Governance of social-ecological systems (SES) involves multiple stakeholders with different perspectives on the system and associated problems, and different ways to value and use the system. This ...has implications for decision making because this diversity of interests and framings may cause conflicts between stakeholders and/or marginalization of certain groups. In general, the literature agrees that strategically considered stakeholder participation is key to well-informed and legitimate SES governance and to alleviate differences and conflicts between stakeholders. Because SES represent uncertain, complex governance contexts, methodologies that address complexity and future uncertainty are needed. In this regard, participatory scenario planning is widely regarded as a useful tool. However, little explicit analysis exists about its role in framing. We therefore analyzed two scenario-guided policy formulation cases to assess how and to what extent it contributes to system and problem framing. We developed an analytical framework building on critical systems and resilience scholarship: the questions of "resilience of what, to what, for whom and over what timeframe?" are important framing dimensions. As such, we used them as the basis for our framework. We analyzed two scenario-guided policy formulation processes in East Africa, facilitated by the CGIAR's Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. We found that participatory scenario planning significantly contributes to system and problem framing and can add to efficacy, legitimacy, and analytical rigor of planning processes through involving a diverse range of stakeholders in strategic dialogues about futures. Our results also highlight its potential to make the political dimension of policy and broader SES governance processes more explicitly visible by addressing the "for whom?" dimension. We recommend designing novel participatory scenario approaches that explicitly use insights from critical system theory, incorporating questions of who decides how the system and problems are framed, who should benefit, and whose knowledge is used.
During March 2020, as the American President and the British Prime Minister addressed their constituencies, they were also framing their perceptions regarding COVID-19. By analyzing the formal ...pronouncements of both leaders, we show that they used terminology and frames that are associated with conflicts: They described the pandemic as a war, saying they had a plan on how to "win" it; they defined isolation as patriotism and conferred war hero status on their medical teams, all the while expounding how their plan for handling the situation was better than the plans of others (although fighting a global pandemic). We claim that the leaders used words, language, and frames that resonated with what they believed their audiences would know and accept. In doing so, they allowed themselves considerably more leverage in what they asked of the public, such as a complete change in their everyday behavior, acceptance of higher casualty numbers, and compliance with harsher measures. They even went so far as to paint extreme images of potential outcomes-namely expecting a complete victory. COVID-19 changed the behaviors of billions of people, but the framing used by the leaders was based on the traditional way societies build their conflict stories.
Public Significance Statement
This study's contribution is threefold: Firstly, Understanding how leaders used war-framing in order to structure the way their constituencies perceived COVID-19. Secondly, explaining how war framings enable leaders to demand certain actions and to make the public anticipate certain outcomes. Lastly, showing how framings of a violent conflict are "copy-pasted" to different circumstances.
This study aims to explore how political leaders used Instagram to execute self-presentation strategies in mayoral elections, including the dominant use of personalized tactics. The article reports ...findings of a visual framing analysis of 2,776 images featuring 2019 Istanbul mayoral election candidates Ekrem İmamoğlu (the Republican People’s Party, CHP) and Binali Yıldırım (the Justice and Development Party, AKP). The case is unusual because the initial election, which had resulted in İmamoğlu’s victory, was cancelled and a re-run was subsequently held. After many events, İmamoğlu succeeded again, becoming the first opposition politician to take control of Istanbul from the ruling AKP. In this study, we adapt Grabe and Bucy’s (2009) quantitative visual framing analysis to examine Instagram posts, from candidacy announcements until the election re-run. The results show that both candidates used the Ideal Candidate frame, with occasional increases in the frequency of the application of the Populist Campaigner frame. Self-frames in different time periods during this election are discussed, as well the frames that voters engaged with most frequently.
The acceptability of low carbon policies is an important precondition for energy system transitions, such as the German Energiewende. This long-term experimental study examines the potential for ...behavioural spillover on the acceptability of low carbon policies, caused by a framed intervention to promote electricity saving behaviour. Clients of a German energy provider were randomly assigned to continuously receive electricity saving tips with either monetary framing (saving potential in €) or environmental framing (saving potential in CO2). The control group did not receive any information. In two follow-up surveys, four (N=333) and nine months (N=258) later, participants rated the acceptability of several low carbon policies. A pre-survey assessed the personal ecological norm for saving electricity. Participants with strong personal ecological norms reported generally higher policy acceptability. After environmental framing they also indicated higher acceptability compared to the monetary framing or control group. These results indicate that information campaigns should be designed carefully in order to promote positive spillover effects. Environmental framing of private-sphere behaviour can increase the disposition for further pro-environmental behaviour in the public sphere, e.g. policy acceptability. When appealing to monetary benefits in pro-environmental behaviour, there is a risk of inhibiting positive spillover effects.
•Policy acceptability may be influenced by type of framing and individual factors.•We examined long-term spillover effects in association with type of framing.•Framing (environmental vs. monetary) interacts with personal ecological norms.•For strong personal ecological norms, environmental framing increases acceptability.•Also, strong personal ecological norms increase low carbon policy acceptability.
This study explores the tension between the standard economic theory of preference and nonstandard theories of preference that are motivated by an underlying theory of framing. A simple experiment ...fails to measure a known preference. The divergence of the measured preference from the known preference reflects a mistake, arising from some subjects’ misconception of the game form. We conclude that choice data should not be granted an unqualified interpretation of preference revelation. Mistakes in choices obscured by a possible error at the foundation of the theory of framing can masquerade as having been produced by nonstandard preferences.
A manifesto for predictive conservation Travers, Henry; Selinske, Matthew; Nuno, Ana ...
Biological conservation,
September 2019, 2019-09-00, Volume:
237
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
If efforts to tackle biodiversity loss and its impact on human wellbeing are to be successful, conservation must learn from other fields which use predictive methods to foresee shocks and pre-empt ...their impacts in the face of uncertainty, such as military studies, public health and finance. Despite a long history of using predictive models to understand the dynamics of ecological systems and human disturbance, conservationists do not systematically apply predictive approaches when designing and implementing behavioural interventions. This is an important omission because human behaviour is the underlying cause of current widespread biodiversity loss. Here, we critically assess how predictive approaches can transform the way conservation scientists and practitioners plan for and implement social and behavioural change among people living with wildlife. Our manifesto for predictive conservation recognises that social-ecological systems are dynamic, uncertain and complex, and calls on conservationists to embrace the forward-thinking approach which effective conservation requires.
•Conservation practice relies on being able to understand human behaviour.•Predictive science can inform conservation decision-making and practice.•Effective use of prediction can anticipate problems before they arise.•Predictive approaches can be used to test interventions prior to implementation.•The impact of interventions can be evaluated against predicted performance.
This article synthesizes the large and burgeoning literature on framing to unpack how frames achieve resonance with an audience. The analysis identifies two main resonance types: cognitive, based on ...an appeal to audiences’ beliefs and understandings, and emotional, based on an appeal to audiences’ feelings, passions, and aspirations. For each type, this paper delves into distinct mechanisms, applications, and outcomes to shed light on the complex bases for audiences’ reactions to framing and the factors that can hinder or favour resonance. Applications for this conceptualization of resonance and future venues of research are identified and discussed.
•Local framing increases perceptions of problem severity and support for local policy action.•Benefit framing weakens perceptions of problem severity and support for local policy action.•Local ...framing increases some behavioral intentions to address climate change.•Framing effects vary for different partisan predispositions.
We investigate how different framing of climate change impacts affects public opinion on the issue. Using an experimental design, we examine the influence of frames presenting local versus global climate impacts and frames discussing projected losses versus those also discussing possible benefits of climate change, on individual perceptions of the severity of climate change, behavioral intentions to address climate change, and attitudes toward climate change policies. The results indicate that our impact frames influence public opinion, although the effects sometimes differ based on individuals’ partisan predispositions. Specifically, our study shows that local frames increase perceptions of the severity of the problem and support for local (sub-national) policy action for all subjects, as well as behavioral intentions for subjects who are Independents or Republicans. Presenting subjects with information on the potential benefits and losses of climate change weakens perceptions of problem severity for all subjects at the local and national level, decreases support for local policy action among Democrats, and has no effect on behavioral intentions. Overall, these results are consistent with policy research suggesting that perceptions of local vulnerability are an important factor in the adoption of sub-national climate change policies. The findings also imply that the effectiveness of particular climate change impact frames will vary from one state to another depending on a state's partisan leanings.
Whose conservation? Mace, Georgina M.
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
09/2014, Volume:
345, Issue:
6204
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Changes in the perception and goals of nature conservation require a solid scientific basis
Conservation biology is a mission-driven discipline (
1
) and is therefore subject to both drift and the ...periodic adoption of fads and fashions (
2
). Although many basic conservation principles, conservation organizations, and initiatives of global reach and impact have persisted almost unchanged for decades, the framing and purpose of conservation have shifted (
3
). These shifts mainly relate to how the relationships between people and nature are viewed, with consequences for the science underpinning conservation.
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