DETERMINANTS OF SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF A WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN BY CITIZEN PARTICIPATION AND CITIZENS\u27 TRUST FOR ADMINISTRATION

The purpose of our study is to clarify the effect of citizen participation projects in waste management planning on building citizens\u27 trust for administration. We conducted a social survey in Tsushima city, which had worked out the plan by citizen participation. We obtained 661 respondents from 1500 residents using a stratified sampling method. The main results are as follows. First, procedural fairness of citizen participation enhanced trust both directly and indirectly through public acceptance of the plan. Next, voice for the plan, information disclosure, representative participants, and controllability of the plan were main characteristics of procedural fairness of citizen participation. The main predictors of public acceptance are general evaluations of procedural fairness as well as expected outcomes

Effects of Procedural Fairness and Trust in Authority on Public Acceptance for Rate Raising of Waste Collection

We conducted a social survey in Tajimi city, which planned to raise the refuse rate as threefold because of waste reduction and financial fairness. The city introduced the citizen participatory projects such as citizen advisory committee, public comment, neighborhood meeting, and citizen forum in order to obtain citizens\u27 consent for the rate raising. We hypothesized that the citizens evaluated their authority\u27s decision not only from the aspect of expected outcomes of rate increase, but also from the aspect of perceived fairness of the participatory method. We obtained 622 respondents from 1500 residents using a stratified sampling method. The main results are as follows. The expected outcomes of the rate increase of waste collection consisted of two factors as waste reduction efficiency and burden sharing. The perceived procedural fairness consisted of three factors as information disclosure, representation, and access to discourse and decision control. As hypothesized the citizens evaluated their authority\u27s decision of rate increase of waste collection by procedural fairness as well as expected outcomes. But trust in authority had no impact on its acceptance for rate raising. Instead, the trust had moderating effect between procedural fairness and public acceptance. Procedural fairness had more impact on the acceptance of the citizens having lower trust. These results suggested that when the citizens have less trust, they are more likely to pay attention to the decision procedure, yielding more strong effect of procedural fairness on their acceptance

Impact of the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami on Pneumonia Hospitalisations and Mortality Among Adults in Northern Miyagi, Japan: A Multicentre Observational Study

Background On 11 March 2011, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck off the coast of northeastern Japan. Within 3 weeks, an increased number of pneumonia admissions and deaths occurred in local hospitals. Methods A multicentre survey was conducted at three hospitals in Kesennuma City (population 74000), northern Miyagi Prefecture. All adults aged ≥18 years hospitalised between March 2010 and June 2011 with community-acquired pneumonia were identified using hospital databases and medical records. Segmented regression analyses were used to quantify changes in the incidence of pneumonia. Results A total of 550 pneumonia hospitalisations were identified, including 325 during the pre-disaster period and 225 cases during the post-disaster period. The majority (90%) of the post-disaster pneumonia patients were aged ≥65 years, and only eight cases (3.6%) were associated with near-drowning in the tsunami waters. The clinical pattern and causative pathogens were almost identical among the pre-disaster and post-disaster pneumonia patients. A marked increase in the incidence of pneumonia was observed during the 3-month period following the disaster; the weekly incidence rates of pneumonia hospitalisations and pneumonia-associated deaths increased by 5.7 times (95% CI 3.9 to 8.4) and 8.9 times (95% CI 4.4 to 17.8), respectively. The increases were largest among residents in nursing homes followed by those in evacuation shelters. Conclusions A substantial increase in the pneumonia burden was observed among adults after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Although the exact cause remains unresolved, multiple factors including population aging and stressful living conditions likely contributed to this pneumonia outbreak

FAIRENESS ON DECISION-MAKING PROCESS OF MANAGEMENT POLICY FOR HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE AND SITING OF REPOSITORY IN FRANCE

The purpose of our study is to estimate procedural fairness and distributive fairness of past decision-making process of the management policy for high‒level radioactive waste (HLW) and siting of repository in France. We conducted normative analysis by document review and interview survey with CLIS members and a sociologist participated in the public debate on HLW management policy in 2005 by CNDP. The results show that prior clarification when and how decision‒making of HLW management policy and siting of repository will be carried out in the step‒wise approach is important to enhance the legitimacy of the process. With regard to distributive fairness between generations, it is important to carefully consider responsibility of current generation and decision right of future generation in terms of equity and equality in the fair decision‒making process, because HLW management policy might depend on concept of distributive fairness between generations. It is necessary to carefully debate both interregional distributive fairness of negative legacy and economical distributive fairness in the fair decision‒making process, because they are inextricably linked together.本研究は文部科学省科学研究費基盤B（課題番号24402042，研究代表者 広瀬幸雄教授）の補助を受けて実施された

Impact of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on pneumonia hospitalisations and mortality among adults in northern Miyagi, Japan: a multicentre observational study

Background: On 11 March 2011, the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck off the coast of northeastern Japan. Within 3 weeks, an increased number of pneumonia admissions and deaths occurred in local hospitals. Methods: A multicentre survey was conducted at three hospitals in Kesennuma City (population 74 000), northern Miyagi Prefecture. All adults aged ≥18 years hospitalised between March 2010 and June 2011 with community-acquired pneumonia were identified using hospital databases and medical records. Segmented regression analyses were used to quantify changes in the incidence of pneumonia. Results: A total of 550 pneumonia hospitalisations were identified, including 325 during the pre-disaster period and 225 cases during the post-disaster period. The majority (90%) of the post-disaster pneumonia patients were aged ≥65 years, and only eight cases (3.6%) were associated with near-drowning in the tsunami waters. The clinical pattern and causative pathogens were almost identical among the pre-disaster and post-disaster pneumonia patients. A marked increase in the incidence of pneumonia was observed during the 3-month period following the disaster; the weekly incidence rates of pneumonia hospitalisations and pneumonia-associated deaths increased by 5.7 times (95% CI 3.9 to 8.4) and 8.9 times (95% CI 4.4 to 17.8), respectively. The increases were largest among residents in nursing homes followed by those in evacuation shelters. Conclusions: A substantial increase in the pneumonia burden was observed among adults after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. Although the exact cause remains unresolved, multiple factors including population aging and stressful living conditions likely contributed to this pneumonia outbreak

Psychological interventional approach for reduce resource consumption : Reducing plastic bag usage at supermarkets

A field study was conducted to investigate the reduction of plastic bag usage at supermarkets. Many behaviors leading to potential damage to the environment may be unintentional. This study applied a dual motivation model to plastic bag usage and examined the effects of an intervention aimed at promoting pro-environmental behavior. A voice prompt intervention was implemented in Japanese supermarkets. In the first (control) week, shoppers were given free plastic bags by the cashier. In the second (intervention) week, cashiers asked shoppers whether they wanted plastic bags. We collected observational and questionnaire measures of variables that predicted free plastic bag usage during the intervention. The results supported a dual motivation model of behavioral change. The voice prompt decreased the usage of plastic bags by both discouraging unintentional usage and encouraging an intentional reduction in usage. Possibilities for interventions designed both to attenuate unintentional motivation and to promote intentional motivation are considered

Public acceptance model for siting a repository of radioactive contaminated waste

The disposal of designated radioactive contaminated waste resulting from the Fukushima nuclear accident is a primary issue in Japan. However, residents often strongly oppose siting a repository of designated waste; therefore, a possible site remains undecided. The NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) aspect, whereby people refuse to build a repository in their hometown, has led to strong opposition. This study examined a public acceptance model for the siting investigation of a repository of designated waste. The model proposes that the antecedents of the three types of fairness, namely, procedural, distributive, and interpersonal fairness, determine public acceptance in addition to affecting evaluation of designated waste. The study investigated the differences of influences of the three types of fairness between residents in possible siting areas and in a non-siting area to compare the cognitive process toward the NIMBY issue. The respondents included 1016 residents in possible siting areas (Miyagi, Tochigi, Gunma, Ibaraki, and Chiba Prefectures), and 1006 residents in a non-siting area (the Tokyo metropolitan area). All respondents completed a web-based questionnaire. The results revealed that the influence of procedural fairness on public acceptance in the non-siting area was stronger than it was in the possible siting areas. Conversely, the influence of distributive fairness was stronger in the possible siting areas than it was in the non-siting area. Furthermore, affect evaluation through antecedents of fairness was more influential for public acceptance in the possible sites than it was in the non-siting area. Therefore, the findings suggest that the strong opposition due to the NIMBY aspect was caused by the differences between the process of fairness and the concept of fairness that people emphasize