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- Johansson, Bengt, 1964
(författare)
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Expressing Opinions about the Refugee Crisis in Europe: The Spiral of Silence and Crisis Communication
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication. - : Nicholson School of Communication, UCF. - 2576-0025 .- 2576-0017. ; 1:1, s. 57-82
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Framing of crisis events is to a large extent contested, with multiple sources and conflicting messages. Theories of crisis communication acknowledge how people try to deal with these competing messages, and this article seeks to deepen the understanding the process of sense making of crisis events by connecting crisis communication to the spiral of silence theory. The spiral of silence theory, founded by Elisabeth Noelle-Neuman, proposes that people are less willing to express their opinions if they believe their beliefs are shared by a minority. This will lead to a spiral in which those who feel their opinions are popular are more inclined to express their opinions, and those who perceive their opinions are unpopular among the public become more silent. This study analyzed changes over time in the willingness to express opinions about the refugee crisis in Europe using a two-wave Web-panel survey (N = 1,185) in Sweden in 2015–2016. The focus is the impact of changing government policy, which moved from a generous refugee policy toward a more restrictive policy. Changes toward a more restrictive refugee policy did not seem to change the overall picture. Those supporting a more restrictive policy were still less inclined to speak their true opinions about the refugee crisis, even if the policy had changed in their favor. On the other hand, respondents supporting a more generous refugee policy seemed to become more cautious about expressing their opinions about the refugee crisis after the policy change, especially when talking to strangers.
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| 2. |
- Johansson, Bengt, 1964, et al.
(författare)
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Why Swedes Don't Wear Face Masks During the Pandemic - A Consequence of Blindly trusting the Government
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research. - : Nicholson School of Communication, UCF. - 2576-0017 .- 2576-0025. ; 4:2, s. 335-358
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Government trust is generally helpful for societies, especially in crisis situations, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, because governments rely on citizens to follow directives. Worldwide, with supporting evidence accumulating, a key directive has been to wear face masks. However, in Sweden, the government has questioned their usefulness. On other behavioral recommendations, such as handwashing, the government has taken a conventional path. We rely on this non-recommendation of face masks to examine the causal impact of government trust on behavior. Based on a large Swedish survey fielded during the pandemic, we find that higher government trust reduces the likelihood of wearing face masks. In contrast, higher trust increases the likelihood of handwashing. The findings qualify the conclusion about the beneficial consequences of trust.
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| 3. |
- Lakew, Yuliya, et al.
(författare)
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When We Don’t Want to Know More : Information Sufficiency and the Case of Swedish Flood Risks
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research. - : Nicholson Scool of Communication and Media, University of Central Florida. - 2576-0017 .- 2576-0025. ; 6:1, s. 65-89
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study investigates the phenomenon of information (in)sufficiency in the context of flood risks. Individuals’ perception of how much risk information they need is a major trigger and driver of information-seeking behavior, and therefore it is an important part of creating effective preventive risk-communication campaigns. To understand factors that contribute to individuals’ sense of information (in)sufficiency, the roles played by prior experiences of floods and general risk sensitivity were analyzed using survey data from residents in flood-risk zones. The findings highlight that every third respondent reported a state of information sufficiency. Residents with prior experience evaluate their information sufficiency level based on their perception of consequences of future floods. But it is general risk sensitivity that best explains need for more information.
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| 4. |
- Petridou, Evangelia, 1972-, et al.
(författare)
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If Crisis or War Comes : A Study of Risk Communication of Eight European Union Member States
- 2019
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Ingår i: Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research. - : Nicholson School of Communication, UCF. - 2576-0025 .- 2576-0017. ; 2:2, s. 207-232
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How do European Union (EU) member states communicate risks to their citizens? In this study, we define risk communication as the information provided by different levels of government to citizens regarding possible future crises to which the general public might be subjected. We seek to answer the following questions: Are there any patterns in the risk communication strategies among EU member states in terms of the sender of information, the message conveyed, the method used, and the intended audience? Finally, to what extent is the state involved in ensuring the safety of its citizens? To tackle these questions, we examine the risk communication strategy of eight countries: Sweden, Finland, Germany, England, France, Estonia, Greece, and Cyprus. Our data consist of governmental web sites, publications, campaigns, and other modes of communication, such as videos posted on YouTube, with questions centering on institutional actors, methods of delivery, content, and effectiveness. We find that the institutional architecture of risk communication aligns with the broad administrative system of each member state. Countries tend to focus on risks that are specific to their context, with Sweden and, to a lesser extent, Germany having a special focus on consequences and providing guidelines to the public on how to survive for a certain period of time in the absence of the state. Especially in Sweden, though the state is a salient actor in risk communication through the dissemination of information at the agency level, the state retreats while urging the resilient citizen to take control of his or her own crisis management.
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