Risk perception and changing social concerns

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(No Transcript)
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Emerging risks in a social context

• Ann Enander
• Department of leadership and management
• SNDC
• First Nordic Conference on Emerging Risks and
  Regional Economic Development, Karlskoga 24-25
  november 2003

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The social context of risk, threat and emergencies

• Perceptions different risks, different
  perceivers
• Evaluation - different values and concerns
• Decisions participation and perspectives
• Communication
• Preparations beliefs and norms
• Reactions short- and long-term
• Leadership and learning from experience
• Social recovery

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Understanding perception of risk

• Cognitive failures, mental shortcuts
• Influence of framing of the issue
• Characteristics of the hazards
• Cultural factors
• Social context and amplification

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Fear-related traditions in a historical
perspective (Stattin 1990)

• Agrarian society
• External social control
• Threat and punishment
• Identifiable fears
• Nature dangerous
• Spiritual beings
• The female danger

• Industrial society
• Inner social control
• Conscience
• Worry and anxiety
• Nature vulnerable
• Material beings
• The masculine danger

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Trends affecting social concerns in the risk
society of the future?

• Increased information about risks
• Greater expectations on ability to control risks
• Increasing differences in perceptions and
• values related to risk and safety issues
• Changes in experience
• Decreasing trust in authorities?

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As we know, there are known knowns. There are
things we know we know. We also know there are
known unknowns. That is to say we know there are
some things we do not know. But there are also
unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we
don't know. 

• (US secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld,
• news briefing 12 february 2003)

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Unforeseen and overlooked risks

• Slow gradual changes
• Secondary effects of (positive) developments
• Misperceptions
• Illusions of invulnerability
• Cultural or historical blind spots
• Belief in the rationality of decision-making
• Inability to think the unthinkable