No one left behind: risk communication to the street vendors during COVID-19 social distancing

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pham Tien Thanh ◽  
Hanh Thi Hong Nguyen ◽  
Le Thi Bao Ngan ◽  
Doan My Duyen Nguyen ◽  
Gia Han Phan ◽  
...  

PurposeCOVID-19 presents a serious and unprecedented challenge around the globe. Street vendors are the most vulnerable group during this pandemic regarding livelihood loss and contagion risk. This research aims to examine the roles of risk communication work in enhancing COVID-19 risk perceptions and adoption of COVID-19 preventive behaviors among street vendors.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from the street vendors in urban Vietnam. A binary probit model was used for analyzing the relationships among exposure to risk communication, risk perception and adoption of preventive behaviors.FindingsThe analysis reveals the outreach of risk communication work to the street vendors. A rather large proportion of the respondents perceive high risks associated with COVID-19. All respondents adopt COVID-19 preventive behaviors; however, the proportion of regular adoption is moderate and even very low for most behaviors. Their frequent exposure to risk communication significantly raises their risk perceptions and encourages their regular adoption of preventive behaviors, particularly regarding the measures that are affordable and less detrimental to their livelihood.Originality/valueThis research is among the first attempts to examine exposure to risk communication to the vulnerable group, how they perceive risks and the extent to which they adopt preventive behaviors during a public health crisis. This research draws some implications for risk communication and social welfare policies to obtain sustainable development goals.

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (10) ◽  
pp. 2444-2461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiajie Li ◽  
Nan Li ◽  
Lang Luo ◽  
Yanan Ren

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate risk dimensions affecting food risk perceptions and to develop effective risk communication strategies based on their risk perceptions dimensions. The reason for writing this paper is that applying single risk communication strategy for public often fails because food risks are systemic risks and public perceptions toward them consist of multiple dimensions. Launching an effective risk communication need to investigate the perception dimensions of the target audience. Design/methodology/approach A total of 2,673 parents of 3-14-year-old children from the rural area of Sichuan province in China were chosen as target audience. Based on the survey conducted about parents’ food risk perceptions, this study used factor-cluster analysis method to segment parents to sub-clusters with significantly different risk perception dimensions. Parents’ representative demographic characteristics within each cluster were further identified through cross-tabs analysis with χ2 tests. Findings All the parents could be segmented into four sub-clusters, namely, sensitive parents, dependent parents, familiarity-oriented parents and institutional distrust parents, according to their risk perception difference on five dimensions. A series of risk communication strategies were specifically designed for each cluster based on their risk perception features as well as demographic characteristics. Originality/value The insight derived from this study described a deeper image of public risk perceptions and provided suggestions for risk communication launchers to pinpoint the risk perception as well as perception dimensions of the target audience and accordingly develop effective risk communication strategies.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tran Hung Nguyen ◽  
Xuan Cu Le

PurposeAlthough crisis communication via social media has engaged academia's attention during the disease outbreak, information value for preventive behaviors is inadequately studied. The purpose of this paper is to cast light on how to strengthen the uptake of older people's coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) behavioral outcomes due to information value and perceived threat through social media.Design/methodology/approachThis study designs a survey and applies structural equation modeling to examine a research framework. A sample comprises 334 Vietnamese older participants who have utilized social media.FindingsThe results illustrate that preventive behaviors are determined by perceived threat (i.e. severity and susceptibility). Furthermore, older people heighten risk perceptions based on information characteristics, including information relevance, informative support and source credibility. Lastly, information relevance is a strong predictor of source credibility.Practical implicationsThe findings assist practitioners to enhance crisis communication effectiveness via social media by imparting valuable information to the public. Moreover, this paper offers overarching guidelines on the improvement in credibility with creators, risk consciousness and preventive behaviors.Originality/valueAlthough earlier studies focused attentiveness on the power of social media for raising threat perceptions, this work seems the first to unveil informative motives for perceived COVID-19 threat across older individuals, which subsequently presents plausible reasons for behavioral disclosure, including facemask-wearing, hand-washing and social distancing.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104973232110078
Author(s):  
Milou J. F. van Goudoever ◽  
Vaitiare I. C. Mulderij-Jansen ◽  
Ashley J. Duits ◽  
Adriana Tami ◽  
Izzy I. Gerstenbluth ◽  
...  

Epidemics of dengue, chikungunya, and Zika have been threatening the Caribbean. Since risk communication (RC) plays a fundamental role in preventing and controlling diseases understanding how RC works is essential for enabling risk-reducing behavior. This multimethod qualitative study compares news reports with local’s and health professional’s perspectives, currently lacking in RC research. It was found that RC strategies were obstructed by a lack of governmental structure, organization, and communication. The content analysis showed that the majority of newspaper articles contained negative reporting on the government. Furthermore, this study shows how trust and heuristics attenuate or amplify people’s risk perceptions and possibly positively and negatively influence people’s risk-reducing behavior. A transcending approach (e.g., structural, cooperative, and multidisciplinary) of the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases and the corresponding RC is recommended.


2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1142-1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiken Das ◽  
Manesh Choubey

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the non-monetary effect of credit access by providing an econometric framework which controls the problem of selection bias. Design/methodology/approach The study is conducted in Assam, India and uses a quasi-experiment design to gather primary data. The ordered probit model is used to evaluate the non-monetary impact of credit access. The paper uses a propensity score approach to check the robustness of the ordered probit model. Findings The study confirms the positive association of credit access to life satisfaction of borrowers. It is found that, in general, rural borrower’s life satisfaction is influenced by the ability and capacity to work, the value of physical assets of the borrowers as well as some other lenders’ and borrowers’ specific factors. But, the direction of causality of the factors influencing borrowers’ life satisfaction is remarkably different across credit sources. Research limitations/implications The study argues to provide productive investment opportunities to semiformal and informal borrowers while improving their life satisfaction score. Although the results are adjusted for selection and survivorship biases, it is impossible with the available data to assess which non-income factors explain the findings, and therefore this limitation is left to future research. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature of rural credit by assessing the probable differences among formal, semiformal and informal credit sources with respect to non-monetary impacts.


2017 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 257-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Porgo ◽  
John K.M. Kuwornu ◽  
Pam Zahonogo ◽  
John Baptist D. Jatoe ◽  
Irene S. Egyir

Purpose Credit is central in labour allocation decisions in smallholder agriculture in developing countries. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of credit constraints on farm households’ labour allocation decisions in rural Burkina Faso. Design/methodology/approach The study used a direct elicitation approach of credit constraints and applied a farm household model to categorize households into four labour market participation regimes. A joint estimation of both the multinomial logit model and probit model was applied on survey data from Burkina Faso to assess the effect of credit constraint on the probability of choosing one of the four alternatives. Findings The results of the probit model showed that households’ endowment of livestock, access to news, and membership to an farmer-based organization were factors lowering the probability of being credit constrained in rural Burkina Faso. The multinomial logit model results showed that credit constraints negatively influenced the likelihood of a farm household to use hired labour in agricultural production and perhaps more importantly it induces farm households to hire out labour off farm. The results also showed that the other components of household characteristics and farm attributes are important factors determining the relative probability of selecting a particular labour market participation regime. Social implications Facilitating access to credit in rural Burkina Faso can encourage farm households to use hired labour in agricultural production and thereby positively impacting farm productivity and relieving unemployment pressures. Originality/value In order to identify the effect of credit constraints on farm households’ labour decisions, this study examined farm households’ decisions of hiring on-farm labour, supplying labour off-farm or simultaneously hiring on-farm labour and supplying family labour off-farm under credit constraints using the direct elicitation approach of credit constraints. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine this problem in Burkina Faso.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi Min ◽  
Jikun Huang ◽  
Hermann Waibel

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of farmers’ risk perceptions regarding rubber farming on their land use choices, including rubber specialization and crop diversification. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional survey data of some 600 smallholder rubber farmers in Xishuangbanna in Southwest China is employed. This paper develops a general conceptual framework that incorporates a subjective risk item into a model of farmers’ land use choices, thereby developing four econometric models to estimate the role of risk perceptions, and applies instrumental variables to control for the endogeneity of risk perceptions. Findings The results demonstrate that risk perceptions play an important role in smallholders’ decision-making regarding land use strategies to address potential risks in rubber farming. Smallholders with higher risk perceptions specialize in rubber farming less often and are more likely to diversify their land use, thereby contributing to local environmental conservation in terms of agrobiodiversity. The land use choices of smallholder rubber farmers are also associated with ethnicity, household wealth, off-farm employment, land tenure status, altitude and rubber farming experience. Originality/value This study contributes to a better understanding of the implications of farmers’ risk perceptions and shows entry points for improving the sustainability of rubber-based land use systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5786
Author(s):  
Bismark Adu-Gyamfi ◽  
Rajib Shaw

Many disasters occur in Japan, and therefore many initiatives to educate and integrate foreign residents into its society to overcome systematic barriers and enhance disaster preparedness have been implemented. Nevertheless, studies have highlighted foreign residents as a vulnerable group who are at risk of disasters in the country. The country anticipates and prepares for potential mega-disasters in the future; therefore, effective risk communication is vital to creating the required awareness and preparation. Therefore, this study looked at the changing foreigner–Japanese population mix in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area to ascertain its level of diversity and risk communication characteristics. It used secondary and primary data to analyze how heterogeneity among foreigners translates into a different understanding of their awareness. The study reveals that the 23 special wards within the Tokyo Metropolitan area can be compared to other recognized diverse cities in the world, with Shinjuku city, Minato city, Arakawa, and Taito cities being the most heterogeneous cities in Tokyo. Nevertheless, diversity within foreign residents creates diversity in information-gathering preferences, disaster drill participation preferences, and the overall knowledge in disaster prevention. The study suggests the use of these preferences as a tool to promote targeted risk communication mechanisms.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Van Ha ◽  
Mark J. Holmes ◽  
Gazi Hassan

PurposeThis study focuses on the linkages between foreign direct investment and the research and development (R&D) and innovation activity of domestic enterprises in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachThe Heckman selection model approach is applied to a panel dataset of nearly 7,000 Vietnamese firms for the 2011–2015 study period to investigate the impact of foreign presence on the R&D of local firms through horizontal and vertical linkages. Probit model estimation is employed to examine how foreign investment influences the innovation activity of local companies.FindingsWhile there are a small number of firms carrying out R&D activities in Vietnam, foreign or joint domestic–foreign venture firms are less inclined than domestic firms to undertake R&D. Domestic factors that include capital, labor quality, location and export status of firm have a significant effect on the decision of domestic firms to participate in R&D activity. Only forward linkages and the gross firm output are found to have an impact on the R&D intensity of domestic enterprises, while other factors appear to have no significant influence on how much firms spend on R&D activities.Practical implicationsIn order to promote the R&D activity of domestic firms, policy should focus on (1) the backward linkages between local firms in downstream sectors with their foreign suppliers in upstream sectors, and (2) the internal factors such as labor, capital or location that affect the decisions made by domestic firms.Originality/valueGiven that foreign investment may affect R&D and innovation activity of local firms in host countries, the impact is relatively unexplored for many emerging economies and not so in the case of Vietnam. The availability of a unique survey on Vietnamese firm technology and competitiveness provides the opportunity to address this gap in the literature.


Significance The social unrest is partly the result of rising unemployment and poverty, worsened by the COVID-19 crisis. Political gridlock has also prevented the country from undertaking difficult reforms. Impacts Unemployment is likely to stay high, and until the informal economy can resume it will remain a cause of unrest. The release of multiple vaccines should lift some pressure from the health crisis before the end of 2021. The presidency and parliament need to solve the current gridlock in order to implement reforms in due course.


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