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Risk communication and the social amplification of risk

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Communicating Risks to the Public

Part of the book series: Technology, Risk, and Society ((RISKGOSO,volume 4))

Abstract

Most societies have become highly preoccupied with the notion of risk. The interest of public institutions and academia in risk communication has considerably grown during the last five years. Accordingly, risk communication has become a popular topic in the literature. Although originally conceptualized as a follow-up of risk perception studies, the work on risk communication has surpassed the limited boundaries of giving public relation advice for information programs on risk and extended its focus on the flow of information between subsystems of society (Jasanoff 1987, p. 116; Zimmermann 1987, p. 131; Kasperson 1986, p. 275).

“Fish may die or human beings; drinking water or swimming in rivers or lakes may cause diseases; we may run out of oil; the global temperature may rise or fall; all these effects will not cause any societal effects unless society communicates about it. Society is sensitive to the natural environment, but it operates as a closed system. Society observes nature and environment through communication. Communicating meaning is the only means for initiating responses: therefore it can regulate communication only by other forms of communication. In essence, it is society which poses a threat to its survival, not the environment.”

(Niklas Luhmann 1986, p. 63; Translation by author)

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Authors
  1. Ortwin Renn
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. C.E.N.T.E.D., Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA

    Roger E. Kasperson

  2. Institute for Environment and Systems Analysis, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Pieter Jan M. Stallen

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© 1991 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Renn, O. (1991). Risk communication and the social amplification of risk. In: Kasperson, R.E., Stallen, P.J.M. (eds) Communicating Risks to the Public. Technology, Risk, and Society, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1952-5_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1952-5_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7372-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-1952-5

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