SECONOMICS - Socio-Economics meets Security

Issued by: Evropská komise, FP7-SEC-2011-285223

Time of researching the project: 2012 – 2015, 36 months (1. 2. 2012 –31.1.2015)

Coordinator of the project: Professor Dr. Fabio Massacci, University Trento, Italy

Project coordinator for the Czech part: PhDr. Zdenka Mansfeldová, CSc.

Members of the Czech research team: PhDr. Zdenka Mansfeldová, CSc., PhDr. Petra Guasti, Ph.D., Mgr. Tomáš Lacina, Mgr. Daniela Gavrecká, Bc. Pavla Vamberová

Summary

The goal of SOCONOMICS is to synthesize sociological, economic and security science into a usable, concrete, actionable knowledge for policy makers and social planners responsible for citizen's security. The project is driven by industry case studies and will specifically identify security threats in transport (air, urban and super urban metro) and critical infrastructure. The research focus places social science and political science at the heart of the modelling framework. In particular the project seeks to explore the challenges of pan European coordination in security outcomes for transport and critical infrastructure. The contribution of the project will be in developing and furthering the state of the art in modelling security problems in a technological and socio economic context and then applying state of the art risk assessments and analysis of the social context to develop optimal policies.

More information see: http://www.seconomicsproject.eu/

Benefits of the project

The outputs are twofold: first assessment of the future and emerging threats in the identified areas with rigorous modelling of the optimal mechanisms for mitigation within the policy domain. Second, and more crucially, a generalized policy "toolkit" that will assist decision makers in identifying and reacting coherently (within the appropriate social context) to future and emerging threats that may arrive long after the project has been completed. The lasting impact of SECONOMICS will be a methodological revolution driven by a common, but diverse set, of modelling tools and utilizing recent advances in modelling technology that seamlessly transverses the social, economic and technological domains.

Work Package 4 - Security and Society

The department of Political sociology of ISAS CR is responsible for the Work Package No. 4. Security and Society. The WP4 has a significant synergic effect for the project. It formulates innovative tools for the assessment of human behaviour interference, coping with crises situations and for global advances of safety culture at all levels (individuals, groups and the society local, regional, national and supranational). In short it studies citizen’s reaction to the various risks and their acceptance of proposed security measures – linking risk and security in assessing their mutual trade-offs for citizens.

Methodology

This task will be achieved by employing a range of research methods and an empirical study of various target groups. Combining quantitative and qualitative methods, the WP4 will identify and use existing secondary international data sources (Eurobarometer, World Value Survey, European Value Survey), in combination with results of national quantitative surveys, analysis of documents and secondary analysis of existing studies. Supplementary methods such as focus groups and semi-structured interviews with actors (policy-makers, stake-holders and consumers) will be employed, as well as case study analysis. Analysis of communication channels and communication patterns between policy makers, stakeholders and citizens in the area of security risk and identification of effective channels and patterns of communication and risk prevention for identified target groups will be involved. Further will be employed comparative analysis of discourses and justification of security and risk in domestic and international media and analysis of the role and impact of the media on the perception and attitudes to risk. Next task will be the analysis of the public engagement and the role of civil initiatives in communication between the policy makers and citizens in process of risk management.

SECONOMICS Newsletter

The first issue of SECONOMICS Newsletter, whose aim it is to introduce you to this broad cross disciplinary 7FP project. The SECONOMICS project aims to provide a socio-economic rationale to security policy making. This newsletter is dedicated to one of the project’s key activities in 2013 - the Prague Graduate School in Comparative Qualitative Analysis. 

The first issue of SECONOMICS Newsletter: Issue 1 - Sep 2013

Prague SECONOMICS Discussion Papers

2012/1: Risk Perception Research: Literature and Data Review by Kateřina Vráblíková (ISBN 978-80-7330-225-2, Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, November 2012)

2013/1: Better Naked than Dead. Communicating Security.  Analysis of Italian Perception of Security Related Issues by Martina de Gramatica (ISBN 978-80-7330-238-2, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, October 2013

2013/2: Surveillance Cameras Everywhere You Look? The portrayal of the Security vs. Privacy Dilemma in the Slovak Press, 2010 - 2013 by Nikola Belakova (ISBN 978-80-7330-237-5, Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, October 2013)  

2013/3: Poland – a Surveillance Eldorado? Security, Privacy, and New Technologies in Polish Leading Newspapers (2010-2013) by Aleksandra Sojka (ISBN 978-80-7330-238-2, Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, October 2013) 

Editorial Board: Zdenka Mansfeldová, Petra Guasti, Jessie Hronešová

Copy-editing: Jessie Hronešová

Published by: Institute of Sociology AS CR, Jilská 1, 110 00 Prague 1

Contact: Press and Publications Department, Institute of Sociology  AS CR, Jilská 1, 110 00 Prague 1, tel.: 210 310 217, e-mail: prodej@soc.cas.cz

Publications have been completed with funding from project SECONOMICS: Socio economics meets security, an Integrated Project supported by the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research, theme SEC-2011.6.4-1 SEC-2011.7.5-2 ICT.