scholarly journals Funny but aversive: A large-scale survey of the emotional response to Covid-19 humor in the Italian population during the lockdown

Lingua ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 249 ◽  
pp. 102963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Bischetti ◽  
Paolo Canal ◽  
Valentina Bambini
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Bischetti ◽  
Paolo Canal ◽  
Valentina Bambini

We often see an upsurge of humor inspired by tragic circumstances: this happened also during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak. However, little is known about the emotional response to tragedy-triggered humor, let alone Covid-19 humor. With a large-scale survey completed during the early stages of Italy’s lockdown, we studied the appreciation (funniness and aversiveness) of different formats of Covid-19 humor shared on social media. Results of an analysis of the role of demographic, personality, and psychological distance factors with linear mixed models showed that Covid-19 humor lacks a “signature” of funniness, but displays a mark of aversiveness. Among demographics, age and gender were key factors: with increasing age and in women, Covid-19 humor was judged as more aversive. Individuals using humor to cope with uneasy circumstances judged Covid-19 humor as funnier and less aversive. Furthermore, the perceived risk of infection amplified Covid-19 humor aversiveness, while kilometrical distance from the first Italian contagion hotspot raised the amusement in global terms. These findings expand our knowledge about dark humor and should raise awareness of the great variation in the emotional impact of Covid-19 humor and of the need to ponder where and with whom to share the laugh about the pandemic.


Plant Disease ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 103 (6) ◽  
pp. 1309-1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhao ◽  
Wen Yang ◽  
Yuanle Zhang ◽  
Zhanmin Wu ◽  
Qiao-Chun Wang ◽  
...  

Kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) is an economically substantial fruit crop with China the main producer. China is the primary source of wild kiwifruit and the largest producer of kiwifruit in terms of both production and planting area, and Shaanxi province is the largest kiwifruit producer in China. Previous studies reported presence of kiwifruit viruses in Actinidia chinensis. In this study, six viruses were identified in kiwifruit ‘Xuxiang’ (A. deliciosa) in Shaanxi, China. The incidence, distribution, and genetic diversity of these viruses were studied. The results showed that Actinidia virus A (AcVA), Actinidia virus B (AcVB), Actinidia chlorotic ringspot-associated virus (AcCRaV), cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), apple stem grooving virus (ASGV), and potato virus X (PVX) were the main viruses infecting Xuxiang kiwifruit in Shaanxi, China. Incidence of the various viruses with both single and multiple infection varied with different kiwifruit-growing counties. For single virus infection, the highest and the lowest numbers of samples infected were about 22 for AcCRaV and 0 for AcVB in Meixian out of 170 samples, 12 for AcVA and 0 for CMV in Zhouzhi out of 120 samples, 10 for AcVA and 0 for AcVB, AcCRaV, ASGV, PVX, and CMV in Yangling out of 70 samples, and 8 for AcCRaV and CMV and 0 for AcVA, AcVB, ASGV, and PVX in Hanzhong out of 80 samples, respectively. Samples which were multiply infected with two or more viruses were also detected. Analysis of the phylogenetic tree of these viruses showed some genetic variability in the AcVA, AcVB, and AcCRaV isolates of Shaanxi kiwifruit. There was no obvious molecular variation in the coat protein genes of ASGV, CMV, and PVX virus isolates from Shaanxi kiwifruit. The present study is the first large-scale survey of kiwifruit viruses in Shaanxi, China. To our knowledge, this is the first report of PVX infecting kiwifruit and the first report of molecular variability of AcVA, AcVB, and AcCRaV. These results provide important data for studying the genetic evolution of AcVA, AcVB, AcCRaV, ASGV, CMV, and PVX.


Author(s):  
Frederik Juhl Jørgensen ◽  
Mathias Osmundsen

Abstract Can corrective information change citizens’ misperceptions about immigrants and subsequently lead to favorable immigration opinions? While prior studies from the USA document how corrections about the size of minority populations fail to change citizens’ immigration-related opinions, they do not examine how other facts that speak to immigrants’ cultural or economic dependency rates can influence immigration policy opinions. To extend earlier work, we conducted a large-scale survey experiment fielded to a nationally representative sample of Danes. We randomly expose participants to information about non-Western immigrants’ (1) welfare dependency rate, (2) crime rate, and (3) proportion of the total population. We find that participants update their factual beliefs in light of correct information, but reinterpret the information in a highly selective fashion, ultimately failing to change their policy preferences.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. S691
Author(s):  
M. Jin ◽  
J. Zhang ◽  
H. Zhu ◽  
S. Chen ◽  
Z. Liu ◽  
...  

2009 ◽  
pp. 123-137
Author(s):  
Tess Ridge ◽  
Jane Millar

- Analysis of poverty dynamics based on large-scale survey data shows that there is limited mobility across the income distribution for most individuals and families. Some people may get better-off over the lifecourse, as their careers develop and wages rise, but overall most poor people do not become very rich and most rich people do not become very poor. Lone parents are at high risk of poverty in the UK, but this poverty risk is reduced for those who are in employment and who receive state financial support through Tax Credits to supplement their wages. This article reports on longitudinal qualitative research which has involved repeat interviews with lone mothers and their children over a period of three to four years. The analysis here explores the experiences of sustaining employment while living on a low, but complex, income and highlights the challenges faced in seeking financial security in this context.


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