Abstract
In many circumstances within the water industry, project managers act as the gatekeepers for new infrastructure and water projects by way of determining, or at least providing, an assessment of whether to proceed with the project. Their assessments, which are considerably based on risk, disproportionately assume a technical, rational approach. Psychological, sociological and cultural risk approaches provide a comprehensive guide into how risks are assessed, highlighting areas that are not considered by the traditional technical risk approach. This article provides a review of these approaches, and in so doing contends that existing risk assessments in the water industry ignore sociological and psychological contexts in situations, leading to an assessment that may not be reliable.
Highlights
The interest in and subsequent literature within the field of risk has grown exponentially in the previous 30 years, both in research and in its everyday use (Lupton, 2013, p. 8)
This paper provides a concise and thorough review of risk perspectives, and how they differ between disciplines
The water industry predominantly utilises the technical risk approach and could be disregarding other influences in developing risk attitudes. This provides a limited approach to risk, that may result in widely varied risk assessments in the water industry
Summary
The interest in and subsequent literature within the field of risk has grown exponentially in the previous 30 years, both in research and in its everyday use (Lupton, 2013, p. 8). Risk research spans numerous disciplinary areas and is prevalent in the academic fields of psychology, engineering and sociology, leading to differing perspectives and approaches. The technical approach is the one most utilised in the water industry, with its focus on risk probability and risk consequence. Alternative approaches such as the Cultural or Psychological approaches, allow a much broader and more succinct look into how risk is analysed within a particular cultural viewpoint, or due to existing psychological affiliations. They offer a more comprehensive analysis of the risk assessor’s societal influences and previous experiences. The central themes from all three approaches are compared, with the aim of presenting a case for further consideration of how risk is calculated within the water industry
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