| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
- Linell, Per, 1944-, et al.
(författare)
-
Dialogue and the Circulation of Ideas
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Dialogue in Focus Groups. Exploring socially shared knowledge. - London : Equinox. - 1845530497 - 9781845530501 ; , s. -243
-
Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In contrast to a vast literature that provides information and guides about focus groups as a methodological tool, this book is an introduction to understanding focus groups as analytical means exploring socially shared knowledge, e.g. social representations of AIDS, biotechnology or democracy, beliefs and lay explanations of social phenomena. The main emphasis of the book is to examine how to analyse interaction and ideas expressed in focus groups. The book considers, first, different kinds of dynamic interdependencies among participants who hold the diverse and heterogeneous positions. Second, it explores circulations of ideas and contents in focus groups. More generally, the book is concerned with: language in real social interactions and sense-making, which are embedded in history and culture; the ways people draw upon and transform social knowledge when they talk and think together in dialogue; the ways people generate heterogeneous meanings in the group dynamics; communicative activities and genres represented by different kinds of focus groups.This original approach to understanding focus groups will be of interest to researchers and advanced students in social sciences, communication studies, psychology, and language sciences.
|
|
| 3. |
- Wibeck, Victoria, 1974-
(författare)
-
Communicating progress towards environmental quality objectives : the case of "Zero eutrophication"
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Vetenskap för hållbar utveckling,2007.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Sweden, efforts to achieve environmental sustainability have been canalised through a system of management-by-objectives (MBO), including sixteen national environmental quality objectives. In the process of monitoring and assessing progress towards the environmental objectives, communication of scientific information is a crucial component. While management literature emphasizes well-functioning communication as a prerequisite for successful MBO, empirical studies have shown that communication problems and misunderstandings are likely to arise in the dissemination, implementation and assessment of visionary objectives at different levels in the environmental bureaucracy. Thus, there is a need to further identify and discuss obstacles in the communication process, focusing on the information flow between the scientific community and the environmental bureaucracy. In the paper, I discuss prerequisites for communication between scientists, practitioners and policy makers involved in the assessment of environmental goal achievement. I take my point of departure in the communicative context at hand when communicating progress towards the national environmental objective -Zero eutrophication-. The paper is based on analyses of policy documents on the environmental objectives, and individual and focus group interviews with key actors within the environmental bureaucracy and scientists developing statistical tools for the assessment of progress towards environmental objectives. When scrutinizing the communicative context at hand when results from the environmental objectives are communicated, it is obvious that all parts of the communicative chain could be problematized and are not always clear to the actors involved in the communicative situation. Thus, I argue that in the efforts to communicate messages related to the assessment of environmental objectives, there is a need to return to the following five fundamental questions: - WHY should assessment activities take place? - WHAT should be assessed? - HOW should assessment be effected? - BY WHOM should assessment be effected? - TO WHOM should the assessment methods and results be communicated? In the paper I discuss the questions above, taking my point of departure in the interview data and the analysis of the policy documents. I also discuss different models for communicating results of the assessment of progress towards the objective -Zero eutrophication-. In this discussion, dialogical and participatory aspects of communication are emphasised.
|
|
| 4. |
- Wibeck, Victoria, 1974-
(författare)
-
Communicating uncertainty : Models of communication and the role of science in assessing progress towards environmental objectives
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning. - : Routledge. - 1523-908X .- 1522-7200. ; 11:2, s. 87-102
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper is an exploratory study analysing the communication models underlying Swedish civil servants' and scientists' views of how to communicate uncertainty related to progress towards public environmental quality objectives. Their lines of reasoning are illustrated by quotations from in-depth and focus group interviews. Two communication models are discussed: the separation model, in which experts discuss uncertainties among themselves and subsequently present a clear-cut message to practitioners and politicians, and the integration model, in which policy makers and civil servants take part in discussions about how to interpret and handle the uncertainties involved. The paper identifies the importance of acknowledging the existence of uncertainty and of consciously reflecting on what communication model to use in communicating goal achievement. It also emphasizes the need for further discussion of the consequences of each communication model. Moreover, the paper highlights a need for further research into the sense-making processes occurring as actors in the policy and practitioner arenas interpret expert messages. Finally, it is argued that the integration model for communicating uncertainties could be used to encourage reflection and learning within and across societal sectors.
|
|
| 5. |
- Wibeck, Victoria, 1974-
(författare)
-
Communication of scientific information in the assessment of environmental goal achievement
- 2006
-
Ingår i: Public Communication of Science and Technology - PCST9,2006.
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- During the last few decades, the discourse of sustainable development has motivated new global, national and regional political strategies for action, not least in the environmental arena.. One such strategy, used in several countries, is management-by-objectives, which implies that objectives are formulated, their attainment is directed and the results are measured. In Sweden, which is frequently cited as a world-leading country as regards environmental policy, efforts to achieve sustainability have been canalised through sixteen national environmental quality objectives. In the process of monitoring and assessing progress towards the environmental objectives, communication of scientific information is a crucial component. Thus, there is a need to identify obstacles in the communication process, focusing on the information flow between the scientific community and the environmental bureaucracy. In this paper, I present results from a Swedish case study, where key actors within the environmental bureaucracy were interviewed about their experiences of using statistical tools and methods in the assessment of environmental goal achievement. The analyses focus on the management and communication of uncertainty and the role of science in the assessment of environmental objectives.
|
|
| 6. |
- Wibeck, Victoria, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
-
Communicative aspects of environmental management by objectives : Examples from the Swedish context
- 2006
-
Ingår i: Environmental Management. - New York, USA : Springer. - 0364-152X .- 1432-1009. ; 37:4, s. 461-469
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Management by objectives (MBO) is a technique for integrating ecological concerns into national political and administrative structures. Politicians determine environmental objectives and interim targets to be implemented and assessed by civil servants in national, regional, and local contexts. Well-developed organizational communication is a prerequisite for MBO. However, communication-related obstacles can arise when using MBO in public environmental management. We examine communicative aspects of environmental MBO, looking specifically at the implementation, administration, and assessment of Swedish environmental quality objectives. Our argument is illustrated by quotations from individual and focus group interviews. We conclude that communicative problems may arise, because different actors interpret messages from different perspectives, depending on their agendas, prior knowledge and experience, and positions in the administrative system. It is crucial to recognize the dialogical aspects of communication, by involving the receiver of a message in a process of response. In addition, the different timeframes underlying different arguments could contribute to misunderstandings between actors involved in handling environmental issues. In assessing the achievement of environmental objectives, indicators are used as communicative tools. It is important to investigate whether and how these indicators contribute to the de- and recontextualization of environmental objectives. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
|
|
| 7. |
- Wibeck, Victoria, 1974-
(författare)
-
Communicative challenges in assessing progress towards environmental quality objectives
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Journal of Science Communication. - 1824-2049. ; 8:2, s. A(01)-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Assessment of trends in the state of the environment constitutes one important aspect of efforts to achieve environmental sustainability. Assessments are often undertaken via indicators which measure progress towards environmental objectives and interim targets. This paper starts from the assumption that different types of environmental indicators have different implications for the public communication and the societal dialogue about the state of the environment and the measures needed to increase ecological sustainability.The paper concludes that it is important to evaluate environmental indicators on the basis of their communicative potential. It is demonstrated how science-based assessment of progress towards environmental objectives may fulfil different aims. Each of these aims may be linked to particular types of indicators, as well as to particular ideas of how to communicate uncertainties, and to particular views of the role of the public in the system of environmental objectives.
|
|
| 8. |
|
|
| 9. |
- Wibeck, Victoria, 1974-, et al.
(författare)
-
Learning in focus groups : An analytical dimension for enhancing focus group research
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Qualitative Research. - : SAGE Publications. - 1468-7941 .- 1741-3109. ; 7:2, s. 249-267
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The focus group is a research methodology in which a small group of participants gathers to discuss a specified issue under the guidance of a moderator. The discussions are tape-recorded, transcribed and analysed. Notably, the interaction between focus group participants has seldom been evaluated, analysed or discussed in empirical research. We argue that considering the focus group in light of current research into interaction in problem-based learning (PBL) tutorial groups would facilitate the deliberate exploitation of group processes in designing focus groups, staging data collection and analysing and interpreting data. When the analytical focus shifts from mere content analysis to an analysis of what the participants themselves are trying to learn, one can explore not only what the participants are talking about, but also how they are trying to understand and conceptualise the issue under discussion. © 2007 Sage Publications.
|
|
| 10. |
- Wibeck, Victoria, 1974-
(författare)
-
Perceptions of useful knowledge in environmental management-by-objectives
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Annual meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science,2007. ; , s. 294-294
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- During the last few decades, the discourse of sustainable development has motivated new political strategies for action in the environmental arena. One such strategy, used in several countries, is management-by-objectives, which means that objectives are formulated, their attainment is directed and the results are measured. In Sweden, which is frequently cited as a world-leading country as regards environmental policy, efforts to achieve sustainability have been canalised through sixteen national environmental quality objectives. The process of monitoring progress towards the environmental objectives relies on scientific theories and methods. Nevertheless, choices of e.g. indicators to measure goal achievement and methods for data analysis are by no means uncomplicated. Different ways of conceiving of -good science-, -usefulness- and -expertise- are competing in the system that has been developed to attain the environmental objectives. In this paper, I present results from a Swedish case study which encompasses in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with scientists and civil servants involved in the process of assessing progress towards the environmental objectives. I will address questions such as: What types of knowledge are judged to be relevant, credible and legitimate in the assessment of environmental goal achievement? How do scientists, practitioners and policy makers position themselves and others? How is scientific knowledge communicated between different actors? How can supply of and demand for knowledge be reconciled in the assessment process?
|
|
