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- Bäck, Hanna, et al.
(author)
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Elite communication and affective polarization among voters
- 2023
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In: Electoral Studies. - : Elsevier BV. - 0261-3794 .- 1873-6890. ; 84
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- How does elite communication influence affective polarization between partisan groups? Drawing on the literature on partisan source cues, we expect that communication from in- or outgroup party representatives will increase affective polarization. We argue that polarized social identities are reinforced by partisan source cues, which bias perceptions of elite communication and result in increased intergroup differentiation. Further, we expect that the effect of such source cues is greater for voters with stronger partisan affinities. To evaluate our hypotheses, we performed a survey experiment among about 1300 voters in Sweden. Our analyses show that individuals who received a factual political message with a source cue from an in- or outgroup representative exhibited higher affective polarization, especially when they already held strong partisan affinities. This suggests that political elites can increase affective polarization by reinforcing existing group identities, and that this occurs in conjunction with biased interpretation of elite communication. The results improve our understanding of how political elites can influence affective polarization and add to previous research on party cues and attitude formation by demonstrating that such source cues can also increase intergroup differentiation.
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| 2. |
- Kängsepp, Pille, et al.
(author)
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Hydraulic performance of a full-scale peat and ash biofilter in treatment of industrial landfill leachate
- 2009
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In: Waste Management & Research. - 0734-242X .- 1096-3669. ; 27:5, s. 512-519
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hydraulic performance of a full-scale on-site vertical-flow biofilter, consisting of a mixture of peat and carbon-containing ash, and a 500 m3 equalization pond prior to the filter-system. The treatment plant was constructed to clean up leachate from an industrial mono-landfill that contained shredder residues of end-of-life vehicles and white goods. With the limited storage capacity of the equalization pond, peak loading rates exceeded up to five to six times the designed daily hydraulic load limit of the biofilter system. Such relatively short overloading events did not negatively affect the purification efficiency. To provide the designed annual irrigation rate on the biofilter of 97 m3 day— 1 (or 133 mm day—1), with large seasonal variations in precipitation, a relatively large pond would be needed. Calculations showed that a storage volume of about 23 000 m3 would be sufficient for annual leachate volumes up to about 35 000 m3. A combination of sprinkler and drip irrigation with straw insulation of the latter made it possible to run the plant continuously even when the ambient air temperature was below zero for more than a month at a time. The grain size distribution of the biofilter medium was noticeably changed after 4 years of usage due to the loading of suspended solids from the leachate and decomposition of the peat, causing reduced hydraulic conductivity.
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