Incentives and disincentives for using renewable energy: Turkish students' ideas

WOS: 000266683800014A closed-form questionnaire was used to explore the prevalence of ideas of Turkish school students in years 7 and 8 (age 13-14 years) about renewable power generation. The questionnaire investigated students' ideas about the characteristics of renewable energy, its perceived advantages and disadvantgaes, and, separately, their views about the importance of the characteristics of energy production; it is likely that a combination of such beliefs could act as incentives or disincentives to the acceptability of renewable power. In terms of cost, about half of the students thought that it is cheaper to generate electricity from renewable sources, and only a quarter thought that renewable power generators would be expensive to dismantle at the end of their working life. There were some concerns about safety; although half of the students thought that renewable power installations were safer than other types of power generators, over half thought that renewable power generators could in some way harm plants, animals or humans that lived nearby. In terms of the capacity of renewable electricity generation, nearly two-third of the students thought that such sources could provide sufficient power for the population, and a similar proportion thought that electricity from renewable sources would be available continuously. Only about half of the students appreciated the contribution that renewable sources could make to a reduction in global warming, and more than half thought that such generators would in fact create environmental problems. Most of the characteristics mentioned were regarded as important, although the cost of electricity appeared less so to these particular students. When the responses about believed characteristics and views about their importance were combined, it appeared that the belief that renewable power could produce a reliable supply of electricity and, encouragingly, that it could contribute to a reduction in global warming, would be persuasive arguments for its implementation. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Propylthiouracil Is Teratogenic in Murine Embryos

Background: Hyperthyroidism during pregnancy is treated with the antithyroid drugs (ATD) propylthiouracil (PTU) and methimazole (MMI). PTU currently is recommended as the drug of choice during early pregnancy. Yet, despite widespread ATD use in pregnancy, formal studies of ATD teratogenic effects have not been performed. Methods: We examined the teratogenic effects of PTU and MMI during embryogenesis in mice. To span different periods of embryogenesis, dams were treated with compounds or vehicle daily from embryonic day (E) 7.5 to 9.5 or from E3.5 to E7.5. Embryos were examined for gross malformations at E10.5 or E18.5 followed by histological and micro-CT analysis. Influences of PTU on gene expression levels were examined by RNA microarray analysis. Results: When dams were treated from E7.5 to E9.5 with PTU, neural tube and cardiac abnormalities were observed at E10.5. Cranial neural tube defects were significantly more common among the PTU-exposed embryos than those exposed to MMI or vehicle. Blood in the pericardial sac, which is a feature indicative of abnormal cardiac function and/or abnormal vasculature, was observed more frequently in PTU-treated than MMI-treated or vehicle-treated embryos. Following PTU treatment, a total of 134 differentially expressed genes were identified. Disrupted genetic pathways were those associated with cytoskeleton remodeling and keratin filaments. At E 18.5, no gross malformations were evident in either ATD group, but the number of viable PTU embryos per dam at E18.5 was significantly lower from those at E10.5, indicating loss o

Australian secondary students secondary students\u27 views about global warming: beliefs about actions, and willingness to act

NSW secondary students’ views (n=500) about how useful various specific actions might be at reducing global warming, their willingness to undertake the various actions, and the extent to which these two might be linked were determined using a constructed questionnaire. The degree to which students were willing to act was often greater or less than might be expected from the extent to which they believed particular proenvironmental actions to be useful. The strength of the relationships, for each action, between students’ willingness to act and their belief that an action would be effective were explored. This suggested a measure of the potential effectiveness of education about that action. Where this relationship was weakaltering belief about the usefulness of the action might not be expected to produce major changes in behaviour. Where the relationship was stronger environmental education could well be effective, especially if a large proportion of the population are not already willing to undertake that action

Adolescents\u27 ideas about the health of the fetus

Objective: to determine the preponderance of ideas in adolescents about the relationship between maternal habits and the health of the fetus. Design: quantitative survey using a pre-coded questionnaire, the content of which was derived from the transcripts of interviews and the responses to open-form questionnaires. Setting: North West Region Health Authority area, UK. Participants: 674 adolescents in British National Curriculum Year 10 (age1415 role= presentation \u3e ) from 6 Community Comprehensive Schools. Findings: most of the adolescents were aware of the dangers to the fetus of alcohol and smoking, including passive smoking. However, they were less aware of the potential hazards during pregnancy of eggs (Salmonella), soft cheeses (Listeria), liver (Vitamin A excess) or handling cats (Toxoplasmosis). Most of the respondents thought that the optimum time to initiate actions for a healthy pregnancy was when pregnancy had been confirmed, suggesting that the benefits of preconceptual care are not well known. Key conclusions: adolescents lack knowledge about some of the specific hazards to the fetus of maternal diet and behaviour during pregnancy and are unaware of the importance of the early stages of pregnancy in this context. Implications: there is a need for the provision of education about the importance of a healthy maternal lifestyle before conception and during early pregnancy for adolescents. Midwives may have a proactive role in such education, but should be aware that young people may have specific areas of ignorance and misconceptions which will need addressing

Exploring Students' Ideas About Risks and Benefits of Nuclear Power Using Risk Perception Theories

WOS: 000319274900002Due to increased energy demand, Turkey is continuing to explore the possibilities of introducing nuclear power. Gaining acceptance from local populations, however, may be problematic because nuclear power has a negative image and risk perceptions are complicated by a range of psychological and cultural factors. In this study, we explore the views about nuclear power of school students from three locations in Turkey, two of which have been proposed as sites suitable for nuclear power plants. About half of the student cohort believed that nuclear power can supply continuous and sufficient electricity, but approximately three quarters thought that nuclear power stations could harm organisms, including humans, living nearby. Rather few students realized that adoption of nuclear power would help to reduce global warming and thereby limit climate change; indeed, three quarters thought that nuclear power would make global warming worse. There was a tendency for more students from the location most likely to have a nuclear power plant to believe negative characteristics of nuclear power, and for fewer students to believe positive characteristics. Exploration of the possible nuclear power programmes by Turkey offers an educational opportunity to understand the risk perceptions of students that affect their decision-making processes

Adolescents\u27 ideas about the health of the fetus

Objective: to determine the preponderance of ideas in adolescents about the relationship between maternal habits and the health of the fetus. Design: quantitative survey using a precoded questionnaire, the content of which was derived from the transcripts of interviews and the responses to open-form questionnaires. Setting: North West Region Health Authority area, UK. Participants: 674 adolescents in British National Curriculum Year 10 (age 1415 role= presentation style= box-sizing: border-box; display: inline-block; line-height: normal; font-size: 14.4px; word-spacing: normal; word-wrap: normal; white-space: nowrap; float: none; direction: ltr; max-width: none; max-height: none; min-width: 0px; min-height: 0px; border: 0px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; position: relative; \u3e1415) from 6 Community Comprehensive Schools. Findings: most of the adolescents were aware of the dangers to the fetus of alcohol and smoking, including passive smoking. However, they were less aware of the potential hazards during pregnancy of eggs (Salmonella), soft cheeses (Listeria), liver (Vitamin A excess) or handling cats (Toxoplasmosis). Most of the respondents thought that the optimum time to initiate actions for a healthy pregnancy was when pregnancy had been confirmed, suggesting that the benefits of preconceptual care are not well known. Key conclusions: adolescents lack knowledge about some of the specific hazards to the fetus of maternal diet and behaviour during pregnancy and are unaware of the importance of the early stages of pregnancy in this context. Implications: there is a need for the provision of education about the importance of a healthy maternal lifestyle before conception and during early pregnancy for adolescents. Midwives may have a proactive role in such education, but should be aware that young people may have specific areas of ignorance and misconceptions which will need addressing