Large Risks With Low Probabilities Perceptions And Willingness To Take Preventive Measures Against Flooding
Download Large Risks With Low Probabilities Perceptions And Willingness To Take Preventive Measures Against Flooding PDF/ePub or read online books in Mobi eBooks. Click Download or Read Online button to get Large Risks With Low Probabilities Perceptions And Willingness To Take Preventive Measures Against Flooding book now. This website allows unlimited access to, at the time of writing, more than 1.5 million titles, including hundreds of thousands of titles in various foreign languages.
Large Risks with Low Probabilities: Perceptions and willingness to take preventive measures against flooding
This volume contains studies of one particular category of risky situations, namely, those involving highly negative consequences with low probabilities. Situations of this type involve both natural and man-made disasters (e.g. floods, technological hazards, economic crises, epidemics, etc.). Such risks are characterized by two features: (1) they occur relatively rarely (the probability of their occurrence is very low) and (2) they have extremely negative consequences (they are catastrophic). Such events generally cannot be prevented, but one can both try to anticipate them and undertake actions aimed at ameliorating their negative consequences. Consequently, the first part of the book is devoted to risk perception issues. It includes studies devoted to the following questions which arise when people have to deal with probabilities, and small probabilities in particular: How can probabilistic information be communicated effectively? What is the impact of emotions on perceptions of, and reactions to, probabilistic information? Other relevant issues are also discussed. The second part of the book is devoted to protection and insurance against risk. Thus, it includes studies answering the following questions: What determines a person’s willingness to take preventive actions in areas susceptible to severe flooding? How do people form their own risk estimates? Research presented in the book extends our knowledge of human behavior in situations characterized by large risks and low probabilities, leading to better comprehension of the functioning of cognitive and affective processes in perception and decision making in situations where uncertainty and risk are accompanied by highly negative consequences.
The Perception of Risk
The concept of risk is an outgrowth of our society's great concern about coping with the dangers of modern life. The Perception of Risk brings together the work of Paul Slovic, one of the world's leading analysts of risk, risk perception and risk management, to examine the gap between expert views of risk and public perceptions. Ordered chronologically, it allows the reader to see the evolution of our understanding of such perceptions, from early studies identifying public misconceptions of risk to recent work that recognizes the importance and legitimacy of equity, trust, power and other value-laden issues underlying public concern.
Understanding Flood Preparedness
The book looks at the factors influencing the level of preparedness of communities exposed to flooding. It is based on original research carried out in twelve areas in southern Poland that suffered serious flood damage in the past thirty years. The underlying research was intended, on the one hand, to verify modern concepts explaining the behaviour of people who were exposed to natural hazards and, on the other, to explore the influence of the local natural, social, historical and economic contexts that could modify that behaviour. The book has three main threads: the social memory of floods and their image as it evolves in time; the influence of social and economic conditions (social vulnerability) on the preparedness to take on flood mitigation measures; and the role of risk communication in strengthening flood resilience. The main body of the work is based on 1) surveys carried out among the flood-affected population and members of local crisis services, 2) interviews with the flood-affected population and with members of administration and services (Police, Fire Dept.) with a history of rescue missions, and 3) an analysis of social media content and of local administration and government agency websites and land-use planning documents. The primary data collected by the authors was supplemented by statistics on the impact of floods occurring in the study areas. The data is presented in tables, graphs and maps for easier comprehension. The book is aimed at researchers and students, as well as at practitioners interested in risk perception, flood memories, social vulnerability & resilience studies, social capacity building, risk communication & education.