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Public Projection • Public Projections • Projection Dynamics
 
 
 
 PUBLIC PROJECTION AS A SOCIAL PROCESS  
 
Public projections can be conceptualized as dynamic discursive constructs with social implications. By formulating specific expectations regarding important future events and developments, public projections enable societies to imagine their own possible futures, orient themselves toward these and engage in a public discussion over their meanings and implications for both public policy and individual behavior.
 
 
 
 PUBLIC PROJECTIONS AS DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTS  
 
PROFECI distinguishes between five key components of public projections as discursive constructs. At the center of any projection stands the Predicted State, that is, the substantive content of the projection. Predicted states may be justified by providing specific Anchors, that is, evidence, arguments or other grounds for expecting them to occur. Moreover, predicted states can be qualified both with regard to their estimated Probability, and with regard to their subjective or normative Evaluation. Finally, predicted states may point to specific attitudinal or behavioral Responses suitable to prepare oneself for expected events or actively intervene in their course, trying to help avert or bring about specific outcomes.  

Five components of public projections
 
 
 
 DYNAMICS OF PUBLIC PROJECTION  
 
Public projections are not static, but evolve constantly as they are negotiated in public and interact with the very reality whose future course they aim to predict. To study this dynamic social process, PROFECI focuses on four key aspects.
 
Construction. PROFECI studies how public projections are formulated, justified and qualified, and how these are embedded within political discourse to suggest specific attitudinal or behavioral responses.
 
Negotiation & Co-Creation. PROFECI investigates how numerous actors interact in the collaborative construction and negotiation of public projections, which takes place in the media and is simultaneously shaped by the media.
 
Evolution. PROFECI traces how public projections adjust and evolve over time, both in response to their ongoing renegotiation in public discourse, and in reaction to changes in the underlying social reality.
 
Reception & Implications. PROFECI analyzes how public projections are interpreted and appropriated by the public and how they affect public expectations, attitudes, and possibly public behavior with regard to the expected futures.
Four dynamic processes of public projection