THE POLITICIZATION OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLARIZATION IN THE AMERICAN PUBLIC'S VIEWS OF GLOBAL WARMING, 2001–2010

We examine political polarization over climate change within the American public by analyzing data from 10 nationally representative Gallup Polls between 2001 and 2010. We find that liberals and Democrats are more likely to report beliefs consistent with the scientific consensus and express personal concern about global warming than are conservatives and Republicans. Further, the effects of educational attainment and self‐reported understanding on global warming beliefs and concern are positive for liberals and Democrats, but are weaker or negative for conservatives and Republicans. Last, significant ideological and partisan polarization has occurred on the issue of climate change over the past decade.     

New Trends in Measuring Environmental Attitudes: Measuring Endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm: A Revised NEP Scale

Dunlap and Van Liere's New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) Scale, published in 1978, has become a widely used measure of proenvironmental orientation. This article develops a revised NEP Scale designed to improve upon the original one in several respects: (1) It taps a wider range of facets of an ecological worldview, (2) It offers a balanced set of pro- and anti-NEP items, and (3) It avoids outmoded terminology. The new scale, termed the New Ecological Paradigm Scale, consists of 15 items. Results of a 1990 Washington State survey suggest that the items can be treated as an internally consistent summated ratingscale and also indicate a modest growth in pro-NEP responses among Washington residents over the 14 years since the original study.     

Measuring Adherence to Alternative vs. Conventional Agricultural Paradigms: A Proposed Scale*

Abstract Current debates and conflicts in agriculture appear to reflect the competing perspectives of two increasingly distinct camps of agricultural stakeholders: proponents of “alternative agriculture” and proponents of “conventional agriculture.” Several analysts have argued that members of these two camps hold fundamentally divergent paradigms of agriculture, and thus, literally see the world quite differently. The purpose of this paper is to describe an instrument—the Alternative-Conventional Agriculture Paradigm Scale (or ACAP Scale)—developed to measure the basic beliefs and values assumed to constitute the two competing perspectives in agriculture. Items designed to tap all of the major dimensions identified in the alternative-conventional agriculture debate were included in surveys of known groups of alternative and conventional agriculturalists, as well as in a statewide survey of farmers. The items discriminate significantly between the three samples (with the statewide farmer sample taking the intermediate position), suggesting their validity as measures of the elements of the competing agricultural paradigms. The items also exhibit a high degree of internal consistency, indicating the appropriateness of combining them into a single instrument to measure adherence to alternative versus conventional agriculture. As expected, the known groups provide more consistent responses than do the statewide sample of farmers, presumably reflecting the greater ideological coherence of social movement and interest group members. However, the alternative agriculturalists are far more consistent than are the conventional agriculturalists, and potential explanations for this finding are drawn from recent work on social movements.     

Struggling with human exemptionalism: The rise,decline and revitalization of environmental sociology

The emergence of environmental sociology in the 1970s, the decline of interest it experienced in the the early 1980s, and its revitalization since the late 1980s are described and linked to trends in societal interest in environmental problems. We suggest that the status of the field has been heavily dependent upon societal attention to environmental problems, in part due to the larger discipline’s ingrained assumption that the welfare of modern societies is no longer linked to the physical environment. We also suggest that growing recognition of the reality of global environmental change (GEC) poses a fundamental challenge to this “human exemptionalism paradigm,” and thus offers an opportunity for strengthening sociological interest in the environment. Understanding the causes and consequences of GEC calls for examination of societal-environmental interactions, the fundamental subject matter of environmental sociology. Unfortunately, early sociological work has largely ignored such interactions in favor of analyses of the “social construction” of GEC, Consequently, limitations of a social constructivist approach to GEC (and to environmental problems in general) are discussed, and a more inclusive research agenda is recommended. Revision of a paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Miami Beach, August 1993.     

Community Involvement: Theoretical Approaches and Educational Initiatives

Efforts to increase involvement of citizens in their communities are now widespread. We discuss key forms of community involvement, such as community service and volunteerism, broadly, and educational initiatives that promote involvement (e.g., service–learning courses) more specifically. There are benefits to be achieved by the promotion of involvement, but also potential drawbacks. As an example of one approach to investigating community involvement, we review research on the interactive influence of person–centered functional variables (e.g., motives) and situation–centered structural variables (e.g., program features) on prosocial action. Ultimately, we call for greater attention to be paid to all of the constituent groups in the community involvement spectrum and the necessarily respectful and equitable relationships that must be forged among them.     

Complex technological capabilities in emerging economy firms: The role of organizational relationships

Formal organizational relationships are important sources for capability building in emerging economy firms eager to move up the value chain. We examine how access to valuable knowledge available to firms via organizational relationships creates learning opportunities necessary for the development of complex technological capabilities. Using a sample of 852 observations of emerging economy firms from the Indian software industry between 1992 and 2000, we find that developing strong domestic intra-organizational relationships, through affiliation with a moderately diversified business group or operating in a related industry, promote more complex technological capabilities. In the case of foreign inter-organizational relationships, we find that greater foreign client contact enhances the complexity of firm technological capabilities. However, accessing knowledge from domestic inter-organizational relationships appears to hinder the development of firm complex technological capabilities. An interesting result from our research was that having greater access to knowledge from foreign intra-organizational relationships, embedded within foreign subsidiaries, did not lead to the development of complex firm technological capabilities. The results of our study highlight that for emerging economy firms wanting to improve their complex technological capabilities, there may be diminishing benefits to learning from and acquiring knowledge available within specific types of formal organizational relationships.     

Perceptions of elder physical abuse in the courtroom: the influence of hearsay witness testimony

A community sample of 226 participants (41% men, 59% women) who answered questions about a trial summary that manipulated what type of witness (a 45-year-old hearsay [second-hand information based on the report of a crime victim] witness, a 75-year-old hearsay witness, or the 75-year-old victim) presented an allegation of elder physical abuse. Overall, participants who read the testimony of a 45-year-old hearsay witness had higher conviction rates than participants who read the testimony of the 75-year-old hearsay witness or the elder victim. Additionally, participants who had previously been victims of abuse and/or who had positive attitudes toward elderly people rendered more pro-prosecution verdicts. Finally, as the age of the participant increased so did conviction rates.     

Traumatic Experiences and Drug Use by LGB Adolescents: A Critical Review of Minority Stress

High rates of illicit drug use found among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents are often attributed to unique and chronic traumatic events tied to sexual minority identity. Although initiation of drug use is relatively common within adolescence, little research contributes to our understanding of the disparities found among LGB adolescents. This review synthesized existing literature to determine if the minority stress model is applicable to LGB drug use disparities and fits within a trauma framework. Findings indicate that minority stress experiences have been inconsistently related to drug use among LGB adolescents. Implications for future research and practice are described.