Perceptions of Technological Risks and Benefits

Perceptions of Technological Risks and Benefits PDF

Author: Leroy C. Gould

Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation

Published: 1988-08-16

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 1610442555

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The election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 was said to herald a new mood of opposition to government regulation. But at the same time, large and vocal segments of the population have been demanding that corporations and regulatory agencies address public concerns about technological safety. What do we really know about people's perceptions of technological risk and their judgments about appropriate levels of technological regulation? Perceptions of Technological Risks and Benefits analyzes the results of a unique body of survey data—the only large-scale, representative survey of public attitudes about risk management in such technologies as nuclear power, handguns, auto travel, and industrial chemicals. The findings demonstrate that public judgments are not simply anti-technological or irrational, but rather the product of a complex set of factors that includes an awareness of benefits as well as a sensitivity to the "qualitative" aspects of risk (how catastrophic, dreaded, or poorly understood a hazard seems to be). This volume offers striking evidence that whatever Americans may think about government regulation in general, they are remarkably consistent in desiring stricter regulation of technological safety. These conclusions suggest that the current trend away from regulation of technology reflects a less than perfect reading of public sentiment.

The Perception of Risk

The Perception of Risk PDF

Author: Paul Slovic

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-10-06

Total Pages: 563

ISBN-13: 1317341112

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The concept of risk is an outgrowth of our society's great concern about coping with the dangers of modern life. The Perception of Risk brings together the work of Paul Slovic, one of the world's leading analysts of risk, risk perception and risk management, to examine the gap between expert views of risk and public perceptions. Ordered chronologically, it allows the reader to see the evolution of our understanding of such perceptions, from early studies identifying public misconceptions of risk to recent work that recognizes the importance and legitimacy of equity, trust, power and other value-laden issues underlying public concern.

Societal Risk Assessment

Societal Risk Assessment PDF

Author: Richard C. Schwing

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2013-12-19

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 148990445X

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This volume constitutes the papers and discussions from a symposium on "Societal Risk Assessment: How Safe is Safe Enough?" held at the General Motors Research Laboratories on October 8-9, 1979. This symposium was the twenty-fourth in an annual series sponsored by the Research Laboratories. Initi ated in 1957, these symposia have as their objective the promotion of the interchange ofknowledge among specialists from many allied disciplines in rapidly developing or changing areas ofscience or technology. Attendees characteristically represent the academic, government, and industrial institutions that are noted for their ongoing activities in the particular area of interest. The objective of this symposium was to develop a balanced view of the current status of societal risk assessment's role in the public policy process and then to establish, if possible, future directions of research. Accordingly, the symposium was structured in two dimensions; certainty versus uncertainty and the subjective versus the objective. Furthermore, people representing extremely diverse discip lines concerned with the perception, quantification, and abatement of risks were brought together to provide an environment that stimulated the exchange of ideas and experiences. The keys to this exchange were the invited papers, arranged into four symposium sessions. These papers appear in this volume in the order of their presentation. The discussions that in turn followed from the papers are also included.

Risk Evaluation and Management

Risk Evaluation and Management PDF

Author: V.T. Covello

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 543

ISBN-13: 1461321034

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Public attention has focused in recent years on an array of technological risks to health, safety, and the environment. At the same time, responsibilities for technological risk as sessment, evaluation, and management have grown in both the public and private sectors because of a perceived need to anticipate, prevent, or reduce the risks inherent in modem society. In attempting to meet these responsibilities, legislative, judicial, regulatory, and private sector institutions have had to deal with the extraordinarily complex problems of assessing and balancing risks, costs, and benefits. The need to help society cope with technological risks has given rise to a new intellectual endeavor: the social and behavioral study of issues in risk evaluation and risk management. The scope and complexity of these analyses require a high degree of cooperative effort on the part of specialists from many fields. Analyzing social and behavioral issues requires the efforts of political scientists, sociologists, decision analysts, management scientists, econ omists, psychologists, philosophers, and policy analysts, among others.

Technological Risk Assessment

Technological Risk Assessment PDF

Author: P.F. Ricci

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2012-12-06

Total Pages: 369

ISBN-13: 9400961553

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Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Technological Risk Assessment, Erice, Sicily, Italy, May 20-31, 1981

Consumer-Led Food Product Development

Consumer-Led Food Product Development PDF

Author: Hal MacFie

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2007-06-30

Total Pages: 632

ISBN-13: 1845693388

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Consumer acceptance is the key to successful food products. It is vital, therefore, that product development strategies are consumer-led for food products to be well received. Consumer-led food product development presents an up-to-date review of the latest scientific research and methods in this important area. Part one gives the reader a general introduction to factors affecting consumer food choice. Chapters explore issues such as sensory perception, culture, ethics, attitudes towards innovation and psychobiological mechanisms. Part two analyses methods to understand consumers’ food-related attitudes and how these methods can be effectively used, covering techniques such as means-end chains and the food-related lifestyle approach. The final part of the book addresses a wide variety of methods used for consumer-led product development. Opportunity identification, concept development, difference testing and preference trials are discussed, as well as the use of techniques such as just-about-right scales and partial least squares methods. Written by an array of international experts, Consumer-led food product development is an essential reference for product developers in the food industry. Introduces the factors affecting consumer food choice Explores issues such as sensory perception, culture and ethics Analyses methods to understand food related attitudes

Biotechnology, 1996-2000

Biotechnology, 1996-2000 PDF

Author: George Gaskell

Publisher: University of Michigan Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9781900747431

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Throughout the period 1996-2000, the International Research Group on Biotechnology and the Public has continued its systematic research in investigating the relations between policy making, media coverage and public perceptions. This book presents a timely and detailed mapping of the public reception of biotechnology in 14 European countries, the USA and Canada. It includes time-series analysis of public attitudes interpreted in the context of media coverage and policy making. Since 1996, biotechnology has been the focus of wide-ranging controversies and has achieved enormous public prominence. There have been dramatic developments, such as the commercial exploitation of genetically-modified (GM) crops and foods, which resulted in supermarket boycotts of GM ingredients and conflicts among European Union institutions and member states. Contrasting views on the risks associated with GM foods have attracted the interest of the US government and World Trade Organization, leading to threats of a transatlantic trade war. In the mass media, coverage of biotechnology moved from scientific articles to editorials, news and political sections. Will be of interest to social scientists, researchers, industrialists, activists and policy makers.