Title: Incomplete preferences in disaster risk management

Authors: Nicolas Espinoza, Martin Peterson

Addresses: Department of Languages and Culture, Lulea University of Technology, 97187 Lulea, Sweden. ' Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane, Cambridge, CB2 3RH, UK

Abstract: This paper addresses the phenomenon of incomplete preferences in disaster risk management. If an agent finds two options to be incomparable and thus has an incomplete preference ordering, i.e., neither prefers one option over the other nor finds them equally as good, it is not possible for the agent to perform a value tradeoff, necessary for an informed decision, between these two options. In this paper we suggest a way to model incomplete preference orderings by means of probabilistic preferences, and how to reveal an agent|s incomplete preference ordering within a behaviorist framework.

Keywords: incomplete preferences; probabilistic preferences; incomparability; disaster risks; decision; choice; revealed preference; risk management; disaster management; emergency management; value tradeoffs; informed decisions.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTPM.2008.020163

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management, 2008 Vol.8 No.4, pp.341 - 358

Published online: 03 Sep 2008 *

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