Influences of individual-level characteristics on risk perceptions to various categories of environmental health and safety risks

Over the last five decades, social science researchers have examined how the public perceives the risks associated with a variety of environmental health and safety (EHS) hazards. The body of literature that has been emerged diverse both in the methodology employed to collect and analyze data and in the subject of study. The findings have confirmed that risk perceptions vary between groups of individuals as well as between categories of EHS risks. However, the extant literature on EHS risk perceptions has failed to provide empirical insights into how risk perceptions can be best explained according to the interplay of both (1) the category of EHS hazard appraised and (2) the prominent individual-level characteristics that best explain observed risk perception differences. This study addresses this deficiency in the literature by providing insights into the individual and cumulative roles that various individual-level variables play in characterizing risk perceptions to various categories of EHS risks including ‘agentic risks’ like street drug use and cigarette smoking, ‘emerging technological risks’ like nanoparticles and cloning, and ‘manufacturing risks’ like air and chemical pollution. Our data are drawn from the 2009 Citizens, Science, and Emerging Technologies national study of United States households that investigated public perceptions of EHS risks, traditional and emerging media use, and various individual characteristics like personal demographics, socioeconomic factors, and perceptual filters. The findings show that some categories of EHS risks like those associated with emerging technologies may be more easily predicted than other categories of risks and that individual-level characteristics vary in their explanative power between risk categories even among a single sample of respondents.     

The effect of new technologies on psychological consequences and risk perceptions of sales agents

The development of new technologies has had important effects on offline distribution channels and, specially, on the psychological effect and risk perceptions that the existence of the online channel may have on the sales agents. Sales agents are fearful that Internet-based competitors will cannibalize their roles in the organization, and might make them outdated and feel insecure about their jobs. This paper estimates the impact of sales agents’ perceptions of service cannibalization on role ambiguity, risk job uncertainty, employee commitment, and employee productivity, considering development of Internet channel, and multi-channel distribution. Data were collected from 497 sales agents who worked at travel agencies located in Spain. Once the model was specified and identified, its parameters were estimated, and authors used various statistics and indices to evaluate overall adaptation of the model. A structural equation modeling was used to examine the posited relationships. This research reinforces the importance of capturing sales agents’s perceptions, especially concerning job insecurity and other outcomes. Specifically, results suggest sales agents’ perceptions of service cannibalization have an effect on role ambiguity and risk and job uncertainty. This study considers the importance of analyzing perceptions of sales agents by travel agency managers to reduce negative consequences on employees, particularly important in view of multi-channel marketing, when a new marketing channel coexists with a traditional sales force.     

The differences in perception of radiological risks: lay people versus new and experienced employees in the nuclear sector

This paper studies the differences in perception of two radiological risks – an accident at a nuclear installation and medical X-rays – between four different groups: the general population without (1) and with experience related to radiological risks (2), new employees (3) and professionally exposed people (4) in the nuclear sector. More precisely, this study determines if differences in risk perception can be explained by the level of experiences with ionizing radiation, the knowledge level about radiological risks, the confidence in authorities, the attitude towards nuclear energy, the trust in a management of nuclear installations, gender and age. The data are gathered using computer assisted personal interviews based on the SCK-CEN Barometer of the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre. The relations between risk perception and the independent variables are tested with linear regression analysis. The risk perception of both risks differs significantly between the four population groups. The professionally exposed people and the new employees in the nuclear sector have a significant higher risk perception for medical X-rays compared to the risk for an accident at a nuclear installation. For the general population without experience, it was just the opposite. The general population with experience does not have a significant difference in risk perception between the two radiological risks. Level of experiences with ionizing radiation is determined as an important variable; people have a lower perception of radiological risks when they have higher experiences with risk.     

Dispute and morality in the perception of societal risks: extending the psychometric model

The psychometric paradigm has identified two classic dimensions, dread and unknown risk, structuring the perception of risks. We propose that disputed risk and morality are two additional dimensions that are relevant to describe the cognitive representation of societal risks. Disputed risk captures two aspects of a societal risk: first, that consensus about scientific evidence is low, and second, that the public debate about the risk issue is highly controversial. Morality refers to judgments of reprehensibility, capturing the fact that societal risks frequently involve violations of moral principles. In a survey study employing two samples, a household sample (N = 418) and a student sample (N = 88), participants evaluated 24 societal risks on 23 psychometric scales intended to assess the four constructs dread, unknown risk, disputed risk, and morality. Principal component analyses yielded three dimensions: a common dimension of dread and morality, a disputed risk dimension, and unknown risk. We also assessed judgments of overall riskiness for all risks. Morality and dread both proved to be strong and distinctive predictors of perceived overall riskiness in regression analyses; disputed risk and unknown risk, in contrast, do not play a substantial role as predictors. These findings were replicated across both samples. We conclude that disputed risk constitutes a novel and unique psychometric dimension; morality, on the other hand, coincides with dread in the cognitive representation of societal risks, while still showing a distinct and strong effect in the prediction of risk judgments.     

Determinants of smallholder farmers' perceptions of risk in the Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia

This paper reports findings from a study of 178 farm households from two contrasting areas in the Eastern Highlands of Ethiopia. It examines risk perceptions of smallholder farmers under varying contexts. The study utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection and analysis. It was hypothesized that human capital and household characteristics and orientation, access to resources, infrastructure, information and environmental factors influence perceptions of risks in different ways. Data reduction for independent variables was done by factor analysis (principal component extraction method). Factor analyses identified factors influencing smallholder farmers' perceptions of sources of risks. Logistic regression analyses were used to study the relationships of identified principal components to perceived frequencies of occurrences and consequences of various sources of risks. Logistic regression analyses revealed that asset endowments, locational settings and livelihood diversification strategies pursued determine smallholders' perceived risks. Key findings from the informal survey point out differentiation in perceptions of causes and sources of risks by different actors.     

Deoxynivalenol (DON) in wheat: an example of weighing the pros and cons of food stuffs

A Committee of the Health Council of the Netherlands advised on deoxynivalenol (DON), a mycotoxin occurring in cereals. TDIs of 1.0 and 0.5?µg.kg_{body weight} ^?1.day^?1 have been based on mice and pig studies in which DON reduced growth. In 1999, the 50^th and 95^th percentiles of DON intake by 1‐4‐year‐old children were, respectively, 1.3 and 2.4?µg.kg_{body weight} ^?1.day^?1. The Committee considered: (i) TDI contains safety factors, (ii) a slightly reduced weight gain is not necessarily harmful, (iii) when growth rate is highest, children consume little or no wheat, and (iv) in real life, exposure varies, causing the effect to be smaller. The Committee concluded that an exposure that only incidentally exceeds—up to about five times—0.5?µg.kg_{body weight} ^?1.day^?1 very unlikely inhibits weight gain. More severe effects on immunity, fertility and the foetus may occur at intakes higher than 2.5µg.kg_{body weight} ^?1.day^?1. Nonetheless, toxin exposure should be kept as low as possible. The Committee advised to agriculturally reduce DON content; second one may exclude wheat with high DON content for human consumption. Limits of 500 and 100?µg/kg_wheat prevent exposure exceeding 1.5 and 0.5?µg.kg_{body weight} ^?1.day^?1, respectively. As wheat products are good sources of nutrients, the Committee advised against discouraging their consumption.     

Optimism and auditor liability

There is strong evidence that individuals are optimistic in the sense that they underrate the probability of a negative event occurring. This paper provides a positive theoretical analysis of how auditor optimism affects their incentives to take care under two liability rules: strict liability and a negligence rule. Under strict liability, auditors are held liable when they cause damages to investors. Under a negligence rule, auditors are held liable when they cause damages and in addition, act negligently, that is, fail to meet the standard of due care specified in legal and professional rules. I find the following results. (1) If due care is sufficiently close to the efficient level, a negligence rule distorts auditors’ incentives less than strict liability. Under strict liability, optimism makes the auditor overestimate the chances of finding material mistakes and thus induces suboptimal care. (2) If due care is too strict, the auditor will not exert due care but the same level of suboptimal care under either liability rule. (3) With increasing optimism and in the absence of punitive damages, strict liability becomes less preferable to a precise negligence rule. This statement also holds for vaguely defined standards of due care if due care is sufficiently strict or if auditor optimism is sufficiently high. (4) Punitive damages counteract suboptimal incentives generated by auditor optimism, especially under strict liability.     

Living in a foreign country: the meaning of place of origin and gender for risk perceptions,experiences, and behaviors

Abstract

Previous research has convincingly proven that perceptions, experience, and exposure to risks vary among certain groups in society. By drawing from a unique combination of Swedish survey data and interviews, this study aims to investigate perceptions and experiences of risks as well as in relation to behavior by analyzing the cleavages related to interactions between place of origin and gender. Theoretically, we see individual risk perception as part of situated hierarchical power relations where an individual’s position (which is an intersection of, for example, gender, race, age, and place of origin) structures action and thought. Findings verify that foreign-born men and women perceive risks to a greater extent than those born in Sweden. However, no direct pattern of ethnicity is apparent in exposure to risks, but since predictors measuring experience of discrimination are shown to be significant, the effect can be mediated by such circumstances. In terms of how risks have affected behavior, women, irrespective of their ethnicity, are affected. Exposure to tragic experiences among those who are foreign born can pose risks that are perceived to a greater extent. Furthermore, more vulnerable material conditions can also affect how risks are perceived, and uncertainty due to a lack of resources and as an inherent ingredient of living in a foreign country seem to enhance perceptions of risk and feelings of unsafety. Last, the sense of discrimination appears to influence exposure to certain risks, which might capture an interaction between racism and violence.     

Analysing the risks of individual and collective intentionality

The risk assessment of complex systems often seems to neglect the way in which intentions, collective and individual, are central to our explanations of how risk arises in such systems. Contradictions among the intentions of different actors, for example, are typically an important part of our understanding of how organizations break down. Moreover, risk assessment practice pays little attention to the reflexive problem of how intentions for the risk assessment itself can themselves become problematic. This study was an attempt to develop a framework to support reasoning about intentionality, both individual and collective, during risk assessment. The framework broadly follows a process of 1) identifying the main social objects in a system, 2) asking what are the collective intentions for these objects in terms of the functions that are conferred on them, 3) asking what obligations and powers these create, and 4) asking what risks of organizational dysfunction can then arise. The approach was applied in a case study of aviation ramp operations. Its main value is as a formative rather than a summative kind of analysis.     

国内外车险道德风险文献综述

由于车险市场中的信息不对称,道德风险对车险经营构成了重大威胁。因此,车险道德风险已成为国内外学者研究的热点问题。本文在对车险道德风险的内涵、风险因素、博弈分析、风险防范等进行详细综述的基础上,探讨了研究中存在的不足及未来的研究趋势。     

Social risks and challenges in post-disaster resettlement: the case of Lake Nyos,Cameroon

This paper examines contemporary challenges in post-disaster resettlement in Cameroon. The focus is on the ongoing post-disaster experiences of survivors who were resettled in seven camps after the Lake Nyos Disaster in 1986. Empirical data obtained at the Ukpwa Waindo resettlement camp were used for analysis of impoverishment due to relocation and resettlement. Cameroon’s weak macroeconomic situation that started a quarter century ago had serious consequences for the country’s socio-economic trends, which is partly responsible for the slow recovery of disaster survivors. However, an analysis of social vulnerability using Cernea’s Impoverishment Risk and Reconstruction model shows how the involuntary resettlement of disaster survivors has itself created deep seated socio-economic and cultural consequences. By analysing their socio-economic situation, this article shows that resettlement is not merely a housing solution, but a complex, multi-dimensional process, with potentially very high negative impact if not properly planned and implemented. Therefore, the lessons learnt from this resettlement experience can be applied to ensure that resettlement becomes an opportunity to improve resilience and living conditions of the stricken population, and reduce exposure to disaster risk. There is urgent need for the government to tackle these long-term socio-economic problems faced by the disaster survivors, and to develop an effective policy to reconstruct, protect, improve or at least restore the livelihoods of those subject to resettlement.     

Surviving progress: managing the collective risks of civilization

As optimism is becoming ever more apparent, progress carries with it both promise and pitfalls. Though it is quite natural for humans to take an optimistic view of life, this optimism must at the same time be tempered with realism. We cannot therefore let a focus on average, or expected, outcomes cause us to ignore possible high-stakes (existential) risks associated with what is becoming an increasingly complex world. In this paper, we argue that a more complete view is necessary for a proper assessment of not only the technical aspects of high-stakes risk management, but also the social, political, and economic framework within which it is carried out. Unfortunately, attention to such crucial details is not often the case.     

Public awareness promoting new or emerging risks: Industrial accidents triggered by natural hazards (NaTech)

Dramatic natural events recently stroke several countries worldwide. The impact of the natural events on industrial sites often resulted in large releases of hazardous materials, causing severe technological accidents (Natural-Technological or NaTech events). Industrial operators were often found unprepared or off-guard for unannounced events but also when they had received early warnings. Due to these occurrences, public awareness has raised and the issue of NaTech is now considered as an emerging risk. Due to the climate change and increase in the frequency of some categories of natural disasters, the likelihood of NaTech scenarios is growing, thus NaTech may be also considered as a new risk in some areas of the world. In the present study, the process that ended in the awareness of the scientific community and of the general public toward NaTech has been analyzed. Available tools and knowledge gaps in the assessment of NaTech scenarios are evidenced. The analysis is mainly addressed to the potential impact of flood, lightning, and earthquake events on industrial installations where hazardous substances are present, aiming at the identification of strategies to improve the resilience of industrial facilities to technological accidents caused or intensified by natural hazards.     

Institutional investor information network,analyst forecasting and stock price crash risk

In this paper, we construct the information network of fund investors based on the theory of social relationship networks and examine its impact of fund information sharing with analysts on stock price crash risk. Our results show that private information sharing among institutional investors reduces crash risk. Further results show that fund information sharing can alleviate analyst optimism bias and improve analyst forecast accuracy, which further reduces stock price crash risk. Moreover, these identified effects are more pronounced in a bull market than a bear market. Our study contributes to the research on private information transmission in fund information networks, and provides a new perspective for recognizing the relationships among institutional investor behavior, analyst forecasting, and stock price crash risk.     

Predictors of unrealistic optimism: a study of Norwegian risk takers

In areas of voluntary risk behaviour, as with other kinds of risk, people tend to be overly optimistic regarding not being injured. A study of risk perception and causal explanations of injury assessments was conducted on 199 respondents from three different sub‐groups in Norway; skydivers (n?=?88), fire fighters (n?=?73) and soldiers (n?=?38). Unrealistic optimism was studied by means of four demographic variables: the background of the subject (sub‐sample), gender, age, and education. In addition, three predictors of unrealistic optimism were taken into account—safety attitudes, control, and anxiety. These predictors were included in an Analysis of Linear Structural Relationship (LISREL) analysis. The results showed that optimism differed between the sub‐groups, and that different factors influenced risk perception depending on the group and depending on whether the assessment was of oneself or of others. These findings offers additional information that will help explain the inconsistent findings in the current literature of unrealistic optimism. Of the predictors investigated, safety attitudes were found to be the most important, which may be because respondents preoccupied with safety are more aware of potential dangers and thereby less optimistic.     

Comparing perceptions of the important environmental characteristics of the places people engage in consumptive,non-consumptive and spiritual activities

Managers, risk assessors, tribal leaders, public policy makers, and the public are increasingly interested in the characteristics of natural habitats where people like to engage in recreational, subsistence, or spiritual activities. Such data are critical for making decisions about human and ecological risk deriving from contaminants, as well as resource protection and land use. In this study we examined the perceptions of Native Americans and Caucasians about the natural places they prefer to engage in consumptive, non-consumptive, and spiritual activities which might expose them to contamination or other stressors. Subjects were interviewed at Post Falls and Fort Hall in Idaho, Cookeville in Tennessee, and at two sites in Long Island, New York, and northern New Jersey. Our objectives were to determine differences in perceptions as a function of category of activity, type of activity, location, and ethnicity. The data indicate that: (1) the highest rated characteristics were unpolluted water, lack of radionuclides that present a health risk, clean air, and no visible smog in the air; (2) all four were among the top-rated ones for each of the four sites; (3) all four were among the top-rated ones for places to perform consumptive, non-consumptive, and spiritual activities; (4) at each site, mean ratings were lowest for spiritual activities; (5) where there were differences, Native Americans rated all characteristics as more important than did Caucasians; and (6) where there were differences, ratings in New Jersey/New York were lower than those from respondents elsewhere. There are many statistically significant response differences between Native Americans and Caucasians, but overall one is impressed by the similarity in relative rankings. These perceptions will be helpful to risk assessors and risk managers in evaluating risk and potential solutions, to land managers for managing environmental resources, and to public policy managers for evaluating how people view natural environments.     

Siting technological risks: cultural approaches and cross-cultural ethics

Are European national risk prevention regulations reflecting different cultural attitudes towards risk? This article replies positively to this question by elaborating the results of an investigation led between 2004 and 2008 by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. The investigation focused on the European national implementations of Article 12 of Directive Seveso II on Dangerous Substances (96/82/EC) and aimed at providing an overview of different methodological approaches to the matter of land use planning in areas subject to the risk of major accidents. Five countries were selected for in‐depth analysis and comparison. This article focuses on one aspect of their different approaches to land use planning in at‐risk areas that was not considered by the European investigation: the influence of national cultural backgrounds on the implementation of Article 12 within the respective national legislations and practices. To explain whether different cultural orientations may have affected them, the article refers to one cultural index in particular, namely the uncertainty‐avoidance index (UAI) proposed by the Dutch sociologist Geert Hofstede. This index provides a key of reading of the different methodological orientations adopted for regulating land uses in the vicinity of hazardous establishments in these countries; by applying it, the study demonstrates that different cultural attitudes towards uncertainty may be a determinant factor in the approaches to and the regulation of the matter of hazardous facility siting. In the conclusions, the regulatory as well as ethical implications of this finding are discussed.     

Analyst Optimism and Incentives under Market Uncertainty

We examine how analysts’ changing incentives driven by changes in market uncertainty affect their forecast optimism. Analysts issue more optimistically biased earnings forecasts and buy recommendations under high market uncertainty (VIX). The lower reputational costs and larger benefits of optimistic output explain the increased optimistic output: Analysts are less likely to be penalized for inaccuracy and can stimulate more trading activity from optimistically biased output when market uncertainty is high. We find that the likelihood of analysts’ turnover decreases, while the trading volume associated with optimistic output increases, with VIX. No evidence suggests that analysts’ self‐selection affects our findings on optimism and market uncertainty.     

论无船承运人的信用风险及其规避方法

无船承运业务经营者,又名无船承运人(NVOCC),是国际货运代理经营者之一。无船承运人具有承运人和托运人双重身份,这使得其在整个操作流程中,包括合同的签订、单证的制作、费用的收付等方面都存在信用风险。明确自身的信用风险,研究规避风险的方法对规范无船承运人的操作,对降低无船承运人的经营成本具有重要意义。目前业界对无船承运人信用风险的研究还较少,本文试从无船承运人的角度来论述自身面对的信用风险及探讨其在业务流程中规避风险的方法。     

Critical factors and pathways influencing genetically modified food risk perceptions

This study aims to identify the critical factors and paths that affect the Chinese public’s risk perceptions of genetically modified (GM) foods from an emotional appraisal perspective. Using an experiment conducted with university undergraduate business students in China, we examined the evaluative pathways of the Chinese public by manipulating fairness and controllability appraisals in scenarios constructed about GM foods risk. The experiment was designed around two evaluative pathways – consequentialist and deontological perspectives – focusing on controllability and fairness. This led to a distinct set of emotional responses. It was found that both consequence-based and morality-based emotions caused stronger perceived risks toward GM foods. Understanding these responses provides new insight into how scientists and experts in China might best frame their communications about GM foods.