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The objective of this research was to explore how attitudes to science and scientists may be related to anti-vax positions and whether the psychological trait known as Need for Closure may influence the relationship between any or all of these attitudes. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 1128 young people aged 18–25 living in Italy during the COVID-19 health crisis. Based on the results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, which allowed the extraction of a three-factor solution (scepticism about science, unrealistic expectations about science and anti-vax postures), we tested our hypotheses by means of a structural equation model. We found that anti-vax positions are strongly correlated with sceptical views of science, while unrealistic expectations about science affect attitudes to vaccination only indirectly. Either way, Need for Closure emerged as a key variable in our model, as it significantly moderates the effect of both factors on anti-vax positions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a certain agreement in the regional economics literature on tourism development as a lever of territorial cohesion and regional convergence. Yet, evidence about its impact on social inclusion within destination regions is scant. The emerging literature placing tourism development as a driver of inequality relies mostly on qualitative methods and individual case studies, thus overlooking a cross-national perspective. In this article, we address this gap by estimating the impacts of tourism growth between 2013 and 2018 on housing instability through its effects on rents and the perceived financial burden of housing costs. Based on a combination of data sourced from Eurostat and a geo-located dataset of Airbnb listings, a Bayesian path analysis model was specified with a sample of densely populated areas in 85 European regions. Results reveal the controversial influence of tourism on urban destinations, indicating how the increase in the number of visitors may benefit mean incomes and relieve the pressure on housing costs, while at the same time, driving a higher dispersion of income and residential displacement. A clear difference is established between homeowners and tenants to this regard: the former can use the opportunities of rent extraction in the platform economy to withstand the economic pressure of tourism, while the latter are more exposed to the risk of having to leave their homes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research aims at analyzing the fear of crime and its consequences on social cohesion and informal social control. The study is based on data collected through a triangulation of qualitative techniques (in-depth interviews, participant observation, and semi-structured focus groups) throughout eight neighborhoods of four European cities. Challenging the initial expectations, the results obtained show that, under certain circumstances, the fear of crime might foster genuine forms of social involvement and problem-solving participation. Nevertheless, the general trend indicates that crime-related anxieties are fueling the emergence of nostalgic, passive-aggressive, and violent forms of identity, which might promote potentially dangerous types of collective action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]