English abstracts
Abstrakti
Jenni Mäenpää & Laura Ahva
Analyzing influences on study time and working life on the socialization of journalist: A comparison based on work experience: newcomers, settled and experts
The article scrutinizes the Finnish journalistic culture from the perspective of how the journalism students and professionals understand their ethical principles and their role in the society. The theoretical framework of the article combines research on journalistic careers and the concept of occupational socialization. The article sheds light especially on the question: what kinds of understandings the two central environments of socialization, the study and working life, may effect. In addition, inside the journalistic field we will compare three different groups created on the basis of work experience: newcomers (very little or no work experience), settled (less than 15 years of work experience), and experts (more than 15 years of work experience). The newcomers operate in the context of education and the settled and experts in the context of working life. The article is based on a quantitative analysis of two surveys (N=631). The results indicate that the respondents are quite unanimous on the questions related to the ethics and the roles of journalists in the society. In Finland, especially the professional moral-ethical ethos is consistent and it is guided by the shared ideals. There is some variation in the field, however: the clearest differences are to be found between the students and the journalists from the working life – not necessarily between the groups based on work experience. Working life seems to be a context of socialization that creates cohesion. In the Finnish context, the role of professional journalists as detached reporters is emphasized, whereas the students emphasize the active and effective roles of journalists.
Key words: professional ethics, professional, socialization, journalism students, journalists, journalist role, work experience
Anu-Liisa Rönkä
Inclusive risk communication in the case of contradiction:
A case study on mobile telecommunications technology
The research participates in the theoretical discussion on science communication by considering the implementation of inclusive risk communication in a case of contradictory information. The case study is about potential harmful effects connected to electromagnetic fields (EMF), for example, the potential adverse health effects from mobile phone radiation – the subject of often controversial public debate since the 1990s. The case is analyzed using the classification of risk scenarios by Ortwin Renn. On the basis of the analysis, the case represents a risk type characterized by high uncertainty and ambiguity, which requires the participatory involvement of a broad range of stakeholders to openly discuss competing arguments, beliefs, and values. However, experts perceive communication, above all, from the point of view of the transfer of information, and the interactive side of communication remains in the marginal. The analysis also shows that experts consider communication as problematic due to contradictory information reported to the public. It is discussed in the conclusions how to process a contradictory scientific issue in order to create a more genuine inclusive process.
Key words: risk communication, public engagement of science; environmental risks, health risks, mobile telecommunications technology, electromagnetic fields
