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Understanding the media effect on behavioral outcomes is critical during a health crisis. Mechanisms explaining the mediation effect of media induced risk perception on individual fears and preventive behavior adoption rarely attend to the assumptions and methods to make a causal inference, nor to explore how the effect differs by socioeconomic status. We applied a causal framework to estimate how differential media exposure motivates fear and behavioral reaction, and to what extent these effects can be explained by risk susceptibility and risk severity perceptions in Israel and China, and whether the effects are conditional on socioeconomic situation. Our results suggest that media consumptions are explanatory predictors for increased fear and behavior through provoked risk perceptions. Moreover, socioeconomic status is a pronounced moderator in differentiating the media effect. These findings emphasize the media effects in the context of pandemic and have potential implications for media campaign and policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutional trust is pivotal in facilitating targeted policy implementation and fostering appropriate preventative behavior amid public health crises. This study examines the immediate effects of the pandemic on institutional trust, investigating whether public trust in responding institutions underwent substantial changes pre and post the early outbreak of the pandemic. Leveraging data from two large-scale online surveys administered before and after the outbreak of the pandemic, our findings highlight a marked erosion of public trust toward the government in the aftermath of the outbreak. This effect is more pronounced at the local government level compared to the central government. Conversely, there was a significant increase in trust in medical institutions. Additionally, shifts in public trust in the government were found to be closely tied to evaluations of the government's pandemic-handling measures, with this relationship moderated by diverse media consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Adolescence is regarded as a formative period for political development. One important developmental context is media. Negatively perceived political media content can foster populistic attitudes, which in turn decreases support of political institutions, such as the European Union (EU). As media valence effects are short‐lived, this study examined intra‐individual associations of media valence with European identity commitment and affect towards the EU, as well as indirect effects via populistic attitudes across 10 days. Methods: We implemented a 10‐day daily diary study with 371 adolescents from Germany (January to February 2022). Adolescents were on average 14.24 years old (SD = 0.55) and 60.4% were female. We estimated the hypothesized associations using multilevel structural equation models and dynamic structural equation models. Results: We found significant associations between populistic attitudes and negative affect towards the EU on the same day and the next day. The lagged effect became nonsignificant, when including both same day and lagged effects into one model. Populistic attitudes were not significantly associated with European identity commitment within days or across days. Negative media content was associated with higher populistic attitudes on the same day and indirectly associated with negative affect towards the EU (b = −.01, 95% credible interval [−0.010, −0.004]). Conclusion: Negatively perceived political media content was associated with higher populistic attitudes and more negative affect towards the EU concurrently. Our results imply that media plays an important role for adolescents' development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mass media are a key source of public news, significantly influencing the accessibility of certain issues through media coverage. While media coverage of rival nations is known to influence public perceptions, its potential impact on citizens' attitudes toward their own country is less explored. This study addresses this gap by investigating Chinese respondents' reactions to U.S. news stories related to food safety issues. The research reveals that exposure to negative news stories about a rival nation's food safety scandal can lead to a more favorable assessment of one's own government when the domestic government is perceived to be handling a similar issue better. Conversely, positive news about the rival nation's food safety issues or slightly negative news about a less severe issue diminishes government satisfaction. The findings suggest that the impact of international news coverage on citizens' views is shaped by comparisons between nations' performances. These findings shed light on the complex dynamics of international news and its influence on domestic perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of the advertisement Intolerance Is Still There (2021) from a narrative point of view, using Genette’s (1972) theory of focalization and ocularization, revised by Jost and Gaudreault (1995), is proposed as a basis for the study of the campaign Héroes de Hoy (2020-current). The results show that the discursive tactics are based on the narration of real historical and contemporary events, the activity of the characters, and the equidistant placement of the audience in a zone of contemplation, awareness, and prosociality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the effect of priming gendered stereotypes on emotions toward immigrants and attitudes toward refugees among Jewish-Israelis and Germans. It aims to contribute a new theoretical perspective on the importance of gendered stereotypes in media discourses. Drawing on previous research, which suggests a theoretical model for examining the indirect effect of stereotypical gendered stereotypes in predicting emotions and attitudes toward outgroups during political conflicts, this study aims to explore the effect of stereotypical gendered priming on emotions toward immigrants and attitudes toward refugees. It uses three online experiments conducted among Germans and Jewish-Israelis: the first two studies examine the effect of gendered stereotypes on emotions toward immigrants and attitudes toward refugees among Jewish-Israelis; the third replicates this model in Germany in order to explore the effect of gendered stereotypes on attitudes toward refugees there. Such empirical examination can promote a better understanding of the role of exposure to gendered stereotypes in shaping public opinion toward marginalized groups. It may also contribute to attempts to promote constructive political debate and media coverage by specifically addressing the societal constructs--gendered stereotypes--that can potentially advance positive political attitudes and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost all calamities make a footmark on the financial sector, and COVID-19 is no different. On this ground, stock market investors' attitudes, thinking, and everything receives severe attention as investors' psychology is a common determinant of the trading activity and investment decisions which ultimately drive the market. Investors in developing countries like Bangladesh need a more rigorous analysis of their behavior as they are now more concerned and worried about their investments than before. They must be more vigilant in terms of preparation to eliminate the impacts of COVID-19. This paper aims at focusing on understanding how the spread of the pandemic is reshaping the psychological aspect of investors with a focus on four selected factors, risk perception, market psychology, media effect, and loss aversion. Three hundred eighty-five responses were collected through a questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic, where data was tested using Smart PLS 3.0 in conjunction with IBM SPSS 25. With the help of the measurement model and structural model of partial least square, the suggested framework in this paper has been studied to identify some aspects of investors' psychology that could potentially have insights and information on how countries should place themselves to respond to future epidemics. The effect size and individual t-test of the factors explain the affected state of thinking of retail investors, where loss aversion and risk perception affect investors the most. In contrast, media effects have a moderate influence, and market psychology has the least. The findings are expected to help investors and policymakers understand the behavior of the market and prepare accordingly for challenging the upcoming economic crisis in the corona war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the influence of mass media and interpersonal communication channels in the adoption of preventive measures against the Covid-19 pandemic (coronavirus). The study hypothesises that higher exposure to media content increases interpersonal communication and increased interpersonal communication is positively associated with the adoption of preventive behaviour. To test this hypothesis, this study used a quantitative research technique employing a survey method. The results, when assessed through Pearson correlation, elaborated that there was a stronger association between media exposure and increased interpersonal communication and the adoption level of Covid prevention measures. The result of the thematic analysis revealed that interpersonal communication was an important contributor towards changing behaviour. Hence, the two-step flow of communication showed strong support for accepting the role of interpersonal communication alongside the mass media. This study findings provide insights to communicators and planners for devising different communication strategies for combating the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binge watching has risen in popularity, and thus is receiving increasing scholarly attention. Across the limited range of studies that have been conducted, there is a lack of uniform conceptualization and empirical measurement of binge watching making generalizability and theoretical development across studies challenging. This investigation provides an overview of current binge watching conceptualization and operationalization, and presents initial testing of two measures of binge watching for both general binge watching behavior, and single-program binge watching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to explore the effects of recent Chinese international propaganda by adopting a conditional process analysis of U.S. and South Korean audiences. Our study yields three major findings. First, perceived credibility plays a significant role as a mediator between new propaganda and its persuasive effect. Second, both the perceived credibility of a message and its persuasive effect are moderated by the nationality of the audience (American or Korean in our study). Third, the indirect persuasive effect of a piece of Chinese international propaganda, as mediated through its perceived credibility, is further moderated by the nationality of the audience (i.e., American or Korean). This paper thus stands to contribute to cross-national studies of the media effect of international propaganda by identifying factors associated with perceived credibility and the persuasive effect and assessing the influence of propaganda on public attitudes in other nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyber vigilantism, in particular crowdsourced vigilantism, is a newly emerging practice whereby people expose misconducts and identify culprits through collaboratively searching and publicizing information using the Internet. This study proposes a theory-oriented framework with which we demonstrate that individuals' media exposure and perceived social norms may interact and jointly predict their reception of and reactions to the practice. We tested the framework with web survey data of 800 adults in Taiwan. Results showed that the frequency and the ways in which the press covers cyber vigilantism were both directly and indirectly associated with individuals' acceptance of or resistance to cyber vigilantism. The indirect associations were mediated by individuals' evaluations and perceived social acceptance of the practice. We suggest that obtaining favorable news coverage is essential for cyber vigilantism to gain acceptance and attract crowds. When modeling or predicting the structure and evolving process of this newly emerging cyber practice, researchers may want to consider the overall media environment, social context, and personal evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many risk factors have been identified for suicidal behaviors however suicidal contagion and suicide clustering phenomenon have been focused only in recent years. Suicidal contagion has been defined as 'Werther effect' which refers to the suicidal attempts of young individuals after exposure to suicides of famous people. Suicide cluster means an unexpected increase in suicidal behaviours at certain periods in certain regions. The suicide of a close friend or exposure to suicide-related contents in the media can be a precipitating factor for suicidal behavior particularly in adolescents and vulnerable individuals. In this case report, an adolescent who attempted suicide 3 weeks after her friend's suicide, will be discussed and the literature related to the suicide contagion and clustering will be reviewed. 19-year-old female patient was admitted to our clinic with complaints of unhappiness, unwillingness, sleep and appetite problems. Her complaints started aproximately 1 month ago after having relational problems with her boyfriend. When she was under treatment in our clinic, her close friend committed suicide. She attempted suicide about 1 month later after the suicide of her friend. Although she had some suicidal risk factors such as the presence of depressive symptoms, history of suicide attempts, she never enounced suicidal ideation in previous sessions. The suicide of her friend was considered as an important trigger for her suicidal attempt. The aim of this case report is to raise awareness about suicide contagion and to discuss the precautions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What kind of content do citizens in a developing and authoritarian country like to acquire from Western free media? What are the effects of their potentially selective exposure? In a survey experiment involving 1,200 Chinese internet users from diverse socio-demographic backgrounds, this study finds that Chinese citizens with higher pro-Western orientations and lower regime evaluations are more inclined to read content that is positive about foreign countries or negative about China. More importantly, reading relatively positive foreign media content about foreign countries can improve rather than worsen the domestic evaluations of citizens who self-select such content. The article argues that this is because reputable Western media outlets' reports are generally more realistic than overly rosy information about foreign socio-economic conditions that popularly circulates in China. Consequently, foreign media may have a corrective function and enhance regime stability in an authoritarian country by making regime critics less critical. The article also introduces a new variant of the patient preference trial design that integrates self-selection and random assignment of treatments in a way that is useful for studying information effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inconsistent results have been reported concerning the relationships between SNS usage and loneliness. The current two-wave panel study with a one year interval examined the possibility of reciprocal and curvilinear relationships between active public Facebook use and adolescents' social/emotional loneliness. Belgian adolescents from fifteen high schools participated (N = 1188, 55% male). The results showed a U-shaped relationship between (1) active Facebook use and social/emotional loneliness and (2) emotional loneliness and active Facebook use. Specifically, active Facebook use predicted decreased social/emotional loneliness among low to moderate users, while among heavy users, increased levels of social/emotional loneliness were predicted by active Facebook use. Emotional loneliness predicted higher active Facebook use among lonely adolescents. At the same time, emotional loneliness predicted decreased active Facebook use among adolescents who did not feel lonely. These findings stress to consider different types of loneliness, and reciprocal and curvilinear relationships in future social media research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In view of the surge of student suicides in March 2016, a large-scale media involvement was engaged to minimize copycat effects and to extensively spread more preventive information.Methods: Trend differences between student suicides in overall as well as youth suicides between 2003 and 2016 were examined. Impacts of media involvement were examined as to the changes of their intensities in reporting student suicides in different manners. Local polynomial smoothing method was used to estimate the intensities throughout the study period.Results: The intensity of students' suicides has been slowly increasing since 2006, which was in contrast to the decreasing trend of overall suicide intensity. After our engagement with the media, acute descriptive-reporting in student suicide news has sharply dropped and remained low since then, whereas preventive-reporting has increased sharply in March and April 2016, but dropped back to normal afterwards. The higher intensity of preventive-reporting seemed to have a protective effect on student suicide.Limitations: Data of student suicides in 2016 were substantially extracted from the local news, which may not contain complete information. The analyses suggested, but could not confirm, a causal relationship between the changes of student suicide news-reporting and the incidents of suicides themselves.Conclusions: The recent surge of student suicides in Hong Kong was statistically abnormal. Media engagement has changed local suicide news-reporting to become more preventive, which could have contributed to the drop of student suicides. It is essential to sustain the media's coverage of preventive reporting to maintain its enduring effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue obtrusiveness has long been considered a condition in agenda-setting effect of mass media. Public’s perceived salience of news issues has been found to be more strongly influenced by mass media for unobtrusive issues than obtrusive issues. This study measures the issue obtrusiveness contingency in a developing country by comparing public perception of 10 different issues with varying levels of obtrusiveness. The findings support the original issue obtrusiveness contingency, and add that the public in developing countries report salience of obtrusive issues based on their own personal experience rather than from media exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both the students' ideological and political work and the media work in agricultural colleges and universities are priorities of agricultural higher education in Tibet. The economic and social development situation in Tibet, especially the modern agricultural development trend in Tibet, provides excellent development opportunities and challenges for both the students' ideological and political work and the media work in Tibetan agricultural colleges and universities. On the whole, the students' ideological and political work and the media work should not be treated with discrimination. Instead, they should be effectively integrated and coordinated, to form joint efforts, so as to create a bright spring for agricultural higher education of Tibet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two diaza-crown ether compounds, 1,4,10,13-tetraoxa-7,16-diazacyclooctadecane (L0) and its derivative with double acetamide side arms 2,2'-(1,4,10,13-tetraoxa-7,16-diazacyclooctadecane-7,16-diyl)diacetamide (L), and the corresponding two lanthanum complexes were synthesised and characterised. The catalytic capacity of the lanthanum complexes was investigated for the hydrolysis of bis(4-nitrophenyl) phosphate ester (BNPP) in aqueous solution and in CTAB micelles. Kinetic studies show that the catalytic efficiency of complex LaL is obviously higher than that of complex LaL0, and introducing acetamide into the ring of the diaza-crown ether can improve the catalytic ability of the complexes for BNPP hydrolysis. A rate enhancement of about two times was observed for the complex-micelle in contrast with the complex-water system for BNPP catalytic hydrolysis. The optimal pH for the catalytic reaction in the two kinds of media systems show an approximately 0.4 pH unit difference. The two complexes possess higher thermostability, and are more stable in the micelle than in aqueous solution. Based on the results and their analysis, a catalytic mechanism with cooperation of acetamide is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The immense popularity of Facebook with more than 1 billion active users continues to spark the attention of communication scholars. While much is known about Facebook members’ motivations, usage patterns, and gratifications obtained from this social networking site (SNS), minimal attention has been given to examine the perceived consumption and impact of Facebook on users themselves versus others. Applying the third-person effect (TPE) hypothesis to the context of social media, this research uniquely investigates the (a) difference in estimated Facebook effects on self versus others, (b) relationship between perceptions of Facebook use and estimated Facebook effects on self versus others, and (c) association between perceived desirability of Facebook as a social medium and estimated Facebook effects on self versus others. The aforementioned relationships are also moderated by gender and age. Implications for the relevance of TPE on users of SNSs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public's anti-incumbent mood was at a then all-time high in the 2010 election with almost two-thirds (65 percent) agreeing that most members of Congress did not deserve re-election. Previous studies have not directly examined whether and how different types of media influence anti-incumbent attitudes. This study relies on a 2010 state poll to examine how partisan and mainstream news sources influence anti-incumbent attitudes, controlling for political and demographic variables, and how polarization mediates such effects. Using a structural equation model, this study finds that whereas reliance on partisan media is positively associated with anti-incumbent attitudes toward most Senators and representatives, reliance on mainstream media is negatively associated with it. On the other hand, reliance on neither media type is statistically associated with anti-incumbent attitudes toward one's own representatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research the author examines the connection between mass audience and changes to approaches of observation of mass communication. As a result of systemization of key theoretical models of communication, the author comes to conclusion of evolution of ideas about the process of mass communication measurement in the course of development of internet, technical and mobile communications: from linear to multisided and multiple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2012, the media paid extra attention to lean finely textured beef (LFTB), an inexpensive lean beef product extracted from low-valued fatty trim. The media’s negative portrayal of LFTB as an unnecessary and unsavory additive to ground beef products corresponded with a spike in reports over a 6-month period. Since LFTB is often used in ground beef, it is likely that consumption of LFTB-based ground beef products and other meats could be affected. This paper used weekly meat production and sales data to assess how media depictions of LFTB affect consumer demand. We used a Central Bureau of Statistics model to test whether media portrayal affects the consumption of aggregate meats and beef cuts: pork, chicken, turkey, Choice beef, Prime beef, Select beef and ground beef. Results indicate that media portrayal of LFTB, measured by the number of articles on the subject weighted by consumer readership, did not lead to significant changes in consumer demand across meats or within the beef category immediately. However, consumer purchases of pork, turkey and Prime beef were affected two weeks or greater after news reports of LFTB surfaced. Nevertheless, those effects were temporary and waned or disappeared during later weeks. Our look at the LFTB controversy informs food policy by studying the media sources from which consumers obtain their information. As the temporary effects of news media on consumer demand for aggregate meats and disaggregate beef cuts suggest, consumers may benefit from receiving their news from industry and government sources instead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Understanding some adverse effects of nanoparticles in edible crop plants is a matter of importance because nanoparticles are often released into soil environments. We investigated the phytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) on the important crop plants, Phaseolus radiatus and Sorghum bicolor. The silver nanoparticles were selected for this study because of their OECD designation as a priority nanomaterial. The toxicity and bioavailability of AgNPs in the crop plant species P. radiatus and S. bicolor were evaluated in both agar and soil media. The seedling growth of test species was adversely affected by exposure to AgNPs. We found evidence of nanoparticle uptake by plants using electron microscopic studies. In the agar tests, P. radiatus and S. bicolor showed a concentration dependent-growth inhibition effect. Measurements of the growth rate of P. radiatus were not affected in the soil studies by impediment within the concentrations tested herein. Bioavailability of nanoparticles was reduced in the soil, and the dissolved silver ion effect also differed in the soil as compared to the agar. The properties of nanoparticles have been shown to change in soil, so this phenomenon has been attributed to the reduced toxicity of AgNPs to plants in soil medium. The application of nanoparticles in soil is a matter of great importance to elucidate the terrestrial toxicity of nanoparticles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Issues. Illicit drugs are never far from the media gaze and although identified almost a decade ago as 'a new battleground' for the alcohol and other drug (AOD) field there has been limited research examining the role of the news media and its effects on audiences and policy. Approach. This paper draws together media theories from communication literature to examine media functions. We illustrate how each function is relevant for media and drugs research by drawing upon the existing literature examining Australian media coverage during the late 1990s of escalating heroin-related problems and proposed solutions. Key Findings. Media can influence audiences in four key ways: by setting the agenda and defining public interest; framing issues through selection and salience; indirectly shaping individual and community attitudes towards risk; and feeding into political debate and decision making. Each has relevance for the AOD field. For example, media coverage of the escalating heroin-related problems in Australia played a strong role in generating interest in heroin overdoses, framing public discourse in terms of a health and/or criminal issue and affecting political decisions. Implications and Conclusion. Media coverage in relation to illicit drugs can have multifarious effects. Incorporating media communication theories into future research and actions is critical to facilitate understanding of the short- and long-term impacts of media coverage on illicit drugs and the avenues by which the AOD field can mitigate or inform future media debates on illicit drugs.[Lancaster K, Hughes CE, Spicer B, Matthew-Simmons F, Dillon P. Illicit drugs and the media: Models of media effects for use in drug policy research. Drug Alcohol Rev 2011;30:397-402] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Using quantum electrochemical approaches based on density functional theory and cluster/polarized continuum model, we investigated the corrosion behavior of aluminum in HCl and NaOH media containing phenol inhibitor. In this regard, we determined the geometry and electronic structure of the species at metal/solution interface. The investigations revealed that the interaction energies of hydroxide corrosive agents with aluminum surface should be more negative than those of chloride ones. The inhibitor adsorption in acid is more likely to have a physical nature while it appears as though to be chemical in basic media. To verify these predictions, using Tafel plots, we studied the phenomena from experimental viewpoint. The studies confirmed that the rate of corrosion in alkaline solution is substantially greater than in HCl media. Moreover, phenol is a potential-molecule having mixed-type inhibition mechanism. The relationship between inhibitory action and molecular parameters was discussed and the activity in alkaline media was also theoretically anticipated. This prediction was in accord with experiment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Corrosion behaviour of copper metal in acid solutions (HCl, H2SO4 and H3PO4) containing 2-amino-5-mercapto-1,3,4- thiadiazole (AMT) was investigated experimentally and theoretically via gravimetric, potentio-dynamic and quantum electrochemical approaches. Similar behavior was observed for H2SO4 and H3PO4 media, and related to the nature of anions at metal/solution interface. With regard to HCl, however, the rate of corrosion was determined to be low at initial stages, but high later on using an auto-catalyzing mechanism. In the presence of AMT, the experimental studies revealed that this molecule was a good anodic-type inhibitor causing substantial changes in corrosion potential. Moreover, its adsorption obeys the Langmuir isotherm. The values of ΔGads were determined and correlated to the inhibitor powers. Finally, the influence of media (anions) on metal corrosion was also investigated from molecular point of view by calculations of the copper-anions interaction using density functional theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors attempt here to address a dilemma faced in recent investigation of science and health communication effects: the difficulty of assessing exposure impact in situations beyond the laboratory. Based on social representation theory, we posit that TV news exposure, especially for stories framed as relevant to the everyday lives of individual audience members, can affect people's beliefs about science and that such exposure also should interact with interpersonal conversation to jointly predict beliefs. To assess these relationships in a real world setting, we integrated market-level and individual-level data from a science TV news project funded by the National Science Foundation and employed multilevel modeling to predict beliefs about science. This move allowed us to combine information about TV Designated Market Areas with responses from a national Internet-based survey and permitted a model that included both market-level and individual-level variables. Results indicate both main effects and interaction effects. Presence of relevant science stories in a TV market, for example, positively predicted subsequent beliefs about the general accessibility of science among audience members in that market even after controlling for individual-level variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]