Risk Communication and Organizational Uncertainty: Exploratory Research

由于风险沟通研究主要是从心理学理论中推断出来的，因此该领域的发展需要应用包括其他社会变量（如组织）的理论。本研究应用于风险沟通的一个理论框架，超越了个人的分析单位，探讨上下文和组织变量。拟议的研究探讨的问题：在多大程度上可以解释为寻求组织的合法性在一个不确定的社会环境中的风险沟通？ 通过对新泽西六个地区炭疽传播的案例研究，本研究试图：1）促进对组织动态对风险传播影响的理解，特别是当传播与风险的社会放大（SAR）有关时; 2）将制度理论扩展到传播问题（具体而言，风险沟通是维护合法性的象征性行动）;（3）探讨事件结构分析（ESA）这一历史事件分析方法在组织风险沟通研究中的作用。 将为从业人员编写实用的“经验教训”摘要，以改进有关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.