Anna Olofsson
Biographic Data
| ID | 4137705 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Anna Olofsson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Anna |
| FAMILY NAME | Olofsson |
| SIGNATURE | OLOFSSON A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Mid Sweden University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5000-311X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 26 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 106 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 25 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1995 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Thoughts about intersectionality and risk. Interviews with key scholars
Since the early twenty first century, feminist and intersectional approaches to risk research have gained momentum, initially emerging from studies on HIV risks within health studies. Over the past decade, these approaches have expanded to other fields. As editors of this special issue, Katarina Giritli Nygren and Anna Olofsson introduce a reflection piece anchoring the issue. The reflection piece includes insights from seven influential scholars…
Years of Studies of Risk and Intersectionality
This introduction to a special issue on "Intersectional Analysis of Risk" and its contributors explores the development and current trends in intersectional risk analysis over the past two decades. Using Scopus, 778 publications between 2003 and 2022 were identified across social sciences, humanities, psychology, health, and arts. VOSviewer was employed to analyse these publications and identify trends and themes. The evolution of intersectional …
En intersektionell undersökning av (o)trygghet i offentliga rum
Kritik har riktats mot etablerade metoder för att kvantitativt mäta och kartlägga upplevelser av (o)trygghet, där trygghet ofta definieras som avsaknad av brott. Trygghet är dock mer komplext, och relaterar till individens sociala positioner, kroppsliga uttryck, erfarenheter och de maktstrukturer vi lever i. Vi ansluter oss till denna vidare förståelse av trygghet och menar att en reduktionistisk syn på trygghet som avsaknad av brott är problemat…
Swedish exceptionalism, herd immunity and the welfare state
Compared to many other countries, Sweden has managed the COVID-19 pandemic with no lockdowns, less regulation and more voluntary action expected of citizens and organizations. In this article, the authors explore media representations of national preventative strategies and how they were anchored in broader discourses. The article aims to analyse the development of crisis narratives and struggles over legitimacy during the first phase of the COVI…
Worried in Sweden
We investigate whether terrorist activity abroad affects worry regarding terrorism in Sweden, and the possible mediating effect of news media. Terrorism uses violence to obtain political or social objectives: in addition to the impact on the immediate victims, terrorism affects a much wider audience emotionally by spreading fear and insecurity. Previous research shows that terrorist attacks in a country cause worry for the people in that country;…
Managing the Covid-19 pandemic through individual responsibility
At the end of March 2020, international media present Swedish management of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as soft and irresponsible. Thus, Sweden, which is usually regarded as exceptionally risk averse and cautious, has chosen an unexpected risk management approach. The aim of this article is to reflect on how the Swedish government has managed the Covid-19 pandemic until early April 2020 from two theoretical perspectives, the risk society thesis…
Living in a foreign country
Previous research has convincingly proven that perceptions, experience, and exposure to risks vary among certain groups in society. By drawing from a unique combination of Swedish survey data and interviews, this study aims to investigate perceptions and experiences of risks as well as in relation to behavior by analyzing the cleavages related to interactions between place of origin and gender. Theoretically, we see individual risk perception as …
Risk, Uncertainty and Policy
Introduction - Risk, uncertainty and policy: towards a social-dialectical understanding Patrick R. Brown and Anna Olofsson 1. Nuclear power in China after Fukushima: understanding public knowledge, attitudes, and trust Guizhen He, Arthur P.J. Mol, Lei Zhang and Yonglong Lu 2. The 'new social contract' and the individualisation of risk in policy Myra Hamilton 3. Towards a global governance of risks: international health organisations and the surve…
Everyday places, heterosexist spaces and risk in contemporary Sweden
Subjective feelings of risk are a central feature of everyday life, and evidence shows that people who do not conform to contemporary normative notions are often more exposed to everyday risks than others. Despite this, normative notions are rarely acknowledged as risk objects. By drawing on the theory of 'doing' and 'undoing' risk, which combines intersectional and risk theory, this study contributes new perspectives on the everyday risks in con…
An intersectional risk approach for environmental sociology
The objective of this article is to further develop intersectional perspectives and feminist knowledge in environmental sociology. Environmental sociology has developed a critical theoretical frame with which to describe the social construction of risk, and this article further develops the understanding of the complex multidimensionality of the social relations that shape the lived experience of risk. An analytical and integrating discourse that…
The (un)intended consequences of crisis communication in news media
This article takes as its departure point the questions ‘Which discourses figure in the news media’s coverage of natural disasters?’ and ‘What are the possible unintended consequences of this type of crisis communication?’ The overall aim is to elucidate the development of risk discourses, struggles over discursive legitimacy, and shifts in argumentation to legitimate or delegitimate certain actors and actions in relation to a widespread and deva…
Doing and undoing risk
This paper develops the concepts of ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ risk, a new approach to risk research that echoes the ‘doing gender’ of gender studies. In this way, we combine intersectional and risk theory and apply the new perspective to empirical material. To better explore the doing and undoing, or the performance, of risk, we will refer to practices that simultaneously (re)produce and hide socio-political norms and positions, played out in contemp…
The mutual constitution of risk and inequalities
In this article, we examine the conceptual importance of integrating risk and intersectionality theory for the study of how risk and various forms of inequality intersect and are mutually constitutive. We argue that an intersectional perspective can advance risk research by incorporating more effectively the role of such social categories as gender and race into the analysis of ‘risk’ as an empirical phenomenon. In doing so, the intersectional pe…
Intersectional Approaches in Health‐Risk Research
The overall aim of this article is to explore how the intersectional approach is used in health‐risk research. The concept has been recognized in health‐risk research since the early 2000s, but not as much as in the broader field of health‐inequality studies. However, in the past 5 years, Social Science and Medicine has published a series of review articles that argue for the necessity of bringing intersectional perspectives to the field of healt…
Vulnerability, values and heterogeneity
The aim is to investigate differences in risk perception and behaviour among different population groups selected by gender, age, country of birth, disability and sexual orientation in the light of general values and vulnerability. The analyses use data from two Swedish national surveys from 2005 to 2008. People with foreign background perceive controlled and dread risks as a greater threat than do native-born people, but there is no difference i…
Risk, uncertainty and policy
This editorial introduces a special issue devoted to studies of risk and uncertainty in their relation to policy and policy-making. The special issue comprises a rather diverse collection of six original research articles, each taking up a distinct perspective in scrutinising interfaces between policy, risk and uncertainty. The purpose of this editorial is to present some broader themes in the literature before moving on to sketch out a basic mod…
The substitution principle in chemical regulation
Published online 30 Sep 2013
The White (Male) Effect and Risk Perception
Previous research has shown that white males have a relatively low perception of risks, known as the “white male effect” (WME). Many of the explanations of this effect refer to the privileged position of this particular demographic group in society, adducing white males’ socio‐economic resources, sense of control, worldviews, etc. It can thus be argued that inequality leads women and ethnic minorities to have higher risk perception than men and t…
Social Stratification, Living Conditions and the White Male Effect in Sweden
This paper investigates the impact of subjective job insecurity, past experience of crisis, and social exclusion on risk perceptions in Sweden. In particular, it explores the evidence of the so-called White Male Effect (WME). The paper builds on earlier research of the WME, which had shown that men or native (white) individuals were less concerned about personal and other risks than women and people of foreign background. Yet women and people of …
The Indian Ocean tsunami in Swedish newspapers
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the Swedish mass media constructed Sweden and Swedes during the first days after the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles from four of the largest newspapers in Sweden was conducted. Findings The results show that the tsunami was framed as a Swedish disaster almost exclusively focusing on Sweden, Swedish victi…
Young people making sense of risk
By using the term ‘sensemaking’ our intention is to deepen the understanding of young people and risk. Four focus group interviews with young people were made in 2004/05, two in an urban area (Greater Stockholm) and two in a rural area (the county of Jämtland). Three reference interviews with adults were also made (two in Greater Stockholm and one in Jämtland). The results indicate that sensemaking of risk is a fruitful way of capturing hidden he…
Views of Risk in Sweden
Ulrich Beck's theory of risk society has been criticised because there is lack of empirical evidence. By comparing people with different life contexts and experiences, the aim of this study was to investigate how these people view risk, and if ‘new’ risks are perceived differently by different groups in society. Five focus‐group interviews were conducted in Sweden, in 2004/05, with people in rural and urban areas, people with a foreign background…
Kriskommunikation i ett heterogent samhälle
The controversy of growth: a debate between economists and sociologists about the Swedish public sectorHas the ‘Swedish model’ forced Sweden into stagnating economic growth? And has this caused Sweden to lag behind other comparable OECD-countries from the 1970s and onwards, i.e. since Sweden chose a welfare path different from many other countries? This has been the subject of a more than twenty year long controversy between Walter Korpi, profess…
Cosmopolitans and Locals
The aim of this study is to empirically test Roudometof's suggested one-dimensional operationalization of transnationalism, from cosmopolitanism to localism, and compare it with an alternative two-dimensional operationalization. The study uses Swedish survey data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), for 1995 and 2003. The results indicate that a two-dimensional, rather than a one-dimensional, solution fits the data better. Trans…
Attitudes to Gene Technology
This is a study of the relationship between trust in institutions and attitudes to gene technology in general, and GM food and stem cell research in particular. The role of so-called active trust is emphasised, meaning that trust is neither conceived as a trait nor a one-dimensional concept. The study uses data from a Eurobarometer survey of gene technology in Europe, conducted in 2002. People's attitudes in five European counties, France, German…
Managing the Covid-19 pandemic through individual responsibility
At the end of March 2020, international media present Swedish management of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as soft and irresponsible. Thus, Sweden, which is usually regarded as exceptionally risk averse and cautious, has chosen an unexpected risk management approach. The aim of this article is to reflect on how the Swedish government has managed the Covid-19 pandemic until early April 2020 from two theoretical perspectives, the risk society thesis…
Cosmopolitans and Locals
The aim of this study is to empirically test Roudometof's suggested one-dimensional operationalization of transnationalism, from cosmopolitanism to localism, and compare it with an alternative two-dimensional operationalization. The study uses Swedish survey data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), for 1995 and 2003. The results indicate that a two-dimensional, rather than a one-dimensional, solution fits the data better. Trans…
Young people making sense of risk
By using the term ‘sensemaking’ our intention is to deepen the understanding of young people and risk. Four focus group interviews with young people were made in 2004/05, two in an urban area (Greater Stockholm) and two in a rural area (the county of Jämtland). Three reference interviews with adults were also made (two in Greater Stockholm and one in Jämtland). The results indicate that sensemaking of risk is a fruitful way of capturing hidden he…
Doing and undoing risk
This paper develops the concepts of ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ risk, a new approach to risk research that echoes the ‘doing gender’ of gender studies. In this way, we combine intersectional and risk theory and apply the new perspective to empirical material. To better explore the doing and undoing, or the performance, of risk, we will refer to practices that simultaneously (re)produce and hide socio-political norms and positions, played out in contemp…
Views of Risk in Sweden
Ulrich Beck's theory of risk society has been criticised because there is lack of empirical evidence. By comparing people with different life contexts and experiences, the aim of this study was to investigate how these people view risk, and if ‘new’ risks are perceived differently by different groups in society. Five focus‐group interviews were conducted in Sweden, in 2004/05, with people in rural and urban areas, people with a foreign background…
Swedish exceptionalism, herd immunity and the welfare state
Compared to many other countries, Sweden has managed the COVID-19 pandemic with no lockdowns, less regulation and more voluntary action expected of citizens and organizations. In this article, the authors explore media representations of national preventative strategies and how they were anchored in broader discourses. The article aims to analyse the development of crisis narratives and struggles over legitimacy during the first phase of the COVI…
An intersectional risk approach for environmental sociology
The objective of this article is to further develop intersectional perspectives and feminist knowledge in environmental sociology. Environmental sociology has developed a critical theoretical frame with which to describe the social construction of risk, and this article further develops the understanding of the complex multidimensionality of the social relations that shape the lived experience of risk. An analytical and integrating discourse that…
Worried in Sweden
We investigate whether terrorist activity abroad affects worry regarding terrorism in Sweden, and the possible mediating effect of news media. Terrorism uses violence to obtain political or social objectives: in addition to the impact on the immediate victims, terrorism affects a much wider audience emotionally by spreading fear and insecurity. Previous research shows that terrorist attacks in a country cause worry for the people in that country;…
The (un)intended consequences of crisis communication in news media
This article takes as its departure point the questions ‘Which discourses figure in the news media’s coverage of natural disasters?’ and ‘What are the possible unintended consequences of this type of crisis communication?’ The overall aim is to elucidate the development of risk discourses, struggles over discursive legitimacy, and shifts in argumentation to legitimate or delegitimate certain actors and actions in relation to a widespread and deva…
Risk, uncertainty and policy
This editorial introduces a special issue devoted to studies of risk and uncertainty in their relation to policy and policy-making. The special issue comprises a rather diverse collection of six original research articles, each taking up a distinct perspective in scrutinising interfaces between policy, risk and uncertainty. The purpose of this editorial is to present some broader themes in the literature before moving on to sketch out a basic mod…
Attitudes to Gene Technology
This is a study of the relationship between trust in institutions and attitudes to gene technology in general, and GM food and stem cell research in particular. The role of so-called active trust is emphasised, meaning that trust is neither conceived as a trait nor a one-dimensional concept. The study uses data from a Eurobarometer survey of gene technology in Europe, conducted in 2002. People's attitudes in five European counties, France, German…
Vulnerability, values and heterogeneity
The aim is to investigate differences in risk perception and behaviour among different population groups selected by gender, age, country of birth, disability and sexual orientation in the light of general values and vulnerability. The analyses use data from two Swedish national surveys from 2005 to 2008. People with foreign background perceive controlled and dread risks as a greater threat than do native-born people, but there is no difference i…
Butiken ett kvinnligt rum
Every age htiilds its own monuments: palaces, chnrches, cathedrals. At the tum of the last century, business tycoons had the means and incendves to build "palaces". Architects were hired to design buildings which allowed them to experiment freely with glass, colours and patterns to create something out of the ordinary. The department store represented a new type of space. It was the first non-religious meeting place where respectable women could …
Attitudes to Gene Technology
This is a study of the relationship between trust in institutions and attitudes to gene technology in general, and GM food and stem cell research in particular. The role of so-called active trust is emphasised, meaning that trust is neither conceived as a trait nor a one-dimensional concept. The study uses data from a Eurobarometer survey of gene technology in Europe, conducted in 2002. People's attitudes in five European counties, France, German…
Views of Risk in Sweden
Ulrich Beck's theory of risk society has been criticised because there is lack of empirical evidence. By comparing people with different life contexts and experiences, the aim of this study was to investigate how these people view risk, and if ‘new’ risks are perceived differently by different groups in society. Five focus‐group interviews were conducted in Sweden, in 2004/05, with people in rural and urban areas, people with a foreign background…
Kriskommunikation i ett heterogent samhälle
The controversy of growth: a debate between economists and sociologists about the Swedish public sectorHas the ‘Swedish model’ forced Sweden into stagnating economic growth? And has this caused Sweden to lag behind other comparable OECD-countries from the 1970s and onwards, i.e. since Sweden chose a welfare path different from many other countries? This has been the subject of a more than twenty year long controversy between Walter Korpi, profess…
Cosmopolitans and Locals
The aim of this study is to empirically test Roudometof's suggested one-dimensional operationalization of transnationalism, from cosmopolitanism to localism, and compare it with an alternative two-dimensional operationalization. The study uses Swedish survey data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP), for 1995 and 2003. The results indicate that a two-dimensional, rather than a one-dimensional, solution fits the data better. Trans…
Young people making sense of risk
By using the term ‘sensemaking’ our intention is to deepen the understanding of young people and risk. Four focus group interviews with young people were made in 2004/05, two in an urban area (Greater Stockholm) and two in a rural area (the county of Jämtland). Three reference interviews with adults were also made (two in Greater Stockholm and one in Jämtland). The results indicate that sensemaking of risk is a fruitful way of capturing hidden he…
The White (Male) Effect and Risk Perception
Previous research has shown that white males have a relatively low perception of risks, known as the “white male effect” (WME). Many of the explanations of this effect refer to the privileged position of this particular demographic group in society, adducing white males’ socio‐economic resources, sense of control, worldviews, etc. It can thus be argued that inequality leads women and ethnic minorities to have higher risk perception than men and t…
Social Stratification, Living Conditions and the White Male Effect in Sweden
This paper investigates the impact of subjective job insecurity, past experience of crisis, and social exclusion on risk perceptions in Sweden. In particular, it explores the evidence of the so-called White Male Effect (WME). The paper builds on earlier research of the WME, which had shown that men or native (white) individuals were less concerned about personal and other risks than women and people of foreign background. Yet women and people of …
The Indian Ocean tsunami in Swedish newspapers
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the Swedish mass media constructed Sweden and Swedes during the first days after the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles from four of the largest newspapers in Sweden was conducted. Findings The results show that the tsunami was framed as a Swedish disaster almost exclusively focusing on Sweden, Swedish victi…
The substitution principle in chemical regulation
Published online 30 Sep 2013
The mutual constitution of risk and inequalities
In this article, we examine the conceptual importance of integrating risk and intersectionality theory for the study of how risk and various forms of inequality intersect and are mutually constitutive. We argue that an intersectional perspective can advance risk research by incorporating more effectively the role of such social categories as gender and race into the analysis of ‘risk’ as an empirical phenomenon. In doing so, the intersectional pe…
Intersectional Approaches in Health‐Risk Research
The overall aim of this article is to explore how the intersectional approach is used in health‐risk research. The concept has been recognized in health‐risk research since the early 2000s, but not as much as in the broader field of health‐inequality studies. However, in the past 5 years, Social Science and Medicine has published a series of review articles that argue for the necessity of bringing intersectional perspectives to the field of healt…
Vulnerability, values and heterogeneity
The aim is to investigate differences in risk perception and behaviour among different population groups selected by gender, age, country of birth, disability and sexual orientation in the light of general values and vulnerability. The analyses use data from two Swedish national surveys from 2005 to 2008. People with foreign background perceive controlled and dread risks as a greater threat than do native-born people, but there is no difference i…
Risk, uncertainty and policy
This editorial introduces a special issue devoted to studies of risk and uncertainty in their relation to policy and policy-making. The special issue comprises a rather diverse collection of six original research articles, each taking up a distinct perspective in scrutinising interfaces between policy, risk and uncertainty. The purpose of this editorial is to present some broader themes in the literature before moving on to sketch out a basic mod…
Doing and undoing risk
This paper develops the concepts of ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ risk, a new approach to risk research that echoes the ‘doing gender’ of gender studies. In this way, we combine intersectional and risk theory and apply the new perspective to empirical material. To better explore the doing and undoing, or the performance, of risk, we will refer to practices that simultaneously (re)produce and hide socio-political norms and positions, played out in contemp…
Everyday places, heterosexist spaces and risk in contemporary Sweden
Subjective feelings of risk are a central feature of everyday life, and evidence shows that people who do not conform to contemporary normative notions are often more exposed to everyday risks than others. Despite this, normative notions are rarely acknowledged as risk objects. By drawing on the theory of 'doing' and 'undoing' risk, which combines intersectional and risk theory, this study contributes new perspectives on the everyday risks in con…
An intersectional risk approach for environmental sociology
The objective of this article is to further develop intersectional perspectives and feminist knowledge in environmental sociology. Environmental sociology has developed a critical theoretical frame with which to describe the social construction of risk, and this article further develops the understanding of the complex multidimensionality of the social relations that shape the lived experience of risk. An analytical and integrating discourse that…
The (un)intended consequences of crisis communication in news media
This article takes as its departure point the questions ‘Which discourses figure in the news media’s coverage of natural disasters?’ and ‘What are the possible unintended consequences of this type of crisis communication?’ The overall aim is to elucidate the development of risk discourses, struggles over discursive legitimacy, and shifts in argumentation to legitimate or delegitimate certain actors and actions in relation to a widespread and deva…
Risk, Uncertainty and Policy
Introduction - Risk, uncertainty and policy: towards a social-dialectical understanding Patrick R. Brown and Anna Olofsson 1. Nuclear power in China after Fukushima: understanding public knowledge, attitudes, and trust Guizhen He, Arthur P.J. Mol, Lei Zhang and Yonglong Lu 2. The 'new social contract' and the individualisation of risk in policy Myra Hamilton 3. Towards a global governance of risks: international health organisations and the surve…
Living in a foreign country
Previous research has convincingly proven that perceptions, experience, and exposure to risks vary among certain groups in society. By drawing from a unique combination of Swedish survey data and interviews, this study aims to investigate perceptions and experiences of risks as well as in relation to behavior by analyzing the cleavages related to interactions between place of origin and gender. Theoretically, we see individual risk perception as …
Worried in Sweden
We investigate whether terrorist activity abroad affects worry regarding terrorism in Sweden, and the possible mediating effect of news media. Terrorism uses violence to obtain political or social objectives: in addition to the impact on the immediate victims, terrorism affects a much wider audience emotionally by spreading fear and insecurity. Previous research shows that terrorist attacks in a country cause worry for the people in that country;…
Managing the Covid-19 pandemic through individual responsibility
At the end of March 2020, international media present Swedish management of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as soft and irresponsible. Thus, Sweden, which is usually regarded as exceptionally risk averse and cautious, has chosen an unexpected risk management approach. The aim of this article is to reflect on how the Swedish government has managed the Covid-19 pandemic until early April 2020 from two theoretical perspectives, the risk society thesis…
Swedish exceptionalism, herd immunity and the welfare state
Compared to many other countries, Sweden has managed the COVID-19 pandemic with no lockdowns, less regulation and more voluntary action expected of citizens and organizations. In this article, the authors explore media representations of national preventative strategies and how they were anchored in broader discourses. The article aims to analyse the development of crisis narratives and struggles over legitimacy during the first phase of the COVI…
Thoughts about intersectionality and risk. Interviews with key scholars
Since the early twenty first century, feminist and intersectional approaches to risk research have gained momentum, initially emerging from studies on HIV risks within health studies. Over the past decade, these approaches have expanded to other fields. As editors of this special issue, Katarina Giritli Nygren and Anna Olofsson introduce a reflection piece anchoring the issue. The reflection piece includes insights from seven influential scholars…
Years of Studies of Risk and Intersectionality
This introduction to a special issue on "Intersectional Analysis of Risk" and its contributors explores the development and current trends in intersectional risk analysis over the past two decades. Using Scopus, 778 publications between 2003 and 2022 were identified across social sciences, humanities, psychology, health, and arts. VOSviewer was employed to analyse these publications and identify trends and themes. The evolution of intersectional …
Sociology (22 works) · Political science (17 works) · Law (13 works) · Psychology (12 works) · Risk Perception and Management (12 works) · Social Psychology (10 works) · Gender Studies (8 works) · Economics (7 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Law (7 works)