Implicit attitudes toward risk: the construction and validation of the measurement method

Methods that are typically used to examine individual differences in risk attitudes (e.g. lotteries, dilemmas, questionnaires) require participants to explicitly declare their willingness to take risk. Therefore, they may be biased by the need for self-presentation or situational characteristics such as time pressure and cognitive constraints that lead to more spontaneous and automatic processing of risk-related information. The aim of this study was to construct an indirect measure of risk attitudes that is free of these methodological limitations. The method based on the Implicit Association Test shows high internal reliability and satisfactory stability over time. It correlates moderately with different explicit measures of risk attitudes that are related to sensation seeking. Finally, it is characterized by a high predictive power. Adding the implicit measure to the set of independent variables representing declarative evaluations of risk attitudes significantly improved the model predicting risky real-life behavior. We argue that the indirect assessment of risk attitudes presented in this paper may be used as an universal measure of people’s risk propensity that is free of biases related to self-presentation and situational factors.     

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.     

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.     

Public awareness and perception of environmental,health and safety risks to electricity generation: an explorative interview study in Switzerland

Well-informed public preferences are key to enabling successful and sustainable energy transitions worldwide. However, limited explorative evidence exists on what the public already knows and wants to know about the electricity generation technologies and their Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) risks. Understanding these issues is important for preparing informational materials and facilitating formation of informed preferences. We present results of an explorative interview study with 12 Swiss people. Despite the public debate on energy in Switzerland, we still identify significant awareness and knowledge gaps as well as misconceptions related to both technologies and their EHS risks. For accidental risks, the people tend to think beyond probabilities and consequences and consider further aspects, such as risk controllability and trust in experts and authorities. Most importantly, we find that people are able and tend to think of the electricity system as a whole portfolio: they actively realize the need to deploy multiple electricity technologies and accept some of the EHS risks. We conclude with concrete recommendations for preparing informational materials on electricity sector transitions in Switzerland and elsewhere. We also argue that future social research on energy should pay more attention to public perception of whole technology portfolios rather than single technologies.     

美国州公司所得税制及其存废之争

本文首先介绍了美国州公司所得税制的概况,进而梳理了纳税人、立法机构、政府部门以及研究者对美国州公司所得税税制设计以及是否废除该税种的广泛争议,得出美国州公司所得税正在被逐渐边缘化的结论。     

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.     

高新技术产业园区创新活动内生性与效率 ——基于非平衡面板内生随机前沿模型的分析

基于非平衡面板内生随机前沿模型,通过2009-2019年54个高新技术产业园区的非平衡面板数据,分析了高新技术产业园区创新活动的内生性与效率的关系.研究发现:科技经费和从业人员存在内生性,市场结构、科技经费和从业人员对创新效率有显著的正面影响;面板内生随机前沿模型可以显著地区别于外生随机前沿模型的创新效率估计.     

Lasting impacts and perceived inequities: community reappraisal of the siting of a regional biosolids processing facility in rural Ontario

This paper presents a comparative study of the shift in community perceptions pre- and post-siting of a biosolids processing facility – the Organic Material Recovery Centre – in the rural Township of Southgate, Ontario. The study responds to the need for comparative studies examining residents’ perceptions of contested noxious facilities during acrimonious siting processes and later during facility operations. Interviews were conducted before and after the techno-industrial facility was sited to compare community perceptions of the proposed and operational facility, and further examine residents’ experiences with residual impacts and reflections on the siting process. Results reveal that once the facility began operations and residents had the opportunity to understand its operational mandate and directions, many residents seem to accept the facility as less threatening to well-being, quality of life and core values. Nonetheless, sustained community concerns shifted to invisible impacts and long-term uncertainty. Findings highlight lingering intra-community conflict between those supporting and those who remained concerned about negative impacts. As a result of the hostile community conflict, the local politics seems to have morphed into a ‘one-issue’ political scene, whereby all issues are divided along the lines of municipal councillors opinions of the facility These findings make methodological contributions with pre- and post-siting comparative qualitative research and contribute theoretically to our understanding of residents’ reappraisal of contested noxious techno-industrial facilities, show sustained divisive social impacts within the community, and call for meaningful consultation and increased participatory siting processes that accounts for the diversity of values and expectations during facility siting.     

When time is (not) money: preliminary guidance on the interchangeability of time and money in laboratory-based risk research

The familiar adage that ‘time is money’ may not be entirely accurate according to research involving hypothetical choice: People’s decisions are less sensitive to temporal expenditures and outcomes than monetary ones. We provide a novel examination of whether similar patterns of risky choice are found for time and money when choices are consequential (i.e. monetary outcomes are obtained and temporal outcomes are experienced) – both for one-shot and repeated choices, over gains and losses. On the aggregate, across decision contexts (described and experienced), choices are similar for time and money. However, on the level of the individual, little relationship between risk preferences for time and money are observed. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.     

Idiosyncratic risk and the cross-section of stock returns: Merton (1987) meets Miller (1977)

Merton [1987. A simple model of capital market equilibrium with incomplete information. Journal of Finance 42, 483–510] predicts that idiosyncratic risk should be priced when investors hold sub-optimally diversified portfolios, and cross-sectional stock returns should be positively related to their idiosyncratic risk. However, the literature generally finds a negative relationship between returns and idiosyncratic risk, which is more consistent with Miller's [1977. Risk, uncertainty, and divergence of opinion. Journal of Finance 32, 1151–1168] analysis of asset pricing under short-sale constraints. We examine the cross-sectional effects of idiosyncratic risk while explicitly recognizing the confounding effects that dispersion of beliefs and short-sale constraints produce in the Merton framework. We find strong support for Merton's [1987. A simple model of capital market equilibrium with incomplete information. Journal of Finance 42, 483–510] model among stocks that have low levels of investor recognition and for which short selling is limited. For these stocks, the relation between idiosyncratic risk and expected returns is positive, as predicted by Merton [1987. A simple model of capital market equilibrium with incomplete information. Journal of Finance 42, 483–510].     

Application of Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) and delineation of natural risk zones in Greater Lisbon,Portugal

Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) was applied to Greater Lisbon (Portugal). Based on the concepts used for the SoVI assessments in the US, 46 variables representing social vulnerability of the 149 civil parishes of Greater Lisbon were chosen. Thirty-eight variables were selected after application of correlation tests. They were standardized, and a Principal Component Analysis and a Varimax rotation were applied to them. Seven factors were extracted using the Kaiser criterion, which explain 79.5% of the variance, and the SoVI scores were then mapped using a standard deviation classification. Twelve of the 149 civil parishes of Greater Lisbon have a very high social vulnerability and 24 of them have a high social vulnerability. The map of SoVI was then integrated with susceptibility maps of earthquakes, floods, flash floods, landslides, tsunami, and coastal erosion, thus delineating risk zones. Twenty-two civil parishes of Greater Lisbon have a very high risk; among them, 17 belong to Lisbon Municipality, four belong to Loures Municipality, and one belongs to Vila Franca de Xira Municipality. Finally, exposed population was considered and combined with risk zones map in order to assess the number of people being potentially exposed to risk and their location.     

Greenpeace v. Shell: media exploitation and the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF)

This paper examines the usefulness of the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF) in understanding the media's role in risk communication. Since the SARF was created in 1988, it has been both further developed and critiqued for (amongst other things) its: static conception of communication; lack of attention towards how key actors use the media; lack of systematic attention towards the media as an amplification station; and simplistic assumptions of how the media operate as an amplification station. A complex heavily‐mediated risk communication case study—the battle between Greenpeace and Shell over the deep‐sea disposal of the Brent Spar oil rig (1995)—is used to explore whether the SARF in its current stage of development stands up to these critiques. It is concluded that these critiques are more a consequence of how researchers have used the SARF rather than a fault of the SARF itself. Using the SARF framework with a qualitative case study methodology enabled systematic analysis of the role of relevant media in the social amplification of risk in the Spar issue, exposing how Greenpeace used the media to successfully communicate three risk signals, together with the inadequacies of Shell's reactions; and revealing the layering within amplification stations, including the media itself.     

Explaining the (non-) adoption of advanced data analytics in auditing: A process theory

Audit firms are increasingly engaging with advanced data analytics to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of external audits through the automation of audit work and obtaining a better understanding of the client’s business risk and thus their own audit risk. This paper examines the process by which audit firms adopt advanced data analytics, which has been left unaddressed by previous research. We derive a process theory from expert interviews which describes the activities within the process and the organizational units involved. It further describes how the adoption process is affected by technological, organizational and environmental contextual factors. Our work contributes to the extent body of research on technology adoption in auditing by using a previously unused theoretical perspective, and contextualizing known factors of technology adoption. The findings presented in this paper emphasize the importance of technological capabilities of audit firms for the adoption of advanced data analytics; technological capabilities within audit teams can be leveraged to support both the ideation of possible use cases for advanced data analytics, as well as the diffusion of solutions into practice.     

The contract,accounting and trust: A case study of an international joint venture (IJV) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

This paper reports on the results of a case study that examines the effect of the contract and accounting on inter-organisational trust in an international joint venture (IJV). The empirical setting of the research was an IJV relation between a United Arab Emirates (UAE) firm and its western partner. Data were gathered from multiple sources, including documents, observations, interviews and discussions with managers. The paper aims to explore the process of trust development and the role of the contract and accounting in this. We find that trust developed differently for the partners. Moreover the trust concerns of the partners were not the same. Based on this we conclude that trust was not automatically reciprocated. Instead it needs relating to other items such as the contract, accounting and also the institutional environment. The open-book accounting we observed could only be termed ‘partial’ because the western partner had access to the local partner's books but not the vice versa. But this partial open-book accounting created conflicts between the partners. We argue that developing one kind of trust through one particular medium may help one party but may damage the relationship between the partners.     

The price of fear: Estimating the financial cost of bullying and harassment to the NHS in England

Using a spectrum of measures, this paper estimates some of the financial costs of bullying and harassment to the NHS in England. By means of specific impacts resulting from bullying and harassment to staff health, sickness absence costs to the employer, employee turnover, diminished productivity, sickness presenteeism, compensation, litigation and industrial relations costs, we conservatively estimate bullying and harassment to cost the taxpayer £2.281 billion per annum.     

The Fundamental Review of the Trading Book: Implications for Portfolio and Risk Management in the Banking Sector

The Fundamental Review of the Trading Book (FRTB) is the promised overhaul of bankmarket risk regulation. FRTB retains the authorized use of proprietary risk models, however, it introduces two additional criteria: (i) P&L attribution (PLA) tests and (ii) desk-level backtests. We examine empirically whether these additional criteria influence risk management and portfolio management practice, specifically portfolio construction and choice of risk model. We find that the PLA tests demand significant alignment with risk factors, however, the backtests do not incentivize use of superior risk models. This has important implications for the efficacy of the capital-based regulatory system.     

Changes in social and environmental reporting practices in an emerging economy (2004–2007): Exploring the relevance of stakeholder and legitimacy theories

We examine social and environmental reporting (SER) practices of listed companies in the island economy of Mauritius. Based on a content analysis of annual reports, quantitative and qualitative changes in SER were analyzed in light of recent developments in corporate governance and with regard to the prevailing social and political contexts of this emerging economy. We find a significant but selective increase in the volume and quality of SER over the period under review (2004–2007). We rely on Suchman's (1995) conceptualizations of legitimacy to argue that the changes in SER are related to a need for companies to demonstrate an affiliation to pro-social objectives (moral legitimacy) and, to a lesser extent, are motivated by the need to manage specific stakeholders (pragmatic legitimacy). More specifically, the increase in ethical disclosures reflects an attempt at gaining procedural legitimacy in response to criticisms of corruption and unfair/unethical business practices. Furthermore, the increase in social disclosures can primarily be seen as a mechanism to gain consequential legitimacy in response to concerns that local companies are not sufficiently contributing to the country's social development. We suggest that future empirical research should devote more attention to the specific characteristics of emerging economies (such as levels of corruption and unethical business practices and the level of corporate governance) and examine whether these can explain patterns of corporate SER in a given national context or on a cross-country basis.     

Govern(mentality) and Accounting: the Influence of Different Enlightenment Discourses in Two Spanish Cases (1761–1777)

New perspectives in accounting history have uncovered previously unattended relations between accounting and government. Earlier Foucauldian analyses of governments have not explained sufficiently the relations of accounting practices to governmental discourses in order to manage populations.
This work uses the governmentality frame to analyse the role of accounting in two organizations located in the south of Spain in the second half of the eighteenth century: the New Settlements of Sierra Morena and Andalucia (NSs) and the Royal Tobacco Factory of Seville (RTFS). The period studied is remarkable because it was the apogee of the Enlightenment in Spain. From the standpoint of government, this period facilitated a new way to manage populations. The present work has drawn on Foucault's concept of governmentality in order to discover how accounting worked in two government-supported organizations independently of the discourses that pervaded each one. Drawing on the reticulation of the space, the use of rules and accounting from the governmental perspective, we analyse those institutions.
The article concludes that the reticulation of space is an essential apparatus to exert action at a distance; the rules are a type of government technology; and, overall, accounting is a practice for the mastery of the population independently from the discourse of the institution.     

GATS《金融服务附件》第2(a)段适用措施的范围--以“相同标题是否必须相同含义”为视角

GATS《金融服务附件》第2(a)段为WTO成员国出于审慎原因而采取或维持与GATS承诺和义务不符的措施提供了一个政策空间,意图在金融服务自由化和国内规制权之间取得平衡。在阿根廷-金融服务案中,关于第2(a)段的适用范围,巴拿马作为申诉方基于该段与GATS第6条的标题都是“国内规制”这一事实,主张第2(a)段所涉措施必须是GATS第6条范围内的国内规制措施。然而,固守相同标题相同含义的解释方法会导致此种解释与文本含义相矛盾,缩小适用范围,不符合有效解释原则,还会导致严重的系统影响。事实上,市场准入措施与国内规制措施并非泾渭分明,相同标题并不一定在所有方面具有相同含义,我们可以从条款功能的角度理解标题“国内规制”的含义。两个条款性质不同却采用了同一标题,容易导致适用范围的混淆。部分区域贸易协定的做法对此问题的解决具有借鉴意义。     

Snakes and career ladders in the investment banking industry: the making of Barclays De Zoete Wedd (BZW) - an international perspective, 1982-96

This paper emphasises the importance of business history for analysing labour market structures and practices in financial markets in the United Kingdom and more particularly at Barclays De Zoete Wedd (BZW), the international investment banking arm of the British bank Barclays plc. By adopting an historical perspective, this study departs from existing literature and presents new explanations concerning the importance of the relationship between business history and the origins and functions of internal labour markets. The theoretical framework elaborated involves a model and a timeline in its analysis, which highlights significant emerging patterns in internal labour markets that become evident over time. The study reveals evidence that, contrary to the arguments raised by scholars which suggest a decline in internal labour market practices in favour of a return to a more market-based system, internal labour market arrangements continue to apply to an organisation such as BZW at all stages in its organisational development.