To show the organization of the course that includes this module, follow this link:  Course organization

Learning outcomes

The objective of this course is to provide theoretical and practical insights into the ways in which risk, safety and danger, with an emphasis on organizational settings, are analysed in the social sciences.
After completion of the course the student should:
- have an understanding of the concepts of risk, safety and danger in contemporary society as cultural resource, and further understand the ways in which these concepts are applied in different disciplines of the social sciences, such as anthropology, sociology and organisation theory;
- be able to identify, analyse and understand the use of different organizational strategies that are used by organisations to manage risk and safety;
- be able to competently reflect on and relate to how the concepts of risk and safety are used on individual, organizational, and societal level
- be able to independently and systematically value and relate the concepts of risk and safety management in various organizational settings to the work of safety professionals

Program

The issues to be discussed in the class are as follows:
1. Risk, safety, danger, prevention: a socio - cultural reconstruction
2. The perception and the management of safety in the workplace
3. Accidents and fatalities
4. Perception of risk and public opinion
5. Media and safety representations
6. The safety professional operator

The course requires active participation in class.
During the course a small-size research will be conducted by the students (using interviews or observations or focus groups). Students will be engaged in the construction of the research instrument, in developing research questions, in the actual practice of the research, in the analysis of results.

General references:
Deborah Lupton, Il rischio. Percezioni, simboli, culture. Bologna, Il Mulino, 2003.
Silvia Doria, La sicurezza in costruzione. Roma, Carocci, 2014.
Tindaro Bellinvia, Lasciar morire. Sesto San Giovanni, Mimesis, 2016.
Regione Emilia-Romagna, La percezione del rischio. Metodologia e casi di studio. 2011. Downloadable here:
http://www.arpae.it/cms3/documenti/moniter/quaderni/05_Quaderno_Apruzzese.pdf
Percezione e rappresentazione del rischio in edilizia. Modena 2012. Downloadable here:
http://www.osservatorioprevenzione.eu/Biblioteca-Archivio/Materiali/2012%2009%2011%20Percezione%20Rischio%20vol3.pdf
Giommi et al La percezione del rischio e della sicurezza negli ambienti di lavoro. Un'indagine sui cantieri edili. Università di Firenze. Downloadable here:
http://www.formedil.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/RELAZIONE-PERSIA-PERCEZIONE-DEL-RISCHIO.pdf

Examination Methods

The exam consists of a written test of 4 questions (the time for answering is 1 hour) based on the course bibliography, and a written paper, the details of which will be presented and discussed during the class.