Eurobarometer 58.0: Services of General Interest, New Technologies, ICT, Health, Environment, and Public Safety, September-October 2002

The Resource Eurobarometer 58.0: Services of General Interest, New Technologies, ICT, Health, Environment, and Public Safety, September-October 2002

Label

Eurobarometer 58.0: Services of General Interest, New Technologies, ICT, Health, Environment, and Public Safety, September-October 2002

Summary

This round of Eurobarometer surveys queried respondents on standard Eurobarometer measures, such as how satisfied they were with their present life, whether they attempted to persuade others close to them to share their views on subjects they held strong opinions about, whether they discussed political matters, and what the European Union's priorities should be. Additional questions focused on the respondents' knowledge of and opinions about the European Union (EU), including sources of information about the EU and whether their country had benefited from being an EU member. This round included six general topics: services of general interest, new technologies, ICT (information communication technologies), health, environment, and public safety. In addition, demographic information was obtained. (1)The services of general interest topic included questions assessing accessibility, fairness in pricing, quality of service, clarity of information received, fairness in terms/conditions of contracts, complaints made, and customer service quality for the following services: mobile phone, fixed telephone, electricity supply, gas supply, water supply, postal services, transport services within towns/cities, and rail services between towns/cities. (2) The new technologies topic included questions about developing technologies, and whether they would improve the quality of life in the next 20 years. New technologies listed included solar energy, computers and information technology, biotechnology, genetic engineering, telecommunications, space exploration, the Internet, nuclear energy, nanotechnology, and mobile phones. Respondents were asked to what degree they were interested in, felt informed about, or found difficult to follow or understand politics, science and technology, and health. Further questions focused on biotechnology (broadly including genetic engineering and genetically modified foods). Respondents were asked to assess as either true or false statements such as the following: bacteria exist that live on waste water, genetically modified animals are larger than ordinary ones, and criminal tendencies are genetically inherited. With regard to applications of biotechnology (for food production or therapeutic cloning), respondents were asked whether they had heard of them, to what extent they had found them useful, and to what extent they believed they were a risk, morally acceptable, or encouraged them. Respondents also rated the most important and second most important issue with regard to new technologies. Respondents were then asked whether they tended to agree or disagree with statements regarding the utility, safety, and accuracy of judgment on genetically modified foods or cloning cells. All respondents were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statements that they would eat, buy, discuss, or support genetically modified foods, and whether they supported cloning research. Other questions probed whether different groups, such as newspapers, university scientists, government, and the European Commission, were doing a good job with regard to biotechnology. Respondents' level of trust in various groups was also gauged, and respondents also indicated whether they had discussed or read anything regarding biotechnology. Respondents indicated whether they agreed with various statements having to do with the ethical and philosophical aspects of new technology. (3) The ICT (information communication technologies) topic included questions regarding the use of a computer and other media devices (mobile phone, personal organizers, cable/satellite/digital TV). Respondents assessed their use of computers and the Internet to find or keep a job, communicate with family or friends, and to buy products or services. Questions related to computer training, such as the extent of training/qualifications, self-assessment of skill, and use of the Internet in daily life, were also asked. (4) Questions about the topic of health sought to identify sources of health information, use of the Internet as a health information source, and trust in various sources such as consumer organizations, trade unions, government, and media. (5) Questions about the environment included the extent to which respondents worried about aspects of the environment such as the ozone layer, acid rain, pollution of rivers and lakes, and waste management, and the extent to which they felt informed about these issues. Questions regarding personal efficacy, sources of information, trust in various groups, level of government involvement, and solutions to environmental problems were also posed. (6) Questions about the topic of public safety probed respondents' perceived level of safety, belief in the risk of theft or burglary within the next year, and agreement or disagreement on statements relating to public safety (such as burglar alarms can reduce crime, poverty leads to crime, and organized crime has infiltrated the economy). Demographic and other background information provided includes respondent's age, gender, nationality, marital status, left-right political self-placement, occupation, age at completion of education, household income, region of residence, and subjective size of community

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Context of Eurobarometer 58.0: Services of General Interest, New Technologies, ICT, Health, Environment, and Public Safety, September-October 2002

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