Introduction, Special Issue on Pandemic Secrecy: The COVID Origin Story and Pandemic Risk Society

In the present age, the world agricultural heritage can inspire agroecology and sustainable agriculture. But various risks have threatened, eroded and forgotten this heritage, so dynamic conservation of this heritage is essential. In this study, “Qanat Irrigated Agricultural Heritage Systems, Kashan, Iran” which has been registered worldwide in the face of corona pandemic risks has been selected as a case study. In this qualitative research, in addition to field observations and documentary studies, 25 in-depth interviews and 39 semi-structured interviews with experts and key informants was done and grounded theory and content analysis have been used. In the process of interviews and analyzes based on “risk society theory”, risks and wicked problems and related solutions have been identified and finally based on cultural theory, “clumsy solution space” has been summarized and presented for dynamic conservation. Based on the findings of this study, paying attention to a kind of reward for ecosystem services, developing online sales of agricultural products in rural areas of Kashan and also creating twinning with similar areas can help solve wicked problems. Also, paying more attention to the regulations for the protection of qanats, as well as the laws for home business insurance, can strengthen sustainable development in this rural area. Due to the wide range of different dimensions of agricultural heritage, it is suggested that in future research, clumsy solution spaces for each of these dimensions be created and developed separately.

In this paper, we draw on qualitative methods from the medical humanities and quantitative approaches from corpus linguistics to assess the different mappings of pandemic risks by Twitter (X) users employing the #Covid19nz hashtag. We look specifically at their responses to government measures around vaccines between August and November 2021. Risk, we reveal, was a major discursive thread in tweets during this period, but within our tweets, it was the vaccine rather than the virus around which hazard perception and response were grouped. We find that the discursive stance of those opposed to the vaccine evoked entangled medical and political hazards, untrustworthy experts, obscure information, restrictions on sovereignty, threats to children, and uncertain future dangers, all of which positioned them within what Ulrich Beck termed the world risk society. We also found that these narratives of risk manifested in specific Twitter styles, which employed a consistently larger number of hashtags. The lack of conjunctions between the hashtags, we argue, encouraged a disordered reading of doubt and precaution, as the hashtags presented triggering phrases whose interconnections were hinted at rather than specified. By contrast, those who tweeted in support of government measures were rhetorically led by solutions rather than risks, with one exception: their perception of those who were vaccine opposed. We use scholarship on risk and precautionary logic to map out the contrasting positions in tweets addressing Aotearoa New Zealand’s pandemic experience during the closing months of 2021.

In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous global risk society, national boundaries are blurred, inter-connected markets are exposed to delocalized risks with consequences that may stretch over extended or indefinite periods of time. Under these uncertain conditions, event organizers find themselves planning and delivering events in an environment characterized by disruptive effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and extant risks from home-grown violent extremism, cyber-criminal threats, supply chain disruptions and event cancellations (Beck, 2006; Hall, et al., 2019; Piekarz et al., 2015; Reid & Ritchie,2011; Rutherford Silvers, 2008; Tarlow, 2002). It is widely acknowledged that risk management should be viewed by event organizers and event professionals as a fundamental responsibility for planning and delivering a world class guest experience in a safe and secure environment (Berlonghi, 1990; Piekarz et al., 2015; Rutherford Silvers, 2008; Tarlow 2002;). However, in stark contrast, many event organizers concede that they do not have an event risk management plan (Ashwin & Wilson, 2020; Sturken, 2005 cited in Robson, 2009; Robson, 2009). In light of the recent proliferation of violent attacks on festivals and events, from the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing to the recent 2019 Gilroy Garlic Festival (California) shooting, there has been an increasing public discourse and emerging legislative requirements for event organizers to demonstrate an evidence-based approach to risk management decisions with the ability to explain the rationale behind those decisions in clear, objective and transparent terms (US Department of Homeland Security, 2020; UK Center for the Protection of National Infrastructure, 2020). Drawing upon the existing body of literature for event risk management, from Berlonghi (1990) to the recent 2019 event industry survey investigating event organizers approaches to risk management and resilience (Ashwin & Wilson, 2020), this chapter will explore contemporary risk issues in today’s volatile, ambiguous, complex and uncertain world. First, it will discuss the inter-related risk constructs pertaining to socio-cultural theoretical perspectives of risk and how an event organizer’s perception of risk influences their approach to risk management and decision-making. Then the chapter will address two contemporary risks, both of which present the potential for catastrophic consequences: cyber-criminals who are increasingly focusing their cyber-attacks on vulnerable, event digital eco-systems; and domestic terrorism and the threat from homegrown violent extremists, domestic violent extremists and unaffiliated lone offenders (‘lone wolves’). Finally, pragmatic, risk-based approaches to mitigating these risks will be discussed, specifically, preventative risk control measures and opportunities for enhancing organizational resilience to cyber-crime and terrorism.