The Balance of Individual and Infrastructure Values in Decisions Regarding Advanced Science and Technology

Shunichi Hienuki, Kazuhiko Noguchi, Tadahiro Shibutani, Takahiro Saigo and Atsumi Miyake
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Shunichi Hienuki: Center for Creation of Symbiosis Society with Risk, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
Kazuhiko Noguchi: Center for Creation of Symbiosis Society with Risk, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
Tadahiro Shibutani: Center for Creation of Symbiosis Society with Risk, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
Takahiro Saigo: Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc., 2-10-3, Nagatacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8141, Japan
Atsumi Miyake: Institute of Advanced Sciences, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: A country’s scientific technology policy rarely reflects public opinion. In this study, we created a hierarchical model of societal well-being, comprising five value components for both individual and infrastructure well-being, to analyze the balance among these values. We conducted a survey in two stages; first, both individual and infrastructure well-being were investigated, and then the weights between pairs of value categories composing individual and infrastructure well-being were scored to assess which categories were most important. The analysis of the first stage used the score magnitudes, while that of the second stage used the analytic hierarchy process. The results showed that people value individual well-being more than infrastructure well-being. For both types of well-being, values related to the economy and safety were ranked as more important than the other values, but the weights were distributed over all value components. For individual well-being, the most important value category was the one related to safety, while for infrastructure well-being, it was economy. Therefore, people prioritize different values for themselves and for society as a whole. This suggests that when making decisions regarding technology, it is necessary to understand its effects on all fields and consider the balance between the value categories of well-being.

Keywords: individual well-being; infrastructure well-being; technology assessment; comprehensive risk assessment; decision-making; analytic hierarchy process (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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