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The L’Aquila earthquake case is not “science on trial”: it is a challenge to the way public officials communicate risk

Etienne, Julien and Palermo, Tommaso (2012) The L’Aquila earthquake case is not “science on trial”: it is a challenge to the way public officials communicate risk. LSE European Politics and Policy (EUROPP) Blog (01 Nov 2012). Website.

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Abstract

Last week six scientists and a former government official were sentenced to imprisonment for their reassurances about safety prior to the 2009 earthquake in L’Aquila which killed over 300 people. While many commentators have expressed deep concern that this is a case of ‘science on trial’, Julien Etienne and Tommaso Palermo contend that the trial is one of public communication. They argue that in countries such as Italy, officials have sometimes downplayed natural or technological risks to reassure the public, at little cost to themselves if they happened to be wrong. The L’Aquila trial and verdict may be a sign that this is now changing.

Item Type: Online resource (Website)
Official URL: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/
Additional Information: © 2012 The Authors
Divisions: Accounting
Government
Subjects: J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe)
Date Deposited: 04 Apr 2013 13:39
Last Modified: 15 Sep 2023 18:37
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/49558

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