When you have the Thunbergs of the world to the Trumps, and many in between, how do you find a common ground for sustainability to win?
When you have the Thunbergs of the world to the Trumps, and many in between, how do you find a common ground for sustainability to win?
Are we on the way to a better world? Of great significance here is the development in public opinion. Being concerned about what is happening to our environment is one thing, but what can we do about it? The acid test is of course the changes we make in our actual behaviour. Are people consciously dealing differently with resources, or are changes in behaviour only real if people -just like the players in the business world - have almost no options to do anything else? Research into public opinion and actual behaviour will therefore become more important. However, other social issues, such as ageing, social inclusion and ethnic developments will also demand more attention. In this edition of Research World we look primarily at giving people a stronger voice.
Over the past decade citizens' action groups and initiatives in areas such as disarmament or environmental protection have made increasingly clear how important the power of public opinion is. On the subject of ecology, more than any other, we are witnessing a worldwide change in attitudes. This will significantly affect the way people think, not only with respect to their personal lives but also in economic terms, in their roles as producers or consumers and it will influence their political attitudes and behavior. Why is survey research becoming an increasingly popular tool even in the field of journalism? The reason is that it is impossible to capture the trends and shifts in the climate of public opinion without survey research. Regular and systematic probes into the climate of opinion open the way to a new kind of precision journalism. German magazines such as NATUR, CAPITAL and QUICK have cooperated with the Institut fiir Demoskopie Allensbach in designing projects in journalism that have become an integral part of their issues. This paper will describe the conception behind, initial experience with and results of this cooperative venture between journalism and survey research from two points of view; from the perspective of survey research and from the perspective of the editorial staff of the environmental magazine NATUR.
Over the past decade citizens' action groups and initiatives in areas such as disarmament or environmental protection have made increasingly clear how important the power of public opinion is. On the subject of ecology, more than any other, we are witnessing a worldwide change in attitudes. This will significantly affect the way people think, not only with respect to their personal lives but also in economic terms, in their roles as producers or consumers and it will influence their political attitudes and behavior. Why is survey research becoming an increasingly popular tool even in the field of journalism? The reason is that it is impossible to capture the trends and shifts in the climate of public opinion without survey research. Regular and systematic probes into the climate of opinion open the way to a new kind of precision journalism. German magazines such as NATUR, CAPITAL and QUICK have cooperated with the Institut fiir Demoskopie Allensbach in designing projects in journalism that have become an integral part of their issues. This paper will describe the conception behind, initial experience with and results of this cooperative venture between journalism and survey research from two points of view; from the perspective of survey research and from the perspective of the editorial staff of the environmental magazine NATUR.
In Austria the '80s have been characterized by profound altitudinal and behavioral changes which are, however, common to most Westem-European countries. The thrust: consumption is up and shows a hedonistic quality. The major antecedent condition for this pattern of change is economic prosperity. Some of the manifestations of hedonism are: the value of leisure time is steadily rising as evidenced by increased vacation travel, greater interest and engagement in physical activity (sports, recreation, etc.). The focus on outer appearance has been gaining in importance. Interest in fashions and bodily care has reached an all time high. Concomitantly, the usage of cosmetics and skin care products are at peak levels. In this context , gratification of physical pleasures is becoming more popular. Austrians increasingly enjoy good food and good beverages. Although hedonism is with us, consumption is by no means indiscriminate. It is also selective and reflective. As a consequence, the hedonistic trend in the food and beverage sector has a new quality dimension. It is attenuated by a rising health and nutritional consciousness. Purchase rates for products high on calories, sugar and cholesterol tire down. On the other hand, "lightâ products and "healthy" products are up. Another important trend concerns environmental consciousness which has become a vital force in shaping product innovations and consumer behavior. Currently, almost every other Austrian views him-/herself as an environmentalist. From these developmental trends, global inferences with regard to future marketing strategies will be drawn.
In Austria the '80s have been characterized by profound altitudinal and behavioral changes which are, however, common to most Westem-European countries. The thrust: consumption is up and shows a hedonistic quality. The major antecedent condition for this pattern of change is economic prosperity. Some of the manifestations of hedonism are: the value of leisure time is steadily rising as evidenced by increased vacation travel, greater interest and engagement in physical activity (sports, recreation, etc.). The focus on outer appearance has been gaining in importance. Interest in fashions and bodily care has reached an all time high. Concomitantly, the usage of cosmetics and skin care products are at peak levels. In this context , gratification of physical pleasures is becoming more popular. Austrians increasingly enjoy good food and good beverages. Although hedonism is with us, consumption is by no means indiscriminate. It is also selective and reflective. As a consequence, the hedonistic trend in the food and beverage sector has a new quality dimension. It is attenuated by a rising health and nutritional consciousness. Purchase rates for products high on calories, sugar and cholesterol tire down. On the other hand, "lightâ products and "healthy" products are up. Another important trend concerns environmental consciousness which has become a vital force in shaping product innovations and consumer behavior. Currently, almost every other Austrian views him-/herself as an environmentalist. From these developmental trends, global inferences with regard to future marketing strategies will be drawn.
This report shows the image position of industry in the Austrian population by quantitative research representative for people up from 14 years. Research program covers spontaneous associations to the stimulus "industry", advantages and disadvantages of industry and improving the share of industry in the economy, image profile by rating a semantic profile, comparing validity of items for three different size classes of companies (large companies image can be identified with industry image) and the relevance of pollution factors and their link with industry.
There has been considerable interest, in recent years, in assessing the environmental effects of traffic. The purpose has been either to predict the impact of now roads and traffic management schemes or to identify those locations in most need of relief from undesirable traffic effects. It was thought important to know the actual levels of nuisance which particular traffic flows caused, the factors which caused nuisance and also the changes in people's opinions of nuisance when a change in the amount of traffic occurred. This interest was reflected in the attention the 'Advisory Committee on Trunk Road Assessment' paid to the assessment of environmental factors as an essential element in the appraisal of trunk road schemes. New roads may increasingly be built for environmental rattier than traffic benefits so it has become more important to assess the environmental impact.
One of the most significant developments over the last decade has been the growing importance of environmental considerations. This has affected all walks of industrial life and there can be few manufacturing companies that have not been exposed to these pressures. The pharmaceutical industry, with its unique role in the provision of healthcare, has probably experienced these intrusive elements more than any other sector. In addition to the universal demands for pollution-free factories and risk-free products, pharmaceutical companies have had to suffer harsh jibes like "profiteering from illness". When this particular concept first surfaced, manufacturers were ill-prepared to meet such an abrasive style of criticism (and probably lost the first few rounds as a result). However, since those early skirmishes, the industry has learned fast and marshalled its counter-arguments well.
Over a period of 25 years we have experienced a steady growth of consumption and waste in our industrial societies. Now, a reversal of this trend is going on. Deficits and deficiencies of the industrial societies are growing. Crucial points in the unfavorable balance are: the rapid growth of public and other services of low productivity, the rising cost of imported fuels and other raw materials, and the devastation of the natural environment. The difficult adaptation which we will encounter, will challenge and influence our profession. In particular: our methods and our type of work will have to play a most important role; but they will be in demand for other problems than the present ones. Socio-ecological studies may play a major role. Economic units like households, plants, settlements, and regions will have to be analysed by their input of goods and materials, their output in products and wastes in connection with the social benefits gained and produced by them. This type of analysis will be badly needed for the planning of better pathways in production and consumption with a decreased load on the natural resources.