Media Disaster Reporting Effects on Public Risk Perception and Response to Escalating Tornado Warnings: A Natural Experiment

Previous research has evaluated public risk perception and response to a natural hazards in various settings; however, most of these studies were conducted either with a single scenario or after a natural disaster struck. To better understand the dynamic relationships among affect, risk perception, and behavioral intentions related to natural disasters, the current study implements a simulation scenario with escalating weather intensity, and includes a natural experiment allowing comparison of public response before and after a severe tornado event with extensive coverage by the national media. The current study also manipulated the display of warning information, and investigated whether the warning system display format influences public response. Results indicate that (1) affect, risk perception, and behavioral intention escalated as weather conditions deteriorated, (2) responses at previous stages predicted responses at subsequent stages of storm progression, and (3) negative affect predicted risk perception. Moreover, risk perception and behavioral intention were heightened after exposure to the media coverage of an actual tornado disaster. However, the display format manipulation did not influence behavioral responses. The current study provides insight regarding public perception of predisaster warnings and the influence of exposure to media coverage of an actual disaster event.     

Developing a Broadly Applicable Measure of Risk Perception

Decades of research identify risk perception as a largely intuitive and affective construct, in contrast to the more deliberative assessments of probability and consequences that form the foundation of risk assessment. However, a review of the literature reveals that many of the risk perception measures employed in survey research with human subjects are either generic in nature, not capturing any particular affective, probabilistic, or consequential dimension of risk; or focused solely on judgments of probability. The goal of this research was to assess a multidimensional measure of risk perception across multiple hazards to identify a measure that will be broadly useful for assessing perceived risk moving forward. Our results support the idea of risk perception being multidimensional, but largely a function of individual affective reactions to the hazard. We also find that our measure of risk perception holds across multiple types of hazards, ranging from those that are behavioral in nature (e.g., health and safety behaviors), to those that are technological (e.g., pollution), or natural (e.g., extreme weather). We suggest that a general, unidimensional measure of risk may accurately capture one's perception of the severity of the consequences, and the discrete emotions that are felt in response to those potential consequences. However, such a measure is not likely to capture the perceived probability of experiencing the outcomes, nor will it be as useful at understanding one's motivation to take mitigation action.     

Efficacy,Action, and Support for Reducing Climate Change Risks

A growing body of research demonstrates that believing action to reduce the risks of climate change is both possible (self‐efficacy) and effective (response efficacy) is essential to motivate and sustain risk mitigation efforts. Despite this potentially critical role of efficacy beliefs, measures and their use vary wildly in climate change risk perception and communication research, making it hard to compare and learn from efficacy studies. To address this problem and advance our understanding of efficacy beliefs, this article makes three contributions. First, we present a theoretically motivated approach to measuring climate change mitigation efficacy, in light of diverse proposed, perceived, and previously researched strategies. Second, we test this in two national survey samples (Amazon's Mechanical Turk N = 405, GfK Knowledge Panel N = 1,820), demonstrating largely coherent beliefs by level of action and discrimination between types of efficacy. Four additive efficacy scales emerge: personal self‐efficacy, personal response efficacy, government and collective self‐efficacy, and government and collective response efficacy. Third, we employ the resulting efficacy scales in mediation models to test how well efficacy beliefs predict climate change policy support, controlling for specific knowledge, risk perceptions, and ideology, and allowing for mediation by concern. Concern fully mediates the relatively strong effects of perceived risk on policy support, but only partly mediates efficacy beliefs. Stronger government and collective response efficacy beliefs and personal self‐efficacy beliefs are both directly and indirectly associated with greater support for reducing the risks of climate change, even after controlling for ideology and causal beliefs about climate change.     

新媒体影响力对雾霾风险感知的作用机制

基于“2017年中国城市化与新移民调查”随机调查数据，通过已有文献构建新媒体影响力和雾霾风险感知指标，采用中介效应模型验证并探索新媒体影响力对雾霾风险感知的影响及其作用机制。研究发现:提高新媒体影响力，能有效降低雾霾风险感知，而政府环保评价起着显著的中介效应的作用；并且新媒体影响力可划分为官方媒体影响力和非官方媒体影响力；官方媒体影响力不仅直接影响雾霾风险感知，而且通过政府环保评价间接对其产生影响；而非官方媒体影响力仅通过政府环保评价对雾霾风险感知产生间接影响。因此，媒体融合时代下，提升公众对官方媒体使用频率，拓宽官方媒体信息发布喋道，完善公开透明的信任机制，同时加强对非官方媒体的信息监督和信息反馈机制，完善政府风险沟通机制，对现阶段中国环境风险的源头治理具有现实意义。     

微信时代风险信息的传播与感知——以山东“问题”疫苗事件为例

目前,以手机终端为依托的微信传播技术不仅给社会传播方式带来了前所未有的改变,而且给社会风险信息的传播获取以及公众对风险的感知与判断,甚至政府的风险决策与治理方式都带来了巨大的挑战.鉴于此,选取了比较典型的案例——山东“问题”疫苗事件作为探讨对象,结合相应的统计资料,深入分析了在此案例中微信传播呈现出的显著特征,即传播内容庞杂未见明显的“沉默螺旋”的显现,传播态度多元化但偏于激动,传播迅速集中但议题缺乏持续的关注.研究认为,正由于这样的传播特征加之疫苗风险本身的特征与个体的偏颇性解读,使公众对“问题”疫苗事件产生了强烈的风险感知,并在一定程度上造成了疫苗的污名化结果.因此建议微信时代一定要警惕媒介化的风险,风险沟通要在同理心的基础上进行,要引导公众对风险议题进行持续理性的关注等.     

Politics and Scientific Expertise: Scientists, Risk Perception, and Nuclear Waste Policy

To study the homogeneity and influences on scientists'perspectives of environmental risks, we have examined similarities and differences in risk perceptions, particularly regarding nuclear wastes, and policy preferences among 1011 scientists and engineers. We found significant differences ( p 0.05)in the patterns of beliefs among scientists from different fields of research. In contrast to physicists, chemists, and engineers, life scientists tend to: (a)perceive the greatest risks from nuclear energy and nuclear waste management; (b)perceive higher levels of overall environmental risk; (c)strongly oppose imposing risks on unconsenting individuals; and (d)prefer stronger requirements for environmental management. On some issues related to priorities among public problems and calls for government action, there are significant variations among life scientists or physical scientists. We also found that–independently of field of research–perceptions of risk and its correlates are significantly associated with the type of institution in which the scientist is employed. Scientists in universities or state and local governments tend to see the risks of nuclear energy and wastes as greater than scientists who work as business consultants, for federal organizations, or for private research laboratories. Significant differences also are found in priority given to environmental risks, the perceived proximity of environmental disaster, willingness to impose risks on an unconsenting population, and the necessity of accepting risks and sacrifices.     

加强邓小平理论教育提高大学生思想政治素质

文章论述了加强大学生思想政治素质教育的必要性,邓小平理论在大学生思想政治素质教育中的指导作用,以及我院如何开展邓小平理论教育、提高大学生思想政治素质。     

浅析库利"意象"论对歌唱学习的影响

歌唱学习者成长的道路问题是一个认知能力的把握问题,这种认知能力把握水平的高低决定了他们的定位。在歌唱学习过程中合理把握自我知觉与群体评价的和谐关系,全面参照现实形象与角色形象,保持同一性,度衡自尊性,是自我意象在当前的歌唱学习大潮中所衍生的重要要求,更是歌唱学习健康发展的必要保障。     

探究性学习在化学教学中的实践和体会

化学中的探究式学习方式涉及提出问题、猜想与假设、制定计划、进行实验、收集证据、解释与结论、反思与评价、表达与交流等要素。探究式教学对学生起到了唤醒、激励、体验和感召的作用,使课堂教学焕发出勃勃生机。     

成都市民旅游感应空间研究

旅游感应强度是研究旅游感应空间的一个角度。通过对《成都晚报》“旅游”专刊最近 6年的统计 ,得到全国 34个省级行政区及四川省内分地区作为旅游目的地的出现频次 ,以此频次来表征成都市民对国内及省内旅游目的地的感应强度。利用感应强度从省际和省内不同尺度揭示了成都市民旅游感应空间的特点 ,并发现旅游感应空间的一些新特征