This article discusses differences between invisible and visible hazards, and how these differences can affect risk and crisis communication. Invisible hazards are risks that we cannot see, and often cannot touch, taste, nor smell. Examples are COVID-19, radon gas, mold spores, or asbestos fibers. Invisible hazards are often uncertain, complex, and ambiguous risk problems. Results from a Norwegian study show that authorities need to be aware of the possible differences in risk perception among authorities, stakeholders, and the general public. Involving citizens, creating trust, and being honest is important for all risk and crisis communication. However, the less we know about a hazard, the more we need to rely on others to make decisions, and consequently trust is particularly important when dealing with invisible hazards.
{"title":"Risk and Crisis Communication about Invisible Hazards","authors":"R. Skotnes, K. Hansen, A. Krøvel","doi":"10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.9","url":null,"abstract":"This article discusses differences between invisible and visible hazards, and how these differences can affect risk and crisis communication. Invisible hazards are risks that we cannot see, and often cannot touch, taste, nor smell. Examples are COVID-19, radon gas, mold spores, or asbestos fibers. Invisible hazards are often uncertain, complex, and ambiguous risk problems. Results from a Norwegian study show that authorities need to be aware of the possible differences in risk perception among authorities, stakeholders, and the general public. Involving citizens, creating trust, and being honest is important for all risk and crisis communication. However, the less we know about a hazard, the more we need to rely on others to make decisions, and consequently trust is particularly important when dealing with invisible hazards.","PeriodicalId":275156,"journal":{"name":"Special Issue on COVID-19","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127053038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bengt Johansson, Jacob Sohlberg, P. Esaiasson, Marina Ghersetti
Government trust is generally helpful for societies, especially in crisis situations, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, because governments rely on citizens to follow directives. Worldwide, with supporting evidence accumulating, a key directive has been to wear face masks. However, in Sweden, the government has questioned their usefulness. On other behavioral recommendations, such as handwashing, the government has taken a conventional path. We rely on this non-recommendation of face masks to examine the causal impact of government trust on behavior. Based on a large Swedish survey fielded during the pandemic, we find that higher government trust reduces the likelihood of wearing face masks. In contrast, higher trust increases the likelihood of handwashing. The findings qualify the conclusion about the beneficial consequences of trust.
{"title":"Why Swedes Don’t Wear Face Masks During the Pandemic—A Consequence of Blindly Trusting the Government","authors":"Bengt Johansson, Jacob Sohlberg, P. Esaiasson, Marina Ghersetti","doi":"10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.6","url":null,"abstract":"Government trust is generally helpful for societies, especially in crisis situations, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, because governments rely on citizens to follow directives. Worldwide, with supporting evidence accumulating, a key directive has been to wear face masks. However, in Sweden, the government has questioned their usefulness. On other behavioral recommendations, such as handwashing, the government has taken a conventional path. We rely on this non-recommendation of face masks to examine the causal impact of government trust on behavior. Based on a large Swedish survey fielded during the pandemic, we find that higher government trust reduces the likelihood of wearing face masks. In contrast, higher trust increases the likelihood of handwashing. The findings qualify the conclusion about the beneficial consequences of trust.","PeriodicalId":275156,"journal":{"name":"Special Issue on COVID-19","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125451563","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This qualitative study analyzes the Greek government’s crisis management practice and public communication efforts during two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Integrating both crisis management theories and the World Health Organization’s pandemic control plans, discourse analysis and case study approaches were taken to analyze how Greek’s key government and public health authorities communicated with the public using different frames and crisis response strategies. Evaluations were conducted to assess the Greek government’s crisis communication procedures and the effectiveness of different rhetorical strategies used as evidenced in public briefings and public speeches.
{"title":"Managing COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis: The Case of Greece","authors":"Neofytos Aspriadis","doi":"10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.8","url":null,"abstract":"This qualitative study analyzes the Greek government’s crisis management practice and public communication efforts during two waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Integrating both crisis management theories and the World Health Organization’s pandemic control plans, discourse analysis and case study approaches were taken to analyze how Greek’s key government and public health authorities communicated with the public using different frames and crisis response strategies. Evaluations were conducted to assess the Greek government’s crisis communication procedures and the effectiveness of different rhetorical strategies used as evidenced in public briefings and public speeches.","PeriodicalId":275156,"journal":{"name":"Special Issue on COVID-19","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131804549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julia Stranzl, Christopher Ruppel, Sabine A. Einwiller
This study provides an understanding of how employees’ perception of organizational transparency during the long-lasting situation of the COVID-19 pandemic engendered their job engagement as well as job disengagement. Data were collected by means of an online survey among 410 employees in Austria during March 2021. Results show that employees’ perception of their organization’s approach to transparency directly influenced their job engagement and disengagement. Importantly, the relationship between transparency and job engagement was also mediated through organizational trust, and job-specific state anxiety mediated the relationship between transparency and job disengagement. The results imply the importance of transparency during times of great uncertainty and emphasize the necessity to closely consider employees’ emotional states and worries during a crisis.
{"title":"Examining the Role of Transparent Organizational Communication for \u0000Employees’ Job Engagement and Disengagement during the COVID-19 \u0000Pandemic in Austria","authors":"Julia Stranzl, Christopher Ruppel, Sabine A. Einwiller","doi":"10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.4","url":null,"abstract":"This study provides an understanding of how employees’ perception of organizational transparency during the long-lasting situation of the COVID-19 pandemic engendered their job engagement as well as job disengagement. Data were collected by means of an online survey among 410 employees in Austria during March 2021. Results show that employees’ perception of their organization’s approach to transparency directly influenced their job engagement and disengagement. Importantly, the relationship between transparency and job engagement was also mediated through organizational trust, and job-specific state anxiety mediated the relationship between transparency and job disengagement. The results imply the importance of transparency during times of great uncertainty and emphasize the necessity to closely consider employees’ emotional states and worries during a crisis.","PeriodicalId":275156,"journal":{"name":"Special Issue on COVID-19","volume":"59 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123453917","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
For more than a year the world has tried to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This special issue of the Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research (JICRCR) provides an expert evaluation of how different countries have responded to this global threat. As the pandemic has fundamentally affected most of our lives in a multitude of ways, lessons learned and insights gained from innovative and inclusive research have also advanced theory and practice in public health crisis and risk communication.
{"title":"Special Issue Editor’s Essay: Advancing Public Health Crisis and Risk Theory and Practice via Innovative and Inclusive Research on COVID-19 Communication","authors":"Yan Jin, S. Choi, A. Diers-Lawson","doi":"10.30658/jicrcr.4.2.0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30658/jicrcr.4.2.0","url":null,"abstract":"For more than a year the world has tried to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. This special issue of the Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research (JICRCR) provides an expert evaluation of how different countries have responded to this global threat. As the pandemic has fundamentally affected most of our lives in a multitude of ways, lessons learned and insights gained from innovative and inclusive research have also advanced theory and practice in public health crisis and risk \u0000communication.","PeriodicalId":275156,"journal":{"name":"Special Issue on COVID-19","volume":"57 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130970764","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique environment from which each individual state, in the United States, has been forced to address their publics. In order to understand how each state has engaged with this pandemic, a textual analysis of each state’s governor’s first press release was conducted; five thematic trends were identified. Through use of the social trust approach to risk communication and the contingency theory of strategic conflict management (using external threat variables), the implications of these press releases are discussed.
{"title":"SO ORDERED: A Textual Analysis of United States’ Governors’ Press Release Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Taylor S. Voges, Matthew T. Binford","doi":"10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.2","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique environment from which each individual state, in the United States, has been forced to address their publics. In order to understand how each state has engaged with this pandemic, a textual analysis of each state’s governor’s first press release was conducted; five thematic trends were identified. Through use of the social trust approach to risk communication and the contingency theory of strategic conflict management (using external threat variables), the implications of these press releases are discussed.","PeriodicalId":275156,"journal":{"name":"Special Issue on COVID-19","volume":"109 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116084295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The COVID-19 pandemic is causing incessant disruption to the social and economic lives of societies. Public health and crisis communicators have recommended some best practices in crisis and emergency risk messaging for effective health messages during pandemics. Thus, this study utilized seven crisis and emergency risk messaging best practices to qualitatively analyze 14 speeches delivered by the Ghanaian President on the COVID-19 pandemic in the country to demonstrate how the speeches conveyed information about the pandemic to the public. The study found that all seven best practices (i.e., explain what is known, explain what is not known, explain how or why the event happened, promote action steps, express empathy, express accountability, and express commitment) were demonstrated in all the 14 speeches. Implications for practice are discussed.
{"title":"Effective Communication during a Global Health Crisis: A Content Analysis of Presidential Addresses on the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ghana","authors":"Prince Adu Gyamfi, A. Amankwah","doi":"10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.1","url":null,"abstract":"The COVID-19 pandemic is causing incessant disruption to the social and economic lives of societies. Public health and crisis communicators have recommended some best practices in crisis and emergency risk messaging for effective health messages during pandemics. Thus, this study utilized seven crisis and emergency risk messaging best practices to qualitatively analyze 14 speeches delivered by the Ghanaian President on the COVID-19 pandemic in the country to demonstrate how the speeches conveyed information about the pandemic to the public. The study found that all seven best practices (i.e., explain what is known, explain what is not known, explain how or why the event happened, promote action steps, express empathy, express accountability, and express commitment) were demonstrated in all the 14 speeches. Implications for practice are discussed.","PeriodicalId":275156,"journal":{"name":"Special Issue on COVID-19","volume":"131 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127415477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rural and urban hospitals must respond differently to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, given their unique situations. In this study, we performed a rhetorical analysis of press releases from rural and urban hospitals in Texas to better understand the crisis communication strategies of the two hospital systems. Following previous literature on narrative sensemaking, place-based storytelling, and pre-crisis management, we found that the examined press releases used setting details to ground their health-related information in their specific communities. Such a strategy made the information accessible and attainable, but potentially reinforced place-based tensions and inequalities. Our study has implications for preventative sensemaking research as well as for crisis communicators attempting to better reach specific communities during a long-term, developing crisis.
{"title":"“A Tale of Two Hospitals”: The Role of Place-Based Sensemaking in COVID-19 Communication for Rural and Urban Texas Hospitals","authors":"C. Hayes, Rachel E. Riggs, Kelly Burns","doi":"10.30658/jicrcr.4.2.7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30658/jicrcr.4.2.7","url":null,"abstract":"Rural and urban hospitals must respond differently to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, given their unique situations. In this study, we performed a rhetorical analysis of press releases from rural and urban hospitals in Texas to better understand the crisis communication strategies of the two hospital systems. Following previous literature on narrative sensemaking, place-based storytelling, and pre-crisis management, we found that the examined press releases used setting details to ground their health-related information in their specific communities. Such a strategy made the information accessible and attainable, but potentially reinforced place-based tensions and inequalities. Our study has implications for preventative sensemaking research as well as for crisis communicators attempting to better reach specific communities during a long-term, developing crisis.","PeriodicalId":275156,"journal":{"name":"Special Issue on COVID-19","volume":"70 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134534870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
X. Chen, A. Ang, Jing Yi Lee, Jason Wong, Neo Loo Seng, Gabriel Ong, Majeed Khader
Understanding the social-psychological processes that characterize communities’ reactions to a pandemic is the first step toward formulating risk communications that can lead to better health outcomes. This study examines comments on Facebook pages of five Singapore media outlets to understand what topics are being discussed by the public in reaction to the implemented precautionary measures in Singapore so as to infer their psychological concerns. Using Anchored Correlation Explanation as a topic modelling technique, this study examines around 10,000 comments and identifies 21 topics that are discussed. The 21 topics were categorized and organized into seven broad themes of psychological concerns. Implications for theory and practice are then discussed.
{"title":"Identifying the Public’s Psychological Concerns in Response to COVID-19 Risk Messages in Singapore","authors":"X. Chen, A. Ang, Jing Yi Lee, Jason Wong, Neo Loo Seng, Gabriel Ong, Majeed Khader","doi":"10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.5","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding the social-psychological processes that characterize communities’ reactions to a pandemic is the first step toward formulating risk communications that can lead to better health outcomes. This study examines comments on Facebook pages of five Singapore media outlets to understand what topics are being discussed by the public in reaction to the implemented precautionary measures in Singapore so as to infer their psychological concerns. Using Anchored Correlation Explanation as a topic modelling technique, this study examines around 10,000 comments and identifies 21 topics that are discussed. The 21 topics were categorized and organized into seven broad themes of psychological concerns. Implications for theory and practice are then discussed.","PeriodicalId":275156,"journal":{"name":"Special Issue on COVID-19","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124999018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
As illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, risk and crisis communication are crucial responsibilities of modern governments. Existing research on risk and crisis communication points to the importance of trust, both as a resource in and an end goal of communicative activities. In this paper, we argue that revisiting the classical rhetorical concept of ethos in combination with the modern concept of the rhetorical situation can contribute to fitting responses in risk and crisis communication. The paper examines how appeals to ethos may build trust in health authorities’ public communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through interviews and participant observation in public health institutions that handle the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway, the paper finds that understanding the rhetorical situation of the pandemic allows for a better understanding of the available means of persuasion. For instance, through the active communication of transparency and independence when faced by uncertainty and rapidly changing information.
{"title":"Public Ethos in the Pandemic Rhetorical Situation: Strategies for Building Trust in Authorities’ Risk Communication","authors":"T. Offerdal, S. Just, Øyvind Ihlen","doi":"10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30658/JICRCR.4.2.3","url":null,"abstract":"As illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, risk and crisis communication are crucial responsibilities of modern governments. Existing research on risk and crisis communication points to the importance of trust, both as a resource in and an end goal of communicative activities. In this paper, we argue that revisiting the classical rhetorical concept of ethos in combination with the modern concept of the rhetorical situation can contribute to fitting responses in risk and crisis communication. The paper examines how appeals to ethos may build trust in health authorities’ public communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through interviews and participant observation in public health institutions that handle the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway, the paper finds that understanding the rhetorical situation of the pandemic allows for a better understanding of the available means of persuasion. For instance, through the active communication of transparency and independence when faced by uncertainty and rapidly changing information.","PeriodicalId":275156,"journal":{"name":"Special Issue on COVID-19","volume":"11 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131419584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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