scholarly journals The watching eyes effect on charitable donation is boosted by fewer people in the vicinity

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 9-12
Author(s):  
Ryo Oda ◽  
Ryota Ichihashi

Previous field experiments have found that artificial surveillance cues facilitated prosocial behaviors such as charitable donations and littering. Several previous field studies found that the artificial surveillance cue effect was stronger when few individuals were in the vicinity; however, others reported that the effect was stronger in large groups of people. Here, we report the results of a field study examining the effect of an artificial surveillance cue (stylized eyes) on charitable giving. Three collection boxes were placed in different locations around an izakaya (a Japanese-style tavern) for 84 days. The amount donated was counted each experimental day, and the izakaya staff provided the number of patrons who visited each day. We found that the effect of the stylized eyes was more salient when fewer patrons were in the izakaya. Our findings suggest that the effect of the artificial surveillance cue is similar to that of “real” cues and that the effect on charitable giving may weaken when people habituate to being watched by “real” eyes. 

2021 ◽  
pp. 095679762097751
Author(s):  
Li Zhao ◽  
Jiaxin Zheng ◽  
Haiying Mao ◽  
Xinyi Yu ◽  
Jiacheng Ye ◽  
...  

Morality-based interventions designed to promote academic integrity are being used by educational institutions around the world. Although many such approaches have a strong theoretical foundation and are supported by laboratory-based evidence, they often have not been subjected to rigorous empirical evaluation in real-world contexts. In a naturalistic field study ( N = 296), we evaluated a recent research-inspired classroom innovation in which students are told, just prior to taking an unproctored exam, that they are trusted to act with integrity. Four university classes were assigned to a proctored exam or one of three types of unproctored exam. Students who took unproctored exams cheated significantly more, which suggests that it may be premature to implement this approach in college classrooms. These findings point to the importance of conducting ecologically valid and well-controlled field studies that translate psychological theory into practice when introducing large-scale educational reforms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5063
Author(s):  
Katinka H. Evensen ◽  
Helena Nordh ◽  
Ramzi Hassan ◽  
Aslak Fyhri

Access to safe, green urban environments is important for quality of life in cities. The objective of this study is to explore the impact of a safety-enhancing landscape design measure on visitors’ experiences in an urban park. Additionally, this paper combines the use of field and virtual reality (VR) experiments, contributing methodological insights into how to evaluate safety measures in green space management and research on perceived safety. In a field experiment (n = 266), we explored whether the height of a hedge along a pathway influenced perceived safety among users. The field study showed that cutting down the hedge improved the perceived prospect of the immediate surrounding areas for female users, which again made them feel safer in the park. We developed a VR experiment for an evening scenario in the same environment (n = 19) to supplement the field study and test the effect of the intervention further. The VR experiment also found a gender effect on perceived safety, with females reporting lower perceived safety, but no effect was shown for the height of the hedge. The results in this study show that environmental attributes such as perceived prospect and concealment should be considered in the design and management of urban green spaces. Additionally, this research demonstrates an approach to conducting field experiments to test the effects of actual design interventions and then further developing these experiments using VR technology. Further research on perceived safety in outdoor spaces is needed to make use of this combined method’s potential.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 285-334
Author(s):  
Eric Kades

Abstract There are powerful fairness and efficiency arguments for making charitable donations to soup kitchens 100% deductible. These arguments have no purchase for donations to fund opulent church organs, yet these too are 100% deductible under the current tax code. This stark dichotomy is only the tip of the iceberg. Looking at a wider sampling of charitable gifts reveals a charitable continuum. Based on sliding scales for efficiency, multiple theories of fairness, pluralism, institutional competence and social welfare dictate that charitable deductions should in most cases be fractions between zero and one. Moreover, the Central Limit Theorem strongly suggests that combining this welter of largely independent criteria with the wide variety of charitable gifts results in a classic bell-shaped normal curve of optimal deductions, with a peak at some central value and quickly decaying to zero at the extremes of 0% and 100%. Given that those are the only two options under the current tax code, the current charitable deduction regime inevitably makes large errors in most cases. Actually calculating a precise optimal percentage for each type of charitable donation is of course impractical. This Article suggests, however, that we can do much better than the systematically erroneous current charitable deduction. Granting a 100% deduction only for donations to the desperately poor, along with 50%, 25%, and 0% for gifts yielding progressively fewer efficiency, fairness, pluralism, and institutional competence benefits, promises to deliver a socially more desirable charitable deduction.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 321
Author(s):  
Stefan Cristian Prazaru ◽  
Giulia Zanettin ◽  
Alberto Pozzebon ◽  
Paola Tirello ◽  
Francesco Toffoletto ◽  
...  

Outbreaks of the Nearctic leafhopper Erasmoneura vulnerata represent a threat to vinegrowers in Southern Europe, in particular in North-eastern Italy. The pest outbreaks are frequent in organic vineyards because insecticides labeled for organic viticulture show limited effectiveness towards leafhoppers. On the other hand, the naturally occurring predators and parasitoids of E. vulnerata in vineyards are often not able to keep leafhopper densities at acceptable levels for vine-growers. In this study, we evaluated the potential of two generalist, commercially available predators, Chrysoperla carnea and Orius majusculus, in suppressing E. vulnerata. Laboratory and semi-field experiments were carried out to evaluate both species’ predation capacity on E. vulnerata nymphs. The experiments were conducted on grapevine leaves inside Petri dishes (laboratory) and on potted and caged grapevines (semi-field); in both experiments, the leaves or potted plants were infested with E. vulnerata nymphs prior to predator releases. Both predator species exhibited a remarkable voracity and significantly reduced leafhopper densities in laboratory and semi-field experiments. Therefore, field studies were carried out over two growing seasons in two vineyards. We released 4 O. majusculus adults and 30 C. carnea larvae per m2 of canopy. Predator releases in vineyards reduced leafhopper densities by about 30% compared to the control plots. Results obtained in this study showed that the two predators have a potential to suppress the pest density, but more research is required to define appropriate predator–prey release ratios and release timing. Studies on intraguild interactions and competition with naturally occurring predators are also suggested.


1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (10) ◽  
pp. 2904-2911 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander L. McIlraith ◽  
Gordon G. C. Robinson ◽  
Jennifer M. Shay

Field experiments and survey methods were used to assess competition and interaction between Lemna minor L. and Lemna trisulca L. at Delta Marsh, Manitoba. Sites were dominated by one or the other species or codominated by both. Replacement series experiments predicted codominance of L. minor and L. trisulca in an unshaded eutrophic site but predicted L. minor dominance when run for a longer time. Similar experiments conducted in a shaded eutrophic site predicted L. minor dominance. Addition series experiments showed that intraspecific and interspecific competition occurred in the unshaded site. In a eutrophic unshaded ditch, high densities of L. minor suppressed L. trisulca. In a eutrophic shaded site, high densities of L. minor and green algae inhibited L. trisulca, and in a sunny, less eutrophic site high density of each species inhibited the other. In a transplant experiment, L. minor biomass in shaded enclosures approached that found naturally in two shaded sites. Lemna trisulca persisted when shaded. Vegetative biomass trends in an unshaded eutrophic marsh ditch indicated spring and fall L. trisulca dominance and summer L. minor dominance. Shaded eutrophic sites were dominated by L. minor, whereas a less eutrophic site was dominated by L. trisulca. A model is developed to explain dominance patterns, and seasonal life-history responses are considered. Key words: Lemna, duckweed, competition, interaction, resources, light, nutrients.


2017 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 137-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Homa S. Zarghamee ◽  
Kent D. Messer ◽  
Jacob R. Fooks ◽  
William D. Schulze ◽  
Shang Wu ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Landau K

Plane deicing is mandatory to insure safe plane take-off. Previous human factors studies have shown that open-basket deicing activity can be improved. The objective of the paper is to compare heart rate assessment models within a field study with numerous influencing variables and small sample size as well as to deepen our understanding of the most demanding openbasket tasks using cardiac output. A field study in a Canadian centered plane deicing facility was conducted in 2016-2017. 12 participants contributed to a thorough description and analysis of open-basket deicing activities. Respiratory and cardiac output of these participants was collected using Hexoskin vests. Working heart rate, heart rate reserves as well as calculations of absolute cardiac cost were done. Working heart rate (WHR), Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) and Absolute Cardiac Cost (ACC) do not behave uniformly for the majority of participants. In field studies with a large number of influencing variables on the heart rate, it is usually not sufficient to consider one single evaluation measure like WHR. In the interest of protecting employees, it seems to make sense to use the more cautious measures HRR or ACC as parameters instead of WHR. Superimposed activities (e.g. forced postures and dynamic use of upper body) have a significant effect on heart rate increases. In 8 out of 11 cases we have fatigue-related increases in heart rate over the observation period. Similar studies need to be conducted in other aircraft deicing facilities.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belayet Hossain ◽  
Laura Lamb

The effectiveness of tax incentives on charitable donation expenditures in Canada is explored, and the analysis is extended to compare the effectiveness across different donation sectors. Price elasticities are estimated with data from the 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. Results suggest that specific charitable sectors are affected differently by Canada’s tax credit system. The findings have implications for public policy.


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