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Science Literacy or Value Predispositions? An Overview of Factors Shaping Public
Attitude Towards Nuclear Energy
Dr. Shirley S. HoAssociate Professor & Assistant Chair (Faculty)
Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and InformationNanyang Technological University, Singapore
February 15, 2017
2017 © Dr. Shirley S. Ho/ NTU/ WKWSCI
Going Nuclear: Risks, Odds, & PotentialUH Energy
1
2
Risks & Benefits
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA, 2014)
Proponents
Low carbon emission Secure energy supply
Opponents
Proliferation of nuclear weapons
High capital investment costs Nuclear waste contamination
Nuclear Energy Risks & Benefits
Recent Major Nuclear Accident
3
Accidents
Japan (2011): Fukushima Daiichi Accident
Scientific Knowledge vs. Value Predispositions
4
Factors
Publ
ic A
ccep
tanc
e of
N
ucle
ar E
nerg
y
Factors Shaping Public Opinion of Nuclear Energy
Public Opinion
Risk Perception
Benefit Perception
Political Ideology
Socio-Demographics
Knowledge
Others
Trust
Geographical Proximity
Media Messages
Study Aims
6
Meta-Analysis
Knowledge Trust
Gender Age Education Income Benefit Perception Knowledge Trust Public Engagement
Factors Gender Age Education Income Risk Perception Cost Perception Benefit Perception Knowledge Trust
Factors Factors
Benefit Perception
Risk Perception Acceptance
Description of the Studies
7
Results
Total selected studies 34 (North America and Europe: 10 studies; European countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, and Turkey: 14 studies; East Asia including Japan, South Korea, China, and Taiwan:10 studies)
Time period of data collection Before and after the Fukushima nuclear accident (1995-2016)
Geographical continents North America, Europe, and East AsiaStudies collected before the Fukushima nuclear accident in March 2011
17
Studies collected after the Fukushima nuclear accident
17
-0.01
0.52
-0.50
-0.30
-0.10
0.10
0.30
0.50
0.70
Knowledge Trust
8
Weighted Correlations
Effe
ct s
ize
(Pea
rson
’s
r)
Benefit Perception of Nuclear Energy
Results
0.26
0.01
-0.09
0.06
-0.52
-0.04
-0.25
0.23
-0.60
-0.50
-0.40
-0.30
-0.20
-0.10
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
Gender (male) Age EducationIncome Benefit Perception KnowledgeTrust Public Deliberation 9
Weighted Correlations
Effe
ct s
ize
(Pea
rson
’s r)
Risk Perception of Nuclear Energy
Results
0.23
-0.02 -0.04 -0.01
-0.16
-0.45
0.48
-0.16
0.13
-0.60
-0.40
-0.20
0.00
0.20
0.40
0.60
Gender (male) Age EducationIncome Risk Perception Cost perceptionBenefit Perception Knowledge Trust 10
Weighted CorrelationsE
ffect
siz
e (P
ears
on’s
r)
Public Acceptance of Nuclear Energy
Results
11
Moderator Analysis: Country & TrustE
ffect
siz
e (P
ears
on’s
r)
Results
0.24
0.67
0.000.100.200.300.400.500.600.700.80
AsiaEurope
0.2
0.1 0.1
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
AsiaEuropeNorth America
-0.18
-0.47
-0.21
-0.50
-0.40
-0.30
-0.20
-0.10
0.00
AsiaEuropeNorth America
Benefit Perception
Acceptance
Risk Perception
Effe
ct s
ize
(Pea
rson
’s
r)
Effe
ct s
ize
(Pea
rson
’s
r)
12
Moderator Analysis: TimeE
ffect
siz
e (P
ears
on’s
r)
Results
0.34
0.73
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
BeforeFukushima
AfterFukushima
0.09
0.18
0.000.020.040.060.080.100.120.140.160.180.20
BeforeFukushima
AfterFukushima
AcceptanceBenefit Perception
AcceptanceTrust
Note. k = number of studies; N = total sample size for all studies combined; effect size is Pearson’s r; 95% CI= Lower and upperlimits of 95% confidence interval for effect size; Q = Cochran’s (1954) measure of homogeneity. * p < .05, **p < .01, *** p < .001
Effe
ct s
ize
(Pea
rson
’s
r)
Implications
13
Implications
Communication strategies should include strategic mediaframing to convey messages about nuclear energy. Simply providing more information about energy policies to
raise public awareness of nuclear energy is insufficient.
Effective public deliberation initiatives should beimplemented to include the public in the decision-making ofnuclear energy. Open and transparent deliberation is key to enhance
social trust.
Dr. Shirley S. HoAssociate Professor & Assistant Chair (Faculty)
Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information Nanyang Technological University
31 Nanyang Link, #03-50, Singapore 637718 tsyho@ntu.edu.sg
www.shirleysho.com
Thank You
Acknowledgement: This material is based on research supported by the Singapore National ResearchFoundation under NPRP Award No. NRF2014NPR-NPRP001-004. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions orrecommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the viewsof the Singapore National Research Foundation.
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