Colours, capsules and concept flavour names on cigarette packs appeal to youth in Mexico

BackgroundFlavoured cigarettes are popular in Mexico. We examined how cigarette packaging design features used to communicate flavour influence perceptions of appeal, harm, perceived interest and pack preference among Mexico City residents.MethodsWe conducted an experimental survey. Participants aged 13–34 years were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, viewed packs with systematically manipulated design features (colour, capsule image and flavour name) and answered questions on appeal, perceived harm, perceived interest and pack preference. Data were analysed using mixed effects and conditional logistic regression.Results1500 adolescents and 950 adults participated. Regardless of flavour, cigarette packs with a background colour and capsule image were more appealing to adolescents (OR=13.19, 95% CI 11.53 to 15.10; OR=1.68, 95% CI 1.45 to 1.88) and adults (OR=4.18, 95% CI 3.73 to 4.69; OR=1.66, 95% CI 1.49 to 1.85) than packs without. Among adolescents, ‘Tropical Burst’ named packs were more appealing (OR=1.43, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.72) than packs without a flavour name and among adults, ‘Arctic Air’ named packs were more appealing (OR=1.20, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.14). Adolescents and adults reported a preference for trying packs that displayed a flavour name, background colour or capsule image (b=0.104, b=0.702, b=1.316, p<0.001 and b=0.126, b=0.619, b=0.775, p<0.001).ConclusionsColours and flavour capsule images appeal to adolescents and adults in Mexico. Mexico should consider adopting plain packaging to reduce appeal and interest.

Situational Peer Dynamics and Crime Decisions

Objectives To investigate how peer dynamics, specifically interpersonal conversations between a potential offender and a peer, contemporaneous with a crime opportunity, influence perceptions of sanction certainty and social costs. Methods Data are analyzed from randomized experiments and hypothetical vignettes embedded within a nationwide, online survey ( n = 1,275). Vignettes were presented for three distinct crime opportunities, drunk driving, fighting, and insurance fraud. Results The findings suggest that respondents adjust two core decision-making perceptions—the perceived certainty of being legally sanctioned and perceived social costs such as stigma or embarrassment—in accord with the content of verbal communications from peers. There is evidence for this both between and within subjects. Conclusions The study underscores the importance of accounting for both physical and social features of the situational context for crime in models of offender decision making. Implications are drawn regarding the social milieu for offender decision making, and the broader criminological relevance of choice principles.

Gender, formal organizational status and humor use: perceptions of social acceptance

PurposeHumor can be a useful tool in the workplace, but it remains unclear whether humor used by men versus women is perceived similarly due to social role expectations. This paper explored whether female humorists have less social latitude in their use of aggressive and affiliative humor in the workplace. This paper also examined how formal organizational status and the target's gender can impact audience perceptions.Design/methodology/approachTwo scenario-based studies were conducted where participants rated the foolishness of the humorist. For Study 1, participants responded to a scenario with an aggressive, humorous comment. For Study 2, participants responded to a scenario with an affiliative, humorous comment.FindingsResults suggested that high-status female humorists who used aggressive humor with low-status women were viewed as less foolish than low-status female humorists who used aggressive humor with low-status women. Conversely, status did not impact perceptions of male humorists who used aggressive humor with low-status women. Results also indicated that high-status women who used affiliative humor were viewed as less foolish when their humor was directed toward low-status men versus low-status women. Conversely, no differences existed for high-status men who used affiliative humor with low-status men and women.Practical implicationsNarrower social role expectations for women suggest that interpersonal humor can be a riskier strategy for women.Originality/valueThis study suggests that women have less social latitude in their use of humor at work, and that organizational status and target gender influence perceptions of female humorists.

Teachers' and Students' Perceptions of Online Learning Interactions Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesian Senior High Schools

The research investigates Indonesian high school teachers' and students' perceptions of learning interactions when the classroom settings were moved online at the beginning of 2020. Conducting this research is essential to unpack the development of online learning after more than a year of pandemic hits in the world. To unload the issue, this research employed a mixed-method design. A survey questionnaire was shared with the teachers around Indonesia, and from this effort, 136 teachers and 107 students agreed to participate in this research. Then, two teachers and two students were chosen to explain in detail their online learning experience. Based on the results, teachers tend to positively perceive online learning, while students moderately perceive the learning. Five interaction aspects influence perceptions: social interaction, instructional interaction, technology interaction, teachers' and students' engagement. The findings suggest that teachers should be more active in enhancing their pedagogical practice and social approach in online classrooms.

Do social factors influence perceptions of the jaguar Panthera onca in Ecuador?

In Latin America, the jaguar Panthera onca is one of the most persecuted and hunted carnivores as a result of its depredation of livestock. In north-west Ecuador jaguar populations are highly threatened, and the largest known population (20–30 individuals) is in El Pambilar Wildlife Refuge, a wet tropical forest surrounded by degraded forests and an agricultural matrix. As the killing of jaguars is one of the main threats to this population, its conservation depends on the perceptions and behaviour of the people living in this region. We interviewed people from 159 households (64% of the total) in eight communities in the buffer zone of the Wildlife Refuge, to examine people's perceptions of any harm caused by jaguars, and to determine the factors that influence these perceptions. In general, people perceived that jaguars caused little harm to their domestic animals or to themselves. However, our models showed that young people with a low level of formal education are the demographic group most likely to hold negative attitudes towards the jaguar, suggesting this group could potentially benefit from involvement in environmental education and awareness programmes.