Agency in urgency and uncertainty. Vaccines and vaccination in European media discourses

Although Covid-19 was not the first pandemic, it was unique in the scale and intensity with which societies responded. Countries reacted differently to the threat posed by the new virus. The public health crisis affected European societies in many ways. It also influenced the way the media portrayed vaccines and discussed factors related to vaccine hesitancy. Europeans differed in their risk perceptions, attitudes towards vaccines and vaccine uptake. In European countries, Covid-19-related discourses were at the centre of media attention for many months. This paper reports on a media analysis which revealed significant differences as well as some similarities in the media debates in different countries. The study focused on seven European countries and considered two dimensions of comparison: between the pre-Covid period and the beginning of the Covid pandemic period, and between countries. The rich methodological approach, including linguistics, semantic field analysis and discourse analysis of mainstream news media, allowed the authors to explore the set of meanings related to vaccination that might influence actors' agency. This approach led the authors to redefine vaccine hesitancy in terms of characteristics of the “society in the situation” rather than the psychological profile of individuals. We argue that vaccine hesitancy can be understood in terms of agency and temporality. This dilemma of choice that transforms the present into an irreversible past and must be taken in relation to an uncertain future, is particularly acute under the pressure of urgency and when someone's health is at stake. As such, it is linked to how vaccine meaning is co-produced within public discourses

Capturing the invisible : sociotechnical imaginaries of energy : the critical overview

While the need and general direction of the energy transition are widely accepted, the implementation has different dynamics throughout the world. Sociotechnical imaginaries concept, bridging the science, policy, and society, seems promising in understanding and explaining the global differences. The present paper analyses 135 abstracts that contain the topic keywords, sociotechnical imaginaries, published in international, peer-reviewed scientific journals during the last 11 years. Further on, the author conducted a qualitative and quantitative analysis of 43 energy-related articles to offer a panoramic overview of sociotechnical imaginaries in energy research out of the more extensive background. The paper aims to present a critical overview of the concept usage in energy studies to identify incoherences and blind spots in concept usage. What is more, this research intents to show the promising direction of using sociotechnical imaginaries. It also proposes new operationalisation and theoretical frame as well as potentially contributes to policymaking

Perspectives for the development of Polish logistics companies within the New Silk Road.

Praca podejmuje zagadnienie perspektyw rozwoju polskich firm logistycznych w ramach chińskiej koncepcji Nowego Jedwabnego Szlaku wobec narastającej dynamiki wydarzeń wokół projektu Jednego Pasa i Jednej Drogi. Głównym celem pracy jest zdefiniowanie perspektyw rozwoju polskich firm logistycznych, jakie rysują się w kontekście ewolucji stosunków polsko-chińskich w ramach Nowego Jedwabnego Szlaku. W zamierzeniu autora podejmuje ona również próbę nakreślenia trudności i wyzwań stojących przed polskimi przedsiębiorcami z branży logistycznej i transportowej w ramach koncepcji Jednego Pasa i Jednej Drogi.Temat niniejszej pracy ujęty jest z perspektywy prawnej, politycznej oraz geopolitycznej, łącząc wspólną optykę geografii i polityki w aspekcie historycznym i współczesnym. Polem badawczym całości pracy są stosunki międzypaństwowe pomiędzy Rzeczpospolitą Polską a Chińską Republiką Ludową na przestrzeni ostatnich pięciu lat, osadzone na podbudowie historycznej, niezbędnej do zrozumienia zachodzących wydarzeń. Centralnym zaś jej zagadnieniem jest sama koncepcja Nowego Jedwabnego Szlaku, a takżeokreślenie stanu przygotowań strony polskiej i chińskiej do realizacji chińskiej koncepcji tego przedsięwzięcia. Stąd kluczowym elementem rozprawy, eksplorującym jeden z najbardziej aktualnych aspektów pola badawczego, jest interpretacja wyników badania przeprowadzonego przez autora na grupie 10 przedstawicieli polskich firm logistycznych w formie anonimowej ankiety.Pierwszy rozdział przedstawia w sposób zwięzły historię Jedwabnego Szlaku i koncepcję Nowego Jedwabnego Szlaku, zwanego także projektem Jednego Pasa i Jednej Drogi. Osadza ją we współczesnych relacjach pomiędzy Rzeczpospolitą Polską a Chińską Republiką Ludową, z zaznaczeniem wpływu i rywalizacji innych graczy na politycznej mapie świata, a także prezentuje stanowiska polskiej i chińskiej opinii publicznej wobec tej koncepcji.Drugi rozdział przedstawia korzystne z punktu widzenia polskiej racji stanu kierunki rozwoju projektu Nowego Jedwabnego Szlaku. Wyszczególniono również najbardziej istotne implementacje prawne, wprowadzane i konieczne w ramach współpracy Warszawy i Pekinu, ale także kanały finansowania inwestycji oraz wymiar polityczny współpracy w ramach projektu Jednego Pasa i Jednej Drogi.Trzeci rozdział przedstawia badania przeprowadzone na grupie dziesięciu przedstawicieli polskich firm logistycznych, w ramach których poddano analizie kwestię rozwoju firm z tej branży w ramach Inicjatywy Pasa i Szlaku.The main goal of the thesis is to show the prospects for the development of Polish logistic companies within the Chinese concept of the New Silk Road and in the context of growing dynamics of the One Belt One Road project.The main objective of the work is to define the prospects for the development of Polish logistic companies, which are emerging in the context of the evolution of Polish-Chinese relations within the New Silk Road. The author also tries to outline the difficulties and challenges faced by Polish logistics firms within the Belt and Road initiative.The subject of this paper is derived from a legal, political and geopolitical perspective, combining the common optics of geography and politics in the historical and contemporary perspective. The thesis contains both the outline of the historical context of the discussed concept and the analysis of the current official political discourse contained in selected speeches by Polish and Chinese politicians. Mutual relations between the Republic of Poland and the People's Republic of China over the past five years are the research field of the whole work.The key element of the thesis is exploring the most up-to- date aspects of the research concluded by the interpretation of the results of a study conducted by the author on the group of 10 representatives of Polish logistic companies in the form of an anonymous survey.The first chapter presents in a concise way the history of the Silk Road and the concept of the New Silk Road within contemporary relations between the Republic of Poland and the People's Republic of China, highlighting the influence and rivalry of other players on the political world map. It also presents the views of the Polish and Chinese public opinion on this concept.The second chapter presents the direction of development of the New Silk Road project from the point of view of the Polish national interest. It also mentions the most relevant legal implementations introduced and necessary in the framework of the cooperation betweenWarsaw and Beijing as well as investment financing channels and the political dimension of cooperation within the One Belt and One Road project.The third chapter presents research carried out on a group of ten representatives of Polish logistic companies. The study is focused on the development of Polish logistic companies within the Belt and Road Initiative

Flexible experimentation as a remedy for uncertainties r Reflexive public reason behind the energy transition in the people’s Republic of China

Contemporary societies, aware of the consequences of their actions, urgently need mechanisms to deal with uncertainties. Understanding the diversity of these mechanisms remains critical to answering the question of whether a global energy transition is possible. Our paper responds to the call for a diversification of perspectives on energy transitions and contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the role of uncertainty and risk in public deliberation. In this paper, we use the model of Reflexive Public Reason to explore the mechanisms behind the governance of uncertainties related to the energy future in the People’s Republic of China. As a key country in the global response to climate change, China offers a unique model for managing large-scale systemic sociotechnical transitions. We show that the model of Reflexive Public Reason, which involves reflection on sociotechnical imaginaries (STIs) and civic epistemologies, is helpful in understanding how particular energy futures are imagined and selected. We also show the role that uncertainties and risks play in this process. As a result, we demonstrate the usefulness of flexible experimentation in describing China’s energy transition - which may be useful in observing how the Chinese state manages uncertainty by controlling it within a limited experimental space

Future at play : applying Reflexive Public Reason in the case of Taiwanese energy transition

Energy transitions around the world are characterised by the general assumption that new technologies for decarbonisation, digitalisation and electrification will provide a solution to slow down climate change. However, Ulrich Beck's work on the risk society and reflexive modernisation theory suggest that the previously assumed linear development model based on techno-scientific achievements is influencing the increasing levels of uncertainty and risk. Taiwan, the leading producer of semiconductors, plays a crucial role in the energy transition. Its complicated geopolitical situation has placed it at the centre of international political disputes. In addition to natural hazards related to Taiwan's geology, social, economic and technological challenges, there are political tensions that make any transition path highly uncertain. As a result, decisions are made in a contingent and highly uncertain environment. This paper aims to propose a new way of understanding energy transition paths through the proposed model of reflexive public reason. We contribute to the understanding of how reasoning for choosing particular futures evolves along with uncertainties and risks, ultimately leading to the emergence of new manufactured uncertainties. We describe the mechanisms behind public reason for the energy transition in Taiwan based on three types of sources: legal documents and policies on energy transition issued between 2005 and 2020 in the Republic of China (Taiwan), 150 press articles, and eight in-depth semi-structured interviews with SSH and STEM researchers working at universities in Taiwan

The development of citizen-installed renewable energy capacities in former Eastern Bloc countries : the case of Poland

We confront empirical data on citizen-led renewable energy capacities in Poland with results obtained from a meta-theoretical, empirical analysis of the national energy system. We elicit and rank essential disabling and enabling factors that explain the current low level of citizen energy in Poland. Altogether, we estimate the contributions of individual and collective prosumers as amounting to about 3.2 GW, with PV installations contributing more than 90%. Most activities are rather recent and come from individual prosumers. The factors with the greatest explanatory power are connected with decades of a rigid, centralized Polish energy system going hand in hand with social, regulatory, and technical lock-ins. Strikingly, factors connected with the heritage of, and transition from, the socialist period are less important, but they do explain why substantially more contributions originate from individuals compared to collective prosumers. Our results show that the currently rather small size of citizen-installed renewable capacities and the modest number of collective initiatives in Poland are due to several barriers. This paper summarizes them and provides a novel scientific method of ranking enabling and disabling factors. This approach might be helpful for policymakers and social actors, seeking an answer to the perspectives of development of citizen-installed renewable energy capacities in Poland and other former Eastern Bloc countries

Horizon Scanning and Policy Fellowships to embed social sciences and humanities within EU energy research and innovation policy : an Energy-SHIFTS evaluation

Wthin this report, we evaluate the work undertaken within Energy-SHIFTS (Energy Social Sciences and Humanities Innovation Forum Targeting the SET-Plan) to embed perspectives from the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) into European energy research and policy