Minding the machines : preventing technological disasters / William M. Evan, Mark Manion.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Evan, William M.

Contributor:

Manion, Mark.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

System failures (Engineering).

Disasters.

Physical Description:

xxiv, 485 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Upper Saddle River, NJ : Prentice Hall, 2002.

Summary:

A provocative and authoritative guide to understanding the questions surrounding technology disasters that occur, with a blueprint for the prevention of future disasters, this book looks at over three dozen case studies and the lessons learned from them.

Contents:

Dangerous Technologies 4

Selected Examples of Technological Disasters 5

Causes of Technological Disasters 17

Strategies for Prevention 20

Who Should be Concerned? 22

Chapter 2 Natural and Human-Made Disasters 29

Natural Disasters 30

Human-Made Disasters 37

Comparison of Natural and Human-Made Disasters 47

Part II The Prevalence of Technological Disasters 57

Chapter 3 The Year 2000 (Y2K) Debacle: An Ironic Failure of Information Technology 59

The Overall Impact of Y2K 62

Anticipation of the Problem 68

The Causes of the Problem 69

The Scope of Y2K 73

The Costs of Y2K 76

Chapter 4 Theories of Technological Disasters 81

A Systems Approach to Technological Disasters 81

Feedback Mechanisms and the Design of Engineering Systems 84

Perrow's Theory of "Normal Accidents" (NAT) 86

High Reliability Theory (HRT) 96

A Sociotechnical Systems Analysis of Technological Disasters 100

Chapter 5 The Root Causes of Technological Disasters 107

Technical Design Factors 108

Human Factors 118

Organizational Systems Factors 126

Socio-Cultural Factors 132

Terrorism in the Nuclear-Information Age 138

Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism 148

Part III Technological Disasters Since the Industrial Revolution 161

Chapter 6 Three Industrial Revolutions and Beyond 163

Three Technological Revolutions 164

The First Industrial Revolution 167

The Second Industrial Revolution 171

The Third Industrial Revolution 175

A Fourth Industrial Revolution? 186

Chapter 7 A Matrix of Technological Disasters 201

Testing Three Hypotheses about the History of Technological Disasters 203

Part IV Analysis of Case Studies of Technological Disasters 207

Chapter 8 Twelve Exemplary Case Studies of Technological Disasters 209

1. USS Princeton Explosion 212

2. Titanic Sinking 219

3. Aisgill Train Wreck 223

4. Johnstown Flood 230

5. DC-10 Crash 236

6. Tenerife Runway Collision 242

7. Santa Barbara Oil Spill 251

8. Love Canal Toxic Waste Contamination 259

9. Apollo I Fire 264

10. Three Mile Island 269

11. Challenger Disaster 279

12. Bhopal Poison Gas Release 289

Chapter 9 Lessons Learned From the Case Studies of Technological Disasters 298

Specific Lessons Learned 298

Part V Strategic Responses to Technological Disasters 315

Chapter 10 The Responsibilities of Engineers and Scientists 317

The Role of Engineering Schools 318

The Role of Engineering Societies 324

The Role of Science and Scientists 332

Chapter 11 The Role of Corporations in the Management of Technological Disasters 346

Corporate Management versus Mismanagement 346

Case Studies in Crisis Management 348

Crisis Management Theory 362

Chapter 12 The Role of the Legal System in Technology Policy Decisions 381

The Executive Branch 381

The Legislative Branch 386

The Administrative Branch 389

The Judicial Branch 392

The Legal Profession 396

Relative Effectiveness of U.S. Legal Subsystems in Technology Policy Decisions 400

Chapter 13 Assessing the Risks of Technology 411

Probabilistic Risk Assessment 412

Risk-Cost-Benefit Analysis 420

Technology Assessment 427

Chapter 14 Technology Decisions and the Democratic Process 432

Technocratic versus Democratic Assessments of Risk 432

Participatory Technology 438

Mechanisms for Citizen Participation 444

Toward an Alliance of Citizens' Organizations 448.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 463-467) and index.

ISBN:

0130656461

OCLC:

48140683