Widespread Reach, not much Influence of Online News: In the absence of rigorous research on causal effects on mass political attitudes and behaviour, we do not know whether the impact of the new media is strong or weak

Widespread Reach, not much Influence: Online News and Mass Political Attitudes and Behaviour in the UK. Kenneth Newton. The Political Quarterly, Sep 2021. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-923X.13052

Abstract: In spite of the concern about the political influence of the new digital media, especially social media, a large amount of circumstantial evidence suggests that their impact on mass politicala ttitudes and behaviour, which is the focus of this article, may be small. Online news is less widely trusted than the news consumed via the legacy media (TV, radio, newspapers and magazines) and social media are least trusted of all. Most people rely heavily on the mainstream legacy media for their news, which are also the most popular online news sources—especially the BBC and much the same news is accessed on the new and old media. The majority of people have a fairly mixed diet of politically neutral and partisan news and there is little evidence of political ‘echo chambers’—even among the small minority that rely heavily on a single, partisan source. All age groups gather their news in similar ways, including the youngest, who make heavy use of the social media. Nevertheless, in the absence of rigorous research on causal effects on mass political attitudes and behaviour, we do not know whether the impact of the new media is strong or weak. The circumstantial evidence suggests they are likely to be weak.

Keywords: online news, heritage media, social media, news diets

Chemosensory anxiety signals seem to act contagiously; reduce trust as well as risk behavior; predominantly affect women; & act independent of odor concentration

It’s trust or risk? Chemosensory anxiety signals affect bargaining in women. Lukas Meister, Bettina M. Pause. Biological Psychology, Volume 162, May 2021, 108114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108114

Highlights

• Chemosensory anxiety signals seem to act contagiously.

• Chemosensory anxiety signals reduce trust as well as risk behavior.

• Chemosensory anxiety signals predominantly affect women.

• Chemosensory anxiety signals act independent of odor concentration.

Abstract

It is well documented how chemosensory anxiety signals affect the perceiver’s physiology, however, much less is known about effects on overt social behavior. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of chemosensory anxiety signals on trust and risk behavior in men and women. Axillary sweat samples were collected from 22 men during the experience of social anxiety, and during a sport control condition. In a series of five studies, the chemosensory stimuli were presented via an olfactometer to 214 participants acting as investors in a bargaining task either in interaction with a fictitious human co-player (trust condition) or with a computer program (risk condition). It could be shown that chemosensory anxiety signals reduce trust and risk behavior in women. In men, no effects were observed. Chemosensory anxiety is discussed to be transmitted contagiously, preferentially in women.

Keywords: Chemosensory communicationTrustRiskBargainingTSST-GAnxiety

Immigration to the USA adds 1.4 and 1.5 years to male & female life expectancy; immigration contributed roughly half of life expectancy gains 2007-2017; the post-2010 mortality stagnation is due to adverse trends among the US-born

Immigration and improvements in American life expectancy. Arun S. Hendi, Jessica Y. Ho. SSM - Population Health, Volume 15, September 2021, 100914. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100914

Highlights

• Immigration adds 1.4 and 1.5 years to male and female life expectancy, respectively.

• Immigration contributed roughly half of life expectancy gains between 2007 and 2017.

• The post-2010 US mortality stagnation is due to adverse trends among the US-born.

• Foreign-born life expectancies rival those of the world leaders in longevity.

Abstract: Despite the immigrant mortality advantage and the increasing share of the population born abroad, relatively little is known about how immigration has impacted trends in US life expectancy. How immigrants contribute to national life expectancy trends is of increasing interest, particularly in the context of an unprecedented stagnation in American mortality. We find that immigration increases US life expectancy by 1.5 years for men and 1.4 years for women. Over half of these contributions occur at the prime working ages of 25–64. The difference between foreign-born and US-born mortality has grown substantially since 1990, with the ratio of US-born to foreign-born mortality rates nearly doubling by 2017. In that year, foreign-born life expectancy reached 81.4 and 85.7 years for men and women, respectively—7.0 and 6.2 years higher than their US-origin counterparts. These life expectancy levels are remarkable by most standards. Foreign-born male life expectancy exceeds that of Swiss men, the world leaders in male life expectancy. Life expectancy for foreign-born women is close to that of Japanese women, the world leaders in female life expectancy. The widening mortality difference between the US-born and foreign-born populations, coupled with an increase in the share of the population born abroad, has been responsible for much of the increase in national life expectancy in recent years. Between 2007 and 2017, foreign-born men and women were responsible for 44% and 60% of national life expectancy improvements. Between 2010 and 2017, immigrants experienced gains while the US-born experienced declines in life expectancy. Thus, nearly all of the post-2010 mortality stagnation is due to adverse trends among the US-born. Without immigrants and their children, national life expectancy in 2017 would be reduced to its 2003 levels. These findings demonstrate that immigration acts to bolster American life expectancy, with particularly valuable contributions at the prime working ages.

Keywords: Life expectancyImmigrationForeign-bornMortalityDemographyTrends

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Foreign-born male life expectancy exceeds that of Swiss men, the world leaders in male life expectancy. Life expectancy for foreign-born women is close to that of Japanese women, the world leaders in female life expectancy.