Hazard type and risk communication Flashcards
Psychological approach to risk communication
- Focus on the individual
- Draws on traditional ‘scientific method’
- Quantitative methods
- Objectification
Intervention strategies
The model proposed has implications for conceptualising and implementing risk reduction strategies. The model implies that they should mirror the developmental process described here: motivating people to prepare, facilitating the formation of intentions, and then promoting conversion of intentions to preparedness (Patron, 2013)
Problems with conventional approaches (psychological) -
- ‘Constructed’ science;
- politics and science → placing science into a wider social context, not dismissing science
- de-constructing rationality and expertisation
Socio-cultural approaches
- Focus on social and cultural construction of issues
- Subjectivity accepted
- Qualitatively assessed.
Challenging the objectiveness of science
“This somewhat heterogenous body of work has challenged the self-image of science as an epistemologically objective and value-free study of the self evident facts of a real and ontologically objective world” (Demerrit, 2001)
Assumptions made by the scientific community
“Many of these assumptions are informal and negotiated by relatively small communities of investigators. Others are not formally acknowleged because they emerge out of the interactions of scientists within a wider epistemic community of research scientists and policy makers” (Demeritt, 2001a)
Nudge Approach
“using the new sciences of choice from psychology, economics and neurosciences – as well as appealing to an improved understanding of decision making and behavior change – a libertatian paternalist mode of governing is being promoted in the UK (2011)
‘deficit’ approaches
Owens (2000) characterizes ‘deficit’ approaches thus “lay people are ignorant of environmental science and irrational in their response to risks: the public must be engaged in order to be better informed and converted to a ‘more objective’ view”
New agendas in the social sciences emerging from STS (Whatmore, 2009)
- Tackling epistemic hegemony
- Exploring and challenging knowledge hierarchies
- Challenging conventional scientific methods
- Understanding publics
Whatmore, 2009 - public science as a public good
“…the answer to the question of what makes public science a more effective public good resides not in its subservience to governmental or commercial agendas…This places the onus on diversifying the publics with whom scientists collaborate on matters that concern them, and on the terms on which they do so. It should also…involve redistributions of environmental expertise in which the inventiveness of social scientists comes to the fore in the design and conduct of research practices that stage more and different opportunities for new knowledge politics to emerge” (Whatmore, 2009)
Demeritt (2001) - describes the scientific construction of climate change as
a global scale environmental problem, whose reductionist formulation serves a variety of political purposes but instrumental and instrumental and interest based critiques of the use of scientific knowledge tend to ignore the ways which politics gets into science at the upstream end
Demeritt (2001) - science link with politics
Science has been imagied as indpendent of the political parties and feeding information into it.
Demeritt (2001) - cultural politics of science
Very little attention has been paid to the cultural politics of scientific practice and its consequential role in framing and constructing for us the problem of global warming.
Demeritt (2001) - right wing critics have tried
to refute scientific knowledge of global warming as socially constructed and publically based balderdash
Beck (1992)
The dependence upon science to make tangible otherwise invisible environmental risks is characteristic of a modern risk society.
Owens (2000) - rationales for public engagement fall into
rationalist, ‘information deficit’ model, and those owing to a more civi, or deliberative, ideal.
Owens (2000) - Information deficit
lay people are ignorant of environmental science and irrational in their response to risks - the public must be engaged in order to be better informed
Jaeger et al (1993)
study in Switzerland which found hat cultural roles and social networks had a greater influence on translating underlying environmental concerns than the availability of scientific information
Coastal flooding: an international problem
McGranahan et al (2007)
- Low elevation coastal zone
- Increasing urbanization – delta regions
- Mitigation versus migration
- Sea Level rise
- High tides, storm surges, geomorphological hazards
- Resource and risk
Coastal flooding in the UK - Pirazzoli et al (2005) - study involved
Statistical analysis of hourly tide measurements for some 285 equivalent full years from Weymouth, Bournemouth, Portsmouth, Sheerness, Cherbourg and more. For each wave, surge heights have been determined and correlated with hourly or three hourly wind and air pressure data
Coastal flooding in the UK - Pirazzoli et al (2005) - study found
Recent medium term climate evolution does not seem to be increasing the flood risk. However, the long term risk of flooding will increase through the loss in land elevation due to a continuation of local relative sea level rise.
Coastal flooding in the UK - Ball et al (2014) investigated
Contributing factors to flood hazard around Scotland - there is a need to develop preliminary assessments of areas particularly vulnerable to flooding for compliance with EU directive on the assessment and management of flood risks
Coastal flooding in the UK - Ball et al (2014) - methodology
Combining data sources, with GIS analysis of the spatial distribution of key meteorological variables, sheds light on the risk of flooding from combinations of surge and wave action. Exposure to wave energy was computed from prevailing wind strength and duration at 36 stations
Coastal flooding in the UK - Ball et al (2014) - Found that
The highest wave exposure was at open coast locations exposed to the Atlantic fetch but GIS showed other areas close to estuaries that also had high exposure.
Seeing is believing
Guardian articles showing that campers dice with death pitching tent under Jurassic coast cliff despite signs warning them as heavy rainfall made the cliffs in an unusually unstable condition.
Living with long term risk
- Climate change and coastal flooding/cliff erosion
- Comprehensive analysis of likely changes in flood risk
- “By quantifying the impacts of these changes in terms of the common currency of risk, better information is available to decision-makers and the management policies concerning different hazards and involving multiple stakeholders can be more effectively communicated”
Presenting personalised coastal flood risk information to the public
- Science communication (4 factors)
o 1 – Identifying relevant science
o 2 – Determining people’s informational needs
o 3 – Designing communication to fill those needs
o 4 – Evaluating the adequacy of those communications
Wong-Parodi and Strauss (2014)
Community driven coastal management, South Uist
“Coastal science and advice on the best management policy was presented to the community at several meetings. Despite this, the local community was unwilling to accept any loss of land at Kilpheder, and their views were the key factor in deciding to build an artificial crushed rock and sand bund along the existing headland. Although the land users are now fully aware that shoreline change is inevitable, there is a desire to delay any further loss of land, rather than adapt to it. The lack of assistance provided to crofters in the immediate aftermath of the storm may have contributed to this view”
Young et al (2014)
Coastal flooding: the Exe Estuary - living with a changing coast
- Authorities responsible for management
- Publics and perception of risk
- Dynamic coastline – changing risks to estuary communities
- The importance of Dawlish Warren
- Local involvement in planning and decision making
- Model of ‘communication’
Jurassic Coast Pathfinder project details
DEFRA launched the £11 million scheme in 2009 involving local authorities to bid for a portion of the money to improve public engagement in the process of planning to adapt to coastal change. 15 successful bids.
Jurassic coast pathfinder project 7 aims
1 - Knowledgable coastal communities
2 - costal communities able to debate about climate change
3 - coastal communities who are able to actively and meaningfully be a part of the decision making process
4 - coastal communities who are well prepared and equipped
5 - coastal communities who are supported in the testing and acceptance of practical action to climate change
6 - future generations of coastal communities who are aware of the coastal challenges
7 - A spatial planning system which is well equipped to reconcile the potential conflicts between a sustainable approach to coastal change and onshore/offshore development
