Cecilia O'Donnell’s research while affiliated with San Jose State University and other places

This article applies a communication/persuasion model to examine what characteristics of students on a United States university campus are associated with drinking bottled water. Survey results show that those who drank more bottled water included non-Whites, those who trusted traditional organizations more and environmental organizations and scientists less, those who read the campus newspaper, and those who valued water safety, taste, and convenience more. Significant bivariate influences on more frequent bottled water drinking that did not persist in the hierarchical regression included conservatism, religiosity, Christian religion, nonindividualism, less interpersonal communication about environmental issues, less civic involvement, younger age, and fewer environmental behaviors. Groups working to reduce bottled water consumption on campuses should provide access to filtered water and emphasize the connection between bottled water and environmental issues, rather than health issues.

This study analyzes how well two major newspapers – one from the US and one from the UK – cover important environmental issues. The article includes a literature review of media and the environment, problems with environmental media, and methods of assessing news quality; the research focus; methodology, with an explanation of the content categories and rationale, which applies a conceptual framework of ‘technological hazard’; results; and a discussion with limitations and possible additional research.