How Risky Is It, Really?: Why Our Fears Don't Always Match the Facts
How Risky Is It, Really?: Why Our Fears Don't Always Match the Facts

Author: David Ropeik

Publisher: McGraw Hill Professional

Published: 2010-03-05

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0071635645

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"Clear, balanced, and lively." -- Steven Pinker, bestselling author of How the Mind Works ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE "RIGHT" RISKS? Do you worry more about radiation from nuclear power or from the sun? Are you more afraid of getting cancer than heart disease? Are you safer talking on your cell phone or using a hands-free device when you drive? Do you think global warming is a serious threat to your health? GET THE FACTS BEHIND YOUR FEARS—AND DISCOVER . . . HOW RISKY IS IT, REALLY? International risk expert David Ropeik takes an in-depth look at our perceptions of risk and explains the hidden factors that make us unnecessarily afraid of relatively small threats and not afraid enough of some really big ones. This read is a comprehensive, accessible, and entertaining mixture of what's been discovered about how and why we fear—too much or too little. It brings into focus the danger of The Perception Gap: when our fears don’t match the facts, and we make choices that create additional risks. This book will not decide for you what is really risky and what isn't. That's up to you. HOW RISKY IS IT, REALLY? will tell you how you make those decisions. Understanding how we perceive risk is the first step toward making wiser and healthier choices for ourselves as individuals and for society as a whole. TEST YOUR OWN "RISK RESPONSE" IN DOZENS OF SELF-QUIZZES!

The Myth of Left and Right
The Myth of Left and Right

Author: Verlan Lewis

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 0197680216

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"AMERICAN POLITICS IS AT a breaking point. This became obvious when a mob of American citizens, upset with the results of the 2020 presidential election, stormed the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. to stop Congress from tabulating the election results. In order to work, democracies require citizens who respect the rights of individuals, defer to the outcomes of elections, and abide by the rule of law, but today's toxic political culture has caused many Americans to abandon these vital norms. Ideological tribalism and partisan hatred have become so rampant that frightening numbers of American citizens countenance violence against their political opponents to get their way"--

Innovation and Its Enemies
Innovation and Its Enemies

Author: Calestous Juma

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2016-06-06

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 0190467045

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It is a curious situation that technologies we now take for granted have, when first introduced, so often stoked public controversy and concern for public welfare. At the root of this tension is the perception that the benefits of new technologies will accrue only to small sections of society, while the risks will be more widely distributed. Drawing from nearly 600 years of technology history, Calestous Juma identifies the tension between the need for innovation and the pressure to maintain continuity, social order, and stability as one of today's biggest policy challenges. He reveals the extent to which modern technological controversies grow out of distrust in public and private institutions and shows how new technologies emerge, take root, and create new institutional ecologies that favor their establishment in the marketplace. Innovation and Its Enemies calls upon public leaders to work with scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs to manage technological change and expand public engagement on scientific and technological matters.

Understanding Biological Emergencies
Understanding Biological Emergencies

Author: Paula Stamps Duston

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-11-05

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1040154859

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This book investigates the links between the main sources of biological emergencies and presents a comprehensive policy framework that seeks to achieve the ultimate goal of biological security. The work offers a new interdisciplinary approach to analyse the linkages between the three main sources of biological emergencies: intentional attacks, natural zoonotic transmission, and lab accidents. In doing so, the text describes the history of using nature to create a weapon, focusing on dispersal methods. The most important Select Agents for monitoring are described, with a special focus on anthrax and smallpox. The case studies presented include the use of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in Iraq and the 2001 anthrax attack in the US. The policies that created the emergency preparedness system are analysed, and the current system is described in terms of their effectiveness in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The book concludes with some ideas and specific suggestions for moving from response to risk reduction and prevention. This book will be of much interest to students of biosecurity studies, public health, public policy, political science and international relations, and to professionals working in the fields of public health, public safety, medicine, nursing, and first responders as well as military personnel.

Real Property in Australia
Real Property in Australia

Author: Michael J. Hefferan

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-08-17

Total Pages: 447

ISBN-13: 1000163571

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Real property in the form of investment, ownership and use pervades almost every aspect of daily lives and represents over 40% of Australia’s wealth. Such assets do not exist in isolation – they are dynamic and forever evolving, impacted by a range of physical, economic, demographic, legal and other forces. Consequently, a true appreciation of individual assets and of the property sector as a whole demands an understanding of both the assets themselves and the context and markets in which they exist. The sector is complex and, on the face of it, confusing. It is however, not without logic and underlying themes and principles. This book provides a wider understanding of how the real property sector works. It covers topics such as the nature of real property and its functions, economic drivers, valuation principles, legal and tenure parameters, property taxation, land development and subdivision, asset and property management and sustainability – all critical components in this complex and critically important sector. It provides a wide and balanced perspective for experienced practitioners, investors, students and anyone involved in property decision-making or wishing to secure a deeper understanding of these areas. The book integrates research-based theory with practical application and first-hand insights into a sector that underpins the Australian economy, its communities and its sustainability.

Vital Signs
Vital Signs

Author: Gregg Levoy

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2014-12-26

Total Pages: 512

ISBN-13: 1101608897

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Rediscover—or discover for the first time—the things that make you passionate in life Vital Signs is about what inspires passion and what defeats it. How we lose it and how we get it back. And ultimately it’s about the endless yet endlessly fruitful tug-of-war between freedom and domestication, the wild in us and the tame, our natural selves and our conditioned selves. Each chapter in Vital Signs will contain a core sample, an intimate biography of one of the strategies we employ to gain or regain our passion. The book also affirms the importance of courageous inquiry into dispassion—where we’re numb, depressed, stuck, bored—so the reader can recognize and change these tendencies in themselves.

Safety and Health for Engineers
Safety and Health for Engineers

Author: Roger L. Brauer

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2022-08-18

Total Pages: 678

ISBN-13: 1119802318

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SAFETY AND HEALTH FOR ENGINEERS A comprehensive resource for making products, facilities, processes, and operations safe for workers, users, and the public Ensuring the health and safety of individuals in the workplace is vital on an interpersonal level but is also crucial to limiting the liability of companies in the event of an onsite injury. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported over 4,700 fatal work injuries in the United States in 2020, most frequently in transportation-related incidents. The same year, approximately 2.7 million workplace injuries and illnesses were reported by private industry employers. According to the National Safety Council, the cost in lost wages, productivity, medical and administrative costs is close to 1.2 trillion dollars in the US alone. It is imperative—by law and ethics—for engineers and safety and health professionals to drive down these statistics by creating a safe workplace and safe products, as well as maintaining a safe environment. Safety and Health for Engineers is considered the gold standard for engineers in all specialties, teaching an understanding of many components necessary to achieve safe workplaces, products, facilities, and methods to secure safety for workers, users, and the public. Each chapter offers information relevant to help safety professionals and engineers in the achievement of the first canon of professional ethics: to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. The textbook examines the fundamentals of safety, legal aspects, hazard recognition and control, the human element, and techniques to manage safety decisions. In doing so, it covers the primary safety essentials necessary for certification examinations for practitioners. Readers of the fourth edition of Safety and Health for Engineers readers will also find: Updates to all chapters, informed by research and references gathered since the last publication The most up-to-date information on current policy, certifications, regulations, agency standards, and the impact of new technologies, such as wearable technology, automation in transportation, and artificial intelligence New international information, including U.S. and foreign standards agencies, professional societies, and other organizations worldwide Expanded sections with real-world applications, exercises, and 164 case studies An extensive list of references to help readers find more detail on chapter contents A solution manual available to qualified instructors Safety and Health for Engineers is an ideal textbook for courses in safety engineering around the world in undergraduate or graduate studies, or in professional development learning. It also is a useful reference for professionals in engineering, safety, health, and associated fields who are preparing for credentialing examinations in safety and health.

Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere
Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere

Author: Phaedra C. Pezzullo

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2017-10-24

Total Pages: 554

ISBN-13: 1506363571

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The Fifth Edition of the award-winning Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere is the first comprehensive introduction to the growing field of environmental communication. This groundbreaking book focuses on the role that human communication plays in influencing the ways we perceive the environment. It also examines how we define what constitutes an environmental problem and how we decide what actions to take concerning the natural world. The updated and revised Fifth Edition includes recent developments, such as water protectors and the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Flint Water Crisis, and the March for Science, along with the latest research and developments in environmental communication.

Terrorism, 2008-2012
Terrorism, 2008-2012

Author: Edward Mickolus

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2014-03-08

Total Pages: 343

ISBN-13: 1476614679

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This comprehensive chronology provides coverage of every international terrorist attack covered in public literature--including newspapers, news magazines, radio, television, websites, and other media--from 2008 through 2012, plus updates on events that occurred before that period. It notes trends in suicide bombings, violence against Western and local hostages, letter bombs, food tampering, major assassinations, and other attacks by terrorists of all stripes. Changes in security measures around the world are also included, as are the key players in each event, ranging from terrorists to victims to individuals trying to prevent the next attack.

Natural
Natural

Author: Alan Levinovitz

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 2020-04-07

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 080701088X

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Illuminates the far-reaching harms of believing that natural means “good,” from misinformation about health choices to justifications for sexism, racism, and flawed economic policies. People love what’s natural: it’s the best way to eat, the best way to parent, even the best way to act—naturally, just as nature intended. Appeals to the wisdom of nature are among the most powerful arguments in the history of human thought. Yet Nature (with a capital N) and natural goodness are not objective or scientific. In this groundbreaking book, scholar of religion Alan Levinovitz demonstrates that these beliefs are actually religious and highlights the many dangers of substituting simple myths for complicated realities. It may not seem like a problem when it comes to paying a premium for organic food. But what about condemnations of “unnatural” sexual activity? The guilt that attends not having a “natural” birth? Economic deregulation justified by the inherent goodness of “natural” markets? In Natural, readers embark on an epic journey, from Peruvian rainforests to the backcountry in Yellowstone Park, from a “natural” bodybuilding competition to a “natural” cancer-curing clinic. The result is an essential new perspective that shatters faith in Nature’s goodness and points to a better alternative. We can love nature without worshipping it, and we can work toward a better world with humility and dialogue rather than taboos and zealotry.