scholarly journals The limitations of polling data in understanding public support for COVID-19 lockdown policies

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 210678
Author(s):  
Colin M. G. Foad ◽  
Lorraine Whitmarsh ◽  
Paul H. P. Hanel ◽  
Geoffrey Haddock

Opinion polls regarding policies designed to tackle COVID-19 have shown public support has remained high throughout the first year of the pandemic in most places around the world. However, there is a risk that headline support over-simplifies people's views. We carried out a two-wave survey with six-month interval on a public sample ( N = 212) in the UK, examining the factors that underpin lockdown policy support. We find that the majority of people support most public health measures introduced, but that they also see significant side effects of these policies, and that they consider many of these side effects as unacceptable in a cost–benefit analysis. We also find that people judged the threat of COVID-19 via the magnitude of the policy response, and that they do not use their perception of the personal threat to themselves or close others to guide their support for policy. Polling data only offer one simple perspective and do not illustrate the ambivalence many people feel around lockdown policies. There is also a meaningful risk of public opinion and government policy forming a symbiotic relationship, which impacts upon how effectively such policies are implemented both now, and in relation to future threats.

Author(s):  
Ronald R Krebs ◽  
Robert Ralston ◽  
Aaron Rapport

Abstract What shapes public support for military missions? Existing scholarship points to, on the one hand, individuals’ affiliations and predispositions (such as political partisanship and gender), and, on the other hand, factors that shape a rational cost–benefit analysis (notably, mission objectives, the prospects for victory, and the magnitude and distribution of costs). We argue that public opinion is also shaped by beliefs about why soldiers voluntarily enlist. Using novel survey data and an experiment, deployed to a nationally representative sample of Americans, we test how four conceptions of soldiering affect support for a prospective military operation. We find, in observational data, that believing that a soldier is a good citizen or patriot bolsters support for the mission, while believing that a soldier has enlisted because he wants the material benefits of service or has “no other options” undermines support. These results support our causal argument: Americans’ attitudes toward military missions are shaped by their perception of whether the soldier has consented to deployment rather than by feelings of social obligation. This article has implications for debates on the determinants of public support for military missions and the relationship between military service and citizenship in democracies.


Author(s):  
Sirous F. Yasseri ◽  
Peter Menhennett

A key principle for achieving Tolerable Risk under the UK Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) approach is the reduction of risks to “As Low As Reasonably Practicable” or ALARP. This principle is founded on the ideal of reducing risks to a point of diminishing returns where additional risk reduction would cost “disproportionally” more than the risk reduction benefit achieved. The HSE approach of estimating the degree of disproportionality between the cost and benefits associated with a potential risk reduction measure is a variation of the Cost Effectiveness approach to ALARP Evaluation. A probabilistic cost-benefit analysis method is outlined for evaluating design options and establishing whether the conditions of ALARP are met. This paper demonstrates the value of probabilistic cost-benefit analysis for the selection of a target safety level and also presents an example of its practical application by way of a case history.


1992 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey S. Beck ◽  
William S. Wise ◽  
Frank H. Dodd

SummaryBovine mastitis reduces the yield and quality of milk and increases the rate of culling and veterinary costs. This reduces the profitability of farm milk production but the calculation of the extent of this economic loss is complex because of the many factors involved and deficiencies in the evidence on the relationship between the disease and various production factors. This paper examines the available evidence for the UK and provides a consistent analytical framework within which the benefits arising from reduced mastitis in dairy herds constrained by quota can be considered. It is estimated that since 1970 the farms that have followed the recommended control procedures have reduced the average annual number of cases of clinical mastitis from 135 to 40 cases/100 cows each year, while the quarters remaining uninfected for a whole year has increased from 65 to 80% of the total quarters. The costs of the main control procedures (e.g. £8–60/cow for dry-cow therapy and teat dipping or spraying) are broadly covered by the reduction in clinical mastitis, leaving the benefits of reduced subclinical infection (e.g. £3810 for a 100 cow herd unconstrained by quota and achieving the average reduction in infection) as a substantial bonus. The imposition of quotas reduces the financial benefit of mastitis control but it still remains a worthwhile investment. The results of this analysis can be used to suggest maximum costs of additional new control measures produced by research. It also indicates that there is considerable value in production research which gives more precise knowledge of production Systems, thus allowing producers to respond optimally to quota cuts.


Author(s):  
Stuart O. Schweitzer ◽  
Z. John Lu

As a result of new cost-containment incentives found in both public and private healthcare plans, providers and insurers are subjecting new healthcare services, and especially pharmaceuticals, to evaluations in which costs and benefits are explicitly compared. Collectively, this body of work is referred to as health technology assessment. This chapter discusses in detail the three methodologies most frequently utilized in HTA: cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and cost-utility analysis. The appropriate roles for each of these approaches and examples of their applications in several influential HTA organizations around the world are elaborated, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in the UK, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee in Australia, and the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health. The history and current state of HTA in the United States is also examined in the chapter.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. S. B. Ganandran ◽  
T. M. I. Mahlia ◽  
Hwai Chyuan Ong ◽  
B. Rismanchi ◽  
W. T. Chong

This paper reports the result of an investigation on the potential energy saving of the lighting systems at selected buildings of the Universiti Tenaga Nasional. The scope of this project includes evaluation of the lighting system in the Library, Admin Building, College of Engineering, College of Information Technology, Apartments, and COE Food court of the university. The main objectives of this project are to design the proper retrofit scenario and to calculate the potential electricity saving, the payback period, and the potential environmental benefits. In this survey the policy for retrofitting the old lighting system with the new energy saving LEDs starts with 10% for the first year and continues constantly for 10 years until all the lighting systems have been replaced. The result of the life cycle analysis reveals that after four years, the selected buildings will bring profit for the investment.


2021 ◽  
pp. 097282012199496
Author(s):  
Achuta Ratna Paluri ◽  
Vandana Sonwaney

Firms are under constant pressure to minimize negative externalities and increase positive externalities. These pressures are translating into the corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities by firms. CSR is emerging as a widespread business activity, and firms are undertaking CSR voluntarily. This case provides a brief discussion of the scenario of CSR in India. It goes on to discuss the educational activities undertaken by firms under their CSR programmes. Brillio Technologies is one such company that has adopted CSR voluntarily, from the very first year of operations, in 2015. CSR actions of Brillio go beyond the legal requirements as it achieved remarkable results in community engagement and employee engagement. CSR activities of companies are internal to the organization, such as reducing and recycling waste, or external to the organization, such as reducing its carbon footprint. While Brillio undertook numerous internal activities, its focus was on external activities through its flagship programme ‘Bringing Smiles’. The programme successfully reached 100,000 underserved students through STEM education by 2020—the company partnered with NGOs and schools to achieve its social goals. Participants need to evaluate the existing programme and strategize for achieving the goals. They are posed with three choices: (a) increase employee volunteering hours, (b) partner with more NGOs and (c) recommend a foundation for taking up CSR activities. These strategies could be a huge drain on the resources, hence there is need for a cost-benefit analysis of the alternatives.


Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 305
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Klimek-Kopyra ◽  
Urszula Sadowska ◽  
Maciej Kuboń ◽  
Maciej Gliniak ◽  
Jakub Sikora

Climate change has a decisive impact on the physical parameters of soil. To counteract this phenomenon, the ongoing search for more effective agri-technical solutions aims at the improvement of the physical properties of soil over a short time. The study aimed to assess the effect of biochar produced from sunflower husks on soil respiration (SR), soil water flux (SWF), and soil temperature (ST), depending on its dose and different soil cover (with and without vegetation). Moreover, the seed yield was assessed depending on the biochar fertilization. Field experiments were conducted on Calcaric/Dolomitic Leptosols (Ochric soil). SR, ST, and SWT were evaluated seven times in three-week intervals during two seasons, over 2018 and 2019. It was found that the time of biochar application had a significant effect on the evaluated parameters. In the second year, the authors observed significantly (p < 0.005) higher soil respiration (4.38 µmol s−1 m−2), soil temperature (21.2 °C), and the level of water net transfer in the soil (0.38 m mol s−1 m−2), compared to the first year. The most effective biochar dose regarding SR and soybean yield was 60 t ha−1. These are promising results, but a more comprehensive cost-benefit analysis is needed to recommend large-scale biochar use at this dose.


Author(s):  
Kathryn Mackinnon ◽  
Helen C.M Smith ◽  
Francesca Moore ◽  
Harry Van Der Weijde ◽  
Iraklis Lazakis

The deployment of renewable energy is regarded as a strategy to combat climate change. There have been a number of global agreements aiming to mitigate climate change, the most recent of which was the 2015 Paris Agreement. Often overlooked is the vast amount of marine renewable energy available around the world’s coastlines. In particular tidal range energy is a largely untapped resource which has benefits including reduced uncertainty through use of proven technology, a high level of predictability, the ability to phase shift energy to provide base load supply and a long expected life span (100 years). The key barriers to development of tidal range energy have been environmental concerns and high capital cost. Tidal lagoons are often presented as environmentally friendly alternatives to tidal barrages, but this does not mean their environmental impacts can be overlooked. Recent developments in the UK lagoon industry such as the awarding of a Development Consent Order to Swansea Bay tidal lagoon, mean it is now more important than ever to consider the environmental impacts of tidal lagoons and what solutions are available to address them. This is challenging considering there are no operational tidal lagoons in the world yet. This study aims to: 1. Identify the key impacts through industry engagement 2. Find available solutions through systematic review 3. Select and analyze solutions using Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and Ecosystem Service Valuation (ESV).


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