Eurobarometer 64.3: Foreign Languages, Biotechnology, Organized Crime, and Health Items, November-December 2005

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This round of Eurobarometer surveys diverged from the standard Eurobarometer measures and queried respondents on (1) foreign languages, (2) biotechnology, (3) organized crime and corruption, (4) health consciousness, (5) smoking, (6) AIDS prevention, (7) medical errors, and (8) consumer rights. For the first topic, foreign languages, respondents were asked to identify their native language, and first, second, and third foreign languages spoken, including proficiency and frequency of use. In addition, respondents were asked to identify the main reasons to learn a new language, methods used in learning, and barriers preventing learning. Respondents' opinions were sought regarding the best age to start learning a first and second new language, language support, and whether there should be a common language used throughout the European Union (EU). For the second topic, respondents were asked about their understanding of biotechnology, including gene therapy, pharmacogenetics, genetically modified foods and plants, nanotechnology, stem cell research, and its application in industry. Respondents' opinions were sought regarding the use of these techniques, governing safety and regulatory processes, new technology development, and integration of biotechnology into society. Respondents were also queried about their knowledge of science and politics and discussion of these matters with others, their opinions regarding entity involvement, including the EU, in utilizing or advancing biotechnology, and their personal political involvement in this area. For the third topic, organized crime and corruption, respondents were asked to identify the degree of national corruption, sources where corruption exists, a regulatory force in reducing it, and any personal involvement with corruption, in addition to providing an opinion about whether information sharing or policy development may reduce corruption. For the fourth topic, health consciousness, respondents were asked about their current state of health, breastfeeding, dieting, views on eating, foods consumed, changes in eating or drinking patterns and associated reasons for these changes, ease of and barriers to eating healthily, and exercise. Respondents were asked about their knowledge of sports and physical activity, and their opinion about obesity among adults and children. For the fifth topic, smoking, respondents were asked about their smoking habits and use with other substances, sensitivity to smoke, knowledge about second-hand smoke, exposure to tobacco cessation campaigns, and the likelihood of quitting. In addition, respondents were asked to provide an opinion about smoking bans in public places and the consumption of alcohol and tobacco among pregnant women. For the sixth topic, AIDS prevention, respondents were asked about their knowledge of AIDS transmission, changes in personal behaviors influenced by AIDS, and their opinions regarding current national measures in managing the AIDS pandemic and the potential coordination with the EU. For the seventh topic, medical errors, respondents were asked about their awareness of incidents of medical errors in their country, the significance of those errors, personal experience of a medical error, the likelihood of avoiding an error, and their degree of concern about suffering a medical error. For the eighth and final topic covered by this survey, consumer rights, those respondents living in Poland were asked about where and how often they saw or heard information about consumer rights, how frequently the media talked about consumer rights, and who in the media was the source of this information. Respondents were also asked whether they had heard a particular message and to define the meaning of that message, to evaluate Poland's consumer rights in comparison to other EU countries, and to assess the effectiveness of the justice system in protecting consumer rights. In addition, respondents were queried about their knowledge of consumer rights in certain situations, which organizations they would trust to provide correct advice and information about consumer rights, and whether they would refer others to a specific organization that deals with consumer rights, Federacja Konsumentow. Demographic and other background information includes respondent's age, gender, height, and weight, nationality, origin of birth (personal and parental), religious affiliation and involvement, marital status, left-to-right political self-placement, occupation, age when stopped full-time education, household composition, use of a fixed or a mobile telephone, size of locality, region of residence, and language of interview.