Nano materials can today be found in a wide range of consumer products and the number of new products on the market is expected to inrease. In the shadow of hope for nano materilas potential in various applications, low awareness of its health and environmental risks is hiding. Furthermore, the knowledge about people´s risk perception of nano materials is limited. Parallel to the situation described above, the scholls meet the challenge of incrasing the scientific literacy. To achieve this goal, skills in argumentation in science studies has been emphasized and the concept of socio-scientific issues has been emerged. Using focus groups as a method, this study aimed first, to explore young engineering student´s risk perception of nano materials, and secont to analyze the extent to which they apply scientific konwledge to argue about nano materials. The material from the focus group interviews was analyzed with respect to both content and interaction. To analyze the content, a thematic classification of the material was made. The interactive and communicative forms were highlighted by an analysis of arguments according to the SEE-SEP-model. Seven themes were indentified from the focus group material. It was also assumed that 55 percent of the participants´arguments were based on values, 25 percent on konwledge and 20 percent on personal experiences. Despite the absence of specific knowledge, the young engineering students have the ability to conduct a complex argumentation about nano materials where they involve the paradox; new opportunities, inresolved risks. Their risk perception is not primarily based on knowledge but on emotional expressions such as fascination, hope, resignation and fear. / Nanomaterial återfinns idag i ett brett spektrum av konsumentprodukter och antalet nya produkter förväntas öka på marknaden. I skuggan av förhoppningar om nanomaterialens potential i allehanda tillämpningar döljer sig bristfälliga kunskaper om dess hälso- och miljörisker. Vidare är kunskapen om människors riskpercetion an nanometrial begränsad. Parallellt med den ovan beskrivna situationen står skolan inför utmaningen att öka den naturvetenskapliga allmänbildningen. För att uppnå målet har kompetens inom argumentation i de naturorienterande ämnene betonats och begreppet sociovetenskapliga dilemman vuxit fram. Med fokusgrupper dom metod har studien syftat dels till att undersöka unga teknikstuderandes riskperceetpion av nanomaterial, dels till att analysera i vilken utsträckning de tillämpar vetenskapliga kunskaper för att argumentera om nanomaterial. Materialet från fokusgruppsintervjuerna analyserades med avseende på både innehåll och interaktion. För att analysera innehållet gjordes en tematisk indelning av materialet. De interaktiva och kommunikativa formerna belystes genom en argumentationsanalys enligt SEE-SEP-modellen. Sju teman identifierades ur fokusgruppmaterialet. Vidare utgick 55 % av deltagarnas argument från värderingar. därefter kom kunskap med 25 % och sist personliga erfarenheter med 20 %. Trots avsaknad av specifik kunskap, har unga teknikstuderande förmågan att föra en komplex argumentation om nanomaterial där de berör pradoxen; nya möjligheter, outredda risker. Deras riskperception baseras inte främst på kunskaper utan på emotionella uttryck så som fascination, hopp,uppgivenhet och rädsla.

No description available.

先行研究は高いリスク認知が犯罪不安の原因になるとしてきたが、因果関係は確かめられてこなかった。本研究はそうした問題を解決するため、実験的手法を用いて犯罪不安の生起過程を検討した。研究1では、階層的クラスター分析によって犯罪を分類し、測定に使用する罪種を決定する基準とした。研究2では被害に遭う確率の推定が、研究3では被害に遭った際のダメージの大きさの推定が犯罪不安の原因となるか検討した。研究4では防犯対策の告知が犯罪不安を高めるか検討した。 / 博士(心理学) / Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology / 同志社大学 / Doshisha University

A prolonged siting controversy for a uranium enrichment facility has occurred in the Town of Unicoi, Tennessee. One hundred-seventy residents of Unicoi were interviewed using a questionnaire regarding the building of a proposed uranium enrichment facility for Unicoi. The questionnaire sought to determine relationships between residents’ risk perceptions and 18 variables. When the Fisher’s exact procedure was applied at α< 0.05, the results indicated several associations. Odds ratio measured the strength of association. Results are reported as crude measures of association. Risk perceptions were influenced by the choice of possible locations for the facility [p=0.0003; OR=32.6]. Residents' risk perceptions were associated with a history of working with nuclear materials [p=0.0476; OR=3.2]. Finally, risk perceptions were associated with residents' beliefs that the nuclear facility would affect their health [p=0.0001; OR=18.8]. These results are discussed in light of risk perception and communication theories.

[pt] O uso de substâncias durante a gestação não possui limiares seguros, é altamente associado com aborto e mortalidade da mãe e do filho, além de outros desfechos negativos de curto, médio e longo prazo. Assim, esta dissertação visa contribuir para a compreensão douso de substâncias durante a gravidez. O ARTIGO 1 é uma tradução e adaptação de uma medida para a avaliação da percepção de risco ao uso de substâncias. De forma geral a medida possibilitou associar idades mais precoces de uso de substâncias com menor percepção de risco, bem como diferenciar usuários regulares de substâncias de não usuários, com os primeiros apresentando menor percepção de risco de forma geral. Comparando mulheres não-nulíparas com e sem história de uso de substâncias na gravidez, observamos que a percepção de risco do uso de substâncias de forma geral foi o principal preditor do uso de substâncias durante a gravidez, além do conhecimento sobre os perigos para o desenvolvi-mento do feto relacionados ao consumo de maconha e álcool.os resultados sugerem quetalvez mais importante do que o trabalho preventivo com gestantes isoladamente, investir na promoção da percepção da substância em um estágio inicial é uma estratégia mais eficaz para prevenir o uso de substâncias durante a gestação. / [en] Substance use during pregnancy has no safe thresholds, is highly associated with abortion and maternal and child mortality, in addition to other short, medium, and long-term negative outcomes. Thus, this dissertation aims to contribute to the understanding of substance use during pregnancy. ARTICLE 1 is a translation and adaptation of a measure for the assessment of risk perception of substance use. In general, the measure made it possible to associate earlier ages of substance use with a lower perception of risk, as well as to differentiate regular users of substances from non-users, with the former presenting a lower perception of risk in general. Comparing non-nulliparous women with and without a history of substance use during pregnancy, we observed that the perception of risk of substance use in general was the main predictor of substance use during pregnancy, in addition to knowledge about the dangers for development. The results suggest that perhaps more important than preventive work with pregnant women alone, investing in promoting substance awareness at an early stage is a more effective strategy to prevent substance use during pregnancy.

This narrative ethnography is based on seven years of research collaboration with the Walpole Island First Nation (WIFN). The study focuses on local perceptions of risk as they relate to ecosystem integrity, human health and well-being. Discourse analysis of generic and nuanced community narratives reveals diverse yet complementary situated knowledge that are firmly rooted in Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe) cultural teachings, values and practices. Gerald Ryle and Clifford Geertz's conceptualization of thin and thick description is used to parse out the various components of what I've identified as a community genre of toxic talk. Within this model, thin description refers to observations of the surface metamorphoses of the physical environment through pollution and other anthropogenic changes. Thick description emerging from the analysis of elegies and echoes of loss and discourses of resistance illuminates the discursive tactics employed by community members to resist Western frameworks of risk analysis and re-situate the topic of environmental health within the wider interpretive matrix of structural violence. A proposed Shell refinery expansion project is used as an example of how WIFN actively mobilizes discourses via oral tradition in the struggle for environmental justice. Through the strategic use of toxic talk, the community draws attention to environmental issues while simultaneously laying bare to a wider, non-Native audience the historical scaffolding of Native issues that are part and parcel of contemporary environmental crises and their effective mediation and resolution. The 'discursive movement' from elegies and echoes of loss to discourses of resistance reframes Walpole Island residents from those who are defined by survivorship to those who embody and evoke a spirit of survivance. The dissertation concludes with a semiotic critique of the Western medical terms chemophobia and risk perception. This leads to the advancement of toxic talk as an alternative framework for acquiring a more politicized, historicized and humanized understanding of environmental concerns at Wal pole Island. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In a time where crises are more present, risk communication plays an important role in equipping citizens with information and knowledge on how to prepare themselves. This study examines how citizens in the municipality Strängnäs perceive and interpret the municipality's risk communication, particularly focused on the information folder "Be prepared for a crisis or social disturbance". Through two focus group interviews, eight citizens of different ages have participated to discuss the content of the folder and reflect on topics such as crises and home preparedness. The study's theoretical framework is based on Ulrich Beck's theory of risk society and protection motivation theory, as well as previous research in areas such as risk communication and risk perception. The results show that the folder is generally perceived positively by the participants of the study, though there are some differences such as preferences on the amount of text and design which could be explained by their different coping styles. The results emphasize the folders’ significant role in making citizens more aware of their own home preparedness. Despite the concern about crises being higher today, the concern does not necessarily correspond to the participants level of preparedness which can be understood by a lack of motivation or an excessive trust in others. The research provides valuable insights to enhance the municipality's risk communication, aiming to raise awareness and preparedness levels among citizens. However, it is important to note that the results of the study are specific to the limited group of participants and require further research to be able to be generalized and understood in a wider context of risk communication.

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Trafikolyckor är ett stort samhällsproblem som många gånger kan förhindras då nästan samtliga olyckor sker till följd av mänskliga faktorer. Under vinterhalvåret är det många som kör bil till och från skidorter i Sverige där olika väderförhållanden kan ha inverkan på antalet trafikolyckor och dess konsekvenser. Syftet med det här arbetet var att undersöka hur personer som kör bil till och från skidorter i Sverige under vinterhalvåret uppfattar risker och om det finns några skillnader i riskuppfattning mellan könen. Den valda metoden för undersökningen var webbenkät som genomfördes på det webbaserade verktyget Survey&amp;Report, där det insamlade datamaterialet har sammanställts och analyserats i Excel. Det har även gjorts en tematisk innehållsanalys på de fritextsvar som inkom i enkäten. Resultatet visar att det finns skillnader mellan kvinnor och mäns riskuppfattning där män funderar mindre över risker i trafiken jämfört med kvinnor. Ju mer mil en bilförare kör per år desto mer funderar bilföraren över risker i trafiken och är också mer medveten om de risker som finns jämfört med yngre och mer oerfarna bilförare. Kvinnor tar mindre risker i trafiken och tenderar att vara mer ödmjuka i skattningen av sin egen körförmåga jämfört med män. Slutsatsen är att hur bilförare agerar och skattar olika risker beror på vilken riskuppfattning de har och den varierar utifrån kön, ålder, erfarenhet, värderingar samt kultur. / Traffic accidents are a major problem that many times can be prevented, due to the fact that almost all accidents occur as a result of human error. During the winter months, many people in Sweden are driving to ski resorts, where weather conditions can have an impact on the number of traffic accidents and their consequences. The purpose of the paper is to investigate how people who drive to and from ski resorts in Sweden during the winter months perceive risks in traffic and whether there are any differences in risk perception between the genders. The chosen method for this paper was a web survey conducted on the web-based tools Survey&amp;Report, where the collected data material has been compiled and analysed in Excel. A  thematic analysis of the free text responses was also applied. The results show that there are differences between women and men’s perception of risk, where men seems to think less about risks in traffic compared to women. The result also shows that the more miles a driver drives per year the more the driver thinks about risks in traffic and is also more aware of the risks that exist compared to younger and more inexperienced drivers. Women takes less risks in traffic and tend to be humbler in estimating their own driving ability compared to men. The conclusion of this paper is that how car drivers act and estimate different risks depends on the risk perception they have, and that varies based on gender, age, experience, values and culture.

Farliga kemikalier kan migrera från leksaker eller andra varor och utgöra en hälsorisk. Eftersom barn är särskilt känsliga för exponering av farliga kemikalier bör de skyddas ytterligare, vilket görs med gällande lagstiftning för leksaker. Kemikalieinspektionens tillsyn visar dock på brister och att kemikalielagstiftningen inte är tillräcklig. Syftet med denna uppsats är därför att undersöka riskuppfattningen och kännedomen kring farliga kemikalier i barns leksaker hos föräldrar med barn i åldern 0-3 år. För att undersöka detta används en kvantitativ metod i form av webbenkät och datamaterialet presenteras med beskrivande statistik.  Resultat ställs i relation med vald teori om riskperception och visar bland annat att en lägre kännedom och tillit till lagstiftning bidrar till en lägre riskuppfattning. Oro, media och historiska händelser där farliga kemikalier visat sig ha en hormonstörande effekt bidrar till en högre riskuppfattning. Vissa skillnader i riskuppfattningen mellan kvinnor och män kan även utläsas. Resultat visar också att det inte finns någon skillnad mellan låg- och höginkomsttagare vad gäller betalningsviljan för en leksak försedd med innehållsförteckning. Det verkar därför inte vara ekonomiska förutsättningar som styr om åtgärder vidtas, utan snarare föräldrars oro för att deras barn exponeras för farliga kemikalier i leksaker.  Slutligen konstateras det i uppsatsen att en åtgärd för att minska barns exponering för farliga kemikalier och därmed även hälsorisker är en minskad konsumtion. / Hazardous chemicals can migrate from toys and other goods and pose a health risk. As children are particularly sensitive to exposure to hazardous chemicals, they should be further protected, as is the case with current toy legislation. However, the Swedish Chemicals Agency's supervision shows shortcomings and that the chemical legislation is not sufficient. The purpose of this essay is therefore to investigate the perception of risk and knowledge about dangerous chemicals in children's toys, for parents with children aged 0-3 years.  Results are set in relation to the chosen theory of risk perception and show, among other things, that a lower knowledge and trust in legislation contributes to a lower perception of risk. Concerns, media and historical events where dangerous chemicals have been shown to have an endocrine disrupting effect contribute to a higher risk perception. There are some differences in the perception of risk between women and men. The result also shows that there is no difference between low- and high-income earners in terms of willingness to pay for a toy provided with a table of content. Therefore it does not seem to be economic conditions that govern whether measures are taken, but rather parents' concerns that their children are exposed to dangerous chemicals in toys.  Finally, the essay states that a measure to reduce children's exposure to hazardous chemicals and thus also health risks is a reduced consumption.