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Canyon College

online Legislative Process and Behavior course at Canyon College

COURSE SYLLABUS: Decision Analysis & Risk Management

Course Title:
Department:
Instructor:
Prerequisites: 		PS475 - Decision Analysis & Risk Management
Political Science
Jay Strike Carlin, PsyD, JD, MS, MBA, BA E-Mail | Vita
None


COURSE OBJECTIVES:

This is a survey course that examines group and government measures of assessing and managing risk. This course seeks to have the student understand how affected individuals and groups judge and interpret available evidence on their possible losses and the particular vulnerability associated with the risk.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK: Online Bookstore

The textbook that will be utilized in this course is titled “ The Perceptions of Risk”, Paul Slovic, Earthscan Publications, London and Sterling, VA, 2000, ISBN #: 1853835277

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

There will be two Exams (one midterm and one final exam) given in this course. The format of these exams will be essay and will cover the materials presented in the text. The exams are expected to be completed no later than the last day of the week on week four and on the last day of the week on week nine respectively.

The midterm exam will cover the subjects in the first eight chapters of the text and the final will cover the material presented in the remaining chapters of the text. It should be noted that the final exam is not cumulative and will only cover chapters nine through sixteen. The student is also reminded that they should email the instructor one week prior to their sitting for each exam. This will give the instructor the opportunity to notify Canyon College that the student wishes to sit for the exam and thus give the student access to the particular exam.

There will also be written assignments given for this class and these written assignments are a part of your final course grade. Each of these assignments will focus on a concept presented in your text and will correspond to the weekly reading assignment. In order for the student to gain the maximum benefit from this class, they should treat these written assignments as representative examples of the types of questions that will be found on both the midterm and final exams. Each written assignment is due during the following week in which the assignment was made.

COURSE SCHEDULE:

Week One – Chapters 1 – 4

Chapter One – Decision Processes, Rationality and Adjustment to Natural Hazards

Chapter Two- Cognitive Processes and Societal Risk Taking

Chapter Three – Preference for Insuring against Probable Small Losses: Insurance Implications

Chapter Four – Accident Probabilities and Seat Belt Usage

- Written Assignment # 1 – Covering Chapters One thru Four

Week Two – Covering Chapters 5 – 8

Chapter Five – How Safe is Safe Enough? A Psychometric Study of Attitude Toward Technological Risks and Benefits.

Chapter Six – Rating the Risks

Chapter Seven – Weighing the Risks: Which Risks are Acceptable?

Chapter Eight – Facts and Fears: Understanding Perceived Risks

- Written Assignment #2 – Covering Chapters Five thru Eight

Week Three – Covering Chapters 9 - 12

Chapter Nine – Response Mode: Framing and Information–processing effects in Risk Assessment

Chapter Ten – The Nature of Technological Hazard

Chapter Eleven – Informing and Educating the Public about Risk

Chapter Twelve – Perception if Risk from Automobile Safety Defects

- No Written Assignment- Study for the Midterm Examination

Week Four – MIDTERM EXAMINATION

Week Five – Covering Chapters 13-16

Chapter Thirteen-Perception of Risk

Chapter Fourteen-The Social Amplification of Risk: A Conceptual Framework

Chapter Fifteen – The Perception and Management of Therapeutic Risk

Chapter Sixteen – Perception of Risk from Radiation

-Written Assignment #3 – Covering Chapters 13-16

Week Six – Covering Chapters 17 – 19

Chapter Seventeen – Perceived Risk, Trust and the Politics of Nuclear Waste

Chapter Eighteen – Intuitive Toxicology, Expert and Lay Judgments of Chemical Risks

Chapter Nineteen – Perceived Risks, Trust and Democracy

-Written Assignment #4 – Covering Chapters 17 –19

Week Seven – Covering Chapters 20-23

Chapter Twenty – Adolescent Health threatening and health enhancing behaviors: A Study of Word Association and Imagery

Chapter Twenty One – Technological Stigma

Chapter Twenty Two – Probability, Danger and Coercion: A Study of Risk Perception and Decision Making in Mental Health Law

Chapter Twenty Three – Do Adolescent Smokers know the risks?

- No written assignment

Week Eight – Covering Chapters 24-26

Chapter Twenty Four – Insensitivity to the Value of Human Life: A Study of Psychophysical Numbing

Chapter Twenty Five – Trust, Emotion, Sex, Politics and Science: Surveying the Risk-Assessment Battlefield.

Chapter Twenty Six – The Affect Heuristic in Judgments of Risk and Benefits

- No written Assignment – Study for the Final Examination

Week Nine – Final Examination

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS:

Written Assignment #1 – Covering Chapters 1- 4
- What are some of the policy issues involving societal risk?
Written Assignment #2 – Covering Chapters 5 – 8
- Please define the term heuristic and how they affect risk assessment.
Written Assignment #3 – Covering Chapters 13 –16
- What is the Psychometric Paradigm?
Written Assignment #4 – Covering Chapters 17 –19
- How does imagery and perception affect surveys?
GRADING PROCEDURE:

Midterm Examination - 40% of final grade in course

Final Examination - 40% of final grade in course

Four Written Assignments - 20% of final grade in course

90 - 100%
80 - 90%
70 - 80%
60 - 70%
Below 60% 		A
B
C
D
F