Public opinion

New Survey Reveals Majority of Americans Find Credit Cards Make It Challenging to Manage Their Finances

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 17, 2023

Despite a majority of Americans (64%) reporting that they feel "in control of their finances," nearly eight in 10 (79%) think they could be doing a better job managing them.

Key Points: 
  • Despite a majority of Americans (64%) reporting that they feel "in control of their finances," nearly eight in 10 (79%) think they could be doing a better job managing them.
  • Americans' increased savings may help explain why more than three in four (76%) Americans feel prepared for a potential recession.
  • Americans are seeking more control and flexibility from payment options that can help them better manage their finances, the survey found.
  • This random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 general population Americans was commissioned by Affirm between June 20 and June 23, 2023.

New Survey from Nutrafol Sheds Light on the Impact of Female Hair Thinning

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 16, 2023

NEW YORK, Aug. 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nutrafol, the leading brand reshaping the category of hair health, unveiled new research highlighting the prevalence of hair thinning in women and the emotional impacts it can have as part of its ongoing mission to destigmatize an issue that affects so many. The research, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Nutrafol, was launched to mark Hair Loss Awareness Month in August and seeks to examine how female hair struggles and other wellness concerns can extend beyond physical effects, to feelings of embarrassment, self-doubt and loss of confidence. 

Key Points: 
  • "Now with this new data, we can further shine a light on the prevalence of this issue and put real numbers behind the broader impact that hair thinning can have.
  • When asked which issues they are most uncomfortable with, weight issues (23%) and hair thinning (23%) tied for the number one spot.
  • Of those women who have experienced thinning hair, many reported feeling sad (46%), embarrassed (43%) or even scared (42%).
  • "Now with this new data, we can further shine a light on the prevalence of this issue and put real numbers behind the broader impact that hair thinning can have.

Grattan on Friday: The Coalition's likely embrace of nuclear energy is high-risk politics

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 10, 2023

If, as seems likely, the opposition embraces nuclear power in its 2025 election policy, it will be taking a huge political gamble.

Key Points: 
  • If, as seems likely, the opposition embraces nuclear power in its 2025 election policy, it will be taking a huge political gamble.
  • Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has been open since the election about nuclear energy being on the Coalition’s agenda.
  • This week opposition climate change and energy spokesman Ted O'Brien was spruiking nuclear power, writing in The Australian about the US state of Wyoming’s plans for a coal-to-nuclear transition.
  • “What struck me was the extent to which residents were embracing their nuclear future,” he wrote.
  • Nationals leader David Littleproud has also been central to the push for the Coalition to back nuclear energy.
  • The opposition argues the planned nuclear submarine program provides a foot in the door to advance its case for nuclear energy.
  • The Coalition might believe it is ahead of the curve on the potential for small nuclear reactors for Australia.

Niger: with a key deadline passed, Nigeria must take decisive steps to prevent a civil war in its neighborhood

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 7, 2023

West Africa is now bracing to see how Ecowas, which has threatened to take all steps, including military intervention, will react.

Key Points: 
  • West Africa is now bracing to see how Ecowas, which has threatened to take all steps, including military intervention, will react.
  • Niger’s coup bears serious consequences for regional peace, security, and stability in west Africa, especially as it affects Nigeria and the already troubled Sahel region.
  • The options now before Ecowas are to extend the deadline to give mediation and diplomatic efforts a chance, or to proceed with the threatened military intervention.

Jihadi insurgency threats

    • Elsewhere in southern Niger there is overspill from violence in northern Nigeria involving jihadist groups, including Boko Haram and its breakaway faction, the Islamic State in the West African Province (ISWAP).
    • To add to the instability, there are estimated to be as many 30,000 “bandits”, mainly operating in and around northern Nigeria.
    • While described as “terrorists” by the Nigerian government, these are generally driven by economic and criminal, enterprises.

All eyes on Nigeria’s response

    • The cost of previous Ecowas interventions, particularly in Liberia and Sierra Leone, has largely been borne by Nigeria.
    • That would have calamitous consequences for the region and major implications for global security.

Contacting your legislator? Cite your sources – if you want them to listen to you

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 7, 2023

As a citizen, I would praise your sense of civic responsibility and willingness to express your opinion.

Key Points: 
  • As a citizen, I would praise your sense of civic responsibility and willingness to express your opinion.
  • I teach communication and public policy at Michigan State University and study how constitutents’ communication with lawmakers affects public policy decisions.
  • In today’s polarized political environment, is it possible to get through to policymakers from the other side?

Discounting opposing views

    • But research has also shown that policymakers engage in what’s called biased reasoning, writing off communications from constituents who do not share their policy views.
    • This discounting of constituents who disagree on policy could explain why policymakers tend to have biased perceptions of public opinion, believing the public’s attitudes to be more in line with their own positions than polling suggests.

Do your research

    • We asked a national sample of elected local policymakers – among them city council members – to evaluate a hypothetical email writer randomly assigned to express support or opposition to raising the minimum wage.
    • The survey was fielded by Civic Pulse, which specializes in samples of elected officials.
    • We anticipated, based on research on biased reasoning, that providing clear evidence that the constituent is knowledgeable about the issue would prevent biased discounting of constituent opinion.

How to not be written off

    • The effects of citing evidence are stronger than simply stating that one has read about the issue.
    • Our study is important in identifying a way constituents can avoid being written off.
    • When faced with evidence that their constituent knows the issue well, policymakers are less likely to discount their opinions.

How to be heard

    • One way to do this is by citing quality evidence to support your position.
    • When contacting a policymaker about an issue, be aware that they may discount your opinion if they disagree.

What's behind our enduring fascination with wives and mothers who kill?

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 7, 2023

Presenting herself as a concerned mother and grieving widow, she was interviewed on “Good Things Utah” in April 2023.

Key Points: 
  • Presenting herself as a concerned mother and grieving widow, she was interviewed on “Good Things Utah” in April 2023.
  • A few weeks later, on May 8, 2023, Richins was arrested and charged with killing her husband, Eric.
  • An autopsy showed that the 39-year-old man died of a massive fentanyl overdose.
  • And what occluded anxieties or longings do people confront or exorcise as they consume these stories of mayhem and murder?

‘Sleeping in a serpent’s bed’

    • It also inspired the Elizabethan domestic tragedy “Arden of Faversham” and at least one ballad.
    • The crime occurred on Valentine’s Day 1551, when Alice Arden conspired with her lover and some hired assassins to kill her husband, Thomas, at his own dinner table.
    • In 16th-century England, where the majority of adults were married, women effectively became their husbands’ legal “subjects” upon marriage.

‘Like a fierce and bloody Medea’

    • In March 2002, Yates was sentenced to life in prison, but a 2006 appeal found her not guilty by reason of insanity.
    • She now resides in a mental health facility from which she routinely refuses to apply for release.
    • Neither Vincent nor Yates had been involved in any previous crimes or scandals, but both had exhibited signs of spiritual or mental instability.
    • Yet both were excoriated in contemporary media as monsters: guilty of crimes against nature, their husbands and their offspring.
    • These events are unquestionably horrific, but the passage of two decades may have wrought some changes in the public’s response.

A queasy sort of comfort

    • The media in every period are extremely skilled at weaponizing – and capitalizing on – worries about the family’s capacity to provide a safe haven in a turbulent world.
    • In early modern England, highly gendered ideas about the home as a reflection of the state politicized anxieties about order, stability and the family as a patriarchal institution.
    • Or the appeal may lie in the idea that any of us might, in fact, be capable of such things.

Net zero: direct costs of climate policies aren't a major barrier to public support, research reveals

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 3, 2023

As researchers who study public attitudes towards such policies, we are quite sure these arguments from the government don’t hold water.

Key Points: 
  • As researchers who study public attitudes towards such policies, we are quite sure these arguments from the government don’t hold water.
  • First, inaction on climate change costs more than action, as established nearly two decades ago in the landmark Stern review.
  • Second, the government’s reluctance to intervene in people’s lives with climate policies does not reflect public opinion.

Behaviour changes are essential

    • While the scale of the necessary lifestyle changes is not well understood by the public, people are willing to play their part in a net zero transition.
    • Most people worldwide agree that changes to our behaviour are necessary to tackle climate change.
    • Our research also shows that the UK public is broadly on board with net zero, including measures that would involve lifestyle changes.

How to maintain public support

    • It’s true that support drops when people are asked to consider the costs of climate policies.
    • Previous research showed that even mentioning a very modest cost can make people less likely to support a policy, including climate measures.
    • On the other hand, emphasising the effectiveness or wider benefits of climate policies can increase support for them.

Win-win policies

    • Making behaviour change policies convenient and affordable requires governments to intervene with regulations and incentives.
    • Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue.
    • Caroline Verfuerth receives funding from the Economic & Social Research Council (ESRC) and has previously received funding from the Welsh Government.

Most Americans support NASA – but don't think it should prioritize sending people to space

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 3, 2023

Most Americans (69%) believe it is essential that the United States continue to be a world leader in space.

Key Points: 
  • Most Americans (69%) believe it is essential that the United States continue to be a world leader in space.
  • But only a subsection of that group believes NASA should prioritize sending people to the Moon, according to a new report released by the Pew Research Center.
  • The study surveyed over 10,000 U.S. adults on their attitudes toward NASA and their expectations for the space industry over the next few decades.

US dominance in space

    • But the specific priorities of the U.S. space program have often been at odds with public opinion.
    • Although somewhat at odds with the national space agenda, this valuation is not new.
    • Between 1989 and 1995, polling revealed that the public thought the U.S. space program should focus on robotic spacecraft as opposed to crewed missions.
    • This position began to change in the mid-1990s with docking of the space shuttle with the Russian space station and several blockbuster space-themed films.
    • Despite moderate public support, human spaceflight consistently receives the majority share of U.S. civilian space funding, suggesting that public opinion and the national space agenda stand apart.

Planetary defense

    • It found 60% of people believed NASA’s top priority should be monitoring asteroids that could hit the Earth.
    • NASA does have national responsibility for this job – referred to as planetary defense – but the office receives less than 1% of NASA’s budget, or US$138 million out of $25.4 billion in 2023.
    • This included the Double Asteroid Redirect Test – the world’s first planetary defense experiment.

Private enterprise in space

    • Private activity in space goes back to the 1960s, with the creation of commercial communication satellite companies and growth of large defense contractors.
    • Many Americans view private activity in space positively, but a large portion have not yet formed an opinion.
    • Similarly, 47% of Americans said private companies are making important contributions to space exploration, but another 40% were unsure.

Militarization of space

    • They believe the U.S. will definitely or probably fight against other nations in space sometime in the next 50 years.
    • However, no nation has ever physically attacked another nation’s satellite in space.
    • In addition, the United Nations’ open-ended working group on reducing space threats has been meeting since 2022 to help avoid conflict in space.

Space debris

    • Americans are also concerned about space debris – 69% think there will definitely or probably be a major problem with debris in space by 2073.
    • Space debris can include defunct satellites, discarded rocket bodies, or pieces of satellites resulting from accidental collisions or anti-satellite tests.
    • The number of objects in space has grown rapidly, from just over 1,000 in 2013 to 6,718 satellites today.
    • Mariel Borowitz receives funding from the National Air and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the National Science Foundation.

The illusion and implications of 'just following the science' COVID-19 messaging

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 2, 2023

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was common to hear politicians say that they were “just following the science” when explaining their policies.

Key Points: 
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was common to hear politicians say that they were “just following the science” when explaining their policies.
  • Such claims also risk damaging the credibility of the very scientific experts who are crucial to an effective public health response.

Decisions and ‘the science’

    • However, this does not mean that scientific evidence should be the only input into such decisions, or that scientific advisors are responsible for those decisions.
    • Science can guide decisions, but it is not a magic eight-ball dictating what should be done.

Policy and evolving evidence

    • In representative democracies, politicians are elected to make decisions that balance multiple priorities and interests — including scientific evidence, but also economic impacts, budgets, ethics, equity, time constraints and public opinion.
    • This is one reason why governments in the same country or region with access to the same scientific evidence and advice made different decisions about addressing the spread of COVID-19.
    • Stating or implying that policy responses are prescribed by advisors can confuse the public about who is responsible for decisions and risks weakening the relationship between public servants and politicians.

Messaging and mistrust

    • Early in the pandemic, elected leaders’ “just following the science” messaging implied that scientific evidence and advisors held straightforward answers to complex questions.
    • In Canada, the resulting mistrust was potentially made worse by the lack of transparency around government decision-making, which prevented citizens from understanding the extent to which scientific advice informed policy decisions.
    • Such an erosion of trust between scientific advisors and the public has implications for governments’ ability to handle both chronic and acute public health emergencies.

Trust and transparency

    • It is in politicians’ interest to maintain relationships of trust with their senior public health officials, and between those officials and the public.
    • Trust matters not just for managing the next pandemic, but for tackling the major public health challenges of our time, including health inequities, the opioid epidemic and the existential threat of climate change.

Privacy Commissioner’s Office Issues Updated Guidance on Election Activities for Candidates, Government Departments, Public Opinion Research Organisations and Members of the Public

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Date: 2 Aug 2023

Key Points: 
  • Date: 2 Aug 2023
    Privacy Commissioner’s Office Issues Updated Guidance on
    Election Activities for Candidates, Government Departments, Public Opinion Research Organisations and Members of the Public
    In light of the upcoming District Council election to be held in December 2023, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data (PCPD) updated the “Guidance on Election Activities for Candidates, Government Departments, Public Opinion Research Organisations and Members of the Public” (the Guidance) to provide guidance to candidates, their affiliated political bodies, government departments responsible for organising the elections and public opinion research organisations on complying with the requirements under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO) in the context of election activities, and to provide members of the public with advice on the protection of their personal data in elections.
  • The main revisions concern the new criminal doxxing provisions under sections 64(3A) and (3C) of the PDPO, which are applicable to the personal data of electors retained in the registers of electors (please see paragraph 3.10 of the Guidance for details).
  • Please click here
    to download the updated “Guidance on Election Activities for Candidates, Government Departments, Public Opinion Research Organisations and Members of the Public”.