Determinants and Mapping of Collective Perceptions of Technological Risk: The Case of the Second Nuclear Power Plant in Taiwan

Hung, Hung‐Chih; Wang, Tzu-Wen

doi:10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01539.x

Cited by 42 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 58 publications

(124 reference statements)

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“…GIS analysis. Hung and Wang (37) and Bickerstaff and Walker (46) found that public risk attitudes are localized in the geographical, social, and cultural context. Hence, we examined risk perceptions by grouping individual attitudes spatially.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of the Fukushima nuclear accident on the risk perception of residents near a nuclear power plant in China

Huang

Zhou

Han

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

182

105

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We assessed the influence of the Fukushima nuclear accident (FNA) on the Chinese public's attitude and acceptance of nuclear power plants in China. Two surveys (before and after the FNA) were administered to separate subsamples of residents near the Tianwan nuclear power plant in Lianyungang, China. A structural equation model was constructed to describe the public acceptance of nuclear power and four risk perception factors: knowledge, perceived risk, benefit, and trust. Regression analysis was conducted to estimate the relationship between acceptance of nuclear power and the risk perception factors while controlling for demographic variables. Meanwhile, we assessed the median public acceptable frequencies for three levels of nuclear events. The FNA had a significant impact on risk perception of the Chinese public, especially on the factor of perceived risk, which increased from limited risk to great risk. Public acceptance of nuclear power decreased significantly after the FNA. The most sensitive groups include females, those not in public service, those with lower income, and those living close to the Tianwan nuclear power plant. Fifty percent of the survey respondents considered it acceptable to have a nuclear anomaly no more than once in 50 y. For nuclear incidents and serious incidents, the frequencies are once in 100 y and 150 y, respectively. The change in risk perception and acceptance may be attributed to the FNA. Decreased acceptance of nuclear power after the FNA among the Chinese public creates additional obstacles to further development of nuclear power in China and require effective communication strategies.public perception | nuclear risk | spatial distribution O n March 11, 2011, an earthquake of 9.0 Moment magnitude scale (M w ) off the coast of Japan and the subsequent tsunami triggered the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. This was the largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl event of 1986 in Ukraine and only the second disaster (along with Chernobyl) to measure level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES) (1). The Fukushima nuclear accident (FNA) forced residents within 20 km of the reactors to evacuate immediately; the estimated full evacuation involved close to 6.3 million people, and the economic loss was estimated to be around 5.7 trillion yen (or US $700 billion) by the Japanese Nuclear Fuel Cycle Technology Committee (2). The FNA has slowed the rapid expansion of the nuclear industry in China dramatically (3). The Chinese government suspended all applications to construct new nuclear power projects after the FNA. Although approved projects are still under construction, the crisis induced the Chinese government to strengthen the security management of nuclear facilities (4).Various studies (5-9) show that public concern over the safety of nuclear power in Europe was stimulated by the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 and further increased by the Chernobyl accident in 1986. For example, Sjoberg and coworkers (5) found a strong negative relationship between attitudes reg...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Hence, we examined risk perceptions by grouping individual attitudes spatially. GIS was applied previously to map the "risk perception shadow" (15,30,37,47,48). In the current analysis, the residents' risk acceptance was first geocoded using their residential addresses.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of the Fukushima nuclear accident on the risk perception of residents near a nuclear power plant in China

Huang

Zhou

Han

et al. 2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

182

105

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“…Higher educated people tend to have more pro-environment behavior than less educated people (Raymond & Brown, 2011). Richer, younger, and lower educated people have higher perceptions of risk in energy technology use (e.g., nuclear power) (Hung & Wang, 2011). …”

Section: Relation Of Demographics To Energy Attitudes and Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and Validation of the Energy-Issue Attitude Questionnaire: Relations with Energy Knowledge, Affect, and Behavior

Chiu¹,

Jan²

2018

JAER

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Abstract. This study aims to develop the Energy-Issue Attitude Questionnaire (EIAQ). The EIAQ focuses on student responses to energy issues in society and includes ten constructs, organized pairwise with tension: energy-saving vs. carbon-reducing knowledge, having vs. being lifestyles, questioning vs. conforming to authorities, technology vs. nature approaches, and future vs. present goals. The EIAQ was validated with a criterion questionnaire on energy literacy, including knowledge, affect and behavior. Research participants were 4,689 Taiwanese secondary students. The results show that the EIAQ has desirable construct validity and reliability. Significant differences occur between the two attitudes in each pair. Energy attitudes have medium correlations with energy affect and behavior but low correlations with energy knowledge. The results of structural equation modeling show that energy behavior is directly predicted by 'being' lifestyles and conformity to authorities, and indirectly predicted by energy-saving knowledge, mediated by energy affect. The diversity in energy attitudes may result from the emerging knowledge of global warming, on-going scientific research on energy innovations, and demands for the reduction of economic development (Rogelj, McCollum, & Riahi, 2013;Yu, Yang, & Chou, 2002). Energy attitudes tend to be culture-dependent, a reflection of interactions and tensions between personal cultural values, manifest lifestyle, societal hyper-structure, and household systems (Keirstead, 2006). Energy behavior is considered direct, effective, feasible, and economical actions to mitigate global warming (Weber, 1997). Demographics, e.g., gender, age, and socioeconomic status (SES), may need to be taken into account in energy attitude and behavior. The two major objectives of this study, therefore, are: (1) to identify and evaluate the diverse energy attitudes toward energy issues presented in a specific culture, Taiwan, and (2) to investigate the link between energy attitudes and behavior with demographics. The findings may help identify effective energy attitudes and actions for mitigating global warming.

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“…Hence, whether a new generation in a country with no nuclear power or one with safe reactors can redirect public attitudes to be supportive of the technology is highly problematic. According to Hung and Wang (2011) and Visschers and Siegrist (2013), people's perception of the risks of nuclear technology is influenced by trust, which the risk perception literature (e.g. Whitfield et al, 2009) has often described as fragile; once broken, trust is hard to regain.…”

Section: Dreaded and Unknown Risksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Perception in a Developing Country: The Case of Jordan

Alrawad¹,

Khattab²

2014

IBR

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Purpose: Recognizing the importance of risk perception and the poor understanding of the phenomenon in developing countries, this study characterizes risk perception in Jordan. Design:A mixed quantitative and qualitative survey approach was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were used to identify risks relevant to Jordanian society, then perceptions of these were examined using a questionnaire. Sampling was stratified by province and convenience sampling was adopted within each stratum. The response rate of 53.6 percent was adequate for accurate and useful results representative of the target population. The questionnaire data were analyzed using parametric statistics including principal component analysis and mean analysis.Findings: A cognitive map shows that Jordanians perceived warfare and terrorist attack as the most dreaded, catastrophic and uncontrollable risks to society. Refugee influx was also perceived as a high risk on the dreaded dimension. Although Jordan generates no nuclear electricity, nuclear power was also loaded high on the dreaded factor, confirming that risk perception can be affected by negative international events. Research Limitations/Implications:A proper interpretation of the cognitive map requires an appreciation of the plasticity of risk, as perceptions are changed by scientific knowledge, media coverage and globalization of risk issues. Future research should examine these changes and determine other possible variables influencing risk ratings at different times. While stratified sampling helped the representativeness of the sample, convenience sampling was applied within each stratum. Future research might use probability sampling instead. This study gives risk analysts and policymakers a basis for understanding and anticipating public responses to risks and improving the communication of risk information among laypeople and decision-makers.Originality: This study is one of few to develop a cognitive map and investigate factors influencing risk perception in Jordan, in the volatile Middle East. Rather than surveying mainly students, it used a representative sample from Jordan's 12 provinces.

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Determinants and Mapping of Collective Perceptions of Technological Risk: The Case of the Second Nuclear Power Plant in Taiwan

Cited by 42 publications

References 58 publications

Effect of the Fukushima nuclear accident on the risk perception of residents near a nuclear power plant in China

Effect of the Fukushima nuclear accident on the risk perception of residents near a nuclear power plant in China

Development and Validation of the Energy-Issue Attitude Questionnaire: Relations with Energy Knowledge, Affect, and Behavior

Risk Perception in a Developing Country: The Case of Jordan

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