Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Penguin Books, 2009, 312 pp, ISBN 978-0-14-311526-7This book is best described formally as a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications. Informally, it is about how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society. It is paternalism in the sense that "it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people's behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better", (p. 5) It is libertarian in that "people should be free to do what they like - and to opt out of undesirable arrangements if they want to do so", (p. 5) The built-in possibility of opting out or making a different choice preserves freedom of choice even though people's behavior has been influenced by the nature of the presentation of the information or by the structure of the decisionmaking system. I had never heard of libertarian paternalism before reading this book, and I now find it fascinating.Written for a general audience, this book contains mostly social and behavioral science theory and models, but there is considerable discussion of structure and process that has roots in mathematical and quantitative modeling. One of the main applications of this social system is economic choice in investing, selecting and purchasing products and services, systems of taxes, banking (mortgages, borrowing, savings), and retirement systems. Other quantitative social choice systems discussed include environmental effects, health care plans, gambling, and organ donations. Softer issues that are also subject to a nudge-based approach are marriage, education, eating, drinking, smoking, influence, spread of information, and politics. There is something in this book for everyone.The basis for this libertarian paternalism concept is in the social theory called "science of choice", the study of the design and implementation of influence systems on various kinds of people. The terms Econs and Humans, are used to refer to people with either considerable or little rational decision-making talent, respectively. The various libertarian paternalism concepts and systems presented are tested and compared in light of these two types of people. Two foundational issues that this book has in common with another book, Network of Echoes: Imitation, Innovation and Invisible Leaders, that was also reviewed for this issue of the Journal are that 1 ) there are two modes of thinking (or components of the brain) - an automatic (intuitive) process and a reflective (rational) process and 2) the need for conformity and the desire for imitation are powerful forces in human behavior. …

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

The Theory of Communicative Action, Vol. 1, Reason and the Rationalization of Society

Deciding What's News: A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, Newsweek, and Time

Projections of Power: Framing News, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign Policy

This paper examines the 2016 US presidential election campaign to identify problems with, causes of and solutions to the contemporary fake news phenomenon. To achieve this, we employ textual analys...

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Fake News and The Economy of Emotions: Problems, causes, solutions

A macro‐view of the field of media and risk is offered by examining four main routes of media‐risk research. These routes are the media’s role in: providing risk knowledge to inform citizens; modulating public acceptability of different risks; motivating the public to take responsibility for, and action regarding, risks; and providing imaginative schemata regarding voluntarily chosen risks. Research tendencies in each of these routes are summarised and critiqued, with reference to methodology, theoretical frameworks and research foci, enabling articulation of new research directions. Methodologically, there is a need for more longitudinal, historical, contextual and interpretive studies of impacts of mediated risk at micro and macro levels, and more in‐depth, comparative studies between different risk types across different media forms and genres. Greater empirical engagement with risk‐oriented social theory such as risk society, governmentality, risk cultures and edgework would be productive. Under‐explo...

Media and risk: old and new research directions

This article uses a qualitative case study approach to examine policy-oriented risk communication in the battle between Greenpeace and Shell over the disposal of the Brent Spar oil structure. Policy-agenda-setting literature is fused with literature from the social amplification of risk framework (SARF) and transnational advocacy networks to generate further insights. This analysis demonstrates that in attempting to influence policy, Greenpeace and Shell are prepared to redefine risk according to their own strategic needs and arenas of operation. It suggests that media exposure impacts policy both by shaping public perception of risk (rather than of policy) and by shaping policy makers’ perception of public opinion. It is suggested that for successful policy-oriented risk communication, social trust in the communicator must be cultivated and maintained with key audiences prior to, and during, risk communication

Policy Agenda Setting and Risk Communication Greenpeace, Shell, and Issues of Trust

This paper examines the usefulness of the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF) in understanding the media's role in risk communication. Since the SARF was created in 1988, it has been both further developed and critiqued for (amongst other things) its: static conception of communication; lack of attention towards how key actors use the media; lack of systematic attention towards the media as an amplification station; and simplistic assumptions of how the media operate as an amplification station. A complex heavily‐mediated risk communication case study—the battle between Greenpeace and Shell over the deep‐sea disposal of the Brent Spar oil rig (1995)—is used to explore whether the SARF in its current stage of development stands up to these critiques. It is concluded that these critiques are more a consequence of how researchers have used the SARF rather than a fault of the SARF itself. Using the SARF framework with a qualitative case study methodology enabled systematic analysis of the role of re...

Greenpeace v. Shell: media exploitation and the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF)

Organized persuasive communication is essential to the exercise of power at national and global levels. It has been studied extensively by scholars of public relations, promotional culture and prop...

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Vian Bakir

Papers

Fake News and The Economy of Emotions: Problems, causes, solutions

Media and risk: old and new research directions

Policy Agenda Setting and Risk Communication Greenpeace, Shell, and Issues of Trust

Greenpeace v. Shell: media exploitation and the Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF)

Organized Persuasive Communication: A new conceptual framework for research on public relations, propaganda and promotional culture