SGER PROPOSAL: Testing the Role of Morality Judgments on the Impact of Procedural and Outcome Fairness Perceptions in the Context of Public Hearings About Nuclear Energy

在未来几年，美国扩大核能生产有可能成为公众讨论的一个重要话题。很少有技术能像核能那样激起双方的热情。面对反对和更便宜的替代方案，美国能源生产商自20世纪70年代以来一直没有下令建造核电站。然而，对气候变化、能源价格和能源独立的关切重新引起了人们对核能技术的兴趣。截至2008年底，美国各地的能源生产商都在提议建造新工厂。这个研究项目利用了南卡罗来纳州的一个这样的建议，在为期一周的听证会上调查公众对核电的看法。公共服务委员会。调查将在听证会之前和之后进行。利用研究的概念？程序正义？这项研究特别感兴趣的是，对国家决策过程公平性的看法在多大程度上可以减轻对拟议扩大的潜在关切。这一假设是，公平程序是公共实体确保其决策程序合法性的主要机制。相反，另一种假设认为，核能的价值负载性质使得公平过程与人们如何判断决策过程无关。根据这种观点，他们如何看待这一过程的唯一因素是决策者是否做出了正确的决定。除了调查研究之外，研究还将涉及围绕听证过程的媒体环境（包括电视和印刷新闻）的系统研究，并考虑媒体报道对可能发生的舆论变化的影响。

Expanding nuclear energy production in the United States has the potential to become a topic of substantial public discussion in upcoming years. Few technologies evoke as much passion, on both sides, as nuclear power. Faced with opposition and cheaper alternatives, U.S. energy producers have not ordered construction of a nuclear power plant since the 1970s. Concerns about climate change, energy prices, and energy independence, however, have engendered renewed interest in nuclear energy technology. As of late 2008, energy producers across the United States were proposing to build new plants. This research project takes advantage of one such proposal in South Carolina to investigate public opinion about nuclear power in the context of a week-long permitting hearing by the state?s Public Service Commission. Surveys will be conducted both before and after the hearing process. Drawing on research into the concept of ?procedural justice,? the study is specifically interested in the degree to which perceptions of the fairness of the state decision-making process may mitigate potential concerns about the proposed expansion. The hypothesis is that fair process is a primary mechanism through which public entities can secure legitimacy for their decision-making processes. In contrast, an alternative hypothesis suggests that the value-laden nature of nuclear power makes fair process irrelevant to how people will judge the decision-making process. According to this view, the only factor underlying how they perceive the process is whether the decision makers make the right decision. In addition to the survey research, the research will involve a systematic study of the media environment (both television and print journalism) surrounding the hearing process and consider the impact of media coverage in any changes in public opinion that may occur.