Cross-National Focus Group Response to Autonomous Vehicles

2021 ◽  
pp. 036119812199236
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Norton ◽  
Melissa Ruhl ◽  
Tim Armitage ◽  
Brian Matthews ◽  
John Miles
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Total N ◽  
The Public ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Willingness To Use

The development of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is advancing quickly in some enclaves around the world. Consequently, AVs exist in the public consciousness, featuring regularly in mainstream media. As the form and function of AVs emerge, the attitudes of potential users become more important. The extent to which the public trusts AV technology and anticipates benefits, will drive consumer willingness to use AVs. Broadly, public attitudes will determine whether AVs can attract public investment in infrastructure and become a feature of the future transport mix or fail to realize the potential their developers assert. As part of UK Autodrive, a program trialing the introduction of AVs in the United Kingdom, researchers conducted focus groups in five UK cities, and a comparison focus group in San Francisco (December 2017 to September 2018) using representative samples (total n = 137). Focus group facilitators guided discussions in three areas considered central to usage decisions: trust in the technology, ownership models, and community benefit. This paper describes findings from a quasi-quantitative study supported with qualitative insights. This research provides three key takeaways centering on trust in the technology and in delivering benefit. First, some participants gain trust through experience and others through evidence. Second, participants had difficulty discriminating between AV developers, indicating a need for industry cooperation. Third, partnerships were found to demonstrate trust, highlighting the need for more and deeper partnerships moving forward. Generally, participants had positive attitudes toward AVs and expect AVs to provide benefits. However, these attitudes and expectations could change as AV development progresses.

Trust in the Police: Cross-country Comparisons

2012 ◽  
pp. 24-47
Author(s):  
V. Gimpelson ◽  
G. Monusova
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Crime Rates ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Police Activity

Using different cross-country data sets and simple econometric techniques we study public attitudes towards the police. More positive attitudes are more likely to emerge in the countries that have better functioning democratic institutions, less prone to corruption but enjoy more transparent and accountable police activity. This has a stronger impact on the public opinion (trust and attitudes) than objective crime rates or density of policemen. Citizens tend to trust more in those (policemen) with whom they share common values and can have some control over. The latter is a function of democracy. In authoritarian countries — “police states” — this tendency may not work directly. When we move from semi-authoritarian countries to openly authoritarian ones the trust in the police measured by surveys can also rise. As a result, the trust appears to be U-shaped along the quality of government axis. This phenomenon can be explained with two simple facts. First, publicly spread information concerning police activity in authoritarian countries is strongly controlled; second, the police itself is better controlled by authoritarian regimes which are afraid of dangerous (for them) erosion of this institution.

scholarly journals Attitudes and willingness toward out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a questionnaire study among the public trained online in China

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. e038712
Author(s):  
Yi Jiang ◽  
Bangsheng Wu ◽  
Long Long ◽  
Jiaxing Li ◽  
Xiaoqing Jin
Keyword(s):  
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Online Training ◽  
First Aid ◽  
The Public ◽  
Close Family Member ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Bystander Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ◽  
Cpr Training

ObjectivesThe incidence of bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is low in China. CPR training could improve public attitudes and willingness, but at present, the attitudes of the public after online training are unclear. This study investigated individual attitudes towards CPR, the willingness to perform it in emergencies along with the main obstacles and the overall effects of online training.DesignQuestionnaires were distributed to investigate the public attitudes and willingness towards performing bystander CPR.SettingQuestionnaires were accessible after the online course ‘First Aid’.Participants1888 students who attended ‘First Aid’ from December 2019 to 1 January 2020 and then completed the questionnaire voluntarily.ResultsThe majority understood CPR (96.7%) and displayed a willingness to learn (98.4%) and to disseminate CPR knowledge (82.0%). Characteristics associated with more positive attitudes included women, the 26–35-year olds and those in medical-related occupations (p<0.05). Only 34.8% had CPR training before. Most people would willingly perform CPR on a close family member. Compared with the standard CPR (S-CPR), the public preferred chest compression-only CPR (CO-CPR) (p<0.01). The top three obstacles to performing CO-CPR were lack of confidence (26.7%), fear of harming the victim (23.4%) and causing legal trouble (20.7%), while regarding S-CPR, fear of disease transmission (22.9%) ranked second. Women, those in poor health and in medical-related occupations, were more likely to perform CPR (p<0.05). The confidence to perform CPR was improved remarkably after online training (p<0.05).ConclusionsThe overwhelming majority of respondents showed positive attitudes and willingness towards CPR. In some cases, there is still reluctance, especially towards S-CPR. Obstacles arise mainly due to lack of confidence in administering CPR, while online CPR training can markedly improve it. Therefore, we should focus on disseminating CPR knowledge, targeting those who are less willing to perform CPR and helping overcome their obstacles by online training.

scholarly journals Garden centre customer attitudes to pollinators and pollinator-friendly planting

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7088 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica R. Wignall ◽  
Karin Alton ◽  
Francis L.W. Ratnieks
Keyword(s):  
Public Awareness ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Flowering Plant ◽  
The Public ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Personal Motivation ◽  
Public Garden ◽  
Pollinating Insects ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Customer Attitudes

Growing nectar- and pollen-rich flowering plant varieties in domestic gardens and other greenspace is an important pro-environmental behaviour that supports pollinating insects. Wildlife gardening is popular in the UK; however, public attitudes and behaviour relating to planting for pollinators are currently not well understood. We investigated these through questionnaires and interviews with customers in five garden centres in Sussex, southeast England, a relevant and useful consumer group representing horticulturally-engaged members of the public. Garden centre customers had strongly positive attitudes and were motivated to plant for bees and other pollinators: most (77%) grew pollinator-friendly varieties, while 64% would be more likely to buy a plant with a pollinator-friendly logo. Personal motivation to support pollinators was linked to a recent increase in personal and public awareness of their declines through (often negativistic) information from mass media sources. Practical implications of these findings in relation to the horticultural retail industry are discussed.

Atomic Aversion: Experimental Evidence on Taboos, Traditions, and the Non-Use of Nuclear Weapons

2013 ◽  
Vol 107 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
DARYL G. PRESS ◽  
SCOTT D. SAGAN ◽  
BENJAMIN A. VALENTINO
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
State Behavior ◽  
The Public ◽  
Conventional Weapons ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
Willingness To Use ◽  
Do So

How strong are normative prohibitions on state behavior? We examine this question by analyzing anti-nuclear norms, sometimes called the “nuclear taboo,” using an original survey experiment to evaluate American attitudes regarding nuclear use. We find that the public has only a weak aversion to using nuclear weapons and that this aversion has few characteristics of an “unthinkable” behavior or taboo. Instead, public attitudes about whether to use nuclear weapons are driven largely by consequentialist considerations of military utility. Americans’ willingness to use nuclear weapons increases dramatically when nuclear weapons provide advantages over conventional weapons in destroying critical targets. Americans who oppose the use of nuclear weapons seem to do so primarily for fear of setting a negative precedent that could lead to the use of nuclear weapons by other states against the United States or its allies in the future.

scholarly journals The Role of Human Operators in Safety Perception of AV Deployment—Insights from a Large European Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 9166
Author(s):  
Miltos Kyriakidis ◽  
Jaka Sodnik ◽  
Kristina Stojmenova ◽  
Arnór B. Elvarsson ◽  
Cristina Pronello ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Public ◽  
Road Users ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
Vulnerable Road Users ◽  
Human Operators ◽  
Willingness To Use ◽  
Transport Problems

Autonomous vehicles are anticipated to play an important role on future mobility offering encouraging solutions to today’s transport problems. However, concerns of the public, which can affect the AVs’ uptake, are yet to be addressed. This study presents relevant findings of an online survey in eight European countries. First, 1639 responses were collected in Spring 2020 on people’s commute, preferred transport mode, willingness to use AVs and demographic details. Data was analyzed for the entire dataset and for vulnerable road users in particular. Results re-confirm the long-lasting discourse on the importance of safety on the acceptance of AVs. Spearman correlations show that age, gender, education level and number of household members have an impact on how people may be using or allowing their children to use the technology, e.g., with or without the presence of a human supervisor in the vehicle. Results on vulnerable road users show the same trend. The elderly would travel in AVs with the presence of a human supervisor. People with disabilities have the same proclivity, however their reactions were more conservative. Next to safety, reliability, affordability, cost, driving pleasure and household size may also impact the uptake of AVs and shall be considered when designing relevant policies.

scholarly journals Public attitudes to people with ASD: contact, knowledge and ethnicity

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli Gemegah ◽  
Dimitra Hartas ◽  
Vasiliki Totsika
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Knowledge And Attitudes ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Education Campaigns ◽  
White Ethnic

Purpose The increase in autism prevalence and presentation in the media suggests a rise in public awareness. This paper aims to explore what factors (contact, knowledge and ethnicity) may be associated to positive attitudes towards individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Design/methodology/approach An online survey examined contact with and knowledge of ASD among Black, Asian and White ethnic groups to predict public attitudes to people with ASD. Findings In multiple regression models, the results suggested that the level of contact predicts positive attitudes towards autism when demographic factors were accounted. The level of knowledge about autism were significantly associated to attitudes, but not consistently when demographic factors were accounted. However, differences in knowledge and attitudes to people with ASD were identified amongst Black, Asian and White ethnic groups. Research limitations/implications These findings have implications for policy and public health and education campaigns, including ensuring contact and knowledge of autism among the public. Originality/value These findings have implications for policy and public health and education campaigns, including ensuring contact and knowledge of autism among the public. Additionally, further effort is required to target public knowledge and attitudes to autism, particularly among ethnic groups. Institutional support tailored to encourage structured and unstructured contact across public domains such as education, health, social and care practices could effectively reduce prejudice between the public and people with ASD over time.

Normalization of the Alt-Right: How perceived prevalence and acceptability of the Alt-Right is linked to public attitudes

2021 ◽  
pp. 136843022110176
Author(s):  
Hema Preya Selvanathan ◽  
Bernhard Leidner
Keyword(s):  
Public Attitudes ◽  
The United States ◽  
Injunctive Norms ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Normative Beliefs ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Total N ◽  
Potential Harm ◽  
The Public

The rise of far-right movements calls for greater understanding of how the public responds to such movements. In the context of the United States, we examined the role of normative beliefs about the Alt-Right in shaping public reactions toward the movement (three studies, total N = 1,379). Specifically, we examined how perceived prevalence (high descriptive norms) and acceptability (high injunctive norms) of the Alt-Right are linked to public attitudes toward that movement. We found limited evidence of a threat response—that is, perceived prevalence of the Alt-Right did not consistently predict more negative reactions toward it, such as fearing its potential harm to society. There was, however, more consistent evidence of a normalization response—that is, perceived acceptability of the Alt-Right predicted more positive reactions toward it, such as showing leniency toward their activities. These findings underscore the importance of far-right movements in possibly shaping normative standards in society, and how such norms are linked to public attitudes.

Evaluation of the impact of public investment programs on social and economic performance of territories

2019 ◽  
pp. 109-123
Author(s):  
I. E. Limonov ◽  
M. V. Nesena
Keyword(s):  
Bayesian Modeling ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
The Public ◽  
Export Activity ◽  
Regional Investment ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Development Institution

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of public investment programs on the socio-economic development of territories. As a case, the federal target programs for the development of regions and investment programs of the financial development institution — Vnesheconombank, designed to solve the problems of regional development are considered. The impact of the public interventions were evaluated by the “difference in differences” method using Bayesian modeling. The results of the evaluation suggest the positive impact of federal target programs on the total factor productivity of regions and on innovation; and that regional investment programs of Vnesheconombank are improving the export activity. All of the investments considered are likely to have contributed to the reduction of unemployment, but their implementation has been accompanied by an increase in social inequality.

A Subtle but Intractable Problem? Public Attitudes to Sectarianism in 2014

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Ormston ◽  
John Curtice ◽  
Stephen Hinchliffe ◽  
Anna Marcinkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Beliefs ◽  
Intractable Problem ◽  
Robust Evidence

Discussion of sectarianism often focuses on evidence purporting to show discriminatory behaviour directed at Catholics or Protestants in Scotland. But attitudes also matter – in sustaining (or preventing) such discriminatory behaviours, and in understanding the nature of the ‘problem of sectarianism’ from the perspective of the Scottish public. This paper uses data from the Scottish Social Attitudes survey 2014. The survey fills a gap in the evidence base by providing robust evidence on what the public actually thinks about sectarianism in modern Scotland. It assesses public beliefs about the extent and nature of sectarianism and its perceived causes. Tensions in public opinion and differences in the attitudes of different sections of Scottish society are explored.

Dari Idealisme ke Pragmatisme: Pergeseran Paradigma dalam Pengembangan Hukum Ekonomi Syariah di Indonesia

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-210
Author(s):  
Addiarrahman Addiarrahman ◽  
Illy Yanti
Keyword(s):  
Focus Group ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Business World ◽  
Key Informants ◽  
The Public ◽  
Financial Products ◽  
Legal Consideration ◽  
Economic Law ◽  
Islamic Economic

This study seeks to understand the pragmatism of the development of sharia economic law, and its implications for Islamic financial products in Indonesia. The data comes from the results of interviews and focus group discussions with key informants from academics, practitioners, authorities, and the public. This research finds that pragmatism in the development of Islamic economic law is an approach that still dominates the DSN-MUI fatwas. The pragmatism style used is complex-eclectic pragmatism which is represented through makhārij al-fiqhiyyah, which is to choose a mild opinion by sticking to the strongest method or also called "taysīr al-manhajī". The use of this method is intended to ensure that the fatwa is truly able to answer the needs of the business world, as well as being in line with sharia principles. DSN-MUI also does not use maslahah as a legal consideration in a free or liberal way. Rather, it returns maslahah in consideration of the method, so that it is permissible to use the bay’ al-'inān contract only in a forced state (ḍarurah).

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