Because — as any economist surely knows — the price of professional services must reflect not only the immediate overhead costs, but also the societal investment in expertise and quality control.
In contrast, rational volcanic hazard forecasts fully and explicitly account for the uncertain nature of both volcanic processes and the evolution of a volcanic system, thus maximizing the exploitation of diverse knowledge and expertise for societal benefits.
The Swiss Centre for Applied Ecotoxicology (Ecotox Centre) was created in recognition of the urgent societal need to provide expertise, education and tools for assessing the risks and effects of anthropogenic chemicals in the environment.
I conclude by proposing a rational decision-making procedure that ensures full appreciation of the uncertain nature of volcanic hazard estimates and maximizes the collaborative contributes of several experts and political decision-makers, while keeping clear separation of roles according to each participant's respective expertise and societal mandate.
In addition, it is time to incorporate non-technical expertise: Lay publics, social scientists and farmers have access to relevant societal knowledge that has to inform risk assessment.
In the following sections I examine current alert level systems and their use in communications from volcano observatories, and argue that the use of VALS entails evaluations that transcend volcano science to involve social and political aspects, forcing volcano scientists to overstep their expertise as well as their mandated societal role.
Top-down activities that lack incentives and possibilities for integrating diverse societal actors will inevitably disregard valuable experience and expertise.
Some FS scholars have pointed to the limitations on predictive expertise when it comes to the societal implications of developments in science and technology [11, 12], indicating that issues of stakeholder participation and representational legitimacy are particularly important in cases where prediction deals with contentious technologies a core research area in STS.
Point of departure was the view that scientific expertise as such cannot sufficiently guarantee the societal justification of developing and introducing new technologies.
He applies his expertise to issues requiring community, organizational, and societal change, from low carbon lifestyles, livable neighborhoods, and sustainable communities to organizational talent development, corporate social engagement, and cultural transformation.
