DOI: 10.3886/icpsr06940
title: Eurobarometer 46.1: Modern Biotechnology, Privacy on Computer Networks, and the Common European Currency, October-November 1996
title: Archival Version

description: This round of Eurobarometer surveys queried respondents on
 standard Eurobarometer measures such as public awareness of and
 attitudes toward the European Union (EU), and also focused on modern
 biotechnology, the common European currency, and privacy on computer
 networks. With respect to modern biotechnology issues, respondents
 were asked for their opinions regarding which organizations should
 regulate modern biotechnology, and the likelihood that in the next 20
 years biotechnology would lead to events such as reducing
 environmental pollution and world hunger, creating dangerous new
 diseases, solving more crimes through genetic fingerprinting, curing
 genetic diseases, and producing designer babies. Computer network
 privacy issues covered respondents' worries about leaving "electronic
 tracks" of personal identifying information when using computer
 network services and concerns about the use of information collected
 from network services for advertising, or by shops, insurance
 companies, or public bodies. Other data protection questions probed
 for respondents' willingness to use new communication technologies and
 electronic services considering that someone else might use their
 personal information, awareness and concern about using a means of
 payment on networks that might leave tracks, awareness of laws that
 protect privacy, the importance of the EU trying to protect personal
 information, and the importance of worldwide privacy of personal
 information. Also covered were respondent interest in on-screen
 computer or television network technologies and in the capabilities
 these technologies provide, such as getting a medical opinion on a
 health issue, an on-line guided tour of a museum, receiving instant
 access to newspapers, taking part in a training program, making it
 easier to look for a job, taking part in discussion groups, receiving
 and sending electronic mail, managing bank and financial accounts, and
 organizing a trip. Common European currency items included whether
 respondents were for or against one European currency in all member
 states and why, how well-informed they felt about the common European
 currency, their knowledge of the conditions member countries must meet
 in order to join the European Economic and Monetary Union, when notes
 and coins in the European currency would be introduced, their own
 country's ability to take part in the Single European Currency in
 1999, the consequences for not participating, and what the rate of
 introduction should be for the common European currency. Questions
 asked only in Sweden concerned attitudes toward expanding or reducing
 nuclear power, the respondent's three favorite activities, and highest
 level of education completed. Demographic items include age, gender,
 marital status, household size, monthly income, age when stopped
full-time education, and occupation.
description: Multistage national probability samples.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Eurobarometer 46.1: Modern Biotechnology, Privacy on Computer Networks, and the Common European Currency, October-November 1996
description: Persons aged 15 and over residing in the 15 member nations
 of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,
 Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
 Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, as well as in
Norway.
description: (1) Data processing for this collection was performed
 at the Zentralarchiv fur Empirische Sozialforschung in Cologne,
 Germany. (2) The codebook and data collection instrument are provided
 by ZA as Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The PDF file format was
 developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF
 reader software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how
 to obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web
site.