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Public Opposition (public + opposition)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Humanities and Social Sciences40%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting40%

Selected Abstracts

Some simple economics of GM food

ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 33 2001
Dietmar Harhoff
Public opposition to the genetic engineering of food crops (GM food) has not been based solely on concern about biological risks. Economic risks have been widely cited too: the fear that the world's food supply will be concentrated in the hands of a few large firms, the fear that such firms will engage or are already engaging in anti,competitive practices, and the fear of the transfer of ownership rights over genetic resources to the private sector. Are these fears justified? We argue that the GM food industry may be on course for further consolidation, and this could be anti,competitive. In fact, policymakers face a dilemma: a stringent regulatory approval process enhances food safety, but at the cost of increasing market concentration. We argue also that the integration of seed and agri,chemical manufacturers may bias the introduction of GM traits in undesirable directions. Some business practices (such as tie,in contracts between seeds and complementary products such as herbicides) may have an exclusionary motive that warrants scrutiny on anti,competitive grounds, while some other practices (such as the use of terminator genes) appear more benign. Finally, we argue against granting patents on genes or even on gene ,functions'. Doing so may delay the development of socially beneficial applications. [source]

Rethinking NIMBYism: The role of place attachment and place identity in explaining place-protective action

JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY & APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2009
Patrick Devine-Wright
Abstract The ,NIMBY' (Not In My Back Yard) concept is commonly used to explain public opposition to new developments near homes and communities, particularly arising from energy technologies such as wind farms or electricity pylons. Despite its common use, the concept has been extensively critiqued by social scientists as a useful concept for research and practice. Given European policy goals to increase sustainable energy supply by 2020, deepening understanding of local opposition is of both conceptual and practical importance. This paper reviews NIMBY literature and proposes an alternative framework to explain local opposition, drawing upon social and environmental psychological theory on place. Local opposition is conceived as a form of place-protective action, which arises when new developments disrupt pre-existing emotional attachments and threaten place-related identity processes. Adopting a social constructivist perspective and drawing on social representation theory, a framework of place change is proposed encompassing stages of becoming aware, interpreting, evaluating, coping and acting, with each stage conceived at multiple levels of analysis, from intrapersonal to socio-cultural. Directions for future research and potential implications of the place-based approach for public engagement by energy policy-makers and practitioners are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

An econometric analysis of regional adoption patterns of Bt maize in Germany

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 3-4 2010
Nicola Consmüller
Bt maize; Genetically modified organisms (GMO); Germany; Panel data analysis Abstract In this study, our goal is to identify and explain the underlying factors that drive regional adoption of Bt maize MON810 in Germany. Since regional differences cannot be explained by the occurrence of the target pest alone, we assume that under the given regulatory framework for genetically modified (GM) crop production in Germany, farm structures as well as the sociopolitical environment have also influenced regional adoption rates during the past years. Following a description of the relevant legal and economic framework in Germany, we develop theoretical hypotheses for regional variation in Bt maize adoption and test them econometrically with unique data at the federal state (Laender) and county (Landkreis) level. According to our analysis at the federal state level, the maize acreage per farm is the main driver of Bt maize adoption. In addition, there are signs that public opposition to GM cultivation as measured by membership in the German Friends of the Earth association significantly dampens GM cultivation. At the level of Brandenburg counties, the regional infestation frequency of the European Corn Borer, the target pest of Bt-Maize, is the major determinant of adoption. Although Bt maize is a scale-neutral technology for controlling damages caused by the Corn Borer, additional fixed costs due to regulation make the technology scale dependent. [source]

Histories in red: Ways of seeing lynching in Ecuador

AMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST, Issue 1 2009
CHRISTOPHER KRUPA
ABSTRACT In this article, I examine the ways that ongoing "spectacle" lynchings in highland Ecuador have come to generate public opposition to the country's indigenous movement and the political transformations it advocates. Focusing my analysis on the recent lynching of an Afro-Ecuadorian migrant in a small Andean town, I argue for an approach to public violence that directs attention back to the body of the victim and the significations attached to it. I draw influence from studies of U.S. lynchings to ask about the relationship between visual representations of violence and constructions of political illegitimacy in rapidly transforming social formations. [violence, lynching, media, visuality, indigenous peoples, Ecuador, Latin America] [source]

Changing Public Opinion on Same-Sex Marriage: The Case of California

POLITICS & POLICY, Issue 1 2008
Gregory B. Lewis
Though public opposition to same-sex marriage seems reasonably stable nationally, support in California has grown substantially in the past two decades. Using data from six Field Polls of Californians since 1985, we explore the roots of that growth in individual attitude change and population changes. Cohort replacement can explain half the growth. Although all groups of Californians say that they have become more accepting of homosexual relations since they turned 18, the pattern is strongest for liberals, Democrats, and the less religious. These groups have also become much more supportive of same-sex marriage, while conservatives, Republicans, Protestants, and African-Americans appear at least as opposed today as they were two decades ago. [source]