Perception of technological risk: insights from research and lessons for risk communication and management

Renn, Ortwin; Benighaus, Christina

doi:10.1080/13669877.2012.729522

Cited by 119 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…This is consistent with what we found in studies on other developing countries [19,45], in which the benefits of technology were taken for granted. In addition to social pressure, such results explain why we found a generally positive view of mobile communication use in everyday life in the interviews conducted in Romania and reluctance to express strong negative opinions.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Particularly, a study in Bangladesh [19] shows, on the one hand, that mobile base stations are associated with modernity, and, on the other hand, that those health risks are not perceived to be as important as crime but instead as more of a social inconvenience related to the use of mobile telephony. In contrast, in developed countries, the attributes associated with technology are often more related to catastrophes and potential dangers and tend not to take the benefits of technological products for granted [45]. This seems to be the case of Catalonia.…”

Section: Understanding the Two Cultural Contexts: Romania And Catalonmentioning

confidence: 81%

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Older People, Mobile Communication and Risks

Ivan

Fernández-Ardèvol

2017

Societies

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Abstract:Starting from Beck's concept of reflexivity, the paper investigates differences in risk perception regarding wireless technologies expressed by older people living in Romania and Catalonia (Spain). We combine evidence from conversations held with older individuals in different research projects together with an ad-hoc media content analysis. Our research reveals that seniors' discourses were consistent with the media prominence of different types of risks in each country. Results show that seniors' discourses on health risks relate to the way the media discussed them, with Romanian participants, in contrast to older people from Catalonia, expressing no concerns about electromagnetic radiation. Also, Romanian seniors were more concerned about the risk to others-younger family members-whereas seniors in Catalonia were more concerned about their own risks. Seniors from Romania made more references to the country's development. We discuss aging futures in societies with different risk perceptions. As the media presents the risks associated with digital technologies in differing lights, people's perceptions are formed accordingly. Also, in countries where technology is perceived as good per se, the techno-optimistic discourse would be reinforced not only by the media but also by the groups exposed to the highest social pressure towards technology adoption-for example, seniors.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Understanding the Two Cultural Contexts: Romania And Catalonmentioning

confidence: 81%

Older People, Mobile Communication and Risks

Ivan

Fernández-Ardèvol

2017

Societies

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“…The concept of risk has a clear meaning in the technical sciences, but for consumers, the concept of risk is often confused with hazard, referred to as danger when translated into local languages, experience-related and persuaded by social communication [46,66,74,75]. Social and cultural factors, which are regularly swayed by media reports, peer and family influences and other communication mechanisms, have more of an impact on consumers' understanding of risk than legislation and scientific data [70].…”

Section: Consumers' Risk Perceptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Read this and be safe!’ Comparison of regulatory processes for communicating risks of personal care products to European and South African consumers

Klaschka

Rother

2013

Environ Sci Eur

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Background: Most personal care products (PCPs) contain hazardous ingredients, but current legislation in the European Union (EU) and South Africa (SA) does not require these to be labelled as hazardous products. Instead, ingredients must only be listed on containers to inform consumers of potential hazards. We assessed whether current legal strategies provide the means for effective risk communication (RC) mechanisms for PCPs in order to protect consumers' health and the environment. Results and conclusions: RC strategies used in developed countries are not necessarily better compared to developing countries despite the existence of extensive legislation in the former. Socio-cultural factors, scientific literacy and language differences are key reasons why the current ingredient lists on PCP labels are not an effective RC strategy. The assumption is that consumers will interpret the risks of these ingredients by conducting a risk assessment for their personal context. Realistically, the following risk mitigation measures should be implemented in developed and developing countries to reduce the public's potential exposures to hazardous substances: substitute hazardous ingredients with less hazardous; provide accessible mechanisms for consumers to comprehend RC measures; delete the exception clause in the EU Regulation on Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP); apply clear mandatory labels where PCPs health risks are clearly illustrated; and increase enforcement of legislation. The high incidence of fragrance allergies caused by PCPs is one example illustrating how current legal measures in the EU and SA fail to protect consumers and the environment from hazardous exposures. Therefore, efforts must be made to improve legally required RC measures.

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“…The conceptual literature has discussed the implications of the need to communicate to the public about given risks (e.g. Renn and Benighaus 2013;Stirling et al 2006). While the broader literature on EU policy making shows that actual public involvement is very limited (Princen andRhinard 2006: 1121), precautionary policy making may be different because of the elevated levels of public attention and participation.…”

Section: Insights From the Conceptual Literaturementioning

confidence: 98%

How the Eu Handles Uncertain Risks: Understanding the Role of the Precautionary Principle

Tosun¹

2013

Journal of European Public Policy

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The European Union (EU) has adopted the precautionary principle (PP) as a legal principle for dealing with uncertain risks; that is situations in which the relationship between activities and their potential hazard cannot be established. While the PP's application has been defined by the European Commission and EU case law, political considerations ultimately determine whether and how it is invoked. This article reviews the literature on the PP's application in EU policy making by addressing three research questions: When do EU policy makers invoke the PP? How are EU precautionary policies made? Is the making of EU precautionary policies different from the making of regulatory policies addressing certain risks? While the conceptual literature provides some insights regarding all three questions, the empirical literature is particularly instructive regarding the first two questions. Future studies have the task of merging the two literatures in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of EU precautionary policy making.

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Perception of technological risk: insights from research and lessons for risk communication and management

Cited by 119 publications

References 71 publications

Older People, Mobile Communication and Risks

Older People, Mobile Communication and Risks

‘Read this and be safe!’ Comparison of regulatory processes for communicating risks of personal care products to European and South African consumers

How the Eu Handles Uncertain Risks: Understanding the Role of the Precautionary Principle

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