Instructor Information

Instructor: Dr. Christine M. Rodrigue; Butte Hall 539; 898-4953 or -5285

Instructor's E-Mail: rodrigue@csulb.edu

Office Hours: Tuesday/Thursday 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.; Wednesday 4-6 p.m.

Seminar Description

Seminar in Physical Geography

Examination of current research in climatology, geomorphology, biogeography, or other selected topic in physical geography. You may take this course more than once for a maximum of 6.0 units.

Selected Topic, Spring, 1999

The contentious relationship between risk management science and risk management policy in a variety of natural and technological hazard contexts.

Seminar Objectives

• To become familiar with standard methods of risk assessment
• To develop an understanding of their limitations
• To understand the value-laden and political world of the risk manager and how it affects acceptance of the limitations of risk assessment science
• To explore the consequences of separating risk assessment science from risk management policy-making
• To discuss these issues in the context of several case studies of natural and technological hazards

Grading:

Grading is based on quality of participation in seminar discussions (including evidence of completing all assigned readings and preparing for discussion), an annotated bibliography on an individual topic of interest, and preparation of a paper and presentation on a risk assessment and risk management issue. Each component will be weighted approximately equally in determining final grades. While I will assign the full range of grades, I expect that graduate students will preponderantly earn "A's" and "B's": Please do not disappoint my expectation.

Tentative List of Topics

• Risk assessment science
  • Goals and processes of dealing with inherently uncertain situations
  • Epistemological problems
  • Type I and Type II errors
• Risk management policy
  • Safeguard human life at all costs
  • Minimize regulatory burden
• How policy preferences affect risk assessment
  • Hearing only epistemologically most rigorous results can increase dangers of a Type I error and raise risk to human life
  • Epistemological tolerance raises risk of a Type II error and imposes opporunity costs
  • Costs and benefits of creating a firewall between assessment and management
• The magnitude and frequency issue
  • Reducing recurrent low level hazards can raise vulnerability to catastrophic events
  • Costs versus benefits of mitigating low probability but high impact events
• Case studies
  • Natural hazards
    • Earthquakes and earthquake prediction
    • Floods
    • Fires
    • Storms
    • Droughts in the Third World
  • Technological hazards
    • Chemical regulation and the EPA
    • Drug approval and the FDA
    • Nuclear power and the NRC, DOE, and DOD
    • Space and plutonium generators and NASA
  

  Document maintained by Dr. Rodrigue
  Last revision: 10/01/99