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Institutional Theory and Discourse Analysis: an empirical investigation of the rhetoric of Anti Vaccination movement

Project description

Exploring the debate in the anti-vaccination movement

Health debates, including vaccination, have raged across Europe for decades. The EU-funded DISCOURSEVAX project aims to adopt a social constructivism perspective and discourse analysis of both verbal and visual texts to discover how discourse maintains and reinforces institutions. Using the debate on vaccination, the project will offer an original and innovative interpretation of this social phenomenon. The outcomes will be particularly important as the European Commission strives to improve the health of European citizens and to ensure the accessibility, effectiveness and resilience of national health systems.

Objective

DISCOURSEVAX project, by adopting a social constructivism perspective and discourse analysis of both verbal and visual texts (spread through press, media, and academic articles) aims at discovering how discourse maintains and reinforces institutions. By using the debate on vaccination that has been occurring in many European countries, this project is meant to provide both theoretical and empirical contributions to the European strategy. It aims to offer an original and innovative interpretation of this social phenomenon that has been involving organizations, institutions, and citizens. The European Commission, especially through European Commission's Directorate for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) aims to improve the health of their citizens and to ensure the accessibility, effectiveness and resilience of their health systems. Thus, a multimodal discourse analysis will be conducted, together with interviews to experts and key players involved in the debate (e.g. leaders of the Anti-Vaccine movement and field experts such as scientists). A second analysis will be conducted in England, at Cass Business School in London (UK) that hosts leading scholars of discourse analysis in organization studies. The research project, which will last 24 months, will mainly be conducted at the Research Institute for Urban Management and Governance in WU Vienna (Austria), under the supervision of Professor Renate E. Meyer, who is one of the most important expert in the research of multimodality, discourse analysis, and institutions. DISCOURSEVAX results will be disseminated and the action communicated with tailored measures to a wide audience, including the academic community, policy makers and the general public.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2018

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Coordinator

WIRTSCHAFTSUNIVERSITAT WIEN
Net EU contribution
€ 174 167,04
Address
WELTHANDELSPLATZ 1
1020 Wien
Austria
Region
Ostösterreich Wien Wien
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 174 167,04