the message that the news conveyed, generated the negative attitudes of the audience, and further arouse users to criticize the guilty party that the news pointed out. However, throughout the research, this paper found out that there are certain number of users would question the realness of news, which this paper sees as a good phenomenon for it represents the awakening of civic consciousness. This paper calls for future experiments to start with how to improve the public's judgment, so as to reduce the bad influence of fake news on the public.

The Context of Officer-Involved Shootings: Violent History and Language Use in Public Judgments of an OIS

The Context of Officer-Involved Shootings: Violent History and Language Use in Public Judgments of an OIS