Public Perceptions of Child Pornography and Child Pornography Consumers

Understanding the public’s perceptions of child pornography helps identify gaps in awareness and knowledge, impacts legislative decision making, quantifies stigmatization, and provides a baseline for identifying differences between lay and offender populations for clinical purposes. This research provides a comprehensive public survey assessing these issues. An Internet-based sample of 524 adults (mean age = 47 years, 51% female) within the USA were asked about their understanding and beliefs related to child pornography and individuals who view child pornography. The questions covered three topic areas—general perceptions of child pornography, endorsement of child pornography beliefs, and opinions related to the legality of various forms of child pornography as well as the decision making related to sentencing and sex offender registration for child pornography consumers. The research found that the public viewed these offenses as more severe than most other crimes and that there was an overestimation by the public of risks related to recidivism and contact offending. Additionally, the research found that there was support for most of the current sentencing guidelines in the USA, including sex offender registration, and that there was limited support for treatment over incarceration.

Streamlining the Municipal Waste Management System in the City of Nitra (Slovak Republic) Based on a Public Survey

The main problems of the city of Nitra (Slovak Republic) in the field of municipal waste management include: 1. High production of municipal waste per capita; 2. Low rate of its separation; 3. High landfill rate; 4. No opportunity for composting; 5. Establishment of illegal landfills in the city; 6. Low waste prevention rate. To identify the attitudes and opinions of the respondents, and to evaluate certain behavioural practices of the inhabitants of Nitra in the management of municipal solid waste, we used a structured questionnaire (realized in 2020). The results of the questionnaire correspond to the behaviour of 4911 inhabitants of the city (6.46%). This paper evaluates the respondents’ answers, which could be utilised by the local government—not only for a more appropriate setting of municipal waste management and separation, but also in waste prevention and monitoring changes in the consumer behaviour of city residents. The degree of separation in individual housing construction (IHC) and complex housing construction (CHC) was statistically evaluated and compared separately. For paper and glass, a higher degree of separation was reflected in CHC; while conversely, households living in CHC avoided bio-waste and kitchen waste more than IHC households. The most common reason for not participating in the separate collection was the lack of collection containers, the distance of containers from their households, or the low frequency of their collection. The results of the questionnaire show the need for more rigorous education about waste generation, its proper separation, and its prevention.

Estimating Active Cases of COVID-19

Having accurate and timely data on active COVID-19 cases is challenging, since it depends on the availability of an appropriate infrastructure to perform tests and aggregate their results. In this paper, we consider a case to be active if it is infectious, and we propose methods to estimate the number of active infectious cases of COVID-19 from the official data (of confirmed cases and fatalities) and from public survey data. We show that the latter is a viable option in countries with reduced testing capacity or infrastructures.

Innocence over utilitarianism - Heightened Moral Standards for Robots in Rescue Dilemmas PREPRINT

With rapid developments in robotics and artificial intelligence, the prospect of automating rescue operations and protecting trained professionals from life-threatening risk is becoming increasingly viable. What moral standards do people expect rescue robots to enforce? Previous research has emphasized the notion that robots are expected to conform to specifically utilitarian standards. In a series of seven experiments (total N = 3752) and one public survey (N = ~19 000), we compared people’s evaluations of human and robotic rescue agents in the context of boating accidents, while manipulating the victims’ negligence. Relative to human lifeguards, robots of various kinds are expected to save innocent lives, even when doing so entails sacrificing a larger number of negligent individuals (Studies 1-2b). This finding was replicated in a large-scale web survey (Study 3) and was found to reverse when matching the victims in their degree of negligence (Study 5). In sum, robots are not merely expected to be more utilitarian, but rather are held to higher moral standards altogether.

Managing Construction Noise in Hong Kong - Facing a New Decade with Confidence

Hong Kong is a mature and busy metropolis with 7.5 million residents. Being constrained by limited land area for development, the cityscape of Hong Kong is primarily 3-dimensional in nature. The vast majority of the growing population is accommodated in closely packed high-rise residential towers. Similar to other major urban centres worldwide, Hong Kong citizens are affected by the virtually continuous construction activities expanding and renewing the city. The numerous construction sites are also bringing noise disturbance to some neighbourhoods. In 2020, the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department completed a feasibility study on managing construction noise, including those associated with renovation of domestic premises. Part of the study was the conducting of face-to-face interviews of more than 5,000 households via a large scale public survey to gauge their views on construction noise disturbance, among others. This paper describes the current state and conditions of construction noise in Hong Kong, the issues and constraints, as well as challenges and opportunities. Highlights from the scientifically conducted public survey will be included to provide a robust and more comprehensive description of the prevailing situation.

Artificial Intelligence: The Attitude of the Public and Representatives of Various Industries

This paper looks at public and business attitudes towards artificial intelligence, examining the main factors that influence them. The conceptual model is based on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework and was tested through analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. Primary data were collected by a public survey with a questionnaire specially developed for the study and by semi-structured interviews with experts in the artificial intelligence field and management representatives from various companies. This study aims to evaluate the current attitudes of the public and employees of various industries towards AI and investigate the factors that affect them. It was discovered that attitude towards AI differs significantly among industries. There is a significant difference in attitude towards AI between employees at organizations with already implemented AI solutions and employees at organizations with no intention to implement them in the near future. The three main factors which have an impact on AI adoption in an organization are top management’s attitude, competition and regulations. After determining the main factors that influence the attitudes of society and companies towards artificial intelligence, recommendations are provided for reducing various negative factors. The authors develop a proposition that justifies the activities needed for successful adoption of innovative technologies.

Relating landscape ecological metrics with public survey data on perceived landscape quality and place attachment

Context It is essential for policy-making and planning that we understand landscapes not only in terms of landscape ecological patterns, but also in terms of their contribution to people's quality of life. Objectives In this study our objective is to test relationships between landscape ecology and social science indicators, by investigating how landscape patterns are linked to people’s perception of landscape quality. Methods To assess public views on landscapes we conducted a survey among 858 respondents in Switzerland. We combined this survey data on perceived landscape quality and place attachment with landscape metrics (e.g. diversity, naturalness of land cover, urban sprawl, fragmentation) in a statistical model to test hypotheses about the relationships between the different variables of interest. Results Our results illustrate the contribution of both landscape composition metrics and social science indicators to understanding variation in people’s perception and assessment of landscape. For example, we found the landscape ecology metrics on urban sprawl and fragmentation to be a negative predictor of overall satisfaction with landscape, and that perceived landscape quality positively predicted place attachment and satisfaction with the municipality landscape. Conclusions This study highlights the importance and feasibility of combining landscape ecology metrics and public survey data on how people perceive, value and relate to landscape in an integrated manner. Our approach has the potential for implementation across a variety of settings and can contribute to holistic and integrated landscape assessments that combine ecological and socio-cultural aspects.

A public survey of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine use during the COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong

Background During COVID-19, the public actively sought non-pharmacological and self-management approaches to prevent infection. Little is known on the use of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine (TCIM) by the public as preventive measures. This study investigated the prevalence and patterns of TCIM use during the pandemic, and identified factors associated with its use among the general population in Hong Kong. Methods An online cross-sectional survey was conducted from November to December 2020. The survey solicited information on the respondents’ sociodemographic characteristics, risk perception of the pandemic, and use of TCIM before and during the pandemic. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine predictors of TCIM use. Results In total, 632 responses (completion rate = 88.1%) were analyzed. TCIM was used by 44.0% of respondents during the pandemic. The most popular forms of TCIM were vitamins or other dietary supplements (n = 160, 25.3%) and Chinese herbal medicine (n = 122, 19.3%) during the pandemic. The most frequently reported indication was strengthening the immune system, especially for vitamins or other dietary supplements (n = 142/160, 88.8%). Respondents who reported using TCIM were more likely to be female (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.29–2.59), had higher education attainment (aOR = 2.21, 95% CI = 1.39–3.59), and older-aged (age >55 years: aOR = 1.77, 95% CI = 1.04–3.02). Respondents who resided in districts with moderate to high number of confirmed COVID-19 cases (aOR = 1.60, 95% CI = 1.07–2.42) and had a higher level of risk perception (aOR = 1.04, 95% CI = 1.01–1.07) were also more likely to use TCIM. Conclusion TCIM was used commonly in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic. While vaccination and social distancing remain the mainstay of controlling the pandemic, professional bodies should proactively consider public preferences and provide information regarding the effectiveness and safety of TCIM for COVID-19 prevention and treatment.