Better communication leads to more international solidarity

What crisis communication strategies can motivate people to support international relief efforts? Konstanz researchers investigate this question using the example of international vaccine solidarity and provide recommendations for action.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF KONSTANZ

What promoted citizens to favour a fair distribution of vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic? This is the focus topic in the current study of Konstanz researchers, political scientists Dirk Leuffen, Pascal Mounchid and Max Heermann as well as sociologist Sebastian Koos, published in npj Vaccines. Based on data from a large-scale survey on COVID-19 and social inequality, the researchers identify communication strategies that moved citizens in Germany to support international vaccine solidarity. Two of the resulting recommendations for action: In order to promote international willingness to help, future crisis communication should clearly identify the risks of acting without solidarity and highlight what donors and recipients have in common.
 

Morally reprehensible and medically risky
During the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmaceutical companies and governments around the world collaborated to develop, produce and distribute vaccines. Nevertheless, many governments secured vaccines primarily for their own citizens. The result: Especially in countries of the global North, multiple vaccinations could be administered nationwide soon after the first vaccines were approved. In many places, vaccines even exceeded their expiration date unused. At the same time, the poorest countries in the world were left almost empty-handed.
 

In addition to the question of moral reprehensibility, this "vaccination nationalism" also carried a medical risk, since insufficient global vaccination coverage potentially favoured the emergence of new, possibly resistant viral variants. Particularly in democratic countries, decision-makers therefore faced a dilemma when it came to distributions, Leuffen says: "Politicians were torn between the advice from experts and the accountability to their own people." But what factors favoured solidarity?
 

The undecided can tip the balance
To find out, the researchers surveyed 4,000 German citizens in an experiment in May 2021, when only 12 per cent of German citizens had received their second vaccination shot: Participants were asked to indicate to what extent they were in favour of giving vaccines to a hypothetical recipient country. In the process, they received different information about the recipient country itself as well as the potential benefits of acting in solidarity. In this way, the researchers were able to determine what type of information increases vaccination solidarity and develop specific recommendations for crisis communication that promotes solidarity.
 

The researchers recommend emphasizing the self-interest of the donor side in addition to references to humanitarian need in the recipient country. "Clearly illustrating the dangers of vaccine nationalism promotes international solidarity", Leuffen explains and continues: "Moreover, short-term cost considerations should be replaced by a long-term profit orientation. As soon as a certain vaccination rate has been achieved in one's own country, dispensing vaccines is the safest strategy".
 

It is also beneficial to emphasize common ground between aid donors and recipients, the authors say. "Undecided citizens are particularly receptive to these messages – and their voices can be crucial in creating social majorities for international aid efforts," Leuffen concludes.

 

Key facts:
 

• Original publication: D. Leuffen, P. M. Mounchid, M. Heermann & S. Koos (2023) Mobilizing Domestic Support for International Vaccine Solidarity – Recommendations for Health Crisis Communication, npj Vaccines; doi: 10.1038/s41541-023-00625-x
• Study uses the example of international vaccination solidarity to examine factors in crisis communication that promote solidarity
• About the authors:
  • Dirk Leuffen is a professor of political science with a focus on international politics and board member of the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz
  • Pascal M. Mounchid studies Politics and Public Administration at the University of Konstanz
  • Max Heermann is a doctoral researcher at the Department of Politics and Public Administration at the University of Konstanz
  • Sebastian Koos is a tenure track professor of sociology with a focus on social movements and Principal Investigator at the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" at the University of Konstanz
• Funding: German Research Foundation (DFG) within the framework of the Excellence Strategy (Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality")
• Open Science: The article in npj Vaccines is open access.  The replication data, as well as the scripts used for analysis, can be downloaded for free from the Harvard Dataverse. The full dataset of the survey programme "COVID-19 and Social Inequality" is available on gesis.

 

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JOURNAL

npj Vaccines

DOI

10.1038/s41541-023-00625-x 

ARTICLE TITLE

Mobilizing Domestic Support for International Vaccine Solidarity – Recommendations for Health Crisis Communication

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

28-Feb-2023

A motion freezer for many particles

Tailor-made laser light fields can be used to slow down the movement of several particles and thus cool them down to extremely low temperatures - as shown by a team from TU Wien.

Peer-Reviewed Publication

VIENNA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

 

IMAGE: LIGHT IS MODIFIED AND TURNED INTO THE OPTIMAL WAVEFORM TO REDUCE THE SPEED OF PARTICLES. view more 

CREDIT: TU WIEN

Using lasers to slow down atoms is a technique that has been used for a long time already: If one wants to achieve low-temperature world records in the range of absolute temperature zero, one resorts to laser cooling, in which energy is extracted from the atoms with a suitable laser beam.

Recently, such techniques have also been applied to small particles in the nano- and micro-metre range. This already works quite well for individual particles – but if you want to cool several particles at once, the problem turns out to be much more difficult. Prof. Stefan Rotter and his team at the Institute of Theoretical Physics at TU Wien have now presented a method with which extremely effective cooling can also be achieved in this case.

Not just a beam, but a whole light pattern

"In laser cooling of atoms, one uses only an ordinary laser beam. However, this approach does not work for cooling nano-particles. Our trick now is to continuously adapt the spatial structure of the laser beam to the particle motion in such a way that optimal cooling is implemented at every point in time," says Stefan Rotter. "With the method we have developed, you can very quickly calculate how this light pattern must look like. While the particles change their positions, you continuously adjust the light pattern and can thus continuously decelerate the particles," adds Jakob Hüpfl, who is researching this topic as part of his doctoral thesis.

Interestingly, to use the new method, you don't need to know where the particles are located – you don't even need to know how many particles there are and how they move. You simply send light through the system and measure how this light is changed by the particles. From this, the optimal light pattern is determined with which the particles must be irradiated at the next moment in order to slow them down a bit more – until their movement finally "freezes". So far, this is only theoretical work, but experiments are already underway.

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JOURNAL

Physical Review Letters

DOI

10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.083203 

ARTICLE TITLE

Optimal Cooling of Multiple Levitated Particles through Far-Field Wavefront Shaping

Invasive plant species will spread even further in Germany

World Wildlife Day on 3 March

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITÄT LEIPZIG

 

IMAGE: FORECAST SPREAD OF RAGWEED IN GERMANY UNDER CURRENT AND FUTURE CLIMATE CONDITIONS. DIAGRAM: FABIAN SITTARO view more 

CREDIT: FABIAN SITTARO

For many people, Ambrosia artemisiifolia is nothing more than a potentially annoying agricultural weed. Introduced from North America about 150 years ago, the plant is likely to be familiar to many allergy sufferers. This is because ragweed is highly allergenic, and even small amounts of its pollen can cause severe reactions. Apart from this, ragweed sometimes occurs on a massive scale – threatening agricultural crops. The plant prefers warm and dry locations and will spread even further in the coming years, for instance in the hot and dry regions of Saxony, southern Brandenburg and the Upper Rhine Plain.

Scenarios created for current and future climate conditions

This is one result of the research conducted by Fabian Sittaro, a doctoral researcher at the Institute for Geography at Leipzig University and a staff member at the German Biomass Research Centre (DBFZ). The aim of his study was to assess suitable habitats for key invasive plant species in Germany under current and future climate conditions up to the year 2080. For his doctoral thesis, the 33-year-old studied 46 invasive plant species that are at different stages of spreading. Sittaro explains the methodology thus: “Using satellite imagery to divide Germany into quadrants, I remotely sensed the whole country. Environmental data was determined for each of these quadrants, meaning information about soil type, land use, climate and elevation data, information about infrastructure and existing plant communities.” Based on this data, various machine learning techniques were used to calculate whether the respective species would be able to spread in the defined quadrants and thus in certain parts of Germany. Sittaro created these scenarios for current and future climate conditions up to the year 2080. The distribution data was taken from the FlorKart database for the floristic mapping of Germany and from the Natura2000 European network of protected areas.

Climate change accelerating the spread of invasive species

“The study shows that future climate conditions will determine which habitat the individual species are able to occupy or claim,” says Professor Michael Vohland, who is a professor of geography specialising in geoinformatics and remote sensing at Leipzig University and who supervised the dissertation. “The invasive plant species will have more potentially suitable habitat available to them because many of them come from regions with dry and warm climates.” Even under current climate conditions, most of the species studied have not yet reached their potential habitat. Urban centres and areas with good transport infrastructure have a high spread potential. The study provides important information with regard to applying targeted, monitoring-based protection and control measures. Fabian Sittaro, who received a scholarship from the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU) for his dissertation, is currently working on a web application. Due to go online at the end of 2023, it will provide information on invasive plant species and maps showing current and projected areas of spread.

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DOI

10.1016/j.jag.2022.103158 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

Which factors determine the invasion of plant species? Machine learning based habitat modelling integrating environmental factors and climate scenarios

Protective parenting may help your kids avoid health problems as adults

Stressful environments can cause problems in adulthood, but parents setting limits can counter those effects

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

Being a protective parent could set your kids up for a healthier life as an adult, according to new research from the University of Georgia.

The study found that growing up in places where gunshots are common and heat and electricity are unreliable can lead to pain and other physical health limitations in adulthood.

But being involved in your child’s life, such as knowing their friends or where they’re hanging out after school, can help counteract those effects, according to the new research.

“Early life experiences really affect physical and mental well-being throughout our lifespan,” said Kelsey Corallo, lead author of the study and a recent doctoral graduate from UGA’s Department of Psychology. “Even if we don't have a lot of tangible memories from very early on in life, we know how we felt, we know how loved we were and how supported we were, and these things get embedded in us.”

The study found that setting limits and letting your kids know you are keeping an eye on them reduces the risks of physical and mental health issues in adulthood.

“This isn’t just the direct ‘know where your kids are’ type of parenting, and it’s not helicopter parenting that makes a difference,” said Katherine Ehrlich, co-author of the study and an associate professor in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. “Communicating love and the desire to be part of your child's life, I think, is probably part of the magic ingredient of vigilant parenting that benefits the child.”

Stress in childhood may affect functioning of immune, regulatory systems

The study analyzed responses from more than 4,825 respondents to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 97. (The national survey followed thousands of individuals from adolescence through their mid-30s.)

The researchers found a connection between growing up in a less safe environment and physical health limitations in adulthood. It’s a finding the researchers find concerning.

“There is a lot of research to show that stressful experiences—for example, feeling unsafe, not getting the basic resources that you need in life or being exposed to neglect or abuse—those things literally change how your body functions,” said Corallo, who is now a research associate at the Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University.  

The stress from those types of experiences can make it difficult for the body to regulate itself, the researchers said. If that sustained level of stress is experienced during childhood or infancy, it can cause lifelong issues with immune function or hormone regulation.

“Young people and children tend to be healthy, so the fact that we’re seeing a statistical association between physical limitations and childhood environmental risk is pretty incredible,” Corallo said. “It shows that these things really do matter, and they have an overt effect on health even in early adulthood when chronic illnesses often haven’t even set in yet.” 

Parents who show they care what their kids are up to can positively impact their health

The study participants who grew up in less safe environments but had parents who were very involved with their lives didn’t experience the same health ailments as their peers without vigilant parents. Vigilant parenting was also associated with fewer mental health problems in adulthood.

It’s likely the children whose parents gave them curfews and monitored their friend groups were better shielded from harmful behaviors that could have lifelong effects, like smoking or binge drinking, the researchers said.

“In more dangerous settings, it may be more difficult for parents to be that involved, for example if they’re working multiple jobs,” Corallo said. “But even if they’re not physically home, keeping track of and making sure their children know that their parents are aware of and care about what they're up to make a big difference.”

Another key is making sure children know their parents are monitoring them and setting limits because they care about them, not because they want to control every aspect of their lives.

“It’s all about how kids are experiencing that vigilant parenting and how they’re interpreting it,” said Ehrlich. “They don’t feel like it’s helicopter parenting. They just feel like their mom or dad really cares about them.”

Published in Social Science and Medicine, the study was co-authored by the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics’ Christopher Carr, the Department of Psychology’s Justin Lavner and the Department of Human Development and Family Science’s Kalsea Koss.

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JOURNAL

Social Science & Medicine

DOI

10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115593 

ARTICLE TITLE

The protective role of parental vigilance in the link between risky childhood environments and health

Internet treatment program to prevent child sexual abuse launched in several languages

Reports and Proceedings

KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET

Following a successful pilot study, an online anonymous treatment program aimed at reducing child sexual abuse by providing treatment to individuals who exhibit sexual urges towards children is being launched across the EU.  It is now available in Swedish, German, and Portuguese as well as in an updated English version. The treatment program, which has been developed by researchers and psychologists at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, will be evaluated within the framework of an international research collaboration funded by the EU.

"Sexual exploitation of children is a major problem within the EU, and around the world, that unfortunately seems to be increasing with the advancement of technology", says Peer Briken, coordinator of the EU collaborative research project PRIORITY and a professor at Universitaetsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany. "This online treatment program uses modern technology combined with proven therapeutic techniques to reduce the risk for sexual exploitation – and early data shows that it works."

The treatment program, called Prevent It, builds on cognitive behavioural therapy and is a nine-week program with individual support that is conducted digitally and free of charge. It is aimed at people who are concerned about their sexual urges involving children. Participants will be recruited from encrypted web forums on the Darknet and via advertisements in search engines and social media.

Police authorities in Sweden, Germany, and Portugal will also encourage individuals suspected of sexual crimes against children to take part. The police will, however, not be able to follow up whether the suspect signs up for the program, or how he/she is doing in the program. An important condition for reaching the affected group and being able to evaluate the program scientifically is that the participants can be completely anonymous.

"Often, people who need and want help, don't dare to contact the health care system, because of shame or fear of being reported to the police", says Malin Joleby, coordinator of the Swedish part of the project and a researcher at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden. "Our hope is to reach people who would not otherwise seek help and to be able to offer a treatment program that is scientifically developed and evaluated."

A first pilot study of Prevent It was conducted in English in 2019–2021 and focused on people who used illegal, sexual content depicting children. The results, that have been published in a peer reviewed journal, showed that the treatment program works; treatment participants significantly reduced the time they spent viewing this content compared to individuals who were randomly assigned to a placebo condition. Roughly half of the participants that completed the program reported not having viewed illegal images of children at all during the preceding week. In addition, it was well-appreciated by the participants, which is crucial in getting people to want to undergo the treatment.

The results of the pilot study give hope that it is possible to help people with sexual urges involving children effectively and safely. Therefore, the program is now being launched on a larger scale across the EU. In addition to an updated English version, the program has also been translated and culturally adapted into three new languages: Swedish, German and Portuguese.

About the project and its partners:

These three new language versions of Prevent It are evaluated within the framework of the PRIORITY project (Prevention to Reduce Incidence Of Sexual Abuse by Reaching Individuals Concerned About Their Risk to Young People), funded by the European Union's Internal Security Fund – Police. The project is a collaboration between researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Linköping University in Sweden, Universitaetsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf in Germany, Universidade do Porto in Portugal, the University of Ottawa's Institute of Mental Health Research at The Royal in Canada, and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the United States.

Read more about Prevent It and how register:

On the open website (anonymous)

THE FUTURE IS CALLING

Signals of the future detected by artificial intelligence

KISTI publishes “Emerging Weak Signals 2023 in Science and Technology”

Reports and Proceedings

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

 

IMAGE: COVER PAGE OF REPORT(KISTI DATA INSIGHT NO.24) view more 

CREDIT: KOREA INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INFORMATION

Following the release of its Weak Signals in Future Technology report and Forecast Report on Weak Signals in Future Technology in Korean last year, the Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information (President Kim Jaesoo, hereinafter KISTI) has published Emerging Weak Signals 2023 in Science and Technology, and English report on weak signals in science and technology with future potential detected using artificial intelligence.

KISTI developed and released the findings on automated weak signal detection technology which uses data and algorithms to detect early signs of technology with potential for future growth last year. Weak signals- signals containing information about the future even though their significance remains yet to be seen in the present, are one way to explore technologies with potential for future growth.

 

With technological hegemony and economic recession intensifying globally, it is imperative to swiftly and accurately detect early signs of future technologies to actively establish a nation’s strategy for the future that hastens technological innovation and ensures autonomy in future technologies.

 

In response to such demands of the times, KISTI has released the Emerging Weak Signals 2023 in Science and Technology report presenting 439 weak signals in 24 fields of science and technology, which were detected using its independenly developed automated weak signal detection technology. This is a quantitative increase from the 391 weak signals detected in the previous year.

 

Also presented in the same report are findings on weak signal dynamics, comparing and analyzing changes and trends between weak signals in this report and those detected previously. The specific data presented are newborn weak signals appearing for the first time, weak signals that remained unchanged in the span of a year, and weak signals that were largely the same but partially changed in content from the previous year. Weak signal dynamics research will empower a more accurate understanding of the specific qualities of technologies with future potential, facilitating the establishment of a strategy on future technologies.

 

The automated weak signal detection technology developed by KISTI monitors global innovation trends such as the accelerating digital transformation and changing technological and industrial ecosystems in real time, presenting information swiftly and accurately to enable continous horizon scanning※ for understanding the future. It is hoped that the technology will provide digital insights to a wide range of entities performing research on technology innovation.

 

 

※ Horizon scanning - A systematic methodology for detecting early signs and trends in new technologies and social issues that could potentially become threats or opportunities with great influence in the future - Conventionally utilizes expert discussions and qualitative analysis, but attempts to use big data and AI analysis have been growing recently - Horizon scanning is a necessary step in predicting the future and shaping policy, widely utilized in the EU, UK, U.S. and the OECD

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- The Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information(KISTI) a non-profit government-funded institute to develop and support core sicence and technologt information resources and knowledge infrastructure and create an open, shared-data ecosystem, thereby contributing to the innovative growth of Korea and the quality of citizen’s lives.

1. of Report : Emerging Weak Signals 2023 in Science and Technology(KISTI Data Insight Report no.24)

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ARTICLE TITLE

Emerging Weak Signals 2023 in Science and Technology

A study analyses fake interaction services on social media

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSIDAD CARLOS III DE MADRID

A study by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) and IMDEA Networks analyses fake interaction services on social media. In addition to cataloguing the fraudulent ecosystem of “likes”, views, followers or online visits, the study points out the economic models that sustain it and the high level of personalisation that these services offer.

“There is an extensive catalogue of services covered by fake interaction resale panels. You can buy any form of interaction from any global or local service,” says one of the study’s authors, Juan Tapiador, a professor in UC3M’s Computer Science Department. Another conclusion reached by the researchers is the level of “customisation” of these services. For example, for many interactions (playing music, watching videos or “likes” on social media) you can choose the geographical origin of the account that will do so and the gender (male or female). “A third interesting finding is the disparity in prices between providers of the same service, which suggests that this is still a developing market where the market value of this service is unknown”, adds Juan Tapiador.

According to the study’s results, the cheapest rates include buying direct traffic to a website, getting “likes” on Instagram or getting views on multimedia platforms. For example, 1000 “likes” on Instagram cost 1.3 euros, while 2 euros can get 1000 views on YouTube or 1000 plays on Spotify. Interestingly, several services are offered for free so customers can check their quality and thus be convinced to invest in different ones. This way, for less than 9 cents you can get 1000 views on TikTok, SoundCloud or Instagram/IGTV. Buying Instagram followers is more expensive: for 4.3 euros you can get 1000. And then there are other more expensive services because they involve some personalisation, such as reviews on Google or TripAdvisor, which range at around 1 euro per text.

As Narseo Vallina-Rodríguez, associate research lecturer at IMDEA Networks and another of the work’s authors,  says, “potential consumers of this type of service can be anyone depending on the type of review: from influencers who want to promote their channels on social media to brands trying to promote the visibility of their products”.

This study, recently published in the scientific journal Computers & Security, is part of a wider research project on the ecosystem of services that provide fake activity and identity services on the internet. The aim of this research is to quantify and analyse the evolution of the global market price of services that (re)sell artificial interactions on social media and content distribution platforms, something that has rarely been studied in academic literature, according to the researchers.

Some platforms regularly provide reports on what they call “inorganic behaviour”, especially to report the volume of deactivated accounts and the purpose they served. However, the total volume of fake interactions on current platforms is unknown.

Is there any way to detect this fraudulent use of social media? “Platform providers can implement proactive measures to detect and identify accounts used to generate fake reviews. In the past, efforts were made to detect fake accounts on social networks such as Twitter, which were very effective and could be implemented to tackle this problem. However, it is a very costly effort”, explains Vallina-Rodríguez. 

To carry out this study, the researchers identified a significant sample of interaction resale panels (more than fifty) and collected data every day for 4 months on their service catalogue and the evolution of their prices. Once all this data was filtered and standardised, it was processed to analyse the service catalogue, the evolution of prices, the factors affecting the latter and the buying and selling activity in specialised forums.

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JOURNAL

Computers & Security

DOI

10.1016/j.cose.2022.103013 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Data/statistical analysis

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

Not applicable

ARTICLE TITLE

An Analysis of fake social media engagement services

Social media posts around solar geoengineering ‘spill over’ into conspiracy theories

Peer-Reviewed Publication

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have analysed more than 800,000 tweets and found that negative emotions expressed about geoengineering – the idea that the climate can be altered using technology – can easily fall into conspiracy.

The researchers analysed tweets 2009 and 2021 tagged with #geoengineering. They used a combination of natural language processing, deep learning and network analysis to explore how public emotions, perceptions and attitudes have changed over a 13-year period.

The researchers found that there is a large amount of ‘spillover’ between geoengineering and conspiracy theories, especially around ‘chemtrails’, a conspiracy theory dating back to the 1990s. The researchers suggest that negative emotions related to geoengineering have a contagion effect, transcending regional boundaries and engaging with wider conspiracies. Their results are reported in the journal iScience.

As the climate crisis worsens, the search for solutions has accelerated. Some potential, albeit untested and controversial, solutions involve geoengineering, where various technologies could be used to alter weather or climate. Solar radiation management (SRM) is one hypothetical geoengineering solution where temperature rise might be addressed by reflecting some sunlight back into space. Possible forms this technology could take include cirrus cloud thinning or spraying aerosols into the stratosphere. But there are few, if any, opportunities for researchers to test these potential solutions.

“The amount of funding that’s been made available for geoengineering research, and especially outdoor experiments, is tiny,” said first author Dr Ramit Debnath, Cambridge Zero Fellow at the University of Cambridge. “When you ask funders why this is, the reason often given is that the research is too controversial.”

“There are significant and well-founded concerns around geoengineering, but fundamentally we’re interested in furthering knowledge in this area,” said senior author Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, Director of the Centre for Climate Repair in Cambridge’s Department of Engineering. “In order to do that, we need to have more informed discussions. We don’t want to dismiss any concerns expressed on social media, but we do want to put them into context.”

“The views expressed on social media don’t necessarily translate directly into wider public views, but there is still a lot we can learn by studying conversations that are happening,” said Debnath. “We wanted to know whether people who were tweeting about geoengineering were in fact, a vocal minority, and if so, what else are these people talking about?”

The researchers analysed a large dataset of more than 800,000 English-language tweets sent in the 13-year period between 2009 and 2021. The researchers used natural language processing techniques to analyse the emotions expressed in the tweets and assigned each tweet a ‘toxicity score’. The researchers then conducted a network analysis to determine how tweets about geoengineering interact with other hashtag networks and conspiracy theories.

“The chemtrail conspiracy theory is particularly popular among conspiracy theorists based in the United States, and our analysis found that tweets about chemtrails are the common link between geoengineering and conspiracies,” said Debnath. “Most of these tweets are sent by American users, but they spill over across regional and national boundaries.”

The ‘chemtrail’ conspiracy theory dates back to the 1990s. Believers in this patently false conspiracy allege that condensational trails (contrails) from aircraft are intentionally seeded with various chemical or biological compounds for nefarious purposes including population control or military testing. Those who believe the chemtrails conspiracy theory also allege that aircraft could be used for intentional weather and climate modification.

The researchers say that the common link between the chemtrails conspiracy and conspiracy theories around geoengineering is the idea that bad actors are ‘weaponising’ the weather with chemicals.

Their analysis also showed that positive emotions rose on global and country scales following events related to SRM governance, and negative emotions increased following the announcement of SRM projects or experiments.

The researchers say their work could help inform future discussions around SRM and other forms of geoengineering by putting social media discussions in context. “It’s a small echo chamber, but it’s quite a noisy one,” said Debnath.

While the controversy around geoengineering will continue on social media, the team say what they really need is quality data and research. “There are risks associated with geoengineering, but how do these compare with the risks of letting climate change continue unabated?” said Fitzgerald. “I worry that knowledge hasn’t progressed in this area. What happens if some rogue entity decides to go for a huge deployment of SRM, and people end up suffering because of it? This is why it’s so important to have informed discussions backed up by quality research.”

The researchers say their study provides a data-driven glimpse into the structure of online climate misinformation that has a strong contagion effect, leading to strengthening of conspiracy theories in the public domain. Understanding such links with respect to climate action is critical for the design of counteraction strategies.

The research was supported in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Cambridge Centre for Climate Repair, Cambridge Zero and Quadrature Climate Foundation, and the Google Cloud Climate Climate Innovation Challenge Award. This study is a part of an ongoing project co-lead by Dr Ramit Debnath with Cambridge Zero on improving public understand of climate change.

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JOURNAL

iScience

DOI

10.1016/j.isci.2023.106166 

ARTICLE TITLE

Conspiracy spillovers and geoengineering

ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE

28-Feb-2023

Sexting found to be associated with negative mental heath

Peer-Reviewed Publication

MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC./GENETIC ENGINEERING NEWS

 

IMAGE: EXPLORES THE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES SURROUNDING THE INTERNET AND INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGIES. view more 

CREDIT: MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC., PUBLISHERS

A new study has shown that sexting was associated with depression, anxiety, sleep problems, and compulsive sexual behaviors. The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Click here to read the article now.

Sexting is defined as sending a sexually explicit image of oneself over text messaging. Sexting can include sending only, receiving only or “reciprocal” (sending and receiving) use of messages. 

Nicholas C. Borgogna PhD, from Texas Tech University, and coauthors, found that participants who had only ever sent (but not received) sexts reported more depression, anxiety, and sleep problems than the other groups. They also reported a possible connection between sexting, marijuana use, and compulsive sexual behavior.

“While sexting may not necessarily be a causal factor of negative mental health outcomes or substance use, some meaningful covariation clearly exists,” stated the investigators.

“Over 50% of adults report sending a sext, while women are up to four times more likely than men to report having received nonconsensual sexts.  Many individuals reveal they enjoy consensual sexting and feel it empowers them and builds self-confidence.  Nonconsensual sexts, however, can result in feelings of violation and awkwardness,” says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold, PhD, MBA, BCB, BCN, Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California and Virtual Reality Medical Center, La Jolla, California.

About the Journal
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online and in print with Open Access options that explores the psychological and social issues surrounding the Internet and interactive technologies.  Complete tables of contents and a sample issue may be viewed on the Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking website.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a global media company dedicated to creating, curating, and delivering impactful peer-reviewed research and authoritative content services to advance the fields of biotechnology and the life sciences, specialized clinical medicine, and public health and policy. For complete information, please visit the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. website

 

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JOURNAL

Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking

DOI

10.1089/cyber.2022.0312 

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Case study

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH

People

ARTICLE TITLE

Further Understanding the Correlations Between Sexting and Mental Health: Considerations for Sex and Sexual Identity

Social media provide space for digital cosmopolitanism

What kind of people use social media to advocate for tolerance, human rights, and against authoritarianism?

Peer-Reviewed Publication

JOHANNES GUTENBERG UNIVERSITAET MAINZ

 

IMAGE: DR. ROMAN LIETZ OF MAINZ UNIVERSITY (LEFT) AND DR. FERGAL LENEHAN OF THE UNIVERSITY OF JENA AT A REDICO CONFERENCE IN THE SUMMER OF 2022 view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO/©: JULIA BAUR / JGU

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have repeatedly been the subject of negative news coverage. As a result, the positive aspects associated with digital platforms have been overlooked. In light of this, a recent study has explored the social media activity of a carefully selected group of individuals who use the microblogging platform Twitter. The authors, Dr. Roman Lietz from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and Dr. Fergal Lenehan from the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, observe that socially engaged Twitter users share unexpected similarities despite their different backgrounds. "These digital cosmopolitans share similar values and are guided by similar motivations and perspectives on society," explained Dr. Roman Lietz from the Faculty of Translation Studies, Linguistics, and Cultural Studies at JGU.

"Digital cosmopolitanism" only sparsely researched so far

There is hardly a message on social media that does not express some form of criticism. The way in which Donald Trump instrumentalized Twitter in a new manner and the radicalization and networking of far-right terrorists via social media has meant that a special focus on the right-wing populist, agitator potential of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Telegram and other platforms has dominated research. Scholars rarely view the other side: Social media as a space for the spread of values such as solidarity and understanding.

In their study "Tweeting the World a Better Place" funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Dr. Roman Lietz and Dr. Fergal Lenehan investigate this digital cosmopolitanism. They examine the motives, biographies, and traits that lead ten different people across Europe to take positions on Twitter in support of human rights and tolerance, against authoritarianism. The qualitative study focuses on regular people rather than popular accounts of influencers.

Parallels between traditional volunteering and social Twitter engagement

The study finds that the Twitter users interviewed – regardless of age, place of residence, and specific interests such as climate protection, the combating of anti-Semitism, or the advocation for LGBT rights – possess surprising similarities in terms of values, motivations, and perspectives on society and on social developments. Furthermore, parallels between traditional volunteering and cosmopolitan Twitter are clearly visible. "We perceive this as a form of digital civic engagement," explained Lietz, describing the results. The study concludes by addressing how this form of commitment and dedication to "the world as a whole" can be accomplished in the sometimes harsh environment of social media.

The study was published in the academic journal Persona Studies as part of the Researching Digital Interculturality Co-operatively (ReDICo) research project.

Related links:
https://redico.eu/ – Researching Digital Interculturality Co-operatively (ReDICo)

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JOURNAL

Persona Studies

DOI

10.21153/psj2022vol8no3art1653 

ARTICLE TITLE

Tweeting the World a Better Place: Motivations and Values Underpinning the Creation of a Digital Cosmopolitan Persona