“Of Gods and Men” : selected print media coverage of natural disasters and industrial failures in three Westminster countries

This article examines selected print media coverage of a domestic natural disaster and domestic industrial failure in each of three Westminster countries: Australia, Canada, and the UK. It studies this coverage from several perspectives: the volume of coverage; the rate at which the articles were published; the tone of the headlines; and a content analysis of the perceived performance of key public and private institutions during and following the events. Its initial findings reveal that the natural disasters received more coverage than the industrial failures in each of the newspapers considered. There was also no significant difference in the publication rate across event type or newspaper. In each case, government was assessed at least as frequently and negatively as non-government actors, particularly during and following industrial failures. The manner in which government and non-government actors were assessed following these events suggests that, contrary to government claims that owners and operators of critical infrastructure (CI) are responsible for its successful operation, government in fact is “in the frame” as frequently as the industry owners and operators are. In addition, the negative assessments of governments following industrial failures in particular may prompt over-reaction by policy makers to industrial failures and under-reaction to natural disasters. This inconsistency is indeed ironic because the latter occur more often and cost more, both financially and socially. We reviewed 340 newspaper articles from three different newspapers: The Australian’s coverage of the Canberra bushfires and the Waterfall train accident, The Globe and Mail’s (Canada) coverage of Hurricane Juan and the de la Concorde overpass collapse, and The Daily Telegraph’s (UK) coverage of the 2007 floods and the Potters Bar train wreck. Our sample size is small; our ability to compare across newspapers and countries limited. Further research is warranted

“If you weren’t a thousand times stronger than me, I would never have let you get away with this.” – The Romanticization of Abusive Relationships in Popular Young Adult Fiction

Denne oppgaven undersøker påvirkningen av skildringer av voldelige forhold i young adult-romantikklitteratur. Young adult-sjangeren har blitt et sosiologisk fenomen og har store lesertall jorden rundt. Målgruppen, ungdommer og unge voksne, er lettpåvirkelige og emosjonelle. Ved å se på forholdsdynamikkene i Twilight, After og It Ends with Us samtidig som man retter fokuset mot leserempati og identitetsutvikling, vil denne oppgaven diskutere hva romanene kommuniserer til unge lesere angående usunne forhold og ubalanserte maktdynamikker i young adult-romantikklitteratur, enten ved uhell eller med vilje. Denne oppgaven argumenterer for at indre motivasjoner som følelsestrigging og den påfølgende leserempatien sammen med eksterne motivasjoner som sosiale medier og filmatisering jobber sammen med andre innflytelser som målrettet markedsføring jobber sammen for å akseptere og normalisere disse skildringene. Dette fører til en skadelig innvirkning på den unge leseren, for eksempel å ikke kunne gjenkjenne skadelig forholdsdynamikk.This thesis examines the impact of portrayals of abusive relationships in young adult romance literature on adolescent readers. The genre of young adult literature has become of sociological phenomenon and is consumed in large scale across the globe. The adolescent reader target group is easily influenced and emotional. Looking at the romantic relationship dynamics in Twilight, After and It Ends With Us while also focusing on the young adult reader’s empathy and identity formation, this thesis will seek to unpack what the novels convey to young readers, either deliberately or coincidentally, concerning unhealthy relationships and unbalanced power dynamics in young adult romance fiction, in addition to looking at reader response and the role of the young adult novel in society.The thesis argues that intrinsic motivations such as emotion evocation and the following narrative empathy, along with extrinsic motivations such as social media and film adaptations work together with other influences such as targeted marketing work together to accept and romanticize the portrayals. This leads to detrimental impact on the adolescent reader, such as not being able to recognize harmful relationship dynamics

Personality, risk cognitions and motivation related to demand of risk mitigation in transport among Norwegians

There is insufficient knowledge regarding the role of personality traits, transport-related risk cognitions and safety motivation for demand for transport risk mitigation. The aim of this study is to test a model aimed to predict public demand for transport risk mitigation by these psychological risk constructs. A mailed self-completion questionnaire survey was conducted in a random sample of the Norwegian population aged 18–65 years obtained from the Norwegian population registry (n = 1947). Results from structural equation modelling supported the hypothesis that sensation seeking, normlessness, risk cognitions and transport-related worry had mediated associations with demand for transport risk mitigation through safety motivation. There were no differences in the strength of associations related to gender and age. The findings are discussed in relation to personality-entailed measures as well as the link between cognitive and emotional approaches to transport risk.(c) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This is the authors' accepted and refereed manuscript to the article. Locked until 2017-11-26 due to copyright restrictions

Acceptance of disincentives to driving and pro-environmental transport intentions: the role of value structure, environmental beliefs and norm activation

In order to facilitate pro-environmental transport mode use it is important to promote acceptance for disincentives to driving and intentions to use public transport. The present study aims to investigate values, environmental beliefs and norm activation as predictors of these psychological cognitions. In addition, we examine gender differences in the psychological constructs entered into the model. A questionnaire-based survey was carried out in a randomized representative sample of the Norwegian population (n = 1043). The results showed that the model was well-suited to explain acceptance of disincentives to driving and, to a lesser extent, intention to use public transport. Biospheric values were strongly related to an elevated ecological worldview, whereas egoistic values were associated with a weaker ecological worldview. The values had indirect relations to acceptance of disincentives to driving and intention to use public transport through the ecological worldview and Norm activation model (NAM) components, but altruistic values were found to be associated with ascription of responsibility. Females reported stronger biospheric and altruistic values, and weaker egoistic and hedonic values than males. Females also reported a stronger ecological worldview and more awareness of consequences and personal norms in the NAM. Policy planners may focus on values, environmental beliefs and norm activation in order to increase the acceptance of disincentives to driving. A broad approach, which accounts for additional factors such as transport availability, spatial factors and ‘pull’ measures, may be more suitable to promote intentions of public transportation mode use.acceptedVersionThis is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in [Transportation] Locked until 15.11.2019 due to copyright restrictions. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-018-9950-

Risk perception of arsenic exposure from rice intake in a UK population

In the UK, consumption of rice and rice-based products is on the rise but, notwithstanding public expressed concerns about such products as an exposure route for arsenic (e.g. BBC News report, 2017“Should I worry about arsenic in my rice?”) there are few, if any published data on public perceptions of risks associated with exposure to arsenic in rice. We therefore aimed to determine the risk perception of arsenic exposure from rice intake and factors that are associated with arsenic knowledge and whether or not this knowledge had an influence on rice consumption and cooking practices. A questionnaire, targeting participation of rice-eating ethnic minorities in Greater Manchester, UK, was administered to 184 participants. A multivariate generalized linear model was used to determine the factors associated with rice consumption behaviour, cooking practices, and risk perception. We show for the first time that the general population did not associate arsenic, which they perceive as toxic to health, with rice consumption. More than half of the participants knew about arsenic as a hazardous substance but less than ten percent knew that rice consumption could be an important route of arsenic exposure. Knowledge of arsenic was significantly lower in Asian/Asian British:Pakistanis (Pakistani) (OR: 0.006; 95% CI:0.00-0.03) and Asian/Asian British:Bangladeshis (Bangladeshi) (OR: 0.064; 95% CI:0.01-0.25) compared to White:English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British (White British). Moreover, Bangladeshis consumed three times more rice (OR: 2.92; 95% CI:1.73-4.93) compared to White British. Overall higher rice consumption was not associated with higher knowledge of the nutritional value of rice. Rinsing rice before cooking, an effective arsenic removal technique, was practised by 93% of the participants, however the most popular cooking method was the use of adequate water (rice to water ratio of 1:2) but not excess water (rice to water ratio of > 1:4), the latter being more effective in removing arsenic. Better education, higher weekly expenditure on food and prior knowledge of arsenic hazard were all significant factors positively influencing a change in behaviour to reduce arsenic exposure from rice intake

Stressors, social support and military performance in a modern war scenario

The present study examined differences in stressors, coping strategies, and military performance in two groups deployed in the same war scenario, but with operative and psychologically different challenges.publishedVersio

Chapter 15 Competence for the Unforeseen

"This study examines self-assessment of preparedness for unforeseen events and how it varies between groups and individuals according to roles and functions within an organization. The study has two objectives. The first is to analyse the relationship between general self-efficacy, perceived competence in demanding situations and social support, and based on this, to assess the efficiency of interaction (samhandling) in organizations and preparedness for the unforeseen. The second aim is to examine how these factors vary according to professional experience. A survey questionnaire was completed during winter 2016/2017. All 624 respondents were male or female employees of the Norwegian Armed Forces, based in different units, with different levels of competence, and included commissioned and non-commissioned officers, officer cadets and conscripts. The response rate was 77 percent, and a total of 810 personnel were approached. This study incorporates central concepts of individual and social resources that could permit the prediction and understanding of resilient behaviors in complex and demanding situations. Interaction was found to be the most important predictor of preparedness for the unforeseen. This study also shows that interaction combined with general self-efficacy and social support can account for a considerable proportion of the variance in preparedness for the unforeseen. The results indicate that it is possible to prepare for unforeseen events by implementing measures that improve social factors in particular.

Hvordan viser fremstillingen av ulike typer feminisme og ikke feminisme seg i mediebildet som preger barn og unges digitale hverdag? En innholdsanalyse av TikTok videoer og kommentarer

Feminisme er et svært bredt og omdiskutert tema. Det argumenteres både for at enda er svært nødvendig i ulike deler av samfunnet og særlig ulike deler av verden, men på samme tid, argumenteres det for at feminismen har nådd langt nok og det er menn sin tur i rampelyset. Oppgaven har som hensikt å belyse fremstillingen dette temaet får på TikTok etter den enorme veksten det sosiale mediet fikk under toppen av korona pandemien. Bakgrunnen for å hente datamateriale og sentrere oppgaven rundt et sosialt medie, er den raske utviklingen som foregår på nett og at barn har en tidlig bruk av TikTok på tross av dets aldersgrense på 13 år. Oppgaven ble utført med en induktiv kvalitativ innholdsanalyse strekt ut over 11 måneder i 2021. Ved endt innsamling besto datamaterialet av ca. 1200 filer sammensatt av videoer og kommentarer. Disse filene ble i sin helhet kategorisert og gitt underkategorier ved andre gjennomgang, før en rekke utvalg ble gjort til det endelige utvalget ble gjort og gått gjennom i oppgavens analyse. Filene består av fem hovedkategorier og ulikt antall av underkategorier. På bakgrunn av den induktive prosessen ble forskningsspørsmålene konstruert rundt halvveis i datainnsamlingen for å forsikre at spørsmålene og utvalget forholdt seg til hverandre. Kategoriene i seg selv ble brede, likeså er teori kapittelet også bredt. I hovedsak omhandler teorien flere feministiske retninger, misogyni, patriarkat, ikke feminisme, kjønn, kroppsbilde, voldtektskultur og legning. Tidligere forskning gjort av likestillingssenteret KUN i samarbeid med IPL og NTNU i 2019 mener det er behov for mer kvalitativ forskning som får frem barn og unges perspektiver som ser på skjermbruk i et samfunnsperspektiv. Temaer som fikk mest oppmerksomhet og ble godt dekket i videoer og kommentarer i denne tidsperioden var kategoriene: Autoriteter misbruker makten deres, femininitet = svakhet, feminisme = frigjøring fra patriarkatet, herskelyst, ikke feminist og skjønnhets- og kroppstrender. I tråd med oppmerksomheten disse kategoriene har fått på TikTok, vil de også oppta større plass i analysen enn andre tema.Feminism is a very broad and controversial topic, it is both argued to still be crucial in different parts of society and especially different parts of the world, but at the same time, it is argued that feminism has reached far enough and it is men's turn in the spotlight. The thesis aims to shed light on the presentation this topic gets on TikTok after the enormous growth the social media received during the peak of the corona pandemic. The background for retrieving data material and centering the assignment around a social media, is the rapid development taking place online and that children have an early use of TikTok despite its age limit of 13 years. The thesis was cunducted with an inductive qualitative content analysis extended over 11 months in 2021. At the end of the collection, the data material consisted of approx. 1200 files composed of videos and comments. These files were categorized in their entirety and given subcategories on second review before a number of selections were made until the final selection was made and reviewed in the thesis analysis. The files consist of five main categories and different numbers of subcategories within. Based on the inductive process, the research questions were constructed about halfway through the data collection to ensure that the questions and the sample related to each other. The categories themselves became broad, therefore the theory chapter is also broad. The theory mainly deals with several feminist directions, misogyny, patriarchy, non feminism, gender, body image, rape culture and sexual orientation. Previous research done by the Gender Equality Center KUN in collaboration with IPL and NTNU in 2019 believes that there is a need for more qualitative research that brings out children's and young people's perspectives that look at screen use in a societal perspective. Topics which received the most attention and were well covered in videos and comments during this time period were the categories: Authorities abuse their power, femininity = weakness, feminism = liberation from patriarchy, domination, non feminist and beauty and body trends. In line with the attention these categories have received on TikTok, they will also occupy a larger place in the analysis than other topics

Ledelse av samhandling og skoleidentitet. Et nytt perspektiv på klasseledelse

publishedVersio