Constructing Risk and Safety in Technological Practice

Modern technological systems entail risks and uncertainties of hitherto unknown dimensions. This book discusses the construction of risk and safety within a variety of empirical contexts where technologies and their risk are debated and handled by individuals, groups or organizations. With contributions from leading scholars from Europe and the USA, it presents original theoretical discussions, linked to detailed empirical case studies.

About the Author

Jane Summerton , sociologist of technology, is associate professor at the Department of Technology and Social Change, Linköping University, Sweden. Her previous work has focussed on managerial and user practices in sociotechnical networks and systems, particularly in relation to energy and environmental issues. Her current research concerns 'non-user' practices in technology and their intersections with socio-economic resources, ethnicity and gender. Boel Berner , sociologist and historian, is professor at the Department of Technology and Social Change, Linköping University, Sweden. Her research has focussed on the identities and practices of technical experts, in work, education and in relation to risk, and on questions of gender and technology. Her most recent books in English are Gendered Practices (ed. 1996) and Manoeuvring in an Environment of Uncertainty (ed. with Per Trulsson, 2000)