Abstract
A January 2005 telephone survey of 1200 people in the U.S. and 2000 Canadians provides a snapshot of current North American opinion regarding nanotechnology at this crucial early point in its emergence from the laboratory to the arena of public discourse and public understanding. Using a typology of “publics” developed through analysis of a previous comparative survey (Priest, S., 2006) and subsequently tested against these newer data (Priest, S., 2005) this article describes the opinion climate for nanotechnology across North America. The comparison of key results from the two countries helps illustrate how social and cultural differences contribute to reactions to new technologies, including nanotech. The article also discusses implications for nanotechnology-related public outreach and risk communication efforts.
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Acknowledgements
This analysis draws directly from work supported by the Canadian Biotechnology Secretariat (CBS) through a contract with the University of Calgary, Department of Communications. Both this financial support and the personal encouragement of John Olsthoorn at CBS and Edna Einsiedel at Calgary for the pursuit of this research are gratefully acknowledged. The survey data included were obtained from CBS, which generously provided them to interested scholars in the U.S. and Europe as well as Canada. The survey questions themselves were developed in consultation with the author and others.
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Priest, S. The North American opinion climate for nanotechnology and its products: Opportunities and challenges. J Nanopart Res 8, 563–568 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-005-9060-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11051-005-9060-7