A very comprehensive summary of the course Introduction to Security and Safety from the bachelor Security Studies. This course aims to lay the foundations for the bachelor program Security Studies by providing a solid conceptualisation of the notions of security and safety, and by exploring these c...
INTRODUCTION TO SAFETY AND SECURITY
Summary for the mid-term exam on the 24th of September 2018 – SLIDES AND NOTES ONLY
CLASS 1: INTRODUCTION
The Three Mile Island:
The Three Mile Island accident occurred on the 28 th of March in 1979, Pennsylvania. The accident began with
failures in the non-nuclear secondary system, followed by a stuck-open pilot operated relief value in the primary
system, which allowed large amounts of nuclear reactor coolant to escape. This is considered to be a safety or
security case because you talk about a safety or security case if there is harm and if it affects humans directly or
indirectly. Security became more and more of importance ever since The Cold War. There are three important
aspects why safety and security has gained more attention: Maslow’s pyramid of needs, technological
developments and globalisation.
Security has been studied for a very long time. The first war decade is called the Emerging Phase. World War I
and II triggered the emergence of the academic disciplines: political science and international relations. The
period during the Cold War is called the Golden Age. There was a strong focus on nuclear weaponry in
international relations. The period after the Cold War is called the Decline. The end of the Cold War was not
predicted and the just developed theories and methods were no longer useful. But why is safety and security so
important?
1. Maslow’s pyramid of needs
According to Maslow, safety and security are very
important in order to grow as an individual. As you
can see at the picture, it is considered to be a basic
need.
2. Technological development
We live in a world where our technology is very advanced. Therefore, our lives depend on some really
complex issues. We have to accept the fact that there are accidents which can be considered as normal
accidents. Because our technology is so well-advanced, it can also be used by people with bad intentions
to exploit something or someone. Example of this could be hacking.
3. Globalisation
This can be defined as “the process of the intensification of economic, political, social and cultural
relations across international boundaries”. Has a positive/ negative side. Global as a geospatial concept:
o Global in scale: all people are affected by a specific harm (global warming)
o Global in reach: when manifested, it only affects people locally (migration)
1
, CLASS 2: WHAT IS SCIENCE?
Science is a discipline; a field of study. There is no agreed definition of the concept “science” because people tend
to differ. The closest definition of science is: “Science is a systematic and logical approach to discovering how
things in the universe works. It is also the body of knowledge accumulated through the discoveries about all the
things in the universe”. Science is not about opinions because it needs to be testable. Science never refers to the
supranatural world. It therefore requires methods, asking specific questions and verifying answers.
Early scientific discoveries: focused on very practical and everyday life problems
Babylon (4000 B.C.) Egypt (3.500 B.C.) China (3.000 B.C) India (3.000 B.C.)
Tally Alphabet Paper Numbers
Calendar Medicine Gunpowder Surgery
Constellation Architecture Magnetism + compass Medicine
Thales of Miletus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer. He is also known as the
founding father of science or a natural philosopher since scientific disciplines did not exist, yet. He was the first
on record who said natural phenomena requires scientific thinking.
Going from water, air, earth and Branch of mathematics concerned A natural science that studies
fire to atoms; nature consists of with shape, size, relative position celestial objects and phenomena –
two fundamental principles 1) of figures, and the properties of plotting stars and planets
atom and 2) void. space – still used nowadays
The Middle Ages is the period in the European history from the collapse of Roman civilization in the 5th century
A.D. to the period of the Renaissance. This is also referred to as the Dark Ages. During this time, a new religion
developed: the Islam.
Period of stagnation Trying to prove things through religion Theology, Law, Medicine, Art
Three major developments:
Renaissance (1450-1600) Age of Discovery (1450-1750) Scientific Revolution (1500-1800)
Re-birth, recognition of Roman Travelling/ mapping the globe for New scientific and technological
Empire trade (spices, etc.) issues
Art, literature, architecture Colonisation: navigation skills Catholic church lost a lot of power
Appreciation of human being From humanist to naturalist
2
, Pushing science into a new area: there were two important men
1) Bacon (16th century): Francis Bacon served as attorney general and Lord Chancellor of England. He is
most famous for his saying “Knowledge is Power” – Scientists need to debate and share their knowledge
for expansion. He also wrote a book about empirical science and induction
2) Descartes (17th century): René Descartes was a French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. He is
most famous for his saying “I think, therefore I am” – The focus shifted from God to the Human. Basis
for scientific endeavour – epistemology
Deductive approach Inductive approach
Predicts and/ or explains, in other words: deduces Starts with empirical observations and infers
empirical behaviour based on unchanging generalized conclusions from these particulars.
fundamental assumptions. Start with a thesis Start with data and after that form a thesis
Associated with rational choice approaches and Associated with 1950/60s behaviourism,
game theory. quantative studies and number-crunching
Applied, for example, to the study of party Focuses on quantifiable topics, such as voter
competition and group politics. behaviour.
Key takeaways:
o It all stars with general knowledge before going in to depth
o World views changed: no place for religion and magic in science
o Role of technology and methods also causes a shift
3
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