[Article] Those Irish eyes are smiling, pay no heed to all the gripes

Victor

Wasn't quite sure where to put this, so I put it here. Feel free to move.

I ttink this bit "A further 75pc of Irish people are satisfied with cleanliness of local air, streets and public places - a rating hard to fathom given we are recognised as having one of the worst litter problems in Europe." is self-fulfilling as people who litter obviously don't care that their street is littered.

http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/national/1597012?view=Eircomnet

Those Irish eyes are smiling, pay no heed to all the gripes
From:The Irish Independent
Thursday, 2nd October, 2003
Grainne Cunningham

WE'RE the happiest people in Europe - no kidding. A new "neighbourhood satisfaction" survey gives the Irish pride of place.

Almost 70pc of Irish people are happy their local area provides them with the elements they believe constitute a "healthy neighbourhood", the study reveals.

Perhaps even more surprising, given the clamour about traffic problems and street crime, is that Dublin topped the list of European capitals surveyed, with a 68pc satisfaction rating among inhabitants.

Despite griping about the condition of our health system, two thirds of Irish respondents were satisfied with local health services. A further 75pc of Irish people are satisfied with cleanliness of local air, streets and public places - a rating hard to fathom given we are recognised as having one of the worst litter problems in Europe.

The Pfizer Healthy Neighbourhood Survey, conducted between June and August 2003, asked over 11,200 people from 112 urban and rural areas in nine European countries to rate the importance of 25 factors relating to the environment, safety, local amenities, community support and health services.

Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with each of these factors locally. In Ireland, four regions were surveyed - Dublin, Cork, Dublin's rural surroundings and Cork's rural surroundings - with at least 100 people interviewed in each region.

Of European capitals, Dublin received the strongest vote of approval, with a satisfaction rating of 68pc, followed by London (65pc) and Paris (63pc). The rural area around Cork was ruled the fourth most satisfied region in Europe.

While 69pc of Irish people are satisfied with their neighbourhood, other countries follow closely behind - the British and French at 66pc; the Belgians at 65pc and the Germans at 64pc.

An Irish city also proved the happiest in the UK. The highest ranking city in Britain and Northern Ireland was Belfast, followed by Cardiff and Glasgow. Irish people said the most important element of a healthy neighbourhood was feeling safe at home, followed by quality of healthcare provision and feeling safe when out and about.

Public transport provoked some of the lowest satisfaction ratings, with almost one third (31pc) stating they were dissatisfied. One of the few factors which requires no financial investment - the community spirit of a local population - earned among the highest satisfaction ratings.

But Dubliners are less than happy with availability, visibility and helpfulness of gardai, with only 45pc satisfied, close to the European average of 46pc.

Nevyn

wht utter B0llixs

sorry where did they go for this,
Blackrock, foxrock castleknock and portmarnoc ?

Elmo

An Irish city also proved the happiest in the UK. The highest ranking city in Britain and Northern Ireland was Belfast, followed by Cardiff and Glasgow.

So the peace process is working??????????

Some how I don't trust this survey

K2

Not many people were asked if you look at it:

Assuming they asked the same number of people from each country - they only asked 1244 from each!

Victor

Originally posted by K2
Not many people were asked if you look at it: Assuming they asked the same number of people from each country - they only asked 1244 from each!

Which is scientificaly enough for Ireland, although the number of sampling points at 4 is too few - it should be about 100.

simu

Which is scientificaly enough for Ireland, although the number of sampling points at 4 is too few - it should be about 100.

I don't think there's anything scientific about the way these polls are carried out as the person in charge can influence the type of answer given to a large extent.

I was polled at uni a few years ago by a woman donig research into eating habits for some government agency. She had a questionnaire made out, by the standard, "scientific", unbiased formulae no doubt, but she was in a hurry to get the whole thing over with so instead of reading each question out and giving me a chance to reply, she went more along the lines of "So, do you how many servings of vegtables do you eat a day? Sure, you look fine and healthy, I'll put down three, that'll do, next section..." and so on. In other words, a lot of the time she didn't let me reply and even if she had, I probably would have given answers off the top of my head rather than stand there trying to remember my eating habits of the last month!

Yes, it's only an anecdote but I'm still sceptical about this type of survey - they're good for filling space in newspapers but I don't think they reveal any deeper truths. This is even more so when the topic is something as vague as being "satisfied" with things - it depends a great deal on individual interpretation, on random events in the lives of the ppl being questioned and even on the interviewer's body language and manner.