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Public Support (public + support)
Selected AbstractsIMAGES OF GOD AND PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: DOES A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH A LOVING GOD MATTER?,CRIMINOLOGY, Issue 4 2006JAMES D. UNNEVER This study argues that the nature and intensity of a person's relationship with God creates a transposable cognitive schema that shapes people's views toward public policies such as executing convicted murderers. In this context, we investigate whether Americans who report having a close personal relationship with a loving God are less likely to support the death penalty. We hypothesize that such a relationship tempers the tendency to see punitiveness as an appropriate response to human failings. Individuals who hold a loving God image are more likely to believe that God responds to those who have "failed" or "sinned" by demonstrating unconditional love, forgiveness, and mercy. Accordingly, support for capital punishment is problematic because it contradicts the image of a merciful, forgiving deity; God's purpose,and admonition to believers,is to demonstrate compassion toward those who have trespassed against others. We test these possibilities using the 2004 General Social Survey (GSS). Controlling for a range of religious factors and other known predictors of death penalty attitudes, the results show that Americans with a personal relationship with a loving God are less likely to support capital punishment for convicted murderers. [source] The Role of Procedural Justice and Legitimacy in Shaping Public Support for PolicingLAW & SOCIETY REVIEW, Issue 3 2003Jason Sunshine This study explores two issues about police legitimacy. The first issue is the relative importance of police legitimacy in shaping public support of the police and policing activities, compared to the importance of instrumental judgments about (1) the risk that people will be caught and sanctioned for wrongdoing, (2) the performance of the police in fighting crime, and/or (3) the fairness of the distribution of police services. Three aspects of public support for the police are examined: public compliance with the law, public cooperation with the police, and public willingness to support policies that empower the police. The second issue is which judgments about police activity determine people's views about the legitimacy of the police. This study compares the influence of people's judgments about the procedural justice of the manner in which the police exercise their authority to the influence of three instrumental judgments: risk, performance, and distributive fairness. Findings of two surveys of New Yorkers show that, first, legitimacy has a strong influence on the public's reactions to the police, and second, the key antecedent of legitimacy is the fairness of the procedures used by the police. This model applies to both white and minority group residents. [source] Sowing Dragon's Teeth: Public Support for Political Violence and Paramilitarism in Northern IrelandPOLITICAL STUDIES, Issue 5 2001Bernadette C. Hayes While much attention has been devoted to political efforts to solve the Northern Ireland problem, less attention has been given to the role of political violence in sustaining the conflict. We argue that one of the reasons for the intractability of the conflict is widespread exposure to political violence among the civil population. By 1998, thirty years after the conflict started, one in seven of the population reported being a victim of violence; one in five had a family member killed or injured; and one in four had been caught up in an explosion. Such widespread exposure to violence exists alongside latent support for paramilitarism among a significant minority of both communities. Using 1998 survey data, we show that exposure to violence serves to enhance public support for paramilitary groups, as well as to reduce support for the decommissioning of para-military weapons. Overall, the results suggest that only a lengthy period without political violence will undermine support for paramilitarism and result in the decommissioning of weapons. [source] Building Public Support from the Grassroots Up: The Impact of Presidential Travel on State-Level ApprovalPRESIDENTIAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2005JEFFREY E. COHEN Presidential travel around the nation has become commonplace, yet very little research exists on its impact on public opinion. Although presidents "go public" for a variety of reasons, such as building and maintaining public support, existing research has been limited to examining the effects of going public on national-level support for the president. In this study, we argue that presidents target state publics (and other sub-national publics) when they travel around the nation. To test this possible linkage between travel and approval, we utilize data on presidential travel and newly available data on state-level presidential approval ratings. After controlling for various factors that affect the level of presidential approval at the state level, we find that a presidential visit results in a modest, statistically significant increase in the president's state-level job approval rating. Our analysis indicates that this effect is present only in non-election periods and in large states, suggesting that presidents are more likely to stimulate public support when appearing presidential rather than as candidates for office or as partisan leaders. [source] Evaluating the Conservation Mission of Zoos, Aquariums, Botanical Gardens, and Natural History MuseumsCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2004BRIAN MILLER Many of these institutions emphasize a mission of conservation, and, undeniably, they do contribute directly to conservation education and conservation science. They present an exceptional opportunity for many urban residents to see the wonders of life, and they can contribute to education and habitat preservation. Because many collection-based institutions now hold a stated mission of conservation, we suggest eight potential questions to evaluate actions toward that mission: (1) Does conservation thought define policy decisions? (2) Is there sufficient organizational funding for conservation activities? (3) Is there a functional conservation department? (4) Does the institution advocate for conservation? (5) Do conservation education programs effectively target children and adults? (6) Does the institution contribute directly to habitat protection locally and internationally? (7) Do exhibits explain and promote conservation efforts? and (8) Do internal policies and activities protect the environment? These questions are offered as a place to begin discussion. We hope they will help employees and administrators of a collection-based institution (and citizens of the surrounding community) think about and support their institution's conservation activities. Public support and praise for institutions that are striving toward solutions for conservation problems and pressure on organizations that are moving more slowly toward a conservation orientation can help shift more resources toward saving nature. Resumen:,Las instituciones basadas en colecciones (zoológicos, acuarios, museos y jardines botánicos) exhiben vida silvestre. Por lo tanto, tienen una conexión especial con la naturaleza. Muchas de estas instituciones destacan una misión de conservación y, sin duda contribuyen directamente a la educación y la ciencia de la conservación. Brindan una oportunidad excepcional para que muchos residentes urbanos vean las maravillas de la vida, y pueden contribuir a la educación y a la preservación del hábitat. Debido a que en la actualidad muchas de las instituciones basadas en colecciones tienen una misión de conservación manifiesta, sugerimos ocho preguntas potenciales para evaluar las acciones hacia el cumplimiento de esa misión: (1) ¿Las consideraciones sobre la conservación definen las decisiones sobre políticas? (2) ¿Hay suficiente financiamiento organizacional para las actividades de conservación? (3) ¿Hay un departamento de conservación que funcione? (4) ¿La institución aboga por la conservación? (5) ¿Los programas de educación en conservación se enfocan eficientemente sobre niños y adultos? (6) ¿La institución contribuye directamente a la conservación del hábitat a nivel local e internacional? (7) ¿Las exhibiciones explican y promueven los esfuerzos de conservación? y (8) ¿Las políticas y actividades internas protegen el ambiente? Estas preguntas se ofrecen como un marco para iniciar la discusión. Esperamos que ayuden a los empleados y administradores de una institución basada en colecciones (y a los ciudadanos de la comunidad en la que se encuentra) a reflexionar sobre las actividades de conservación de su institución y lograr que las apoyen. El apoyo y el reconocimiento público de aquellas instituciones que pugnan por soluciones para los problemas de conservación y la presión sobre aquellas organizaciones que se están moviendo más lentamente hacia una orientación de conservación pueden ayudar a destinar más recursos para salvaguardar la naturaleza. [source] Public Perceptions of BiotechnologyJOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE, Issue 9 2002K. Blaine ABSTRACT: Through commercial application, biotechnology may improve health, agriculture, farming practices and the quality of foods. However, along with the array of potential benefits are potential risks and uncertainties surrounding the commercial applications of biotechnology. Public support for a controversial technology such as agricultural biotechnology is crucial for deriving any benefits associated with the technology. Surveys are one tool to gauge public reactions and attitudes over time, and in identifying underlying concerns regarding a technology. This review article is built on the results of a collection of public opinion surveys on some aspects of biotechnology and its applications that have been conducted to date. [source] Constitutionalism and credibility in reforming economies1THE ECONOMICS OF TRANSITION, Issue 3 2006Raj M. Desai D72; D73; P20; P26 Abstract There has been relatively little investigation of the effect of constitutional transformations on the economic transition in post-communist countries. We develop a simple signalling model in which constitutionalism , a commitment to limit political power and provide judicial defence of basic rights , reinforces the credibility of pro-market candidates' electoral promises and boosts public support for economic reforms. These findings are tested using opinion poll data on public support for reform in Central and Eastern Europe, and in the former Soviet Union, in the 1990s. In a two-stage procedure we show that public support for market reforms is higher in countries where incumbents have taken deliberate steps to increase political accountability and judicial independence. Public support also spurs actual economic reform. [source] PUBLIC PREFERENCES FOR REHABILITATION VERSUS INCARCERATION OF JUVENILE OFFENDERS: EVIDENCE FROM A CONTINGENT VALUATION SURVEY,CRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 4 2006DANIEL S. NAGIN Research Summary: Accurately gauging the public's support for alternative responses to juvenile offending is important, because policy makers often justify expenditures for punitive juvenile justice reforms on the basis of popular demand for tougher policies. In this study, we assess public support for both punitively and nonpunitively oriented juvenile justice policies by measuring respondents' willingness to pay for various policy proposals. We employ a methodology known as "contingent valuation" (CV) that permits the comparison of respondents' willingness to pay (WTP) for competing policy alternatives. Specifically, we compare CV-based estimates for the public's WTP for two distinctively different responses to serious juvenile crime: incarceration and rehabilitation. An additional focus of our analysis is an examination of the public's WTP for an early childhood prevention program. The analysis indicates that the public is at least as willing to pay for rehabilitation as punishment for juvenile offenders and that WTP for early childhood prevention is also substantial. Implications and future research directions are outlined. Policy Implications: The findings suggest that lawmakers should more actively consider policies grounded in rehabilitation, and, perhaps, be slower to advocate for punitive reforms in response to public concern over high-profile juvenile crimes. Additionally, our willingness to pay findings offer encouragement to lawmakers who are uncomfortable with the recent trend toward punitive juvenile justice policies and would like to initiate more moderate reforms. Such lawmakers may be reassured that the public response to such initiatives will not be hostile. Just as importantly, reforms that emphasize leniency and rehabilitation can be justified economically as welfare-enhancing expenditures of public funds. The evidence that the public values rehabilitation more than increased incarceration should be important information to cost-conscious legislators considering how to allocate public funds. Cost-conscious legislatures may become disenchanted with punitive juvenile justice policies on economic grounds and pursue policies that place greater emphasis on rehabilitation. They may be reassured, on the basis of our findings, that the public will support this move. [source] EXECUTING THE INNOCENT AND SUPPORT FOR CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC POLICYCRIMINOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 1 2005JAMES D. UNNEVER Research Summary: The issue of whether innocent people have been executed is now at the center of the debate concerning the legitimacy of capital punishment. The purpose of this research was to use data collected by the Gallup Organization in 2003 to investigate whether Americans who believed that an innocent person had been executed were less likely to support capital punishment. We also explored whether the association varied by race, given that African Americans are disproportionately affected by the death penalty. Our results indicated that three-quarters of Americans believed that an innocent person had been executed for a crime they did not commit within the last five years and that this belief was associated with lower levels of support for capital punishment, especially among those who thought this sanction was applied unfairly. In addition, our analyses revealed that believing an innocent person had been executed had a stronger association with altering African American than white support for the death penalty. Policy Implications: A key claim of death penalty advocates is that a high proportion of the public supports capital punishment. In this context, scholars opposing this sanction have understood the importance of showing that the public's support for executing offenders is contingent and shallower than portrayed by typical opinion polls. The current research joins this effort by arguing that the prospect of executing innocents potentially impacts public support for the death penalty and, in the least, creates ideological space for a reconsideration of the legitimacy of capital punishment. [source] Corruption in emergency procurementDISASTERS, Issue 4 2008Jessica Schultz Corruption in emergency procurement reduces the resources available for life-saving operations, lowers the quality of products and services provided, and diverts aid from those who need it most., It also negatively influences public support for humanitarian relief, both in the affected country and abroad. This paper aims to unpack and analyse the following question in order to mitigate risk: how and where does corruption typically occur, and what can be done? Suggested strategies reflect a multi-layered approach that stresses internal agency control mechanisms, conflict-sensitive management, and the need for common systems among operators. [source] Regulatory measures against Erwinia amylovora in Switzerland,EPPO BULLETIN, Issue 2 2005B. Duffy Switzerland joined the list of fireblight-affected European countries in 1989. Vigorous and systematic steps were taken to limit the impact of the disease on fruit production and amenity plants. These efforts are codified in a Swiss law detailing prevention, eradication, control measures and issues of compensation. As with many Swiss legal directives, there is a defined coordination of federal and cantonal responsibilities and, in the case of fireblight, there is also an emphasis at all levels on personal responsibility of owners of susceptible objects (e.g. nurseries, orchards, host plants). Extension activities have been a key component in achieving compliance with disease management regulations and in obtained public support for control efforts. Agroscope FAW Wädenswil has taken a leading role in this respect through its website http://www.feuerbrand.ch. [source] Who inhabits the European public sphere?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2007Winners, losers, opponents in Europeanised political debates, supporters This article investigates which actors profit from and which actors stand to lose from the Europeanisation of political communication in mass-mediated public spheres. Furthermore, it asks to what extent these effects of Europeanisation can help one to understand collective actors' evaluation of European institutions and the integration process. Data is analysed on some 20,000 political claims by a variety of collective actors, drawn from 28 newspapers in seven European countries in the period 1990,2002, across seven different issue fields with varying degrees of EU policy-making power. The results show that government and executive actors are by far the most important beneficiaries of the Europeanisation of public debates compared to legislative and party actors, and even more so compared to civil society actors, who are extremely weakly represented in Europeanised public debates. The stronger is the type of Europeanisation that is considered, the stronger are these biases. For most actors, a close correspondence is found between how Europeanisation affects their influence in the public debate, on the one hand, and their public support for, or opposition to, European institutions and the integration process, on the other. [source] European Democracy, the ,Permissive Consensus' and the Collapse of the EU ConstitutionEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 3 2007Achim Hurrelmann Its failure demonstrates the need to pay greater attention to the nature of public support for the EU, and to the ways in which this support is related to the democratic quality of EU institutions. Contrary to what is often assumed, EU support can still be quite adequately described by the figure of a ,permissive consensus'. For better or worse, attempts to democratise EU institutions might undermine this form of support. [source] Information Linkages in Local Economic DevelopmentGROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 3 2000Stephan Weiler Profitable private investments may be bypassed in struggling regions due precisely to such regions' isolation, leading to a self-reinforcing cycle of marginalization. In many cases, development in such regions may be most effectively promoted by providing key information to the private and public sectors, thus addressing potentially significant market failures. In the case study project, the calculation of private and social returns have been particularly crucial in sparking both private investor interest and public support of this business venture. The project's example suggests an updated role for universities in the assistance of productive economic development programs. [source] Designing for conservation of insects in the built environmentINSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY, Issue 4 2008MARYCAROL R. HUNTER Abstract., 1The conservation of insects is not a priority for most urban dwellers, yet can be accomplished in urban settings by the careful design of urban nature. Our goal is to foster cross-talk between practitioners of insect conservation biology who develop the knowledge base and professional design practitioners who are poised to apply this knowledge in designs and management plans for urban green space. The collaborative product promises a built environment that promotes human well-being and urban beauty while maximizing the potential for the conservation of insects. 2There is precedence for collaboration between science and design communities to achieve conservation, and existing professional and civic organizations offer a structure to formalize and expand collaboration. Design professionals, particularly landscape architects, are trained to support insect conservation in the urban landscape through land planning and ecological site design. 3Ecological site design is based in principles of sustainability and so must address the well being of humans and nature simultaneously. This powerful approach for insect conservation is illustrated in examples from around the world focusing on roadway-easement corridors, stormwater management areas, and greenroofs. 4To improve insect conservation and its public support we offer recommendations, organized in response to cultural aspects of sustainability. Considerations include: a) social drivers for support of conservation practices, b) public perception of urban space, c) applying conservation biology principles in urban areas, and d) merging insect conservation goals with human cultural demands. [source] National pension systems and mass opinion: a case study of confidence, satisfaction and political attitudes in NorwayINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 2 2004Ann-Helén Bay It is commonly assumed that popular support for national pension systems depends on widespread satisfaction with projected benefit levels among the working age population, and in particular that public support for the system will be jeopardised if the taxpayers do not feel confident about eventually receiving the promised benefits. On the basis of Norwegian survey data, two sets of questions are addressed in the article: (1) Is there a widespread lack of confidence in and satisfaction with the Norwegian National Insurance pension scheme? and (2) Is there an association between confidence and satisfaction and people's political attitudes towards the National Insurance pension scheme? Although we do not find any signs of a dramatic erosion of confidence towards the system, we do find that overall satisfaction with projected benefits is low among the working age population. Contrary to what one might expect, however, confidence and satisfaction from the point of view of individual interests appear not to be associated with a political preference for privatisation. [source] Solidarity put to the test.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE, Issue 4 2000Health, social care in the UK As welfare states experience challenges from ideological and funding sources, the position of the United Kingdom represents an important case study. Apparently under severe attack for its perceived failures to deliver efficiency, effectiveness and social justice, there remains a continued high level of public support for `nationalised' health and social care. The paper explores the nature of the fissures in the systems and the data which indicates enduring solidarity. [source] Message in a Metro: Building Urban Rail Infrastructure and Image in Delhi, IndiaINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006MATTI SIEMIATYCKI The world over, infrastructure mega projects have become more prevalent, even as evidence suggests that such projects often experience significant cost overruns while failing to fully deliver on their projected benefits. In this light, this article will argue that continued support for infrastructure mega projects stems from the way that such projects are presented to the public. Using the case of the development of a metro railway in Delhi, India, it shows that galvanizing public support and attracting patrons to a public transit system stems from creating an all-round positive image that combines tangible variables with an intangible set of symbolic meanings. Of course, image is only an impression, and does not necessarily reflect reality. In this light, the final section of this article examines the broad physical and societal implications of the metro development in Delhi, and uncovers the driving forces behind the project. The article concludes that, in spite of the cultivation of a positive image, the specific metro form that was developed in Delhi to satisfy each of the special interest groups involved in its production might be specifically one that fails to suit the transportation needs of the city. [source] Preventive War and Democratic PoliticsINTERNATIONAL STUDIES QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2008Chicago, Presidential Address to the International Studies Association March I define the concept of preventive war, distinguish it from preemption and other sources of better-now-than-later logic, and examine numerous conceptual issues that confound theoretical and empirical analyses of prevention. I then consider the argument that democracies rarely if ever adopt preventive war strategies because such strategies are contrary to the preferences of democratic publics and to the values and identities of democratic states. I examine a number of historical cases of anticipated power shifts by democratic states, and analyze the motivations for war and the mobilization of public support for war. The evidence contradicts both the descriptive proposition that democracies do not adopt preventive war strategies and causal propositions about the constraining effects of democratic institutions and democratic political cultures. [source] Government, media and decision making in blood transfusionISBT SCIENCE SERIES: THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTRACELLULAR TRANSPORT, Issue 1 2007J. P. AuBuchon Ensuring continued financial and moral support of a transfusion system's operation is essential. Although the public remains concerned about problems that have been greatly reduced in magnitude, such as HIV and HCV, we will need to engage them in the problems we now wish to address that are less well-known to them. To do this, we will need to present the information in formats that they understand, framed in ways that are most likely to result in public support. While acknowledging the psychological factors that provoke dread and outrage in the media, presenting all that we know in an open manner and engaging the public through transparent decision making should provide us their support to tackle the problems that pose the greatest risk to their safety when transfused. [source] Nursing profession in Iran: An overview of opportunities and challengesJAPAN JOURNAL OF NURSING SCIENCE, Issue 1 2010Zahra FARSI Abstract Aim:, Iran's health-care system has witnessed profound changes in the last decades. Despite its progress, the system has currently faced many challenges in one of the important subsystems, nursing. The present review article aimed to present an overview of the opportunities and challenges of the Iranian nursing system, based on recent literature. Methods:, A broad search of the English and Persian-language literature was carried out, incorporating both electronic and manual components from 1999 to 2009. The results of the investigations among the searched literature are summarized. Results:, The major challenges are nursing shortages, job dissatisfaction, poor social position of nurses, the gap between theory and practice, lack of community-based nursing care, lack of an appropriate student recruiting system, and shortages in the nursing educational curriculums. Conclusion:, The authors believe that media, political and public support play a pivotal role in improving the image of nursing in society, increasing motivation among Iranian nurses, and promoting the sociocultural climate and the welfare of nurses, which will result in higher levels of quality of care as well as greater patient satisfaction. [source] Determinants of Voter Support for a Five-Year Ban on the Cultivation of Genetically Modified Crops in SwitzerlandJOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 3 2008Felix Schläpfer D62; D72; Q26 Abstract While much effort has been devoted to estimating market premiums for non-genetically modified (GM) food, the results of such research are largely silent about the preferences for the public good aspects, or externalities, of GM food production. For public goods, the closest substitute of private consumption decisions is voting on referenda. In November 2005, 55.7% of 2 million Swiss voters approved a five-year moratorium (ban) on the commercial cultivation of GM plants in Switzerland. The present study examines how individual voting decisions were determined by: (i) socioeconomic characteristics; (ii) political preference/ideology; and (iii) agreement with a series of arguments in favour and against the use of GM plants in Swiss agriculture. The analysis is based on the data of the regular voter survey undertaken after the national-level voting in Switzerland. The results suggest that current concerns about the use of genetically engineered plants in agriculture may not automatically decrease with higher levels of education/knowledge and generational change. Furthermore, analysis of voter motives suggests that public support for a ban on GM crops may be even larger in other countries, where industrial interests in crop biotechnology are less pronounced. [source] Do Local Landscape Patterns Affect the Demand for Landscape Amenities Protection?JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2003Felix Schläpfer Agricultural support is increasingly flowing into the maintenance and improvement of landscape quality. While variations in the demand for landscape protection have been successfully attributed to variations in socio-economic characteristics, the effect of the local landscape setting as a potential determinant of environmental preferences has received less attention. A framework is formulated that describes public support for regional landscape protection as a function of socio-economic variables and land use patterns. Models are then estimated using detailed local land use statistics and voting records from a referendum on increasing public funding for local landscape amenities protection in the Swiss canton of Zurich. The land use variables represent proportions of open landscape and landscape features that are viewed as particularly valuable for aesthetic and other reasons. Cross-sectional estimation results suggest that attitudes towards public landscape protection are indeed strongly associated with the local landscape. Approval for protection programmes increased with local scarcity of open space and with the presence of high-amenity landscape features. Comparison with referendum outcomes on a national-level environmental issue suggests that the positive association with high-amenity landscape features may be partly attributable to individuals' self-selection of residency. [source] Hunting for large carnivore conservationJOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY, Issue 6 2009Adrian Treves Summary 1. Carnivores are difficult to conserve because of direct and indirect competition with people. Public hunts are increasingly proposed to support carnivore conservation. This article reviews scientific evidence for the effectiveness of public hunts of large carnivores in attaining three common policy goals: stable carnivore populations, preventing conflict with carnivores (property damage and competition over game) and building public support for carnivore conservation. 2. Sustainable exploitation of stable wildlife populations has a solid, scientific foundation but the theory and its predictions must be adapted to complex patterns of carnivore behavioural ecology and population dynamics that demand years of landscape-level monitoring to understand fully. 3. A review of the evidence that hunting prevents property damage or reduces competition for game reveals large gaps in our understanding. Reducing the number of large carnivores to protect hunters' quarry species seems straightforward but we still know little about behavioural and ecological responses of the contested prey and sympatric meso-predators. For reducing property damage, the direct effect , numerical reduction in problematic individual carnivores , presents numerous obstacles, whereas the indirect effect , behavioural avoidance of humans by hunted carnivores , holds more promise. 4. Scientific measures of public support for carnivore-hunting policies are almost completely lacking, particularly measures of attitudes among hunters before and after controversial wildlife is designated as legal game species. Moreover, illegal killing of carnivores does not appear to diminish if they are designated as game. 5.Synthesis and applications. Sustainable hunting to maintain stable populations is well understood in theory but complex life histories of carnivores, and behavioural changes of hunters and the carnivores they stalk may result in unsustainable mortality for carnivores. The direct impact of hunting on carnivore damage to property is unclear and even doubtful given the inability or unwillingness of hunters to remove specific individuals selectively. However, hunters may indirectly deter carnivores from people and their property. The assumption that hunters will steward carnivores simply because they have in the past helped conserve other game species requires more study as preliminary results suggest it is incorrect. Policy-makers may achieve support for policy if they mesh utilitarian and preservationist values held by the general public. A number of opposed hypotheses should be disentangled before researchers confidently inform policy on sustainable hunting to prevent conflicts and build public support for carnivore conservation. [source] Wanted, Dead or Alive: Media Frames, Frame Adoption, and Support for the War in AfghanistanJOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 1 2007Jill A. Edy This paper attempts to measure the impact of naturally occurring media frames on public support for a policy. Content analysis of network nightly news during late October of 2001 reveals that U.S. media framed the events of September 11 in terms of both war and crime. A concurrent survey of 328 Tennesseans reveals that rather than adopting either a war frame or a crime frame, audiences combined elements of these media frames in various ways and that their subsequent understanding of the events of September 11 had an impact on their support for the war in Afghanistan. The results reveal the complexity of the framing phenomenon in natural environments and suggest the need for better measures of how audiences perceive media frames as well as further investigation into framing as a means of coalition building. Résumé Recherché mort ou vif:Cadrage médiatique, adoption de cadres et soutien à la guerre en Afghanistan Cet article tente de mesurer l'effet des cadres médiatiques qui opèrent naturellement sur le soutien public à l'égard d'une politique. L'analyse de contenu des bulletins d'actualité du soir diffusés en réseau au cours de la fin du mois d'octobre 2001 révèle que les médias aux États-Unis ont cadré les événements du 11 septembre en des termes associés à la guerre et au crime. Un sondage mené simultanément auprès de 328 répondants du Tennessee révèle quant à lui que, plutôt que d'adopter un cadre de guerre ou de crime, les publics ont conjugué les composantes de ce cadrage médiatique de diverses manières et que leur compréhension subséquente des événements du 11 septembre a influencé leur soutien à la guerre en Afghanistan. Les résultats révèlent la complexité du phénomène du cadrage dans les environnements naturels. Ils suggèrent le besoin de mieux mesurer la perception par le public des cadres médiatiques et d'approfondir l'étude du cadrage comme moyen de construction de la coalition. Abstract Gesucht, tot oder lebendig:Medien-Frames, Frame-Aneignung und die Befürwortung des Afghanistan-Krieges Vorliegende Studie misst, welchen Einfluss natürlich auftretende Medien-Frames auf die öffentliche Unterstützung einer politischen Maßnahme (Krieg) haben. Eine Inhaltsanalyse der Abendnachrichten (Network-News) im Oktober 2001 zeigte, dass die Ereignisse des 11. September in US-amerikanische Medien sowohl als Krieg als auch Verbrechen geframt wurden. Eine zeitgleiche Umfrage von 328 Einwohnern des Staates Tennessee verdeutlichte, dass Zuschauer nicht den einen oder anderen Frame adaptierten, sondern Elemente des Kriegs- und des Verbrechens-Frames auf verschiedenste Art kombinierten. Die Art und Weise der Adaption beider Frames und das daraus resultierendes Verständnis der Ereignisse des 11. September zeigten wiederum einen Einfluss auf die Befürwortung des Kriegs in Afghanistan. Die Ergebnisse untermauern die postulierte Komplexität des Framing-Phänomens in natürlichen Umgebungen. Konsequenterweise müssen bessere Messinstrumente eingesetzt werden, die erfassen können, wie Zuschauer Medien-Frames wahrnehmen. Darüber hinaus sollten Forschungsbemühungen hinsichtlich der Rolle von Frames als Mittel zur Koalitionsbildung unternommen werden. Resumen Buscado, Muerto ó Vivo: Los Encuadres de los Medios Masivos, la Adopción de Encuadres, y el Apoyo a la Guerra en Afganistán Este artículo intenta medir el impacto de los encuadres de los medios masivos que ocurren naturalmente en el apoyo público a una política. Un análisis de contenido de redes de noticias nocturnas a finales del mes de Octubre del 2001 revela que los medios masivos de los Estados Unidos encuadraron los eventos del 11 de Septiembre en términos de guerra y crimen. Una encuesta simultánea de 328 individuos del estado de Tennessee reveló que en vez de adoptar la guerra ó el crimen como encuadres, las audiencias combinaron elementos de los encuadres de los medios masivos en varias maneras y que su entendimiento posterior de los eventos del 11 de Septiembre tuvo un impacto en el apoyo a la guerra en Afganistán. Los resultados muestran la complejidad del fenómeno del framing en contextos naturales y sugiere la necesidad de obtener mejores formas de medir cómo las audiencias perciben los encuadres de los medios masivos, así como también, la necesidad de realizar más investigaciones sobre el framing como una forma de construir coaliciones. ZhaiYao Yo yak [source] Stakeholder Perspectives about Marine Oil Spill Response Objectives: A Comparative Q Study of Four RegionsJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2009Seth Tuler Marine oil spills can cause major social, economic, and ecological disruptions. Spill response managers must weigh different options and objectives when deciding what to do. We investigated the ways in which preferences for spill response objectives vary among those who are responsible for oil spill contingency planning and response in Buzzards Bay, Delaware Bay, San Francisco Bay, and Washington State regions. We begin this paper with a discussion of the research method used in the study: the Q method. In Buzzards Bay, Delaware Bay, and San Francisco Bay three perspectives were identified in each case. In Washington State, two perspectives were identified. An analysis of the 11 case-specific perspectives reveals that they can be described by four ,composite' perspectives that describe how different stakeholders prioritize spill response objectives. These four perspectives are compared on several themes, including the emphasis they placed on mitigating economic impacts, protecting health and safety, mitigating ecological impacts, implementing a coordinated and timely response, addressing the needs and concerns of the affected public/communities, gaining public support for the response, mitigating cultural impacts, and mitigating social nuisance impacts. The implications for spill response planning and spill response evaluation are discussed. [source] Privacy and Commercial Use of Personal Data: Policy Developments in the United StatesJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2003Priscilla Regan In the online and offline worlds, the value of personal information , especially information about commercial purchases and preferences , has long been recognised. Exchanges and uses of personal information have also long sparked concerns about privacy. Public opinion surveys consistently indicate that overwhelming majorities of the American public are concerned that they have lost all control over information about themselves and do not trust organisations to protect the privacy of their information. Somewhat smaller majorities favour federal legislation to protect privacy. Despite public support for stronger privacy protection, the prevailing policy stance for over thirty years has been one of reluctance to legislate and a preference for self-regulation by business to protect privacy. Although some privacy legislation has been adopted, policy debates about the commercial uses of personal information have been dominated largely by business concerns about intrusive government regulation, free speech and the flow of commercial information, costs, and effectiveness. Public concerns about privacy, reflected in public opinion surveys and voiced by a number of public interest groups, are often discredited because individuals seem to behave as though privacy is not important. Although people express concern about privacy, they routinely disclose personal information because of convenience, discounts and other incentives, or a lack of understanding of the consequences. This disconnect between public opinion and public behaviour has been interpreted to support a self-regulatory approach to privacy protections with emphasis on giving individuals notice and choice about information practices. In theory the self-regulatory approach also entails some enforcement mechanism to ensure that organisations are doing what they claim, and a redress mechanism by which individuals can seek compensation if they are wronged. This article analyses the course of policy formulation over the last twenty years with particular attention on how policymakers and stakeholders have used public opinion about the commercial use of personal information in formulating policy to protect privacy. The article considers policy activities in both Congress and the Federal Trade Commission that have resulted in an emphasis on "notice and consent." The article concludes that both individual behaviour and organisational behaviour are skewed in a privacy invasive direction. People are less likely to make choices to protect their privacy unless these choices are relatively easy, obvious, and low cost. If a privacy protection choice entails additional steps, most rational people will not take those steps. This appears logically to be true and to be supported by behaviour in the physical world. Organisations are unlikely to act unilaterally to make their practices less privacy invasive because such actions will impose costs on them that are not imposed on their competitors. Overall then, the privacy level available is less than what the norms of society and the stated preferences of people require. A consent scheme that is most protective of privacy imposes the largest burden on the individual, as well as costs to the individual, while a consent scheme that is least protective of privacy imposes the least burden on the individual, as well as fewer costs to the individual. Recent experience with privacy notices that resulted from the financial privacy provisions in Gramm-Leach-Bliley supports this conclusion. Finally, the article will consider whether the terrorist attacks of 11 September have changed public opinion about privacy and what the policy implications of any changes in public opinion are likely to be. [source] Gains and structural effects of exploiting scale-economies in Norwegian dairy productionAGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2001Knut Løyland Dairy production; Economies of scale; Cost functions; Technical change Abstract In this paper, we present calculations of the economic gains in terms of reduced costs by exploiting scale-economies in dairy production in Norway, and the effect this would have had on the number of farms. We also explore whether or not optimal scale and unexploited scale-economies change over time due to scale-augmenting technical change. The analysis is based on homothetic cost functions estimated by means of data for individual dairy farms for the period 1972,1996. For 1972, we find that, by full exploitation of scale-economies, the costs could have been reduced by almost 40%, while the number of farms would have been reduced by more than 85%. The number of small farms has been substantially reduced in the period considered. This fact, combined with small scale-augmenting technical change, implies that the gains and structural effects of exploiting scale-economies have decreased over time. In 1996, costs could have been reduced by close to 30% by full exploitation of scale-economies, while the number of farms would have been reduced by slightly more than 70%. Thus, both gains and structural effects are substantially less than in 1972. Nevertheless, the calculated gains for 1996 make almost 5 billion NOK. This corresponds almost exactly to the total public support to the dairy farms in 1996. The unexploited scale-economies are largely due to the agricultural policy. Thus, a substantial share of the same can be considered as part of the,price' the Norwegian society has to pay for this policy. In addition, there are likely to be large hidden costs of this policy due in particular to the quota system and other direct production regulations. They imply that technical innovations and other efficiency-improving investments requiring increased production to be profitable are not carried out. This is the more likely explanation for the extremely poor efficiency development in Norwegian dairy production in the period studied. [source] Public (Interest) or Private (Gain)?JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 2 2007The Curious Case of Network Rail's Status This paper develops Whitehouse's 2003 examination of the creation of Network Rail, a case study of New Labour's attempt to operationalize the ,third way'. Significant changes have occurred since 2003 which make Network Rail's position as a private company with private sector debt appear increasingly anomalous. These changes include: the reclassification of the debt of another rail company from private to public, and the introduction of,imputed debt'into public sector debt measurement; new funding arrangements for Network Rail which make it heavily dependent on public support; and important rail regulatory policy changes. The paper analyses these changes, and revisits White-house's conclusions. In particular, this paper challenges Whitehouse's contention that Network Rail's creation led to the de facto renationalization of the railway infrastructure at a reduced public cost. The paper demonstrates that Network Rail is a very expensive mechanism for channelling public money to private companies, and argues that the Labour government's attempt to maintain the company's private sector status as part of its third way approach is ultimately untenable. [source] Problems with the ,language-as-resource' discourse in the promotion of heritage languages in the U.S.A.JOURNAL OF SOCIOLINGUISTICS, Issue 3 2005Thomas Ricento In the United States, language ,rights' have been tethered to ethnic or racial entitlements as a means to redress historical patterns of discrimination and exclusion. The perception that language ,rights' are about the redress of past wrongs has had negative effects on efforts to gain broad public support for the teaching and maintenance of languages other than English. The language-as-resource orientation (Ruiz 1984) is considered as an alternative to a language rights approach. However, analysis of texts produced by advocates of the heritage language movement reveals the shortcomings of the language-as-resource metaphor in advancing broad-based support for the teaching, maintenance, and use of minority languages in the U.S. While efforts to promote heritage language education as a national strategic priority may result in short-term governmental support, wider and more sustained popular support for such programs will require significant modifications in the underlying values and ideologies about the status and role of languages other than English in education and public life. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||