Institutionalization of risk and safety management at the local governmental level in Sweden

The starting point for this article is the need for empirical knowledge about organizational configuration for societal risk and safety management activities in a modern welfare society. In this paper, we use Sweden as an empirical frame to analyze the administrative management structure at the local governmental level. The analysis is based on statistical analysis of information from a web‐survey with administrative chief/head officials (n = 1283) with responsibilities for different municipal functions and sectors. The sample represented 25% of the Swedish municipalities (n = 290) and the response rate was approximately 60% (n = 766). The responses to two sets of questions (25 and 45 questions) are used for statistical analyses of management structures and task distribution within the municipal organizations. Principal component factor analyses with Varimax and Kaiser's Normalization was applied as a structure detection method. The results indicate a clear and uniform way to institutionalize societal risk and safety management at the local level. Furthermore, the management course of action is found to have different types of value characters. The implications that arise from the patterns identified in this study are considered to be of general relevance and topicality for research and practice in this area.     

The siting of a research centre on clean coal combustion and CO2 capture in Spain: Some notes on the relationship between trust and lack of public information

This paper aims to gain a better understanding of the role played by trust in the context of scarcity of public information, vis‐à‐vis the installation of a Centre for Investigation in Advanced Technologies (Centro de Investigación de Tecnologías Avanzadas, CITA) to be located in a coal‐rich region of Spain. Data from semi‐structured interviews (n = 15), a questionnaire survey (n = 400) and focus group sessions (2) are drawn together to reveal how the local community perceives the proposed CITA scheme, and how this relates to the level of trust placed in the project promoters. Results illustrate how a lay community gives meaning to an unknown technological project, trying to place it within its appropriate economic, social and political context, and relating it to prior knowledge and experiences. Results also show that, in contrast to certain risk communication theories, the public is able to place trust in a technological activity and their promoters despite a general lack of knowledge on either.     

Using community-based,ethnographic methods to examine risk perceptions and actions of low-income,first-time mothers in a post-spill environment

Following the 2010 Gulf Oil Spill, area pregnant women were thought to be at-risk for poor health outcomes from the stress of managing health actions in this post-disaster environment. Research directed by an ongoing community–academic partnership sought to explore the specific role of culture in environmental risk protection actions among low-income pregnant women. As a part of the first-phase of a mixed-methods cultural study, community health workers (CHWs) used freelisting methods to survey low-income, first-time mother (n = 20) for the threats in the environment and relevant protective actions. Then, a separate pile sort activity (n = 31) was used to further investigate these cultural topics. Results elicited a diverse range of threats, protective actions, and sources of support across socio-demographic groups. Results also showed a culturally tailored conceptualization of threats in the environment. Exploring beliefs among a diverse population helps to uncover cultural differences in a population. Results will aid in developing culturally tailored policies and interventions, and increase the relevance of such interventions to address community concerns. Moreover, incorporating CHWs into the research process enhanced researcher literacy, and fostered mutual trust between the community and researchers.     

The influence of mood on the willingness to take financial risks

The purpose of this study was to determine whether support could be found for either the Affect Infusion Model or the Mood Maintenance Hypothesis regarding how mood influences financial risk tolerance. An ordinary least‐squares regression model was used to determine if people who exhibited a happy mood at the time they completed a survey scored differently than those who were not happy. In a sample (n = 460) of employed mid‐western respondents between the ages of 18 and 75 years, being in a happy mood was positively associated with having a higher level of financial risk tolerance, holding biopsychosocial and environmental factors constant. Support for the Affect Infusion Model was obtained.     

Understanding expressed low concern and latent concern near a hazardous waste treatment facility

This paper discusses local small town residents’ concerns about risk and safety near a hazardous waste facility at Swan Hills, Alberta, Canada. The majority of the residents studied outwardly express that they have low concern about the facility. The purposes are to both elaborate existing theory that potentially explains low concern and to explore new explanations of low concern in everyday life. Theories or concepts which potentially explain expressed low concern are start-points for this qualitative case study. These include: economic risk theory, psychometric risk theory, cultural risk theory, cognitive dissonance (threat denial), community identity and stigma, and risk attenuation. Thirtyeight in-depth resident interviews involving views of facility risks, as well as community life, are used to better understand the social construction of risk. It is found that despite the fact that 31 residents outwardly insist they have no or low concern about facility risks when first prompted, 11 actually do show latent concerns when probed further, expressed as uncertainty, reservations and doubt. It is argued that juxtaposing the views of insiders against those perceived to be held by outsiders furthers understanding of why facility concern is rarely expressed in such a community. There is a heightened sense of pride and positive community identity manifest as a defensive reaction by insider residents to outsiders who are perceived to hold negative, stigmatizing views of the facility as well as the town. Implications relating to community and industry vigilance as well as the impacts of outsiders sensationalising risk are discussed.     

How to trust? The importance of self‐efficacy and social trust in public responses to industrial risks

Although a great deal of research has linked both self‐efficacy and social trust to risk responses, one overlooked question concerns the association between self‐efficacy and institutional trust. The purpose of this study was to investigate the main and combined effects of trust in the self and trust in responsible agencies to affective responses and information sufficiency. Survey respondents in this study were placed into one of four categories based on their levels of self‐efficacy (high/low) and social trust (high/low), including confidence, independence, dependence and insecure groups. Based on survey data (n = 466), the accuracy of the four‐group classification was tested. Indeed, we found that our classification system correlated with responses. Both self‐efficacy and institutional trust were found to contribute to emotional risk responses, as well as risk information needs and preferences for risk information.     

Changes in perceptions of risk and competence among beginning scuba divers

The adventure experience paradigm theorizes that individuals engaging in high‐risk recreation exhibit changes in perceptions of risk and competence. While previous research has examined changes in perceptions for individuals engaged in short‐term, high‐risk recreation, there is no research examining patterns of perceptual change through extended involvement in risk recreation activities. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in perceived risk and perceived competence throughout a 14‐week basic scuba diving course. Participants (n = 57) completed the dimensions of an adventure experience (DAE) at the start and end of the course as well as before and after their first time on scuba, first open water dive, and first off shore dive. Changes in perceived risk and perceived competence were examined. Results indicated a significant decrease in perceived risk and a significant increase in both competence factors (attitudes and abilities) pre‐to‐post course and at most time intervals. Although statistically significant, changes in perceived risk and attitude may be of less practical significance (around 0.6 on a 10‐point scale). However, perceived ability increased more noticeably (2.6 on a 10‐point scale). The findings of this study support and further confirm the literature, which indicates repeated involvement in high‐risk recreation decreases participants' perceptions of risk and increases perceptions of competence. Recommendations include further study of DAE psychometrics and research on how changes in perceptions of risk and competence are related to outcomes in adventure recreation.     

IQ and corporate insiders’ decisions to time insider and outsider trading

We examine how corporate insiders’ cognitive ability (IQ) affects their decisions to time insider and outsider trading before abnormal stock price changes. Our analysis of archival data on male corporate insiders in Sweden shows they are less prone to time their insider selling and to sell in larger amounts, before abnormal stock price declines as IQ increases. We also find that insiders with a higher IQ are better at timing their outsider buying. Taken together, our results show that corporate insiders’ IQ affects their trading decisions differently, depending on whether they are trading in their insider or outsider stocks.     

Risk Perception and Worry Related to Adolescents' Judgement of Three Types of Risk

The core aim of this study was to examine determinants of anticipated worry related to three types of risk among adolescents. The participants were Norwegian high‐school students aged 15–19 years (n = 335). They were students at 6 high schools and a total of 15 randomly selected school classes participated in the study. All the students were asked to fill in a self‐completion questionnaire. The response rate was 100 per cent. The participants were shown three video sequences of three‐minute conversations between a person and a listener discussing three risk sources, which each had developed into a problem (drug use, depression, and sexual abuse). The video sequences were shown to the students when they were in their classes. The results showed that there were gender differences in probability assessments as well as in anticipated worry related to the three types of risk. There were also differences in worry depending on the respondent's past experience with an identical or similar problem or risk. In addition to cognitive evaluations, own experience and gender, general worry, social support seeking, anxiety and depression significantly predicted worry. These variables explained 52 per cent of the variance. Worry may be a significant predictor of risk behaviour as well as decisions concerning risks and risk reduction. The results are related to the risk‐as‐feelings hypothesis (Loewenstein, Weber, Hsee and Welch) and other risk decision models are also discussed.     

A global consistency result for the two-dimensional Pareto distribution in the presence of misspecified inflation

A global consistency result for the ML estimator of a misspecified two-parameter Pareto distribution is proved. The misspecification is due to the assumption of a wrong inflation rate, which violates the i.i.d. assumption in the model. We also investigate how far away from the true parameters one finds the ML estimator of the misspecified model (asymptotically for a small misspecification r). Finally, for the case where the misspecification depends on the number of observations n, i.e., r=r _n , and where $r_{n}\stackrel{n\to \infty}{\longrightarrow}0A global consistency result for the ML estimator of a misspecified two-parameter Pareto distribution is proved. The misspecification is due to the assumption of a wrong inflation rate, which violates the i.i.d. assumption in the model. We also investigate how far away from the true parameters one finds the ML estimator of the misspecified model (asymptotically for a small misspecification r). Finally, for the case where the misspecification depends on the number of observations n, i.e., r=r _n , and where r_n? ^{n? ￥}0r_{n}\stackrel{n\to \infty}{\longrightarrow}0, we prove a central limit theorem for the ML estimator.     

Predictors of the perceived risk of climate change and preferred resource levels for climate change management programs

In a 2013 US national public opinion survey, data were collected from 1321 adult respondents for five psychometric variables – Dread, Scientists’ Level of Understanding, Public’s Level of Understanding, Number Affected, and Likelihood – for six threats (sea-level rise, increased flooding, and four others) associated with climate change. Respondents also rated perceived risk and indicated the resource level that they believed should be invested in management programs for each threat. Responses did not vary significantly across the six threats, so they were combined. The survey collected standard demographic information, as well as measuring climate change knowledge and environmental values (New Ecological Paradigm, NEP). Psychometric variables predicted perceived risk extremely well (R = .890, p < .001); all five psychometric variables were significant predictors. The results were generally consistent with previous research except that Scientists’ Level of Understanding was a positive, rather than negative, predictor of perceived risk. Jointly the demographic variables, knowledge, and environmental values significantly predicted perceived risk (R = .504, p < .001). Consistent with previous research, significant positive predictors were age, Democratic Party Identification, and NEP score; significant negative predictors were male gender and White ethnicity. When demographic variables, knowledge, and environmental values were added to psychometric ones, only the psychometric variables were statistically significant predictors. Perceived risk strongly predicted resource level (r = .772, p < .001). Adding demographic, knowledge, and environmental value variables to perceived risk as predictors of resource level did not appreciably increase overall predictive ability (r = .790, p < .001), although White ethnicity emerged as a significant negative predictor and religiosity, Democratic Party Identification, Liberal Political Ideology, and NEP score were significant positive predictors. The results demonstrate that risk perceptions of climate change and policy preferences among climate change management options are highly predictable as a function of demographic, knowledge, environmental values, and psychometric variables. Among these, psychometric variables were found to be the strongest predictors.     

Corporate governance, insider ownership and operating performance of Australian initial public offerings

We examine ownership structures and corporate governance attributes of 313 Australian initial public offerings (IPOs) between 1976 and 1993 and their relation with up to 5 years of post‐listing operating performance, adjusted for similar (non‐IPO) firms. Consistent with prior share price‐based evidence, we find that the operating performance of Australian IPOs typically deteriorates over the first 4 post‐listing years. Any evidence of a positive association between insider ownership and firm performance is confined to the fourth and fifth years after the IPO. Evidence of a positive relation between institutional ownership and performance is restricted to the latter part of our 5‐year post‐listing window. Board composition (i.e. outsider versus insider control) is not associated with operating performance, although there is some evidence that independent board leadership is associated with better operating performance.     

Siting technological risks: cultural approaches and cross-cultural ethics

Are European national risk prevention regulations reflecting different cultural attitudes towards risk? This article replies positively to this question by elaborating the results of an investigation led between 2004 and 2008 by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. The investigation focused on the European national implementations of Article 12 of Directive Seveso II on Dangerous Substances (96/82/EC) and aimed at providing an overview of different methodological approaches to the matter of land use planning in areas subject to the risk of major accidents. Five countries were selected for in‐depth analysis and comparison. This article focuses on one aspect of their different approaches to land use planning in at‐risk areas that was not considered by the European investigation: the influence of national cultural backgrounds on the implementation of Article 12 within the respective national legislations and practices. To explain whether different cultural orientations may have affected them, the article refers to one cultural index in particular, namely the uncertainty‐avoidance index (UAI) proposed by the Dutch sociologist Geert Hofstede. This index provides a key of reading of the different methodological orientations adopted for regulating land uses in the vicinity of hazardous establishments in these countries; by applying it, the study demonstrates that different cultural attitudes towards uncertainty may be a determinant factor in the approaches to and the regulation of the matter of hazardous facility siting. In the conclusions, the regulatory as well as ethical implications of this finding are discussed.     

Why do parents who usually vaccinate their children hesitate or refuse? General good vs. individual risk

This study examines vaccination hesitancy or refusal following the 2013 polio outbreak in Israel, based on two theoretical models. The first is Sandman’s theoretical model, which holds that risk perception is comprised of hazard plus outrage. The second model is the affect heuristic that explains the risk/benefit confounding. It aims to expose the barriers that inhibited parental compliance with OPV vaccination for their children. The study employed mixed methods – a questionnaire survey (n = 197) and content analysis of parents’ discussions in blogs, Internet sites, and Facebook pages (n = 2499). The findings indicate that some parents who normally give their children routine vaccinations decided not to give them OPV due to lack of faith in the health system, concerns about vaccine safety and reasons specific to the polio outbreak in Israel. Some vaccinated due to a misunderstanding, namely, they believed that OPV was supposed to protect their children, when it was actually for overall societal well-being. This study highlights the difficulty of framing the subject of vaccinations as a preventive measure, especially when the prevention is for society at large and not to protect the children themselves. The findings of this study are important because they provide a glimpse into a situation that can recur in different places in the world where a disease considered to have been ‘eradicated’ returns, and the public is required to take measures which protect the public but which might put individuals at risk. The conclusions from the analysis of the findings of this study are that the public’s risk perception is based on a context-dependent analysis, which the communicating body must understand and respect.     

Harm-advocating online content and subjective well-being: a cross-national study of new risks faced by youth

Harm-advocating online content includes pro-eating disorder, pro-self-harm, pro-suicide, and the positive portrayal of the deaths of real people (snuff or death sites). This material is often user-generated and easily accessible for an average online user, therefore offering a potential source of risk for many Internet users. This cross-sectional study examined the association between exposure to harm-advocating online content and users’ subjective well-being (SWB) among American (n = 1032) and Finnish (n = 555) young people aged 15–30. Exposure to different types of online harm-advocating content was prevalent in both countries. Lower SWB was associated with exposure to this material even when controlling for social networking site (SNS) activity and online and offline victimization. In the US sample, seeing death sites was not associated with SWB, but seeing other harm-advocating sites was. In both countries, those with high SNS activity were more likely to be exposed to online harm-advocating material. These results from two advanced information societies underline the importance of recognizing the existence of harmful online communities. These communities are grounded on social interaction that might involve risks for the well-being of adolescents and young adults.     

Being active when judging risks: bodily states interfere with accurate risk analysis

Research on embodiment shows that bodily states influence affect and cognition, but embodiment theories have hardly been applied to risk research. Understanding how the bodily state of being physically active interferes with accurate risk judgments is especially important in risky activities, such as risk sports or even biking in the city. The present investigation consisted of two field studies (Study 1, N = 45; Study 2, N = 110) and one experimental study (Study 3, N = 44) examining the influence of physical activity on risk judgments. In Study 1, backcountry skiers judged risks of backcountry skiing while on tour and in Study 2 indoor climbers judged climbing risks. In Study 3, participants were riding on a stationary bicycle in the laboratory and judged risks related and unrelated to that activity. It was found that physical activity can decrease the perceived likelihood of risks, both related and unrelated to the activity, and that this effect is moderated by experience.     

Risk Perception and Demand for Risk Mitigation in Transport: A Comparison of Lay People,Politicians and Experts

This paper aims at examining risk perception, worry and demand for risk mitigation in transport and to compare judgements made by lay people, politicians and experts. The results are based on three questionnaire surveys carried out during autumn and winter 2004. The first study involved a representative sample of the Norwegian population (n = 1716), the second sample a group of Norwegian politicians (n = 146) and the third a group of experts on transport safety (n = 26). Studies carried out previously (Sjöberg, 1998a Sjöberg, L. 1998a. Worry and risk perception. Risk Analysis, 18(1): 85–93.  [Google Scholar], 1999 Sjöberg, L. 1999. Consequences of perceived risk: demand for risk mitigation. Journal of Risk Research, 2(2): 129–149.  [Google Scholar]) have given support to the idea that consequences are more important for demands of risk mitigation than probability assessments. In the present study it is hypothesised that this may be because they are associated with worry and it is also proposed that worry relates more strongly to demands for risk mitigation than evaluation of consequences. The results of SEM‐modelling showed that worry was a stronger and more significant predictor of demands for risk mitigation compared to consequences and worry mediated the effect of consequences. Probability assessment was a totally insignificant predictor. In accordance with previous studies, the results showed that experts demanded less risk reduction than lay people and politicians. The results indicate that this is because they stress the probability more than the other two groups.     

Information‐Hedging Disclosures and Insider Trading

I model the effect of disclosure on the tradeoff between information risk, liquidity risk, and price risk for a well‐informed, risk‐averse insider. Revealing some information before trading decreases the variability of the insider's information advantage and thus reduces his information risk. Disclosure also lowers adverse selection costs for market makers, which reduces the insider's liquidity risk by increasing his trading flexibility. However, disclosure increases price risk for the insider because the price fully reflects the revealed information. The reduction in information and liquidity risks outweigh the rise in price risk when the insider is less risk averse because a less risk‐averse insider's information‐based motive for trading is stronger than his hedging motive. The opposite relation holds when the insider is more risk averse. Therefore, a less (more) risk‐averse insider experiences an increase (decrease) in welfare when he discloses some information before trading. Cost of capital and policy implications are identified.     

Dispute and morality in the perception of societal risks: extending the psychometric model

The psychometric paradigm has identified two classic dimensions, dread and unknown risk, structuring the perception of risks. We propose that disputed risk and morality are two additional dimensions that are relevant to describe the cognitive representation of societal risks. Disputed risk captures two aspects of a societal risk: first, that consensus about scientific evidence is low, and second, that the public debate about the risk issue is highly controversial. Morality refers to judgments of reprehensibility, capturing the fact that societal risks frequently involve violations of moral principles. In a survey study employing two samples, a household sample (N = 418) and a student sample (N = 88), participants evaluated 24 societal risks on 23 psychometric scales intended to assess the four constructs dread, unknown risk, disputed risk, and morality. Principal component analyses yielded three dimensions: a common dimension of dread and morality, a disputed risk dimension, and unknown risk. We also assessed judgments of overall riskiness for all risks. Morality and dread both proved to be strong and distinctive predictors of perceived overall riskiness in regression analyses; disputed risk and unknown risk, in contrast, do not play a substantial role as predictors. These findings were replicated across both samples. We conclude that disputed risk constitutes a novel and unique psychometric dimension; morality, on the other hand, coincides with dread in the cognitive representation of societal risks, while still showing a distinct and strong effect in the prediction of risk judgments.     

Local facility hazard risk controversy and non-local hazard risk perception

Facility siting disputes are as much about the socio-politics in a place as they are about the risks posed by the facility; yet not much is known about how localized controversy about one hazard effects the perception of other, non-local, hazard risks. Our exploratory study tests the idea that a local facility risk controversy (landfill expansion) is tied to an overall sensitivity to risks from a wider range of potentially hazardous facilities. We use logistic regression models of questionnaire survey responses from 205 residents living near two landfills that were recently expanded or proposed to be expanded. Psychometric risk variables, cultural theory of risk variables, and sociodemographic variables are used as controls to see if risk-in-place/context variables related to threat and governance (e.g. fairness and fiduciary equity) predict not only risk from the landfill but also risk from three other potentially hazardous facilities (incinerator, chemical, and nuclear). The risk-in-place/context variables are predictive across all hazards but there is little consistency in the mix of predictors across models. The results suggest that facility controversy is linked to how residents view risks from non-local facility hazards and that this effect varies by place. This points to the need for more research in this area, and is suggestive that risk-hazard controversy may foster localized risk-averse places or wider risk-averse communities.