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The public perception of risk

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

J. Lenihan
J. Lenihan
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing Studies, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland
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Synopsis

If technology aims to direct natural forces for the use and convenience of man, the inconvenience or worse arising from the concomitant hazards requires attention. The quantitative assessment of risk practised by the actuary and engineer differs substantially from the public perception of the same risks. In several longestablished activities there is a remarkably stable, and presumably socially tolerated, accident rate. In newer and more extensively hazardous activities political control, social toleration and public perception of risk interdepend in ways which require further exploration.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 92 , Issue 1-2: Scotland's Energy Future , 1987 , pp. 155 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1987

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