The Media and Genetically Modified Foods: Evidence in Support of Social Amplification of Risk

Empirical examinations of the "social amplification of risk" framework are rare, partly because of the difficulties in predicting when conditions likely to result in amplification effects will occur. This means that it is difficult to examine changes in risk perception that are contemporaneous with increases and/or decreases in social or media discussion of the risks associated with a particular risk event. However, the collection of attitude data before, during, and after the increased reporting of the risks of genetically modified food in the United Kingdom (spring 1999) has demonstrated that people's risk perceptions do increase and decrease in line with what might be expected upon examination of the amplification and attenuation mechanisms integral to the framework. Perceptions of benefit, however, appeared to be permanently depressed by negative reporting about genetically modified food. Trust in regulatory institutions with responsibility for protecting the public was not affected. It was concluded that the social amplification of risk framework is a useful framework for beginning to explain the potential impact on risk perceptions of a risk event, particularly if that risk event is presented to the public as a new hazard occurring in a crisis context.     

Are Some Risk Comparisons More Effective Under Conflict?: A Replication and Extension of Roth et al.

Despite many claims for and against the use of risk comparisons in risk communication, few empirical studies have explored their effect. Only one study, published by Roth et al. in this journal in 1990, has tested the 1988 predictions by Covello et al. as to the public's relative preferences for 14 kinds of risk comparisons as they might be used by a factory manager to explain risks of his ethylene oxide plant. That study found no correlations between the Covello predictions and seven different measures of "acceptability" of Covello's examples of each type of comparison. However, two critics of the Roth study, as well as its own authors, suggested that a scenario involving local risks, a conflict-ridden situation, and a plant manager unknown to the townspeople might better evoke Covello-like preferences than the distant, calm, friends-involving scenario used by Roth. The research reported here replicated the Roth study using the same scenario, risk comparison examples, and evaluation measures, and added a second scenario intended to replicate the conditions suggested by critics. Over 200 New Jersey residents answered the study questionnaire. The replication scenario reproduced Roth's results, and the conflict scenario also evoked no rankings correlated with Covello's predictions. Furthermore, neither agreement nor disagreement with five statements representing "conflict"--respondents' reports that the industrial-plant scenario made them angry, they lived near industry, they were concerned about industrial risks, people in their home town were angry about industrial pollution, and they worried "frequently" about long-term effects of pollution--correlated with Covello's predictions. Over half of all ratings ascribed to the comparisons in aggregate were positive, and most detailed comments offered by respondents also were positive, despite many criticisms and suggestions for their improvement. The wide variability in individuals' rankings also undermines the notion of any single ranking of preferred comparisons. These findings have implications for use of risk comparisons, but also reveal the inaccuracy of the field's assumptions about public reaction to industrial risk information, including risk comparison.     

VaR-APARCH模型与证券投资风险量化分析

基本统计分析发现,上证综合指数回报率分布存在尖峰肥尾性,不服从正态分布,并且还具有杠杆效应。本文应用APARCH模型在三种分布假设下对上证综合指数通过事后模拟和条件单步预测来计算上证综合指数的VaR风险值,然后把它与应用GARCH模型的估计结果进行比较分析。通过返回检验,我们发现,APARCH应用于VaR估计是统计有效的,并且明显优于GARHC模型。     

Robust portfolio planning in the presence of market anomalies

In this study, a short-term portfolio modeling formulation is developed using existing anomalies as a single determinant for daily Istanbul Stock Exchange National 100 Composite Index (ISE) and US dollars (USD) returns in a Robust optimization (RO) framework. Using anomalies in planning within an RO framework establishes a balance between risk seeking and risk averse behaviors, as generating profit from anomalies is risky and RO enables to settle down the extreme risk seeking behavior. Applications of the model using various data sets result in real profit generation such that terminal wealth figures increase considerably more than Wholesale Price Index (WPI). This study demonstrates that RO is a viable approach to make use of anomaly information for short-term profits.     

企业国际化经营中关键风险的识别研究

风险识别是企业从事国际化经营时进行风险管理采取的首要步骤,也是进一步实施风险防范与规避的前提和基础.本文以中国企业的国际化经营为研究背景,在对国际风险分类与识别进行理论推导的基础上,通过实证研究,对企业在采取不同国际市场进入模式时所面临的各类风险加以识别,并对关键风险进行聚焦探析.     

基于拔靴滤波历史模拟法的黄金市场VaR测度研究

传统历史模拟法（THS，Tranditional Historical Simulation）和滤波历史模拟法（FHS，Filtered Historical Simulation）是国际商业银行使用最多的VaR预测方法。首先，论文在已有研究成果的基础上，构造了BHW（Bootstraped Hull and White）历史模拟法；然后，以国内黄金交易数据为样本，采用6种严谨的后验分析（Backtesting analysis）方法，对BHW方法及几种主流历史模拟法、GARCH模型方法的VaR预测精确性进行了实证分析。论文的主要结论包括：（1）综合论文所采用的几种金融风险测度方法来看，BHW方法表现出了相对较好的精确性，而实务界中广泛使用的THS方法则表现出了最差的精确性；（2）不同的历史模拟法受样本规模因素影响的程度显著不同，例如THS方法和HW方法均不同程度的受到了样本规模因素影响；（3）总体来看，BHW方法表现出了相对较好的风险预测精确性，可以作为测度黄金市场风险的选择之一。     

Social Amplification of Wildfire Risk: The Role of Social Interactions and Information Sources

Wildfire is a persistent and growing threat across much of the western United States. Understanding how people living in fire‐prone areas perceive this threat is essential to the design of effective risk management policies. Drawing on the social amplification of risk framework, we develop a conceptual model of wildfire risk perceptions that incorporates the social processes that likely shape how individuals in fire‐prone areas come to understand this risk, highlighting the role of information sources and social interactions. We classify information sources as expert or nonexpert, and group social interactions according to two dimensions: formal versus informal, and generic versus fire‐specific. Using survey data from two Colorado counties, we empirically examine how information sources and social interactions relate to the perceived probability and perceived consequences of a wildfire. Our results suggest that social amplification processes play a role in shaping how individuals in this area perceive wildfire risk. A key finding is that both “vertical” (i.e., expert information sources and formal social interactions) and “horizontal” (i.e., nonexpert information and informal interactions) interactions are associated with perceived risk of experiencing a wildfire. We also find evidence of perceived “risk interdependency”—that is, homeowners’ perceptions of risk are higher when vegetation on neighboring properties is perceived to be dense. Incorporating social amplification processes into community‐based wildfire education programs and evaluating these programs’ effectiveness constitutes an area for future inquiry.     

Risk management: a competitive advantage in the purchasing function

This paper aims to explore the purchasing function on behalf of the provider, when the purchasing takes the form of a request for proposals (RfP) from the client. A methodology for handling the bidding process is presented, illustrated by a case study from the IT sector. The proposed methodology places risk as a factor for the selection of the best and final offer of the provider in addition to the traditional decision factors: delivery time, product cost and performance. The method is supported by a structured corporate memory and a decision support system based on the analytical hierarchy process.     

高中生的体型认同:基于女性的分析视角

从身体社会学来看,女性的体型审美取向是男权文化的典型表征。通过中日韩三国高中生的对比分析发现,与男生相比,高中女生普遍接受"以瘦为美"的体型观,存在更为严重的体型认同问题:在主观体型认知上,倾向于"向胖认同";在体型认同情绪上,表现为对"胖"不满:在体型认同策略上,以饮食减肥为主。这表明,身体焦虑已蔓延到了高中生群体,导致高中女生中存在着较为明显的体型认同偏差和盲目减肥现象。究其原因,传媒的渲染与强化起的是主导作用,家庭教养和同辈交往也有间接影响。