Media influences and effects on experiences of uncertainty and fear in urban public spaces

From the point of a normative idea of equality, all citizens are entitled to equal access to the cities public spaces. In the public debate, the media have often been blamed for contributing to people＇s fear and insecurity and the avoidance of public places, especially after dark. In this paper, the author addresses the question of how and to what extent experiences of risk and threats in the media, perceptions of crime coverage in the media and third-person-effects of risk and threats influence the degree of avoidance of public places and the variation in people＇s experiences of the sensation of feeling fear and insecurity in public places. The main results presented here are primarily based on survey data from a well known regional survey （Western SOM） performed in 2001-2007 on approximately 3,000 inhabitants in the local region of Gothenburg, Sweden. Experiences of risk and threats through the media are of minor importance for the independent effect on the experiences of the sensation of feeling fear and insecurity in public spaces. The main role of the media is through the perceptions the respondents have on media coverage on crime and media influence on their own and others experiences of threats and risks. Those that believe that media coverage on crime is understated have to a greater extent avoided public places and experienced the sensation of feeling fear and insecurity than those that believe that media coverage of crime is coherent with reality or overstated. The third-person-effects that occur also have consequences. Those that believe that media influence experiences of threats and risks have to a greater extent experienced the sensation of feeling fear and insecurity than those that don＇t believe in media influence （on both others and themselves）. The main conclusion presented in this paper is that the avoidance of public places and variation in people＇s experiences of the sensation of feeling fear and insecurity in public places is more related to people＇s perceptions of media content and media influence regarding risk and threats than experiences of risk and threats through the media. This, however, doesn＇t mean that the experience of risk and threats through the media doesn＇t matter. Experience of risk and threats through the media matters, but do so through reinforcing personal and social experiences of risk and threats.     

A perception of motorcycle insurance in Nigeria

The purpose of this paper is to find out people＇s perception of motorcycle insurance while comparing the perceptions of insurance companies＇ staff with that of their customers （the motorcyclists）, and also find out the major causes of motorcycle accidents in Nigeria. A total of 140 respondents were sampled using the questionnaire. The kolmogorov smirnov test was used to test the hypothesis. Findings show a general negative perception of insurance services by the motorcyclist and a large disparity in the responses of the motorcyclists and the insurance companies＇ staff. The major causes of motorcycle accidents are also found to be over speeding, carelessness and poor driving skills.     

Public Perception and Reporting of Different Kinds of Family Abuse in Hong Kong

The prevalence and serious consequences of family violence have given rise to massive research efforts. However, there is often a discrepancy between the official definitions and public perception of child abuse, elder abuse, and spouse abuse cases. Under-reporting is common due to lack of awareness of the abusive behaviors by the public. Differences between perception of abuse and reporting are well documented in the context of single group of victims. However, research studies on the differences in perception and reporting of different forms of abusive behaviors that occur to victims of child abuse, spouse abuse, and elder abuse are scarce. The present study attempts to examine whether perception and reporting of abuse will be different with respect to who the victim is and how the victim is abused. Findings show that perception and reporting of abusive behavior differ with respect to the victims of abuse and to the nature of abusive behaviors. Implications of these differences and directions for practice are discussed.

The sources of Russia's fear of NATO

The paper analyzes Russia's perception of NATO since the beginning of its eastern enlargement. Russia's reaction to the enlargement evolved from attempts to diffuse its potential damage through a limited cooperation to passive and then active policies of containment. The latter have resulted in a risky behavior with respect to the alliance and a concentration of Russian military on the Western border. Two factors can assist us in explaining Russia's evolving perception of NATO from a potential partner to a renewed military threat – the historical experience of viewing the alliance, and the West in general, as potentially threatening and the post-Cold war interaction with NATO that served to strengthen the historically developed perception. As of today, Russia has learned from its interaction with the alliance that NATO remains a principle threat to Russia's national security and that through the alliance's expansion the West seeks to exercise its cultural, economic, and political domination in Eurasia.     

论旅游宣传中的心理策略

旅游宣传是旅游业的“开路先锋” ,在 2 1世纪的旅游业发展中更显示出其作用和价值。旅游知觉、模仿与暗示、情感与理性等学术问题 ,可以积极地指导旅游宣传 ,影响旅游消费者的意识和行为。如何利用这些心理规律增强旅游宣传效应 ,这是需要我们认真深入研究的一个重要课题     

Fluctuating Saudi and Emirati Alignment Behaviours in the Horn of Africa

ABSTRACT

The overthrow of Omar al-Bashir after three decades of rule has brought to light a dynamic that has been present for years: an interweaving of political, economic and security issues between the states of the Horn of Africa and the Gulf monarchies. Since 2011, the most active powers are the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which seek political support to counter both Iran’s influence and the growing Turkish presence. The two Gulf monarchies’ search for alignments with African counterparts has favoured the continuous reshuffling of alliances with direct effects on the local actors’ strategic choices. These dynamics need to be considered to understand the determinants behind the currently increasing instability in the Red Sea area.     

基于亮度感知权重的夜间图像去雾技术

目的对夜间雾天环境下成像设备获取的图像进行去雾和图像增强处理,以便给公安机关的图像侦查工作提供直观的侦查信息。方法首先基于夜间大气散射物理模型,采用通道差引导的低通滤波器估计环境照度;其次使用亮通道和暗通道先验分别估算图像中光源区和非光源区的环境透射率,然后采用一种亮度感知权重的方式将二者融合得出最终的混合环境透射率;最后对夜间大气模型公式进行求解获得去雾图像。在此基础上使用CLAHE和SoG算法对图像视觉效果进行增强。结果经过对大量实际案例和计算机合成的夜间雾天图像进行处理,实验结果表明本文采用的去雾与图像增强技术在客观评价方面:偏色检测因子降低65%、平均梯度提高233%、信息熵提高7%,相较于其他主流方法均占显著优势;在主观评价方面:本文方法能同时提升图像颜色动态范围、矫正图像偏色、增强图像暗部细节。结论基于亮度感知权重的夜间去雾与图像增强技术能够有效增强夜间雾天图像的暗部细节、提高图像对比度和解决图像偏色问题,能为公安机关的图像侦查工作提供更直观有效的信息。     

王星拱的美学——研究艺术的科学

在中国现当代美学形态中，王星拱可算独特的一支。梁启超、蔡元培、王国维属于人文色彩比较重的一支；朱光潜、宗白华属于人文和科学结合的形态；王星拱则属于坚定的科学派。并且是这派美学的始作俑者，可惜这派美学的贡献至今学术界研究很不够。王星拱认为美学就是研究艺术的科学；美严格地限定在感性和情感范围，因此，他讲的美学是拿科学的态度研究美感。从王星拱详加讨论的这些客观性的材料（雄健、阔大、悠久、众多、流动、秩序、连轴关系）来看，他对美的看法应该属于主客体统一的观点，他既肯定这些“外在客体”作为审美材料的先决条件，又主张人的主观对材料的加工的结果——艺术=美。王星拱的美学思想太局限于经验领域，他虽然也讲美感需上升到理性层面。但他讲的“理性”是在经验范围内的。王星拱美学突出了逻辑和科学，而对精神科学的形而上有所忽略。     

Are China and Japan rivals in Latin America? A rivalry perception analysis

Abstract

This article investigates whether the People’s Republic of China and Japan perceive each other as rivals in Latin America (LA; both the Chinese and Japanese governments tend to refer to the region as Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), but for the purposes of this article we focus mainly on LA), and what impact such a perception might have on their foreign policy decision-making. We take LA as a case study because China’s and Japan’s recent (re-)engagement there began almost simultaneously in the early 2000s, and has developed against the background of domestic leadership transitions, growing demands for energy and markets, as well as international political agendas in which LA might play a key role. Developing the work of Thompson [(1995). Principal rivalries. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 39 (2), 195–223; (2001). Identifying rivals and rivalries in world politics. International Studies Quarterly, 45(4), 557–586] and Vasquez [(1993). The War Puzzle. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press; (1996). Distinguishing rivals that go to war from those that do not: Aa quantitative comparative case study of the two paths to war. International Studies Quarterly, 40 (4), 531–558] on rivalry, in combination with perception theory [Jervis, R. (1976). Perception and misperception in international politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press], the article suggests three indicators by which to measure the extent to which China and Japan might perceive each other as rivals. Drawing on content analysis of a range of Chinese- and Japanese-language official writing, news reports, and academic analysis, the article argues that, despite some media representation of China and Japan as competitors for resources and power in LA, in fact mutual perceptions concerning rivalry have not affected LA policy decisions of these two countries.