| Books
on Risks
in Everyday Life |
|
| 2004 |
|
| The Aesthetics of Everyday Life |
| by Andrew Light and Jonathan Smith; February
2005; ISBN 0231135033 |
| As developed by Henri Lefebvre and other
theorists of modernity, the concept of everyday life has proven an
indispensible instrument for the analysis of contemporary culture and
society. The essays in this richly varied collection build upon this vital
intellectual tradition by demonstrating the centrality of aesthetic
experience to the diverse modalities of the quotidian. Exploring
landscape, architecture, cinema, sports, weather, and food, the
contributors to this volume imaginatively and provocatively extend an
older paradigm into the present and thereby confirm its relevance to the
intellectual debates of the twenty-first century in which questions of
place and experience prominently figure. Philosophers, environmentalists,
and scholars across the humanities and social sciences are certain to
welcome the appearance of this book and to engage with its arguments
vigorously and enthusiastically. |
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|
|
| Better Basics for the Home:
Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living |
| by Annie Berthold-Bond; May
2004; ISBN 1579549373 |
| This book represents the culmination of the
author's search for a more sustainable lifestyle. Taking her cue from an
earlier time, she offers more than 800 simple and practical alternatives
to common household toxins, covering everything from skin care to
gardening. And the good news is that adopting her suggestions and formulas
isn't hard at all. |
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from Amazon |
|
|
| Coping With Risk in Agriculture |
| by J. B. Hardaker (Editor);
August 2004; ISBN 0851998313 |
| This book introduces the
nature of agricultural decision making under uncertainty and explores the
concept of rational choice and its foundations in theories of probability
and risk preference. It also describes methods for the analysis of risky
decisions that can be used in agriculture and details the preparation of
plans for risk management, offering practical examples. |
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from Amazon |
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|
| Effective Maintenance
Management: Risk and Reliability Strategies for Optimizing Performance |
| by V. Narayan; March 2004;
ISBN 0831131780 |
| Writing in a language and
style that engineers, managers, and supervisors alike can understand and
easily apply, the author, a mechanical engineer, examines the role of
maintenance in minimizing the risk of safety and environmental incidents,
adverse publicity, and loss of profitability, and describes risk reduction
tools and explains their applicability to specific situations. He details
a risk reduction model that links maintenance to risk, and provides a
table of fixed format codes that can be adapted for use in most
maintenance management systems. Chapter previews and summaries, a
glossary, and a list of acronyms are included. |
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from Amazon |
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|
| Evaluation of Fire Safety |
| by D. Rasbash, G. Ramachandran, B. Kandola, J.
Watts, and M. Law; April 2004; ISBN 0471493821 |
| Fire safety is a major concern in many
industries, particularly as there have been significant increases in
recent years in the quantities of hazardous materials in process, storage
or transport. Plants are becoming larger and are often situated in or
close to densely populated areas, and the hazards are continually
highlighted with incidents such as the fires and explosions at the Piper
Alpha oil and gas platform, and the Enschede firework factory. As a
result, greater attention than ever before is now being given to the
evaluation and control of these hazards.
In a comprehensive treatment of the subject unavailable elsewhere, this
book describes in detail the applications of hazard and risk analysis to
fire safety, going on to develop and apply quantification methods. It also
gives an explanation in quantitative terms of improvements in fire safety
in association with the costs that are expended in their achievement.
Furthermore, a quantitative approach is applied to major fire and
explosion disasters to demonstrate crucial faults and events. |
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from Amazon |
|
|
| Rural Poverty, Risk and
Development |
| by Marcel Fafchamps;
February 2004; ISBN 1843764369 |
| Throughout their lifetime,
men and women are subject to a wide variety of risks, such as illness,
accident, death, or less directly, unemployment, crop failure, loss of
property, disability, business failure, and skill obsolescence. This
book investigates the relationships between rural poverty, risk, and
development. Building upon the author’s work in the area, it summarizes
the contributions of recent theoretical and empirical work to our
understanding of how risk affects rural poverty levels in developing
countries. In particular the book examines what we do and do not know
about risk coping strategies among today’s poor rural societies. Ways in
which these strategies may be re-examined and improved by governments and
international organizations are proposed. |
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from Amazon |
|
|
| 2003 |
| The
Survival Guide: What to Do in a Biological, Chemical, or Nuclear Emergency |
| by Angelo Acquista; Random House (Paper); March
11, 2003; ISBN 0812969545 |
| The New York City Mayor’s Office of Emergency
Management medical director has written a step-by-step guide to protecting
yourself and your family in large-scale emergencies. Using straightforward
language with easy-to-understand instructions, Acquista defuses terrorism
anxiety by providing essential information about the most likely nuclear,
biological, and chemical threats, such as what each is, what it does, how
to prepare now, and how to response in an emergency. |
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from Amazon |
|
| 2002 |
| Fear
Less: Real Truth About Risk, Safety, and Security in a Time of Terrorism |
| by Gavin de Becker; January
2002; ISBN 0316085960 |
| This book, by an expert on
predicting and managing
violent behavior, puts into perspective fear
that is related to the events of September 11, 2001. It addresses issues
such as air travel safety, the risk of biological or chemical attack, our
government's ability to detect and prevent terrorist acts, talking with
children about terrorism, reducing fear and worry, and an individual's
ability to reduce terrorism. |
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from Amazon |
|
| RISK:
A Practical Guide for Deciding What's Really Safe and What's Really
Dangerous in the World Around You |
| by David Ropeik and George Gray; October 2002; ISBN
0618143726 |
| Authors David Ropeik and George Gray of the
Harvard School of Public Health explain the hazards of 50 public health
risks that generate public concern, describe the range of consequences
from and exposures to those hazards, and identify how people can reduce
their risk. A full description of their book, including an audio file of
an interview with Ropeik, is available at http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/risk/. |
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from Amazon |
|
| The
Age of Terror: America and the World After September 11 |
| edited by Strobe Talbott and Nayan Chanda; January
2002; ISBN 0465083560 |
| In this book, which was edited by former U.S.
Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott and Nayan Chanda, both of Yale
University's Center for the Study of Globalization, six Yale University
scholars joined by two other leading scholars in international relations,
security, and science analyze the implications of September 11 in America
and beyond. The authors write about Islamic resurgence, from defiance to
violence; what constitutes security and how to ensure it; the economic
side of America's resolve to fight terrorism in light of its status as
sole superpower; the need for a grand new strategy, now that the world has
seen what comes after the Cold War; the complex political and cultural
origins of the Middle East conflict and the challenges posed to any
diplomatic resolution; historical precedents and implications of these
events for the world's only remaining superpower; the larger danger to
which democracy, civil society, human rights and the rule of law will fall
victim in the campaign against terrorism; and the organizational and
technical challenges to science and medicine in providing prompt and
useful strategies for responses to the threats. See full
press release. |
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from Amazon |
|
| 2001 |
| Perception of Risk, The |
| by Paul Slovic; January 2001; ISBN 1853835285 |
| This book describes the gap between expert views and public perception of
risk. It offers new methods of risk perception, and the implications for regulation and public policy are discussed. Topics covered include:
societal risk taking, rating risks, facts and fears, perceived risk, and intuitive toxicology. |
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from Amazon |
|
| Risk/Benefit
Analysis - Second Edition |
| by
Richard
Wilson and Edmund A. C. Crouch; Harvard University Press; October 2001; ISBN
0674005295 |
| As the average human lifespan has increased
from 45 years, a century ago, to 77 years through remarkable progress in
public health and safety, the improvement has come with a demand for
greater efforts to improve both life expectancy and the quality of life.
The new edition of this book revises, expands, and illustrates in detail
the first, published in 1982, which was a pioneer in the development of
logical, yet simple, analytic tools for discussion of the risks that we
all face. |
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from Amazon |
|
| 2000 |
| Cross-Cultural Risk Perception - A Survey of Empirical Studies |
| edited by Ortwin Renn and Bernd Rohrmann; Kluwer Academic Pub.;
February 2000; ISBN 0792377478 |
| This book demonstrates the richness and wealth of theoretical insights
and practical information that risk perception studies can offer to
policy makers, risk experts, and interested parties. The book begins
with an extended introduction summarizing the state of the art in risk
perception research and core issues of cross-cultural comparisons. The
main body of the book consists of four cross-cultural studies on public
attitudes towards risk in different countries, including the United
States, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Sweden, Bulgaria,
Romania, Japan, and China. The last chapter critically discusses the
main findings from these studies and proposes a framework for
understanding and investigating cross-cultural risk perception. Finally,
implications for communication, regulation and management are outlined.
The two editors, sociologist Ortwin Renn (Center of Technology
Assessment, Germany) and psychologist Bernd Rohrmann (University of
Melbourne, Australia), have been engaged in risk research for the last
three decades. They both have written extensively on this subject and
provided new empirical and theoretical insights into the growing body of
international risk perception research. |
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|
| Life's Adventure:
Virtual Risk in a Real World |
| by Roger Bate; August 2000; Butterworth -
Heinemann; ISBN 0750646799 |
| In Life's Adventure:
Virtual Risk in a Real World, author Roger Bate (PhD, Cambridge
University) critically assesses the way families, politicians, and the
media react to risks in everyday life. |
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|
| Understanding Aviation Safety Data: Using the Internet and Other Sources
to Analyze Air Travel Risk |
| by Todd Curtis; July 2000; ISBN 0768006023 |
| The book is a practical instruction manual for obtaining and analyzing
aviation safety data from the Internet, libraries, the U.S. government, and other sources that are open to the public. In addition to providing
a systematic method for addressing aviation safety related questions, the book also provides numerous examples of questions that were
addressed with this method using data from both the World Wide Web and traditional sources of aviation data. |
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|
| 1999 |
| The
Culture of Fear : Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things |
| by Barry Glassner; April
1999; ISBN 0465014895 |
Americans are afraid of many things that shouldn't frighten them, writes Barry Glassner in this book devoted to exploding conventional wisdom. Thanks to opportunistic politicians, single-minded advocacy groups, and unscrupulous TV "newsmagazines," people must unlearn their many misperceptions about the world around them. The youth homicide rate, for instance, has dropped by as much as 30 percent in recent years, says
Glassner--and up to three times as many people are struck dead by lightening than die by violence in schools. "False and overdrawn fears only cause hardship," he writes.
Problems include "the use of poignant anecdotes in place of scientific evidence, the christening of isolated incidents as trends, depictions of entire categories of people as innately dangerous," and unknown scholars who masquerade as
"experts," he writes. -- Amazon.com book reviewer
About the Author: Barry Glassner is Professor of Sociology at the University of Southern California. He is the author of seven books, including Career Crash and Bodies. His writing has appeared in magazines and newspapers including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Tribune. He has been interviewed on ABC, CBS, CNN, NPR and on numerous syndicated local programs. |
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|
| The
Polar Bear Strategy: Reflections on Risk in Modern Life |
| by John F. Ross; May 1999; ISBN 0738201170 |
| From cholesterol to cancer, asteroids to AIDS, we face more risks than our grandparents ever dreamed of. But most of us are 200 years behind the curve when it comes to making intelligent risk-based decisions: We refuse to fly, but don't wear seat belts in our far more dangerous cars. We panic about toxic waste dumps, but collectively smoke a billion cigarettes a year. In this entertaining and enlightening look at risk in the modern age, John Ross
(senior editor with Smithsonian magazine) argues that the burgeoning science of risk assessment has given us powerful new tools for coping in a complex world, if we could only learn how to speak the language. Ross examines the building blocks of this new language, and helps us identify and relinquish long-held, often pre-set, biological and psychological responses to risk.
Through vivid stories and compelling science, Ross empowers us to take control of our lives and to exercise our most basic democratic freedom-the power to make our own decisions-both as individuals and as a society.
(Editor's note: To read an interesting interview with the
author, which includes an explanation of why "polar bear" is in
the book's title, follow the link below to Amazon's information on this
book.)
|
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|
| Risk
(Key Ideas) |
| by Deborah Lupton; August 1999; ISBN 0415183340 |
| We are now living in a 'risk' society: risk analysis, risk assessment and risk management are ever-expanding industries. In this lively and engaging introduction to one of todays major sociocultural concepts, Deborah Lupton examines why risk has come to such prominence at this particular point in history. She traces how risk has been constructed over time from pre-modernity to the modern era and provides an introduction to the main theories surrounding the subject. Along with examples of the ways in which risk is experienced in everyday life, Lupton covers a wide range of issues including the following: risk and culture; sociocultural and scientific perspectives; blame, danger and trust; risk and pleasure. |
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|
| 1997 |
| Are
We Scaring Ourselves to Death? : How Pessimism, Paranoia, and a Misguided
Media Are Leading Us Toward Disaster |
| by H. Aaron Cohl; April 1997; ISBN 0312150563 |
| In this lively and accessible expose, Cohl reveals how media madness and simple human psychology fuel the fires of paranoia. Readers will learn the encouraging realities of asbestos, drive-by shootings, and pesticides. Cohl also dispels current misconceptions about Mad Cow disease, the Greenhouse effect, and the dangers of air travel.
This book is a perfect antidote to the sensationalized headlines of today's newspapers. |
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|
| Culture
of Fear: Risk-Taking And The Morality Of Low Expectations |
| by Frank Furedi; November 1997; ISBN 030433751X |
| Safety has become the fundamental value of the 1990s. In a world obsessed with abuse, stranger danger, disease and environmental damage, we are constantly told that we are 'at risk' and urged to take greater precautions and seek more protection. Yet the facts often fail to support the scare stories about new or growing risks to our health and safety. So, why do we panic? And what does the predisposition always to believe the worst about the human condition tell us about the society we live in today? Culture of Fear argues that the preoccupation with safety and suvival reflects an outlook of low expectations. Frank Furedi critically examines the roots and the consequences of contemporary risk consciousness. Through challenging the fatalistic mood of the times, Furedi outlines a bold argument in
favor of the human potential to confront problems and to take risks. Frank Furedi teaches sociology at the University of Kent at Canterbury. His main area of research interest is the relationship between change and the perception of social problems. He is currently engaged on a major study of the sociology of political correctness. |
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|
| Danger
Ahead: The Risks You Really Face on Life's Highway |
| by Larry Laudan; September
1997; ISBN 0471134406 |
| True or false: We live in especially risky times. Not so, says this delightful, statistics-packed volume that calculates the exact probability of everything from your chance of going bankrupt to getting divorced. The author of the lauded "The Book of Risks" also takes on the Politically Correct Risk and explores why, sometimes, ignorance
really is bliss. Filled with fascinating charts, graphs and sidebars that prove its controversial but undeniable facts and logic. |
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|
| 1996 |
| True
Odds : How Risk Affects Your Everyday Life |
| by James Walsh; February 1996; ISBN 1563431149 |
| James Walsh's refreshing and enjoyable book
puts the risks that we face everyday into perspective and provides a guide
to understanding the latest statistics presented dramatically in often
scary terms in the media. He covers 16 critical issues, including
how risk is measured, how to analyze studies, ways that the media
influence on risk presentation, and how individual choices impact on risk
factors. |
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|
| 1994 |
| Target
Risk |
| by Gerald S. Wilde; December 1994; ISBN 0969912404 |
| Professor Gerald S. Wilde's book "Target
Risk" is a fascinating study of human nature and risk. The
studies that he presents illuminate how people change their risk-taking
behavior in everyday life when safety conditions improve, including one
study of taxi cab drivers and the changes in their driving behaviors when
they were aware that anti-lock brakes had been installed in their
cabs.
From the publisher: Since we published Professor Wilde's book in late 1994 we have been surprised, again and again, at the attention it has attracted in the mainstream media and amongst risk management professionals in fields as diverse as financial management, mountaineering. health services delivery and traffic safety.
The book deals with a dimension of risk behavior that is crucially important to anyone concerned with how individuals respond to changes in their risk environment, whether these are due to technology, training, enforcement or management. |
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