scholarly journals Papers please: Predictive factors for the uptake of national and international COVID-19 immunity and vaccination passports

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Michael Garrett ◽  
Joshua Paul White ◽  
Simon Dennis ◽  
Stephan Lewandowsky ◽  
Cheng-Ta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Factors ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Effective Policy ◽  
Generalized Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Representative Samples

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries are introducing digital passports that allow citizens to return to normal activities if they were previously infected with (immunity passport) or vaccinated against (vaccination passport) SARS-CoV-2. To be effective, policy decision makers must know whether immunity and vaccination passports will be widely accepted by the public, and under what conditions? We collected representative samples across six countries – Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom – during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic to assess attitudes towards the introduction of immunity passports. Immunity passport support was moderate-to-low, ranging from 51% in the UK and Germany, down to 22% in Japan. Bayesian generalized linear mixed effects modelling controlling for each country showed neoliberal world views, personal concern and perceived virus severity, the fairness of immunity passports, and willingness to become infected to gain an immunity passport, were all predictive factors of immunity passport support. By contrast, gender (woman), immunity passport concern, and risk of harm to society predicted a decrease in support for immunity passports. Minor differences in predictive factors were found between countries. These findings will help policy makers introduce effective immunity passport policies in these six countries and around the world.

Papers please: Predictive factors for national and international COVID-19 immunity and vaccination passport uptake as determined by representative surveys (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Michael Garrett ◽  
Joshua Paul White ◽  
Simon Dennis ◽  
Stephan Lewandowsky ◽  
Cheng-Ta Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Factors ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
National Accounts ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Social Risks ◽  
Effective Policy ◽  
Generalized Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
The Uk

BACKGROUND In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries are introducing digital passports that allow citizens to return to normal activities if they were previously infected with (immunity passport) or vaccinated against (vaccination passport) SARS-CoV-2. To be effective, policy decision makers must know whether immunity and vaccination passports will be widely accepted by the public, and under what conditions? This study focuses attention on immunity passports, as these may prove useful in countries both with and without an existing COVID-19 vaccination program, however, our general findings also extend to vaccination passports. OBJECTIVE We aimed to assess attitudes towards the introduction of immunity passports in six countries, and determine what social, personal, and contextual factors predicted their support. METHODS We collected online representative samples across six countries – Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom – from April to May of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, and assessed attitudes and support for the introduction of immunity passports. RESULTS Immunity passport support was moderate-to-low, ranging from 51% in the UK and Germany, 47% in Australia and Spain, 46% in Taiwan, and 22% in Japan. Bayesian generalized linear mixed effects modelling controlling assessed predictive factors for immunity passport support across countries. International results showed neoliberal world views, personal concern and perceived virus severity, the fairness of immunity passports, and willingness to become infected to gain an immunity passport, were all predictive factors of immunity passport support. By contrast, gender (woman), immunity passport concern, and risk of harm to society predicted a decrease in support for immunity passports. Minor differences in predictive factors were found between countries and results were modelled separately to provide national accounts of these data. CONCLUSIONS Our research suggests that support for immunity passports is predicted by the personal benefits and social risks they confer. These findings generalized across six countries and may also prove informative for the introduction of vaccination passports, helping policy makers to introduce effective COVID-19 passport policies in these six countries and around the world.

Fear and deference in Holocaust education. The pitfalls of “engagement teaching” according to a report by the British Historical Association

Human Affairs ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Carrier
Keyword(s):  
Secondary School Teachers ◽  
Holocaust Education ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Enlightenment ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Historical Education ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Contemporary Education

AbstractThis article questions the effectiveness of “engagement teaching” when dealing with controversial subjects by exploring the role of fear in contemporary education about the Holocaust in the United Kingdom. It begins by assessing a governmental report about education and a series of related press reports and chain emails, whose assumption that secondary school teachers are afraid of teaching controversial subjects (in particular the Holocaust) triggered an international scandal about Holocaust education in the UK in April 2007. The author argues that three forms of respectful fear or deference are undermined in Holocaust teaching: epistemological (towards historical knowledge); political (towards curricula); and intergenerational (towards teachers). The article further demonstrates that the object of fear expressed by journalists and the public was not the Holocaust itself, but the reversal of deferential relations between teachers and pupils in the school classroom and the supposition that we may not learn from history. Whereas history education is held up by policy-makers as a safeguard of social stability and of the transmission of values, the application of “engagement teaching” to controversial subjects may in fact undermine the authority of historical education and the enlightenment principles on which it is founded.

Science, Politics, and the Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 119 (820) ◽  
pp. 303-309
Author(s):  
J. Nicholas Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Biomedical Research ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The United States ◽  
Scientific Advice ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Effective Policy ◽  
Scientific Expertise ◽  
The Uk

Comparing the virus responses in Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States shows that in order for scientific expertise to result in effective policy, rational political leadership is required. Each of these three countries is known for advanced biomedical research, yet their experiences in the COVID-19 pandemic diverged widely. Germany’s political leadership carefully followed scientific advice and organized public–private partnerships to scale up testing, resulting in relatively low infection levels. The UK and US political responses were far more erratic and less informed by scientific advice—and proved much less effective.

scholarly journals Can Political Trust Help to Explain Elite Policy Support and Public Behaviour in Times of Crisis? Evidence from the United Kingdom at the Height of the 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 003232172098090
Author(s):  
James Weinberg
Keyword(s):  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Interpersonal Relations ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Policy Coordination ◽  
Policy Support ◽  
The Public ◽  
Effective Governance ◽  
Policy Success ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk

Trust between representatives and citizens is regarded as central to effective governance in times of peace and uncertainty. This article tests that assumption by engaging elite and mass perspectives to provide a 360-degree appraisal of vertical and horizontal policy coordination in a crisis scenario. Specifically, a multi-dimensional conception of political trust, anchored in psychological studies of interpersonal relations, is operationalised in the context of the United Kingdom’s response to the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. Detailed analysis of data collected from 1045 members of the public and more than 250 elected politicians suggests that particular facets of political trust and distrust may have contributed to levels of mass behavioural compliance and elite policy support in the UK at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. These findings help to evaluate policy success during a unique and challenging moment while contributing theoretically and methodologically to broader studies of political trust and governance.

scholarly journals Winners and losers - communicating the potential impacts of policies

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Brick ◽  
William John Skylark ◽  
Alexandra Lee Jessica Freeman ◽  
Theresa Marteau
Keyword(s):  
Policy Decision ◽  
Policy Option ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Communication Effectiveness ◽  
Policy Options ◽  
Effective Policy ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
Long Timescales ◽  
Review Current

Individual decision-makers need communications that succinctly describe potential harms and benefits of different options, but policymakers or citizens evaluating a policy are rarely given a balanced and easily understood summary of the potential outcomes of their decision. We review current policy option communication across diverse domains such as taxes, health, climate change, and international trade, followed by reviews of guidance and evidence for communication effectiveness. Our conceptual synthesis identifies four characteristics of policy options that make their communication particularly difficult: heterogeneous impacts on different segments of the population, multiple outcomes, long timescales, and large uncertainties. For communicators that are trying to inform rather than persuade, these complexities reveal a core tension between issue coverage and comprehensibility. We find little empirical evidence for how to communicate policy options effectively. We identify promising current communications, analyze them based on the above synthesis, and suggest priorities for future research. Recognizing the particular challenges of balanced, effective policy option communications could lead to better guidelines and support for policy decision-making. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-018-0121-9

scholarly journals Fraud in overseas aid and the challenge of measurement

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Button ◽  
Chris Lewis ◽  
David Shepherd ◽  
Graham Brooks
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
International Development ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges of measuring fraud in overseas aid. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on 21 semi-structured interviews with key persons working in the delivery of aid in both the public and voluntary sectors. It uses the UK Department for International Development as a case study to applying more accurate measures of fraud. Findings – This paper shows there are significant challenges to using fraud loss measurement to gauge fraud in overseas aid. However, it argues that, along with other types of measures, it could be used in areas of expenditure in overseas governments and charities to measure aid. Given the high risk of such aid to fraud, it argues helping to develop capacity to reduce aid, of which measuring the size of the problem is an important part; this could be considered as aid in its own right. Research limitations/implications – The researchers were not able to visit high-risk countries for fraud to examine in the local context views on the challenges of measuring fraud. Practical implications – The paper offers insights on the challenges to accurately measuring fraud in an overseas context, which will be useful to policy-makers in this context. Social implications – Given the importance of as much aid as possible reaching recipients, it offers an important contribution to helping to reduce losses in this important area. Originality/value – There has been very little consideration of how to measure fraud in the overseas aid context, with most effort aimed at corruption, which poses some of the same challenges, as well as some very different challenges.

Online job quality quizzes: are they of value?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
Job Quality ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Random Probability ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Uk

Purpose The purpose of this study is to compare two methods of data collection on job quality – an online quiz and a random probability survey. Design/methodology/approach Data are from a nationally representative sample of workers in Britain aged 20–65 years. Participants in the survey are randomly selected whereas those completing the quiz are recruited using uncontrolled convenience sampling promoted through trade union websites, newsletters and advertising on social media platforms. The survey and quiz contain the same questions and data from both methods are collected within 14 months of each other. Findings The results show that the sample recruited for participation in the online quiz is skewed towards those working in the public sector, people in higher education and towards younger age groups and women whereas the random probability survey is more representative of the adult working population in the UK. Significant differences in the results obtained by the two collection methods are found which suggests that social desirability bias is having an effect on participant responses. Practical implications Therefore policy makers should consider the advantages and disadvantages when selecting methods to collect data for tracking changes in job quality. Originality/value This paper has an original approach by examining the procedures in different methods of gathering data on job quality and the effects of this on the data collected.

Broadband Diffusion to SMEs in the UK

2011 ◽  
pp. 481-492
Author(s):  
Oluwasola Oni ◽  
Anastasia Papazafeiropoulou
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovation ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Perceived Benefits ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Technological Adoption ◽  
The Uk

Broadband is a relatively new technology and its adoption in the United Kingdom has been an issue due to its perceived benefits for businesses and more so for small/medium size enterprises (SMEs). In this chapter we argue that previous research focuses on home uses of broadband, particularly for educational purposes with little attention to its adoption by SMEs. We argue that the existing diffusion of innovation theories are inadequate for the study of broadband diffusion and we propose a more sociotechnical approach for that purpose. This study can be useful for SMEs considering adoption of new technologies such as broadband as well as policy makers that seek to apply effective technological adoption policies.

Guidelines for Fixed Wing Air Ambulance Flights

1985 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-297
Author(s):  
R.J. Fairhurst ◽  
Captain D. Antrobus
Keyword(s):  
International Travel ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Air Ambulances ◽  
Air Ambulance ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Legal Implications ◽  
Medical Transport ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Seriously Ill

The easy availability of small aircraft for charter, has been accompanied by increasing willingness on the part of insurance companies to pay the costs for the use of these air ambulances. Operators of aircraft in the United Kingdom and Europe were becoming increasingly worried about the moral, medical and legal implications of carrying seriously ill or injured passengers. In late 1980 the UK Air Taxi Operators Association (ATOA) began to formulate Guidelines for air ambulance operations, and in 1981 these were incorporated into the studies of the same subject by the International Business Aircraft Association (IBAA), Europe. This paper presents the Guidelines adopted by the ATOA and ratified by IBAA Europe. The Guidelines are designed not to hamper the development of aeormedical rescue, but to bring it within a proper medical aeronautical framework for the safety of the patients, and medical and aircraft crews.During the last 30 years development of the international travel market in Europe has resulted in many patients becoming ill or suffering injuries many miles from their own home. In the past these people would have remained in a local hospital and received treatment by the locally available facilities. There has been a revolution in the technology of medical transport, providing skills and equipment which allows the most seriously injured people to be transported over long distances. The public demand has pressed insurance companies to offer as part of travel packages the possiblity of medical repatriation. The number of new serious medical cases abroad reported to Europ Assistance in London, rose from 736 in 1978 to a projected 3,500 in 1983.

Public understanding of the environmental impact of road transport

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Lane
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Road Transport ◽  
Hybrid Vehicles ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Sustainable Transport ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Gas Fuel ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Common Misconceptions

Policy makers are hoping that the public will assist in the move toward a sustainable transport system by purchasing alternatively fueled vehicles (AFVs), many of which are now available in the UK. But if the public's knowledge-base of transport issues is low, it seems unlikely that consumer behavior will change sufficiently enough to solve the problems associated with high levels of traffic pollution. To assess the extent of popular understanding, an open-ended questionnaire has been used to investigate the perceptions of the British public on issues relating to transport. Topics include the environmental impact of vehicle emissions and the level of awareness of other alternative transport technologies such as natural gas, fuel-cell, and hybrid vehicles. The focus is to identify the most common misconceptions, with a view to improving educational programs designed to encourage the uptake of AFVs.

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