Risk Communication and Organizational Uncertainty: Exploratory Research

由于风险沟通研究在很大程度上是从心理学理论推断出来的，该领域的进步需要应用涵盖其他社会变量的理论，如组织。这项研究适用于风险沟通，这是一种超越个体分析单位来探索背景和组织变量的理论框架。这项拟议的研究探索了这样一个问题：在多大程度上可以将风险沟通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病传播的案例研究，本研究试图1)加深对组织动态对风险传播的影响的理解，特别是当传播涉及风险的社会放大(SAR)时；2)将制度理论扩展到传播问题(具体地说，将风险传播作为维护合法性的象征性行动)；以及3)探索事件结构分析(ESA)这一历史事件分析方法对组织风险传播研究的有用性。将为从业人员编写实用的“经验教训”摘要，以加强关于生物恐怖主义的交流。

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.