Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Flow Of Power: Addressing Asymmetric Flood Risk In The Upper Valley, Eric Vr Hryniewicz

Geography Undergraduate Senior Theses

Floods are the most damaging natural disasters in America. Land use change in upland watersheds can increase the probability and severity of floods (Bronstert, Niehoff, & Burger, 2002). When watersheds are divided by political and private property boundaries it leads to a misalignment of incentives in which downstream users lack recourse for upstream land use decisions contributing to flood risk. In this thesis, researchers interrogate the attributes of town officials and towns that determine what motivates town governments to act on flooding and what motivates and enables town officials to collaborate on planning and how do they collaborate in practice. …

Methodological Challenges In Studying Trust In Natural Resources Management, Antonia Sohns, Gordon M. Hickey, Jasper R. De Vries, Owen Temby

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Trust has been identified as a central characteristic of successful natural resource management (NRM), particularly in the context of implementing participatory approaches to stakeholder engagement. Trust is, however, a multi-dimensional and multi-level concept that is known to evolve recursively through time, challenging efforts to empirically measure its impact on collaboration in different NRM settings. In this communication we identify some of the challenges associated with conceptualizing and operationalizing trust in NRM field research, and pay particular attention to the inter-relationships between the concepts of trust, perceived risk and control due to their multidimensional and interacting roles in inter-organizational collaboration. The …

An Education Theory Of Fault For Autonomous Systems, William D. Smart, Cindy M. Grimm, Woodrow Hartzog

Notre Dame Journal on Emerging Technologies

Automated systems like self-driving cars and “smart” thermostats are a challenge for fault-based legal regimes like negligence because they have the potential to behave in unpredictable ways. How can people who build and deploy complex automated systems be said to be at fault when they could not have reasonably anticipated the behavior (and thus risk) of their tools? Part of the problem is that the legal system has yet to settle on the language for identifying culpable behavior in the design and deployment for automated systems. In this article we offer an education theory of fault for autonomous systems—a new …

Law School News: Dennis W. Nixon: Doctor Of Laws, Honoris Causa 05-09-2020, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

Fields Brook Superfund Site: Race, Class, And Environmental Justice In A Blasted Landscape, Richard C. Bargielski

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 1980, the United States Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This federal law provided the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the legal tools necessary to pursue polluters who had improperly stored or disposed hazardous wastes. Since its passage, more than a thousand sites have been added to the National Priorities List (NPL), but only a fraction have been cleaned up. Proponents of neoliberalism argue that aggressive environmental policies such as CERCLA harm workers by making it impossible for businesses to operate profitably. This coincides with a drop of nearly 50% in the U.S. …

Multi-Stakeholder Case Prioritization In Digital Investigations, Joshua I. James

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

This work examines the problem of case prioritization in digital investigations for better utilization of limited criminal investigation resources. Current methods of case prioritization, as well as observed prioritization methods used in digital forensic investigation laboratories are examined. After, a multi-stakeholder approach to case prioritization is given that may help reduce reputational risk to digital forensic laboratories while improving resource allocation. A survey is given that shows differing opinions of investigation priority between Law Enforcement and the public that is used in the development of a prioritization model. Finally, an example case is given to demonstrate the practicality of the …

Charting A New Course For The Colorado River: A Summary Of Guiding Principles, Colorado River Research Group

Books, Reports, and Studies

[4] p. : color illustrations ; 28 cm.

Towards A Conceptual Model Of User Acceptance Of Location-Based Emergency Services, Anas Aloudat, Katina Michael

Professor Katina Michael

This paper investigates the introduction of location-based services by government as part of an all-hazards approach to modern emergency management solutions. Its main contribution is in exploring the determinants of an individual’s acceptance or rejection of location services. The authors put forward a conceptual model to better predict why an individual would accept or reject such services, especially with respect to emergencies. While it may be posited by government agencies that individuals would unanimously wish to accept life-saving and life-sustaining location services for their well-being, this view remains untested. The theorised determinants include: visibility of the service solution, perceived service …

The Future Prospects Of Embedded Microchips In Humans As Unique Identifiers: The Risks Versus The Rewards, Katina Michael, M.G. Michael

Professor Katina Michael

Microchip implants for humans are not new. Placing heart pacemakers in humans for prosthesis is now considered a straightforward procedure. In more recent times we have begun to use brain pacemakers for therapeutic purposes to combat illnesses such as epilepsy, Parkinson’s Disease, and severe depression. Microchips are even being placed inside prosthetic knees and hips during restorative procedures to help in the gathering of post-operative analytics that can aid rehabilitation further. While medical innovations that utilise microchips abound, over the last decade we have begun to see the potential use of microchip implants for non-medical devices in humans, namely for …

Slides: Envirofit: Making The World Fit For Humanity, Jessica Alderman

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Jessica Alderman, Director, ENVIROFIT

15 slides

Book Review: The Basics Of Information Security: Understanding The Fundamentals Of Infosec In Theory And Practice, Katina Michael

Professor Katina Michael

Dr Jason Andress (ISSAP, CISSP, GPEN, CEH) has written a timely book on Information Security. Andress who is a seasoned security professional with experience in both the academic and business worlds, categorically demonstrates through his book that underlying the operation of any successful business today is how to protect your most valuable asset- “information”. Andress completed his doctorate in computer science in the area of data protection, and presently works for a major software company, providing global information security oversight and performing penetration testing and risks assessment.

Slides: The Costs And Benefits Of Best Management Practices: Insights From The Marcellus Shale, Timothy J. Considine

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Timothy J. Considine, School of Energy Resources, Department of Economics and Finance, University of Wyoming

15 slides

Alphaco: A Teaching Case On Information Technology Audit And Security, Hüseyin Tanriverdi, Joshua Bertsch, Jonathan Harrison, Po-Ling Hsiao, Ketan S. Mesuria, David Hendrawirawan

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Recent regulations in the United States (U.S.) such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 require top management of a public firm to provide reasonable assurance that they institute internal controls that minimize risks over the firm’s operations and financial reporting. External auditors are required to attest to the management’s assertions over the effectiveness of those internal controls. As firms rely more on information technology (IT) in conducting business, they also become more vulnerable to IT related risks. IT is critical for initiating, recording, processing, summarizing and reporting accurate financial and non-financial data. Thus, understanding IT related risks and instituting internal …

Against 'Individual Risk': A Sympathetic Critique Of Risk Assessment, Matthew D. Adler

All Faculty Scholarship

"Individual risk" currently plays a major role in risk assessment and in the regulatory practices of the health and safety agencies that employ risk assessment, such as EPA, FDA, OSHA, NRC, CPSC, and others. Risk assessors use the term "population risk" to mean the number of deaths caused by some hazard. By contrast, "individual risk" is the incremental probability of death that the hazard imposes on some particular person. Regulatory decision procedures keyed to individual risk are widespread. This is true both for the regulation of toxic chemicals (the heartland of risk assessment), and for other health hazards, such as …

Slides: Managing Risks Associated With Climate-Related Water Supply Variability, Bonnie G. Colby

Water, Climate and Uncertainty: Implications for Western Water Law, Policy, and Management (Summer Conference, June 11-13)

Presenter: Dr. Bonnie G. Colby, Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Arizona

5 page "Outline" and 38 slides

Environmental Risk Analysis: Problems And Perspectives In Different Countries, Bhola Ram Gurjar, Manju Mohan

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors discuss various industrial accidents, which have led to growing concerns about the potential hazards and risks involved in chemical process industries.

Protecting The Environment: Finding The Balance Between Delaney And Free Play, Geoffrey C. Hazard Jr., Howard C. Kunreuther

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Does Risk Aversion Make A Case For Conservatism, Ralph M. Perhac Jr.

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Perhac argues that risk aversion, alone, and assuming it is justifiable, does not support the prefer ability of overstating, as opposed to understating, mean risk.

Comparing Risks Thoughtfully, Adam M. Finkel

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Finkel argues that comparing risks is neither impossible nor immoral - but is nonetheless very difficult. He then discusses two major pitfalls of making such comparisons, one commonly cited and one routinely ignored, before sketching a framework for improving them.

Promoting And Managing Genome Innovation, Suzanne A. Sprunger, Gianna Julian-Arnold

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

An introduction to the symposium, Promoting and Managing Genome Innovation held October 1995. The conference was organized by Professor Thomas G. Field, Jr. and Gianna Julian-Arnold. The conference was funded in part by the Ethical, Legal and Social Issues component of the D.O.E. Human Genome Program; Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle L.L.P., Rochester, N.Y.; and Human Genome Sciences.

Predicting Future Sources Of Mass Toxic Tort Litigation, Jeffrey A. Foran, Bernard D. Goldstein, John A. Moore, Paul Slovic

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors describe the efforts of an expert working group to identify potential sources, over the next five to ten years, of future mass litigation and report on the group's consensus conclusions.

The Role Of The Unconscious In The Perception Of Risks, Andrew F. Fritzsche

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Fritzsche argues that our world is too "rational" and that the psychology of the unconscious, as developed by Jung, can be key to understanding responses to hazards and to resolving conflicts that arise in the political management of risks.

Present Risk, Future Risk Or No Risk - Measuring And Predicting Perceptions Of Health Risks Of A Hazardous Waste Landfill, William K. Hallman, Abraham H. Wandersman

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Given that perceived risk is multidimensional, the authors seek better understanding by focusing on health risks and, more particularly, on their temporality. In this way, they attempt to measure more meaningfully psychological influences on risk perceptions.

Evaluating The Expertise Of Experts, Kristin S. Shrader-Frechette

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Shrader-Frechette maintains that a rigid distinction between risk assessment and risk management is unwise. Concerned about procedural fairness, she argues that the public should have a voice in both.

Congressional Risk Proposals, Dalton G. Paxman

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Paxman relates how an ambitious environmental agenda supported by the Administration and many members of the 103d Congress was ultimately derailed. He associates this with an apparently ever-growing interest in risk assessment.

Rapa And Risk, Dalton G. Paxman, Kristin S. Shrader-Frechette, Thomas G. Field Jr.

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Short article prepared by members of the professional organization Risk Assessment & Policy Association (RAPA) describing the work that will be undertaken by the newly formed group.

A Survey Of Residual Cancer Risks Permitted By Health, Safety And Environmental Policy, March Sadowitz, John D. Graham

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

The authors describe permitted U.S. residual cancer risks, focusing on numerical levels specifically and implicitly authorized by statute or regulation. They also discuss potential changes.

Senator Johnston's Proposals For Regulatory Reform: New Cost-Benefit-Risk Analysis Requirements For Epa, Linda-Jo Schierow

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Schierow compares provisions designed to improve the development of regulations and promulgated by Reagan and Clinton Executive Orders with those in the Johnston Amendments.

Review Of: Organizations, Uncertainties, And Risk (James F. Short, Jr. & Lee Clarke Eds.), Mehdi Sheikerz

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: Organizations, Uncertainties, and Risk (James F. Short, Jr. & Lee Clarke eds., Westview Press 1992) Acknowledgements, contributor biographies, author and subject indices, foreword, references. ISBN: 0-8133-8562-8. [383 pp. Cloth $52.50. 500 Central Ave., Boulder CO 80301-2847.]

Trace Substances, Science And Law: Perspectives From The Social Sciences, James F. Short Jr.

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Using advances in analytical technology as a point of departure, Dr. Short reviews what social science research reveals about perceptions, decision making processes and behaviors of organizations and individuals who try to cope with risk and uncertainty.