Risk Perception and Analysis

This article provides an in-depth understanding of risk perception and analysis. It covers various scenarios and the energy and non-energy threats associated with them. The article also discusses ways to mitigate these risks. The course code and college/university are not mentioned.

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RISK PERCEPTION AND ANALYSIS
By (Name)
Name of the Course
Professor
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The City or State the Institution is Located
Date

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Risk Perception and Analysis
Part A
Question 1
The energy threat associated with coal mining is the formation of coal dust during the
mining process. The coal dust when suspended in the atmosphere especially in areas with poor
ventilation and air circulation tends to generate the risk of explosion to the individuals in the
immediate environment. Moreover, a spacious coal mine is more susceptible to explosion risk
compared to a small and densely packed mine. The non-energy threat associated with the mining
of coal stems from the presence of highly flammable hydrocarbon gas pockets in coal mines. In
most common hydrocarbon gas found in coal mines is methane. Methane is nontoxic however
when it concentration in the surround ranges between 5-15% it tends to be explosive(Haring
2015).
Question 2
The energy being used by the Airplane is fossil fuel which on its own is not a major risk.
However, a combination of fuel vapor and oxygen creates a highly flammable mixture that is
highly explosive in the presence of fire. As such, a downed aircraft poses extensive risk to the
people in and around it, if it is on fire and fuel is leaking from the engines. The non-energy threat
associated with an aircraft crash is the high likelihood of bodily harm caused by the plane or
debris falling from the sky with substantial speed. This threat extends to individuals on the
ground: driving on the road or walking past it. The other energy threat is related to the chances
for people being electrocuted by power lines that where damaged by the falling aircraft(Haring
2015).

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Question 3
The non-energy threat here stems from the freezing water of the North Sea that are
capable of causing hypothermia in only minute of being submerged in the icy water. As such, the
risk of hypothermia from the cold water is very high and this likely to be the cause of the
women’s worsened state(Costard 2008).
Question 4
The suspension bridges are normally designed with very durable and tough material;
however, years of uses and natural weathering tend to weak the strength of the suspension
cables. Therefore, there is a risk of the cables breaking and the bridge collapsing. Nevertheless,
this non-energy threat is very minimal but considerably destructive when it occurs(Costard
2008).
Question 5
The non-energy threat here is being burned under a landslide. The likelihood of a landslide
occurring in any given day is considerably low; however, the destruction caused by land shifting
can be considerably damaging especially in densely populated areas.
Question 6
The collapsing of a building is a non-energy threat that is a moderately serious risk in
developing nations where housing regulations are not stringently enforce by local authority.
Question 7

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Food contamination is a non-energy threat that is very common in densely populated
work environments where food handling is done with very little health inspection or hygiene
monitoring. The risk of food being contaminated with pesticide in the attempt to eradicate pests
is considerably high especially when the endeavor is done by unskilled individual.
Question 8
The energy threats associated with this case stem from fires caused by explosion at the
coal mine and faulty electrical connection at the power plant. In addition, the coal mine has the
potential risk of significantly contaminating the air making it non-breathable and high harmful.
The risk of a wild fire damaging the neighboring town is a substantial non-energy threat that
stems from negligence from the owners of the two energy production sources(Lanard &
Sandman 1987).
Question 9
The likelihood of a cage’s locking mechanism becoming defective is a non-energy threat
that stems from weakening or damage to animal cages. Therefore, there is need for park cages to
be regularly checked before workers are put in any compromising situations. In addition,
working with animals is inherently dangerous because they are wild creatures that are difficult to
predict; as such, measures should be taken to safeguard the lives of park workers(Lanard &
Sandman 1987).
Question 10

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The collapse of a mine tailing dam is not a common risk but is capable of happening. Therefore,
there is a need for management at such locations to create measures to mitigate the occurrence of
this risk.
Part B
Question (a)
Consequence 1: The fish farm would incur heavy losses resulting from poor fish yield and low
sales returns.
Consequence 2: The withdrawal of investors due to fear of substantial losses occurring eroding
their faith in the business.
Consequence 3: The management team of the fish farm will be removed to make way for a more
compete team of individuals
Consequence 4: The fish farm workers will lose their jobs because the farm will be unable to pay
them following substantial losses(Gurian 2001).
Question (b)
Consequence 1 is a severe problem since it would cause the business to be deemed unprofitable
and may even result in it being put under receivership to recover shareholders’ equity.
Consequence 2 would considerably diminish business funds making it difficult for the
management team to finance normal operations, new venture, and business expansion.

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Consequence 3 would cause a significant change in management technique which can either be
beneficial or harmful to the business in the long-run.
Consequence 4 would result in the loss of a trained workforce forcing the business to suspend or
minimize operation until a new workforce can be recruited and trained.
Question (c)
Business collapse-the business will lose all credibility with extended loss, decrement in
investors, and an incompetent management team. The fall of business profitability and solvency
marks the winding down of the enterprise, which will eventually result in its shutdown.
Poor workforce training-the company has an unskilled workforce that leads to poor fish yield and
extended problems with delegation of duties. The incompetent workforce will result in poor task
performance and extended cases of insubordination(Sjöberg, Moen & Rundmo 2004).
Question (d)
Possible mechanisms that drive the occurrence of the event stem from a need to make
changes to the business operation. For instance, the need to yield more tons of fish may motivate
the fish farm management to introduce new ways of propagating fish numbers, promoting fish
growth, and reducing fish deaths. Another mechanism is the need to increase company profits by
elevating sales and net profits. The desire by management to increase profits is one of the
mechanisms that lead to the events. Lastly, a need to increase efficiency and improvements in the
fish production process is one of the mechanisms that promoted the occurrence of the
event(Vasvári 2015).
Question (e)

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The pre-condition for the need to increase the aggregate fish yield by the farm is the
existence of low fish production in terms of tons. The second pre-condition relates to the need by
management to increase profits, as such, the organizations may have been realizing diminished
returns before the mechanism. The last pre-condition is the performance of the company below
optimal efficiency thereby necessitating the need by management to improve business
operations(Vasvári 2015).
Question (f)
The company will have to rebrand to ensure that they are able to maintain their market appear
after the poor fish yield that would create a substantial fish deficit in the market. Entry of new
firms into the market because demand will outweigh supply due to diminished fish presence. The
business can be franchised by a more successful and stable fish production organization.
Part C Time Zone 1
Question (i)
The time sequence model sheds attention to counter measures that are meant to prevent
risk. One of these approaches is education and training; this approach centers on use of effective
teaching tools to ensure that everyone is successfully educates on ways to mitigate risk and
optimize workplace safety/wellbeing. Moreover, this approach seeks to align individuals with the
necessary skills they will need to perform the task they are expected to perform in the workplace
without putting themselves or other at risk(Gurian 2001). Education and training is considerably
more importance compared to other prerequisite approaches because it tends to emphasis on the

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importance of knowing workplaces procedures and performance requirement. Rigorous
standards are normally imposed on education and training approaches to ensure that training
programs effectively train employees to be safe and healthy when performing their duties(Gurian
2001).
Question (ii)
Time zone 1 provides the opportunity to prevent the event from occurring. Therefore, by
providing education and training the organization is able to award employees with the skills
required for them to prevent unfortunate events from occurring like machine related injuries. As
such, education and training ensures that the qualifications of an individual to work at a given
job are directly correlated to their ability to properly safeguard lives. For instance, a crane
operator at a loading dock is educated not to operate the crane during bad weather because
unpredictable movement in the crane putting unnecessary strain on the winch. In addition, the
crane operator is not expected to load and offload containers when the shipping port is buzzing
with activity to ensure that no harm comes to other people(Gurian 2001).
Part D Quantifying estimates of risk
The risk of having my car destroyed in a road accident. There are numerous road
accidents that take places across the country that result in vehicle destruction and countless
insurance claims.
Question (i).

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Unit of exposure for this risk is the overall amount that the car insurance company would
have to pay to me if the car was involved in an accident and was totally written off. Hence, the
unit of exposure is $4,000for my Volvo car.
Question (ii).
The measure of likelihood of a young person being involved in a road accident in
Australia is based on historic data from the government’s records on road accidents. Therefore,
the occurrence of road accidents involving young drivers relative to the rest of the population of
drivers in the past decade will give the probability for being involved in an accident(Blows et al.
2003).
Question (iii)
The unit of frequency is therefore the number of accidents that has taken place over the
past decade that have involved young drivers and resulted in the cars being total write-offs.
Question (iv)
Consequence 1 would stem from the loss of car and with that my ability to move freely
using personal mobility means.Consequence 2 would result in the filling of an insurance claim in
the effort to get a new car or reimbursement for the loss. Consequence 3 would result in the loss
of wealth because I would have to pay for a new car if the insurance claim fails(Blows et al.
2003).
Question (v)
ISO Guide on Risk Management defines risk as any effect of uncertainty on
objectives(ISO 2009). This explanation indicates that an event is a direct result of expectation

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either positive or negative. Therefore, risk is viewed as the probability that a given situation
takes places that alters our objective.

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References
Blows, S, R Ivers, MW, Connor, J, Ameratunga, S & Norton, R 2003, 'Vehicle year and the risk of car crash
injury', National Institute of Health, vol 9, no. 4, pp. 353-356.
Costard, S 2008, 'Introduction to Risk Analysis and Risk Assessment', Royal Veterinary College, vol 27, no.
1, pp. 1-44.
Gurian, PL 2001, 'Risk Perception, Risk Communication, and Risk Management', Department of
Engineering, Drexel University , Drexel E-Repository and Archive (iDEA) , Philadelphia.
Haring, I 2015, 'Introduction to Risk Analysis and Risk', Springer, vol XLI, no. 123, pp. 1-19.
ISO, S 2009, 'ISO Guide 73: 2009 Risk management ', ISO Guide, vol 1, no. 1, pp. 1-15.
Lanard, J & Sandman, PM 1987, 'A Quick Introduction to Risk Perception', U.S.Environmental Protection
Agency Journal, pp. 21-22.
Sjöberg, L, Moen, B-E & Rundmo, T 2004, 'Explaining risk perception.An evaluation of the psychometric
paradigm in risk perception research', Rotunde, vol 16, no. 3, pp. 1-35.
Vasvári, T 2015, 'Risk, Risk Perception,Risk Managent: A Review of the Literature', Focus: Public Finance
Quarterly, vol II, no. 15, pp. 1-20.