The Prediction of Voting Behaviour in a Nuclear Energy Referendum

This report describes an application of Fishbein's model of intention formation to a study of voting choice in a nuclear energy ballot in the USA. The sample was randomly selected from the general public (N = 89). The model successfully predicted bvoting intention (multiple regression coefficient = .92) using two major variables: attitudes to the act of voting CON and subjective norms, i.e. the voter's perceptions of how the people or groups important to them (referents) would want them to vote. Both of these components contributed significantly to voting choice although the attitude was the primary determinant. The attitudes to the act of voting and the subjective norms were, in turn, well predicted from underlying beliefs, thus allowing identification of the specific issues which differentiated between those intending to vote PRO and CON on nuclear energy. In general both groups of voters agreed on their evaluations of the possible consequences of the ballot. Further, they were both well informed about the basic issues and potential legal consequences of the proposal. What ultimately appears to have influenced the direction of their vote was their disagreement (i.e. their contrary beliefs) about the likely effects of the proposal on three major issues: the economy, the energy crisis and improvements in nuclear safety. The positions taken on these issues clearly differentiated those intending to vote PRO and CON. It should be noted, however, that the other issues about which there was considerable debate, e.g. the question of the constitutional status of the proposal, did not significantly differentiate the two groups of voters

Nuclear Energy: The Accuracy of Policy Makers Perceptions of Public Beliefs

The primary purpose of this study was to empirically test how accurate a group of policy makers were in their assessment of the beliefs and attitudes of the public with regard to the use of nuclear energy. The respondents (n=40) were senior Austrian civil servants responsible for energy matters. The questionnaire used was the same as that employed earlier to measure the attitudes and underlying beliefs of the Austrian public (n=224) and the sub-groups (n=50) of this sample most PRO and CON the use of nuclear energy. The policy makers completed this questionnaire twice: once with respect to their own positions and, on the second occasion, in the role of a typical member of the Austrian public who was either PRO or CON the use of nuclear energy. This experimental design also permitted comparisons between the policy makers' own positions and those of the general public. Public attitudes toward the use of nuclear energy were found, using factor analysis, to be based upon four underlying dimensions of belief: psychological (anxiety-inducing) risks; economic/technical benefits; socio-political implications; and environmental/physical risks. The policy makers' own attitudes were found to be significantly more favourable than those of the total public sample; this was primarily because the policy makers' beliefs about psychological risks made a significantly smaller negative contribution to attitude, and their beliefs about environmental risks made a significantly larger positive contribution. The policy makers were able to shift their own (personal) responses in the directions indicated by their role-play assignments to accurately reproduce the overall attitudes of the PRO and CON groups on this controversial topic, although there was a tendency to overestimate the positive attitudes of the PRO nuclear public. In terms of the underlying belief dimensions however, there was a significant failure to recognise the extent to which issues of psychological significance contribute negatively to the attitudes of both PRO and CON public groups. The policy makers underestimated the negative value both groups assigned to these risks as well as the extent to which the public believed that nuclear energy would lead to such risks

A Comparative Study of Public Beliefs about Five Energy Systems

Public perceptions (n=244) of five alternative energy sources (nuclear, coal, oil, hydro, and solar) were examined using an attitude model based upon the underlying beliefs held about the attitude object (e.g., each energy system); the focus was on the differing perceptions of sub-groups (n=50) most PRO and CON the use of nuclear energy. Both PRO and CON groups preferred hydro and solar energy to the other energy sources; but the PRO Nuclear Group preferred nuclear energy to the fossil fuels while, for the CON Nuclear Group, nuclear energy was the least preferred system. Of the theoretically possible significant contributors to near-term Austrian electricity supply which were considered in this study (i.e., nuclear, coal, oil), the PRO Nuclear Group saw oil as the alternative to nuclear energy while the CON Nuclear Group preferred coal to oil as the non-nuclear alternative. Factor analysis found that five, relatively independent belief dimensions characterize public thinking about energy systems: beliefs about future-oriented and political risks; economic benefits; environmental risks; psychological/physical risks; and future technology development. Analysis of the belief systems suggested that both PRO and CON Nuclear Groups preferred hydro and solar energy because these systems were perceived as being the least threatening on all risk-related dimensions. The PRO group saw nuclear energy as the system most likely to lead to economic benefits and future technological developments; their low ratings of fossil fuels were primarily due to beliefs that the fossil fuels could provide only marginal economic benefits while leading to appreciable environmental risks. In contrast, the CON group viewed nuclear energy as only marginally more likely to provide economic and technological benefits than the fossil fuels, but as an appreciably greater threat on the risk-related dimensions

Participation in physical play and leisure : developing a theory- and evidence-based intervention for children with motor impairments

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Integrating Models of Diffusion and Behavior to Predict Innovation Adoption, Maintenance, and Social Diffusion

This study documents an investigation into the adoption and diffusion of eave tubes, a novel mosquito vector control, during a large-scale scientific field trial in West Africa. The diffusion of innovations (DOI) and the integrated model of behavior (IMB) were integrated (i.e., innovation attributes with attitudes and social pressures with norms) to predict participants’ (N = 329) diffusion intentions. The findings showed that positive attitudes about the innovation’s attributes were a consistent positive predictor of diffusion intentions: adopting it, maintaining it, and talking with others about it. As expected by the DOI and the IMB, the social pressure created by a descriptive norm positively predicted intentions to adopt and maintain the innovation. Drawing upon sharing research, we argued that the descriptive norm may dampen future talk about the innovation, because it may no longer be seen as a novel, useful topic to discuss. As predicted, the results showed that as the descriptive norm increased, the intention to talk about the innovation decreased. These results provide broad support for integrating the DOI and the IMB to predict diffusion and for efforts to draw on other research to understand motivations for social diffusion

Prion Infected Meat-and-Bone Meal Is Still Infectious after Biodiesel Production

The epidemic of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has led to a world-wide drop in the market for beef by-products, such as Meat-and-Bone Meal (MBM), a fat-containing but mainly proteinaceaous product traditionally used as an animal feed supplement. While normal rendering is insufficient, the production of biodiesel from MBM has been suggested to destroy infectivity from transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). In addition to producing fuel, this method simultaneously generates a nutritious solid residue. In our study we produced biodiesel from MBM under defined conditions using a modified form of alkaline methanolysis. We evaluated the presence of prion in the three resulting phases of the biodiesel reaction (Biodiesel, Glycerol and Solid Residue) in vitro and in vivo. Analysis of the reaction products from 263K scrapie infected MBM led to no detectable immunoreactivity by Western Blot. Importantly, and in contrast to the biochemical results the solid MBM residue from the reaction retained infectivity when tested in an animal bioassay. Histochemical analysis of hamster brains inoculated with the solid residue showed typical spongiform degeneration and vacuolation. Re-inoculation of these brains into a new cohort of hamsters led to onset of clinical scrapie symptoms within 75 days, suggesting that the specific infectivity of the prion protein was not changed during the biodiesel process. The biodiesel reaction cannot be considered a viable prion decontamination method for MBM, although we observed increased survival time of hamsters and reduced infectivity greater than 6 log orders in the solid MBM residue. Furthermore, results from our study compare for the first time prion detection by Western Blot versus an infectivity bioassay for analysis of biodiesel reaction products. We could show that biochemical analysis alone is insufficient for detection of prion infectivity after a biodiesel process

"The solution needs to be complex." Obese adults' attitudes about the effectiveness of individual and population based interventions for obesity

BackgroundPrevious studies of public perceptions of obesity interventions have been quantitative and based on general population surveys. This study aims to explore the opinions and attitudes of obese individuals towards population and individual interventions for obesity in Australia.MethodsQualitative methods using in-depth semi-structured telephone interviews with a community sample of obese adults (Body Mass Index ≥30). Theoretical, purposive and strategic recruitment techniques were used to ensure a broad sample of obese individuals with different types of experiences with their obesity. Participants were asked about their attitudes towards three population based interventions (regulation, media campaigns, and public health initiatives) and three individual interventions (tailored fitness programs, commercial dieting, and gastric banding surgery), and the effectiveness of these interventions.ResultsOne hundred and forty two individuals (19-75 years) were interviewed. Participants strongly supported non-commercial interventions that were focused on encouraging individuals to make healthy lifestyle changes (regulation, physical activity programs, and public health initiatives). There was less support for interventions perceived to be invasive or high risk (gastric band surgery), stigmatising (media campaigns), or commercially motivated and promoting weight loss techniques (commercial diets and gastric banding surgery).ConclusionObese adults support non-commercial, non-stigmatising interventions which are designed to improve lifestyles, rather than promote weight loss

Role of the monocarboxylate transporter MCT1 in the uptake of lactate during active recovery

Purpose We assessed the role of monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) on lactate clearance during an active recovery after high-intensity exercise, by comparing genetic groups based on the T1470A (rs1049434) MCT1 polymorphism, whose influence on lactate transport has been proven. Methods Sixteen young male elite field hockey players participated in this study. All of them completed two 400 m maximal run tests performed on different days, followed by 40 min of active or passive recovery. Lactate samples were measured immediately after the tests, and at min 10, 20, 30 and 40 of the recoveries. Blood lactate decreases were calculated for each 10-min period. Participants were distributed into three groups according to the T1470A polymorphism (TT, TA and AA). Results TT group had a lower blood lactate decrease than AA group during the 10?20 min period of the active recovery (p = 0.018). This period had the highest blood lactate for the whole sample, significantly differing from the other periods (p ? 0.003). During the passive recovery, lactate declines were constant except for the 0?10-min period (p ? 0.003), suggesting that liver uptake is similar in all the genetic groups, and that the difference seen during the active recovery is mainly due to muscle lactate uptake. Conclusions These differences according to the polymorphic variant T1470A suggest that MCT1 affects the plasma lactate decrease during a crucial period of active recovery, where the maximal lactate amount is cleared (i.e. 10?20 min period)