Public Attitudes towards Migration in Scotland: Exceptionality and Possible Policy Implications

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
David McCollum ◽  
Beata Nowok ◽  
Scott Tindal
Keyword(s):  
Immigration Policy ◽  
General Public ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
The Public ◽  
Attitudinal Data ◽  
Scottish Government ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Public Views

Scotland is often perceived as having a relatively welcoming view towards migrants and is presented as such by its politicians and policymakers. This positioning sits within a broader political context in which the Scottish Government favours immigration but has limited policy levers with which to directly influence it. This paper seeks to scrutinise the supposition that Scotland can be seen as ‘different’ to the rest of the UK in terms of how immigration is perceived in the public realm. This is pursued through the analysis of attitudinal data to explore public views on migration, the potential drivers of these perceptions and their implications for future immigration policy in the context of the 2014 referendum on the constitutional future of Scotland. The research finds that the public in Scotland does hold relatively positive views towards migration and that this could be related to Scotland's particular experience of population in and out movements. However there is evidence of some (growing) hostility towards migration on the part of the general public in Scotland and a possible link between nationalist leanings and opposition to ‘Others’. These findings have significant implications for debates regarding possible future immigration policies in Scotland.

scholarly journals Should age matter in COVID-19 triage? A deliberative study

2021 ◽  
pp. medethics-2020-107071
Author(s):  
Margot N I Kuylen ◽  
Scott Y Kim ◽  
Alexander Ruck Keene ◽  
Gareth S Owen
Keyword(s):  
General Public ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Deliberative Process ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Life Years ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Public Views

The COVID-19 pandemic put a large burden on many healthcare systems, causing fears about resource scarcity and triage. Several COVID-19 guidelines included age as an explicit factor and practices of both triage and ‘anticipatory triage’ likely limited access to hospital care for elderly patients, especially those in care homes. To ensure the legitimacy of triage guidelines, which affect the public, it is important to engage the public’s moral intuitions. Our study aimed to explore general public views in the UK on the role of age, and related factors like frailty and quality of life, in triage during the COVID-19 pandemic. We held online deliberative workshops with members of the general public (n=22). Participants were guided through a deliberative process to maximise eliciting informed and considered preferences. Participants generally accepted the need for triage but strongly rejected ‘fair innings’ and ‘life projects’ principles as justifications for age-based allocation. They were also wary of the ‘maximise life-years’ principle, preferring to maximise the number of lives rather than life years saved. Although they did not arrive at a unified recommendation of one principle, a concern for three core principles and values eventually emerged: equality, efficiency and vulnerability. While these remain difficult to fully respect at once, they captured a considered, multifaceted consensus: utilitarian considerations of efficiency should be tempered with a concern for equality and vulnerability. This ‘triad’ of ethical principles may be a useful structure to guide ethical deliberation as societies negotiate the conflicting ethical demands of triage.

scholarly journals How can we know what the public think about administrative data research

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Porteous
Keyword(s):  
Administrative Data ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
The Public ◽  
Data Breaches ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Public Views ◽  
News Headlines ◽  
Key Questions

BackgroundThere has, in recent years been much discussion in administrative data research about communicating with the public about the research undertaken, listening to the public and trying to understand public views and questioning whether the public have trust in the work undertaken using publicly collected administrative data. ObjectivesTo explore the role of public engagement in dialogue with attendees to try and address whether we are missing the point and value of public engagement. The views of publics are not homogenous, static and also respond to news headlines and data breaches and we can never know the views of 65 million people across the UK, so why do we worry so much about the views of the public and how can we ever know what publics think? FindingsSummarising work undertaken in examining public attitudes and reflections on five years of working in public engagement in administrative data research will explore key questions with the audience including. Is there value in considering the views of the public, and if so what is the value? How is the public constituted in its relationships with academia and do the public play a key position in the role of universities within our society?

scholarly journals Chinese views on nuclear weapons: Evidence from an online survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 205316802110328
Author(s):  
Naomi Egel ◽  
R. Lincoln Hines
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Text Analysis ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
The Public ◽  
Self Defense ◽  
Public Views ◽  
Chinese Public

What are Chinese public attitudes regarding nuclear weapons? Although scholars have studied Chinese elites’ views on nuclear weapons, surprisingly little is known about the views of China’s public. To understand Chinese public views on nuclear weapons, we conduct an online survey ( N = 1066) of Chinese respondents. This is, to our knowledge, the first survey of Chinese public attitudes towards nuclear weapons. We find that although Chinese citizens view the possession of nuclear weapons as important for their country’s security, they strongly oppose the use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances. We also provide respondents an opportunity to describe their views on nuclear weapons in their own words. Using computer-assisted text analysis, we assess patterns in these open-ended responses and compare across age groups. We find that younger respondents emphasize non-material factors such as having a greater voice internationally, whereas older respondents emphasize self-defense. Overall, this analysis sheds light on the public attitudes that may shape China’s evolving approach to nuclear weapons.

“It just goes against the grain.” Public understandings of genetically modified (GM) food in the UK

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Modification ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Public Understanding ◽  
Empirical Literature ◽  
Gm Food ◽  
Scientific Innovation ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
The Uk

This paper reports on one aspect of qualitative research on public understandings of food risks, focusing on lay understandings of genetically modified (GM) food in a UK context. A range of theoretical, conceptual, and empirical literature on food, risk, and the public understanding of science are reviewed. The fieldwork methods are outlined and empirical data from a range of lay groups are presented. Major themes include: varying “technical” knowledge of science, the relationship between knowledge and acceptance of genetic modification, the uncertainty of scientific knowledge, genetic modification as inappropriate scientific intervention in “nature,” the acceptability of animal and human applications of genetic modification, the appropriate boundaries of scientific innovation, the necessity for GM foods, the uncertainty of risks in GM food, fatalism about avoiding risks, and trust in “experts” to manage potential risks in GM food. Key discussion points relating to a sociological understanding of public attitudes to GM food are raised and some policy implications are highlighted.

Participatory Design Practices in Mental Health in the UK: Rebutting the Optimism

Design Issues ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Pierri
Keyword(s):  
Professional Practice ◽  
Participatory Design ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Community Organizations ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
The Public ◽  
Design Practices ◽  
The Uk

In what has been defined as an “era of participation,” design practices have become very central to the process of making publics and in bringing to life the dream of developing new ways of political engagement. By reflecting on my professional practice, I highlight the overly optimistic attitude that—most of the time—over-simplifies the role of design, especially when applied in public and community organizations. I illustrate participation as a paradox in itself, by problematizing the role and meaning of participatory encounters, and revealing some complex dynamics of exclusion and self-exclusion that are at play in the public realm.

The public face of interest group lobbying on immigration: Who responds to and who ignores what they say

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 543-556
Author(s):  
Michael J Donnelly ◽  
Md Mujahedul Islam ◽  
Justin Savoie
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Unions ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Group Environments

A main avenue for influencing public policy available to unions and business is public opinion campaigning. As groups with substantial credibility in the minds of the public, unions and employers have the potential to move immigration attitudes and, thereby, have a long-term indirect influence on immigration policy. The article asks, first, who is (not) convinced by arguments from business or labour leaders and second, what messages are most convincing. We present the results of a survey experiment in three very different immigration regimes and interest group environments (Canada, the UK and Germany). The results suggest that the net effects of public arguments are small, but vary widely across demographic groups.

Misperceptions of Chinese Investments in Canada and Their Correction: Evidence from a Survey Experiment

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 285-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaojun Li ◽  
Yingqiu Kuang ◽  
Linting Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Direct Investment ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Relative Size ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Chinese Investment ◽  
Corrective Information ◽  
Business Ties ◽  
Public Opposition

AbstractForeign direct investment (FDI) from China has recently met with increasing public opposition in many host nations. Why does the public respond less favourably to Chinese FDI than to FDI from other countries? We explore this question by conducting a series of survey experiments in Canada, where the majority of the public holds a negative opinion of Chinese investment. We find that the bias can be attributed to innumeracy about the relative size of China's FDI and misinformation about investment rules that govern FDI projects in Canada. Correcting both misperceptions substantially reduces the bias of respondents against FDI projects from China. These results suggest that corrective information can lead to positive change in public attitudes, a finding that has important policy implications for Canadian leaders hoping to expand the country's business ties with China.

scholarly journals Responsibilization and Sexual Stigma Under Austerity: Surveying Public Support for Government-Funded PrEP in England

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 643-653
Author(s):  
Timothy Hildebrandt ◽  
Leticia Bode ◽  
Jessica S. C. Ng
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
The Public ◽  
Sexual Stigma ◽  
The Government ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
Media Narratives

Abstract Introduction Under austerity, governments shift responsibilities for social welfare to individuals. Such responsibilization can be intertwined with pre-existing social stigmas, with sexually stigmatized individuals blamed more for health problems due to “irresponsible” sexual behavior. To understand how sexual stigma affects attitudes on government healthcare expenditures, we examine public support for government-provisioned PrEP in England at a time when media narratives cast the drug as an expensive benefit for a small, irresponsible social group and the National Health Service’s long-term sustainability was in doubt. Methods This paper uses data from an original survey (N = 738) conducted in September 2016, when public opinion should be most sensitive to sexual stigma. A survey experiment tests how the way beneficiaries of PrEP were described affected support for NHS provision of it. Contrary to expectations, we found that support was high (mean = 3.86 on a scale of 1 to 5) irrespective of language used or beneficiary group mentioned. Differences between conditions were negligible. Discussion Sexual stigma does not diminish support for government-funded PrEP, which may be due to reverence for the NHS; resistance to responsibilization generally; or just to HIV, with the public influenced by sympathy and counter-messaging. Social policy implications Having misjudged public attitudes, it may be difficult for the government to continue to justify not funding PrEP; the political rationale for contracting out its provision is unnecessary and flawed. With public opinion resilient to responsibilization narratives and sexual stigma even under austerity, welfare retrenchment may be more difficult than social policymakers presume.

Research and the realities of the industry

2002 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-106
Author(s):  
Colin Stansfield Smith
Keyword(s):  
Academic Staff ◽  
Research Assessment ◽  
Public Realm ◽  
General Sense ◽  
Private Finance Initiative ◽  
The Public ◽  
Private Finance ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Large Sections

As a former student of Leslie Martin I well understand that ‘in the UK, architecture's standing as a research-led University discipline remains as low as ever’ (arq 5/4, p291). But then I share my own generation's disbelief about the current state of the Profession and the failure of any architecture school to be awarded the highest rating (5*)in the latest Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). The internecine misunderstandings between practice and schools of architecture are hardly helpful to the cause: the Profession's refusal to understand the current plight of schools with regard to resources and the low esteem and status of academic staff and – in the reverse perspective – academia seems oblivious to the cowed posture of large sections of the Profession in a world driven by the imperatives of the government's Private Finance Initiative (PFI). This more or less symbolizes in a general sense the current client/architect relationship or lack of it in the public realm.

scholarly journals Public Perceptions of the Stigmatization of Wrongly Convicted Individuals: Findings from Semi-Structured Interviews

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabella Blandisi ◽  
Kimberley Clow ◽  
Rosemary Ricciardelli
Keyword(s):  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Gainful Employment ◽  
The Public ◽  
South Central ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
Public Views ◽  
Insight Into

Many exonerees report stigmatizing experiences and difficulties securing gainful employment post-incarceration. Although researchers have begun to investigate public perceptions of wrongful conviction, there remains a dearth of knowledge about public perceptions of exonerees. To provide insight into how the public perceives exonerees, face-to-face interviews were conducted with members (n=30) of a suburban city in South Central Ontario. Data analysis included a constructed grounded approach to reveal emergent themes in the transcripts. All interviewees acknowledged that wrongly convicted individuals are stigmatized by the public and that this can have negative effects in many of their lived experiences. In addition, findings of this exploratory study suggest that some interviewees, indirectly or directly, stigmatize exonerees in their responses while being interviewed—lending insight into how the public views and reacts to exonerees. Findings and policy implications are theoretically framed in Erving Goffman’s (1963) seminal work on stigma. Implications include the potential role of research and education in informing community members, and all levels of government, about wrongful convictions in general, and the negative implications of stigma, in particular.

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