| 1. |
- Boholm, Åsa, 1953, et al.
(författare)
-
Riskhanteringsbeslut inom transportsektorn: Slutredovisning av forskningsprojektet TRANSAM 2007-2010
- 2011
-
Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Inom transportsystemet fattas dagligen otaliga beslut om att hantera risker som hotar människors liv och hälsa, ekonomiska värden eller miljön. Bland beslutsfattarna återfinns statliga och kommunala myndigheter på olika nivåer, privata företag som trafikoperatörer, bygg‐ och konstruktionsentreprenörer och konsultfirmor. Frågor om risk och säkerhet hanteras ofta av grupper och nätverk bestående av privata och offentliga aktörer som samverkar för att utföra och planera offentliga verksamheter. Riskbeslut i infrastruktur‐ och trafikplanering fattas därför ofta gemensamt av aktörer med olika mål, värderingar och prioriteringar. Skiljaktigheter i uppfattningar och erfarenheter bidrar tillsammans med organisatoriska specialiseringar och myndigheters specialiserade sektoriella ansvarsområden och beslutskompetens till hög komplexitet i beslutsprocessen. Syftet med forskningsprojektet Riskhanteringsbeslut inom transportsektorn (2007‐2010), vid Centrum för forskning om offentlig sektor (CEFOS), Göteborgs universitet, har varit att bidra med ökad kunskap om beslutsfattande som sker i komplexa beslutssituationer i samverkan mellan offentliga och privata aktörer. Projektet har varit ett samhällsvetenskapligt mångdisciplinärt forskningsprojekt baserat på ämnesperspektiv från socialantropologi, statsvetenskap, offentlig förvaltning, företagsekonomi, riskforskning och kulturgeografi. Inom ramen för projektet har faktiska beslutsprocesser studerats i realtid och i de institutionella, sociala och politiska sammanhang de ingår i.
|
|
| 2. |
- Boholm, Max, 1982, et al.
(författare)
-
Dis-Ag-reement: the construction and negotiation of risk in the Swedish controversy over antibacterial silver
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Journal of Risk Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1366-9877 .- 1466-4461. ; 18:1, s. 93-110
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- What constitutes a potentially hazardous object is often debated. This article analyses the polemic construction and negotiation of risk in the Swedish controversy over the use of antibacterial silver in health care and consumer products. This debate engages the media, government agencies, parliament and government, non-governmental organizations and companies. Texts and websites from these actors were studied using content analysis. Antibacterial silver is construed by some actors as a risk object with harmful effects on a series of objects at risk: the environment, public health, organisms and sewage treatment. In contrast, other actors deny that antibacterial silver is a risk object, instead construing it as mitigating risk. In such a schema, antibacterial silver is conceived of as managing the risk objects of bacteria and micro-organisms, in turn managing the risk objects of infection, bad smell and washing, and in turn helping the environment and public health (objects at risk). The structure of the debate suggests two basic modes of risk communication. First, antibacterial silver is construed as a risk object, endangering a variety of objects at risk, such as organisms, public health, the environment and sewage treatment. Second, this association between antibacterial silver and objects at risk is obstructed, by denying that antibacterial silver is a risk object or by associating silver with the benefit of mitigating risk.
|
|
| 3. |
- Boholm, Max, 1982, et al.
(författare)
-
Risk Identification: A Corpus‐Assisted Study of Websites of Government Agencies
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Risks, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy. - : Wiley. - 1944-4079. ; 11:3, s. 242-269
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Government agencies have a key role in the regulation, management, and communication of risk. This paper explores how seven Swedish government agencies in the policy fields of (i) chemicals, (ii) civil contingencies, (iii) energy, (iv) environmental protection, (v) food, (vi) housing and buildings, and (vii) traffic identify risks on their websites. The relational theory of risk is used as an analytical tool to unpack risk identification. An analytical distinction is made between “risk objects,” that is, potentially harmful objects, and “objects at risk,” that is values at stake. The articulation of risk objects and objects at risk on government agencies’ websites is explored by using corpus linguistic techniques that reveal lexical and grammatical patterns of the word “risk.” The agencies identify an extensive assembly of risk objects of various kinds. The sets of risks identified are rather idiosyncratic and there is limited overlap between agencies. The identification of objects at risk is less varied and idiosyncratic than the identification of risk objects, were the agencies appear to be more in agreement. The findings are discussed in relation to the scope of risk identification; institutional explanations, and in terms of conditions for inter‐agency collaboration, identified as a key feature of effective risk governance.
|
|
| 4. |
- Boholm, Max, 1982, et al.
(författare)
-
The many faces of nano in newspaper reporting
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Journal of Nanoparticle Research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1388-0764 .- 1572-896X. ; 14:2, s. 722-740
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The morpheme nano in languages such as Swedish and English is a constituent of many words. This article linguistically analyses the meaning potential of nano by focusing on word use in a Swedish newspaper corpus comprising 2,564 articles (1.6 million words) covering a 22-year period (1988–2010). Close to 400 word forms having nano as a constituent have been identified and analyzed. The results suggest that nano covers a broad and heterogeneous conceptual field: (i) as a prefix of the SI system; (ii) in relation to the scientific activities of nanoscience and nanotechnology, including their sub-processes and actors; and (iii) in relation to objects. The identified meanings of nano, besides the standard definition (i.e. ‘billionth part’ in relation to SI units), are ‘operating at the nanometre level’ in relation to activities and their actors and ‘nanometre sized’ and ‘nanotechnological’ in relation to objects; in addition, the less precise and non-technical meaning ‘very small’ is identified. We discuss the implications of the findings for a hypothesis about media influence on public understanding of technology, suggesting that repeated findings in Europe and the USA of little self-reported understanding and knowledge of nanotechnology or nanoscience among the public make sense in light of the polysemy of nano reflected in its broad variety of verbal forms and usages.
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Arvidsson, Rickard, 1984, et al.
(författare)
-
“Just Carbon”: Ideas About Graphene Risks by Graphene Researchers and Innovation Advisors
- 2018
-
Ingår i: NanoEthics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1871-4757 .- 1871-4765. ; 12:3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2018, The Author(s). Graphene is a nanomaterial with many promising and innovative applications, yet early studies indicate that graphene may pose risks to humans and the environment. According to ideas of responsible research and innovation, all relevant actors should strive to reduce risks related to technological innovations. Through semi-structured interviews, we investigated the idea of graphene as a risk (or not) held by two types of key actors: graphene researchers and innovation advisors at universities, where the latter are facilitating the movement of graphene from the laboratory to the marketplace. The most common idea found is that graphene is not a risk due to, e.g., low toxicity, low amounts produced/used, and its similarity to harmless materials (being “just carbon”). However, some researchers and advisors also say that graphene is a risk, e.g., under certain conditions or due to a lack of risk-related information. We explain the co-existence of these seemingly contradictory ideas through (1) the semantic ambiguity of the word risk and (2) a risk/no-risk rhetoric, where risks are mentioned rhetorically only to be disregarded as manageable or negligible. We suggest that some of the ideas held by the researchers and innovation advisors constitute a challenge to responsible research and innovation regarding graphene. At the same time, we acknowledge the dilemma that the discourse of responsible innovation creates for the actors: denying graphene risks makes them irresponsible due to a lack of risk awareness, while affirming graphene risks makes them irresponsible due to their everyday engagement in graphene development. We therefore recommend more research into what researchers and innovation advisors should do in practice in order to qualify as responsible.
|
|
| 7. |
- Boholm, Max, 1982, et al.
(författare)
-
A Definition Framework for the Terms Nanomaterial and Nanoparticle
- 2016
-
Ingår i: NanoEthics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1871-4757 .- 1871-4765. ; 10:1, s. 25-40
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Scientific writings and policy documents define the terms nanomaterial and nanoparticle in various ways. This variation is considered problematic because the absence of a shared definition is understood as potentially hindering nanomaterial knowledge production and regulation. Another view is that the existence of a shared definition may itself cause problems, as rigid definitions arguably exclude important aspects of the studied phenomena. The aim of this paper is to inform this state of disagreement by providing analytical concepts for a systematic understanding of how, and even whether, nanomaterial and nanoparticle could and should be defined. To do this, we review definitions of nanomaterial and nanoparticle presented in research articles and policy documents. Definitions were identified by first conducting a Scopus search and then tracing cited definitions back to their sources. In total, 36 definitions were identified. Theories of definition from philosophy and linguistics provide analytical guidance for structuring and categorizing the identified definitions, and the main analytical dimensions of the definitions are then identified and discussed. Finally, we propose a framework for understanding the process of defining nanomaterial and nanoparticle. This framework considers both the generality needed for a shared understanding (by suggesting proto-definitions of nanomaterial and nanoparticle) and the level of precision required for different purposes (by allowing for various explications of the proto-definitions).
|
|
| 8. |
- Boholm, Max, 1982, et al.
(författare)
-
Controversy over antibacterial silver: implications for environmental and sustainability assessments
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Journal of Cleaner Production. - : Elsevier BV. - 0959-6526. ; 68, s. 135-143
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The potential risks and benefits of using silver, especially nanosilver, as an antibacterial agent in consumer and healthcare products are under debate globally. Using content analysis of texts from newspaper and TV, government agencies, municipalities, government and parliament, non-governmental organizations, and companies, we analyze the argumentation in the Swedish public controversy over antibacterial silver and relate the findings to environmental and sustainability assessments.We conclude that silver is regarded as either beneficial or harmful in relation to four main values: the environment, health, sewage treatment, and product effectiveness. Various arguments are used to support positive and negative evaluations of silver, revealing several contradictory reasons for considering silver beneficial or harmful. Current environmental and sustainability assessments (i.e. substance flow analysis, risk analysis, multi-criteria analysis, and lifecycle assessment) cover many of the concerns raised in the public controversy over antibacterial silver and can therefore inform the debate regarding its toxicity, emissions, and environmental impact. However, not all concerns raised in the public controversy are covered by current environmental and sustainability assessments, most notably, concerns over public health and bacterial resistance issues are not paid full attention. For future environmental and sustainability assessments to make an even more significant societal contribution and to inform consumers and decision-makers about concerns articulated in the public debate, a wider range of issues concerning antibacterial silver needs to be considered through a unified framework.
|
|
| 9. |
- Boholm, Max, 1982, et al.
(författare)
-
Head movements and prosody in multimodal feedback
- 2011
-
Ingår i: NEALT Proceedings Series: 3rd Nordic Symposium on Multimodal Communication, 27-28 May 2011, Helsinki. - 1736-8197 .- 1736-6305. ; 15, s. 25-32
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The study analyses the relation between words, including their prosodic features, and head movements in communicative feedback, i.e. unobtrusive vocal and gestural expressions which convey information about ability and willingness to continue, perceive, and understand, as well as attitudes and emotions. Examples are words such as m and okay, and head movements such as nods and shakes. Six recorded first acquaintance conversations in Swedish have been analyzed. Initial direction, repetition, start time, and duration of head movements has been identified by frame-byframe video analysis. Start time, duration, F0- contour, and pitch of vocal-verbal feedback were analyzed. Main results of the study are: first, multimodal nods more frequently start before or at the same time as words, than words starting before nods. Second, nods have longer duration when produced with words than without. Third, certain words are typically associated with certain nod types, e.g. okay with up nods, and m with repeated nods. Finally, certain prosodic patterns are more associated with certain nod types, e.g. rising pitch and longer durations with single up nods, and falling or flat pitch with repeated down nods.
|
|
| 10. |
- Boholm, Max, 1982
(författare)
-
How do Swedish Government agencies define risk?
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Journal of Risk Research. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1366-9877 .- 1466-4461. ; 22:6, s. 717-734
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study is guided by two research questions: first, how is the word risk defined by Swedish Government agencies and, second, do these agencies use the word risk consistently with how it is defined? These questions are answered by first selecting relevant agencies and then systematically searching for definitions of risk on these agencies’ websites. The study demonstrates that risk is defined in 14 ways, many of which vaguely express the idea that risk is the probability of an unwanted event multiplied by some measure of its consequences. The study also demonstrates that agencies often define risk in ways that are inconsistent with how they use the term (i.e. over and above how it is defined). The findings are discussed in light of normative desiderata for effective risk communication and risk management. The paper concludes with six recommendations for improving definitions of risk used by public agencies.
|
|
