GEO 210 Week 1 Lecture Notes (4) PDF

Topic: Hazards, Perceptions of Threats, Risk Assessment Date: September 5, 2024 What is Geography? Examines how natural systems, places, societies and cultures interact Space: Differences and similarities among places Time: Set of actions or mechanisms tha...

Topic: Hazards, Perceptions of Threats, Risk Assessment Date: September 5, 2024 What is Geography? Examines how natural systems, places, societies and cultures interact Space: Differences and similarities among places Time: Set of actions or mechanisms that operate in some special order Important to note: “Geography is unified by its method than by specific body of knowledge” The Two Main Divisions in Geography 1. Physical Geography: focuses on physical and life sciences ex: biology, geology 2. Human Geography: focuses in social and cultural sciences ex: economics, cultural studies The Concept of Danger Important to note: Potential for harm or death Continuum: Can be immediate (sudden) ex tornado to slow onset (gradual) ex climate change Events can be visible (fire) , invisible (radiation) or both Human made from human activities , natural through natural processes or both Safe: Protection from danger (area where you would most likely not get harmed) Levels of danger Danger: Red (harm will likely occur) Warning: orange (a alert that harm is higher chance to occur) Caution: yellow (be careful) Hazard Vs Risk Hazard: source of potential harm Risk: the change or probability that a person will be harmed Know how to identity the difference between a hard and a risk Hazard example: Bleach stored in a high shelf Risk example: Drinking bleach that was stored away Risk: Severity and Likelihood Severity and Likelihood come in between hazard and risk Vulnerability Through a number of factors like economic, social and political Why do we take risks? Important to note: Potential gain to be greater than potential harm “Another way of saying we don’t believe something will harm us” Risk Perception Subjective judgment we make about characteristics and severity of risk Dread: a risk people are very afraid of Example: caffeine: unknown risk perception and low dread Safety of Modes of Transport Planes have a lower chance of people dying but many people fear flying because of risk perception. Plane crashes grab our attention more because it may not happen very often and many lives get lost due to this. Low probability= high consequence Perceived Control Perceived control affect someone's risk perception When people feel as though they have control over a situation they think their risk is lower but when they feel as though they are not in control they feel unable to control their outcome, so they see this as higher risk. Example: people view driving as less risky than flying when flying has chances of being at risk then driving Risk Perception Quantitative: actual Qualitative: perceptual Risk Assessment Process Risk Assessment: Science based Risk Management: Policy based Risk Communication: Interactive exchange The Precautionary Principle Define: Taking action to prevent harm even though you might not be sure there is a risk “Better late than sorry” Important to note: Burden of proof is on those who claim there is no risk Applying the Precautionary Principle Assigning burdens of proof Evaluating evidence Choose the appropriate level of proof Evaluate justification/need Assess alternatives Assess policy measures Taking transparent decisions Involving stakeholders in stages Psychometric paradigm: risk perception is highly dependent in intuition, experiential thinking and emotions *If a person derived pleasure from using a product, people tended to judge its benefits as high and it's risks as low* WEEK 1 READING: The Distinction Between Risk and Hazard Understanding and Use in Stakeholder Communication - 2014