Attitudes to climate change depend on people's sense of belonging to the planet
New research led by the University of Exeter has found that people who have a stronger sense of place at the global than the national level are more likely to accept that climate change is caused by human activities
2014-12-15
(Press-News.org) New research led by the University of Exeter has found that people who have a stronger sense of place at the global than the national level are more likely to accept that climate change is caused by human activities. This is the first time that acceptance of human causes of climate change has been shown to be linked to people's sense of place at the global level. The findings have significant implications both for climate change communications and for our understanding of place and identities.
The study 'My country or my planet? Exploring the influence of multiple place attachments and ideological beliefs upon climate change attitudes and opinions' found that individuals with stronger global than national attachments were more likely to perceive climate change as an opportunity rather than a threat - for example perceiving positive economic impacts to arise from climate change responses, and the potential to build a stronger sense of community worldwide. These individuals were more likely to be female, younger, and self-identify as having no religion, to be more likely to vote Green, and to be characterised by significantly lower levels of right wing authoritarian and social dominance beliefs.
Professor Patrick Devine-Wright from Geography at the University of Exeter said: "The results of this study suggest that local place attachments are not strongly linked to climate change beliefs. Rather, it is the interplay between national and global levels that is significant. Those with stronger global than national sense of place are more likely to accept that climate change is caused by human actions and could be an opportunity for society, to bring people together, not just a threat to the economy."
People generally view a sense of place in purely local terms - the area near to where they live. The study broadens this perception in important ways to encompass national and global forms of belonging - known as place attachments and identities.
The research was conducted in Australia, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), using a survey method with a nationally representative sample.
Professor Devine-Wright said "Given the study was conducted in Australia, we need to replicate the study in other national contexts, for example in the UK or US, to see whether similar results will be found".
The study is published in the journal Global Environmental Change: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378014001794
INFORMATION:
For further information:
Jo Bowler
University of Exeter
Press Office
+44 (0)1392 722062 or +44(0)7827 309 332
j.bowler@exeter.ac.uk
About the University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a Russell Group university and in the top one percent of institutions globally. It combines world-class research with very high levels of student satisfaction. Exeter has over 19,000 students and is ranked 7th in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide league table, 10th in The Complete University Guide and 12th in the Guardian University Guide 2014. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 90% of the University's research was rated as being at internationally recognised levels and 16 of its 31 subjects are ranked in the top 10, with 27 subjects ranked in the top 20. Exeter was The Sunday Times University of the Year 2012-13.
The University has invested strategically to deliver more than £350 million worth of new facilities across its campuses in the last few years; including landmark new student services centres - the Forum in Exeter and The Exchange on the Penryn Campus in Cornwall, together with world-class new facilities for Biosciences, the Business School and the Environment and Sustainability Institute. There are plans for another £330 million of investment between now and 2016.
http://www.exeter.ac.uk
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2014-12-15
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Scientists at Indiana University and colleagues at Stanford and the University of Texas have demonstrated a technique for "editing" the genome in sperm-producing adult stem cells, a result with powerful potential for basic research and for gene therapy.
The researchers completed a "proof of concept" experiment in which they created a break in the DNA strands of a mutant gene in mouse cells, then repaired the DNA through a process called homologous recombination, replacing flawed segments with correct ones.
The study involved spermatogonial stem ...
2014-12-15
Patients with Parkinson's, medics and carers have identified the top ten priorities for research into the management of the condition in a study by the University of East Anglia and Parkinson's UK.
Commissioned by Parkinson's UK, people with direct and indirect personal experience of the condition worked together to identify crucial gaps in the existing evidence to address everyday practicalities in the management of the complexities of Parkinson's. Patients stated that the overarching research aspiration was an effective cure for Parkinson's but whilst waiting for this ...
2014-12-15
DALLAS - Dec. 15, 2014 - UT Southwestern Medical Center neurology researchers have identified an important cell signaling mechanism that plays an important role in brain cancer and may provide a new therapeutic target.
Researchers found that this mechanism -- a type of signaling termed constitutive or non-canonical epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling -- is highly active in glioblastomas, the most common type of adult brain cancer and a devastating disease with a poor prognosis.
When activated in cancer cells, it protects the tumor cells, making them more ...
2014-12-15
In the same way as we now connect computers in networks through optical signals, it could also be possible to connect future quantum computers in a 'quantum internet'. The optical signals would then consist of individual light particles or photons. One prerequisite for a working quantum internet is control of the shape of these photons. Researchers at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and the FOM foundation have now succeeded for the first time in getting this control within the required short time. These findings are published today in Nature Communications.
Quantum ...
2014-12-15
For decades, the mantra of electronics has been smaller, faster, cheaper.
Today, Stanford engineers add a fourth word - taller.
At a conference in San Francisco, a Stanford team will reveal how to build high-rise chips that could leapfrog the performance of the single-story logic and memory chips on today's circuit cards.
Those circuit cards are like busy cities in which logic chips compute and memory chips store data. But when the computer gets busy, the wires connecting logic and memory can get jammed.
The Stanford approach would end these jams by building layers ...
2014-12-15
PEOPLE who have problems with numbers may be more likely to feel negative about bowel cancer screening, including fearing an abnormal result, while some think the test is disgusting or embarrassing, according to a Cancer Research UK supported study* published today (Monday) in the Journal of Health Psychology.
The researchers** sent information about bowel cancer screening to patients aged from 45 to 59 along with a questionnaire which assessed their numerical skills and attitudes to the screening test, which looks for blood in stool samples.
Almost 965 people - registered ...
2014-12-15
E-cigarette use among teenagers is growing in the U.S., and Hawaii teens take up e-cigarette use at higher rates than their mainland counterparts, a new study by University of Hawaii Cancer Center researchers has found.
The findings come as e-cigarettes grow in popularity and the Food and Drug Administration is considering how to regulate their sale. Some public health officials are concerned that e-cigarettes may be recruiting a new generation of young cigarette smokers who otherwise might not take up smoking at all, and the study's results bolster this position.
Data ...
2014-12-15
While serious infections can be transmitted from donated organs, the risk of passing Ebola virus disease from an organ donor to a recipient is extremely small. In a new editorial published in the American Journal of Transplantation, experts explain how simple assessments of donors can help ensure that the organ supply is safe, while having little impact on the donor pool.
Despite screening all organ donors for infection, on rare occasions an organ donor will transmit an unexpected infection to a recipient. Because cases of Ebola virus disease have occurred in the United ...
2014-12-15
Both positive and negative experiences influence how genetic variants affect the brain and thereby behaviour, according to a new study. "Evidence is accumulating to show that the effects of variants of many genes that are common in the population depend on environmental factors. Further, these genetic variants affect each other," explained Sheilagh Hodgins of the University of Montreal and its affiliated Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal. "We conducted a study to determine whether juvenile offending was associated with interactions between three ...
2014-12-15
Baltimore MD-- We would not expect a baby to join a team or participate in social situations that require sophisticated communication. Yet, most developmental biologists have assumed that young cells, only recently born from stem cells and known as "progenitors," are already competent at inter-communication with other cells.
New research from Carnegie's Allan Spradling and postdoctoral fellow Ming-Chia Lee shows that infant cells have to go through a developmental process that involves specific genes before they can take part in the group interactions that underlie ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Attitudes to climate change depend on people's sense of belonging to the planet
New research led by the University of Exeter has found that people who have a stronger sense of place at the global than the national level are more likely to accept that climate change is caused by human activities
