Search results

To elaborate the nature of fact-checking in the domain of political information by examining how fact-checkers assess the validity of claims concerning the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and how they support their assessments by drawing on evidence acquired from diverse sources of information.

Descriptive quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 128 reports written by the fact-checkers of Snopes – an established fact-checking organisation – during the period of 24 February 2022 – 28 June, 2023. For the analysis, nine evaluation grounds were identified, most of them inductively from the empirical material. It was examined how the fact-checkers employed such grounds while assessing the validity of claims and how the assessments were bolstered by evidence acquired from information sources such as newspapers.

Of the 128 reports, the share of assessments indicative of the invalidity of the claims was 54.7%, while the share of positive ratings was 26.7%. The share of mixed assessments was 15.6%. In the fact-checking, two evaluation grounds, that is, the correctness of information and verifiability of an event presented in a claim formed the basis for the assessment. Depending on the topic of the claim, grounds such as temporal and spatial compatibility, as well as comparison by similarity and difference occupied a central role. Most popular sources of information offering evidence for the assessments include statements of government representatives, videos and photographs shared in social media, newspapers and television programmes.

As the study concentrated on fact-checking dealing with political information about a specific issue, the findings cannot be extended to concern the fact-checking practices in other contexts.

The study is among the first to characterise how fact-checkers employ evaluation grounds of diverse kind while assessing the validity of political information.

This study aims to examine the scope and contribution of Forensic Clinical Psychology (FCP) advice from the National Crime Agency (NCA) to criminal investigations in the UK to address the gap in current knowledge and research.

The 36 FCP reports reviewed were written between 2017 and 2021. They were analysed using Toulmin’s (1958) application of pertinent arguments to the evaluation process. The potential utility of the reports was analysed in terms of the advice provided.

Most of the reports involved murder and equivocal death. The reports focused primarily on understanding the offender’s psychopathology, actions, motivation and risk to self and others using a practitioner model of case study methodology. Out of the 539 claims, grounds were provided for 99% of the claims, 91% had designated modality, 62% of the claims were potentially verifiable and 57% of the claims were supported by a warrant and/or backing. Most of the reports provided either moderate or high insight into the offence/offender (92%) and potential for new leads (64%).

The advice provided relied heavily on extensive forensic clinical and investigative experience of offenders, guided by theory and research and was often performed under considerable time pressure. Flexibility, impartiality, rigour and resilience are essential prerequisites for this type of work.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to systematically evaluate forensic clinical psychology reports from the NCA. It shows the pragmatic, dynamic and varied nature of FCP contributions to investigations and its potential utility.

Milk and yoghurt provide essential sources of nutrition throughout the life cycle in the Irish diet. Health claims on dairy product labels were popular in the 1980s, and since the introduction of the nutrition and health claims (NHC) Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 in 2007, many new regulated claims have been used to communicate product benefits. Meanwhile, COVID-19 and the Farm to Fork strategy have heightened consumer awareness of health issues. All of these factors have contributed to a change in our food environment and interest in health. In addition, the European Commission is working to introduce a legislative proposal on nutrient profiles (NP) to restrict the use of NHC on foods that are high in salt, fat or sugar. This qualitative study aims to research knowledge on adults’ attitudes, perceptions and behaviour towards NHC on dairy products.

The study used a thematic analysis using transcripts from a series of discussion groups, attended by adults (n = 24). The participants also completed an introductory questionnaire.

The study noted positive attitudes towards dairy protein. This attitude was common across age, gender or life stage. There were misperceptions regarding yoghurt composition and health benefits. There were negative perceptions of low-fat nutrition claims on yoghurt, which led to a preference for full-fat dairy products. This requires further insight and research.

Participants from a wider socio-demographic group could have broadened the research limits of this project.

These findings will interest policymakers, regulators, dieticians and the food industry.

The present study aims to examine the scope and contribution of behavioural investigative advice (BIA) reports from the National Crime Agency (NCA).

The 77 BIA reports reviewed were written between 2016 and 2021. They were evaluated using Toulmin’s (1958) strategy for structuring pertinent arguments, current compliance with professional standards, the grounds and backing provided for the claims made and the potential utility of the recommendations provided.

Consistent with previous research, most of the reports involved murder and sexual offences. The BIA reports met professional standards with extremely high frequency. The 77 reports contained a total of 1,308 claims of which 99% were based on stated grounds. A warrant and/or backing was provided for 73% of the claims. Most of the claims in the BIA reports involved a behavioural evaluation of the crime scene and offender characteristics. The potential utility of the reports was judged to be 95% for informative behavioural crime scene analysis and 40% for potential new lines of enquiry.

The reports should serve as a model for the work of behavioural investigative advisers internationally.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to systematically evaluate BIA reports commissioned by the NCA; it adds to previous similar studies by evaluating the largest number of BIA reports ever reviewed, and uniquely provides judgement of overall utility.

While most marketing research on organic products refers to the premium price levels of organic products, little research exists on consumers’ behavioural responses to price promotions or discounts of organic products. The present study aims to fill this research gap.

To develop alternative hypotheses about consumers’ behavioural responses to price promotions of organic fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) products, the authors used the researcher-introspection method in a pre-study. To test the hypotheses developed based on the pre-study, the authors conducted a field experiment on online advertising of an FMCG sold in drugstores. In the field experiment, the authors exposed consumers to an online ad featuring either a price promotion (−20%) or the regular price of the product. The ads also varied in terms of whether they contained explicit organic claims or not, and whether they included implicit organic cues or not.

The price promotion increased the clickthrough rate of the ad both when combined with an explicit organic claim and when combined with the implicit cue of green product pack. The results suggest that consumers do not have significant suspicions about price promotions of organic products, but rather presume that the price promotion of an organic FMCG product is a periodical promotional action, similar to the price promotions for conventional, non-organic products. Also, consumers seem to assume that the regular prices of organic FMCG products are so high that the retailer/manufacturer can well afford periodic price discounts.

The present research shifts the focus of organic marketing research from the premium price levels to the effectiveness of price promotions and discounts. Further, the present results contrast with certain earlier studies that have questioned the effectiveness of price promotions for organic products.

The results have different implications for marketing managers of brands not yet providing organic product versions in the market, of brands producing non-organic products, which cannot easily be rendered organic, and of brands offering organic products in the market.

This is, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the first empirical study and field experiment on price promotions of organic products, including explicit organic claims.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretically informed analysis of the evolution of environmental management accounting (EMA) and social and environmental reporting (SER), and the accompanying development of a sustainability programme, in a large family-owned, unlisted corporation.

A longitudinal case study based on semi-structured interviews and documentary data was conducted. The main periods of fieldwork were carried out in 2007 and between 2010 and 2012. Sustainability reports were collected until 2019 when SER appeared to cease. The case analysis draws on the concepts of organisational identity (OI) and internal legitimacy (IL) to examine the decision-making and actions of a range of key organisational actors as they engage with EMA and SER.

The study demonstrates that a gap between an organisation’s identity claims (“who we are”) and its enacted identity (“what we do”) can enable the adoption of constitutive, performative and representational EMA and SER. It illuminates the nature of the role of key actors and organisational dynamics, in the form of OI and IL, in adapting these practices. It also demonstrates that, in giving meaning to the concept of sustainability, organisational actors can draw on their organisation’s identity and construct the comprehensibility of an organisational sustainability programme.

More empirical work is needed to examine the applicability of OI and IL to other settings. It would also be beneficial to examine the potential for OI work to allow organisations to change and reinvent themselves in response to the evermore pressing environmental crisis and the role, if any, of EMA in this process.

The study enriches our understanding of why and how EMA and SER evolve by demonstrating that paying attention to OI and IL can provide further insight into the decision-making and actions of organisational members as they recognise, evaluate, support and cease these practices.

This paper aims to examine consumers’ evaluation of and reaction to the coexistence of brand misconduct and sustainability claims through a series of studies.

The research questions are examined across three studies. Consumer’s scepticism of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is considered the driver of brand distance. Brand hypocrisy is postulated to mediate the relationship between scepticism to CSR and brand distance. Furthermore, brand trust and desire for exclusivity are tested as moderators of brand hypocrisy and brand distance.

The findings showed that environmental misconduct leads to perceived brand hypocrisy and brand distancing. When luxury brands take action to remedy their actions, the perceived brand hypocrisy and brand distancing decrease. In addition, brand trust and desire for exclusivity dilute the relationship between brand hypocrisy and brand distance.

The findings show that, standing in a contradictory position, brands can still reduce the consumers’ perceived brand distance by building a strong consumers’ trust toward the brand. At the same time, relating the luxury consumers’ yearning for the exclusive products and services, the findings show that the consumers with a strong desire for exclusivity feel a lower level of brand distance even if the brand gets involved in misconduct.

Este artículo examina la evaluación y la reacción de los consumidores ante la coexistencia de la mala conducta de la marca y las alegaciones de sostenibilidad a través de una serie de estudios.

Las preguntas de investigación se examinan a través de tres estudios. El escepticismo de los consumidores respecto a la RSC se considera el motor del distanciamiento de las marcas. Se postula que la hipocresía de la marca media la relación entre el escepticismo hacia la RSE y la distancia de la marca. Además, se comprueba que la confianza en la marca y el deseo de exclusividad son moderadores de la hipocresía y la distancia a la marca.

Los resultados mostraron que la mala conducta medioambiental conduce a la percepción de hipocresía de la marca y al distanciamiento de la misma. Cuando las marcas de lujo toman medidas para remediar sus acciones, la hipocresía y el distanciamiento de marca percibidos disminuyen. Además, la confianza en la marca y el deseo de exclusividad diluyen la relación entre la hipocresía y el distanciamiento de la marca.

Los resultados demuestran que, situándose en una posición contradictoria, las marcas pueden seguir reduciendo el distanciamiento de marca percibido por los consumidores mediante la creación de una fuerte confianza de los consumidores hacia la marca. Al mismo tiempo, relacionando el anhelo de los consumidores de lujo por los productos y servicios exclusivos, nuestros hallazgos muestran que los consumidores con un fuerte deseo de exclusividad sienten un menor nivel de distancia a marca incluso si la marca se ve involucrada en una mala conducta.

本文通过一系列的研究, 考察了消费者对品牌不当行为和可持续发展主张并存的评价和反应。

研究问题在三项研究中得到了检验。消费者对企业社会责任的怀疑被认为是品牌距离的驱动因素。品牌伪善被假设为介导对企业社会责任的怀疑和品牌距离之间的关系。此外, 品牌信任和对排他性的渴望被测试为品牌伪善和品牌距离的调节因素。

研究结果显示, 环境方面的不当行为导致了人们对品牌伪善和品牌距离的感知。当奢侈品牌采取行动补救他们的行为时, 被感知的品牌伪善和品牌距离就会减少。此外, 品牌信任和对排他性的渴望稀释了品牌伪善和品牌距离之间的关系。

研究结果表明, 站在矛盾的立场上, 品牌仍然可以通过建立消费者对品牌的强烈信任来减少消费者感知的品牌距离。同时, 联系到奢侈品消费者对独家产品和服务的渴望, 我们的研究结果表明, 即使品牌涉及到不正当行为, 对独家性有强烈渴望的消费者也会感到较低的品牌距离。

The authors consider the mutual benefits of the ceding company and reinsurance company in the design of reinsurance contracts. Two objective functions to maximize social expected utilities are established, which are to maximize the sum of the expected utilities of both the ceding company and reinsurance company, and to maximize their products. The first objective function, additive, emphasizes the total gains of both parties, while the second, multiplicative, accounts for the degree of substitution of gains of one party through the loss of the other party. The optimal price and retention of reinsurance are found by a grid search method, and numerical analysis is conducted. The results indicate that the optimal solutions for two objective functions are quite different. However, optimal solutions are sensitive to the change of the means and volatilities of the claim loss for both objective functions. The results are potentially valuable to insurance regulators and government entities acting as reinsurers of last resort.

In this paper, the authors apply relatively simple, but in the view significant, methods and models to discuss the optimization of excess loss reinsurance strategy. The authors only consider the influence of loss distribution on optimal retention and reinsurance price but neglect the investment factor. The authors also consider the benefits of both ceding company and reinsurance company to determine optimal premium and retention of reinsurance jointly based on maximizing social utility: the sum (or the product) of expected utilities of reinsurance company and ceding company. The authors solve for optimal solutions numerically, applying simulation.

This paper establishes two optimization models of excess-of-loss reinsurance contract against catastrophic losses to determine optimal premium and retention. One model considers the sum of the expected utilities of a ceding company and a reinsurance company's expected utility; another considers the product of them. With an example, the authors find the optimal solutions of premium and retention of excess loss reinsurance. Finally, the authors carry out the sensitivity analysis. The results show that increasing the means and the volatilities of claim loss will increase the optimal retention and premium. For objective function I, increasing the coefficients of risk aversion of or reducing the coefficients of risk aversion of will make the optimal retention reduced but the optimal premium increased, and vice versa. However, for objective function 2, the change of coefficient of risk aversion has no effect on optimal solutions.

Utility of the two partners: The ceding company and the reinsurance company, may have different weights and different significance. The authors have not studied their relative significance. The simulation approach in numerical methods limits us to the probability distributions and stochastic processes the authors use, based on, generally speaking, lognormal models of rates of return. This may need to be generalized to other returns, including possible models of shocks through jump processes.

In the recent two decades, reinsurance companies have played a great role in hedging mega-catastrophic losses. For example, reinsurance companies (and special loss sharing arrangements) paid as much as two-thirds of the insured losses for the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Furthermore, large catastrophic events have increased the role of governments and regulators as reinsurers of last resort. The authors hope that the authors provide guidance for possible balancing of the needs of two counterparties to reinsurance contracts.

Nearly all governments around the world are engaged in regulation of insurance and reinsurance, and some are reinsurers themselves. The authors provide guidance for them in these activities.

The authors believe this paper to be a completely new and original contribution in the area, by providing models for balancing the utility to the ceding insurance company and the reinsurance company.

我們探討分出公司和再保險公司在再保險合約的設計上、如何能達至互利互惠。研究確立了兩個目標函數，分別為把分出公司和再保險公司兩者之預期效用的總和最大化，以及把它們的產品最佳化。第一個目標函數是加法的，強調兩個參與方的總增益;而第二個目標函數則是乘法的，這個目標函數，闡釋參與方因另一方虧損而有所收益之取代度。再保險的最佳價格和自留額是利用網格搜索法找出的，數值分析也予以進行。研究結果顯示，兩個目標函數的最佳解決方案甚為不同。唯最佳解決方案會對就這兩個目標函數而言的追討損失的波動、以及其平均值之改變產生敏感反應。研究結果將會見其價值於作為在萬不得已的時候的再保險人的保險業規管機構和政府實體。

在這學術論文裡，我們採用了相對簡單、但我們認為是重要的方法和模型，來探討超額賠款再保險策略的優化課題。我們只考慮虧損分佈對最佳自留額和再保險價格的影響，而不去檢視投資因素。我們亦考慮對分出公司和再保險公司兩者的利益，來釐定最佳保費和再保險的自留額，而這兩者則共同建基於把社會效益最大化之上：再保險公司和分出公司的預期效益的總和 (或其積數) 。 我們採用類比模仿方法、來解決尋求在數字上最佳解決方案的問題。

本研究建立了就應對嚴重虧損而設的兩個超額賠款再保險合約的優化模型，來釐定最佳的保費和自留額。其中一個模型考慮了分出公司和再保險公司兩者各自的預期效益的總和。另外的一個模型則考慮了兩者的預期效益的積數。透過例子，我們找到了保費和超額虧損再保險自留額的最佳解決方案。最後，我們進行了敏感度分析。研究結果顯示、若增加追討損失的平均值和波動，則最佳自留額和保費也會隨之而增加。就第一個目標函數而言，若增加風險規避係數、或減少這個係數，則最佳自留額會隨之而減少，但最佳保費卻會隨之而增加，反之亦然。唯就第二個目標函數而言，風險規避係數的改變，對最佳解決方案是沒有影響的。

• – 有關的兩個夥伴之效用性：分出公司和再保險公司或有不同的份量和重要性。我們沒有探討兩者的相對重要性。

• – 我們以數值方法為核心的類比模仿研究法、使我們局限於機率分配和一般而言建基於投資報酬率對數常態模型之隨機過程的使用。我們或許需要調節研究法。以能概括其它回報收益，包括透過跳躍過程而可能達至之沖擊模型。

– 有關的兩個夥伴之效用性：分出公司和再保險公司或有不同的份量和重要性。我們沒有探討兩者的相對重要性。

– 我們以數值方法為核心的類比模仿研究法、使我們局限於機率分配和一般而言建基於投資報酬率對數常態模型之隨機過程的使用。我們或許需要調節研究法。以能概括其它回報收益，包括透過跳躍過程而可能達至之沖擊模型。

在過去20年裡，再保險公司在控制極嚴重災難性的損失上曾扮演重要的角色。例如、再保險公司 (以及特殊的損失分擔安排) 為了2001年9月11日的災難事件而支付多至保險損失的三分之二的費用。而且，重大的災難性事件使政府及作為最後出路再保險人的調控者得扮演更重要的角色。我們希望研究結果能為再保險合約兩對手提供指導，以平衡雙方的需要。

全球差不多每個政府都參與保險和再保險的管理工作，有部份更加本身就是再保險人。研究結果為他們的管理工作提供了指導。

我們相信本學術論文、提供了平衡分出保險公司和再保險公司效用性的模型，就此而言，本論文在相關的領域上作出了全新和獨創性的貢獻。

Digitalization, innovation and changing customer requirements drive the continuous improvement of an organization's business processes. IT demand management (ITDM) as a methodology supports the holistic governance of IT and the corresponding business process change (BPC), by allocating resources to meet a company's requirements and strategic objectives. As ITDM decision-makers are not fully aware of how the as-is business processes operate and interact, making informed decisions that positively impact the to-be process is a key challenge.

In this paper, the authors address this challenge by developing a novel approach that integrates process mining and ITDM. To this end, the authors conduct an action research study where the researchers participated in the design, creation and evaluation of the approach. The proposed approach is illustrated using two sample demands of an insurance claims process. These demands are used to construct the artefact in multiple research circles and to validate the approach in practice. The authors applied learning and reflection methods for incrementally adjusting this study’s approach.

The study shows that the utilization of process mining activities during process changes on an operational level contributes to (1) increasing accuracy and efficiency of ITDM; (2) timely identification of potential risks and dependencies and (3) support of testing and acceptance of IT demands.

The implementation of this study’s approach improved ITDM practice. It appropriately addressed the information needs of decision-makers and unveiled the effects and consequences of process changes. Furthermore, providing a clearer picture of the process dependencies clarified the responsibilities and the interfaces at the intra- and inter-process level.

This review aims to provide synoptic documentation on acclaimed anecdotal plant-based remedies used by Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) communities to manage COVID-19. The theoretical approaches that form the basis for using the anecdotally claimed phytotherapies were reviewed against current scientific evidence.

In this paper plant-based remedies for managing COVID-19 were searched on social and print media to identify testimonies of people from different communities in LAC countries. Information was extracted, evaluated and reviewed against current scientific evidence based on a literature search from databases such as Journal Storage (JSTOR), Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), SpringerLink, Scopus, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar and Medline to explore the scientific basis for anecdotal claims.

A total of 23 medicinal plants belonging to 15 families were identified as phytotherapies used in managing COVID-19 in LAC communities.

The plant-based remedies contained valuable phytochemicals scientifically reported for their anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antioxidant and anticancer effects. Anecdotal information helps researchers investigate disease patterns, management and new drug discoveries. The identified acclaimed plant-based remedies are potential candidates for pharmacological evaluations for possible drug discovery for future pandemics.