DISSERTATIONPRESENTATION

Andreea Glavan - MA PR

‘As long as US is a society where large numbers of people live in constant fear of some sort of evil Other, gun control will not happen’ Anonymous

OverviewTopic

Reasons and Purpose

Research Question

Hypothesis and ToR

Literature Search

Secondary Research

Methodology

Primary Research – SWOT

Speculative Conclusion

Timetable

Bibliography

TopicComparing and contrasting traits of PR’s use of moral panic in

regards to school shooting tragedies in gun control debates between UK & US.

PR Moral Panic Gun control

Reasons and Purpose

Contribution to Knowledge

• Interesting• Timely• Academically valuable• Relevant to PR

practice• Leading to an original

contribution to area

Personal

• Broad understanding of context

• Aware of issues in the area of study

• Making a difference

Adapted from Dr. Channell, 2008, p 331

Research Question It predetermines the general subject of enquiry

Will be narrowed down if necessary as informed by salient feature of phenomenon studied through Grounded Theory Method.

(Strauss, 1987; Strauss & Corbin, 1990)

How can PR help advance the gun control debate in US through use of isolated events following the model employed by UK, considering the cultural differences?

HypothesisA hypothesis in grounded theory research is “a provisional

answer to a question about conceptual relationships” (Strauss, 1987, p.21).

The salient stakeholders and desensitization of the US population in relation to gun crimes create barriers for PR using isolated events, such as school shootings, to create moral panic in America and advance the country’s gun control debates.

Terms of ReferenceTo consider the theoretical paradigms of culture, perceptions

on self-defense, stakeholder salience and moral panic as a PR tactic, comparing UK and US.

To explore differences driven by theoretical coding between reactions of media, politicians and citizens in relation to Dunblane (UK) and Sandy Hook (US) school shooting.

To identify influences, conditions, relationships and functions through documentary evidence ofschool related gun crime in the UK and US.

Terms of ReferenceTo conduct primary research for axial coding through media

framing, focus groups and memo analysis relating to Dunblane and Sandy Hook school shootings.

To formulate and evaluate a grounded theory that explores PR’s ability to advance gun control debates in US through knowledge about stakeholder salience, cultural barriers and use of moral panic, based on variations to the UK model.

Literature searchOverview on topic

Key ideas & concepts – Key authors Cultural differences and self-defense (UK vs US) – Brake and Hale

(1992); Meyer (2003); Bauman (2004); Squires (2006) Historical development of gun control debates in UK and US –

Olson & Kopel (1998); Squires (2000); Bronitt et al. (2012) Moral panic as PR tactic –Goode & Ben-Yehuda (1994); Fritz &

Altheide (1997); Cohen (2011) Stakeholders - Donaldson & Preston (1995); Mitchell, Agle & Wood

(1997); Friedman &Miles (2002); Phillips (2003)

Literature search Overview on topic

Key arguments Culture: UK- prevalence of public safety as a community effort vs. US –

individualistic right to resist aggression Following Dunblane, media represented gun owners as : “sexually inadequate &

mentally ill” (Olson & Kopel, p. 431) Lott (1998) the unarmed are the problem in US; gun ownership associated with

tradition, values & personal attributes (moral courage, toughness, confidence, freedom)

Gun control debates UK – between 1880’s and 1980’s restrictive licensing system = decreased

political influence of gun owners - 4% of households (Kopel, 1992) US – half of total households have a gun = too many voters would be unhappy -

National Rifle Association (NRA) has strong political influence (Sugarmann, 1992)

Literature Search Moral panic as drive for legal and social changes Goode & Ben-

Yehuda (1994); Cohen (2011)

Adapted from Burns & Crawford, 1999

It generates a temptation to reach for simple, radical solutions to restore order in society (Schiraldi, 1998).

When everything works togetherUK

A change of game across the AtlanticUS

Secondary ResearchDocumentary EvidenceGunPolicy.org – allows comparisons

UNDOC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) – historic and recent data on crime

National Vital Statistics Reports, 2010 – CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Thomson Reuters

Methodology

Governed by utilitarianism philosophy

Interpretivist/constructivist paradigm

Advantages of using grounded theory

Disadvantages The topic (broad) PR as a discipline looking for immediate solutions The academic rigours imposed for a postgraduate dissertation

Methodology Grounded Theory Approach: Strauss’ and Corbin’s analytical method

(1990)

Methods used:

Cross-Case Study Research

Media Framing – Content Analysis

Focus Group

Primary research

STRENGTHS• Innovative• Relevant• 2 case study – well-known• MA level – Grounded Theory Method (combines case study, focus group & media framing)• Many connexions in US

WEAKNESSES• Time-frame available• Sensitive nature of subject• Not in US over summer• Dunblane shooting not a recent event• Difficulty levels posed by coding in GTM

OPPORTUNITIES• Extensive media coverage of 2 case studies• US gun control debate – HOT issue• GTM is subject to debates as a qualitative method

THREATS• Ethical implications of using human subjects• Depending on others for attendance to focus groups, etc.• Conflicting results from theory construction process

Positive Negative

Inte

rnal

Exte

rnal

Speculative ConclusionLet us go back to the issue of stakeholders and barriers for

Moral Panic as directed by PR

TimetableTask Due Date

Methodology Section, Focus Group plan (Ethics Form) 25th of June

Table of Contents & Introduction w/c 15th of July

Literature Review w/c 29th of July

Results and Discussion w/c 12th August

Draft Version of Final Dissertation Prior to 16th of August

Final Feedback w/c 19th of August

HAND-IN 4th of September

References Bauman, Z. (2004). Wasted lives: modernity and its outcasts. Oxford: Polity ;.

Brake, M., & Hale, C. (1992). Public order and private lives: the politics of law and order. London: Routledge.

Bronitt, S., Gani, M., & Saskia, H. (2012). Shooting to Kill Socio-Legal Perspectives on the Use of Lethal Force. Oxford: Hart Publishing Limited.

Burns, R., & Crawford, C. (1999). School shootings, the media, and public fear: Ingredients for a moral panic. Crime, Law and Social Change, 32(2), 147-168.

Channell, J. D. (2008). Writing your thesis. The postgraduate's companion (pp. 329-349). Los Angeles: SAGE.

Fritz, N. J., & Altheide, D. L. (1987). The mass media and the social construction of the missing children problem. The Sociological Quarterly, 28, 473-492.

Goode, E., & Ben-Yehuda, N. (1994). Moral panics: the social construction of deviance. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.

Katz, J. (1988). Seductions of crime. New York: Basic Books.

Kopel, D. B. (1992). Gun control in Great Britain: saving lives or constricting liberty?. Chicago, Ill.: Univ. of Illinois at Chicago.

London Borough of Hackney, C. D. (2004). Guns, knives and gangs problem solving day: Summary report. London: Hackney Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.

Lott, J. R. (1998). More guns, less crime: understanding crime and gun-control laws. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Meyer, L. H. (2003). Rights, culture and the law: themes from the legal and political philosophy of Joseph Raz. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Olson, J. E., & Kopel, D. B. (1998). All the Way Down the Slippery Slope: Gun Prohibition in England and Some Lessons for Civil Liberties in America. Hamline Law Review, 22, 399-465.

Squires, P. (2000). Gun culture or gun control? firearms, violence and society. London: Routledge.

Squires, P. (2006). Beyond July 4th?: Critical Reflections On The Self-Defence Debate From A British Perspective. Journal of Law, Economics and Policy, 2, 221-264.

Strauss, A. L. (1987). Qualitative analysis for social scientists. Cambridge Cambridge University Press.

Strauss, A. L., & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: grounded theory procedures and techniques. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage Publications.

Sugarmann, J. (1992). National Rifle Association: money, firepower & fear. Washington, D.C.: National Press Books

Thank you

Any questions?