What's Wrong America?
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Authors
Smith, Leah
Issue Date
1986
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Have you ever considered what might happen to you? Do
you know what risks pervade your daily life? Are they risks
taken voluntarily or involuntarily? Or perhaps you feel risk
only affects some other poor unexpecting person and not you?
There are many technical experts working presently on
assessing what risks are acceptable to our society; but the
bottom line obviously, is that no risk will be considered
acceptable to those affected.
In this paper I will be presenting current risk theories
and ideologies expounded by: William W. Lowrance, Charles
Perrow, Christoph Hohenemser, Roger E. Kasperson, Robert W.
Kates, Paul Slovic, Baruch Fischoff, Sarah Lichtenstein, and
William D. Rowe. Included in their ideas are definitions of
risk and safety, structures for classifying and rating risks,
descriptions on public perception of risks and corresponding
validity of their judgments. Underlying my research on this
subject from a lay person's point of view, was an event which
occurred in December of 1984. On December 3, 1984, a lethal
cloud of methyl isocyanate escaped from a pesticide production
plant killing outright, approximately 2,000 people. World
attention, as was mine, was focused on the event and its
catastrophic consequences. My attention was sparked too
because this event occurred in Bhopal, India, and I was
intrigued by our American press releases which became very
inward searching without telling us anything about India, its
people, or its culture.
If you are not a current K College student, faculty, or staff member, email dspace@kzoo.edu to request access to this SIP.
If you are not a current K College student, faculty, or staff member, email dspace@kzoo.edu to request access to this SIP.
Description
84 p.
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