Traditional methods to assess dietary intake have limited and questionable application in visually impaired people since the lack of vision and low leading role in their diet make it difficult to quantify and detail the food consumed throughout the day. Thus, this study investigated whether it is possible to accurately identify foods and estimate their quantities using food records based on photographic images captured by visually impaired people. A panel of experts composed of nutritionists (n = 20) assessed these records comprising three standardized meals  from visually impaired people (n = 40) using two different protocols . Each nutritionist reported an estimated food record for each photographic image, which was compared to its respective weighed food record. For both frontal and aerial photos, experts were frequently correct for the number of food items in the meal . All experts identified at least 11 of the 13 food items, but the majority correctly estimated the food amount only for 23% of the items. Compared to the weighed food record, the photographic records underestimated the amount of 61.5% of food items based on frontal photos, and of 76.9% of food items based on aerial photos. While most foods could be identified by photographic images captured by visually impaired people enabling a qualitative assessment of the diet, they could not be quantified accurately by nutritionists. Visual impairment is a disorder in the visual system characterized by partial or total loss of vision, which cannot be fixed with glasses, contact lenses, medication, or surgery . Low visVisually impaired people (VIP) have several difficulties related to diets, comprising the acquisition, preparation, and consumption of meals, which may certainly influence food choices , 4. LiviThe greater the severity of the visual impairment, the worse the quality of life of VIP –8. BesidThis reality highlights the need to periodically monitor the nutritional status and dietary intake of VIP. Besides mitigating the aforementioned problems, studies indicate that a balanced and diversified diet also contributes to the prevention or reduction of the progression of the main causes of visual impairment, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy, since both have increased oxidative stress in the retina in common .However, traditional methods for dietary intake assessment are not suitable for VIP. Dietary records, diet history, 24-hour dietary recalls, and food frequency questionnaires depend on the subjects ability to describe and quantify food consumption –14, whicIt is important to highlight that asking others to report the food consumption of VIP on their behalf is not appropriate and often not possible. Many VIP live alone and may have no one to accompany them to appointments with nutritionists and report their food intake, while others are independent to conduct their daily activities with no companions or caregivers and there is no one to observe their food consumption throughout the day. Furthermore, requesting third parties to report food intake can lead to additional errors in the dietary assessment , especially if they have low education and/or do not have a close relationship with the VIP, as employees of establishments that serve food. People who eat in several places throughout the day would be the most affected, as there would be a great heterogeneity in the reports resulting from the subjective view of each companion or caregiver of VIP, regarding foods and their quantities.Even when there is a person able to adequately report the food consumption of VIP, this can be interpreted as an undesirable attitudinal and communicational barrier  for thosTaking digital photographs of meals could be a way of overcoming these limitations, standing out as an attractive alternative to recording the daily food consumption of people with difficulties in reporting their diet , such asUsing mobile technologies, such as smartphones, has been indicated for photographing meals since traditional cameras are not practical and agile in collecting information in daily life . This stProtocols for VIP to autonomously conduct food records based on photographic images (FR-PI) were recently developed and validated , so thatStudies on the food consumption and dietary intake of VIP are still scarce, especially regarding the FR-PI, outlined as a promising alternative to improve nutritional care in this population, as this method favors their autonomy, protagonism, and inclusion in health services.We hypothesize that the FR-PI could be a useful tool for nutritionists in clinical settings to assess the dietary intake of VIP. Thus, we aim to investigate whether it is possible for nutritionists to accurately identify foods and their quantities using food records based on photographic images captured with a smartphone by visually impaired people.This is an observational cross-sectional study, conducted with a panel of experts composed of nutritionists (n = 20) experienced in assessing food consumption over the last five years. All nutritionists selected had to meet two or more of the following requirements: 1) being a health system worker who routinely assesses the food consumption of patients; 2) being experienced in using a food atlas of portions/preparations in food surveys or clinical practice; 3) being responsible for research involving food consumption and dietary intake; 4) being a university professor responsible for teaching dietary intake assessment.A non-probabilistic intentional sampling was adopted to select the nutritionists of the panel, aimed at including highly qualified Brazilian professionals with experience in the studied subject. Their recruitment was conducted by email. Those with irregular access to computers and the internet were considered ineligible since the panel was held only by digital means.People with blindness and low vision  have alsAs a large sample size is hard to reach in studies conducted with people with vision disorders , RespondAcquaintances of enrolled participants with visual disorders were also invited to participate in the study, through a face-to-face meeting, or by email, telephone, or social network application. VIP of all sexes aged 16 and over were considered eligible. We have excluded those with other types of disabilities or health problems that hinder the proper use of smartphones, and those with difficulty understanding and executing the procedures instructed by the researchers .All participants took part in a brief interview, conducted by the researchers, regarding socioeconomic, demographic, and health aspects.The panel of experts received an online form containing images of three standardized meals, photographed by the VIP with a smartphone in two different positions, facing the meal, with the camera at 45° ; and above the meal, with the camera at 90° . Details on the protocol adopted are available in the validation study by Borges et al. .The three standardized meals were prepared by the researchers based on the most consumed foods in Brazil , represeResearchers conducted a weighed food record (FR-W) when portioning food for data collection for all meals photographed, using a digital scale with 1g precision .The VIP participants were asked to take three subsequent photos of each meal, and the best one regarding framing, focus, and angle according to the researchers was used. Then, from the photographs used, one image of each meal was randomly selected for both protocols, resulting in a set of six photos sent to the panel of experts, they were the breakfast Frontal Photo; breakfast Aerial Photo; lunch/dinner Frontal Photo; lunch/dinner Aerial Photo; snack Frontal Photo; snack Aerial Photo. The images were inserted randomly and on different pages of the online form so that nutritionists did not examine frontal and areal photos of the same meal at the same time. No digital corrections were made to the photos to improve their quality.After careful observation of the images, the nutritionists were asked to report an estimated FR-PI, discriminating which foods were present in each meal, and providing their quantities separately . All nutritionists analyzed the same set of photos in a single round and produced six FR-PI. There was no loss of information at this stage of the study.The FR-PI produced by the panel of experts was compared to the FR-W. The frequencies of the correctness of the experts concerning the number of food items and which were the ones present in the meal were determined from the comparison of the foods listed in the FR-W and those mentioned in the FR-PI.To determine this correctness concerning the amount of food in the meal, the quantities of all food items described by the experts in the FR-PI were converted into grams or milliliters and compared to the real one, measured by the FR-W. Correctness was defined when the amount reported by the expert in the FR-PI was within a tolerance margin of 10% for more or less in relation to the value measured by the FR-W.A statistically significant difference between the frequencies of correctness for the frontal and aerial photos was assumed when there was no overlap of their 95% confidence intervals, calculated by the software EpiInfo 3.5.4.The Wilcoxon test was used to compare the absolute amount of food (grams or milliliters) and nutrients assessed by FR-W and FR-PI for both protocols, adopting 5% as statistical significance, using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software, version 23.0.cep.huol@ebserh.gov.br) for researchers who meet the criteria for access to confidential data.Due to ethical restrictions, data cannot be shared publicly, as participants would be easily identified with the variables listed. Data are available from the research ethics committee of Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes  and followed all the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and the Resolution 466/2012 of the Brazilian National Health Council. Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects before taking part in the study, including from parents or guardians of the minors.The nutritionists participating in the panel of experts were all female, and most were aged ≥40 years (55%) and with ≥10 years of working experience in dietary intake assessment (85%). Although a graduate degree was not an eligibility criterion, most had a Ph.D. in nutrition or related areas (60%).Most VIP enrolled (n = 40) were male (67.5%), aged ≥ 40 years , non-white (60%), with complete high school or college degree (65%), and received ≥0.5 minimum wage of family income per capita (62.5%). There was a predominance of participants with blindness (77.5%) and without other disabilities besides the visual one (95%). Their use of smartphones was habitual (72.5%), and although only half used to take pictures using the cell phone camera, most (82.5%) reported not having any difficulties in making the photographic records based on the instructions provided.For both frontal and aerial photos, when FR-PI were compared to the FR-W, the frequency of correctness for the number of food items present in the meal was 95.0% for breakfast, 100% for lunch/dinner, and 100% for the snack.Concerning which were the food items present in the meals, all experts could identify 11 out of 13 . For both protocols, some experts faced difficulties to recognize coffee with milk and grilled chicken fillet from the images captured .On the other hand, only two of the food items  had their amount correctly estimated by all experts: white bread and boxed grape juice. Bananas, beans, grated carrots, and cakes were the foods with the lowest correctness, regardless of the position in which the photograph was taken .The amount of most of the food items based on the frontal photos , and on the aerial photos  was significantly underestimated in FR-PI. For both protocols, the amount of chicken was significantly overestimated, while for drinks it did not differ between FR-PI and FR-W .When comparing the quantity of nutrients obtained by FR-W and FR-PI, there was a significant underestimation of energy, carbohydrate, protein, lipid, fiber, calcium, iron, and vitamin C for half of the food items in both protocols . Overestimation of nutrients was rarely observed for frontal photos  and aerial photos . The quantity of nutrients correctly estimated for both frontal photos  and aerial photos  was low .This unprecedented study has demonstrated that health professionals can identify food items in meals photographed by VIP, both with frontal and aerial photos. This finding has great value since the qualitative assessment of dietary intake is indispensable for knowing the eating habits of individuals, as well as to seek the most appropriate strategies to promote a healthy diet.Understanding the various combinations of foods and their forms of preparation, as well as the social and cultural influence on food, is as important as measuring nutrient intake . In factAlthough the quality and accuracy of dietary information are extremely pursued , for varThis method has also revealed great potential for health professionals to know what is being consumed by VIP throughout the day when using protocols created specifically for the characteristics of this population , as confIt is undeniable that, in this study, professionals had difficulties identifying some food items, such as grilled chicken fillets, which were mistaken for breaded chicken fillets or meat steaks. Orange juice also had its flavor mistakenly reported, which was expected even with the use of a transparent glass cup, as it is very difficult to determine flavor just by the color.However, this could be easily overcome by including an audio description of the meal, sent by the VIP to the health professional along with the images, thus complementing the dietary information . AdditioContrastingly, in this study, the FR-PI captured by VIP has not been proven to be accurate to assess the quantity of food and nutrients in the meals, which could be a limitation of its use in numerous types of epidemiological, clinical, or basic research studies that require these details. Only for a few items, those whose portion is generally standardized and widely known, the amount was correctly estimated by most of the experts, which hindered the quantitative assessment of nutrients of the meal. The correctness of the experts regarding the quantity of the boxed grape juice was already predicted, as it was served in its original packing with details on quantity per unit and nutritional facts.Christoph et al.  found coIt is important to highlight that estimating food amounts based on photographs is quite difficult, and this is not always related to the image quality, as verified in this study, in which the pictures presented enough overall quality to allow the identification of all foods by almost all experts. For this reason, some strategies have been recommended to improve FR-PI, such as comparing the photographs with images of reference portions for known food quantities –38, and It is also reported that the standardization of the angle of the photo and the distance from the camera are important to identify the size and number of portions, by understanding the depth and height of the food items in the dish , 40. HowIt is worth noting that the use of videos instead of photographic images to assess diet has not yet been sufficiently tested in the literature, nor does it seem to be a good alternative to overcome the limitations of the FR-PI based on images captured by VIP. Small tremors when recording short and/or low-resolution videos can make it difficult to identify foods and their quantities. In addition, long and/or high-resolution videos demand more memory space on smartphones, which could interfere with the exchange of files between the VIP and the nutritionist. Furthermore, the professional may face difficulties to pause the video at an exact moment, or enlarging the images (zoom function).As this was the first study to test whether nutritionists were able to accurately identify foods and their amounts based on photographic images captured by VIP using a smartphone, it was conducted under controlled conditions, in which food items did not overlap in the plate, and standardized meals with low complexity dishes were used. Also, to minimize the fatigue of the experts, a limited number of photographic images were used.However, considering the potential of the method according to the results, it is now necessary to proceed with further investigation of its use. As stated by Christoph et al. , the useStill, this innovative and pioneering study was developed with a panel of experts with a far superior number of members than any other international research on FR-PI , 41–43, Also, the FR-PI protocol for VIP is easy to be learned and memorized with the help of health professionals, so that these subjects can photograph their daily meals in different settings autonomously. By using this easy-to-perform and low-cost method, it is possible to reveal, in the short term, the quality of the diet and which foods are consumed in specific meals. In the long term, it may bring to light inappropriate eating patterns, such as the regular consumption of processed and ultra-processed foods, low frequency of nutrient food sources, unbalanced meals, and undesirable food combinations. Adherence to international food-based dietary guidelines  is an asSome food items had significant differences statistically compaired to the weighed food record, denoting that the photographic images may not suitable for the quantitative assessment of food consumption. However, most foods could be correctly identified by the nutritionists using the photographic images captured by visually impaired people. Besides, the amount of many food items were relatively close to that identified by the weighed food record, and these errors were similar to what would be expected in traditional dietary assessment methods based on recall or estimations .Thus, food records based on photographic images captured by visually impaired people proved to be a promising tool to improve nutritional care in this population and to promote their autonomy, protagonism, and inclusion in public health services.Further and more robust studies must confirm, in free-living conditions, the accuracy and the social impact of this mobile-based technology for collecting dietary data of visually impaired people.


The relations between farm animals and humans vary across countries and cultures. It was the aim of this study to understand the position of the population in the BRIC countries  and the USA. It was found that perceptions of farm animal sentience and suffering vary a lot with culture, country, gender, and age. This could have important consequences for the globalized trade of animal products does not find common grounds for standardization, and the risk of countries with more advanced animal welfare legislation imposing trade barriers increases. These trade barriers may be precepted as protectionism by exporting countries.In this study, we examined how beliefs about farm animal sentience and their suffering vary across culture and demographic characteristics. A total of N = 5027) questionnaires were administered in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and the USA. Brazilians showed higher and Chinese lower levels of perceived animal sentience. In Russia and India, the perception of suffering and sentience increases with age, with similar levels to those observed in the USA. In all the countries, more people agreed than disagreed that animals are sentient. Men in India show higher levels of agreement with the relation between eating meat and animal suffering, followed by women in Brazil and China. Lower levels of agreement are observed in Americans and Chinese. Women show higher levels of compassion than men. In Russia, there is a slightly higher level of agreement between men and in the USA younger men agree more. Young American men show higher levels of agreement, while in India and China age has the opposite effect. For fair trading competition, it is important to standardize procedures and respect the demand for both animal protein and its ethical production. Overall, our results showed that perceptions of farm animal sentience and suffering vary substantially across countries and demographic groups. These differences could have important consequences for the perceived ethicality of meat production and consumption, and for global trade in animal products. Sustainability is a growing concern today. While aiming for agriculture production systems capable of feeding the world, we need to preserve the environment and use natural resources wisely. Under these circumstances, meat production and consumption patterns must also reach sustainable standards. Meat production is the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions and in the consumption of water. Together with sustainable standards, ethical standards are also demanded by today’s informed society.“Freedom from hunger and thirst, by ready access to water and a diet to maintain health and vigor.Freedom from discomfort, by providing an appropriate environment.Freedom from pain, injury, and disease, by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment.Freedom to express normal behavior, by providing sufficient space, proper facilities, and appropriate company of the animal’s own kind.Freedom from fear and distress, by ensuring conditions and treatment, which avoid mental suffering.”Farm animal welfare (FAW) is part of those standards and is typically defined as “a potentially measurable quality of a living animal at a particular time” . The firFrom the perspective of the human relationship with the non-human animal, though, FAW as a construct must also include human obligations towards animals, often referred to as animal rights. It has been suggested that the five freedoms concept needs a broader interpretation  to incluThe recognition that positive affective experiences are a good indicator of FAW is paramount in connecting animal sentience with more practical considerations of FAW . In the Humans’ strong demand for animal products and widely held beliefs about the justifiability of meat consumption  makes coYet, reducing the suffering of animals by changing the way in which humans treat them in food production may be a challenging task. Most people continue to consume meat even though they care about animals. This observation is often referred to as the meat paradox, defined as the cognitive dissonance or contradiction between the compassion felt by humans towards animals and the suffering imposed on them through the consumption of animal products . Eating Scholars have started to examine how perceptions of farm animal sentience and suffering differ across demographic groups. Some studies suggest that beliefs may differ between men and women ,20. One The age effect has also been studied as a demographic variable capable of impacting perceived animal suffering and animal sentience. As well, the results obtained are mixed and dependent on the animal setting . HoweverIt is the aim of this study to examine beliefs about farm animal sentience and suffering of farm animals in the BRIC countries and the USA, and their variability across ages and gender. These beliefs are crucial for understanding how people think about the ethicality of meat production and consumption, which also has consequences for trade between countries. The global economy and trade are inevitable, but to achieve healthy trading competition it is important to standardize procedures and respect the demand for both animal protein and its ethical production. Nevertheless, religion, cultural differences, age, and gender influence public perceptions and awareness of humans’ relation with non-human animals ,24. The ® in May and June of 2018 from The BRIC countries and the USA. The sample of USA individuals is nationally representative, and it was a direct interview. The samples in Brazil, India, and Russia were collected around urban areas, also via direct interviews. The Chinese sample was collected through the internet. All the interviewees are above 18 years old. The individuals were randomly chosen from a YouGov® panel of interviewee volunteers. The sample is stratified by gender and age. The data were collected by Faunalytics as part of an exploratory study on the attitudes and behaviors towards FAW among people in the BRIC countries and the United States . The data are available in the Open Science Framework repository. The data were collected by YouGovData were collected online in the BRIC countries through questionnaires. These questionnaires were originally written in English and then translated into the local languages using a back-translation process in which the original translation from English to the local language was performed by one individual, while another translator who was blind to the original English version translated it back into English so that discrepancies could be caught. This procedure maximizes equivalence between countries and languages. Recommendations for keeping the wording as simple and direct as possible were also followed, using symmetrical response scales, and using both positively and negatively framed items.The difficulties arriving from cross-cultural research are well studied. In order to overcome these we paid special attention to differences in interpretation, and in the use of response scales. Relatively to differences in interpretation the questions posed to the interviewees were checked against the good question wording . As suchData included demographics  and nine survey items. Two of these are part of the present study. Interviewees were asked several questions related to FAW, animal sentience, and their diet. In the present paper, we will investigate the responses related to the perceived sentience of animals  and the perceived role of meat consumption in contributing to the suffering of animals . Participants responded to both items on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).® SPSS® Statistics, Armonk, NY, USA. Version: 28.0.1.1 (15). For the graphic construction, we used Microsoft® Excel® for Microsoft 365 MSO (version 2204 Build 16. 0. 15128. 20240) 64-bit.The original dataset was explored for the existence of outliers using Tukey’s method, with the production of boxplots. As a result, 28 observations were removed from the analysis. To investigate the agreement/disagreement with the statements listed in the previous section, each response scale was individually entered in a multinomial logistic regression as a function of the demographic variables age, gender, and country. The significance of the models was assessed with the −2 log likelihood chi-square test. The Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) is also shown for each of the models to be adjusted. The parameters were tested for significance using the Wald chi-square test. The statistical package used was the IBM Corp.iP) of a national of a country to fall in a particular score while evaluating each of the statements is performed with the generic equationiP is the probability to score each of the “i” scores . The equations’ parameters (iXiβ) are arranged in a linear manner adopting the formThe multinomial logistic models were fit to the data. The main effects were tested all together with a forward stepwise inclusion of interactions. The calculation of the probabilities , being Xm the dummy associated with this parameter, taking the value one when the respective country is considered in the equation and zero otherwise. β1 is the parameter associated with the covariate “Age”, being X1 the age. β2 is the parameter associated with “Gender” , being X2 the dummy associated and taking the value of one for men and zero for women. β3, β4, and β5 are the parameters associated with the two-way interaction terms , and β6 is the parameter associated with the three-way interaction “Age × Gender × Country”.1 in equation (1) the numerator assumes the value 1.Score 1 (strongly disagree) is used as reference and therefore for the calculation of Pβ) for each predictor variable for each alternative score of the statement are shown in the tables associated with the models representing the respective statements. The coefficients β are the expected amount of change in the logit for each one-unit change in the predictor. The logit is the odds of membership for each of the scores. The closer a logistic coefficient is to zero, the less influence the predictor has in predicting the logit. The exp(β) is the odds ratio associated with each predictor. Predictors increasing the logit have exp(β) > 1, those without effect on the logit have exp(β) = 1 and predictors deceasing the logit have exp(β) < 1. These correspond respectively to β coefficients above, equal, or below zero.The logistic coefficients  with 2 (disagree) and the categories 4 (agree) with 5 (strongly agree). Three new main categories were therefore created: disagree, neutral, and agree. These are the categories herein represented graphically and subject to result interpretation and discussion.A total of N = 5172 individuals were entered in the analysis , including n = 2586 men and n = 2586 women. The age distribution within countries is shown in the boxplots in p < 0.001), −2 log likelihood 5070, chi-square , and AIC 5158. The parameters found to be significant were : “country” , “gender” , and the interaction “age x country” . The percentage of respondents per score and country are given in The model examining the perceived sentience of animals was significant  believe in animal sentience. p < 0.001), −2 log likelihood 5648, chi-square , and AIC 5808. The parameters found to be significant were the interactions : “country x age” , and “gender x age x country” . The percentage of respondents per score and country is given in For this statement, the model is significant  and American women. Neutrality decreases with age in Chinese participants, and in American men and Indian men.Disagreement with the relationship between eating meat and animal suffering is especially high in older American men and Russian women. It is lower for Brazilian women and older Indian men. China is a global leading producer of meat  . HoweverThe major Chinese religions  shape cultural attitudes toward animals in the country, more than any Western philosophy . BuddhisChinese youth underwent an important shift in market economy, urbanization, and globalization when compared with the previous generation . The gloConsidering animal sentience, in this study, Chinese participants showed a response pattern that completely differentiates them from the other nationalities. A positive age effect is very pronounced both in men and women, with the acknowledgement of animal sentience growing exponentially approximately up to the age of 50, reaching extremely prominent levels at this stage. A possible explanation for this may be the higher degree of commitment to traditional religious practices, and the rural origin of much older Chinese, which typically exhibit a stronger endorsement of animal sentience . This caWith regard to belief in farm animal suffering, most Chinese men took a neutral position, while the agreement was higher among women. Again, a positive effect of age was apparent. Levels of disagreement are similar to other countries in the study.In India, cruelty against animals has always been under philosophic religious scrutiny due to beliefs in non-violence purity, and reincarnation . Cattle The cultural differences between Indians and Western cultural attitudes towards animals have been evident from the moment Europeans arrived and settled in India. The condemnation of some native practices prompted the British to pass legislation against animal cruelty introduced in Bengal in 1869. However, the colonial practices of slaughtering cattle to feed armies or hunting expeditions were perceived as contradictory and have not been well understood by the locals .Indians were perceived to be vegetarians, but meat has always been a central part of their diet. However, the colonizers’ diet included much more meat, which led to the perception of vegetarianism by comparison ,47. NeveIndian society experienced significant changes in the 1990s, with a new middle class being able to afford an improved diet to include meat . NowadayIndians showed high levels of perceived animal sentience, especially among older participants. Older individuals are more religious and therefore tend to be more aligned with the vegetarianism tradition of the Hindu culture . This agBrazil is an important world meat producer and holds a tradition of meat consumption, with the livestock sector of the country accounting for 8.7% of the GDP in 2019 . As an eBrazil is a multicultural nation; however, Christianity is predominant. As such there are no meat-eating restrictions. Certain Afro-Brazilian religions, predominantly Candomblé, gained the status of national tradition, without ethnical or social boundaries, and are even incorporated by the local Christians . These tThe Brazilians showed the strongest belief in animal sentience, higher than all other countries that were part of this study, which tallies the results obtained in a study comparing Brazilian and French . ImportaMeat consumption has also been growing in Russia. Recently during the embargo imposed by the EU in 2014, the government has implemented policies to attain self-sufficiency in meat production and to reach higher levels of animal protein consumption in poorer segments of society . IndigenRussian participants showed similar beliefs in animal sentience and compared to participants of other nationalities in this study. Russian women showed particularly higher levels of disagreement with the statement relating meat consumption and animal suffering. The USA is among the top consumers of meat in the world . Meat-baDespite the health effects and the effects on the sustainability of the environment, consumerism in the USA is still finding room for increasing consumption. The “growth in advocacy for animal rights and environmental sustainability often cannot match the powerful lobby of meat producers that exerts influence on politicians  and the public . In a study  about thUSA participants showed weaker beliefs in animal sentience in comparison to the BRIC countries. Only China showed lower levels of perceived animal sentience. While the prevalence of neutral responses was especially high in China, disagreement with the statement that animals can feel pain and discomfort was higher in the USA.Regarding the acknowledgement of farm animal suffering caused by meat consumption, scores in the USA were comparable to scores in the BRIC countries. However, in older men acknowledgment was particularly low compared to the other countries. In a recent study in the USA, about 30% of the population was reported to acknowledge that farm animal suffering should be given the same consideration as human suffering .Younger people consume more meat in the countries that were part of this study: USA , Brazil Perceptions of animal sentience showed a positive correlation with age. Perceptions of animal suffering also increased with age among Chinese individuals and Indian men, while the opposite is observed for men in the USA. The other pairs’ country/gender show no age effects.Men and women have been shown to behave differently in relation to meat consumption and its perceived morality. Men consume proportionally more meat than women, and meat consumption is stereotypically linked to power, dominance, and masculinity, the roles traditionally embraced by men . Men alsThe consumption of meat by men is higher than that of women in all the countries of the present study: USA , Brazil Studies show us that meat consumption raises a diversity of ethical questions among consumers ,80. NameDue to this dichotomy between benefits and costs, meat consumption has become a topic of ideological battles and paradoxical tensions. Some scholars argue that meat consumption is “unhealthy, unsustainable, and unethical”. These paradoxical tensions can be seen as the “two sides of the same coin” as the need for meat production to satisfy human needs brings the referred issues .Some of the solutions being proposed include the reduction of meat consumption and the diversification of protein sources from the non-animal origin . HoweverThe actuality shows that most people agree that doing harm to animals is wrong  and thatThe present study demonstrates the diversity of beliefs in farm animal sentience and anthropogenic animal suffering. Although we examined variation across gender, nationality, and age, we acknowledge that other factors are also a source of variation. Other variables not included in this study may impact the perceived animal suffering and animal sentience, and these include personality, religious and/or political stance, and ownership of companion animals .The current analysis was quantitative and descriptive in nature, examining relationships between central beliefs about animals  and demographic characteristics ). The results obtained to allow a snapshot of the situation, but do not necessarily fully explain the reality. Future research may investigate other type of theoretical models from a cultural perspective. Studies focused on the comparison of societal diversity have shown that culture has an enormous influence on people’s behaviors, and therefore social behaviors vary immensely . Culture is defined  as “the Through the definition of culture, we can immediately infer limitations in this study. First of all, these type of studies are hard to implement; secondly, once they are directed to a specific societal subject, reduces the plausibility of a broader national culture; and third, it involves a society confined to a geography, eventually hiding the impact of variables such as religious differences mainly in nations such as China and India, but also in the others, and the original cultures of immigrants, mainly in the case of the USA and Brazil.Research-based on the theory of lifestyles may be useful in the phenomenon herein studied and analyzed. This theory is based on habits, which is seen as the principle in the genesis of the portrayal of intrinsic and relational characteristics in a unitary lifestyle; in other words, a homogeneous set of people’s choices, beliefs, and practices, allowing the explanation of practices and judgments in a distinct circle . Therefo® does not fully represent a pure random sample of the vast population in the studied countries. Despites the large sampling effort of around one thousand interviewees per country. Despites all the efforts to implement a valid construct of the questions posed to the interviewees, the existence of cross-cultural differences may impact negatively the evaluation of the sentience and suffering concepts across nations.Moreover, the sampling strategy implemented by YouGovThe results of this study contribute knowledge to stakeholders, policymakers and traders. These may be used by these supply chain players to program and overcome problems related to the global FAW standards. For fair trading competition it is important to standardize procedures and respect the demand for both animal protein and the ethics of its production. If international common grounds for standardization are not found, the risk of countries with more advanced animal welfare legislation imposing trade barriers increases. These trade barriers may be perceived as protectionism by exporting countries.Farm animal welfare is growing in the political agenda in many countries, and the global trade of animal products is a reality. However, FAW, sentience, suffering, and the ethicalities of meat consumption vary between cultures, gender, and across ages. In Russia and India, perception of FAW suffering and FAW sentience increases with age, with similar levels to those observed for the USA. Women have higher levels of perceived animal sentience and suffering in all the countries included in this study. Also, in all the countries, more people agreed than disagreed that animals are sentient. Men in India show higher levels of agreement with the relation between eating meat and animal suffering, followed by women in Brazil and China. Lower levels of agreement are observed in Americans and Chinese. In Russia there is a slightly higher level of perceived FAW suffering between men and between younger Americans. In India and China age has the opposite effect.The paradoxicality of meat consumption remains an ethical concern promoting the debate of sustainability.


Under the network environment, mental health and safety work on college is related to national security and campus security. Moreover, it affects the healthy development of college students. In the era of ever-changing mobile Internet, colleges and universities must take practical countermeasures against the problems in mental health and safety education on college and improve the relevance and effectiveness of college students' network safety education. This paper first finds the problems of college students' mental health and safety through questionnaire survey and analyzes the current situation of college students' mental health and safety under the current networked environment. In response to the problems found, we propose complete and systematic educational countermeasures. At the same time, we need to firmly establish the strategic awareness of network security education and strengthen the construction of network security education in colleges and universities. We should strengthen the construction of network security education in colleges and universities, form a joint effort of schools, families, government, and society, and improve the quality and effectiveness of network security education. Mental health is the foundation of talent quality, and only with a healthy psychology can the moral, intellectual, physical, and aesthetic development of college students be comprehensive . Only wiNetwork is a double-edged sword; with the development of mobile network information more and more rapidly, network security ferments rapidly. In recent years, network security incidents have often occurred in colleges and universities, which not only seriously affect students' daily life and psychological health but also threaten students' life and property safety . At the With the increasing informatization of the society, the daily life of college students has been closely connected with the Internet and cannot be separated from it . This grThis paper takes the network environment as the research background and focuses on the problems and countermeasures of college students' mental health and safety work. Through the analysis of the current situation of college students' mental health in the network environment, the key problems of mental health and safety work are identified, which makes the mental health and safety education work more targeted and effective. Through the questionnaire survey, combined with theoretical research, the specific problems of college students' safety in the network environment are explored. The reasons affecting the effectiveness of safety education for college students are analyzed, and the focus is on exploring the path of improving network safety education. It also proposes educational countermeasures for mental health and safety issues on college in the network environment. This motivates college administrators, mental health teachers, and educators to pay more attention to creating a good network environment. It also suggests effective ways to strengthen values learning, will cultivation, and good moral behavior to college students from the side, so as to reduce the harm caused by the network environment to college students' mental health.This paper consists of five main parts: the first part is the introduction, the second part is the state of the art, the third part is methodology, the fourth part is result analysis and discussion, and the fifth part is the conclusion.In a narrow sense, the network environment refers to a broadband, high-speed, integrated, wide-area digital telecommunication network built on the basis of the combination of electronic computers and modern communication technology . This ki(1) Resourcefulness and Share Ability. The network connects information owners around the world through certain technologies and communication rules [on rules . It achi(2) Openness and Globalization. As an information space, the network is composed of network hardware and network software. It does not belong to any one country, any one organization, any one nation, or even any one person. It is an open global system. Anyone can access any website around the world, browse information, exchange ideas, and so forth freely across time, space, race, gender, status, and age. Although different countries have their own cultural backgrounds, the spread of new things fully reflects the openness and global nature of the network.(3) Timeliness and Serviceability. Nowadays, with the common use of smart phones, people are used to getting resources from the Internet. This requires that the delivery of information must be timely. Newspapers, TV, and other traditional media retain traditional communication methods and have opened synchronous electronic news on the Internet. Many major events are uploaded to the Internet by witnesses through cell phones and computers as soon as they happen. The audience can get the information and express their opinions at the same time. Through the Internet, people can interact with each other anytime and anywhere to speed up the spread of information. In the virtual society, people can chat, play games, entertain themselves, or shop, all of which are to meet the most basic needs of human beings. Fundamentally, the Internet has a social function of service, a way of service. The Internet connects more people and groups, providing them with various needs and satisfying their service requirements in various aspects.Domestic research on personal factors of college students can be broadly divided into two aspects: personal basic conditions and psychological factors. Most of the studies on personal conditions are qualitative studies on the differences of college students' network safety perceptions in terms of gender, education, and major by using questionnaire surveys. According to the analysis results of the questionnaire survey conducted by literature  on colleRelatively little research has been conducted on the psychological aspects of individuals, which are generally mentioned in studies of Internet addiction. The literature  suggestsFrom the research accounts of foreign scholars, it is generally believed that, based on the current development perspective of globalization and internationalization, it is still impossible for any country or region to control the network development trend. The literature  argues tMany countermeasures have been proposed in foreign studies to educate college students about cybersecurity awareness. The literature  found th(1) Blindness in Self-Perception and Evaluation. The awareness of college students about the Internet is mainly at the level of use. They know very little about the mechanism of information dissemination and the social role of the Internet. Students are usually blind and vague about the multiple influences of the Internet and their purposes of accessing the Internet. Their Internet use behavior is basically spontaneous, and the supervision of school, family, and society is in a relative vacuum. In the traditional social environment, people's behaviors are often conscious, purposeful, controllable, and measurable. In contrast, college students appear to be blind in self-awareness evaluation in the network psychology, and they usually lack clear cognition about their social role positioning.(2) Utilitarianism of Value Orientation. In the network environment, everything seems relatively virtual. Because of this, college students who use the Internet are satisfied with the virtual sense and the sensory enjoyment and life value affirmation obtained from the network environment. At the same time, a series of value drifting problems have emerged in this era, such as money worship, individualism, and anarchism which are very prominent. This makes college students have serious deviation in life values. They choose blindly in their beliefs, are at a loss in their life planning, and become more secularized and utilitarian in their lifestyles.(3) Vulgarization of Moral Outlook. In the network environment, the space is virtual, the identity is hidden, and the restraint is weak. This makes college students reduce their control over their sense of responsibility. In the network environment, some college students show the dark side of human nature, moral indifference, and deviation from moral behavior, as well as reduced sense of moral responsibility. In other words, the Internet has encouraged their rebellious side. This directly leads some college students to form vulgar moral views and their human ecology begins to become somewhat “game state.” Their concern and sense of responsibility for their studies, future, and society are far from enough.(1) The Conflict between the Reality and the Virtual Nature of the Internet. The Internet is a mapping of reality, but it cannot replace reality. Some college students with unhealthy psychological tendency cannot distinguish the difference between the network world and the real world. In their opinion, the network is life. Due to their upbringing, personality, and interests, they are reluctant to communicate with their classmates and teachers in face-to-face verbal communication. They tend to accumulate such negative emotions and energy in their subconscious, thus creating various psychological disorders or unhealthy psychological tendencies. The Internet, however, opens a virtual door for them and provides them with a mental haven. In their view, boredom, pain, anxiety, and other emotions can be released through cyberspace in the online environment. However, no matter what kind of pleasure they get in the online environment, the problems that exist in reality cannot be solved accordingly. After going offline, they still have to face these real psychological problems, and the sense of loss and alienation will become stronger and stronger. Out of avoidance, they will come into cyberspace again to seek solutions. Once this vicious circle accumulates to a certain extent, it will lead to serious psychological disorders.(2) The Conflict between Emotional Catharsis and Self-Control Out of Control. According to the research findings, even those college students with excellent grades, outstanding appearance, and superior economic conditions would like to go to the cyberspace to find a larger range of recognition, respect, and spiritual support. In the online environment, people from different countries, races, and ways of thinking come together to create a broad stage for performance. In the cyberspace, college students can temporarily forget about their social roles, social influences, and face problems and express themselves as they like. What is more, some college students use network control to express their existence and value. Some college students who are proficient in network attack techniques often lose self-control in the process of emotional catharsis, causing serious infringement on the interests of others and society and moreover posing an objective threat to the network world.(3) The Conflict between Personality Factors and Internet Addiction. College students with poor self-restraint ability are easily affected by the negative influence of the Internet. Those college students who pay attention to the present enjoyment are prone to the symptoms of Internet addiction. Those college students who care more about whether they accomplish their set goals can generally show stronger self-control in front of the Internet. Those who are frustrated, such as losing at work, social fears, or losing love, indulge in the Internet in order to seek relief and can rely on online stimulation to make up for the unsatisfied trauma of the oral period. The Internet becomes a mental agitator, a facilitator of secondary benefits, and a place for the realization of the spirit of entertainment supremacy.(1) Weak Awareness of Privacy Protection. The subject of privacy is a natural person, and the content of privacy refers to the fact or behavior that a specific person keeps secret about his affairs, information, or fields and does not want others to know or interfere in. According to the survey results, most college students are not aware of the protection of privacy contents such as name, ID number, and cell phone number. When asked “when you register a new account, which of the following information will you disclose or fill in?,” 26.79% of college students chose to fill in their name and year of birth. 45.01% of college students think they can disclose QQ, WeChat, and cell phone number. 14.43% of college students choose to fill in gender, ethnicity, and home address. 8.46% choose to fill in student ID, ID card, and graduation number. 5.31% choose to upload photos. Due to the technical loopholes of APP, students should fill in personal information selectively when seeking services through APP, such as cell phone number, home address, ID card number, student ID card, and graduation number, and photos should be added carefully. The specific situation is shown in In response to the question “do you read the privacy policy when you register as a new user?,” 32.13% of college students chose “I don't read it carefully and I do n't think it's necessary.” 59.56% of the students said “I don't read it carefully, and I just read it in general.” 8.31% of the students chose “I will read it carefully.” According to the questionnaire data, students who “just read it” did not see any substantive content of the privacy policy but just skimmed a few times. The privacy policy is an electronic contract of use, which specifies your rights and obligations. However, the majority of college students does not see or even read the privacy policy, and their awareness of privacy protection is weak, which makes education about Internet security more difficult. The specific findings are shown in (2) Low Legal Consciousness. According to the survey results, most college students have low legal literacy and weak legal awareness. When asked “which of the following incidents have you done?,” 7.71% of college students have used other people's articles and viewed other people's privacy without their consent. 51.26% of college students have used software to crack other people's WiFi password. 4.94% of college students have uploaded other people's photos or images privately. 2.43% of college students have used other people's names to do something against morality or even law. 6.47% of college students have viewed other people's cell phones, tablets, and computers without their consent. From the legal point of view, breaking others' WiFi passwords is suspected of violating others' personal property. The specific survey results are shown in When asked “when you or your classmates encounter online fraud, how would you handle it?,” 27.82% of the students chose to report to the public security authorities to protect their own rights and interests by applying the relevant laws. 14.06% of the students would report to their class cadres and counselors in time. Meanwhile 28.63% of the students thought that if the amount was not large, they would admit their own bad luck and would not bother to deal with it. 6.81% of the students chose other ways to deal with it, while 22.68% had not encountered online fraud. The specific survey results are shown in (3) Weak Awareness of Protection. With the advent of the Internet era, our living space has been greatly expanded. The “Internet+” has given birth to a new development model. The Internet is a “double-edged sword”; the popularity of the Internet not only brings convenience to the public at the same time but also gives rise to a series of security issues. They include system paralysis, hacker attacks, business leaks, network fraud, and privacy leaks.In response to the question “what are the main software you use now for network security?,” 83.32% of college students chose “antivirus software.” 56.65% of college students chose “firewall.” 28.22% of the students chose “information content filtering,” and 26.04% chose “intrusion vulnerability checking.” 9.25% of the students chose “other.” When asked “do you know how to use firewall and antivirus software?” 16.92% of college students chose “yes and can operate it skillfully.” 65.65% of college students chose “half know” and 17.43% chose “no know.” The specific survey results are shown in Figures (4) Low Discriminatory Ability of Network Information. With the advent of the era of big data, the trend of explosive growth of Internet information has emerged. How to absorb the nutrients in the infinite network information and become a more qualified successor requires the contemporary college students to have a strong ability to distinguish the network information.When asked “what would you do if you are asked to scan the QR code when you encounter a discount event?,” 9.57% of the college students often scan the QR code and think the security problem is not big. 62.39% of the college students choose to do it occasionally and are a bit worried about the security problem. 28.04% of the college students are very cautious and never scan it. The survey results show that most college students have the awareness of distinguishing online information, and only a few of them choose profit and give up online security when they are tempted by profit. However, only a few of them have the ability to distinguish online information among the majority of college students who have the awareness of distinguishing online information. The specific survey results are shown in In response to the question “how would you choose to log in to the website provided by the recipient for the normal use of your bank card when you receive a text message?,” 28.64% of college students would check carefully before deciding whether to log in. 33.53% of the students thought it might be a phishing website and were vigilant about it. 4.81% of the students chose to wait and see if they would call the police. 33.02% of the students did not pay attention to it. The survey results show that two-thirds of college students have the awareness of discriminating online information when it is related to their own property security. Since college students come from different social environments before receiving higher education, they make choices with relative discernment under the guidance of discernment awareness. However, the remaining one-third of college students choose to ignore it and put their own property security in the online world indifferently, laying a hidden danger for the future network security problems. The specific survey results are shown in (5) Weak Self-Control Ability on the Internet. With the further development of the information age, the Internet has become an indispensable means and carrier for college students' daily life, study, and communication with its rich content, fast transmission speed, and strong penetration. When asked “have you ever browsed unhealthy websites of pornography, gambling and drugs?,” it was found that 5.62% of college students often browse “pornographic, gambling and drug” websites. 36.54% of college students occasionally browse “pornographic, gambling and drug” websites. 57.84% of college students never browse “pornographic, gambling and drug” websites. The Internet economy is also known as the eyeball economy, and pornography, gambling, and drugs are wearing a bright veneer, occupying the sight of college students and eating up the world of college students. The specific survey results are shown in Educational content refers to the overall culture of knowledge, skills, behavioral norms, values, and worldviews that are selected and incorporated into the process of educational activities in order to achieve educational goals. Network safety education is an educational activity to improve the comprehensive quality of college students to cope with the network society. The goal is to promote the all-round development of college students in both spaces. In order to achieve the goal of network safety education, scientific and reasonable lesson contents need to be selected.(1) Lack of Systematization of Education Content. At present, the network security education in China's colleges and universities mainly relies on ideological and political education theory courses and public courses of college students' computer for realization. According to the attributes of disciplines, each discipline has its own educational goal, and the main purpose of college students' safety education is to improve college students' ability to cope with real-world safety. However, the content of network security education set by universities to achieve the educational objectives is mostly a simple superposition of the educational content of Civics and Political Science class, computer education content, and security education content. This leads to incomplete coverage of cybersecurity education content, lack of logic between education content and unsystematic structure of education content, and difficulty in achieving the optimal trend of education results.(2) Lack of Empathy in Education Content. Education is a practical activity that affects students, and it is an art that touches students' emotions. In order to achieve a deep-rooted educational effect, it is necessary to build a sympathetic content system according to the needs of students. When asked “what aspects of network security education do you want to carry out?,” 62.39% of college students chose “basic computer knowledge.” 71.74% of college students chose “education on network security ethics and laws.” 58.61% of college students chose “education on network psychological health.” 36.76% of college students chose “education on mainstream ideology.” 3.18% of the students chose “other.” Among the other options, the participating college students also mentioned “education on online payment” and “prevention of online fraud.” The specific survey results are shown in Colleges and universities are the main position of ideological and political education in China. Therefore, ideological and political educators play an irreplaceable role in the process of educating people. With the expansion of the virtual world, network safety education has become an important part of ideological and political education. Most of the network safety education activities in colleges and universities are organized by ideological and political educators, and the traditional safety education methods are mostly used in network safety education. These include classroom learning, expert lectures, window banners, club activities, and other methods. Under the guidance of traditional education methods, the survey results show that 13.86% of college students choose “great.” 61.42% of college students choose “average.” 18.47% of college students think it has little impact. 6.25% of college students choose “no impact.” At the same time, the survey results show that the impact of network security education in colleges and universities does not call for optimism. Although most colleges and universities carry out network security education, and the depth and breadth of the impact of network security education are worth our reflection. The specific survey results are shown in The path of psychological education for college students in the network environment mainly revolves around the network, and the methods of mental health education for college students are innovated through the network. There are many forms of online psychological education activities, such as online psychological classroom, mental health public platform, class blog, mental health QQ group, and mental health education software. These activities are carried out by making full use of the Internet, which is a convenient and familiar way for college students to transmit mental health knowledge, contents, methods, and ideas. Through the development of various network psychological education activities, not only can college students fully experience the convenience brought by the progress of network technology, but also they establish the correct concept of mental health and guide their healthy psychological development through the development of activities. For example, online psychological classes can allow college students to communicate with specified experts and scholars thousands of miles away to solve their psychological confusion.Colleges and universities can disclose the emails of psychological education and counseling workers to college students and inform them that they can contact them by e-mail to seek solutions to their psychological problems and confusions. The psychological educators who receive the emails should answer the students' questions in a timely manner to help them form a sound psychological concept of themselves and their ability to adapt to the outside world. At the same time, it should be noted that the student's identity and personal information should not be revealed. E-mail counseling is the best way to address sensitive issues such as sexual orientation, love, and psychological crime.Leaving a message on the message board of psychological education forum is also a way to solve the psychological problems and confusion of college students. At present, BBS and public platform have become the network space that college students pay attention to, which makes it an important platform for psychological health education in colleges and universities. On this platform, colleges and universities can ask famous psychologists to solve college students' psychological problems.This is a kind of instant information exchange method, which is obviously different from the first two types of methods, and it requires experts or psychological educators to be on duty at a fixed period of time. Chatting can be done through QQ, WeChat, and MSN or in a special chat room, and the chat can be divided into text chat and voice chat. Due to the immediacy of information transmission, the effect of text chat is much stronger than traditional letter counseling, while voice counseling has a The part “Fourth, network conference counseling” is grammatically unclear. Please rephrase this part for clarity.better intervention effect on certain college students' psychological crisis.The most important feature of network conference is that it can use camera technology to allow experts and workers to talk with college students face to face. It is possible to judge the mental health condition of college students from their most intuitive visual perceptions such as voice, intonation, facial expressions, and body movements through the network technology. At the same time, the network meeting also breaks the limitation of time and geography, which makes the exchange and interaction of information possible. Although this is a relatively expensive way now, it will benefit many college students' mental health education as technology advances.First, the governance of cyberspace is strengthened to create a good network environment. The governance of cyberspace fundamentally lies in the strengthening of network legislation. At present, China's network legislation obviously lags behind the development speed of Internet technology, and the laws and regulations governing the network environment need to be improved. On the one hand, the network legislation is strengthened, and the principle of network access is regulated. For the practice of spreading network rumors, speculation, smearing historical figures, and spreading reactionary speech, we should increase the crackdown and punishment and severely pursue their legal responsibility. On the other hand, the control of network information is strengthened, and a clear mechanism of network supervision is established. The online behavior of online social platforms, online forums, and large websites is regulated.Second, the construction of network content is strengthened, and the quality of network communication is improved. On the one hand, the top-level design is strengthened, and the network content is optimized. On the other hand, in the way of network content dissemination, the construction of network discourse system is strengthened, and the high ground of network propaganda is seized. Online ideological propaganda work to pay attention to the scientific and accurate network language. In addition, because ideological propaganda work is highly theoretical and is not easy to be understood and accepted by ordinary Internet users, we should use the Internet users to enjoy the dissemination, as well as innovative means of communication and popular language for explanation.The good or bad campus environment is directly related to the effect of ideological safety education of college students. Campus culture is a microcosm of social life and campus life, and colleges and universities make use of the subtle inculcation and infection effect of culture on people. By improving campus cultural facilities, using campus media, and creating campus cultural activities, we can transmit the mainstream social values and ideology to students, so that their daily behavioral practices can truly conform to social standards and moral codes.First of all, the construction of campus cultural facilities is strengthened and a good physical culture environment is built. Campus cultural facilities are the external expression of campus culture and the material carrier of campus culture construction. Universities should increase the investment in the construction of cultural facilities and make full use of campus radio stations, electronic displays, official websites, physical landscapes, and propaganda slogans to promote mainstream culture and mainstream ideology. We should make full use of the cultural facilities and educational functions of the campus, so that students can be influenced by the campus culture.Second, the guidance function of campus media is strengthened. Campus media is an important position of school ideology and propaganda work and is an important channel for information transmission and ideological leadership. Campus media mainly includes campus radio stations, campus forums, school magazines and newspapers, official microblogs, and Weibo. Campus media propaganda work adheres to the correct value orientation and directional principles and strictly filters junk information and reactionary speech. Sensitive issues should be treated seriously and handled seriously to strengthen the dissemination of mainstream ideology among the student body.First, the education of legal knowledge of network security is strengthened, so that college students know the law and understand the law. Strengthening the network legal education of college students is an important link in the process of promoting the comprehensive rule of law. To strengthen the network legal education of college students, the first thing is to clarify the main content of network legal education. On the basis of clear education content, colleges and universities should offer the legal knowledge course as a compulsory public course in the whole school, instead of just limiting to law students.Second, the daily practice of network laws and regulations is strengthened, so that students abide by the law and use it. On the basis of mastering certain knowledge of network law, college students should consciously abide by network laws and regulations in their daily network environment activities, conscientiously fulfill their responsibilities and obligations in cyberspace, and be strict abiders of network laws and regulations. In the face of infringement of rights and campus safety, college students should learn to use network laws and regulations to protect their rights and interests.The governance and construction of cyberspace require the mandatory restraint of laws and regulations on the one hand and the flexible restraint of moral codes on the other. Through the development of online moral education, students can regulate their own words and actions on the Internet under the constraints of moral codes and form a good environment on the Internet.Due to the anonymity and freedom of expression in the network environment, the moral norms in the real society become less and less binding on the network. At this time, it is especially important to strengthen college students' online moral education and cultivate students' online self-discipline consciousness and self-control ability. College students' online moral education focuses on cultivating their moral self-discipline consciousness characterized by “prudence.” Educators should appropriately increase the content of network ethics education in the teaching process or specially open a course related to network ethics education, so as to give college students systematic knowledge explanation and theoretical education and make students clear the network ethics requirements they should abide by when participating in network life. The purpose of strengthening online ethics education is to cultivate students' green online behavior, form self-control consciousness and self-discipline ability online, resist the erosion of bad information on the Internet, and promote students' healthy and comprehensive growth.With the continuous popularization of Internet technology, the network environment becomes more and more complex. Today's college students are faced with the network environment supported by the Internet and linked by information resources. The network not only changes college students' life and learning style but also changes their cognition of network security and brings about a series of troubles. The influence of network environment on college students' mental health is multifaceted and omnidirectional. All kinds of bad information are full of network space, as college educators fully understand the importance of college students' safety. Colleges and universities should face up to the problems of weak consciousness, weak coping ability, and imperfect teaching system of college students in network security. This paper analyzes the problems and causes of college students' mental health and safety through questionnaire survey and takes targeted measures to better solve the problems of college students' mental health and improve college students' network security ability, so as to ensure the high quality of college students' mental health and safety work under the network environment. The next step will be to strengthen theoretical knowledge, ask more profound questions and ideas, and also analyze the questionnaire data more thoroughly.


While there is substantial evidence of the effect of social protection on poverty and vulnerability, limited research has focused on societal outcomes. This paper serves as introduction to a special issue (SI) examining the relationship between social protection and social cohesion in low- and middle-income countries. Over the last years, social cohesion has emerged as a central goal of development policy. The introduction and the papers in the SI use a common definition of social cohesion as a multi-faceted phenomenon, comprising three attributes: cooperation, trust and inclusive identity. This introductory article provides a conceptual framework linking social protection to social cohesion, shows the current empirical evidence for the bi-directional linkages, and highlights how the papers in the SI contribute to filling existing research gaps. In addition to this introduction, the SI encompasses seven papers, covering different world regions and social protection schemes, and using different quantitative and qualitative methods. The development community has shown an increasing interest in social protection since the start of the new millennium. This trend is due to the increasing evidence that sustainable poverty reduction is difficult to achieve without investment in social protection because economic growth does not usually trickle down to reach an entire population. Moreover, social protection is increasingly recognised as a key driver of economic growth, especially if it incentivises productive investments by low-income households. And, finally, an increasing number of publications  all feel better integrated into society—or horizontal trust because social benefits can bridge gaps and overcome hostility between different socio-economic classes? Likewise, we have to ask if all of these components are equally important for the existence and functionality of social protection schemes. And at the same time, we ask what role social cohesion plays for the planning, design, setup and operation of social protection programmes.The SI examines the possible effects of social protection on social cohesion and—though less so—those of social cohesion on social protection. It aims to address three sets of interrelated guiding research questions. The The remainder of this introductory article is structured as follows. The next two sections present the concepts of social protection and social cohesion endorsed in this SI. The fourth section introduces the conceptual framework linking social protection to social cohesion, while the fifth reviews the existing empirical literature on the causal effects going either way. The last section presents the key findings of the papers in this SI as well as the gaps remaining in research so far.… the entirety of policies and programmes that protect people against poverty and risks to their livelihoods and well-being.  prevent risks , (ii) mitigate risks  and (iii) cope with the effects of risks (e.g. by credit or income-support to people in need).The notion of social protection in international development is still quite ambiguous. Most people would probably agree with the definition of social protection as:Who can provide social protection  and (ii) Which risks should be covered .At the same time, there is still disagreement on some feature of social protection, such as the following: (i) non-contributory transfers , (ii) social insurance (which is contributory and activated in case of contingencies only), (iii) micro-insurance, (iv) labour market policies (passive and active) and (v) social services   preventive function), providing support to those who are living in poverty (protective function) and enabling low-income earners escape from poverty (promotive function)  Loewe . Therebyn) Loewe . And socn) Loewe  and gendn) Loewe .transformational function by addressing the root causes of poverty and vulnerabilities, such as unequal power relations or unjust distribution of public resources. This function has been less explored so far, given the indirect link between many social protection programmes and transformational outcomes of interest, such as social equity and inclusion, empowerment and rights .However, social protection can also have a At the same time, social protection matters also for economic development , over the last years, equal emphasis has been placed on the relationship between individuals and state institutions   in Ethiopia—a food-sharing initiative between neighbours to counter the effects of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic . A socially cohesive society is one in which individuals can have different identities and yet live together in a peaceful way, and where a minority with a shared identity does not dominate the majority with a collective identity. In other words, different group identities tolerate, recognise and protect each other while state institutions support such tolerance for different identities. In cohesive societies, individuals can still have different group identities but they should also have a feeling of mutual belonging to a broader unity (the nation) that is more than the sum of its members and can bridge identities.The third attribute of social cohesion is There are still diverging views in the literature, especially regarding some potential ingredients of social cohesion. As stressed in a comprehensive review article by Schiefer and van der Noll , these iThere are good conceptual arguments for the assumption that social protection and social cohesion affect each other see Fig. .Fig. 1Macan have positive effects on all elements of social cohesion: inclusive identity, trust and cooperation for the common good.As highlighted in the second section of this article, the goal of social protection is to reduce poverty and vulnerability and to contribute to pro-poor growth  of beneficiaries but also to their trust in other members of society —even if these belong to other segments/groups of society . Their cooperation in the creation of a common good can foster the acceptance into a group of individuals from outside that group, and the acceptance and legitimacy of social protection schemes in a society.vertical trust—at least if they are implemented or financed by the state  have negative effects on citizens’ trust in the government. Lack of transparency can create feelings of unfairness and resentment as well, thereby worsening horizontal trust  but the entire population, or poor and other vulnerable groups in particular. Supposedly, this readiness is higher in countries with strong horizontal and vertical trust and cooperation for the common good. In addition, governments of countries with high social cohesion are less likely to face resistance against the implementation of social protection schemes for the poor and vulnerable. Recent studies in the context of Covid-19 have highlighted that trust in government is crucial for the selection of, and compliance with, containment policies . As a result, social protection schemes are more efficient and functional.Third, policy reception is possibly even more important. Where vertical trust in the government is strong, people rely on the continuity of social protection policies and schemes and hence are more likely to change their behaviour (e.g. invest savings rather than hoarding them because they feel safe). Where sense of belonging and horizontal trust are strong, beneficiaries are more likely to share their benefits with other households and invest in social capital. As a result, the effectiveness of social protection schemes increases, including their multiplier effects. For traditional social protection schemes (solidarity networks among neighbours and friends) based on societal structures, social cohesion is even more important. They cannot work without horizontal trust, and if horizontal trust and sense of belonging are particularly strong, traditional social protection schemes are even based on generalised, rather than balanced, reciprocity, i.e. they function like an insurance rather than a mutual credit club. Where people have lived together for most of their lives and hence can trust each other, they are ready to help relatives, neighbours and friends in need without an expectation that their support will ever be paid back. Everybody receives support from those who are able to provide it, and gives support whenever they can to whatever person is in need—but this other person is not necessarily the same person that has provided help before. The reciprocity is thus between individuals and the community rather than between individuals, such as in the case of balanced reciprocity , but they all share a common understanding. This facilitates a comparison of the findings across papers. Second, the articles look at several mechanisms linking social protection and social cohesion, and also represent a good balance between qualitative and quantitative methods. In addition, the aforementioned comparability advantage of the SI is strengthened by the different contexts and countries considered, as well as the different social protection programmes analysed, ranging from long-term to short-term ones, from conditional and unconditional cash transfers and public works schemes to graduation  programmesBurchi and Roscioli, for example, look at the effects of an integrated social protection programme on social cohesion in Malawi using a mixed-methods approach. Specifically, they exploit an experimental design and primary household data for about 800 households in total to investigate the impact of three different components of the programme on a set of indicators for the trust and cooperation attributes. Informed by the results of the econometric analysis, they then examine the contribution of one specific component—participation in the saving groups—through focus group discussions and individual interviews. The study shows no concrete effect of a lump-sum payment on social cohesion, but a positive effect of both the training and participation in savings groups on within-group trust and (economic and non-economic) cooperation. Conversely, vertical trust towards local institutions and horizontal trust towards other village members declined, in particular due to jealousy and tensions arising from the targeting of social protection. The authors thus underline the possible limitations of just giving cash, as well as the potential of savings groups.The majority of the articles advance our understanding of the effects of social protection on social cohesion. Beierl and Dodlova investigate whether a public works programme effects cooperation for the common good. The authors address this research question through quantitative analysis applied to primary and secondary data. The primary data, collected in two waves (2017 and 2019), cover 500 randomly selected households; secondary data are from the nationally representative integrated household survey conducted by the World Bank in three waves . The paper finds that the scheme improves cooperation among community members and speculates that this may, in turn, improve trust among community members and the perception of state institutions.Still in Malawi, Strupat examines the effects of social protection on social cohesion during a large covariate shock such as the Covid-19 pandemic in Kenya. He does so econometrically, by using a difference-in-difference model and household data collected before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. His analysis suggests that social assistance has no statistically significant preserving effect on social cohesion overall.Ongowo presents the results of qualitative research on the effects of social protection on social cohesion, focusing on street children in Kenya. The author conducted comprehensive qualitative content analysis of key informant interviews with twelve government officials, and in-depth qualitative interviews with twelve randomly selected former street children who previously benefited from social protection programmes. He finds that social protection can be an important tool to build social capital and solidarity. In particular, he concludes that social protection programmes improve the chances of street children developing a career, reduce public resentment towards street children and, thus, enhance various aspects of social cohesion.Zintl and Loewe in turn look at social cohesion in the context of state fragility and migration, with a focus on donor-funded programmes. They analyse the effects of public works/CfW programmes in Jordan on participants and non-participants, in both cases Syrian refugees and Jordanian locals, females and males. Their results are based on qualitative analysis of key informant interviews , four group discussions and quantitative analysis of a census among all participants of one specific CfW programme. The results confirm effects on the sense of belonging and horizontal trust of participants and non-participants, refugees and locals. They provide evidence in particular for a positive effect on women being more active in the economy and the society. The results for vertical trust, however, are more ambiguous because many Syrians and Jordanians attribute positive effects to donor support rather than to Jordanian authorities.Roelen et al. conduct extensive qualitative analysis to investigate the bi-directional relationship between social protection and social cohesion in Burundi and Haiti. In particular, key informant interviews and focus group discussions were performed with programme participants  and programme staff. Data collection was based on semi-structured discussions as well as interactive activities such as ranking exercises. They find that the existing programmes have strengthened some aspects of social cohesion, such as dignity and positive identity, whilst also having negative effects on others, such as sense of belonging and togetherness. However, they also find that social cohesion enhanced the positive effects of social protection programmes.Other papers in the SI look at the broader picture by also including the effects running from social cohesion to social protection. Malerba looks at social protection and social cohesion in the context of climate change mitigation. This is important, as climate mitigation policies are strictly related to socio-economic development in low- and middle-income countries. While some of the issues have been investigated in separate literatures, there was a lack of unifying framework or empirical analysis when considering the combined effects of social protection and social cohesion on the implementation of climate mitigation. In more detail, the econometric analysis employs data collected in 34 countries (24 high-income and 10 lower income) in a multilevel model framework. The data used collected preferences for environmental policies as well as other relevant information. The results show that social cohesion in the form of trust is positively correlated with support for climate mitigation. Conversely, social protection has positive effects only in high-income countries but not in middle-income countries; this suggests low complementarity between climate and social policies and higher prioritisation of social goals in lower-income contexts.In sum, the papers in this volume provide support and empirical evidence to different aspects of the relationship between social protection and social cohesion, as outlined in the conceptual framework. However, despite the important contribution that the SI makes to the topic, further research needs to be done on the remaining critical gaps. One of these is the impact of social cohesion on the effectiveness of social protection, as this SI focuses more on the inverse relationship. Such research can definitely benefit from applying the definitions of social protection and social cohesion used by all authors of the articles in this SI.Future research should also address the other gaps outlined in the first section. Social cohesion has become prominent only in recent years  and the relationship between social protection and social cohesion is not direct and straightforward. These facts make the empirical analysis challenging from a methodological point of view. Therefore, better data, which will hopefully become increasingly available, can improve the empirical evidence and the knowledge of these issues.And as a third research gap, it remains to be seen how the ongoing expansion of social protection programmes in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic (Gentilini et al.