Uncertainty and Risk: Multidisciplinary Perspectives
Publishers
:
Earthscan, London
Editors
:
Gabriele Bammer and Michael Smithson
Title
:
Uncertainty and Risk: Multidisciplinary Perspectives
Year of Publication
:
2009
Pages
:
382
ISBN
:
9781844078516
Reviewer
:
Krishna B. Misra
Status
:
Review published in IJPE, Vol.6, No.6, November 2010, page 594
The book consists of 4 parts organized into 28 chapters as follows:
Preface by Jerome Ravetz
04 Pages
Part I: Setting the Scene
Chapter 1
Introduction
12 Pages
Chapter 2
The Many Faces and Masks of Uncertainty
13 Pages
Chapter3
Adopting Orphans: Uncertainty and Other Neglected Aspects of Complex Problems
15 Pages
Part II: More than a Cabinet of Curiosities: Disciplinary and Practice Perspectives of Uncertainties
Chapter 4
When the Action can’t Wait: Investigating Disease Outbreaks
09 Pages
Chapter 5
Uncertainty and Religion: Ten Provisional Theses
15 Pages
Chapter 6
Uncertainties in Physical Sciences: How Big? How Small Is it Actually There at all?
10 Pages
Chapter 7
Statistics: An Essential Tool for Model Citizens
10 Pages
Chapter 8
A Philosopher’s Guide to Probability
14 Pages
Chapter 9
Musical Improvisation, Creativity and Uncertainty
09 Pages
Chapter 10
Uncertainty as a Creative Force in Visual Art
11 Pages
Chapter 11
Historians and Disputes over Uncertainties
10 Pages
Chapter 12
Approaches to Uncertain Futures
10 Pages
Chapter 13
Embracing Social Uncertainties with Complex Systems Science
09 Pages
Chapter 14
Heroin: Injected with Uncertainties
13 Pages
Chapter 15
Political Practice: Uncertainty, Ethics and Outcomes
12 Pages
Chapter 16
Smoke and Mirrors: Managing Uncertainty in the Public Health
11 Pages
Chapter 17
Economists and Uncertainty
09 Pages
Chapter 18
Psychology’s Ambivalent View of Uncertainty
13 Pages
Chapter 19
Uncertainty in Decision-making : Intelligence as a Solution
12 Pages
Chapter 20
Emergency Management Thrives on Uncertainty
13 Pages
Chapter 21
Uncertainty, Complexity and the Environment
16 Pages
Chapter 22
Uncertainty, Terrorism and Law Enforcement
08 Pages
Chapter 23
Certainty as Illusion: The Nature and Purpose of Uncertainty in the Law
18 Pages
Part III: Unifying Diversities
Chapter 24
The Nature of Uncertainty
15 Pages
Chapter 25
Uncertainty Metaphors, Motives and Morals
16 Pages
Chapter 26
Coping and Managing under Uncertainty
13 Pages
Part IV: Implementations for Risk Assessment and Management
Chapter 27
Coping with Deep Uncertainty : Challenges for Environmental Assessment and Decision-making
11 Pages
Chapter 28
Risk, Uncertainty and Social Controversy: From Risk Perception and Communication to Public Engagement
13 Pages
Bibliographical notes on editors and authors
8 Pages
Index
12 Pages
Quality and reliability engineers for long have been quite familiar with the uncertainties associated with the incoming raw material and finished product, manufacturing processes, design parameters, data and models used in reliability and risk assessment, but this book edited by Prof. Bammer (at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health) and Prof. Smithson (at School of Psychology), both in The Australian National University, provide a much wider perception in their 20 chapters coverage of uncertainties present around us through well-selected areas. This book provides the widest coverage of the subject of uncertainty hitherto known in the literature. The reviewer feels that this would help widen the perception of uncertainty to not only of engineers, mathematicians, physical scientists, physicians, social scientists, historians, but every one, who has to deal with uncertainties present in one’s day to day area of activity. To appreciate the book, it advised that Chaps. 2 and 3 must be read first. The book not only discusses the uncertainties per se but also the approaches to cope up with them. It is an excellent treatise on the subject and the reviewer would recommend to one and all to give this book a closer look at least once to appreciate the amount of information contained in this unique book. The book would be very useful for Q & R engineers and those dealing with risk assessment in general.
Krishna B. Misra
This review has been published in the International Journal of Performability Engineering in Vol. 6, No. 6, November, 2010 on page 594.
Quality and reliability engineers for long have been quite familiar with the uncertainties associated with the incoming raw material and finished product, manufacturing processes, design parameters, data and models used in reliability and risk assessment, but this book edited by Prof. Bammer (at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health) and Prof. Smithson (at School of Psychology), both in The Australian National University, provide a much wider perception in their 20 chapters coverage of uncertainties present around us through well-selected areas. This book provides the widest coverage of the subject of uncertainty hitherto known in the literature. The reviewer feels that this would help widen the perception of uncertainty to not only of engineers, mathematicians, physical scientists, physicians, social scientists, historians, but every one, who has to deal with uncertainties present in one’s day to day area of activity. To appreciate the book, it advised that Chaps. 2 and 3 must be read first. The book not only discusses the uncertainties per se but also the approaches to cope up with them. It is an excellent treatise on the subject and the reviewer would recommend to one and all to give this book a closer look at least once to appreciate the amount of information contained in this unique book. The book would be very useful for Q & R engineers and those dealing with risk assessment in general.