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All banknotes have security features which are intended to help determine whether they are false or genuine. Typically, however, the general public has limited knowledge of where on a banknote these security features can be found. Here, we tested whether counterfeit detection can be improved with the help of salient elements, designed to guide bottom-up visuospatial attention. We also tested the influence of the participant's a priori level of trust in the authenticity of the banknote. In an online study (N = 422), a demographically diverse panel of Dutch participants distinguished genuine banknotes from banknotes with one (left- or right-sided) counterfeited security feature. Either normal banknotes (without novel design elements) or banknotes that contained a salient element (a pink rectangular frame) were presented for 1 s. To manipulate the participant's level of trust, trials were administered in three blocks, whereby at the start of each block, participants were instructed that either one third, one half, or two thirds of the upcoming banknotes were counterfeit (though the true ratio was always 1:1). We hypothesized (i) that in the presence of a salient element, counterfeits would be better detected when the location of the salient element aligned with the location of the counterfeited security feature—i.e. that it would act as an attentional cue; and (ii) that this effect would be stronger with lower trust. Our hypotheses were partly confirmed: counterfeit detection improved with 'valid cues' and decreasing trust, but the level of trust did not modulate the cueing effect. As the overall detection performance was rather poor, we replicated the study with a sample of university students (N = 66), this time presenting stimuli until response. While indeed observing better overall performance, all other patterns were replicated. Our results provide evidence that attention can be guided to enhance banknote authentication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study quantifies the impact of the Dutch cash payment system on the environment and on climate change using a life cycle assessment (LCA). It examines both the impact of coins and of banknotes. In addition, it identifies areas within the cash payment system where the impact on the environment and on the climate can be reduced. Methods: The ReCiPe endpoint (H) impact method was used for this LCA. The cash payment system has been divided into five subsystems: the production of banknotes, the production of coins, the operation phase, the end of life of banknotes and the end of life of coins. Two functional units were used: (1) cumulative cash payments in the Netherlands in 2015 and (2) the average single cash payment in the Netherlands in 2015. Input data for all processes within each subsystem was collected through interviews and literature study. Ten key companies and authorities in the cash payment chain contributed data, i.e. the Dutch central bank, the Royal Dutch Mint, a commercial bank, a cash logistic service provider, two cash-in-transit companies, two printing works, an ATM manufacturer and a municipal waste incinerator. Results and discussion: The environmental impact of the Dutch cash payment system in 2015 was 2.42 MPt (expressed in eco points) and its global warming potential (GWP) was 19 million kg CO2 equivalents (CO2e). For an average single cash transaction, the environmental impact was 654 μPt and the GWP was 5.1 g CO2e. The operation phase (e.g. energy use of ATMs, transport of banknotes and coins) (64%) and coin production phase (31%) had the largest impact on the environment, while the operation phase also had the largest impact on climate change human health (89%) and climate change ecosystems (56%). Finally, scenario analysis shows that reductions of the environmental impact (47%) and the impact on climate change (50%) could be achieved by implementing a number of measures, namely reducing the number of ATMs, stimulating the use of renewable energy in ATMs, introducing hybrid trucks for cash transport and matching coins with other countries in the euro area. Conclusions: This is the first study that investigates the environmental impact and GWP of the cash payment system in the Netherlands, by taking both the impact of banknotes and coins into account. The total environmental impact of cash payments in 2015 was 2.42 MPt and their GWP was 19 million kg CO2e. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore the role of mundane artefacts, namely bank notes, in the construction of language policy. Our case study involves a site of complex language policy and politics, namely the current day territory of Transcarpathia. During the twentieth century the region of Transcarpathia belonged to several different states: to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, to Czechoslovakia, to the Kingdom of Hungary, to the Soviet Union and finally to Ukraine. We explore which languages were represented in the inscriptions of the various series of banknotes issued during the twentieth century, based on the assumption that banknotes participate in the official language practices constituting the linguistic landscape (LL) and as such mediate language ideologies. Our study shows that multilingual banknotes were in use in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Republic of Czechoslovakia, the Kingdom of Hungary and the Soviet Union. Only the currency of independent Ukraine has been monolingual. However, even states issuing multilingual banknotes ensured that the language of the dominant nationality/nation was in the most prominent position. While several states that have ruled over the territory of today's Transcarpathian region during the twentieth century have displayed multilingualism on their banknotes our study shows that this is nothing more than the "societally desirable" form of the "ideal" linguistic landscape. Whether paper money represents the linguistic ideology of pluralism or homogenism, even multilingual notes contribute to the reduction of linguistic diversity by prioritizing standard languages that have official status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of multi-component gas-phase mixtures by ion mobility spectrometry with gas-chromatographic pre-separation obtains complex data. In particular, numerous compound specific signals make data interpretation challenging. Here we describe the procedure of data treatment and processing to facilitate the interpretation of such data. In detail, after data pre-processing (smoothing, baseline correction, alignment of ion mobility and retention time) and after specifying threshold values for each one of the detected signals to reduce information from signal intensities down to only presence or absence of the signals, a kind of barcode for each sample will remain. Using this “barcode” as sample description, it is possible to differentiate between different samples immediately after data acquisition. We exemplarily applied this approach for the differentiation of various banknotes of different values and from different currencies as well as of real from counterfeit money successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the illicit drug contamination (24 selected psychoactive compounds) of banknotes collected in the Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Austria, and during music festivals, was studied using methanol extraction followed by LC-MS/MS technique. Our results show that banknotes commonly used in the Czech Republic and Slovakia are contaminated mainly by methamphetamine (940 and 760 ng/note, respectively), and also by cocaine in the case of Slovak euro banknotes (max 1940 ng/note). The increase in the contamination by methamphetamine was observed during music festivals in Slovakia (max 4660 ng/note) and the Czech Republic (max 6400 ng/note). In case of cocaine, the highest average value was detected during Austrian music festival (2700 ng/note). Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental approach is used to examine how money denomination and the choice between or availability of coins and banknotes may influence consumers’ purchasing behaviour. Evidence shows that for small amounts of money, consumers may prefer a smaller monetary value in banknotes rather than a higher value in coins. Findings also suggest that people carrying coins are more likely to make a purchase of small value than people not carrying coins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central banks incorporate various security features in their banknotes to enable themselves, the general public, retailers and professional cash handlers to detect counterfeits. In two field experiments, we tested central bank counterfeit experts and non-experts (the general public) in their ability to detect counterfeited euro banknotes. We varied exposure duration and perceptual modality (sight, touch or both). The counterfeit banknotes were actual counterfeits taken out of circulation. Experiment 1, in which participants only viewed the banknotes, showed that experts did reasonably well in detecting counterfeits even when exposure duration was limited to 500 ms. Non-experts did not reach the criterion for decent performance, marked by d' = 1.25, although they did perform above chance. In Experiment 2, participants could both see and touch the banknotes, which resulted in better performance especially with longer exposure durations. The main finding of the current study is that visual information mostly impacts the decision-making process during the first glance, whereas tactile information increasingly aids performance as it continues to be accrued over time. Implications for the design of security features of new banknotes are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]