''Uncertainty and Quality in Science for Policy'' is a 1990 book by Silvio Funtowicz and

Jerome Ravetz Jerome (Jerry) Ravetz is a philosopher of science. He is best known for his books analysing scientific knowledge from a social and ethical perspective, focussing on issues of quality. He is the co-author (with Silvio Funtowicz) of the NUSAP no ...

, in which the authors explain the notational system

NUSAP NUSAP is a notational system for the management and communication of uncertainty in science for policy, based on five categories for characterizing any quantitative statement: Numeral, Unit, Spread, Assessment and Pedigree. NUSAP was introduced by ...

(numeral, unit, spread, assessment, pedigree) and applies it to several examples from the environmental sciences. The work is considered foundational to the development of

post-normal science Post-normal science (PNS) was developed in the 1990s by Silvio Funtowicz and Jerome R. Ravetz.Funtowicz, S. O. and Ravetz, J. R., 1991. "A New Scientific Methodology for Global Environmental Issues", in Costanza, R. (ed.), Ecological Economics ...

Content

This work, written by the fathers of

, discusses the use of science for policy and its problems. The book emphasizes the need for craft skills with numbers – not only in statistics but also in cost-benefit analysis, and on the need of specific skills for policy-related research. It introduces for the first time

, a new notational system for the management of uncertainty and quality in quantitative information, and presents examples of its application to radiological hazards, the valuation of ecosystems, and to energy technologies. This work is one of the mos
quoted
in the field of science and technology studies - see also

Science, technology and society Science and technology studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary field that examines the creation, development, and consequences of science and technology in their historical, cultural, and social contexts. History Like most interdisciplinary fie ...

(STS), especially relation to the issue of "democratization of expertise".Carrozza, C. (2015). Democratizing Expertise and Environmental Governance: Different Approaches to the Politics of Science and their Relevance for Policy Analysis. Journal of Environmental Policy & Planning, 17(1), 108-126. For Carrozza (2015) an
Gooday (2006)
ref name="Gooday">Graeme Gooday, 2006, History and philosophy of science at Leeds, Notes and Records of the Royal Society, 60, 183–192. this work, together with Ravetz's ''

Scientific Knowledge and Its Social Problems ''Scientific Knowledge and Its Social Problems'' is a 1971 book by Jerome Ravetz Jerome (Jerry) Ravetz is a philosopher of science. He is best known for his books analysing scientific knowledge from a social and ethical perspective, focussing ...

'' (1971) constitutes the bedrock for the conceptualization of post-normal science in the first half of the 1990s.Funtowicz, S.O. and Jerome R. Ravetz (1991). "A New Scientific Methodology for Global Environmental Issues." In ''Ecological Economics: The Science and Management of Sustainability''. Ed. Robert Costanza. New York: Columbia University Press: 137–152.Funtowicz, S. O., and J. R. Ravetz (1992). "Three types of risk assessment and the emergence of post-normal science." In Krimsky, S., and D. Golding, ed., ''Social theories of risk.'' p. 251–274. Westport, CT: Praeger.Funtowicz, S. O., and J. R. Ravetz. "Science for the Post-Normal Age", ''Futures,'' 25/7 September 1993, p. 739–755.

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