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 Controversy
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Alignment
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Alignment - How do people choose a
side?
 Occupation
- they earn their livelihoods from
the support of the technology
- career may be tied to its
viability or to the businesses that support
it
- work day is spent with friends and
colleagues who are like minded.
- eg biomedical scientists found
more likely to oppose nuclear power, while physicists
more likely to be favourable.
Special
Interests
- place of residence - local
residents tend to oppose hazardous facilities in their
neighbourhoods
Social
Influences
Ideology
- "activists embed their positions
for or against a technology in a larger ideological
framework of social and political beliefs, while most
members of the general public do not"
Allan
Mazur
A person's stated reason for choosing a
side is usually just a rationale that may come after their
support.
"An alignment, once formed,
usually remains stable, though the supporting rational
may change over time...In many cases one's alignment
serves as an anchor point around which to interpret the
various issues in the controversy, so that they may be
incorporated into one's viewpoint in a consistent
manner."
Allan Mazur
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