Dr. Chiu is a professor in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences at Texas A&M University. His research expertise includes quantitative health risk assessment, dose-response assessment, and statistical modeling of environmental and biological systems. Dr. Chiu’s current interests focus on developing computational and statistical methods to transform data into knowledge to inform policies protecting public […]
ISTPP News
ISTPP’s Hannibal Presents Research at American Sociological Association Conference
Bryce Hannibal, ISTPP post-doctoral research associate, presented several papers at the American Sociological Association annual conference held in Seattle, WA August 20-23, 2016. Both papers are based on ISTPP’s national representative public opinion survey on the water-energy-food nexus (May 2015). The first paper, “Cognitive Awareness of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus in the US: Public Attitudes among […]
ISTPP Director Portney Studies the Effect of Local Tea Parties on City Sustainability Policies
Dr. Portney and his co-author, Dr. Jeffrey Berry, have analyzed the influence of local Tea Parties efforts to block sustainability initiatives by cities. To ascertain the impact of such Tea Party actions, the researchers relied on several sources of data. One data set came from previous research by Portney in which he compiled comprehensive information […]
ISTPP’s Hannibal, Liu, and Vedlitz Publish in Environmental Sociology
ISTPP Researchers Bryce Hannibal, Xinsheng Liu, and Arnold Vedlitz extend our understanding of factors that influence an individual’s environmental concern. They do so by incorporating local environmental conditions into the traditional models that rely only on personal characteristics as explanatory variables of environmental concern. The research team tests their model of environmental concern using data […]
Dr. Arnold Vedlitz and ISTPP Research Fellows Examine the Framing Effects of “Fracking”
In this study, Dr. Vedlitz and his co-authors, Dr. Stoutenborough and Dr. Robinson, use data from ISTPP’s 2012 National Energy Policy Survey to ascertain whether the words used to name a process used to extract natural gas from underground rock formations influences a person’s attitudes and policy preferences toward this particular technique. The researchers use […]
Xinsheng Liu Presents Research at China Foreign Affairs University
ISTPP Research Scientist and Assistant Director, Xinsheng Liu, was invited to give a talk on his research “A Quantitative Account of News Media and Presidential Perceptions of China: 1979-Present” to the faculty and graduate students at the China Foreign Affairs University on June 11, 2016. Liu used quantitative data based on content analysis to show […]
Portney Appointed New Director of Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy
Dr. Kent E. Portney, professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University, has been appointed director of the Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the Bush School. A leading expert on environmental policy, urban sustainability, and policy analysis, Portney will oversee the Institute’s efforts to examine public policy […]
Vedlitz Award in Science and Technology Policy Studies Established
A new student award for excellence in science and technology policy studies has been established by Dr. Arnold Vedlitz, executive associate dean of the Bush School and director of the Institute for Science, Technology, and Public Policy (ISTPP). Funded with a $5,000 endowment from Dr. Vedlitz, the first of what will be an annual award, […]
ISTPP Research on the Role of Public Discourse in Climate Change Debate Published in Society & Natural Resources
Brian Shreck, ISTPP Fellow, and Arnold Vedlitz, ISTPP Director, have analyzed the role of public discourse in the public’s debate on climate change. They find that higher levels of self-reported knowledge, that is how knowledgeable people believe themselves to be about climate change, lead to stronger beliefs on whether human-caused climate change exists. Those who […]
ISTPP Research on Motivated Reasoning and Water Scarcity Presented at SPSA Conference
David Switzer, ISTPP Predoctoral Research Associate, presented, “Local Issue Severity and Ideological Worldviews: Motivated Reasoning in the Case of Water Scarcity” at the annual meeting of the Southern Political Science Association held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, January 7–9, 2016. In this paper, Switzer and his co-author, ISTPP Director Arnold Vedlitz, investigate a theory of […]
