Social Influence,Risk and Benefit Perceptions,and the Acceptability of Risky Energy Technologies: An Explanatory Model of Nuclear Power Versus Shale Gas

Risky energy technologies are often controversial and debates around them are polarized; in such debates public acceptability is key. Research on public acceptability has emphasized the importance of intrapersonal factors but has largely neglected the influence of interpersonal factors. In an online survey (N = 948) with a representative sample of the United Kingdom, we therefore integrate interpersonal factors (i.e., social influence as measured by social networks) with two risky energy technologies that differ in familiarity (nuclear power vs. shale gas) to examine how these factors explain risk and benefit perceptions and public acceptability. Findings show that benefit perceptions are key in explaining acceptability judgments. However, risk perceptions are more important when people are less familiar with the energy technology. Social network factors affect perceived risks and benefits associated with risky energy technology, hereby indirectly helping to form one's acceptability judgment toward the technology. This effect seems to be present regardless of the perceived familiarity with the energy technology. By integrating interpersonal with intrapersonal factors in an explanatory model, we show how the current “risk–benefit acceptability” model used in risk research can be further developed to advance the current understanding of acceptability formation.     

Diversity of vascular plants growing on walls of a Brazilian city

City walls are very specialized environments, conditioned by human activities. There is little information about plants that invade human-made habitats, and no study done in Brazil with plants growing up on walls. The aim of the present study was to survey the wall vascular flora of a Brazilian city, comparing the diversity found in its downtown and neighborhoods. Fieldwork was done in Jundiaí, São Paulo State, where data was collected in downtown and in five neighborhoods. In each place, three transects of 1 km were established and every plant individual was registered. Twenty-eight species were identified, all of them on the downtown transect and most also on the neighborhood transects. Five species were the most frequent, although none were dominant. The diversity indicies of the six transects were not significantly different, with an overall diversity of H′ = 2.93.     

Heart rate and blood pressure in male police officers and clerical workers on workdays and non-workdays

Male police officers from a city police station in Tasmania (n = 20) and a matched group of clerical workers (n = 20) monitored their heart rate, blood pressure and self-reported levels of stress and arousal over a two-week period. Measurements on workdays during which stressful events occurred were compared to non-event workdays and non-workdays. Two group differences were demonstrated, with the clerical workers reporting higher levels of stress, and the police officers reporting higher levels of arousal. Support was evident for the distinction between workdays and non-workdays, and support was demonstrated for differences between different types of workdays. Evidence suggested that restricting the time frame of such research may lead to results that are inaccurate or inconsistent because workdays differ in content.     

Nonresponse in the American Time Use Survey: Who Is Missing from the Data and How Much Does It Matter?

This article examines nonresponse in a large government survey,the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), which interviews personsin households previously interviewed in the Current PopulationSurvey. The response rate for the ATUS has been below 60 percentfor the first two years of its existence, raising questionsabout whether the results can be generalized to the target population.The article begins with an analysis of the types of nonresponseencountered in the ATUS. Noncontact accounts for roughly 60percent of ATUS nonresponse, with refusals accounting for roughly40 percent. We find little support for the hypothesis that busypeople are less likely to respond to the ATUS but find considerablesupport for the hypothesis that people who are weakly integratedinto their communities are less likely to respond, mostly becausethey are less likely to be contacted. When we compare aggregateestimates of time use calculated using the ATUS base weightswithout any adjustment for nonresponse, estimates calculatedusing the ATUS final weights with a nonresponse adjustment,and estimates calculated using weights that incorporate ourown nonresponse adjustment based on a propensity model, we findsome modest differences, but the three sets of estimates arebroadly similar. The article ends with suggestions for furtherresearch and analysis.     

股票发行制度的国际比较与借鉴

通过对成熟市场股票发行制度的比较分析 ,指出竞争性的缔约机制和内生性分工演化机制是成熟市场股票发行制度的核心内容 ,提出了加强证券交易所与行业协会的监管职能、加大公司治理等软性信息披露力度、建立发行定价考评机制等发行制度以及发行环境市场化改革的建议     

对《大学英语自学教程》(上册)编写的商榷

《大学英语自学教程》之音标系统早已过时,其中仅标注英式发音是有失偏颇的,个别的发音甚至是错误的。本文对New Words一栏的编写目的是否达到提出了质疑,并指出了书中少量的知识性错误。     

Different standards and standard differences: Contemporary citizenship and immigration debates

Theory and Society -     

自然科学美之解读

现代美学研究 ,以自然现象和社会现象作为坐标系 ,在试图探索美的本质时 ,往往忽略或排斥自然科学美的存在 ,使美成为一种残缺。而自然科学家以美求真 ,以其独特的思维方法 ,显现出涵盖于事物内部结构及其联系的美 ,为美学大厦的最终构建 ,竖起了一根有力的支柱。