During the last forty years, risk has increasingly become of interest to social analysts and practitioners. Risk, however, is not a new problem. It could be argued that humans have been attempting to manage the problem of risk for as long as they have had powers of cognition. Certainly, from examining early documentary sources, the risk issue has been considered for almost as long as writing itself.

In the complex social world in which we now live, particularly since the 1980s, risk has emerged as a key concept for the social sciences. Some theorists have even suggested that risk represents a fundamental principle for organisation in the social sciences.

A formative two-week induction on Academic Writing and Language Skills is integrated into this module in order to help students with no academic background or first degree to develop their academic writing skills.

Global warming, climate change, environmental disasters and terror threats present significant and growing threats to societies. Disasters, crises and risks cause social, economic, financial, natural and physical disruption that often most severely affect the poor and vulnerable. The ‘messiness’ that risks, crisis and disasters create require complex solutions to mitigate their impacts. Being able to manage and mitigate these threats is now seen by the United Nations as a globally valuable skill, enshrined in their three frameworks the Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030) and the Paris Protocol (2015-2020). By bringing policy frameworks and case studies from the global South, this module teases out the overlap of the UN’s global frameworks in everyday practice and introduces the tools and frameworks that are widely used to assess disaster risk avoidance and resilience in resource poor contexts.

This module introduces approaches to risk, crisis and disaster risk management. The role of leadership and communication is emphasised in the management of risk, crisis, disaster and development. Topics such as organisational culture and behaviour are introduced to tackle ‘vulnerabilities’ that exist in the seams of organisations and communities as resident pathogens. Classic and contemporary case studies are examined critically – incidents such as the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium disaster, the 2013 collapse of Rana Plaza and the 2017 fire in Grenfell Tower. Particular attention is paid to the aetiology and management approaches adopted in relation to incidents.

This module introduces various dimensions of the management of emergencies. In particular, the module examines how different management techniques may be applied to various aspects of incidents such as evacuations, fires, explosions, release of toxic materials, post-traumatic stress disorder. The module considers such issues in terms of risk assessment and economic planning for organisations. Integrated emergency planning management, early warning systems and lessons from disaster inquiries, amongst other aspects, are introduced to promote effective emergency planning and management.

Theories, tools, frameworks and leadership and management practices covered in the other four modules will culminate, in this module, in the preparation and implementation of a project based on your own research topic. In the first part of this module, you will develop a credible research proposal, refine problems into researchable questions and then demonstrate how these can be explored through appropriate research methods. In the second part of this module, you will produce an accurate and incisive project using appropriate methods of research, analysis and presentation.