Risk Communication and Organizational Uncertainty: Exploratory Research

风险沟通和组织不确定性：探索性研究

• 批准号: 0350270
• 负责人: Caron Chess
• 金额: $ 8.73万
• 依托单位: Rutgers University New Brunswick
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-10-01 至 2005-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0350270&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Risk; Communication; Organizational; Uncertainty; Exploratory

Because risk communication research has extrapolated largely from psychological theory, advancement of the field requires application of theories that encompass other social variables, such as organizations. This study applies to risk communication a theoretical framework that goes beyond the individual unit of analysis to explore contextual and organizational variables. The proposed research explores the question: To what extent can risk communication be explained as a quest for organizational legitimacy in an uncertain social environment? Using case studies of communication about anthrax in six geographic locations of New Jersey, the research seeks to 1) advance understanding of the effects of organizational dynamics on risk communication, particularly as the communication relates to the social amplification of risk (SAR); 2) extend institutional theory to communication issues (specifically, risk communication as symbolic action to preserve legitimacy); and, 3) explore the usefulness of event-structure analysis (ESA), a method for analysis of historical events, to the study of organizations' risk communication. Summaries of practical "lessons-learned" will be developed for practitioners to improve communication about bioterrorism.

由于风险沟通研究在很大程度上是从心理学理论中推断出来的，因此该领域的进步需要应用包含其他社会变量（如组织）的理论。本研究将风险沟通应用于超越个体分析单位的理论框架，以探索情境和组织变量。拟议的研究探讨了这样一个问题：风险沟通在多大程度上可以解释为在不确定的社会环境中对组织合法性的追求？通过对新泽西州六个地理位置的炭疽传播案例研究，该研究旨在1)加深对组织动力学对风险传播的影响的理解，特别是当传播与风险的社会放大（SAR）相关时；2)将制度理论扩展到沟通问题（具体而言，将风险沟通作为维护合法性的象征性行动）；3)探索事件结构分析（ESA）对组织风险沟通研究的有用性，这是一种分析历史事件的方法。将为从业人员编写实用的“经验教训”摘要，以改善有关生物恐怖主义的交流。