When the World Closed Its Doors

Strong public support is a prerequisite for ambitious and thus costly climate change mitigation policy, and strong public concern over climate change is a prerequisite for policy support. Why, then, do most public opinion surveys indicate rather high levels of concern and rather strong policy support, while de facto mitigation efforts in most countries remain far from ambitious? One possibility is that survey measures for public concern fail to fully reveal the true attitudes of citizens due to social desirability bias. In this paper, we implemented list-experiments in representative surveys in Germany and the United States (N = 3620 and 3640 respectively) to assess such potential bias. We find evidence that people systematically misreport, that is, understate their disbelief in human caused climate change. This misreporting is particularly strong amongst politically relevant subgroups. Individuals in the top 20% of the income distribution in the United States and supporters of conservative parties in Germany exhibit significantly higher climate change skepticism according to the list experiment, relative to conventional measures. While this does not definitively mean that climate skepticism is a widespread phenomenon in these countries, it does suggest that future research should reconsider how climate change concern is measured, and what subgroups of the population are more susceptible to misreporting and why. Our findings imply that public support for ambitious climate policy may be weaker than existing survey research suggests.

In this study, we analyze data on public opinion and attitudes toward labor unions from the iPOLL Databank at the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research (University of Connecticut), the American National Election Study, and the Current Population Survey. Despite recent developments that suggest labor unions are in decline, we find organized labor has maintained reasonably strong public support. Although the data indicate that Americans remain skeptical about how much confidence they can place in unions and their leaders, the results make clear that the public continues to recognize the need for unions to protect the rights of workers. These results hold potentially important implications for the future of organized labor in the United States.

The direction of the American space program, as defined by President Bush and the National Commission on Space, is to expand human presence into the solar system. Landing an American on Mars by the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing is the goal. This challenge has produced a level of excitement among young Americans not seen for nearly three decades. The exploration and settlement of the space frontier will occupy the creative thoughts and energies of generations of Americans well into the next century. The return of Americans to the moon and beyond must be viewed as a national effort with strong public support if it is to become a reality. Key to making this an actuality is the mission approach selected. Developing a permanent presence in space requires a continual stepping outward from Earch in a logical progressive manner. If we seriously plan to go and to stay, then not only must we plan what we are to do and how we are to do it, we must address the logistic support infrastructure that will allow us to stay there once we arrive. A fully integrated approach to mission planning is needed if the Space exploration Initiative (SEI) is to be successful. Only in this way can a permanent human presence in space be sustained. An integrated infrastructure approach would reduce the number of new systems and technologies requiring development. The resultant horizontal commonality of systems and hardware would reduce the direct economic impact of SEI while an early return on investment through technology spin‐offs would be an economic benefit by greatly enhancing our international technical competitiveness. If the exploration, development, and colonization of space is to be affordable and acceptable, careful consideration must be given to such things as ‘‘return on investment’’ and ‘‘commercial product potential’’ of the technologies developed. This integrated approach will win the Congressional support needed to secure the financial backing necessary to assure that the President’s long‐range vision of human expansion into the solar system becomes a reality.

Wildlife documentaries are a form of environmental media widely used in public engagement around sustainability and conservation issues, including biodiversity loss. Two recently released wildlife documentaries, Entangled (2020) and Last of the Right Whales (2021), are the first to tell stories focused on the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW) through film, despite the species having been imperiled for more than a century and experts sounding the alarm about the population’s decline for decades. While whales are highly regarded worldwide and their conservation has strong public support, the NARW case study is a complicated one due not only to biological and ecological challenges, but also to sociopolitical ones. Without drastic policy actions and changes to industry practices throughout its migratory range, the NARW may disappear within decades, becoming the first great whale species to reach extinction since the industrial whaling era. In this article we address a gap in current environmental media and documentary studies by engaging critically with Entangled and Last of the Right Whales and considering them within the socioecological contexts they showcase and aim to influence. Our findings indicate that these two films share an important environmental problem with their viewers but fail to overcome some important pitfalls that limit the ability of environmental films to achieve collective action and policy change. We use this case study to highlight opportunities and challenges associated with wildlife documentaries more broadly, specifically, their role in biodiversity conservation in the Anthropocene. We conclude with opportunities for future interdisciplinary research and collaborative practice that can help wildlife films to achieve more than accolades for filmmakers and mere general awareness of conservation challenges.

As a regionalism initiative, establishment of the ASEAN Community needs plausible level of public awareness, good public perception and strong public support from the public for its legitimacy. The current paper discusses the opinion among the public pertaining to regional economic integration under the ASEAN Economic Community initiative in comparison to political-security cooperation under the ASEAN Political Security Community in 2015 among educated public in four ASEAN countries, namely Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. The study aims to solicit and IJAPS, Vol. 14, No. 1, 227-249, 2018 ASEAN Economic and Political Security 228 compare the current situation of public opinion of these two kinds of liberalisation in ASEAN within the context of awareness, perception, and support. The research objectives were achieved by means of statistical measures and analyses on the opinion among 1,471 Gen Y respondents in these four ASEAN countries gathered from a public opinion survey in 2015. The study reveals interesting findings. Firstly, it found that the extent of awareness of both APSC and AEC is still weak resulting in weak extent of perceived relevancy and benefits as well as weak support for APSC and moderate-level support for AEC. Secondly, by comparing the opinion on APSC to AEC, the study found that awareness, perception and support for economic integration in ASEAN were in fact higher than political security cooperation. Finally, some implications of these issues are discussed.

This investigation sought to define policy and political factors related to the undermining of Florida's successful Tobacco Pilot Program in 1999. Data were gathered from interviews with public health lobbyists, tobacco control advocates, and state officials; news reports; and public documents. As a result of a recent legal settlement with Florida, the tobacco industry agreed to fund a youth anti-smoking pilot program. The program combined community-based interventions and advertisements. In less than 1 year, the teen smoking prevalence rate dropped from 23.3% to 20.9%. The program also enjoyed high public visibility and strong public support. Nevertheless, in 1999, the state legislature cut the program's funding from $70.5 million to $38.7 million, and the Bush administration dismantled the program's administrative structure. Voluntary health agencies failed to publicly hold specific legislators and the governor responsible for the cuts. The legislature and administration succeeded in dismantling this highly visible and successful tobacco control program because pro-health forces limited their activities to behind-the-scenes lobbying and were unwilling to confront the politicians who made these decisions in a public forum.

The deployment of advanced nuclear technologies is anticipated to be part of the actions required to mitigate global climate change. The successful deployment of these new technologies, like all new infrastructure projects, will be more successful if the projects have strong public support. Successful deployment of energy infrastructure correlates with thoughtful approaches to equitable energy transitions. This work recalls the history of recent energy infrastructure deployments, shows where the inclusion of social scientists has improved the possibility of success and proposes specific steps to make future deployments of advanced nuclear technologies successful.

Introduction: Despite strong public support, organ donor registration rates (RR) continue to lag while need only grows. In the United States, the traditional registration site is the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), however Primary care provider (PCP) offices have been considered as alternate locations for increasing RR. Methods: Twelve PCP offices across 2 New York Counties were subjected to a control week where participants received only a registration opportunity and an intervention week with the addition of a motivational poster and informational brochure. Zip code level sociodemographic data were obtained for each site. RR from the DMV over the same period served as historical control. Results: There were 1292 participants in the control phase and 1099 in the experimental phase. New registration rate for the control was 33.8% (289/897); experimental phase 7.88% (61/769); DMV registration 21.02% (1902/9050). The intervention was associated with a significant decrease in registrations (OR 0.181 (95% CI 0.135-0.244, P < 0.001)). Offices were clustered based on sociodemographic factors and regressed in 2 clusters. Lower educational attainment was associated with lower registration in the first but not second cluster (OR = 0.948 (0.923-0.974, P < 0.001)). Conclusions: This study provided evidence that PCP offices were a feasible site for organ donor registration and calls into question the efficacy of written materials-only interventions for increasing organ donor RR. It reiterated the negative effect of lower educational attainment on registration and suggested future studies focus on more active methods of engagement.

The Impact of Science-Based Entrepreneurial Firms - A Literature Review and Policy Synthesis

The issue of physician-assisted death is now firmly on the American public agenda. Already legal in five states, it is the subject of intense public opinion battles across the country. Driven by an increasingly aging population, and a baby boom generation just starting to enter its senior years, the issue is not going to go away anytime soon. In Physician-Assited Death L.W. Sumner equips readers with everything they need to know to take a reasoned and informed position in this important debate. The book provides needed context for the debate by situating physician-assisted death within the wider framework of end-of-life care and explaining why the movement to legalize it now enjoys such strong public support. It also reviews that movement's successes to date, beginning in Oregon in 1994 and now extending to eleven jurisdictions across three continents. Like abortion, physician-assisted death is ethically controversial and the subject of passionately held opinions. The central chapters of the book review the main arguments utilized by both sides of the controversy: on the one hand, appeals to patient autonomy and the relief of suffering, on the other the claim that taking active steps to hasten death inevitably violates the sanctity of life. The book then explores both the case in favor of legalization and the case against, focusing in the latter instance on the risk of abuse and the possibility of slippery slopes. In this context the experience of jurisdictions that have already taken the step of legalization is carefully reviewed to see what lessons might be extracted from it. It then identifies some further issues that lie beyond the boundaries of the current debate but will have to be faced sometime down the road: euthanasia for patients who are permanently unconscious or have become seriously demented and for severely compromised newborns. The book concludes by considering the various possible routes to legalization, both political and judicial. Readers will then be prepared to decide for themselves just where they stand when they confront the issue both in their own jurisdiction and in their own lives.

We examined public perceptions of risk and acceptability for 9 alternatives to controlling forest vegetation in Ontario (N = 2,301) in the fall of 1994. The proportion of respondents indicating whether an alternative was 1) difficult to control, 2) potentially catastrophic, 3) a problem for future generations, and 4) a personal worry determined perceptions of risk for each vegetation management alternative. Ranking of alternatives from highest to lowest perceived risk was: aerially-applied herbicides &gt; biological control &gt; ground-applied herbicides &gt; mulches &gt; prescribed fire &gt; heavy equipment &gt; cover cropping &gt; manual cutting &gt; grazing animals. Public acceptance was lowest for aerially-applied herbicides (18%) followed by ground-applied herbicides (37%), biological control (57%), prescribed fire (57%), mulches (65%), heavy equipment (72%), cover cropping (80%), grazing animals (82%), and manual cutting (89%). Public acceptability of various agents for biological control differed depending on the proposed agent. Natural plant toxins were viewed as most acceptable (73%) followed by microorganims (42%), genetically-engineered organisms (39%), and viruses (21%). We found a strong correlation between a risk perception index and acceptability of the alternatives for the general public (r2 = 0.84) and those in timber-dependent communities (r2 = 0.89). Our results suggest that stronger public support can probably be achieved for forest vegetation management programs that include non-herbicide alternatives. Key words: forest vegetation management, public opposition, risk perception, herbicides, biological control, prescribed fire, mulches, heavy equipment, cover cropping, grazing animals, manual cutting

Capturing the Experiences of Samoa: The Changing Food Environment and Food Security in Samoa during the <scp>COVID</scp>‐19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 outbreak is a recent major crisis with a broad and lasting impact on the economy, health, and society, rather than an immediate and temporary impact. In the first months following the declaration of the pandemic, the container shipping sector in Türkiye was impacted by restrictions and quarantine measures. During this period, there were reductions in ship calls, slowdowns in ship operations, and losses in storage and warehousing services. Although container volumes in Türkiye were less impacted than the global average, the previously stable growth trend came to a halt. This study examines the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on container shipping in Türkiye as a case study. Relevant literature and statistical data were analyzed to provide a detailed examination of the specific impacts in Türkiye. In addition, the study aims to support national goals and increase resilience to future crises by providing recommendations for the stakeholders and national policy makers. These recommendations include the adoption of digitalization and blockchain technologies, regional expansion of maritime trade, considering storage strategies and developing logistics infrastructure.

An argument for a major federal program to stimulate innovation in energy technology and a proposal for a policy approach to implement it. America is addicted to fossil fuels, and the environmental and geopolitical costs are mounting. A public-private program—at an expanded scale—to stimulate innovation in energy policy seems essential. In Structuring an Energy Technology Revolution, Charles Weiss and William Bonvillian make the case for just such a program. Their proposal backs measures to stimulate private investment in new technology, within a revamped energy innovation system. It would encourage a broad range of innovations that would give policymakers a variety of technological options over the long implementation period and at the huge scale required, faster than could be accomplished by market forces alone. Even if the nation can't make progress at this time on pricing carbon, a technology strategy remains critical and can go ahead now. Strong leadership and public support will be needed to resist the pressure of entrenched interests against putting new technology pathways into practice in the complex and established energy sector. This book has helped start the process.

The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) conducts peer reviews of individual members once every five to six years. Reviews seek to improve the quality and effectiveness of members’ development co-operation, highlighting good practices and recommending improvements. Luxembourg places poverty reduction and support for the most vulnerable at the heart of its development co-operation. Its commitment to allocating 1% of gross national income (GNI) to official development enjoys strong political and public support, with in-donor refugee costs and climate finance additional. Following its withdrawal from the Sahel region and the need to redirect 30% of its bilateral aid, Luxembourg is encouraged to adopt a whole-of-government approach to better address fragility across its entire bilateral portfolio. The report also highlights the importance of closer co‑ordination across ministries and LuxDev, for multilateral partnerships. Furthermore, it recommends greater private sector engagement, keeping local private sector development as a central focus, and improving policy coherence, particularly by ensuring that financial sector activities align to sustainable development objectives.