ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the risk concept, following up the overall ideas. It provides some overall reflections on what the concept of risk means and discusses how to describe or characterize risk. It discusses some important features of the theory presented. The chapter presents a framework with some examples of how risk should be understood and characterized, improving current approaches and methods. Several attempts have been made to establish broadly accepted definitions of key terms related to concepts fundamental for the risk field. The risk concept has two main features—values or consequences C in relation to something that humans' value, and uncertainty U: we do not know what C will be. A generic risk concept and related characterizations exist, relevant for all applications: The risk concept is addressed in all fields, whether finance, safety engineering, health, transportation, security or supply chain management.
