This thesis is focused on the media behaviour and strategy on behalf of the chosen cases in the Czech Republic. The way for the main analyses is to identify the moral panic indicators, which are compared to the real media bahaviour. The key cases are "bacteria Listeria" and "Heparin's murder Zelenka". The communication strategy was analyzed from the released articles and pictures of two Czech daily journals MF DNES and HN. The quantitative part of thesis is concentrated on the data overview and journals'trends in time. The main aim is to confirm or deny the hypothesis of partial proportion both cases within journals. The qualitative part shows using emotionally strong words and communication strategy.

In April 1952, Japan emerged from Allied occupation free, peaceful, and democratic. Japan’s presses marked the occasion by declaring a state of crisis: the “konketsuji [mixed-blood children] crisis.” By all accounts, Allied soldiers had sired and abandoned two hundred thousand “mixed-blood” orphans in Japan. However, Chapter One reveals this to be a fabricated crisis or “moral panic.” Surveys found only a few thousand konketsuji nationwide, very few of them orphans. Yet these discoveries did little to change the tenor of “crisis.” Opposition politicians deployed wrath and fear over “blood mixing” to discredit the dominant Liberal Party and its alliance with the United States. They were abetted by an array of postwar activists who used the “crisis” to reconstruct Japanese nationalism, laid low by defeat and occupation, on a new basis: the “pure” race rather than the failed state. Chapter Two explores how the panic over “blood mixing” inevitably embroiled not just children but women as well. Japanese women were subject to intense pressures to eschew sex and family formation with Western men, and to abort “mixed” fetuses on eugenic grounds rather than bear them to term. 1948 marked the beginning of the end of criminal prosecution of abortion in Japan. The law that inaugurated this shift, the Eugenic Protection Law (EPL), is generally viewed as an advancement in women’s rights, despite the fact that the EPL envisioned and promoted the use of abortion as a means of managing the “quality and quantity” of Japan’s population. Scholarship on the links between eugenics and the decriminalization of abortion in Japan is vast, but scholars have yet to probe deeply into how eugenic abortion was applied tocontrol—or forestall—“race mixing” after the war. Although it was politically impossible for the government to impose abortions outright on women who might be pregnant with the children of Japan’s conquerors, such women were nonetheless targeted for eugenic intervention. For these women, abortion was not an option granted in a liberal democracy concerned with women’s rights. Abortion was an imperative imposed by a diverse array of governmental and non-governmental actors united behind an ideology of “pure blood.” Chapter Three explains how postwar scientific presses framed konketsuji born in the wake of World War II as an unprecedented presence. Geneticists, physical anthropologists, clinicians, and other researchers from the late 1940s through the 1970s deployed a “system of silences” to erase Japan’s prewar konketsuji community from view. They thereby not only constructed the Japanese as a racial community bounded by “pure blood,” but denied that the racialized nation ever had or ever could assimilate foreign elements. Scientific spokesmen effected the discursive purification of Japan despite resistance from “mixed-blood” adults who organized to contest the rising tide of racial nationalism. In the process, these scientists severely undercut the “mixed” community’s advocacy of a civically rather than biologically constituted nation. Chapter Four contrasts the decline of race science and eugenics in the West with their efflorescence in postwar Japan, where conditions of occupation heightened the relevance of racial eugenics as a prescription for national unity and strength. It is well known that Anglophone genetics and physical anthropology were led at the mid-century by immigrants and minorities, prominently including Theodosius Dobzhansky and Ashley Montagu. Yet without comparative analysis, it is difficult to weigh the significance of this fact, or of the fact that minorities did not lead the Japanese sciences. Japanese geneticists and anthropologists whoidentified as having “pure Japanese blood” never questioned that biopolitical category or the costs it imposed on those it excluded. I argue that who practiced science counts for much more than is allowed by objectivist narratives of self-correcting scientific “progress.” My project explains for the first time why racial nationalism and an ethos of ethnic cleansing triumphed in Japan at the very moment these forces receded in other contexts.

Suicide terrorism is characterized by the willingness of physically and psychologically war-trained individuals to die while destroying or attempting to annihilate enemy targets in furtherance of certain political or social objectives. Rooted in the historical, social, and psychological dimensions of international terrorism, suicide terrorism is neither a unique nor a new phenomenon. Its recent resurgence and the extensive media coverage it has received account for the misleading uniqueness of this violent, complex, and adaptive form of terrorism. This qualitative study examines the definitional and rhetorical processes by which suicide terrorism is socially constructed. Using a social constructionist theoretical framework coupled with a symbolic interactionist approach, this multi-case study effectively moves the analysis of suicide bombings beyond essentialist debates on asymmetrical warfare or terrorism and into a more nuanced appreciation of cultural meaning and human interaction. Hence this case study emphasizes how the interpretive understanding of suicide terrorism is associated with a biased representation of events and their alleged causes that is conditioned by deliberate attempts to stigmatize ideological enemies, manipulate public perceptions, and promote certain political interests. The primary research question is: How are socio-political processes, bureaucratic imperatives, and media structures involved in the social construction of suicide terrorism? Secondary research questions focus on determining how suicide terrorism is (a) a political weapon, (b) a communication tool, and (c) a politicized issue that fits into a moral panic framework. Methods used to conduct the analysis include in-depth interviews (phenomenological and elite interviewing) and document analysis (general document review and historical review). Findings highlight the interactions between suicide bombers (as contemporary folk devils), the news and entertainment media, the public, and agents of social control (politicians, lawmakers, law enforcement, and action groups), and their respective roles in the social construction of suicide terrorism. The limitations of the study, its significant theoretical and practical implications, as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.

This thesis describes and explains rumours as sociological phenomenon. It deals with circumstances under which rumour arises, how it spreads and how it persists in society. It also deals with the prerequisites for understanding the transmission and any believing in rumour. Emphasis is placed on understanding the rumours without negative connotations which is mostly attributed to it. The theory of fictional worlds brings idea that rumour should not be always fictional, fictitious and a priori negative, but rather should be considered as possibly true, especially in terms of the phenomenon, which it refers. It does not matter how many different variations of the rumour story exist, since all create a frame of reference through which is better spread the rumour; adoption of the rumours is not a sign of fiction, but rather a prerequisite to embed among people. The thesis promotes the view that a rumour is spread mainly due to its content and message, which is mainly a warning. The aim is not to pass the exact story, but to warn about a phenomenon that occurs in society. It is not important wheather the rumour is true in each detail, because the only important aspect is truth of phenomenon which the rumour refers to. Keywords Rumour, theory of possible worlds, conspiracy theories, contemporary legend,...

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The use of computer and video games has increased immensely over the past few decades and today a majority of the Swedish population enjoys them on a daily basis. With such a large number of frequent users, the media reporting on the subject of games becomes interesting and important. How are games represented in the media, and has there been any change in the way they are portrayed as their popularity has grown? ­ The aim of this study is to determine if and how the portrayal of computer and video games in Swedish newspapers has changed during the period 1995–2012. The study was conducted with the use of quantitative content analysis and the empirical data was collected from the two most widespread newspapers in Sweden – DN and Aftonbladet. The main theories used to analyze and interpret the data consisted of framing theory and theories on the concept of moral panics.     The result of the study shows that there has been a large increase in the number of articles that treats the subject of games, especially in the period 1995—2002. When games are described in negative contexts, the issue most often discussed is the violent content and the negative effect it has on the user. In recent years, however, more focus has been directed towards the beneficial effects of games.

Sweden. 1980. The term ‘video violence’ becomes public through the debates show Studio S. The show urges and obligates politicians to stop, regulate and ban video films with violent content from the market. 29 years later, the debates show Debatt raises concerns regarding a similar topic, ‘video game violence’. Both shows were produced and aired by the Public Service channels of Sveriges Television in Sweden. The purpose of this thesis was to study and examine if the media encourages and nourishes moral panics to the general public through debates shows. How does the host/journalist interact to steer the debate to the media agenda and how has the power structure changed in the debate genre over the years? Do the media nurture the root of moral panics? We based the study on a qualitative content analysis. We analyzed one episode from each of the two debate shows Studio S and Debatt. The method of analysis we used was discourse analysis with emphasis on relations and power structures. We also analyzed the episodes by using Goode and Ben-Yehudas five criteria’s for creating moral panic. The study shows that both debates shows fail to mention the problem in a larger societal context. They tend to only portray a scapegoat. Furthermore, they often show one-sided and violent sequences from the cultural phenomena. They use discourses to maintain the firm power in the debates to fulfill their pre-constructed bias agenda. We’ve also observed that it has become much more difficult for a moral panic to gain momentum compared with 1980, because of the medias decentralization.

This dissertation analyses discourse on benefit fraud in Sweden between 1990 and 2010. First, it maps general trends in public discourse about benefit fraud. This is done through a content analysis of news reporting about benefit fraud in four Swedish newspapers. This part of the dissertation shows that the number of published news articles about benefit fraud have increased significantly since 1990. Particularly large numbers of articles were published during the middle of the 1990s, and between 2002 and 2006.  Second, a qualitative discourse analysis of talk about benefit fraud in news texts, political debates and government reports is conducted. During periods of intense news coverage about fraud, reporting is often clearly marked by traits generally associated with moral panics; constructing the phenomenon as seemingly more common than it in reality is, constructing cheaters as a threat to the moral fiber of society, and also claiming the need for counter-measures. The qualitative analysis furthermore focuses on how the relation-ships between different subject positions are constructed in the collected material. This part of the analysis shows that fraud discourse in Sweden during the past twenty years have shifted from a dominant focus on alleged cheating among immigrants in the early 1990s, to claims of abuse within the sickness insurance program after 2002. The analysis also shows that benefit fraud is constructed as a political problem using neoliberal discursive strategies that [1] reduce welfare policies to financial costs, [2] constitute benefit claimants as individually responsible for their inability to support themselves through regular work, and [3] articulate the welfare state as an instrument for the moral regulation of citizens.

<p>Sweden. 1980. The term ‘video violence’ becomes public through the debates show <em>Studio S</em>. The show urges and obligates politicians to stop, regulate and ban video films with violent content from the market. 29 years later, the debates show <em>Debatt </em>raises concerns regarding a similar topic, ‘video game violence’. Both shows were produced and aired by the Public Service channels of Sveriges Television in Sweden.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis was to study and examine if the media encourages and nourishes moral panics to the general public through debates shows. How does the host/journalist interact to steer the debate to the media agenda and how has the power structure changed in the debate genre over the years? Do the media nurture the root of moral panics?</p><p>We based the study on a qualitative content analysis. We analyzed one episode from each of the two debate shows <em>Studio S</em> and <em>Debatt</em>. The method of analysis we used was discourse analysis with emphasis on relations and power structures. We also analyzed the episodes by using Goode and Ben-Yehudas five criteria’s for creating moral panic.</p><p>The study shows that both debates shows fail to mention the problem in a larger societal context. They tend to only portray a scapegoat. Furthermore, they often show one-sided and violent sequences from the cultural phenomena. They use discourses to maintain the firm power in the debates to fulfill their pre-constructed bias agenda. We’ve also observed that it has become much more difficult for a moral panic to gain momentum compared with 1980, because of the medias decentralization.</p>

Submitted by Marcus Gebin (mgebin@hotmail.com) on 2014-06-10T21:19:29Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DissertacaoFinal-MarcusGebin - ABNT3.pdf: 836447 bytes, checksum: fbe146fb905e9050d807de8ea0f2097c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2014-06-10T21:21:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DissertacaoFinal-MarcusGebin - ABNT3.pdf: 836447 bytes, checksum: fbe146fb905e9050d807de8ea0f2097c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T12:46:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DissertacaoFinal-MarcusGebin - ABNT3.pdf: 836447 bytes, checksum: fbe146fb905e9050d807de8ea0f2097c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-05-09 / In this research we tried to identify the Bills proposed in the Senate and the House of Representatives between 2002 and 2012 that showed corruption as a central theme; to determine the proportion of the criminal nature Bills among them; to understand, by analyzing the texts of the justifications that accompany them, what are the functions of the criminal measures. In addition, we seek to understand - always from the point of view of the legislator - what is corruption, who is the corruptor and what are the corruption causes and consequences. Finally, drawing on the concepts of "moral panic" and "penal populism", we suggested ways to identify and understand some of the variables that influence the legislative process and the responsiveness of the legislator to a diffuse demand for penalty. / Nessa pesquisa buscamos identificar os Projetos de Lei propostos no Senado Federal e na Câmara dos Deputados, entre os anos de 2002 e 2012, que apresentaram a corrupção como tema central; determinar a proporção das propostas de cunho penal no conjunto desses dos Projetos; compreender, por meio da análise dos textos das Justificativas que os acompanham, quais seriam as funções das medidas de natureza penal. Além disso, procuramos compreender as representações do legislador sobre o que seria corrupção, quem seria o corrupto e quais seriam suas causas e conseqüências. Por fim, nos valendo dos conceitos de 'pânico moral' e 'populismo penal', sugerimos formas de identificar e compreender algumas das variáveis que influenciam o processo legislativo e a responsividade do legislador à demanda por pena difusa no corpo social.