Concept Of Risk Society Research Articles

Pandemic and the Risk: A Sociological Analysis of Present Condition of Indian Society Due to Covid-19

Indian society is diverse and has a complex social order. It has been shaped by various processes such as industrialization, globalization, and modernization. Indian societies are often affected by various public health crises. Recently COVID-19 outbreak has shattered the world. After its emergence in the city of Wuhan in China, it has gradually spread to other countries making them more vulnerable. Academicians and the experts have warned about the deadliest consequences of COVID-19. Sociologists who study social phenomena need to analyze the consequences associated with COVID-19 sociologically. The consequences are not simply health issues but in terms of economy, education, and many more. The world affected by the pandemic is all set to alter the societal structures and functions. The entire globe is at risk because of this. The concept of risk society was advocated by Ulrich Beck and for him; risks of modern society are reflexive and self-induced. Technological changes and human activities have been the causes of risk in modern society. With the impact of globalization, the consequence of the risk is not only personal but also global. The ‘new modernity’ phase of the modern world ultimately has given birth to a risk society. In new modernity, nature and society are one hence every action goes for the management of this risk. COVID-19 has not only affected the Indian health sector but also our environment, education sector, economy, polity, and, everything. The risks are multifaceted and India being a developing country is more vulnerable. The present paper is based on secondary sources and aims at discussing the risk society concept in association with Indian society due to the present COVID- 19 situation. Along with this, the paper attempts to suggest possible ways of managing these risks.

Understanding of Crisis Management: A Theoretical Literature Review

Crisis management is a relatively new field. It was founded in the mid-1980s following several natural and man-made crises stemming from modernisation, according to the pioneers of the field. This paper's aim is to discuss the theoretical models and concepts required to manage a crisis. Moreover, it addresses public administration challenges with dealing with a crisis. The research strategy is built upon Cooper's taxonomy of a literature review to determine the appropriate methodology for achieving an inclusive and critical review for crisis management. A theoretical literature review is conducted to focus on theoretical concepts so as to foster an understanding of the management mechanisms of crisis and the main policy landmarks to mitigate the repercussions of the crisis. This paper addresses the concept of risk society, the typologies of crisis, the interaction risk dimensions, and the role of public administration in responding to the crisis. It considers international crisis management due to the spillover effect of the crisis. It also offers some discussion about the challenges of managing the crisis, including the impossibility of circumscribing the effect of the crisis, the effect of politics in responding to the crisis, and the small events that may cause greater consequences.

Ideas of Ulrich Beck in the Сontext of Modern Methodological Searches in World Sociology

The article reconstructed the system and method of the German sociologist Ulrich Beck. The importance of this work in the methodological situation in modern sociology is shown. This situation is due to changes in the social world and the fourth scientific revolution, which takes place in science in general. A significant part of the concepts included in the conceptual networks of various paradigms of modern sociology were formed during the second scientific revolution. In addition, sociologists, who investigate the Modernity, face the impact of unscientific circumstances, such as global threats, pressure of the ruling classes, and others. Ulrich Beck influenced world sociology with concepts of risk society, Second Modernity, cosmopolitanism. His critique of methodological nationalism is important. His call for overcoming “zombie concepts” remains valid. At the same time, the German sociologist, calling for a new utopia, saw the path to a cosmopolitan federation of states with divided sovereignty in establishing cooperation between capital, states, and civil society. He could not offer any real mechanisms for this cooperation. For progressive shifts in the problems of modernity, the synthesis of the ideas of the Second Modern, the sociology of creative Marxism, the world-systems analysis and ecological sociology can be useful. By this time, these traditions are divided by barriers of incomprehension and competition for intellectual novelty. In the theory of the Second Modern, the disadvantage is also a strong contextual dependence on the current political situation. U. Beck created his texts as comments to current processes. For ideological synthesis, it is necessary not only to recreate the course of thoughts of sociologists, but to present their ideas in the form of coherent concepts in the context of the requirements of a new methodological situation. The Second Modern and its characteristics such as Globalization can be considered as a stage in the development of the world capitalist system. The idea of a Risk Society can resonate with the development of Environmental Sociology. Criticism of neoliberalism in the sociology of creative Marxism can provide greater objectivity to the idea of cosmopolitanism. But for this, it is necessary to reconstruct the conceptual series of these research directions, their methodological guidelines in connection with the philosophical foundations of their metasociological knowledge.

Exploring Touch in Physical Education Practicum in a Touchy Latin Culture

The decrease in touch has been explored in recent literature in relation to child protection discourses and no touch policies and it has been suggested that Physical Education (PE) has been weakened by the lack of touch. Significantly, the issue of touch has remained largely unexplored in Latin societies, which are characterised by an amplified tactile approach to people and comparatively little personal space. This paper examines how a group of pre-service PE teachers in Spain responded to, acted and negotiated touch with primary school students. It draws on data generated from body journals and the concepts of risk society, surveillance and moral panic. The findings indicate that touching school students is still common practice in Spain and was considered something positive. The influence of other individuals and certain spaces was also noted by participants, who felt more surveilled and distressed on particular occasions and some of them strategically introduced touch with students in a progressive manner. The results of the study invite us to reflect on the possibility of doing more harm than good by presenting topics about touch to pre-service teachers and how pre-service teacher educators may need to provide PE students with proper resources and understandings to successfully negotiate touch with school students.

DISCUSSING THE CONSEQUENCES OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACTIONS IN A CONTEXT OF REFLECTIVE MODERNITY

ABSTRACT Objective: to discuss the reasons why the results of environmental education in hospitals do not correspond to the expected based on the concepts of Risk Society and Reflective Modernity, and pointing out alternatives for more effective educational actions in these institutions. Method: this was a qualitative research using a case study method by interviewing nine workers from the Environmental Education Nucleus of a hospital group. The data were collected by documentary research and semi-structured interview and analyzed by content analysis. Results: the two categories showed that some elements related to Reflective Modernity contributed to the low effectiveness of environmental education actions in hospitals. These included: the influence of abstract systems (specialists) regarding the thinking of individuals; The existence of protective cocoons, reflexivity without reflection, complicity and generalized irresponsibility in the face of ecological risks, and also the segmentation of the environments, which leads to the pluralization of the self in various selves. Conclusion: it is recommended to use educational experiences based on sensitivity, life and art, accompanied by reflection. This would make it possible to break with this logic of self-confrontation with environmental risks, without weaving a reflection on them, which is typical of Reflective Modernity. In addition, it is suggested that health institutions locally adopt and, locally, a sound pro-environmental policy.

Direito Ambiental no Contexto da Sociedade de Risco: Uma Análise Sobre as Áreas Contaminadas

The article aims to analyze the protection of soil quality, measures against harmful contamination of change and the management of contaminated areas, before the Brazilian reality in a risk society context. Therefore, examines the right to an ecologically balanced environment under Brazilian law and environmental ethics. Then the concept of risk society. After the contaminated soil problems in Brazil and in the end present techniques for remediation of contaminated soils. In this way, are analyzed also the processes that generated the environmental liability, initiatives to minimize the risks of these impacts and the tools available today for its confrontation: considered as essential elements for subsidizing policies aimed at urban regeneration of contaminated areas.

The concept of risk society as a model for risk regulation – its hidden and not so hidden ambitions, side effects, and risks

Beck’s risk society has become a highly influential theory in sociology and has begun to influence risk policy-making and regulation. The theory has been given too much credit, however. This article identifies and analyzes the troubling features of risk society, and demonstrates that it is a loose set of vague ideas, feelings, and hunches, rather than a theory. Risk society, as distinguished from modern industrial society, is a risk management society concerned with the identification and distribution of risks arising from industrial activities, while downplaying natural and other risks. Devoid of empirical content and analytical tools, it promotes a simplistic precautionary anti-industrial environmental and safety ethic. Risk society involves politicization of science and self-interested activism in risk management decision-making. Due to its unrealistic dogmas, ambitions, and side effects, risk society is unable to manage risks effectively and efficiently, and poses a threat to constitutional democracy. Policy-makers and risk managers, therefore, should not rely on risk society theory in designing and implementing risk management structures and regulations.

Occupational diseases and migrant workers’ compensation claiming in China: an unheeded social risk in asymmetrical employment relationships

ABSTRACTAs a result of rapid industrialisation in China, rural–urban migrant workers are increasingly susceptible to occupational diseases. Based on the concept of risk society, the occupational disease represents a distinctive industrial risk for migrant workers. However, this issue has been little explored from a sociological perspective, and this article aims to fill this gap by exploring migrant workers’ responses to occupational disease compensation. Despite the various laws on occupational diseases, migrant workers are generally unable to receive legal compensation. Instead, they have to negotiate with employers informally for private compensation. In addition to suffering physically from occupational diseases, the poor enforcement of public laws creates new social risks for workers, that is, the disadvantaged encounter unjust treatment, judicial injustice and social exclusion because their de jure entitlement is deprived. As a consequence, the laws aimed at protecting workers against accidents and occupational illnesses fail to reduce the power imbalance between employers and employees.

Refuse and the 'Risk Society': The Political Ecology of Risk in Inter-war Britain.

This article responds to current critiques of Ulrich Beck's ‘risk society’ thesis by historians of science and medicine. Those who have engaged with the concept of risk society have been content to accept the fundamental categories of Beck's analysis. In contrast, we argue that Beck's risk society thesis underplays two key themes. First, the role of capitalist social relations as the driver of technological change and the transformation of everyday life; and second, the ways in which hegemonic discourses of risk can be appropriated and transformed by counter-hegemonic forces. In place of ‘risk society’, we propose an approach based upon a ‘political ecology of risk’, which emphasises the social relations that are fundamental to the everyday politics of environmental health.

Risky riparianism: cooperative water governance in Central Asia

Water governance has emerged as one of the intense and most urgent challenges of the new century, largely due to the threatened nature of water availability and the transboundary character of water challenges. These conditions pose exceptionally high risks for societies that need to address these challenges. Using the concept of risk society as developed by Ulrich Beck, this article illustrates how shared risk among Central Asian countries provides the impetus for developing water governance mechanisms. However, the historical and sociocultural circumstances of these countries pose limits to their ability to craft workable governance arrangements; in particular, the Soviet legacy of centralised command-and-control governance over water and related ethnic tensions among countries. These tensions play out in the demarcation of water boundaries and the subsequent allocation of water resources among the riparian countries. However, these limitations can also be viewed through the lens of ‘reflexive governance’, which allows for flexibility, hybridisation, uncertainty and even ignorance.

A Bodily Sign of “Doing Nothing”: Loitering or the Silence before the Storm

A Bodily Sign of “Doing Nothing”: Loitering or the Silence before the Storm

Transitions in environmental risk in a transitional economy: management capability and community trust in Russia

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union 10 years ago, the Russian Federation has undergone a radical social, political and economic transformation. This paper's focus is particularly on the consequences of this transformation for the natural environment. This is done by utilizing Beck's (Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity, London: Sage, 1992) concept of Risk Society to explore the interrelationships between managers, firms and communities in terms of transitions in capabilities, knowledge, trust, and even the very notion of community vis‐à‐vis pollution control and environmental protection. A qualitative study of managers in Russian manufacturing enterprises, environmental regulators and local communities, was undertaken in two provincial Oblasts in the Russian Federation, identifying a number of factors characteristic of Beck's (1992) treatise including ‘risk culture’, ‘organized irresponsibility’, ‘individualization’ and ‘subpolitics’. In so doing a deeper understanding is developed of the impact of economic transition on the environment, indicating a different risk society trajectory to that predicted for the West. The implications for continued, in‐depth research in focusing on economies in transition are also discussed.

Risk Society Comes to China: SARS, Transparency and Public Accountability

ASIANPERSPECTIVE, Vol. 27, No. 2,2003, pp. 241-251. Commentary RISK SOCIETY COMES TO CHINA: SARS, TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY Paul Thiers A Risk Society By now, it is clear that the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and its bureaucratic mismanagement is a politi­ cal, economic, and public-health nightmare for China. But the SARS crisis presents two important tests for the Chinese govern­ ment and, so far, it has failed only the first. The bureaucracy pre­ dictably botched the administration of the outbreak, leading with secrecy and denial, allowing the disease to spread further and faster than necessary, and losing any semblance of legitimacy in both the domestic and international community. The political leadership, however, has yet to indicate what lessons it will draw and what steps it will take in the long term. If it makes the right decisions, SARS could provide a context for addressing a long­ standing weakness in Chinese public administration. SARS occurs as a new leadership is attempting to consoli­ date power under a populist program, claiming to defend those left to bear the costs and risks of China's rapid growth and glob­ al integration. China's new premier, Wen Jiabao, spent Spring Festival in a Chinese coal mine, arguably the most risky occupa­ tional environment in the world. Hu Jintao, the new president, has spoken of the need to support hundreds of thousands of urban workers and poor farmers whose livelihoods are at risk from increased competition and low prices that China's acces­ 242 Paul Thiers sion to the World Trade Organization will bring in the next ten years. While it is still too early to tell, this could be a political platform, recognizing that industrialization, technology, and global market integration create risks—and that a government that fails to manage those risks, fails its own people and loses the confidence of the global community. Since these are specifi­ cally the bureaucratic failures of the SARS crisis, the long-term response will be a crucial test of the new political leadership. To understand the significance of the SARS crisis for Chinese politics, it is useful to consider German social theorist Ulrich Beck's concept of risk society.1 Examining the late 20th century social movement politics of nuclear power, environmental pol­ lution, and food safety scares such as mad cow disease, Beck argues that we have entered a new stage of modernity in which the definition, management, and allocation of risks replaces the generation and allocation of costs and benefits as the central theme of politics and science. Beck cites an emerging, world­ wide awareness that industrialization, technology, and global­ ization bring risks that nation-states, as the traditional arenas of policy making, are expected to address. But this same industrial­ ization, and particularly the new technologies and levels of global interaction that characterize it in our era, facilitate infor­ mation exchange and policy advocacy independently of nation­ state authority. Beck further argues that emerging networks of interaction below, above, and around the nation-state erode the state's monopoly on the definition and management of risk even as they increase pressure on the state to manage risk effectively. What is more, because risk is largely a function of public percep­ tion, state proclamations that a problem is under control can backfire. Non-state actors can challenge official assurances, lead­ ing to public distrust and anger toward state administrators. In democracies, risk society unravels the progressive-era model in which public administrators are seen as technical experts, insu­ lated from direct public pressure. For Beck, the only solution is to open up policy making and administration to ever greater 1. See Ulrich Beck, Risk Society: Tozvards a New Modernity, trans. M. Ritter (London: Sage, 1993), and Beck, World Risk Society (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999). Risk Society Comes to China 243 levels of public accountability. Of course, this presents the great­ est challenges for non-democratic systems that have relied on authoritarian models of science and politics to define and administer policy in risk-prone areas such as health, the envi­ ronment, and global market integration. Beck's argument has important implications for a country like China. At least since...

Rural Youth and Risk Society

Research on deciduous fruit farms in South Africa has consistently identified low levels of mobility among farm workers. The daughters of farm workers who do manage to find employment in urban centers often return to the farm, whereas others never leave the farm. Based on focus group interviews conducted with 32 girls between the ages of 15 and 17 years, the article explores teenage girls' views and experiences of farm life and their expectations of the future. In examining their expectations and assessing their life chances, the concepts of risk society, late or reflexive modernity, and the individualization thesis put forward by Beck and Giddens are utilized. Teenage girls appear to reject farm life and foresee a future far removed from their working-class background. In assessing their life chances, the article suggests that social divisions and structural location continue to play a critical role in the distribution of risk within contemporary South African society.