Download PDF Fall Issue of The Bridge on Social Sciences and Engineering Practice September 5, 2012 Volume 42 Issue 3 Articles In This Issue How Social Science Informs Engineering Practice Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorDaniel Metlay If one stepped back and viewed the state of technological development in the United States since the end of World War II (although the demarcation is hardly precise), it would appear dramatically different from that of earlier years. Technological capacity, driven by scientific research and ... Lessons from the Macondo Well Blowout in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorRaymond Wassel Since the Macondo well blowout, improvements have been made in management and safety systems and in regulatory regimes. Commercial deep-water drilling involves highly complex and highly risky operations. Companies must coordinate the operation of sophisticated equipment to construct wells in ... The Value of the Social Sciences for Maximizing the Public Benefits of Engineering Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorJameson M. Wetmore Three recent projects illustrate the benefits of bringing a social sciences perspective to engineering innovation. Since the early 1900s, engineering professional societies have established codes of ethics to ensure that their members maintain a high level of professionalism (Pfatteicher, 2003). ... Designing a Process for Consent-Based Siting of Used Nuclear Fuel Facilities: Analysis of Public Support Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorHank C. Jenkins-Smith, Carol L. Silva, Kerry G. Herron, Evaristo “Tito” Bonano, and Rob P. Rechard Public responses to the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future are generally positive. U.S. policies for long-term management of used nuclear fuel (UNF1) have been placed on hold in the wake of the Obama administration’s decision to withdraw the ... A Perspective on the Social Amplifications of Risk Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorRoger E. Kasperson Risk perception and communication are important factors in decisions about managing risk events and their impacts. One of the most perplexing problems in risk analysis is why some relatively minor risks or risk events (as assessed by technical experts) elicit strong public concerns and result in ... Complex Organizational Failures: Culture, High Reliability, and the Lessons from Fukushima Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorNick Pidgeon The principal causes of the Fukushima disaster were organizational culture and system complexity. Most academics and practitioners in engineering quite rightly focus their attention on the science and performance of physical structures and systems, but delivering and operating engineered systems ... Decision Strategies for Addressing Complex, "Messy" Problems Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorDaniel Metlay and Daniel Sarewitz Getting the politics of a messy situation right may make it easier to get the science right, too. More than a half-century ago, two social scientists, James D. Thompson and Arthur Tuden, advanced what has come to be called the “contingency theory” of decision making (Thompson ...
How Social Science Informs Engineering Practice Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorDaniel Metlay If one stepped back and viewed the state of technological development in the United States since the end of World War II (although the demarcation is hardly precise), it would appear dramatically different from that of earlier years. Technological capacity, driven by scientific research and ...
Lessons from the Macondo Well Blowout in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorRaymond Wassel Since the Macondo well blowout, improvements have been made in management and safety systems and in regulatory regimes. Commercial deep-water drilling involves highly complex and highly risky operations. Companies must coordinate the operation of sophisticated equipment to construct wells in ...
The Value of the Social Sciences for Maximizing the Public Benefits of Engineering Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorJameson M. Wetmore Three recent projects illustrate the benefits of bringing a social sciences perspective to engineering innovation. Since the early 1900s, engineering professional societies have established codes of ethics to ensure that their members maintain a high level of professionalism (Pfatteicher, 2003). ...
Designing a Process for Consent-Based Siting of Used Nuclear Fuel Facilities: Analysis of Public Support Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorHank C. Jenkins-Smith, Carol L. Silva, Kerry G. Herron, Evaristo “Tito” Bonano, and Rob P. Rechard Public responses to the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future are generally positive. U.S. policies for long-term management of used nuclear fuel (UNF1) have been placed on hold in the wake of the Obama administration’s decision to withdraw the ...
A Perspective on the Social Amplifications of Risk Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorRoger E. Kasperson Risk perception and communication are important factors in decisions about managing risk events and their impacts. One of the most perplexing problems in risk analysis is why some relatively minor risks or risk events (as assessed by technical experts) elicit strong public concerns and result in ...
Complex Organizational Failures: Culture, High Reliability, and the Lessons from Fukushima Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorNick Pidgeon The principal causes of the Fukushima disaster were organizational culture and system complexity. Most academics and practitioners in engineering quite rightly focus their attention on the science and performance of physical structures and systems, but delivering and operating engineered systems ...
Decision Strategies for Addressing Complex, "Messy" Problems Wednesday, September 5, 2012 AuthorDaniel Metlay and Daniel Sarewitz Getting the politics of a messy situation right may make it easier to get the science right, too. More than a half-century ago, two social scientists, James D. Thompson and Arthur Tuden, advanced what has come to be called the “contingency theory” of decision making (Thompson ...