Fear of judgment is keeping consumers indebted – study shows peer groups can help turn that around

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO, IVEY BUSINESS SCHOOL

Consumers who are honest about their level of debt and join peer-supported debt counselling groups are more likely to get their finances in order than those who keep it a secret, according to a new study in the Journal of Marketing Research co-authored by Ivey Business School professor Miranda Goode.

Yet while social stigma was a key factor in keeping consumers stuck in a debt cycle, social support was an important part of the solution.

“We have this tendency, as a society, to avoid talking about our finances, and especially about debt. And if you look at it through the lens of stigma – that fear of judgement – you find that there is a group of people who are really anxious about what others will think, and that influences how transparent they are and how far they’ll go to keep it a secret,” says Goode, an Associate Professor of Marketing at Western University’s Ivey Business School and author of Helping Those That Hide: Anticipated Stigmatization Drives Concealment and a Destructive Cycle of Debt.

The study, which was a collaboration between Goode and Michael Moorhouse, an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Wilfrid Laurier University, fellow Ivey Marketing Professor June Cotte, as well as Jennifer Wolowich-Widney, Founder of Financial Fundamentals, showed that about 20 per cent of people who were indebted in their study worried moderately to extensively about being stigmatized.

“We see the same people reporting their general tendencies around being secretive and not talking with friends and family about debt, which leads to delaying and avoiding help, and spending more in social situations to hide their actual financial situation.”

It's a particularly worrying problem when you consider 80 per cent of American families carry consumer debt, with an average of $38,000 in debt in addition to their mortgage. According to TransUnion, credit card delinquencies are expected to increase to 2.6% through the end of 2023 after already moving upwards through 2022, which would represent a 20.3% increase year over year, as consumers continue to use cards while negotiating through high inflation and a rising interest rate environment.

Peer-support has been shown to help in other situations where people may fear stigma, but this is the first study to look at the effect it has on well-being in the context of debt – and the first to link social benefits to a change in behaviour when it comes to debt repayment.

Goode and her colleagues conducted a field experiment with a financial education company, where consumers who identified as middle-class received financial education from professional instructors either in a private online setting with classes delivered by the instructor through a webinar, or in a community-based class, where consumers met in person with other indebted consumers. On average, people started the course with about $36,000 worth of consumer debt (not including mortgages), and an average household income of $86,000.   

Participants in the community groups paid off $4,370 more of their debt more than those in the control group (who were not offered any financial education during the study), compared to $3,531 for those in the private group. Those who anticipated the most stigmatization also did better in the group environment. For that segment, increasing social connection by developing supportive relationships was critical to increasing motivation to change behavioural patterns and pay off debt. Within private settings, some continued to hide their level of debt, even as they sought out personal finance guidance.

Indebted consumers who were moderately to extremely concerned with being stigmatized reported a 15 per cent increase in in their well-being when they were enrolled in the community-based course, compared to an increase of only eight per cent for those in a course with private instruction. Similarly, those who were moderately to extremely concerned with being stigmatized repaid approximately seven per cent of their debt in the community-based course compared to five per cent in the course with private instruction.

“The course gives them a bit of a cathartic release because they see there are other people like them, who feel the same way, and so they can talk about it,” Goode says.

“They have a common base of experiences, and they’re not being judged, which makes them even more motivated.”

Participants’ feelings about the size of their debt were also shown to be a more important predictor of financial stress and anticipated stigmatization than the actual size of their debt in dollars in some cases – all of which led to not only hiding debt levels, but also avoiding the help they needed to break the cycle of debt accumulation and spending.

The link between anticipated stigmatization and debt concealment was evident in a broad, diverse North American population in common debt situations – not only in extreme circumstances like being on the brink of bankruptcy or of losing your home.

When looking at recommendations for policymakers and financial professionals to help indebted consumers break the stigma cycle and reduce their debt, the study suggests community-based debt reduction courses encourage frequent, supportive, and non-judgmental disclosure of their participants’ struggles with debt, emphasizing the commonality in debt experiences shared by participants. Instructors should facilitate small group activities often and assign partnerships to nurture interactions inside and outside of class.

Key takeaways:

• Indebted consumers who fear stigmatization make poor financial decisions, including spending more in social situations and avoiding financial help and support from personal and professional sources;
• There are many online and one-on-one financial education courses available in the marketplace, but these offerings are less helpful for consumers who fear their debt will be negatively judged by others; and
• Community-based debt reduction courses should encourage frequent, supportive, and non-judgmental disclosure of their participants’ struggles with debt, emphasizing the commonality in debt experiences shared by participants.

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JOURNAL

Journal of Marketing Research

DOI

10.1177/00222437221146521 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Helping Those That Hide: Anticipated Stigmatization Drives Concealment and a Destructive Cycle of Debt

Myroslava Gongadze to be awarded 2023 Inamori Ethics Prize by Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence

Journalist, free-press and human-rights advocate

Grant and Award Announcement

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: MYROSLAVA GONGADZE view more 

CREDIT: CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

CLEVELAND—The Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence at Case Western Reserve University will award Myroslava Gongadze, a journalist and free-press and human-rights advocate, with the 2023 Inamori Ethics Prize.

“Ms. Gongadze is a journalist of tremendous integrity,” said Case Western Reserve President Eric W. Kaler. “Her commitment to upholding justice and ensuring civil liberties—for people in Ukraine and around the world—and her persistent efforts to seek and speak the truth are an inspiration.”

The Inamori Ethics Prize has been awarded since 2008 to honor outstanding international ethical leaders whose actions and influence have greatly improved the condition of humankind. Gongadze will receive the prize, deliver a free public lecture about her work and participate in an academic symposium and panel discussion during Inamori Center events Sept. 21-22 on the Case Western Reserve campus.

Taking an active interest in civic law and legal matters, Gongadze, who was born in Ukraine, attended the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and earned a master’s degree in civic law. In the late 1990s, she collaborated with her husband and fellow journalist, Georgiy Gongadze, in publications opposing the administration of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. In 2000, soon after establishing the first—and now most popular—online publication in Ukraine, Ukrainian Truth, Georgiy Gongadze was kidnapped and murdered in a plot that directly implicated Kuchma’s administration.

Myroslava Gongadze’s vocal opposition to the authoritarian nature of the administration and the controversy resulting from this tragic crime were major catalysts to the Orange Revolution of 2004. As a result of this three-month protest, the rigged vote was declared void and new elections were held, which were judged to be free and fair by international observers.

"Gongadze's efforts and advocacy to find justice for her husband and for freedom in Ukraine demonstrate her leadership and influence as a free-press and human-rights advocate," said Ben Vinson III, Case Western Reserve provost and executive vice president.

Gongadze has continued to demand justice for her late husband and for justice and the role of law in Ukraine. In 2002, Gongadze filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights against President Leonid Kuchma's government, contending her husband’s death was the result of forced disappearance and that the Ukrainian authorities failed to protect him.

Gongadze also maintained that the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty and the incomplete and contradictory information provided during the investigation forced her to leave the country and caused her suffering. She won this case, and the European Court of Human Rights concluded that the domestic investigation was corrupt and violated international human rights laws. The case became a precedent and path for many Ukrainians who couldn’t find justice in their homeland.

Following her husband’s murder, Gongadze and their children received asylum in the United States in 2001. She has continued to demonstrate global ethical leadership in journalism as a television and radio correspondent for Voice of America (VOA) since 2004; a correspondent for Radio Free Europe; as well as a visiting Scholar at George Washington University and Fellow at Harvard University.

Since 2015, Gongadze, who now lives in Washington, D.C., but frequently travels to Europe, has been the head of Ukrainian Service at VOA, interviewing such critical political figures as U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and many other government and political world leaders. Before she joined VOA, it offered one 20-minute broadcast per week for the Ukrainian audience. Now, it features a live show daily and special in-depth reports. Today, VOA is widely considered the most trusted news in Ukraine, watched by 5 million viewers—roughly 10% of the Ukrainian population.

In 2022, VOA named Gongadze the network's first Eastern Europe Chief. She is now temporarily in Europe, leading expanded coverage of a region threatened by hybrid war and disinformation. Despite the danger of visiting an active war zone, she frequently visits Ukraine, covering the brutal Russian invasion of her native country.

“A key goal of awarding this prize is to show people what ethical leadership on a global scale looks like in a wide range of fields,” said Shannon E. French, Inamori Professor in Ethics and director of the Inamori Center. “Myroslava Gongadze is our first honoree for ethical leadership in journalism, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. Now is the perfect moment to remind everyone of the vital importance of journalistic integrity and a free press.” 

Inamori Ethics Prize

CREDIT

Case Western Reserve University

Previous Inamori Ethics Prize winners:

• 2008: Dr. Francis Collins (USA), physician, geneticist, former director of the NIH
• 2009: The Honorable Mary Robinson (Ireland), Elder, humanitarian, and former President of Ireland
• 2010: Stan Brock (UK), philanthropist and founder of Remote Area Medical (now deceased)
• 2011: Advocate Beatrice Mtetwa (Zimbabwe), lawyer, human rights and press freedom activist
• 2012: Dr. David Suzuki (Canada), academic environmentalist, scientist, and broadcaster
• 2013: Yvon Chouinard (USA), corporate social responsibility entrepreneur, environmentalist
• 2014: Dr. Denis Mukwege (Democratic Republic of the Congo), physician, advocate against sexual violence, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize recipient
• 2015: Prof. Martha Nussbaum (USA), ethics scholar and UN advisor philosopher, professor, author, board member of the Human Rights Program
• 2016: Prof. Peter Eigen (Germany), lawyer, economist, anti-corruption pioneer and founder of Transparency International
• 2017: Marian Wright Edelman (USA), founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, civil rights activist
• 2018: Dr. Farouk El-Baz (Egypt and USA), NASA Apollo program scientist and conservationist
• 2019: Mr. LeVar Burton (Germany and USA), creative arts, literacy, and HIV/AIDS advocate
• 2020-21: Conversations on JUSTICE (a series of virtual events featuring former prize-winners during the height of the pandemic)   
• 2020, awarded in 2021: Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi (Argentina), international human rights expert, diplomat, judge, and former president of the International Criminal Court
• 2022-23: Conversations on JUSTICE: Inequities in Healthcare (in honor of the late Dr. Paul Farmer)

Beating the odds: Research examines how leaders use underdog stories to motivate their teams

Apple, Uber provide contrasting examples of companies whose rise can be traced to an underdog mentality

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

 

IMAGE: LOGAN STEELE, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA view more 

CREDIT: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA

TAMPA, Fla. (Feb. 15, 2023) – Underdog narratives are a tried-and-true leadership tactic designed to motivate teams and organizations. Leaders across industries, from telecommunications to sports, love to craft a come-from-behind image to ignite those inspirational hard-scrabble stories where the little guy wins by beating the odds.

Those narratives can become a team’s collective identity. For instance, Philadelphia Eagles players embodied the underdog persona by wearing dog masks during their historic run to victory over the perennial “big dogs,” the New England Patriots, in Super Bowl LII.

But little is understood about how these underdog stories influence the actions and attitudes of team members.

Does the us-versus-them mentality make team members believe they are being treated unfairly and thus, push them to take more risks or cut corners? Does buying into the underdog identity give workers a higher goal and create a greater sense of well-being?

A newly published article tackles that subject and offers a roadmap — and lists potential potholes — for leaders across all industries to consider when crafting an underdog narrative.

“All groups have an identity, and usually, it is up to the leader to shape it,” said Logan Steele, an assistant professor in the School of Information Systems and Management at the USF Muma College of Business. “A powerful way leaders shape a group’s identity is through the stories they tell. What we don’t know is, what is it pushing you to do when you see yourself in that underdog image?”

“The purpose of this paper was to lay a foundation for future research to understand what those consequences might be,” he said.

The article, “Organizational underdog narratives: The cultivation and consequences of a collective underdog identity,” was published in the Academy of Management Review. In it, Steele provides examples in the sports, telecommunications, apparel and automotive industries to illustrate how leaders use underdog stories to inspire and achieve their organizations’ aspirations.

“While there are many potential upsides to utilizing this story — such as increased motivation, engagement, and well-being — this paper also highlights some of the potential drawbacks and how these drawbacks may be mitigated,” he said.

“One consequence of adopting a collective underdog identity is increased risk-taking by members of the organization,” Steele said.

For example, shortly before launching the iPod in 2001, Apple was in a bleak state, with competitor Michael Dell famously proclaiming that Apple should shut down and give money back to its shareholders. Yet Apple’s collective underdog identity and the company’s dedication to innovation changed how society interacts with technology.

On the flip side, Uber was often cited for morally questionable forms of risk-taking behavior during its rise from underdog status. The company reportedly skirted regulations around the world, allegedly stealing technology from competitors and even stalking a reporter to advance its agenda.

Steele said one way to mitigate the potential drawbacks in risk-taking behaviors is to avoid casting the underdog narrative in an us-versus-them scenario.

“When you frame success as a zero-sum game, you motivate members of an organization to sabotage their competition. The message is that we’re being treated unfairly and are at a disadvantage, so people may try to level the playing field by cutting corners,” he said.

Buying into a collective underdog status can also lead to a greater sense of well-being.

For example, New Balance famously promotes itself as an underdog in the athletic shoe industry by breaking from industry out-sourcing norms and having a significant portion of its footwear produced in the U.S.

“Members of the organization take pride in seeing themselves as working against industry giants as the little guy who promotes the social good by supporting local communities,” Steele writes.

The article is co-authored by Jeffrey B. Lovelace, an assistant professor at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia.

###

About the University of South Florida

The University of South Florida, a high-impact global research university dedicated to student success, generates an annual economic impact of more than $6 billion. Over the past 10 years, no other public university in the country has risen faster in U.S. News and World Report’s national university rankings than USF. Serving more than 50,000 students on campuses in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota-Manatee, USF is designated as a Preeminent State Research University by the Florida Board of Governors, placing it in the most elite category among the state’s 12 public universities. USF has earned widespread national recognition for its success graduating under-represented minority and limited-income students at rates equal to or higher than white and higher income students. USF is a member of the American Athletic Conference. Learn more at www.usf.edu

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JOURNAL

Academy of Management Review

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Systematic review

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

“Organizational underdog narratives: The cultivation and consequences of a collective underdog identity"

Watch the fastest fish in the world hunt its prey – for the first time

Nova Southeastern University research video shows sailfish’s point of view and reveals new hunting behavior

Peer-Reviewed Publication

NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY

 

VIDEO: FOR FIRST TIME, SAILFISH VIDEO CAPTURED HUNTING view more 

CREDIT: NSU GUY HARVEY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

FORT LAUDERDALE/DAVIE, Fla. – To say studying sailfish is challenging is an understatement. These fish, often described as the “fastest fish in the world,” exhibit some remarkable traits as they make their way through the oceans in search of their next meal.

And little had been known about how they did what they did when hunting by themselves – until now.

Thanks to researchers at NSU’s Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) who designed a novel electronic tag package incorporating high-tech sensors and a video camera, we now have for the first time, a detailed view of exactly how these fish behave and hunt once they are on their own and out of view of the surface. This research was carried out offshore of one of the premier fishing locations in the world, Tropic Star Lodge, in southwest Panama.

“Most of the day they dive back and forth between the surface and the thermocline layer, where the water gets cold,” said Ryan Logan, the lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate and research associate at NSU’s GHRI. “The thermocline can concentrate prey that don’t want to enter the cold water, so it looks like the sailfish might be using this to its advantage.”

The new research study just published in Scientific Reports originally set out to determine how long it took the sailfish to recover after being released by a recreational fisher, the answer to which you can find in another study conducted by the authors HERE. But after the fish had recovered, the video cameras continued to roll, picking up some never-before-seen footage of hunting behavior.

Sailfish are known for their distinctive large dorsal fins and elongated front-end bill, which gives them a built-in sword-like weapon for hunting. These open ocean wanderers can travel both by themselves, or in groups. Sailfish have been observed to hunt in groups on schooling fishes, using their bill in a slash, stun, and eat the baitfish sequence of actions.

This type of hunting by sailfish has been observed several times by wildlife photographers because it often occurs at the surface of the ocean, where it is easily accessible to human eyes.

However, when sailfish are not engaged in these cooperative group hunting events, they are thought to live a mostly solitary lifestyle. Sailfish have some other pretty unique features that separates them from many other groups of fish. For example, they can keep their eyes and brain warmer than the surrounding water, which gives them an advantage over their prey when hunting in colder or dimly lit water. But because of this, it’s assumed that they burn a lot of calories throughout the day, so one could assume that they must also need to eat in between those group hunting events, although this had never been documented.

While this new video footage provides a unique perspective on the daily lives of sailfish, researcher caution that most of isn’t that exciting – not exactly the kind of footage that makes it to Instagram or TikTok.

“Most of what you see in the videos is just a lot of blue water,” said Logan, describing the open ocean habitat of these fish. “But when I saw the sailfish start to swim really fast toward the surface, I knew something was up.”

The video shows a 100-pound sailfish ascending fast to the surface from nearly 200 feet deep, and vigorously chasing a small tuna once it reaches the surface. The sailfish makes several attempts to catch the little tuna, twisting and turning, speeding up and slowing down, often breaking the surface of the water during each attack. In the end, it looks like the sailfish got what it was after, returning to a normal, calm swimming behavior.  

Logan said that these findings change what we know about the daily lives of sailfish.

“Because you can’t keep a sailfish in captivity, we know surprisingly little about their basic biology,” he said. “For instance, how much food do they need on a daily basis to survive?”

These are questions that this research is helping to answer. The team of researchers used the video footage, along with other swimming information collected by the high-resolution tag, to estimate how much energy the sailfish burned throughout the day, and how much energy it gained back by consuming the tuna, an energy-rich prey item.

“Based on our estimations, this sailfish needs roughly half of a tuna like this per day to meet energetic demands,” said Logan.

While this research took place in Panama, sport fishing is a huge business around the world, especially in the state NSU’s GHRI calls home – Florida. Recent numbers show that fishing is an $11.5 billion dollar industry in Florida, supporting approximately 100,000 jobs.

“This research improves our understanding of the hidden lives of these majestic, ecologically and economically very important fishes,” said Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D., a co-author of the study and Director of NSU’s GHRI. “Such knowledge is essential to help us better protect the health of these fish and their prey to have a sustainable sportfish industry for many years to come.”

You can learn more about NSU’s GHRI research project in Panama ONLINE (etps.ghriresearch.org). 

Be sure to sign up for NSU’s RSS feed so you don’t miss any of our news releases, guest editorials and other announcements. Please sign up HERE. You can also follow us on Twitter @NSUNews.

A sat tag and video camera affixed to sailfish

  

Researchers Secure Sailfish to Have Sat Tag Attached

CREDIT

NSU Guy Harvey Research Institute

About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): At NSU, students don’t just get an education, they get the competitive edge they need for real careers, real contributions and real life. A dynamic, private research university, NSU is providing high-quality educational and research programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree levels. Established in 1964, the university includes 15 colleges, the 215,000-square-foot Center for Collaborative Research, the private JK-12 grade University School, the world-class NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, and the Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center, one of Florida’s largest public libraries. NSU students learn at our campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, and online globally. With nearly 200,000 alumni across the globe, the reach of the NSU community is worldwide.  Classified as having “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is one of only 59 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information.

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JOURNAL

Scientific Reports

UK Government’s role in promoting wood burning stove emissions unveiled in new study

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM

 

IMAGE: STOVES AND NON-STOVES EXEMPT UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT 1993, 2005-2021 view more 

CREDIT: DR JAMES HEYDON

The number of stove models officially exempt from UK smoke control regulations has increased ten-fold since 2010, a new study published in the British Journal of Criminology has revealed.

The results were published by Dr James Heydon, an expert in environmental regulation in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham.

Based on an analysis of over 18,000 government records of heating and cooking appliances exempt from smoke control rules, and interviews with air pollution officers from local councils across the UK, the research shows how the Deregulation Act 2015 opened the door to a market of stoves exempt from urban air pollution controls (see graph attached).

Dr James Heydon, in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham, said: “The UK government’s own data shows that solid fuel burning in homes is the single biggest source of particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in the country. This research shows how the government has helped to create this situation by encouraging a whole market of stoves exempt from regulatory control.”

The study finds that the Deregulation Act 2015 removed obstacles to stove manufacturers certifying their appliances as ‘exempt’ from smoke control area rules. This change was justified on the basis of removing delays to business and improving consumer choice. No consideration was given to the environmental public health consequences arising from encouraging expansion of this market.

Dr Heydon added: "The UK Government must reconsider its open-door approach to excluding stoves from smoke control rules. This policy has encouraged market expansion for almost a decade, contributing to the nationwide air pollution problems we’re now seeing. Given the number of stoves it has already exempt from smoke controls, the government must now give serious consideration to also regulating their sale, installation and use across urban areas."

To find out more about this study, visit: https://academic.oup.com/bjc/advance-article/doi/10.1093/bjc/azac102/7022236

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JOURNAL

The British Journal of Criminology

DOI

10.1093/bjc/azac102 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Between Ordinary Harm and Deviance: Evaluating the UK’s Regulatory Regime For Controlling Air Pollution From Wood Burning Stoves

Mining at key hydrothermal vents could endanger species at distant sites

Hydrothermal vents in the Okinawa Trough are at imminent threat from deep-sea mining — the damage could also threaten vents across the Pacific Ocean.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

OKINAWA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (OIST) GRADUATE UNIVERSITY

 

IMAGE: MINERAL-LADEN WATER EMERGING FROM A HYDROTHERMAL VENT ON THE NIUA UNDERWATER VOLCANO IN THE LAU BASIN, SOUTHWEST PACIFIC OCEAN. AS THE WATER COOLS, MINERALS PRECIPITATE TO FORM TOWER-LIKE “CHIMNEYS.” IMAGE TAKEN DURING 2016 CRUISE “VIRTUAL VENTS.” view more 

CREDIT: PACIFIC COASTAL AND MARINE SCIENCE CENTER.

Destruction of key hydrothermal vents by deep-sea mining could have knock-on impacts for vent fields hundreds of kilometers away, suggests a new paper published in Ecology and Evolution.  

The study, which was conducted by scientists from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), in collaboration with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), and the University of Victoria, British Columbia, has revealed how different vents in the Northwest Pacific are connected to each other. The research also identifies key vents that are particularly important for maintaining connectivity, which need to be prioritized for conservation. 

“These results could provide a powerful tool for helping policy makers and the mining companies decide which sites should be protected from mining,” said Otis Brunner, first author and PhD student in the OIST Marine Biophysics Unit, led by Professor Satoshi Mitarai. 

Hydrothermal vents are extreme deep-sea environments that exist in geologically active areas on the seafloor. These vents, which are like underwater geysers, spew hot water filled with minerals out from cracks in the seabed. And despite the intense heat and pressure, these vent systems teem with strange and unique life. These creatures around these vents, such as crabs, shrimps and worms, all rely on bacteria, which uses chemical energy from the vent to make biomass. 

The chemical-rich waters that sustain life also make these environments an attractive target for the emerging industry of deep-sea mining. When the chemicals that come out of the earth’s crust meet the cold seawater, they precipitate and create chimney-like deposits on the seabed, called sea floor massive sulfides.  

“These chimneys contain a high quality and quantity of gold, silver, copper and other rare earth minerals that we need to feed our technology-hungry society,” said Brunner. 

However, extracting these resources destroys the creatures living on that chimney, and severely impacts those on nearby chimneys within the same hydrothermal vent site. 

“Each hydrothermal vent often hosts some endemic species, meaning they only live there. So if you remove or severely damage their ecosystem, not only have you lost those animals, but you've lost that species entirely,” said Brunner. 

And now, Brunner’s research shows that the damage to hydrothermal vent ecosystems is also unlikely to be limited to just one single vent site, but could impact other vent sites hundreds of kilometers away. 

Although hydrothermal vents seem isolated from each other, many hydrothermal vent species can actually disperse from one vent to another while in the larval stage, assisted by the ocean currents. If they manage to reach another vent, and the conditions at the new vent are similar (hydrothermal vents can differ significantly in depth, chemical composition of the vent fluid, intensity and heat), then the creatures can settle and mature into adulthood. This means that if a species population is wiped out at one hydrothermal vent, then the population of the same species at another hydrothermal vent, where the larval used to disperse to, will also be threatened.  

In his study, Brunner looked at vent sites within three sub-regions of the Northwest Pacific – the Okinawa Trough, the Izu-Bonin Arc and the Mariana Trough. He inferred how connected each vent site was to the others by comparing how many species the vent sites had in common. 

By creating networks from the species data, Brunner and his colleagues identified which vent sites act as important hubs within each sub-region. 

Two vent sites, Sakai and North Knoll Iheya Ridge, were found to be the most important for maintaining connectivity in the Okinawa Trough sub-region and should be prioritized for conservation. 

“Unfortunately, the Sakai and North Knoll Iheya vent sites are situated in the central region of the Okinawa Trough, an area of particular interest for mining,” said Brunner. “But any disturbance to these two sites would have particularly strong impacts on all the species at hydrothermal events across Japan.” 

For the Izu-Bonin Arc and Mariana Trench, Nikko volcano and Alice Springs were the most important hub, respectively. There is no current interest in deep-sea mining at these sites.  

The study also identified pathways of connectivity linking both the Okinawa Trough and the Mariana Trench to the Izu-Bonin Arc. However, these linkages only occurred across a small number of hydrothermal vents, including the Daisan-Kume Knoll in the Okinawa Trough, situated within an area of mining interest. Mining activity here could cause a collapse in the network across the Northwest Pacific region. 

Of final note were two outlier vent sites, the Sumisu Caldera and the Minami-Ensei Knoll, that showed low connectivity to any other vents in the region. These vents have very different features to other vents in the Northwest Pacific, with many creatures endemic to these sites. 

“Mining at these vents would be less likely to impact others, but they are very unique and fragile ecosystems that also need to be conserved,” said Brunner. 

Sub-regions of hydrothermal vents in the Northwest Pacific 

The Northwest Pacific has three sub-regions of hydrothermal vents, the Okinawa Trough, the Izu-Bonin Arc and the Mariana Trough. Red lines linking vent sites indicate a high number of species in common, while yellow lines represent low species similarity.

CREDIT

Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.9612 by Ecology and Evolution

JOURNAL

Ecology and Evolution

DOI

10.1002/ece3.9612 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Species assemblage networks identify regional connectivity pathways among hydrothermal vents in the Northwest Pacific

Food coloring nanoparticles may affect human gut

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CORNELL UNIVERSITY

ITHACA, N.Y. – Metal oxide nanoparticles – commonly used as food coloring and anti-caking agents in the commercial ingredients industry – may damage parts of the human intestine, according to new research by Cornell and Binghamton University scientists.

“We found that specific nanoparticles – titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide – ordinarily used in food may negatively affect intestinal functionality,” said senior author Elad Tako, associate professor of food science at Cornell. “They have a negative effect on key digestive and absorptive proteins.”

In their research, the group used human-relevant doses of titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide in the Tako laboratory’s in vivo system, which offers a health response similar to the human body’s.

The scientists injected the nanoparticles in chicken eggs. After the chickens hatched, the scientists detected changes in the functional, morphological and microbial biomarkers in the blood, the duodenum (upper intestine) and the cecum (a pouch connected to the intestine).

“We are consuming these nanoparticles on a daily basis,” said Tako. “We don’t really know how much we consume; we don’t really know the long-term effects of this consumption. Here, we were able to demonstrate some of these effects, which is a key to understanding gastrointestinal health and development.”

Despite the finding, the scientists are not yet calling for an end to the use of these nanoparticles.

“Based on the information, we suggest simply being aware,” Tako said. “Science needs to conduct further investigations based on our findings. We are opening the door for discussion.”

For additional information, see this Cornell Chronicle story.

Cornell University has dedicated television and audio studios available for media interviews.

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JOURNAL

Antioxidants

DOI

10.3390/antiox12020431 

Space Station research announcement for advanced materials and manufacturing open now

Grant and Award Announcement

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION U.S. NATIONAL LABORATORY

The International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory is soliciting flight projects for in-space production applications focused on advanced materials and manufacturing. This research announcement seeks concepts to utilize the space-based environment of the orbiting laboratory to further applications that can bring value to humanity and enable business models in space.

In-space production applications is a strategic focus area for the ISS National Lab. For this research announcement, flight investigations should demonstrate space-based manufacturing and production activities that enable new business growth and capital investment, represent scalable and sustainable market opportunities, and produce reocurring value with the potential to generate demand for and revenue from access to space. The objective is to use the unique ISS environment to develop, test, or mature products and processes that have a demonstrated potential to produce near-term, positive economic impact. Flight projects selected via this solicitation may be awarded funding to support project development and mission integration and operations for research that will be implemented on the ISS.

One example of a project awarded through an ISS National Lab research announcement in the area of in-space production applications is LambdaVision. The biotech company has launched multiple projects to the space station over the years to improve the manufacturing process for a protein-based artificial retina. Such an implant could restore vision for patients with degenerative eye diseases like retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. The implant consists of multiple thin layers of protein, and manufacturing in microgravity could improve the uniformity of the layers.

This research announcement will follow a two-step proposal submission process. Before being invited to submit a full proposal, all interested investigators must submit a Step 1: Concept Summary for review. The ISS National Lab will host a webinar on February 23, 2023, at 2 p.m. EDT to discuss ISS facilities and capabilities associated with this research announcement. A recording of the webinar will be made available to the research community through the research announcement webpage.

Step 1: Concept Summaries must be submitted by end of day on April 5, 2023. Step 2: Full Proposals (from those invited to submit) will be due by end of day June 19, 2023.

To learn more about this opportunity, including how to submit a Step 1: Concept Summary, please visit the research announcement webpage. To learn more about the ISS National Lab and the science that it sponsors, please visit our website.

The ISS National Lab is managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS) through a Cooperative Agreement with NASA. Last year, NASA extended its Cooperative Agreement with CASIS to manage the ISS National Lab through 2027.