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21 pages, 857 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding the Factors Driving Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Gene-Edited Foods in China

by Shuqing Gao, Jingru Chen, Yuqin Yang and Guoyan Wang

Foods 2024, 13(15), 2348; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13152348 - 25 Jul 2024

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2947

Gene editing contributes to enhancing food security through the creation of novel foods. However, public perception of gene-edited (GE) foods is crucial to their acceptance and adoption. This study expanded the knowledge–attitude–practice model and constructed an integrated framework comprising four dimensions: demographic factors, scientific literacy and beliefs, social trust, and perceptions of gene technology, aimed at explaining the public’s attitudes toward GE foods. A questionnaire survey was conducted (N = 649), revealing a positive attitude toward GE foods, with over 80% expressing a certain willingness to pay (WTP) for them. Factors such as income level, subjective knowledge, scientific beliefs, trust in scientists, trust in government, and trust in national technological capabilities and perceived benefits positively correlated with WTP. Conversely, objective knowledge, perceived risks, and perceived ethical concerns were negatively correlated with WTP. The impact of objective knowledge on attitudes toward GE foods demonstrated a significant, nonlinear relationship. Additionally, it is noteworthy that the Chinese public currently exhibits relatively low trust in national technological capabilities, necessitating vigilance against the emergence of conspiracy theories akin to those surrounding genetically modified foods. This research contributes theoretical insights into the public communication of GE foods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Sensory and Consumer Sciences)

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14 pages, 315 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Religion and Democracy in Argentina Religious Opposition to the Legalization of Abortion

by Marcos Carbonelli and Maria Pilar García Bossio

Religions 2023, 14(5), 563; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050563 - 23 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3786

Abstract

This article analyzes the ways in which religious actors opposing the legalization of abortion adjusted their arguments and public actions to the Argentine democratic culture between 2018 and 2020. Data were collected through a qualitative research approach by conducting in-depth interviews with activists, studying public position statements in secondary sources, and analyzing pronouncements and interactions on social media platforms. Religious agents conceived of democracy as the rule of the majority that they intended to promote by means of secular arguments, demonstrations in public spaces, and the construction of electoral alternatives. Marginally, the categorization of feminism through conspiracy theories and the use of dilatory legal maneuvers ran counter to the logic of the expansion of rights. According to the empirical evidence gathered, the religious agents showed increasing adjustments to the language and criteria inherent to democratic life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion, Right and International Relations)

21 pages, 761 KiB

Open AccessReview

Irrational Beliefs about COVID-19: A Scoping Review

by Federica Maria Magarini, Margherita Pinelli, Arianna Sinisi, Silvia Ferrari, Giovanna Laura De Fazio and Gian Maria Galeazzi

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(19), 9839; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18199839 - 22 Sep 2021

Cited by 31 | Viewed by 6706

Abstract

Since the emergence of the recent Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) and its spread as a pandemic, there has been a parallel spread of false and misleading information, known as an infodemic. The COVID-19 infodemic has induced distrust in scientific communities, governments, institutions and the population, and a confidence crisis that has led to harmful health behaviours, also impacting on mental health. The aim of this study is to provide a scoping review of the scientific literature about COVID-19-related misinformation and conspiracy theories, focusing on the construction of a conceptual framework which is useful for the interpretation of the conspiracy theory phenomenon surrounding COVID-19, and its consequences. Particular socio-environmental conditions (i.e., low educational level, younger age), psychological processes and attitudes (such as low levels of epistemic trust, the avoidance of uncertainty, extraversion, collective narcissism, and a conspiracy-prone mindset), and contextual factors (e.g., high levels of self-perceived risk and anxiety) seem to underpin the adherence to beliefs that are not solely the domain of paranoids and extremists but a widespread phenomenon that has caused important health, social and political consequences. Full article

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14 pages, 273 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Religion as an Authoritarian Securitization and Violence Legitimation Tool: The Erdoğanist Diyanet’s Framing of a Religious Movement as an Existential Threat

by Ihsan Yilmaz and Ismail Albayrak

Religions 2021, 12(8), 574; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12080574 - 26 Jul 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4001

Abstract

The paper shows how a state controlled religious institution used religion, fear, trauma, insecurity, grievances, and conspiracy theories to dehumanise a religious community, and presented it as an existential threat to the nation, the global community of believers and religion, by investigating the case of Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs’ (the Diyanet) securitizing role under the authoritarian Islamist Erdoğanist rule. The article provides an empirically rich analysis of the Diyanet’s construction of the Gülen Movement (GM) as a source of sedition (fitne), corruption (fesat), mischief, a social disease, and finally, as a traitor and puppet of the West that constantly conspires against Turkey, Islam, and the Muslim World. By securitising the movement, the Diyanet legitimised the authoritarian and violent actions of the Erdoğanist regime against the alleged movement members. Full article

14 pages, 654 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Interconnections: A Systems History of Science, Technology, Leisure, and Fear

by Fred Phillips

J. Open Innov. Technol. Mark. Complex. 2021, 7(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc7010014 - 5 Jan 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4755

Abstract

It is well known that technological change causes social change, and vice versa. Using system and historical perspectives, this article examines that truth at a finer level of specificity, namely, that social perceptions of interconnectedness influence the progress of science and technology, and that conversely, as 21st-century technology makes us in fact more connected, society’s anxieties shift. From the science/technology side, we look at interdisciplinary research, system and complexity theory, quantum tech, and the Internet, exploring how these interact and cause changes in social attitudes—fears, conspiracy theories, political polarization, and even entertainment trends—some of which are surprising, and some dangerous. The article’s systems view helps make sense of current environmental, political, and psychological crises. It combines original ideas with those of several prominent thinkers, to suggest constructive actions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Open Innovation and Business Model in the Global Economic Crisis Which is Triggered by the Pandemic of COVID-19)

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28 pages, 873 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Searching for General Model of Conspiracy Theories and Its Implication for Public Health Policy: Analysis of the Impacts of Political, Psychological, Structural Factors on Conspiracy Beliefs about the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Seoyong Kim and Sunhee Kim

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(1), 266; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010266 - 31 Dec 2020

Cited by 75 | Viewed by 14348

Abstract

Along with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, beliefs in conspiracy theories are spreading within and across countries. This study aims to analyze predictors of beliefs in conspiracy theories. Because previous studies have emphasized only specific political, psychological, or structural factors or variables, this study constructs an integrated analytical model that includes all three factors. We analyze data from a large-scale survey of Koreans (N = 1525) and find several results. First, political, psychological, and structural factors influence beliefs in conspiracy theories. Second, when we examine the specific influences of the variables, we find that authoritarianism, support for minority parties, religiosity, trust in SNS (social networking services), perceived risk, anxiety, negative emotions, blame attribution, the quantity of information, health status, and health after COVID-19, all positively influence beliefs in conspiracy theories. Conversely, support for President Moon Jae-In’s government, Christianity, trust in the government, perceived control, analytic thinking, knowledge, the quality of information, and gender, all negatively impact these beliefs. Among the predictors, the quality of information, health status, support for President Moon Jae-In’s government, perceived risk, and anxiety have the most decisive impacts on beliefs in conspiracy theories. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges and Crucial Topics for 2030 Public Health)

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