Shaping Attitudes Research Articles

A Study of Life Skill among Undergraduate Students of B.P.S Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur Kalan Sonipat

Life skills are problem-solving behaviors appropriately and responsibly used in the management of personal affairs. Life skills education approach is an interactive educational methodology that not only focuses on transmitting knowledge, but also aims at shaping attitudes and developing interpersonal skills. Life skills help individual to fulfill their social need from childhood to adolescence. It also helps to deal with different issues as a student. The present study has investigated the difference between life skills of professional and traditional courses undergraduate students of B.P.S Mahila Vishwavidyalaya. Descriptive survey method was used. The tool used for data collection is standardized scale on life skill standardized by Nair A.R.K. Subasree R & Ranjan Sunitha (2010). Data was analyzed using mean, SD and t-test. The findings of the research stated that there is no significant difference between the life skills of traditional and professional courses students and hostler and day-scholar students.

Three decades of The Necks: Reciprocal Patterns of Improvised Music and Organisational Behaviour

This article explores the nature of organisational behaviour within a long-standing improvised music group and its reciprocal relationship with their musical practice. It uses ideas from Ingrid Monson (1996) relating to social activities expressing the values and aesthetics of musical practice and adopts research findings from business management literature, in particular Kenneth Bettenhausen’s (1991) notion that the task patterns of a group play a role in shaping attitudes and behaviour, informing our understanding of the way improvisational music practices correlate with social and organisational behaviour. The Australian piano trio, The Necks, perform minimalist extended improvisations with ritual-like patterns in performance and social behaviour. Being self-managed with the same line-up since 1987, they present a unique case study in how a band’s organisational behaviour has a mutual relationship to its musical practice. This study traces out their organisational patterns to show how these have developed in tandem with an improvisational ethos in which members undertake slowly evolving group minimalist improvisations guided by an unspoken set of behavioural patterns with adaptable parameters for change. The findings reveal an underlying narrative of tension between group homogeneity and individual autonomy, experiences of group flow, the use of varying modes of communication for varying contexts, similarities between their musical improvisation parameters and their social interaction, and strategies for implementing change and innovation. The article sketches how their social and organisational behaviour converges with their musical process: a slow rate of change, effortless, and yet with a long arc of possibilities.

In Search of the Innovative Digital Solutions Enhancing Social Pro-Environmental Engagement

Aim: In this paper, we analyze the potential of various digital tools such as gamification-based applications or digital currencies in enabling the social engagement in climate change mitigation processes by encouraging pro-environmental behaviors. Therefore, as a result of this study, we aim to develop a conceptual framework for a green digital tool, dedicated to cities seeking to shape their resilience by supporting bottom-up initiatives and encouraging residents to join the effort through educational interventions. Methods: The study was divided into four steps using a variety of methodological approaches, including a review of the SLR literature, analysis of the successes and failures of existing solutions, and qualitative workshops with stakeholders. Findings: The conceptual basis of the proposed solution has been developed based on the existing knowledge on pro-environmental nudging and lessons learnt from existing solutions. Value/originality: The developed conceptual framework can contribute to local economies while promoting social solidarity. It has the potential to build communities which can act together for the purpose of urban climate resilience because, from the very beginning, it is co-created together with residents. Practical implementation and beneficiaries: The concept described in this paper can serve cities as a supportive solution, shaping climate change awareness and attitudes toward active engagement.

The Influence of Culture and Intercultural Contact on Neo-Racism and Ethnocentrism

Ethnicity-based discrimination remains a persistent concern across the globe. A recent yet disparate literature focused on the role of cultural dimensions and intercultural contact in forming negative intergroup attitudes; however, these variables have yet to be included in a single study, so their unique effects cannot be estimated. Furthermore, although it is well documented that intercultural contact may reduce out-group discrimination, its influence on in-group favouritism remains relatively unexplored. The present study examines whether social dominance orientation (power distance), uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism, and intercultural contact can predict neo-racism and ethnocentrism. Results from an online survey on Slovenian sample (N = 164) demonstrated that social dominance orientation was the best predictor of neo-racism and ethnocentrism, followed by intercultural contact. Findings indicate the importance of cultural context in shaping and modifying negative attitudes and increasing social tolerance. The implications for culturally-informed practices for preventing/reducing discrimination are outlined.

FOMO (fate of online media only) in infectious disease modeling: a review of compartmental models.

Mathematical models played in a major role in guiding policy decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic. These models while focusing on the spread and containment of the disease, largely ignored the impact of media on the disease transmission. Media plays a major role in shaping opinions, attitudes and perspectives and as the number of people online increases, online media are fast becoming a major source for news and health related information and advice. Consequently, they may influence behavior and in due course disease dynamics. Unlike traditional media, online media are themselves driven and influenced by their users and thus have unique features. The main techniques used to incorporate online media mathematically into compartmental models, with particular reference to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are reviewed. In doing so, features specific to online media that have yet to be fully integrated into compartmental models such as misinformation, different time scales with regards to disease transmission and information, time delays, information super spreaders, the predatory nature of online media and other factors are identified together with recommendations for their incorporation.

Anger and support for retribution in Mexico’s drug war

How does exposure to criminal violence shape attitudes towards justice and the rule of law? Citizens care about crime prevention and procedural legality, yet they also value punishing perpetrators for the harm they have done. We argue that anger induced by exposure to criminal violence increases the demand for retribution and harsh punishments, even at the expense of the rule of law. We test this theory using one observational and two experimental studies from an original survey of 1,200 individuals in Western Mexico, a region affected by organized criminal violence and vigilantism. First, we first show that exposure to violence is correlated with increased anger and support for punitive justice, including vigilante actions. Second, across our two experiments, we show that citizens are more supportive of harsh punishments and place less value on their legality in response to morally outrageous crimes. Third, we find that the innocence of the victim, rather than the severity of the crime, is what triggers outrage and punitiveness. This suggests that citizens may support extreme levels of violence as long as they perceive that its targets are criminals. Finally, we show that outrageous forms of violence against civilians can lead individuals to prioritize harsh punishment regardless of its legality. When criminal actors target perceived innocents with common crimes like extortion, there is greater support for harsh, vigilante action. These patterns provide a bottom-up explanation for harsh justice.

Shaping attitudes toward wrongfully convicted individuals: an examination of brief video interventions

ABSTRACT In a series of three studies, we investigated whether exposure to a brief video would influence attitudes toward wrongfully convicted individuals among undergraduate students (Studies 1 and 2) and community members (Study 3). In Study 1 (N = 216), we hypothesized that participants who watched a video about wrongful conviction (eyewitness misidentification vs. false confession) would have more positive attitudes toward wrongfully convicted individuals compared to those exposed to an unrelated video. In Study 2 (N = 203), we hypothesized that attitudes after, compared to before, watching the wrongful conviction video would be more positive. In Study 3 (N = 431), we explored the effect of an expert discussing wrongful conviction on attitudes. In all studies, we asked participants to watch a brief Innocence Project video of an exoneree discussing their wrongful conviction or an unrelated video and answer a series of questions assessing their attitudes toward wrongfully convicted individuals. Compared to those exposed to the control video, participants exposed to a video about wrongful conviction had more positive attitudes toward wrongfully convicted individuals. Based on these findings, we have evidence that watching these Innocence Project videos may result in more positive attitudes toward exonerees which could improve their reintegration.

Greed, Envy, and Admiration: The Distinct Nature of Public Opinion about Redistribution from the Rich

Research on public opinion about economic redistribution has made important progress by incorporating the psychological microfoundation that shapes support for redistribution to the poor. However, one piece is missing: the microfoundation shaping support for redistribution from the rich. I provide a novel theory about this facet of redistributive attitudes and how it is distinct. Observational data from three nationally representative samples in two different welfare systems and an experiment show that attitudes about taking from the rich are mainly driven by perceptions of their prosociality—whether they are greedy or generous. This contrasts with public opinion about giving to the poor that is mainly driven by perceptions of the efforts of poor people. Furthermore, while compassion shapes attitudes about giving to the poor, the emotions of admiration and envy shape attitudes about taking from the rich. These findings have important theoretical and empirical implications for public opinion about economic redistribution.

Doświadczenie religijne w życiu codziennym młodzieży polskiej w XXI wieku

In these sociological analyzes we will pay attention to selected aspects of religious experience in the consciousness of Polish youth. On one hand, these will be the contents of a religious experience, that is, everything that a person experiences in his relation to God and that gives him grounds for believing; on the other hand, to approximate the function of religious experience in shaping attitudes towards faith and living it every day. In the light of the results of sociological research carried out in youth circles, we analyze three issues: the experience of God’s presence in the consciousness of young people, religious experience in everyday life, religious faith and a sense of security. If we characterize a person’s religiosity from the point of view of believing in a personal God whom a person wants to trust and expects help from, the examined youth turned out to be moderately religious. Various manifestations of religious experience were emphasized more often by women than by men, college students more often than secondary school students, youth living in the countryside more often than those living in the city, having parents with primary education more often than with higher education.

A qualitative interview study of the attitudes toward reproductive options of people with genetic visual loss.

In the United Kingdom (U.K), 2.19 million people are affected by visual loss. Monogenic causes of visual loss include retinal dystrophies, optic neuropathies, and congenital glaucoma. A variety of reproductive options are available to adults with genetic visual loss to permit them to have an unaffected child. Prenatal diagnostic testing (PND) via amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) is possible, provided the causal genetic variants are known in the family. We report a qualitative interview study of people with genetic causes of visual loss to explore their attitudes toward reproductive options. Participants reported a range of challenges associated with living with genetic conditions associated with visual loss. These had the potential to shape attitudes to reproductive options. Participants expressed enthusiasm for genetic testing, as it enabled them to understand if relatives might be affected by the visual loss. Decisions around reproductive options were recognized as challenging and highly personal. Positive opinions of PGT were reported, as it permitted conception of a child without the genetic cause of visual loss while avoiding the need for the termination of pregnancy. The provision of accessible information resources on genetics and reproductive options was reported to be important.

The impact of advertising on consumer behavior

Advertising plays a crucial role in influencing consumer behavior, as it has the potential to shape consumer perceptions, attitudes, and purchase decisions. The primary objective of this study is to examine the relationship between advertising and consumer behavior, specifically focusing on the various dimensions of consumer behavior influenced by advertising strategies. There is a dearth of research examining the influence of digital advertising and social media advertising on consumer behavior, which is increasingly relevant in the digital age. This study adopts a mixed methods research design to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of advertising on consumer behavior. The research findings demonstrate that advertising has a significant impact on consumer behavior. The analysis revealed a positive correlation between advertising exposure, consumer attitudes, and purchase intentions, emphasizing the persuasive power of advertising in shaping consumer perceptions and influencing their decision-making process. Overall, this study contributes to the existing literature on the impact of advertising on consumer behavior and provides valuable insights for practitioners and researchers alike.

Faculty Making the Emergency Online Transition During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Effects of Prior Online Teaching Experience and Strategies Used to Learn to Teach Online (Special Edition 2022)

Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, university faculty experienced an emergency pivot to online instruction in the Spring 2020 semester. Many had no prior online teaching experience and were given little time to adapt. This study examines pre-pandemic online teaching experience and training strategies used to learn how to teach online during the emergency remote teaching semester, perceptions of change in online teaching ability and the pandemic’s impact on teaching effectiveness, and interest in future online teaching opportunities. Method: Full-time faculty (<em>n</em> = 455) from four public regional universities in the southern United States completed a survey at the start of the Fall 2020 semester. Results: Over 35% had no prior online teaching experience, while 43% had taught several online courses. During the pandemic, in an effort to learn or improve online teaching skills, 13.4% sought peer mentoring, 31.9% completed a training program, and 34.9% both sought mentoring and completed training. Perceived online teaching skills, impact of the pandemic on teaching effectiveness, and interest in future online teaching were significantly related to prior online teaching experience and training sought. Conclusions: Faculty with less online experience perceived a greater negative effect of the pandemic on teaching performance and had less interest in future online teaching. Both mentoring and training enhanced perceived teaching skills, lowered the negative impact of the pandemic on teaching effectiveness, and promoted a positive attitude about future online teaching. Implications for Theory or Practice: The results provide support for the importance of faculty development programs in shaping attitudes and perceived effectiveness in online teaching and add to existent research on university faculty during the pandemic. Evidence from studies such as this provides universities with data that may be used to re-evaluate induction and training to improve instructional delivery in future instances when emergency remote teaching is required.

Concerns and Challenges Related to Sputnik V Vaccination Against the Novel COVID-19 Infection in the Russian Federation: The Role of Mental Health, and Personal and Social Issues as Targets for Future Psychosocial Interventions.

BackgroundVaccine hesitancy causes serious difficulties in vaccination campaigns in many countries. The study of the population’s attitude toward vaccination and detection of the predictive important individual psychological and social factors defining the vaccination necessity perception will allow elaborating promoting vaccination adherence measures.ObjectivesThe aim of this research was to study COVID-19 threat appraisal, fear of COVID-19, trust in COVID-19 information sources, COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs, and the relationship of sociodemographic variables to COVID-19 preventive behavior.MethodsWe carried out a cohort cross-sectional study of the population’s attitude toward vaccination against the novel COVID-19 coronavirus infection, using a specially designed questionnaire for an online survey. Totally, there were 4,977 respondents, ranging in age from 18 to 81 years. Statistical assessment was carried out using the SPSS-11 program.ResultsThere were different attitudes toward vaccination. Among respondents, 34.2% considered vaccination to be useful, 31.1% doubted its effectiveness, and 9.9% considered vaccination unnecessary. The survey indicated that 7.4% of respondents were indifferent to the vaccine, while 12.2% deemed it to be dangerous. Nearly one-third (32.3%) of respondents indicated that they did not plan to be vaccinated, while another third (34.0%) would postpone their decision until more comprehensive data on the results and effectiveness of vaccination were available. Only 11.6% of the respondents were vaccinated at the time of the study. Young people were less focused on vaccination compared to middle-aged and elderly people. Receiving information concerning COVID-19 vaccination from healthcare workers and scientific experts was associated with greater vaccination acceptance.ConclusionThe study results showed that vaccination attitudes interacted with individuals’ mental health and various sociodemographic factors. Insofar as reports of physicians and experts are essential for shaping attitudes to vaccination, the study results inform the selection of target groups in need of particular psychosocial interventions to overcome their vaccine hesitancy.

Security or Social Spending? Perceptions of Insecurity, Victimization, and Policy Priorities in Mexico and Brazil

In Latin America, deep social inequalities coexist with persistent, high-level criminal violence. Facing competing needs and budget constraints, citizens in the region have to prioritize among different policy choices. We analyze how perceptions of insecurity and crime victimization shape attitudes toward budgetary priorities in social and security policies. Our analysis relies on original data from Mexico and Brazil, two countries exhibiting increased violence at the national level, albeit with important regional variation. We find that exposure to crime takes its toll on citizens’ policy priorities. In both Mexico and Brazil, citizens who feel insecure seem to prioritize public expenditure on the police over social investment policies. Victims of criminal violence are, however, mostly indifferent as to budgetary allocations across the security and social policy fields, suggesting that their spending priorities might diverge from these two spheres of government action or give rise to policy indifference.

Violated entitlement and the nation: How feelings of relative deprivation shape nationalism and constructive patriotism

Perceptions of violated entitlement resulting from group-based relative deprivation shape attitudes and behaviors decisively. Drawing on social identity theory, I hypothesize that nationalism and constructive patriotism portray divergent relationships with subjective feelings of being disadvantaged due to different coping strategies to overcome status inferiority. Employing an original, large-scale survey from six European countries, the results clearly show that group-based relative deprivation is positively linked to nationalism, whereas the reverse holds for constructive patriotism. These results hold irrespective of a wide array of robustness checks. Thus, the present study adds to extant literature by identifying feelings of disadvantage as crucial for predicting nationalism and constructive patriotism, two key manifestations of group membership and in-group identification.

Perceptions of the Coronavirus and COVID-19 testing and vaccination in Latinx and Indigenous Mexican immigrant communities in the Eastern Coachella Valley

BackgroundA novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (known as COVID-19), spread rapidly around the world, affecting all and creating an ongoing global pandemic. Across the United States, Latinx and Indigenous populations have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 cases and death rates. An examination of the perceptions and beliefs about the spread of the virus, COVID-19 testing, and vaccination amongst racial-ethnic minority groups, specifically Latinx and Indigenous Latin American immigrant communities, is needed to alleviate the widespread disparity in new cases and deaths.MethodsThis study was carried out from August 2020 to January 2021 and used community-based participatory research to engage community partners and build the capacity of community health workers (i.e., promotores de salud) and pre-medical and medical students in conducting qualitative research. The objective of the study was to examine the structural and social determinants of health on perceptions of the coronavirus, its spread, and decisions around COVID-19 testing and vaccination. Data collection included ethnography involving observations in public settings and focus groups with members of Latinx and Indigenous Mexican farm-working communities in the Eastern Coachella Valley, located in the Inland Southern California desert region. A total of seven focus groups, six in Spanish and one in Purépecha, with a total of 55 participants were conducted. Topics covered include perceptions of the coronavirus and its spread, as well as COVID-19 testing and vaccination.ResultsUsing theme identification techniques, the findings identify structural and social factors that underly perceptions held by Latinx and Indigenous Mexican immigrants about the virus and COVID-19, which, in turn, shape attitudes and behaviors related to COVID-19 testing and vaccination. Common themes that emerged across focus groups include misinformation, lack of trust in institutions, and insecurity around employment and residency.ConclusionsThis immigrant population is structurally vulnerable to historical and present-day inequalities that put them at increased risk of COVID-19 exposure, morbidity, and mortality. Study findings indicate a significant need for interventions that decrease structural vulnerabilities by addressing issues of (dis)trust in government and public health among this population.

Media coverage of Canadian Veterans, with a focus on post traumatic stress disorder and suicide

BackgroundA large corpus of research indicates that the media plays a key role in shaping public beliefs, opinions and attitudes towards social groups. Some research from the United States indicates that military Veterans are sometimes framed in a stereotypical and stigmatizing manner, however there is a lack of research on Canadian media coverage of Veterans. As such, the overarching aim of this study is to assess the tone and content of Canadian media coverage of military Veterans, with a focus on PTSD and suicide. The first objective is to document and analyze common themes, content and temporal patterns in Canadian media coverage of Veterans per se. The second objective is to examine common themes and content in the sub-set of articles having PTSD as a theme. The third objective is to assess adherence to responsible reporting of suicide guidelines in the sub-set of articles having suicide as a theme.MethodsWe used validated and systematic methods including use of key words, retrieval software and inter-rater reliability tests to collect and code news articles (N = 915) about Veterans from over 50 media sources during a 12-month period, with specific coding of articles about PTSD (N = 93) and suicide (N = 61).ResultsAnalysis revealed that the most common theme is ‘honour or commemoration of Veterans’ which occurred in over half of the articles. In contrast 14% of articles focused on danger, violence or criminality. In the sub-set of articles with PTSD as a theme, over 60% focused on danger, violence or criminality, while only around 1 in 3 focused on recovery, rehabilitation, or health/social service intervention. In the sub-set of articles about suicide, there was generally strong adherence to responsible reporting guidelines, though less than 5% gave help-seeking information. Moreover, most reporting on PTSD and suicide focused on a single anomalous murder-suicide incident, with few articles about suicide prevention, helpful resources and modifiable risk factors.ConclusionsThe results reveal some encouraging findings as well as a need to diversify media coverage of Canadian Veterans. This could be achieved through targeted educational outreach to help Canadian journalists responsibly report on Veterans and their mental health issues.

The intersection of welfare stigma, state contexts and health among mothers receiving public assistance benefits

The stigmatizing nature of the US welfare system is of particular importance not only because it has shown to deter eligible applicants from participating in public assistance programs despite facing economic hardship, but also because stigma is an important fundamental cause of health inequities. Although scholars agree stigma is shaped by individual and contextual dimensions, the role of context is often overlooked. Given the heterogeneous nature of US state welfare environments, it may be critical to consider the ways in which state policy, social and economic contexts condition the relationship between welfare stigma and health. Using a multilevel lens, this study first examined the impact of experienced and perceived welfare stigma on self-reported health among female public assistance recipients with children. Second, we assessed the moderating effect of uneven state TANF policies, income inequality, and negative public welfare attitudes in shaping these associations. Using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study merged with state-level economic and social measures, we employed a series of multilevel logit models with random effects. Findings show experiences and perceptions of welfare stigma are significantly linked to poor health regardless of state contexts, and outcomes vary markedly by race, ethnicity and education. States with strong anti-welfare attitudes amplified the relationship between experienced welfare stigma and poor health for Black and Hispanic mothers, and state economic contexts modified the relationship between experienced welfare stigma and poor health for mothers with less than a high school education. TANF generosity had no moderating effect on health suggesting state policy environments have limited ability to protect welfare recipients against the stigmatizing effects of the US welfare system. Results have implications for explaining stigma related disparities in health within the context of U.S. welfare environments and informing policies that may be key levers for reducing health inequities.

Inclusive society – Reality and virtual reality

After clarifying the concept of inclusivity, the chapter lists the factors that need to be borne in mind by a society that treats people with disabilities as equal citizens. Possible means to achieve this goal are properly applied virtual reality methods. The chapter highlights some of the methods that can be applied to people with autism, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, and wheelchairs, and to help these people with disabilities live as independent life as possible for them. The tools of virtual reality can also play an important role in sensitizing and shaping attitudes in an inclusive society. The third part of the chapter focuses on these possibilities.

Transitioning Opinion?

Abstract Few public opinion surveys addressed transgender rights prior to 2015, but scholarly attention to these issues began to proliferate with a series of surveys from 2015 and 2016 that identified a number of important variables shaping attitudes toward transgender people and policies. Yet, the political environment surrounding transgender rights has changed significantly since 2015, with increasing public attention to these issues, more prominent position taking by partisan political figures, and substantial shifts in public policy on a wide variety of transgender issues. We examine a wide range of survey items throughout this period to explore how public opinion has evolved over time. Further, using national surveys from 2015 and 2020, we explore whether and how the structure of public opinion may have changed. Our analyses reveal growing support for transgender rights, the increasing importance of political orientations and elite cues in shaping opinion, and substantial variation in attitudes across issues.