Public Familiarity Research Articles

Public Familiarity with Geothermal Energy on the North American West Coast

The 2013 Pacific Coast Action Plan on Climate and Energy signed by the Governors of Oregon, California, and Washington and the Premier of British Columbia, launched a broadly announced public commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through multiple strategies. Those strategies include the development and increased use of renewable energy sources. The initiative recognized that citizens are both a central component to abating greenhouse gas emissions with regard to their energy use behaviors, and are important participants in the public policymaking process at both provincial/state and local levels of government. The study reported here examines public familiarity with geothermal energy, and the information sources used by the public to inform themselves about renewable energy technologies such as geothermal energy. The research results are based on surveys of randomly selected households conducted throughout the region.

Candidate spending and success in Israel’s party primaries: How far does money go?

The last decade has seen an upswing in and expansion of party primaries as a means of selecting legislative candidates in many parliamentary democracies. Yet, while most democracies around the world regulate the financial aspects of general elections, the same cannot be said for these intraparty contests. The absence of financial regulation in party primaries may explain why the effect of candidate spending on success has received so little attention in the literature. The current study seeks to investigate to what extent candidates’ spending affects their success, focusing on Israel’s legislative primary elections. Although the Israeli Party Law sets expenditure ceilings with the aim of leveling the playing field, there is considerable variance in the amount of money candidates raise, invest, and spend. This variance allows us to test the relationship between candidates’ expenditure and their success. Based on reports by the State Comptroller and on formal results of primary elections, we analyze seven primary contests that were held in three political parties between 2008 and 2015. Candidates’ success is measured in two ways: (1) the number of votes each candidate received, and (2) whether the candidate was elected to parliament. Our findings point to a strong positive correlation between the amount of money spent and the number of votes received. However, when factors such as incumbency and public familiarity are considered, the picture is more nuanced.

Making testers out of teachers: the work of a Swedish State Research Institute 1946–1956

ABSTRACTBetween 1946 and 1956, the Swedish Psychological and Pedagogical Institute (SPPI) organised several summer courses for the purpose of training teachers in intelligence testing. The aim of the courses was to make these teachers the first gatekeepers who would meet and direct the youngest pupils into ordinary classes or into special classes. This paper investigates the course leaders and the participants in these courses, as well as the content taught. It is argued that these testing courses are examples of a shift in assessment in education from trusting teachers’ ‘judgements’ of pupils’ skills and abilities to externally standardising the ‘measure’ of these merits. It is also argued that researchers and teachers were part of a larger change in the politics of IQ. SPPI’s role within this process was that of a new and modern institution serving society: making IQ testing a public familiarity and the stratification of children that often followed from it.

Donald Trump tweets the 2014 Ebola outbreak: The infectious nature of apocalyptic counterpublic rhetoric and constitution of an exaggerated health crisis

In 2014, a deadly Ebola virus outbreak caught the world’s attention. At the height of this crisis, future president of the United States, Donald Trump, tweeted about Ebola’s threat to Americans.Throughout the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the vibrant nature of, and public familiarity with, apocalyptic frames allowed the rhetoric of social media users, like Trump, to constitute an apocalyptic counterpublic where unsubstantiated claims increased public panic in the United States. This article demonstrates that health crises, like the 2014 Ebola outbreak, can be exaggerated through communication from traditional media, government institutions, and social media.

Making ‘real astronomy’ visible to the public

The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan has been working to increase public familiarity with astronomy. Here we introduce our outreach activities, including the development of interactive tools that make NAOJ data visible to the public.

Neighbourhood social inclusion from the perspective of people with intellectual disabilities: Relevant themes identified with the use of photovoice

Earlier studies show that to gain more understanding of the concept of social inclusion, the views and experiences of people with intellectual disabilities are needed. The aim of this study was to investigate their perspective on neighbourhood social inclusion from an ecological point of view. We carried out a photovoice study with 18 people with intellectual disabilities in three neighbourhoods in the Netherlands. Participants took photographs in their neighbourhood they considered relevant, and these photographs were discussed during an interview. Six themes emerged from qualitative analysis: attractiveness of the neighbourhood, social contacts in the neighbourhood, activities in the neighbourhood, social roles in the neighbourhood, independence and public familiarity. As regards neighbourhood social inclusion, participants were often focused on small and informal activities and situations. Public familiarity proved very important. Framing the concept of neighbourhood social inclusion within an ecological approach may help to better understand processes of social inclusion.

Ethical treatment of participants in public health research

The twentieth century witnessed a succession of heinous experiments on human subjects in the name of science. The deplorable nature of these experiments led to the development of several guidelines that laid down the principles of research ethics. Respect, beneficence, and justice are the principles that form the foundation of research ethics today. These principles should be implemented through the channels of the informed consent process, privacy and confidentiality, risk benefit analysis, and fair recruitment. Proper implementation of research ethics ensures the protection of the rights and well-being of the participants. Some individuals are considered to be “vulnerable” in the research context because their autonomy is either diminished or lacking. Examples include children, some elderly persons, those with temporary or permanent cognitive impairment, prisoners, and refugees. Vulnerable groups require additional protection measures if they are involved in research. Public health research differs from general health research that necessitates additional ethical considerations. Research involving public health interventions or research conducted during public emergencies, such as natural disasters and disease outbreaks, has unique ethical challenges. Furthermore, in public health research, an understanding or familiarity with the community in which the research will be done is essential to ethical conduct of research. Research ethics committees [otherwise known as institutional review boards (IRB)] play a central role in research involving human participants. The proposed research must be reviewed and approved prior to initiation and monitored thereafter with ongoing reviews of safety reports, progress reports, and emerging information or circumstances that may impact the study. A substantial number of conditions need to be met to ensure research starts and then remains ethical. Researchers should be qualified by education, training, and experience to take on the role of investigators. The scientific aspects of the research should be robust and valid and the research itself should be purposeful. It is important that ethical considerations be a constant, integrated into the research undertaking, from inception right through to the dissemination and or sharing of the results.

Ecological Networks and Urban Crime: The Structure of Shared Routine Activity Locations and Neighborhood-Level Informal Control Capacity.

Drawing on Jacobs (1961), we hypothesize that public contact among neighborhood residents while engaged in day-to-day routines, captured by the aggregate network structure of shared local exposure, is consequential for crime. Neighborhoods in which residents come into contact more extensively in the course of conventional routines will exhibit higher levels of public familiarity, trust, and collective efficacy with implications for the informal social control of crime. We employ the concept of ecological ("eco-") networks - networks linking households within neighborhoods through shared activity locations - to formalize the notion of overlapping routines. Using micro-simulations of household travel patterns to construct census tract-level eco-networks for Columbus, OH, we examine the hypothesis that eco-network intensity (the probability that households tied through one location in a neighborhood eco-network will also be tied through another visited location) is negatively associated with tract-level crime rates (N=192). Fitted spatial autoregressive models offer evidence that neighborhoods with higher intensity eco-networks exhibit lower levels of violent and property crime. In contrast, a higher prevalence of non-resident visitors to a given tract is positively associated with property crime. These analyses hold the potential to enrich insight into the ecological processes that shape variation in neighborhood crime.

Children's experiences and perceptions of street culture, parental supervision, and parental mediation in an urban neighborhood

AbstractLocal street cultures may appear more or less “extreme,” depending on several contextual factors. Using focus groups, the current study aimed to explore what children, aged 7 to 12 years, think of the assumption that parents play an important role on the street to increase safety in the public domain. Involvement of parents can either be helpful or contribute to escalation of the conflict. Children's biggest concern was that parents are not able to be neutral or that children did not know the parent who intervened. They can imagine intervening being helpful when the intervening parents are known and trusted. We expect that when the public environment is safe and social cohesion is strong, the amount of conflicts will reduce and the help of parents will be generally accepted. We expect that increasing public familiarity and strengthening social control in disadvantaged neighborhoods can further limit the negative influences of street culture.

Public Perceptions of Citizen Science

<p class="p1">Members of the public are the foundation and the backbone of citizen science, but much remains unknown about how the public views citizen science. We conducted a survey of public familiarity with, and perceptions of, citizen science. We found that less than half of respondents were familiar with the term “citizen science,” but over 70% were familiar with the concept by another name. Most respondents were more confident in hypothetical citizen science findings when professional scientists were involved to some degree, compared to situations in which only citizen scientists were involved. Confidence in citizen science findings tended to increase with age, despite the fact that self-confidence in respondents’ own abilities to perform citizen science tasks decreased with age. Fewer than half of respondents (31–47%), and more men than women, were confident in their own ability to perform science process tasks, with the exception of collecting data (53% confident), and only slightly more predicted they would enjoy such activities. Based on our findings, we suggest ways in which leaders of citizen science projects can better promote recruitment, retention, and engagement on the part of volunteers and the public as a whole.

What do people think when they think about solar geoengineering? A review of empirical social science literature, and prospects for future research

AbstractPublic views and values about solar geoengineering should be incorporated in science‐policy decisions, if decision makers want to act in the public interest. In reflecting on the past decade of research, we review around 30 studies investigating public familiarity with, and views about, solar geoengineering. A number of recurring patterns emerge: (1) general unfamiliarity with geoengineering among publics; (2) the importance of artifice versus naturalness; (3) some conditional support for certain kinds of research; and (4) nuanced findings on the “moral hazard” and “reverse moral hazard” hypotheses, with empirical support for each appearing under different circumstances and populations. We argue that in the coming decade, empirical social science research on solar geoengineering will be crucial, and should be integrated with physical scientific research.

Cross-local ties to migrant neighborhoods: The resource transfers of out-migrating Turkish middle-class households

Our research looks into the cross-local ties of Turkish middle-class households who have moved out of inner-city migrant neighborhoods. Whereas previous research has predominantly focused on social networks within migrant neighborhoods, less attention has been paid to the ties of leaver households back to their migrant neighborhoods. When middle-class households move away from a migrant neighborhood, do they cut all ties with the old neighborhood and do their social, cultural and economic resources really become lost to it? The paper draws on research conducted in two big cities in Germany. Findings are based on qualitative interviews with Turkish-origin second-generation households and social network analysis. In analyzing cross-local ties back to the old neighborhood, we focus on the role of social ties, co-ethnic infrastructures, public familiarity and social participation. Research findings illustrate cross-local social and institutional ties maintained over years and challenging place-based perspectives on residential segregation.

Defiance to compliance: Visions of the computer in postwar Britain

In a climate of profound uncertainty over Britain’s postwar status, some industrialists and policymakers sought solace in a ‘defiant modernist’ aesthetic, proposing radical technological transformations to circumvent economic constraints. The British computer industry, which briefly challenged that of the USA for technological sophistication, presents a revealing instance of this approach and its limitations. Early promoters, notably Vivian Bowden of Ferranti, shrewdly laid the rhetorical groundwork to position the new machines as the natural outcome of a uniquely British technological trajectory. Into the 1960s, however, their agenda was disrupted not only by economic realities, but also by the increasing importance of software and compatible systems as opposed to individual machines, and by growing public and industrial familiarity with computing in general. Promoters sought new points of differentiation, but had made little headway when a combination of national policy changes, growing market dominance by US-based corporations, and Anglo-French rapprochement rendered the British national exception largely unworkable. Its powerful rhetorical appeal, however, ensured that it never entirely disappeared.

More than Just Fear: On the Intricate Interplay between Perceived Neighborhood Disorder, Collective Efficacy, and Action

ABSTRACT:Collective efficacy is defined as social cohesion among neighbors combined with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good. Through collective efficacy, forms of perceived neighborhood disorder may be successfully targeted. Simultaneously, perceived disorder undermines preconditions for collective efficacy, informal social control, and (collective) action. Most research on this theme has been quantitative, not always clarifying the micro social processes at stake. This also concerns residents’ willingness to intervene and their considerations for intervening or refraining from action. Additionally, most studies have addressed high-poverty neighborhoods, ignoring valuable lessons from more prosperous neighborhoods. This article aims to fill these gaps. We conducted 90 semistructured interviews with residents in six inner-city neighborhoods in The Netherlands. Interview transcript analysis shows how residents’ willingness to intervene is related to public familiarity, communicative skills, and fear. In turn, fear depends on the seriousness of perceived disorder, being outnumbered, previous experiences, and hearsay. We also show ambivalent ways in which social ties affect residents’ willingness to intervene. Social ties may stimulate public familiarity, but also exchange of negative experiences with social control and free rider issues.

From Public Familiarity to Comfort Zone: The Relevance of Absent Ties for Belonging in Berlin's Mixed Neighbourhoods

AbstractSegregation along lines of race/ethnicity and class has created multi‐ethnic and rather class‐homogeneous neighbourhoods in various European cities, commonly labelled as ‘disadvantaged’. Such neighbourhoods are often seen as ‘lacking’ community, as local networks are crucial for belonging and mixed neighbourhoods are too diverse to provide homogeneous identifications. However, in contrast to the understandings of the sociology of community, people might still experience ‘belonging’, yet in different ways. This article argues that we have to focus on the under‐researched ‘time in‐between’ (Byrne, 1978), the absent ties that Granovetter (1973) pointed to, to understand belonging, while moving away from a conception of the anonymous city and from the urban village. This article explores how absent ties affect belonging by empirically sustaining the notion of public familiarity: both recognizing and being recognized in local spaces. Using regression models on survey data from two mixed neighbourhoods in Berlin, Germany, we analyse the importance of neighbourhood use for public familiarity as well as how it relates to residents' comfort zone: people's feeling of belonging and their sense that others would intervene on their behalf. Our findings indicate that research on neighbourhoods could benefit greatly from a careful consideration of the ‘time in‐between’.

The impact of information and familiarity on public attitudes toward the eastern hellbender

AbstractDespite their ecological significance, rare and uncharismatic but threatened species are less often the focus of research and conservation efforts than more familiar and charismatic threatened species. The eastern hellbender, a salamander threatened by human activities, is believed to be negatively perceived by or unknown to the general public. Through a survey of 541 (response rate 40.1%) residents in southern Indiana, this study assessed public familiarity and attitudes toward the hellbender. Overall attitudes were found to be relatively neutral. There were significant differences between the attitudes of respondents who were familiar with hellbenders compared to those who were not familiar, with familiar respondents reporting more positive attitudes overall. Providing survey respondents with just a small amount of additional information about the rarity and locality of the hellbender resulted in more positive attitudes toward this species. Respondents who were unfamiliar with the hellbender expressed significantly more positive attitudes when given the additional information, while the attitudes of respondents familiar with hellbenders were more established and remained stable despite the additional information. The measurement instruments and findings from this study could inform future efforts to protect little‐known and threatened species by identifying attitudes and beliefs for social interventions to address.

Civic Studies: Bringing Theory to Practice

Copyright © 2013 The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA Civic engagement is integral to the creation and perpetuation of healthy communities and robust participatory democracy. While the preservation of our democratic society is strengthened through the engagement of community members as a whole, for some—those I call civic practitioners— the practice of civic engagement is the heart of their work.1 They act as our proxies in making democracy function as representatives in elected and sometimes appointed government positions, advocates in public life, intermediaries in negotiations and social capital formation, and organizers who mobilize others to influence public policy and practices. The regular activities of civic practitioners are at the foundation of civil society. Civic theory, such as that provided in the Institute of Civic Studies, can positively inform their work by articulating effective models of engagement and providing them opportunities to reflect on their goals and values. As with all work, that of civic practitioners requires knowledge and training. Knowledge of the issues is essential: those who work on any public or community issue need familiarity with that issue as it is understood in theory and applied on the ground. In addition, practitioners can profit from training in effective civic practices. For example, legislators and those who seek to influence them need to know how a bill becomes law, government officials and those who work with their policies must learn how to navigate the administrative process, and organizers and negotiators can be trained in how to conduct meetings. This skill-based knowledge, often provided by veteran civic practitioners, includes strategies such as listening to constituents, finding ways to engage others, and using various forms of media. Civic Studies: Bringing Theory to Practice

The level of Public Familiarity with the Act on Assistance Dogs for Persons with Disabilities, and Acceptance of Assistance Dogs

The level of Public Familiarity with the Act on Assistance Dogs for Persons with Disabilities, and Acceptance of Assistance Dogs

公的医療保険制度に対する重要な知識の欠落の要因

公的医療保険制度に対する重要な知識の欠落の要因

Public Perspectives About Pharmacogenetic Testing and Managing Ancillary Findings

Pharmacogenetic (PGx) tests are intended to improve therapeutic outcomes through predicting a patient's likelihood to respond to or experience an adverse effect from a specific treatment. In addition, PGx testing may also generate ancillary, or incidental, disease information unrelated to the purpose for which the test was ordered. To assess public attitudes toward PGx testing, ancillary disease risk information and related clinical issues, we conducted a series of focus groups. Forty-five individuals recruited from Durham, NC, participated in four focus groups. Overall, participants were enthusiastic about PGx testing, though expressed concerns about privacy, confidentiality, and psychological harms associated with ancillary information. Focus group participants believed that physicians had a responsibility to disclose ancillary risk information, but were concerned about managing and coping with unexpected disease risk information. We find that participants welcomed the integration of PGx testing into therapeutic decision-making. Public concerns about PGx testing and ancillary information specifically centered on personal implications of learning such additional information, suggesting that patient-provider discussion of the benefits and risks of testing will be necessary until public familiarity with these tests increases.