Trust, uncertainty, and the social perception of the advanced technologies a case study

This paper reflects on trust and its role in shaping the public perception and response towards a new technological centre. In particular, it deals with the introduction of a research centre on clean coal combustion in a mining area of the Northwest of Spain. When the siting of this centre was announced, a multi-method approach combining qualitative (interviews and focus groups), and quantitative (survey) techniques was applied to understand the citizen's perceptions an expectancies. Results allow a discussion on the role traditionally assigned to trust as a key dimension in the social perception of risk, as well as in the acceptability of some emergent technologies.