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Social Theories of Risk
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Sheldon Krimsky, Dominic Golding
Book Code: C4168
ISBN: 0-275-94168-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-94168-0
432 pages, figures, tables
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 8/30/1992
List Price: $133.95 (UK Sterling Price: £75.00)
Availability: Out of stock
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Paperback
Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
Subjects: Reviews:
  • This is an excellent introduction to the state of the art in why people identify something as a threat. . . . More comprehensive than any predecessor.
    —Risk Abstracts
  • This is an excellent introduction to the state of the art in why people identify something as a threat . . . more comprehensive than any predecessor. . .
    —Risk Abstracts
  • Endorsement From
    Halina S. Brown

    Associate Professor of ETS and Chairperson

    Clark University
    :     It is a rare book that I pick up and read from cover to cover without loosing interest, and I am pleased to say that Krimsky's and Golding's Social Theories of Risk is among those. This is a unique collection of essays, written in a lucid jargon-free prose and folded together into a coherent whole. Social Theories of Risk should be a required text for graduate students in environmental sciences, engineering, and public health. It should also be read by risk managers who are struggling to simultaneously interpret the science, and to respond to the pressing and legitimate needs of the society.
  • Endorsement From
    Gilbert F. White

    Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center

    University of Colorado, Boulder
    :     Krimsky and Golding provide a fresh and illuminating perspective on the variety of theories and paradigms that together comprise current social studies of risk. The range over disciplines and national origins is broad and provocative.
Description: The social science approach to risk has matured over the past two decades, with distinct paradigms developing in disciplines such as anthropology, economics, geography, psychology, and sociology. Social Theories of Risk traces the intellectual origins and histories of twelve of the established and emerging paradigms from the perspective of their principal proponents. Each contributor examines the underlying assumptions of his or her paradigm, the foundational issue it seeks to address, and likely future directions of research. Taken together, these essays illustrate that the principal achievement of social sciences has been to broaden the debate about risk beyond the narrow, technical considerations of engineers and the physical and life sciences. The authors conclude that expert knowledge is not value-free, that public perceptions of and attitudes toward risks vary according to a wide range of social, psychological, and cultural variables, and that public opposition to particular risks cannot be assuaged by technical fixes. The essays reveal the circuitous paths that lead people to the study of risk, highlight how these paths have crossed and discuss some of the seminal influences on individuals and the field in general.

Social Theories of Risk presents a broad, retrospective view of the state of the theory in the social sciences, written by many who have been on the cutting edge of risk research since its early days. The book includes both established and novel perspectives that address the theoretical foundations of the field and reflect what we know about risk as a psychological, social, and cultural phenomenon. The collection of papers not only informs us of the tributary ideas that spawned the social studies of risk, but also how the field has matured. The biographical flavor of the essays provides fascinating reading for established members of the field, and a valuable entreé for newcomers. It is an ideal college text for courses in the history of science, environmental policy, and science, technology, and society, as well as the burgeoning array of more specialized courses in risk assessment and management.
Table of Contents:
  • Preface
  • Conceptual and Historical Perspectives
  • The Role of Theory in Risk Studies by Sheldon Krimsky
  • A Social and Programmatic History of Risk Research by Dominic Golding
  • Concepts of Risk: A Classification by Ortwin Renn
  • Social, Cultural, and Psychological Paradigms
  • Cultural Theory and Risk Analysis by Steve Rayner
  • Perceptions of Risk: Reflections on the Psychometric Paradigm by Paul Slovic
  • The Social Amplification of Risk: Progress in Developing an Integrative Framework by Roger Kasperson
  • The Social Arena Concept of Risk Debates by Ortwin Renn
  • Social Drama and Risk Evaluation by Ingar Palmlund
  • The Role of Science in Risk Assessment
  • Public Wisdom, Expert Fallibility: Toward a Conceptual Theory of Risk by Harry J. Otway
  • Heuristics, Biases, and the Not-so-general Publics: Expertise and Error in the Assessment of Risks by William R. Freudenburg
  • Three Types of Risk Assessment and the Emergence of Post-normal Science by Silvio O. Funtowicz and Jerome R. Ravetz
  • Risk and Social Learning: Reification to Engagement by Brian Wynne
  • Policy and Decision Frameworks
  • A Conceptual Framework for Managing Low-Probability Events by Howard Kunreuther
  • Expert Knowledge and Public Values in Risk Management: The Role of Decision Analysis by Detlof von Winterfeldt
  • Inconsistent Values in Risk Management by Chris Whipple
  • Reflections by Sheldon Krimsky and Dominic Golding
  • Bibliography
  • Index
LC Card Number: 91-47739
LCC Class: HM201
Dewey Class: 302
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