Public expectations

Work by Slovic, Fischhoff and Lichenstein shows that people are frequently unaware of the true risks from a specific hazard. For example, their study showed that whilst the actual number of deafhs in the USA from botulism was less than 10 per year, it was estimated at between 100 and 5000 by the representative group of interviewees. Similarly the group estimated that deaths from stomach cancers at 5000 as against an actual figure of 100000 per aimum. The authors noted that biases in newspaper coverage closely matched the biases in people s perception. The question is, did the researchers report a natural bias or had the newspapers created one  

Overall, the less that is known about a recognised risk, the more it is feared and the greater the anxiety about it. Conversely, the more we are familiar with a risk and feel in control of it, the less concerned we are about it. The concern arising from the perception of a risk can be at an individual, local or national level. When it surfaces at national level it frequently results in regulatory controls. 

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Making projections about the future adequacy of pharmacy s workforce is made even more challenging because it is highly dependent on the future roles of pharmacists and public expectations. It is clear that a pharmacist shortage currently exists in many regions of... 

The missing variable in these predictions is time. Until there is a change in the European inventory provisions there will be an exposure of the confidential identities immediately upon publication (expected in 1984 or 1985) for existing... 

Hermansen, J.E. 2003. Organic livestock production systems and appropriate development in relation to public expectations. Livestock Production Science 80 3-15. 

In the case of biological contamination, the identification of risk became obvious by experience, the risk assessment was made unambiguous by epidemiology, and the immediate and obvious effectiveness of the risk management decisions demonstrated their wisdom in the absence of elegant quantitative risk extrapolation models and projections of costs per case averted. Costs of water treatment and distribution became trivial relative to almost all other essential commodities, and in the public expectation the biological safety of drinking water became axiomatic. 

Third, more sophisticated products and the public expectations of zero risk are driving up the cost of state-of-the-art medicines. At the same time, health care cost containment and demands for better access to pharmaceutical products from an aging population and from third world countries are forcing prices downward. 

HEMICPD (2009) HEMICPD Project, VITO, Belgium, Final report publication expected March 2009, http //www.wtcb.be go hemicpd (accessed jan 2009). 

We will strengthen our businesses by making safety, health and environmental issues an integral part of all business activities and by continuously striving to align our businesses with public expectations. 

We often hear that trust in the decisions about human health and environment made by government has rarely been lower, yet public expectations about transparency and consultation are growing. The development of environmental standards is no exception, but levels of public and stakeholder engagement in the process are currently low, and even where they take place at all, usually it is only after proposals are well developed. 

But the pharmaceutical industry isn t like any other industry. By virtue of what it produces—and the respect it demands for what it produces—it does carry some social service obligations. The public expects drug makers to be more ethical than the proverbial widget makers prescription drug commercials prompt public outrage in a way that McDonald s ads do not. If the industry is ever to gain the public s trust, more companies will have to behave like the old Merck. In fact, Merck will have to behave like the old Merck. 

Mr. Ken Robertson, president of Exxon Chemical America, discussed protective programs or mechanical integrity programs in a keynote address at the Chemical Manufacturers Association s Plant Inspection and Maintenance Forum in 1990. Indicating that public expectations are increasing, Mr. Robertson noted that there is less tolerance for oil and chemical spills as well as tragic plant safety incidents. [7]... 

Because of the ethical and legal restrictions on the exposure of humans to chemicals, and the limitations and uncertainties inherent in using information from available human exposure data, animal experiments are used to characterize the hazard, to determine the toxicity, for most chemicals. This necessity places many toxicologists (scientists who study and assess the risks from chemicals) in a very difficult position, between a rock and a hard place the public expects drugs to be safe and insists on knowing the adverse effects of chemicals to which they may be exposed, and at the same time many people demand an end to experiments on animals. 

Advances in stem cell therapy have received a great deal of press in recent years. Unfortunately, when public expectations have been raised, patients are likely to search for non-orthodox sources of treatment. There are tens of thousands of internet pages extolling the promise of stem cells, and various forms of stem cell therapy are available on a commercial basis in a number of countries, including China, South America, and Eastern Europe. However, most administer the stem cells in an uncontrolled way and do not have long term follow-up so that rational scientific conclusions cannot be reached. The science provides hope for potential therapeutic interventions in neurodegenerative diseases, but it is in its early stages and much is still needed to be learned about how to control stem cell proliferation, differentiation into specific cells and optimal functional recovery in animal models before human trials. The collection and use of human fetal tissue may also raise ethical concerns. 

What was clear from the evidence was that having values is not enough. The way values are expressed, as behavior, needs to be constantly refreshed to reflect changing public expectations. 

The decision to produce the Shell Report was evidence of a greater commitment to openness and transparency - an acknowledgement of the show me world. That meant a willingness to engage with groups that had not traditionally been informed or involved in business decisions. That in turn would help ensure that the values of the company continued to be sensitive and responsive to public expectations. With time this would go a step further and begin to open up an involve me world. 

The important role of risk assessment is to inform the public health decision process so that responsible decisions in the interest of public health can be made. Extreme application of the precautionary principle, whether motivated by public expectations or regulatory desire to achieve ever lower risk, can lead to a virtual zero tolerance policy it is the role of risk assessment founded on scientific principles to advise the reasonableness of these policy decisions. 

In recent years, a number of companies have seen the need to introduce environmental reporting. In essence, this means placing environmental information into the public domain. Such information can be contained within the traditional annual report or presented in a standalone environmental report. While this move has mainly been driven by legislation and corporate governance issues, the public expectation of disclosure and the range of information required by shareholders and stakeholders has broadened significantly. 

The importance of conserving cultural material is obvious. The public expect it, and the specialist also expects to be able to reassess the evidence. The material should also, whenever possible, be available for study and exhibition... 

Wells, P. (2008). Site-specific polytheneiExperiments in Durability. In Postprints of Plastics Looking at the past learning from the future London, 23-25 May 2007, publication expected in 2008. 

The concept of systems engineering embodied in this document provides an approach for product development in a system context. It is not meant to describe what an organizational entity called systems engineering does or a job position for which a systems engineer is responsible. Rather, it encompasses what all organizational entities and all enterprise personnel must accomplish to produce a quality, competitive product that will be marketable, will provide an acceptable return on investment to the enterprise, will achieve customer satisfaction, and will meet public expectations. 

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