Journal of Risk Research

Zhang, Yu; Clark, Ashley; Rupp, John A.; Graham, John D.

doi: 10.1080/13669877.2023.2249906pmid: N/A

Abstract Public trust in government influences public attitudes toward the development of new technology. However, research conducted to assess the relationship has been done primarily in Western-style democracies. This research examines how public trust in the Chinese government is related, directly and indirectly, to public attitudes toward shale gas development. An online survey of a large convenience sample of Chinese residents (n = 1361) was conducted in 2022 in five provinces where shale gas extraction and/or exploration are occurring. We found that trust in central government has a direct positive association with the perceived benefits and risks of shale gas development. Respondents with higher trust in central and provincial government are more likely to express support shale gas development. There is also a statistically significant indirect positive association with support for shale gas development via greater perceived benefits, yet we did not find a statistically significant indirect effect of trust on support for shale gas development through perceived risks. The results are interesting because in China the government and the shale gas industry are more closely connected than they are in Western-style democracies and the environmental movement in China is at an early stage of development. Future research should examine how attitudes in China evolve as the scale of the shale gas industry grows and the environmental movement grows.

Eijrond, V.; Claassen, L.; Timmermans, D.

doi: 10.1080/13669877.2023.2231003pmid: 38013909

Abstract In the Netherlands, intensive livestock farming is a recurrent topic of societal debate with stakeholders having quite different perspectives on the benefits and harms. In particular, stakeholders appear to have different perceptions on the risks to human and animal health. This paper reports a quantitative analysis of a survey on the perceptions of risks and benefits of intensive livestock farming conducted among the general public, including people living in livestock dense municipalities (n = 808), farmers (n = 237) and other stakeholders (n = 367). Results show that farmers and citizens have contrasting views about the benefits and concerns and in particular about the risks of intensive livestock farming for human health as well as animal well-being. People living in livestock dense communities held a somewhat more positive view than the general public, yet odour hinder and air quality was perceived as a serious health problem, but not by farmers. These differences in risk perceptions may well be explained from differences in interest, experience and options for control of potential hazards. Our study reflects more than just the perceived risks related to intensive livestock farming, but also reveal the global and multidimensional legitimate concerns and views on what matter to different groups of people. We argue that these differences in risk perspectives should be taken into account when communicating about human health risks, and should also be more explicitly addressed in discussions about the risks of intensive livestock farming in order to develop more inclusive policies that are supported by stakeholders.

Al-Rubai’ey, Fatema; Al-Sharafi, Abdul Gabbar

doi: 10.1080/13669877.2023.2230983pmid: N/A

Abstract There is little research on the effectiveness of the rhetorical strategies adopted by governments in COVID-19 crisis communication. This study aimed to answer the following two questions: (1) What are the ethos-related rhetorical strategies used in the official Arabic discourse of COVID-19 crisis communication in Oman? (2) Aligned with Seeger’s model of best practice in crisis communication, to what extent are these ethos-related rhetorical strategies effective in delivering a successful crisis response communication? The data came from Oman’s COVID-19 Supreme Committee press conference. The data included the first six press conferences covering the period from April 2, 2020 to May 7, 2020. The study showed that Oman’s COVID-19 crisis communication exhibits a variety of ethos-related rhetorical strategies, mainly to establish, reinforce and restore speaker’s credibility. The study also showed that Oman’s COVID-19 crisis communication was effective from a rhetorical perspective because it made use of rhetorical strategies that aligned well with Seeger’s best practice of honesty, candor and openness. One of the key recommendations of this paper is to call for Seeger’s model to be expanded to cover areas that this model does not currently address, namely speaker’s competence and message believability.

Nie, Xin; Wu, Xingyi; Wang, Han; Kang, Qing; Li, Fengqin; Li, Lihua; Qiao, Hua

doi: 10.1080/13669877.2023.2220334pmid: N/A

Abstract For a long time, the research on the cultivated land abandonment behavior of farmers, caused by natural constraints such as coastal ecological environment vulnerability and frequent extreme climates, has received extensive attention. However, few scholars pay attention to the impact of psychological construction of farmers’ environmental risk perception on abandoned farming behavior, especially the use of psychological distance (PD) to quantify this abstract psychological process. Taking Shankou Town, Guangxi, China as an example, this study combines the PD in the field of sociology with the construal level theory to build a PD framework for coastal farmers. A structural equation model was used to explore the influence mechanism of the social, temporal, hypothetical, and spatial distances on farmers’ cultivated land abandonment behavior. We found that coastal land abandonment is affected by social trust and the probability of extreme weather, although the risk preference under the ‘discount rate’ is not significantly affected. At the same time, the closer the spatial distance between the residence and the coastline, the higher the abandonment of cultivated land, although with a different impact. In addition, population mobility and human-sea connection were found to play a mediating role in the effect of psychological distance on cultivated land abandonment. We confirmed that the direction of the effects of the four types of psychological distance on land abandonment behavior is not consistent. This study is helpful to understand the cultivated land abandonment behavior of farmers in coastal zone, and tries to provide reference for coastal zone planting planning.

Cao, Xia; Yang, Binfang; Zhou, Jiansong

doi: 10.1080/13669877.2023.2220331pmid: N/A

Abstract Background: It is meaningful that both scholars and practitioners recognize the multifaceted nature of health risk perception and communication (HRPC). Extensive studies related to HRPC have been conducted to date. However, no bibliometric analysis has systematically investigated this issue. We aim to identify the current landscape and frontier trends of scientific achievements on HRPC through bibliometric approaches. Methods: Quantitative analysis of publications relating to HRPC from 1999 to 2021 was interpreted and graphed through the Web of Science Core Collection database on October 21, 2022. A variety of quantitative variables was analyzed, including publication and citation counts, H-index, and journal citation reports. Co-authorship, citation, co-citation, and co-occurrence analyses were performed for countries/regions, institutions, authors, and keywords using the VOSviewer and CiteSpace. Results: A total of 1,518 original and review articles in English were identified. The United States has considerable influence in this field, with the majority of publications (772, 50.86%), citations (23,951 times), the highest H-index (453), and close collaborations with the United Kingdom and Australia. The most contributive institution was University of North Carolina. The most productive author is Waters EA, followed by Lemyre L and Renner B. However, the relatively low level of research cooperation existed between institutions and authors. Important topics mainly include the connotations, categories, theoretical framework models, and application scenarios of HRPC. Among the promising hotspots, ‘Covid-19,’ ‘pandemic’, ‘vaccine hesitancy’, ‘social media’, ‘e-cigarettes’, and ‘mental health’ displayed relatively latest average appearing year. Conclusion: Global trends indicate a growing scientific output on HRPC, and developed countries are leading the way. There is still a need to improve collaboration between research teams. The focus gradually shifts from theoretical research to empirical research. It is recommended to pay attention to the latest hot spots, such as ‘Covid-19’, ‘vaccine hesitancy’, ‘social media’, ‘e-cigarettes’, and ‘mental health’.

Ho, Shirley S.; Tan, Wenqi

doi: 10.1080/13669877.2023.2218862pmid: N/A

Abstract Numerous countries are integrating autonomous vehicles into their public transport systems. Among the expected benefits of autonomous public transport, increased mobility for families with young children is foregrounded. Yet, the potential risks associated with autonomous public transport may impede parents’ acceptance of the technology for use by their children. As risk communication is an effective strategy for mitigating the influence of risk perception on acceptance, this study sought to proactively identify risk perceptions that parents hold toward autonomous public transport. Against the backdrop of Singapore’s imminent deployment of autonomous public transport and informed by the social representations theory, we elicited a mental model of parents’ risk perceptions toward autonomous public transport that was sensitive to the diversity of opinion among parents and their preferences for risk communication messages about autonomous public transport. To that end, we conducted three online focus group discussions consisting of 21 Singaporean parents who had children aged 2 wk to 12 years old. Theoretically, this study addresses research gaps in the mental models literature and offers theoretical implications for scholars seeking to employ the mental models approach to understand lay risk perceptions. Practically, this study informs the design of relevant and targeted risk communication messages about autonomous public transport.

Ali, Nohad; Rosenberg, Dennis

doi: 10.1080/13669877.2023.2218861pmid: N/A

Abstract This study examined the association between the type of locality ethnic minorities reside in and their worrying about social phenomena through the lens of the social capital theory. The study aimed at showing that worry profiles, as well the extent of being concerned about various social phenomena, are not the same for the minority residents of ethnically homogeneous and of ethnically heterogeneous localities. Moreover, the main assumption was that residing in heterogeneous locality corresponds to an increase in concerns about social phenomena. The data were obtained from the Personal and Community Security Index Survey which was conducted among the Arab citizens of Israel in 2020 (N = 947). The data were analyzed using multinomial and linear regression models. The results show that residing in ethnically mixed localities was associated with having a highly worried profile. Residing in mixed localities also related to a greater worry about the general social and the violence-related phenomena. The results supported the social capital theory. The results suggest that residing in ethnically homogeneous localities plays a protective role with respect to being concerned about social phenomena. The results imply that public decision makers should develop long-term plans to reduce worry levels in minority residents of ethnically mixed localities which will include provision of tailored services, fighting against violence, and informing about the proposed solutions for each phenomenon of concern.

Zhang, Liwen; Zhou, Qing’an

doi: 10.1080/13669877.2023.2208144pmid: N/A

Abstract The process through which people and society begin to see and frame something as risky is complex. As risk communication practitioners play a critical role in fostering real-world risk governance, this study emphasizes the performative role of language in mobilizing symbolic resources to build and control risks from a communication standpoint. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) was used to reveal patterns of how two events – the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine dispute – were covered by the Chinese media, and speculate about the relationship between risk communication practice and its wider geopolitical context. Results revealed different frames were used for the two events, and that ‘threat’ was most frequently used when addressing the Russia-Ukraine dispute, whereas ‘risk’ was adopted for most COVID-19-related articles. Two themes were generated when interpreting the discourse through a critical geopolitical approach: ‘From the COVID-19 Approach to the Political Systems’ and ‘China as a global Player through its peaceful Rise’. While China prefers to maintain peace in its interaction with other global actors, the Chinese government does not simply accept adversity, particularly when it comes to geopolitical conflicts derived from arbitrary ideological disagreements. The study adds to the current literature on the relationship between the practice and context of risk communication, as well as to the underrepresented regional online news coverage of risks and conflicts that focus on China.