Risk and culture an essay on the selection of technological and environmental dangers

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Douglas, Mary, Author.

Contributor:

Wildavsky, Aaron B.

Douglas, Mary

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Risk assessment.

Environmental impact analysis.

Technology--Risk assessment.

Technology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (232 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berkeley : University of California Press, 1982

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Can we know the risks we face, now or in the future? No, we cannot; but yes, we must act as if we do. Some dangers are unknown; others are known, but not by us because no one person can know everything. Most people cannot be aware of most dangers at most times. Hence, no one can calculate precisely the total risk to be faced. How, then, do people decide which risks to take and which to ignore? On what basis are certain dangers guarded against and others relegated to secondary status? This book explores how we decide what risks to take and which to ignore, both as individuals and as a culture.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Can We Know The Risks We Face?

I. Risks are Hidden

II. Risks are Selected

III. Scientists Disagree

IV. Assessment is Biased

V. The Center is Complacent

VI. The Border is Alarmed

VII. The Border Fears For Nature

VIII. America Is A Border Country

IX. The Dialogue is Political

Conclusion: Risk is a Collective Construct

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9786612355233

9781282355231

1282355236

9780520907393

0520907396

OCLC:

609849891