Category Archives: Bruno Takahashi

Knight Center researchers publish study examining energy behaviors among Hispanics

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Brunotonyran2

Dr. Bruno Takahashi, Tony Van Witsen, Ran Duan


Knight Center research director, Bruno Takahashi, and Ph.D students Ran Duan and Anthony Van Witsen, have published a new study in the journal Social Science Quarterly. The study titled “Hispanics’ behavioral intentions towards energy conservation: The role of socio-demographic, informational, and attitudinal variables” uses survey data from the University of Texas at Austin to examine the factors that influence energy related behaviors among Hispanics in the US.
The results show that Hispanics in the West report higher levels of intention to save energy than those in any other regions of the country. On the other hand, there is no clear pattern indicating that intentions to save energy were linked to Hispanics’ ethnic groups such as Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, or Cubans. Other factors related to energy-related behavioral intentions include information dissemination, environmental concern, and environmental beliefs.
This study was designed as a challenge to the dominant view that Hispanics in the US are a homogeneous group when it comes to environmental beliefs and behaviors. The study is part of a line of research looking at information sources used by minorities – including the news media- that the Knight Center research team is pursuing.

Research director publishes study on Spanish-Language media coverage of environmental issues

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Chavez, Takahashi

Dr. Manuel Chavez, Dr. Bruno Takahashi


Knight Center research director Bruno Takahashi and faculty affiliate Manuel Chavez published a study titled “El Ambiente y Las Noticias: Understanding U.S. Spanish- Language Newsrooms’ Coverage of Environmental Issues” in the International Journal of Hispanic Media.
The study was co-authored with Juliet Pinto and Mercedes Vigón from Florida International University.
The researchers examined the content of environmental news in Spanish-language television stations and newspapers, reporting a very limited amount of coverage that mostly focused on specific events, such as hurricane Sandy.
They also interviewed 12 news professionals at various Spanish-language news organizations to examine their coverage of environmental issues. The findings demonstrate that the impact of revenue-streams needs, the perception that environmental news is not important, and the perception that environmental coverage lacks immediacy and impact are the main factors explaining the lack of coverage of issues such as climate change.
The results of the study are important because the Hispanic population will continue to grow in size and power in the U.S., and the coverage of environmental issues such as climate change will become more important for them. Understanding the gaps in the coverage and the factors preventing such coverage is a necessary step in improving environmental reporting by Spanish-language media.
The study can be accessed here.

Research director publishes study on sustainability behaviors

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Bruno Takahashi

Bruno Takahashi


Knight Center research director Bruno Takahashi published a study titled “Sustainability behaviors among college students: an application of the Values-Belief-Norm theory ”  in the journal  Environmental Education Research. The study, co-authored with Knight Center faculty affiliates John Besley and Adam Zwickle, along with doctoral students Cameron Whitley and Alisa Lertpratchya, presents an analysis of survey data of over 1,500 undergraduate students at Michigan State University.
The researchers examined the effect of values, beliefs and social norms – on transportation choices, recycling, food choices, energy conservation and support for political candidates. A comparison of the five behaviors reveals that adherence to biospheric values is a consistent predictor for all behaviors measured. Social norms were also important in explaining the extent of engagement with these behaviors. Continue reading →

Research director co-edits special section of international journal

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Bruno Takahashi

Bruno Takahashi


Research director Bruno Takahashi has co-edited a special section of the International Journal of Communication.
The special section, titled “Climate and Sustainability Communication Campaigns,” was co-edited with Lucy Atkinson from the University of Texas-Austin, and Merav Katz-Kimchi, from the School of Sustainability, IDC, Israel. The special section includes articles from scholars from different communication subdisciplines, and from various methodological vantage points that examine the current state of, and the prospects for, climate and sustainability communication campaigns.
This special section grew out of a postconference cosponsored by the Environmental Communication, Health Communication, and Political Communication divisions at the 2015 International Communication Association meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Dr. Takahashi is currently the chair of the Environmental Communication Division.
One of the articles, “The Roles of Social Media in Promoting Sustainability in Higher Education,” was co-authored by Takahashi and Dr. Serena Carpenter, assistant professor in the School of Journalism at MSU, along with Ph.D graduate, Carie Cunningham (now assistant professor at Duquesne University), and Ph.D student Alisa P. Lertpratchya.
The articles can all be accessed here.