Men who endorse “masculinity contingency” beliefs have more negative views on electric vehicles, study finds

2023/08/31



A recent study found that men’s adherence to traditional masculinity ideology is linked to negative attitudes towards electric vehicles, or EVs, and a lower likelihood of intending to purchase them. The study, published in the American Psychological Association’s Psychology of Men and Masculinities journal, suggests that deeply ingrained ideas about masculinity may influence men’s consumer choices in the expanding EV market.

The link between identity and consumer behavior has been the subject of research for many years, and previous studies have suggested that what people buy often reflects who they are, or who they want to be. In the scope of “masculinity,” consumer behavior does not only refer to being biologically male, but encompasses a set of social and cultural norms that cisgender men may feel pressured to adhere to. These include being “dominant,” “abrasive,” and strictly appealing to the opposite sex.

The study utilizes “masculinity contingency” to understand consumer choices and unpack how these choices reflect identity from a masculine perspective. Masculinity contingency refers to the idea that an individual’s sense of masculinity is not inherent, but is reliant upon their ability to adhere to the social and cultural norms placed upon cisgender men.

In other words, one’s sense of being “masculine” relies on meeting specific social and cultural criteria, and a failure to meet these criteria tends to result in feelings of diminished masculinity and a desire to “redeem” oneself via displaying more stereotypically masculine behaviors.

The study was completed with the aim of increasing the amount of work on masculinities, and in particular masculinity contingency, while also increasing the understanding of attitudes towards EVs amongst men. The participants of the study were 400 cisgender men, from the ages of 18 to 85, living in the United States. All of the men were recruited from Prolific, a platform that allows researchers to recruit participants for studies, and the study itself was conducted through a series of two surveys, both provided through the software Qualtrics.

The first survey had the participants respond to statements that pertained to traditionally masculine ideals by choosing from seven options ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.” Similarly, the second survey had the participants respond to statements that pertainted to their attitude towards EVs, such as their hypothetical desire to purchase one, by choosing from five options ranging from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.”

Then, the results of both surveys were analyzed using maximum difference scaling – a research method that breaks down how people value different options relative to each other as opposed to rating each item independently.

While the study proposed three different hypotheses, the main thrust of all three was that masculinity contingency would negatively influence the participants’ attitudes towards EVs. The results of the study indicated a negative association between masculinity contingency and attitudes towards EVs.

In other words, the study confirmed that men who strongly adhere to traditional masculine norms had less favorable attitudes towards EVs, and in addition, were less likely to consider purchasing an EV and were more likely to rank an EV as the least preferred type of car.

While the study offers valuable insights into how traditional views of masculinity may influence attitudes towards EVs, it is important to note specific caveats that may be important context for the findings’ interpretations. The study collected data online, which limited the scope of participants to those who had access to the internet. The surveys were only conducted once per participant, which only captures their opinions at a single point in time as opposed to their consistent opinions over a longer time period. In addition, the research relied on the participant’s self-reported sense of masculinity, which could be subject to biases.

The study, “Masculinity Contingency and Consumer Attitudes Towards Electric Vehicles”, was authored by Mike C. Parent, an assistant professor of counseling at the University of Texas at Austin who holds a Ph.D. in counseling psychology.

© PsyPost

BIRD TO MAMMAL SPILLOVER
Bird flu kills scores of sea lions in Argentina

Agence France-Presse
August 30, 2023, 

Animal health authorities have recently reported dead sea lions in several locations along Argentina's extensive Atlantic coast© Diego IZQUIERDO / TELAM/AFP

Scores of sea lions have died from bird flu in Argentina, officials said Tuesday, as an unprecedented global outbreak continues to infect mammals, raising fears it could spread more easily among humans.

Animal health authorities have recently reported dead sea lions in several locations along Argentina's extensive Atlantic coast, from just south of the capital Buenos Aires to Santa Cruz near the southern tip of the continent.

Another "50 dead specimens have been counted... with symptoms compatible with avian influenza," read a statement from a Patagonian environmental authority.

Authorities have asked the population to avoid beaches along Argentina's roughly 5,000-kilometer (3,100-mile) coastline where cases have been reported.

Sea lions are marine mammals, like seals and walruses. Adult males can weigh about 300 kilograms (660 pounds).

The H5N1 bird flu has typically been confined to seasonal outbreaks, but since 2021 cases have emerged year-round, and across the globe, leading to what experts say is the largest outbreak ever seen.

Hundreds of sea lions were reported dead in Peru earlier this year, as the virus has ravaged bird populations across South America.

There is no treatment for bird flu, which spreads naturally between wild birds and can also infect domestic poultry.

Avian influenza viruses do not typically infect humans, although there have been rare cases.

However, the outbreak has infected several mammal species, such as farmed minks and cats, and the World Health Organization warned in July this could help it adapt to infect humans more easily.


"Some mammals may act as mixing vessels for influenza viruses, leading to the emergence of new viruses that could be more harmful to animals and humans," the WHO said in a statement.

© 2023 AFP

Avma.org

https://www.avma.org/news/usda-tracking-bird-flu-spillover-events-mammals

USDA tracking bird flu spillover events in mammals 

Apr 24, 2023 ... The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is tracking cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) infection in mammals to better ...

Elifesciences.org

https://elifesciences.org/articles/86051

Viruses: How avian influenza viruses spill over to mammals -... 

Apr 11, 2023 ... The second way that spillover can happen involves a mammal getting directly infected with a bird virus (Figure 1B). This individual then ...

Thelancet.com

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(23)00173-8/fulltext

Avian influenza spillover into mammals - The Lancet Microbe 

May 26, 2023 ... 4.4b has been circulating globally, leading to more than 50 million dead wild birds and culled poultry. Concerningly, the virus has also started ...

Greece blaze is 'largest wildfire ever recorded in EU'

David McBrayer
August 29, 2023

A wildfire near Prodromos, 100 km northeast of Athens (Spyros Bakalis/AFP)


A forest blaze in Greece is "the largest wildfire ever recorded in the EU" and the bloc is mobilising nearly half its firefighting air wing to tackle it, a European Commission spokesman said Tuesday.

Firefighters have been battling the flames for 11 days in northeastern Greece which have killed at least 20 people and pose an "ecological disaster".

Eleven planes and one helicopter from the EU fleet have been sent to help Greece counter the fire, north of the city of Alexandroupoli, along with 407 firefighters, spokesman Balazs Ujvari said.

The EU's civil protection service said the fire has burnt over 810 square kilometres (310 square miles) -- an area bigger than New York City.


"This wildfire is the largest in the EU since 2000, when the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) began recording data," the service said.

Since it began on August 19, the bodies of 20 people have been found, 18 of them migrants including two children that were discovered in a region often used as an entry point from neighboring Turkey.

Greece's fire service told AFP that the blaze was "still out of control" in the northeast region's Dadia National Park, a major sanctuary for birds of prey.

A large fire previously hit the park in 2011, forest ranger Dora Skartsis said, lamenting that "everything that was regenerated since has been lost" in recent days.

"We're talking about a huge ecological disaster. The image is tragic," said Skartsis, who also heads a biodiversity protection group in the region.

The forest also plays a vital economic role in supporting logging, beekeeping and tourism activities in Evros, one of the poorest regions of the country.


In Alexandroupoli alone, at least 4,000 sheep and goats have been killed in the blaze and warehouses containing animal feed destroyed, according to Kostas Dounakis, who heads the local cattle breeders' association.
Deadly impact

The European Union currently calls on a fleet of 28 aircraft -- 24 water-dumping planes and four helicopters -- supplied by member countries to help battle blazes in the bloc and in nearby neighbors.


It is working on creating a standalone, EU-funded air wing of 12 aircraft that will be fully in place by 2030.

"We do know that fires are getting more severe," Ujvari noted.

"If you look at the figures every year in the past years, we are seeing trends which are not necessarily favorable, and that calls for, of course, more capacities at the member states' level."

Greece has been ravaged by numerous fires this summer which the government attributes to climate change.

The EU air deployment "underscores our commitment to swift and effective collective action in times of crisis," the EU's commissioner for crisis management, Janez Lenarcic, said.

Environment Minister Theodoros Skylakakis also announced that work must begin on flood prevention to prevent landslides along the now barren terrain when rains return in the autumn.

Experts blame poor government preparation for Greek fires' devastation

Agence France-Presse
September 2, 2023

Greek Wild Fires ((Sakis MITROLIDIS/AFP)

While the Greek government has been quick to blame global warming for the summer's devastating wildfires, some experts argue that poor planning is at least as much to blame.

The European Commission has said that the blaze in the Dadia national park, which has been burning for two weeks now, is the largest on record in Europe.

That and other deadly fires across Greece were expected to consume more than 150,000 hectares (370,600 acres) of land, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament this week.

And the flames have so far claimed 26 lives.

"Is the climate crisis the alibi for everything?" said Mitsotakis. "No, it is not an alibi -- but it is part of the interpretation," he insisted.

Climate change is a theme the government has touched on repeatedly in the context of the wildfires but, as Mitsotakis appeared to at least implicitly acknowledge, it is not the whole story.

This year's fires are certainly stronger than those of previous years because of climate change, said Alexandros Dimitrakopoulos, head of Forest Protection and the Wildland Fire Science Lab at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

But that does not fully explain the extent of the damage, he told AFP, pointing out that 10 percent of the country's woodlands had gone up in smoke since 2007.

- 'Better planning needed' -

"Better planning in the fight against fires is needed, as well as better cooperation between the fire services and the specialists in geomorphology of wooded zones," Dimitrakopoulos argued -- geomorphology being the scientific study of the form or shape of the land.

Kostas Lagouvardos, research director at the National Observatory of Athens, made a similar point, arguing that the emphasis should be on adequate measures to prevent forest fires.

But the recurring problem, he said, was the dysfunctional relationship between the state and scientific bodies.

"The scientific tools exist and can help detect and prepare for difficult climatological conditions," he said -- such as the extreme drought that has struck the Evros region near the border with Turkey and other regions.

Opposition politicians took a similar line during a fierce parliamentary debate Thursday.

They accused the government of having been too slow to put preventative measures in place and of poor coordination between the various government agencies concerned.

- An international problem -

Mitsotakis, hitting back, referred to the growing climate crisis, the summer's extended heatwave in Greece and the hot dry winds that had fueled the fires.

And he pointed out that Greece was far from being the only country to suffer such massive wildfires, pointing to similar disasters this summer in Canada, Spain and the United States.

"Even those countries that have a greater financial capacity than Greece" were unable to cope with the fires, he argued.

He also announced he would be recruiting more firefighters and buying equipment such as drones to help monitor such disasters.

He had sharp words too for "certain scientists" who, he said, saw fit to publish their data on the wildfires in the news media -- such as the extent of the terrain burnt -- when the research that might have put the figures in context had not been completed.

But the National Observatory of Athens was having none of that, hitting back in a statement issued Friday.

"In a democracy and in the era of published data at the European and international level, science and the national research centres are obliged to inform society of the results of their activities and the natural conditions that affect the lives of citizens," it sa

Mega project raises questions about psychological scientists’ accuracy in predicting societal change

2023/08/29


How accurate are psychological scientists in predicting societal change? A series of four studies published in American Psychologist suggest that psychologists are no better at such predictions compared to laypeople.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it media appearances of psychologists discussing their predictions regarding what changes we ought to expect in various domains of life. However, these predictions were often outside their area of expertise. Across a series of four studies, Igor Grossmann, PhD (@psywisdom) and colleagues looked into the accuracy of psychologists and laypeople in predicting future societal change and compared these predictions to what unfolded in the real world.

“My interest in this topic stemmed from the lack of insight about how scientists viewed and anticipated major societal risks like pandemics in the past. In this and related projects (such as WorldafterCovid and the Forecasting Collaborative) I wanted to explore how scientists think such major societal shifts may unfold, assess the accuracy of these forecasts, and identify areas where predictions have been more or less successful,” said Grossmann, a professor of psychology at the University of Waterloo.

“By examining whether and how serious scientists made predictions about such uncertain events like the pandemic, and investigating how public intellectuals and scientists engaged with the media at the onset of the pandemic, my team also sought to uncover the domains in which predictions were made, thereby aiming to enhance the understanding of scientific accuracy and how it can be improved.”

Study 1 examined psychological scientists’ discussion regarding the pandemic in the news media, utilizing The Coronavirus Corpus which included over 1.8 million texts of news content containing an interview with an academic psychologist regarding the pandemic. A total of 169 unique articles were retained, which included 719 unique judgments from 213 different scientists (e.g., impact of pandemic on child development).

Study 2 was conducted in two parts. In part one, 401 scientists from 39 countries made forecasts in April 2020 regarding societal change due to the pandemic. This included cultural change in the United States across 11 domains, such as generalized trust, expected birth rates, delay of gratification, among others (verbatim questions can be found here).

Participants made their forecasts for 6 months, 1 year and 2 years into the future, with response options ranging from a 50% or greater decrease to a 50% or greater increase. Of the 11 domains that were tested, accuracy of predictions was reliably assessed for seven (including “polarization, traditionalism, individualism, trust, climate change, life satisfaction, and depression”). Participants also indicated one psychological or social issue in the United States that was not mentioned in the study, but that they believed would evolve in the coming months/year.

Part two of Study 2 was conducted after the initial peak of COVID-19. This included another group of 316 psychological scientists from 26 countries. At the same time, a sample of 394 participants who were nationally representative of the United States were recruited via Prolific. The procedure was approximately the same as that of part one.

However, alongside the 11 domains of Study 2, participants also predicted changes for four additional domains (e.g., charitable giving). In addition to predicting change, participants also provided confidence ratings of their predictions on a scale of 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely). Reliable benchmarks of accuracy were attainable for 10 of the domains (including “loneliness, charitable giving, violent crimes, polarization, traditionalism, individualism, trust, climate change, life satisfaction, and depression”).

Study 3 was also conducted in two parts. A total of 411 laypeople and 270 scientists were prompted to provide retrospective judgements of change and confidence ratings for the same domains as in Study 2. Specifically, they provided an estimate of the amount of change they perceived on a given issue compared to six months prior. Participants also indicated the types of information they considered when providing their judgments.

In Study 4, 203 participants were prompted to consider scientists, practitioners and laypeople, and rate how accurate they would be when predicting societal change throughout the COVID-19 pandemic across the various domains of interest (e.g., life satisfaction, loneliness). They also indicated who they would prefer to hear recommendations from regarding the societal issues tackled in this project (e.g., scientist with expertise in epidemiology, practitioner with expertise in social work, average american, for a total of 10 groups to consider).

“The average person should understand that psychological scientists’ predictions regarding societal changes during the COVID-19 pandemic were found to be no more accurate than those of laypeople,” Grossmann told PsyPost.

“Despite their formal training and expertise, these scientists often based their judgments on intuition and heuristics rather than empirical evidence. This work also showed that neither specific expertise nor experience significantly improved the accuracy of these ‘off-the-cuff’ predictions. This underscores the complexity of forecasting societal responses to unprecedented events like the pandemic. At the same time, and in contrast to laypeople, scientists were more uncertain about their predictions, thus showing a sign of ‘meta-accuracy’ – they were potentially more aware of their limitations.”

An important question that emerges from this work is how to improve scientists’ predictive accuracy regarding societal effects of major events such as the pandemic.

“In this project, the lack of accuracy in predicting societal changes is not confined to one domain or level of expertise, raising questions about the underlying reasons for these inaccuracies. More investigation is needed to determine how psychological scientists can improve their forecasting abilities, perhaps by implementing models that focus on prediction-oriented designs rather than solely relying on post-hoc explanations,” Grossmann explained.

“We must also explore how to use psychological expertise in ways that take uncertainty into account and how biases like negativity bias might be corrected in both expert and policy considerations. Finally, this project does not examine what happens when scientists make predictions as a group or by relying on formal modeling of past data – a typical way many scientists operate; this question was addressed in a parallel Forecasting Collaborative initiative we ran in parallel, results from which appeared in Nature Human Behaviour this year (and were similarly disappointing).”

The researcher added, “I would like to emphasize that while the study found shortcomings in the predictive capabilities of psychological scientists, it doesn’t diminish the importance of psychological/social science in informing public understanding and policy – after all, in this study people expect scientists to be at the decision table and they were more aware of uncertainty associated with making societal predictions.”

“The findings also highlight the need for improved methods of prediction and communication of uncertainty in times of crisis. Future work should explore ways to enhance accuracy, including training strategies at both institutional and individual levels.”

The research, “On the Accuracy, Media Representation, and Public Perception of Psychological Scientists’ Judgments of Societal Change”, was authored by Cendri A. Hutcherson, Konstantyn Sharpinskyi, Michael E. W. Varnum, Amanda Rotella, Alexandra S. Wormley, Louis Tay, and Igor Grossmann.

© PsyPost

socialpsychology

Putin’s plan to control remote Siberian region goes awry
James Kilner
Sat, September 2, 2023 

Vladimir Putin in Khakassia in 2010. Analysts argued that his invasion of Ukraine dented his chances of winning the region - Aleksey Druzhinin/AFP via Getty Images


Vladimir Putin’s party is facing a battle to win back one of the only regions in Russia it does not control after its candidate for next week’s local election quit following a poll showing he would lose.

Unable to stuff ballots in the remote Khakassia region in southern Siberia, the Kremlin is now looking to cancel the governorship election entirely, according to Russian opposition media.

Analysts said that the Kremlin’s failure to manage the election showed that its messaging was not getting through and its war in Ukraine was not as popular as it hoped.

“This is an indicator of the real mood in the heartland,” said Abbas Gallyamov, a former Kremlin speechwriter and political commentator who now lives in Israel.

The Kremlin has a near-iron tight grip over politics in Russia and dominates every level from the national parliament to local assemblies, with only a handful of exceptions.

One of the most glaring of these has been Valentin Konovalov’s governorship of Khakassia, a sparsely populated region known for its natural beauty. It is a five-hour flight from Moscow.

Valentin Konovalov, of the Russian Communist Party, has controlled Khakassia since 2018 - Planetpix/Alamy Stock Photo

The 35-year-old Russian Communist Party pin-up, who regards Vladimir Lenin as his political hero, became governor of Khakassia in 2018 off the back of public resentment at the Kremlin’s increase to the age of retirement.

The Kremlin tried to derail Mr Konovalov’s victory in 2018 by repeatedly cancelling a second round of voting until it decided to relent and instead revenge the humiliation at this year’s regional elections.

Mr Gallyamov said that Sergey Kiriyenko, Putin’s election strategist, first used the Kremlin’s propaganda machine to discredit Mr Konovalov and then parachuted in Sergei Sokol, a Russian MP “war hero”, to be the United Russia candidate.

But this plan has failed, he said, because the Kremlin had to win the election fairly as it does not control the main administrative resources in Khakassia and Mr Sokol was a weak candidate as he was too obviously “Moscow’s candidate” for people to stomach.

“As election day approached, it became increasingly clear that Sokol would lose,” Mr Gallyamov said.

This assessment was backed up by pro-government Russian media, with RBK reporting that secret polls showed Mr Sokol would embarrass the Kremlin.

The local elections include the Russian-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine, such as Donetsk - Reuters/Alexander Ermochenko

So with a week to go before the vote, Mr Sokol has decided to quit and on Saturday he posted a Telegram message from hospital saying that he was too ill to stand.

“Being a governor is a serious and responsible job and you can’t be out of action even for a day,” he said.

Mr Sokol had based his campaign on his support for Putin’s war in Ukraine after he served in the Cascade VIP battalion in occupied Donbas. It was set up to allow politicians to pose in military uniform miles behind the front-lines to fly drones rather than defend trenches.

Medusa, a Russian opposition website, said that with its election plan in tatters, the Kremlin now wanted to cancel the governorship election in Khakassia.

It quoted sources saying that officials had been sent from Moscow to find alleged voter fraud and pressure all the candidates to pull out, allowing the Kremlin to appoint a governor.

“Sokol has become a black swan, but we’ll figure it out,” said a source close to the presidential administration.

US woman joked that she had bought famous painting for $4, not knowing it was real


By Mikala Theocharous 

Aug 31, 2023

A thrift enthusiast purchased a $US4 ($6) painting from an op shop, only to discover it was a famous artwork last year

The woman even jokingly stated the painting might be legit after she bought it in 2017, as it seemed to bear the signature of the renowned American painter N.C Wyeth.

Now the painting is expected to fetch over $US250,000 ($385,000) when it goes up for auction in September.

The artwork was found at a Savers thrift store in New Hampshire, Machester US, according to specialists at Bonhams Skinner auction house. It was leaning against a wall among other posters and prints.

The painting is expected to fetch over $250,000 when it goes up for auction in September. (CNN)

After the woman bought the painting, she took the piece home and tried to research it, but came up short. She hung it on her bedroom wall for years before putting it into storage. 
She recently rediscovered the artwork in May and posted about it on a Facebook page called "Things found in Walls," where users can post photos of things they have found in their backyard or home.

An influx of comments claiming the painting was real led the woman to contact former art curator Lauren Lewis.

The Wyeth family have produced dozens of famous painting. N.C Wyeth is the patriarch and the most well-known of the family.

Lewis said after seeing the piece she was "99 per cent certain it was authentic," she told The Boston Globe. 

"While it certainly had some small scratches and it could use a surface clean, it was in remarkable condition considering none of us had any idea of its journey over the last 80 years," she said. 

The work depicts a young woman facing her foster mother, with a religious statue between them.  (CNN)

The artwork was produced by Wyeth in 1939 as one of four works featured in a book titled Romona by Helen Hunt Jason. The book was published as a later edition of the original 1884 version.

Only one other work from the collection has been recovered, according to Bonhams Skinner.

The work depicts a young woman facing her foster mother, with a religious statue between them. 

Publishing company Little, Brown and Company may have passed the work on to the original owner's estate after passing away, according to experts at Bonhams Skinner.
The record auction price for a Wyther family painting was set last year, with Andrew Wyeth's 1980 painting titled Day Dream selling for a whopping $23.2 million at Christie's Auction House in New York.

 

How Germany's 'Master Interrogator' relied on kindness and empathy during WWII

Hanns Scharff's methods were so effective they were adopted by the FBI.

Heather Wake

08.31.23

Credit: Sony

Flattery really will get you everywhere.

Imagine it’s WWII. You’re an American fighter pilot (thank you for your service) and a prisoner of war (eek).

Your interrogator walks in, and instantly your mind begins to prepare you for the torture that lies ahead. Will you be kicked, whipped and beaten? Forced to stand for hours on end until you give the enemy crucial intel? The anticipation alone is excruciating.

Suddenly, your interrogator says, “What would you like for lunch?”

This would be your treatment if questioned under Hanns-Joachim Gottlob Scharff, “Master Interrogator” of Germany’s Luftwaffe branch, who’s unconventional techniques surprisingly reveal the power of kindness.

Scharff never sought out a military career, but a series of seemingly fated events led him to one nonetheless.

A businessman at the time, Scharff had been vacationing in Germany in 1939 when the war broke out and he was forcibly drafted into the army. His wife would help him avoid fighting on the front lines by vying for him to work as an interpreter.

It wouldn’t be long before Scharff would unintentionally move up the ranks. After two of his superiors died in a plane crash, he landed the position of lead interrogator.

Unlike his peers and predecessors, Scharff was opposed to obtaining information through physical or psychological abuse. Instead, he relied upon friendliness and empathy. He regularly took prisoners out to lunch and on luxurious nature walks, and he even offered them baked goods made by his wife. It was essentially more of a wooing than an interrogation.

In addition to the friendly approach, Scharff would also never press for information and perpetuated an illusion of knowing all the information already (which included acting unsurprised whenever a prisoner might reveal new intel). The last component of his strategy involved casually presenting a claim to see if the prisoner would confirm or deny it, otherwise known as the confirmation/disconfirmation tactic.

All these tricks proved incredibly effective. Not only was Scharrf highly successful at getting information (one prisoner famously remarked that he "could get a confession of infidelity from a nun”) he also managed to save the lives of multiple American pilots in the process. He even remained friends with one after the war.

His methods were so successful that following WWII, he was invited to give lectures in America, and he became a major influence on U.S. interrogation techniques.

One last fun fact: America is where Scharff would end up retiring, where he would take up creating mosaics—a passion he once had as a young boy. If you ever find yourself at Cinderella's Castle in Walt Disney World, you might find one of his works.

Scharff clearly had many talents.

cdn1.parksmedia.wdprapps.disney.com

Not in Florida anytime soon? You can also find some of his work at the California State Capitol building, Los Angeles City Hall, and several American universities like Dixie College in Utah and the University of Southern California campus.

You know what they say—you catch more bees with honey than you do with vinegar. Getting the desired result from another person is often more easily achieved by being kind and understanding, both in times of war and in everyday life.

Ukraine Conflict Caused One of the 'Most Disruptive Periods' for Global Food Security: US Intel

Curated By: Rohit
News18.com
Last Updated: AUGUST 31, 2023

A Ukrainian serviceman walks near a destroyed Ukrainian tank, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near the village of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 25, 2023. (Reuters)

Russia's invasion of Ukraine disrupts global food supply, increasing food insecurity. Report examines impact on prices, availability, and poorer nations

The Ukraine conflict that started in February 2022 has resulted in one of the most disruptive periods in decades for global food security, the top US spy agency said in a report released by Congress on Wednesday.

In a newly unclassified assessment, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence alleged that Russia has deliberately worsened global food security by confiscating Ukrainian grain for their own exports and consumption and has complicated Kyiv’s ability to export its commodities

This report finds that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused disruptions in global food supply and higher and more volatile global food prices. “The onset of war also led to an immediate and rapid rise in the prices of agricultural inputs, such as fertilizers and fuel, and prices remained elevated for most of 2022,” the report said.

“Several developments, including increased production in other countries, the ability of global markets to adjust to changing supply and demand signals, and the UN-led Black Sea Grain Initiative, which enabled Ukrainian agricultural products to exit Ukraine’s Black Sea ports and reach international markets-lowered global food prices to pre-conflict levels by the end of 2022, although domestic food price inflation as of this year remain high in many countries,” it added.

According to US intelligence, the combination of high domestic food prices and historic levels of sovereign debt in many countries largely caused by spending and the recessionary effects of the pandemic has weakened countries’ capacity to respond to heightened food insecurity risks. As per the report, these factors probably will undermine the capacity of many poor countries to provide sufficient and affordable food to their populations through the end of the year.

It also finds that Russia stole nearly 6 million tons of Ukrainian wheat harvested from occupied territories in 2022. Cargo ships used to transport the stolen grain out of Russian-occupied territories in 2022 would steer along the coast of Turkey to deliver shipments to ports in Syria, Israel, Iran, Georgia and Lebanon, the report said.

Moreover, the US intelligence warned of the impact of food security on political stability and security including factors such as global food and fertilizer prices, fiscal space for governments, and the availability of foreign currency to pay for imported foods.

 CRYPTO CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

DOJ Files Motion to Exclude Sam Bankman-Fried’s Expert Witnesses in FTX Trial

• CryptoGlobe Writer

• 30 Aug 2023
• /
• In #FTX

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has submitted a legal filing to prevent all of Sam Bankman-Fried’s proposed expert witnesses from testifying in his forthcoming trial scheduled for October. According to the documents filed by the DOJ, the defense’s proposed experts have multiple shortcomings that justify their exclusion from the trial.

Per Decrypt’s article, the DOJ argues that the seven expert witnesses do not meet the minimum requirements for criminal proceedings. Furthermore, the government contends that their testimonies could introduce bias and confusion among the jury members. The filing states, “The Court should exercise its gatekeeping authority and preclude such impermissible expert testimony.”

The proposed expert witnesses include a British lawyer, the leaders of four different consulting firms, a law professor, and a business school assistant professor. These experts were expected to testify on various topics, including FTX and Alameda Research’s terms of service, accounting practices, software infrastructure, campaign finance laws, and the fundamental applications of blockchain technology.

Joseph Pimbley, a principal at Maxwell Consulting, is specifically mentioned in the DOJ’s filing as being unnecessary for the trial. The government argues that his expertise on FTX’s code would merely duplicate the testimony already provided by their own witnesses. The DOJ plans to call upon Nishad Singh, the former CTO, and Gary Wang, the director of engineering, both of whom are deemed competent to testify on the relevant matters.

Additionally, the DOJ has requested a Daubert hearing if any of the proposed witnesses are not excluded. A Daubert hearing allows both parties in a court case to scrutinize the challenged expert in an open court setting to assess their admissibility.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by the author, or any people mentioned in this article, are for informational purposes only, and they do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading cryptoassets comes with a risk of financial loss.

GENDER
Alcohol Use Among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth

Drinking to cope may do more harm than good.

Sarah Dermody Ph.D.
Hooked on Psych
Posted August 30, 2023 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch


KEY POINTS

Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youth are subjected to minority stressors, like victimization.

TGD youth are at risk of drinking alcohol to cope with minority stress.

Drinking alcohol to cope can lead to increased physical, social, and mental health harms.

Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth include young people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Many TGD youth, due to their minoritized status, are subjected to victimization, discrimination, invalidation of their gender, and transphobia. These experiences are referred to by researchers and clinicians as “minority stressors.” At a time when TGD youth are the target of increasing marginalization and minority stressors (see Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in the U.S.), it is critical to acknowledge that these minority stressors can have a profound impact on the mental and physical well-being of TGD youth.

TGD youth understandably develop ways to cope with these minority stressors. Some of these coping strategies can be empowering and strengthening, like seeking support from peers and TGD community members and obtaining gender-affirming interventions. Some other coping strategies, however, come with harms of their own. One concern is that TGD youth may use substances to help them cope with the distress and impacts from minority stress, such as drinking alcohol.

Drinking patterns among TGD youth

Recent research suggests that TGD youth are at risk for alcohol use and heavy drinking. In a recently published scoping review by myself and others, led by Kalina Fahey, we found that TGD youth were generally more likely to report any alcohol use than cisgender (i.e., non-transgender) young people, particularly heterosexual youth (Fahey et al., 2023). Similarly, across multiple studies, TGD youth were more likely to report drinking five or more drinks in a sitting than cisgender youth. Non-binary youth, however, may be an exception: They tended to have no difference in their drinking, or even lower drinking, compared to cisgender youth.

Minority stress and drinking to cope

It is expected that these increased rates of drinking partly result from experiencing minority stress. That is, TGD youth who experience minority stressors may rely on drinking alcohol to help them escape these painful experiences and resulting distress. In fact, several studies of TGD youth have found that experiencing minority stress is associated with increased alcohol use (Fahey et al., 2023).
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Alcohol’s poisonous consequences

While alcohol use may help TGD youth in the short-term to manage this distress, alcohol use is also a leading preventable cause of injury and death. Further, alcohol intoxication can ultimately worsen the emotional and mental well-being of TGD youth. In a study of TGD university students led by myself and others, we found that they were at risk for a number of harms from drinking, including increased suicidal thinking and increased risk of being sexually assaulted (Dermody, Fahey, & Kerr, 2022). Clearly, drinking to cope can come at a great cost to TGD youth.

Taking action

There is no doubt that minority stress is prevalent and that it negatively impacts TGD youth in numerous ways, including increasing alcohol use and associated harms. Clearly, as a society, it is necessary to take steps to eliminate minority stressors and develop a gender inclusive society. It is important to halt and reverse policies and practices that harm or further marginalize TGD youth, such as bathroom bills and restricted access to health and gender-affirming care. Further, it is necessary to find ways to address the impacts that minority stressors have had and continue to have on TGD youth. Research is needed to develop individual and group support for TGD youth to bolster their well-being and promote healthy coping strategies.

Finally, allyship for TGD youth includes educating oneself about gender identity and expression and respecting gender diversity. The Trevor Project provides a helpful guide about being an ally to TGD young people.


References


Fahey, K. M., Kovacek, K., Abramovich, A., & Dermody, S. S. (2023). Substance use prevalence, patterns, and correlates in transgender and gender diverse youth: a scoping review. Drug and alcohol dependence, 110880.

Dermody, S. S., Lamb, K. M., & Kerr, D. C. (2022). Heavy drinking and drinking harms for cisgender and transgender college students. Psychology of addictive behaviors, 36(5), 466.Morereferences

About the Author

Sarah Dermody, Ph.D., C.Psych., is the Director of the Clinical Addictions Research and Equity Lab and Associate Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Online: CARE Lab,