Diapositiva 1

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A Complete Communicative Turn in Research into
Risk Jordi Farré, jordi.farre_at_urv.cat Jan
Gonzalo, juanluis.gonzalo_at_urv.cat Rovira i
Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain Communication
Research Group Asterisc http//www.urv.cat/asteri
sc
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This research is financed by the Spanish Ministry
of Science and Innovation, under the National
Programme of RDI, in the framework of the
project entitled The chemical risk perception at
Tarragona and European Union social effects of
institutional communication and media of
information (SEJ2007-63095/SOCI). The results
we are presenting here are also based on a
previous finished research project about local
petrochemical industries at Tarragona, full of
empirical data (since 2004 to 2007,
SEJ2004-00892/SOCI). As we have received funding
from Spanish state to continue the research work
for three more years, we are working now for
applying and testing indicators obtained from
local petrochemical cluster at Tarragona in a
comparative logic applying at European Union
level.
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Basic premises for communicative steps In order
to consolidate the communicative turn in research
into risk the presentation is structured in three
interrelated parts Risk Communication as
controversial and contested field A complete
communicative turn on Risk Communication
Practical and theoretical dilemmas Definition
proposal and constitutive Metamodel of Risk
Communication
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• Basic premises for communicative steps
• The coherence of our research activity is focused
  on the analysis of risk communication processes
  from a specific communicative point of view.
• The risk research on social sciences highlights
  sociological and psychological frameworks and
  often the tradition in communicative research has
  been only used in an instrumental way.
• The centrality of communication led us to
  approach the processes taking into account its
  transversal and constitutive nature.
• The communication is a key element not only in
  media and public relations campaigns or
  information strategies but also in the
  definitions, discourses and practices understood
  as the consequences of a whole process.

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• Communication theory may and should become a
  coherent field only being practical, but at the
  same time finding its own voice in the
  conversation of disciplines.
• The communicative perspective of communication
  must be defined only differently from other
  disciplines.
• Communication discipline cannot but locate its
  own central problematic in the problem of
  communication so familiar in our society, where
  communication has become only a problem but a
  characteristic way of posing all problems.

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Main Ideas

• The disjuncture associated with epistemological
  dilemmas on risk are situated into a new light
  from a communicative focus as acting to generate
  emerging junctures.
• Our point of view is based on Risk Communication
  as a constitutive process and not in discussing
  about risk and communication as isolated terms.
• Overcoming the interdisciplinary trap, it means
  rethinking communication as a primary force for
  the whole process in research into risk.

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• Controversial origins of Risk Communication
• Its difficult to put uncontroversial assumptions
  about the development of Risk Communication but
  it seems clear that normative and corporative
  impulses have been the main actors in its process
  of institutionalisation.
• In understanding Risk Communication as a norm or
  as PR strategy the intermediate professionals
  have found different spaces to work and roles to
  accomplish.
• Within this institutional and practical
  orientation the theoretical frameworks have been
  enriching the field, but at the same time
  fragmented it. The Knowledge gap between
  theoretical debates and practical evidences on
  risk communication has been growing meanwhile
  creating confusions.

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• Contested field or emergent discipline?
• We need to leave behind discussions of objects of
  risk communication for translating on risk
  communication for itself as an own object of
  study.
• The theoretical contributions put emphasis on the
  main dilemmas of social sciences from long ago.
  However the practical advances are produced
  through previous frames and strong ideas already
  existing (trust or participation). It seems like
  an on-going return to redraw new frontiers of the
  field.
• There is not a shared definition about what Risk
  Communication is actually. Although the expertise
  literature uses recurrent meanings, they dont
  assume the dialectical logic between narrow and
  broad perspectives.
• Once recognized the field as contested, the step
  further consists of posing the theoretical bases
  of communication understood as a practical
  discipline in a true conversation focused on
  communicative roots into risk research.

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A complete communicative turn of Risk
Communication Practical and theoretical dilemmas
Case analysis of petrochemical clusters at
Tarragona
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Proximate communicative concepts and Reference
Models The assumption of the challenge of
uncertainty in a complex world implies conceptual
strategies to mitigate it as constructing trust,
good governance, integrative participation and
mutual dialogue. - Trust As in communication,
trust is difficult to construct and much more
easier to destroy. - Governance a new
democratic vision of decision making to risk
contexts inside which reconciliation of interests
and perspectives must be possible thanks to
communication as inseparable travelling
companion. - Participation / Dialogue not
exclusively understood as communication tools but
expressed in and through communication in a
substantive form. The conceptual proximity with
communication is obvious and constitutive in
three cases and deserves further and serious
exploration.
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Theoretical and practical models as reference
points and sources of inspiration

• Social Amplification of Risk Framework (SARF)
  ambitious and never-ending capable of achieving
  consent among scholars, it is very theoretical,
  with a useful own terminology but not receive
  institutional recognition for its
  inapplicability.
• STAkeholders in Risk Communication (STARC)
  sponsored by European Commission, it is an
  attempt to implicate stakeholders in decision
  making process. However the centrality of
  stakeholders, they are not identified
  distinctively, excessively institutional and a
  little bit confusing and wilful.
• Multi-stage Risk Communication Method (ERiK)
  developed by the Federal Institute Risk
  Assessment of Germany is designed as a practical
  tool for public bodies. More operational than
  previous, it presents several scenarios assuming
  the plurality of potential interactions,
  segmented analytically. A model has been
  formulated for each scenario

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Definition proposal and constitutive Model of
Risk Communication Definitions of Risk
Communication
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Risk Communication definition as a common object
of study Either mediation of information with
confrontation of evaluations about risk and their
associated factors, such as technical, cultural,
social, economic or politics, between those
implied or affected communities with the
intention to reach an integration of different
overviews about its impact or meaning in society
in order to identify responsibilities and to
build a democratic framework for its management
and control. The problem of communication is the
problem of pluralistic community, taking into
account interdependency and diversity. As a
framework of differing perspectives, mediation
becomes the central procedure of a communicative
discipline. In short terms, for satisfying its
main objective, the object of Risk Communication
becomes how to reach integration of communities
through processes of mediation.
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• 3.2 Keywords
• Mediation Beyond acting as an intermediary or
  intermediate agency, mediation becomes a formal
  way of directly expressing otherwise unexpressed
  relations. In this meaning, may be revealed the
  particular problematic inside each community at
  the same time that this positions of power in
  their relations.
• Community The concept of community is
  constituted by the integrating framework of
  communication. A vision of strong democracy is
  focused on community. They are conformed by
  individuals and institutions that become
  recognised social actors which construct an own
  space at the same time that confluence in public
  spheres were they make decisions, controversial
  or not.
• Community boxes The different boxes responds an
  inner logics, while putting in relation each to
  others produced outer dynamics. Both of them
  constitute the processes of mediation. The
  community boxes are not homogeneous. They are
  dissimilar in structure and empowered
  differently.
• Integration It is the effort to assume the
  responsibility to bind junctures in and between
  rationalities and logic of different communities
  through mediation processes. Within this concept
  is proposed to reach communicative integrated
  community.

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The Mediation and Communities Metamodel of Risk
Communication
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• 3.3 Characteristics of a mediation and
  communities metamodel
• Its been the final result of a different sources
  of exploration empirical analysis, critical
  revision of contributions on the field and
  comparative research of reference models.
• Centrality of society the goal is a democratic
  construction of meaning.
• Assuming its integrative frame, it must go away
  in terms of constitutive logic focused on a
  complete communicative turn.
• Its able to understand the whole without loosing
  the sight of each part.
• The different levels are well represented through
  the metaphor of community boxes. Taking into
  account the different levels, logics and
  mediation in and between communities.
• Its theoretical and practical at the same time.
  The simplicity and simmetry help to operate with
  it.
• Propose alternative terminology to define in
  another way the multiple objects of study of Risk
  Communication the roles and responsabilities,
  communities, and the internal and external
  mediations.
• Our model allows dont presuppose the standard
  level of communities or mediation. On the
  contrary, it obliges to take the parts and the
  whole openig to different contexts and cases.

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In the framework of this research and the
mentioned overall projects, we are interested on
sharing useful proposals with the scientific
community in order to intervene above
petrochemical settings according to social
perception of risk and effects produced from
institutional communication and information media
at European Union level. In that context, we
would like to invite contributions from scholars,
researchers and professionals from around the
world working in the above mentioned field who
wish to keep in touch with us for improving our
communicative approach. If you are interested in
our contribution, in our definition of risk
communication and in our metamodel, you can
contact us at the following emails
jordi.farre_at_urv.cat asterisc_at_urv.cat For
further information about the Research Group on
Communication at Tarragona, you can visit
http//www.urv.cat/asterisc