Suchergebnisse

The paper aims at stimulating reflection and debate on the issue of uncertainty as a key component of contingency planning and crisis management in environmental matters. It identifies and discusses different types of uncertainty, besides the scientific one which is already widely appreciated. A diagnostic tool is presented in the form of a checklist, designed for detecting and ranking the different types of uncertainty and for assessing levels of severity in a given contingency or crisis. The checklist is subsequently applied to the analysis of a classical disaster (the Seveso accident) to evaluate its usefulness and effectiveness. The author calls for further testing of the checklist by researchers, planners, regulators and practitioners and welcomes advice for its refinement.

The article critically assesses the contribution of Italian sociology to the study of social movements in the last twenty years. These years nearly cover the "institutional life-cycle" of the discipline. In order to help the reader place the study of social movements within the mainstream of Italian sociology, some information is provided about its historical development and academic status, even in relation to political and cultural trends in overall society. Tracing the history of social movements studies back to it origins, the author shows how it has diverged from the American tradition, in particular as far as its relation to the study of other forms of collective behavior is concerned. In an extensive review of both theoretical and empirical contributions, the author points out what she sees as the main merits and faults of Italian scholars. The former include attention to theorization in the field of both conventional and collective behavior and preference for multi-factored models of explanation. Among the latter, are unsatisfactory attempts to build general testable theories, and lack of empirical research. Contributions are analysed with regard to different aspects of social movements: formation, mobilization and recruitment, ideology and organization, politics and outcomes. Pointing out achievements and failures of Italian analysts, the author arrives at some general rather optimistic conclusions about future developments, in both theory and research.

In the case of chemical emergencies, public information must be given high priority in both planning and management. The public information requirement concerning major accident hazards has been incorporated into Community legislation since 1982 as a relevant component of the control of major accident hazards. During an emergency, communication is to be recognised as the most critical factor that determines the success of the response. However, during an emergency, while the dynamics of events and processes may be partially obscure, people must still be warned of impending danger. The management of 'in the event' information is quite diverse from that of 'prior' information.