“Chemophobia” Today: Consumers’ Knowledge and Perceptions of Chemicals

This mixed‐methods study investigated consumers’ knowledge of chemicals in terms of basic principles of toxicology and then related this knowledge, in addition to other factors, to their fear of chemical substances (i.e., chemophobia). Both qualitative interviews and a large‐scale online survey were conducted in the German‐speaking part of Switzerland. A Mokken scale was developed to measure laypeople's toxicological knowledge. The results indicate that most laypeople are unaware of the similarities between natural and synthetic chemicals in terms of certain toxicological principles. Furthermore, their associations with the term “chemical substances” and the self‐reported affect prompted by these associations are mostly negative. The results also suggest that knowledge of basic principles of toxicology, self‐reported affect evoked by the term “chemical substances,” risk‐benefit perceptions concerning synthetic chemicals, and trust in regulation processes are all negatively associated with chemophobia, while general health concerns are positively related to chemophobia. Thus, to enhance informed consumer decisionmaking, it might be necessary to tackle the stigmatization of the term “chemical substances” as well as address and clarify prevalent misconceptions.     

Indicators for European Union Policies. Business as Usual?

This paper looks at the role of statistics-based knowledge in the making of EU policy. We highlight shortcomings in the use of statistical indicators made in the course of the Lisbon strategy, ended in 2010. In our opinion the shortcomings are: (i) The paradox of the coexistence within the same European Commission of two holistic frameworks: the Structural Indicators and the Sustainable Development Indicators. One does not understand which of these two systems is taken to measure the overall policy performance of the European Union. (ii) A communication issue whereby the Lisbon strategy and its offspring EU 2020 are not communicated (Lisbon is to the average citizen the capital of Portugal) and are especially not communicated in relation to existing statistical indicators of good quality, against the opinion of academicians that transparency and accountability based on sound statistics favour democracy and participation. We illustrate the reasons that lead us to see these points as problematic and offer suggestions on how these should be tackled in line with the practices developed in the Open Method of Coordination. The danger is that in the absence of a debate on the issue, these shortcomings be perpetuated in the EU 2020 strategy.     

Eliciting expert judgements about a set of proportions

Eliciting expert knowledge about several uncertain quantities is a complex task when those quantities exhibit associations. A well-known example of such a problem is eliciting knowledge about a set of uncertain proportions which must sum to 1. The usual approach is to assume that the expert's knowledge can be adequately represented by a Dirichlet distribution, since this is by far the simplest multivariate distribution that is appropriate for such a set of proportions. It is also the most convenient, particularly when the expert's prior knowledge is to be combined with a multinomial sample since then the Dirichlet is the conjugate prior family. Several methods have been described in the literature for eliciting beliefs in the form of a Dirichlet distribution, which typically involve eliciting from the expert enough judgements to identify uniquely the Dirichlet hyperparameters. We describe here a new method which employs the device of over-fitting, i.e. eliciting more than the minimal number of judgements, in order to (a) produce a more carefully considered Dirichlet distribution and (b) ensure that the Dirichlet distribution is indeed a reasonable fit to the expert's knowledge. The method has been implemented in a software extension of the Sheffield elicitation framework (SHELF) to facilitate the multivariate elicitation process.     

Large Deviation Principles for Sequences of Maxima and Minima

In this article, we consider sequences of i.i.d. random variables and, under suitable conditions on the (common) distribution function, we prove large deviation principles for sequences of maxima, minima and pairs formed by maxima and minima. The i.i.d. random variables can be either unbounded or bounded; in the first case maxima and minima have to be suitably normalized.     

Women's perceptions of their healthcare experience when they choose not to breastfeed

Research questionHow do women who choose not to breastfeed perceive their healthcare experience?MethodThis qualitative research study used a phenomenographic approach to explore the healthcare experience of women who do not breastfeed. Seven women were interviewed about their healthcare experience relating to their choice of feeding, approximately 4 weeks after giving birth. Six conceptions were identified and an outcome space was developed to demonstrate the relationships and meaning of the conceptions in a visual format.FindingsThere were five unmet needs identified by the participants during this study. These needs included equity, self sufficiency, support, education and the need not to feel pressured.ConclusionWomen in this study who chose not to breastfeed identified important areas where they felt that their needs were not met. In keeping with the Code of Ethics for Nurses and Midwives, the identified needs of women who do not breastfeed must be addressed in a caring, compassionate and just manner. The care and education of women who formula feed should be of the highest standard possible, even if the choice not to breastfeed is not the preferred choice of healthcare professionals.     

Beyond liking or following: Understanding public engagement on social networking sites in China

Corporate pages on social networking sites (SNSs) have become the key platform where publics interact with companies and organizations around the world. Focusing on one of the most important world economies, China, this study explored the types of public engagement with corporate pages on leading Chinese SNSs as well as the motivations and antecedents that drive such engagement. Given the participatory and communal nature of SNSs, this study proposed a conceptual model incorporating social media dependency and several social relationship factors, including parasocial interaction, perceived source credibility, and community identification, that influenced Chinese publics’ engagement with companies on SNSs. We conducted a web survey with a random sample of 245 Chinese SNS users to test the proposed model. The results confirm that with the exception of perceived credibility, social media usage and relationship-oriented factors played a significant role in inducing public engagement in China.     

Practical-Moral Knowledge: The Social Organization of Regulatory Processes in Academic Contexts

In this article, we developed a theoretical frame to analyze how practical-moral knowledge structures the regulatory processes of learning to control and direct behavior during literacy lessons in two elementary classrooms. We describe how regulatory behaviors were congruent with the local social and moral order, constituents of practical-moral knowledge. Variance in the practical-moral knowledge of each classroom revealed two different patterns of regulation: (a) a toggle or shift from other-regulation to self-regulation, with an emphasis on other-regulation and (b) a dynamic pattern of fluid shifts between other-regulation, coregulation, and self-regulation, with an emphasis on coregulation. We argue that regulatory processes do not originate within the individual but rather in and through learning practices.     

THE UNRELENTING SIGNIFICANCE OF MINORITY STATUSES: GENDER,ETHNICITY, AND ECONOMIC ATTAINMENT SINCE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and based on the split-class theory of racial and ethnic discrimination, this research examines the effects of gender, ethnicity, education, family characteristics, and geographic residence over time on economic attainment. While gender and family poverty status had greater impacts on overall economic attainment, results reveal that being an ethnic minority is significantly associated with lower wages. Moreover, results reveal that the disadvantage to racial and ethnic minorities has expanded over time or becomes more important at advanced ages. The results lend support to split-class theory and the arguments of Charles V. Willie that race/ethnicity has become a more important, rather than becoming less important indicator of poverty and income. Further, the results refute the notions that Affirmative Action has accomplished its goals or that it leads to reverse discrimination against White males.