CHAPTER SEVEN. Public reaction and government response

1981 ◽  
pp. 171-189 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 1207-1233
Author(s):  
Tetsuya Nakamura ◽  
Steven Lloyd ◽  
Atsushi Maruyama ◽  
Satoru Masuda ◽  
◽  
...  

This study analyzes survey responses of those affected by the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents, evaluating issues such as recovery, compensation policy, decontamination, welfare, and overall government response. We apply an ordinal logit model to the issues of compensation, decontamination, and repatriation. We found that the people of Bryansk Oblast and those with ongoing health problems were more likely to support continued compensation and victim support programs. Another key finding was the perceived inadequacy of the Japanese government’s reconstruction policy for Fukushima. Monitoring and forestry safety measures were considered insufficient, and agricultural safety measures were particularly disappointing for those with children. More generally, there was support for planting rapeseed as a biofuel and for opening up the site as a tourist spot. Mega-solar farms or nature reserves were also seen as feasible alternatives to agricultural activities. Those who continued to see nuclear energy as a viable energy source supported the construction of waste treatment and storage facilities. Among the Chernobyl respondents, some supported a return to agricultural land use, citing scientific reports suggesting it was safe. Many said that there should be further investment in scientific research in the area. Fukushima respondents viewed social welfare provision and improved information for victims and residents as important issues. A key lesson for the Japanese government from the Chernobyl experience is the legal regime that was established there, clearly defining the affected areas and people and clarifying the measures required.


1984 ◽  
Vol 16 (5-7) ◽  
pp. 473-480
Author(s):  
L Jack Davis

The Gulf Coast Waste Disposal Authority is a regional public agency created by the State of Texas to design and implement water quality management systems in three counties surrounding Galveston Bay. This article will outline the water quality management strategy employed by the Authority for a highly industrialized and populated region. Regional treatment and public and private sector cooperation will be presented as a management objective for muncipal and industrial waste disposal. A description of the background and operations of the Authority will be included along with examples of joint or combined wastewater treatment. The pressing problem of hazardous waste management in Texas will be discussed. The Authority's experiences with facility siting and public reaction will be summarized and a new approach to help resolve these issues will be presented. The article will conclude with some thoughts on strategic planning for public managers.


Author(s):  
Ethan Mordden

This chapter discusses the revival of Chicago as well as its movie adaptation. At the same time, the chapter refers to the infamous O. J. Simpson trial in describing Watkins’ own feeling that the press was shaping public reaction to murder trials to exculpate the guilty. Considering the show-biz aspect of the whole Simpson chronicle, the lesson everyone took from this case was that high-profit justice is show business by other means: the very message of Chicago. With the nation more or less transfixed by this staged miscarriage of due process, the musical’s lesson was at last learned. Finally, the chapter examines further themes and lessons from the film, as well as the national art of the musical as a whole.


Author(s):  
Lina Díaz-Castro ◽  
Héctor Cabello-Rangel ◽  
Kurt Hoffman

Background. The doubling time is the best indicator of the course of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the present investigation was to determine the impact of policies and several sociodemographic factors on the COVID-19 doubling time in Mexico. Methods. A retrospective longitudinal study was carried out across March–August, 2020. Policies issued by each of the 32 Mexican states during each week of this period were classified according to the University of Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), and the doubling time of COVID-19 cases was calculated. Additionally, variables such as population size and density, poverty and mobility were included. A panel data model was applied to measure the effect of these variables on doubling time. Results. States with larger population sizes issued a larger number of policies. Delay in the issuance of policies was associated with accelerated propagation. The policy index (coefficient 0.60, p < 0.01) and the income per capita (coefficient 3.36, p < 0.01) had a positive effect on doubling time; by contrast, the population density (coefficient −0.012, p < 0.05), the mobility in parks (coefficient −1.10, p < 0.01) and the residential mobility (coefficient −4.14, p < 0.01) had a negative effect. Conclusions. Health policies had an effect on slowing the pandemic’s propagation, but population density and mobility played a fundamental role. Therefore, it is necessary to implement policies that consider these variables.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232098340
Author(s):  
Paul Joyce

The UK government’s leaders initially believed that it was among the best-prepared governments for a pandemic. By June 2020, the outcome of the collision between the government’s initial confidence, on the one hand, and the aggressiveness and virulence of COVID-19, on the other, was evident. The UK had one of the worst COVID-19 mortality rates in the world. This article explores the UK government’s response to COVID-19 from a public administration and governance perspective. Using factual information and statistical data, it considers the government’s preparedness and strategic decisions, the delivery of the government response, and public confidence in the government. Points for practitioners Possible lessons for testing through application include: Use the precautionary principle to set planning assumptions in government strategies to create the possibility of government agility during a pandemic. Use central government’s leadership role to facilitate and enable local initiative and operational responses, as well as to take advantage of local resources and assets. Choose smart government responses that address tensions between the goal of saving lives and other government goals, and beware choices that are unsatisfactory compromises.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Ma ◽  
Shiva Raj Mishra ◽  
Xi-Kun Han ◽  
Dong-Shan Zhu

Abstract Background The transmission dynamics and severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is different across countries or regions. Differences in governments’ policy responses may explain some of these differences. We aimed to compare worldwide government responses to the spread of COVID-19, to examine the relationship between response level, response timing and the epidemic trajectory. Methods Free publicly-accessible data collected by the Coronavirus Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) were used. Nine sub-indicators reflecting government response from 148 countries were collected systematically from January 1 to May 1, 2020. The sub-indicators were scored and were aggregated into a common Stringency Index (SI, a value between 0 and 100) that reflects the overall stringency of the government’s response in a daily basis. Group-based trajectory modelling method was used to identify trajectories of SI. Multivariable linear regression models were used to analyse the association between time to reach a high-level SI and time to the peak number of daily new cases. Results Our results identified four trajectories of response in the spread of COVID-19 based on when the response was initiated: before January 13, from January 13 to February 12, from February 12 to March 11, and the last stage—from March 11 (the day WHO declared a pandemic of COVID-19) on going. Governments’ responses were upgraded with further spread of COVID-19 but varied substantially across countries. After the adjustment of SI level, geographical region and initiation stages, each day earlier to a high SI level (SI > 80) from the start of response was associated with 0.44 (standard error: 0.08, P < 0.001, R2 = 0.65) days earlier to the peak number of daily new case. Also, each day earlier to a high SI level from the date of first reported case was associated with 0.65 (standard error: 0.08, P < 0.001, R2 = 0.42) days earlier to the peak number of daily new case. Conclusions Early start of a high-level response to COVID-19 is associated with early arrival of the peak number of daily new cases. This may help to reduce the delays in flattening the epidemic curve to the low spread level. Graphic abstract


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 898
Author(s):  
Quan Cheng ◽  
Jianhua Kang ◽  
Minwang Lin

The effective control over the outbreak of COVID-19 in China showcases a prompt government response, in which, however, the allocation of attention, as an essential parameter, remains obscure. This study is designed to clarify the evolution of the Chinese government’s attention in tackling the pandemic. To this end, 674 policy documents issued by the State Council of China are collected to establish a text corpus, which is then used to extract policy topics by applying the latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) model, a topic modelling approach. It is found that the response policies take different tracks in a four-stage controlling process, and five policy topics are identified as major government attention areas in all stages. Moreover, a topic evolution path is highlighted to show internal relationships between different policy topics. These findings shed light on the Chinese government’s dynamic response to the pandemic and indicate the strength of applying adaptive governance strategies in coping with public health emergencies.


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