Abstract
Public opposition to the siting of telecommunications masts tends to focus on perceived
health risks, yet scientific evidence suggests that mobile handsets may constitute
more of a risk. This paradox is usually explained in terms of cognitive or
communication deficit models that contain an implicit thesis of protest actor irrationality.
Recent authors (e.g. Burgess, 2002, 2004;Taverne, 2005) have, however,
been more explicit in arguing that such protests are an irrational reaction to media
constructed fears and state mismanagement of techno-infrastructure modernization.
Together these approaches form what we call the ‘New Irrational Actor
Model’. Drawing on insights from social movements theory and data from a
12-month case study of the campaign against Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA)
telecommunications masts in north-east Fife, we argue that contrary to the ‘New
Irrational Actor Model’, the anti-mast protesters utilize multi-form modes of substantive and instrumental rational action.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 439-456 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Sociology |
Volume | 41 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2007 |