Tag Archives: us households

The People’s Choice: Americans Would Pay to Help Monarch Butterflies

By Guest PostOctober 31, 2013Natureamericans would pay, california, caterpillars, corn, economic valuation survey, genetically modified, herbicide tolerant crops, iconic butterfly, jay diffendorfer, karen oberhauser, Mexico, migratory species, monarch butterflies, North America, pollinators, soybeans, united states, university of minnesota, us households, usgs scientist

Americans place high value on butterfly royalty. A recent study suggests they are willing to support monarch butterfly conservation at high levels, up to about 6 ½ billion dollars if extrapolated to all U.S. households.

If even a small percentage of the population acted upon this reported willingness, the cumulative effort would likely translate into a large, untapped potential for conservation of the iconic butterfly. (more…)

OMG! Texting Ups Truthfulness, New Iphone Study Suggests

By Guest PostMay 19, 2012TechnologyAmazon, craigslist, diane swanbrow, distracting environment, fred conrad, google ads, iPhone, iphone users, itunes store, mechanical turk, michael schober, numerical response, satisficing, text messaging, united states, university of michigan, us households, visual record

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Text messaging is a surprisingly good way to get candid responses to sensitive questions, according to a new study to be presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research.

“The preliminary results of our study suggest that people are more likely to disclose sensitive information via text messages than in voice interviews,” said Fred Conrad, a cognitive psychologist and director of the Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research. (more…)