bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Recalling Chernobyl: Reflections among Swedish Farmers
Authors: Enander Ann
Published: January 2023

Interpretations of past disaster experiences are likely to influence reactions to future threat situations. This study examines recollections and interpretations of a diffuse threat situation among farmers in areas of Sweden affected to differing degrees by radioactive fallout from the Chernobyl accident in 1986. 20 farmers were interviewed and the data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The analysis resulted in a model in which personal reflections emerged as a filtering link between recollections of the past event and anticipations about the future. Differences in recollections, reflections and anticipated behaviors could be related to differing experiences among the farmers. The main category of reflections exemplified ways in which memories from Chernobyl were reassessed and evaluated in a sense-making process. On the basis of these reflections, two differing patterns of anticipated future behavior could be identified: the first being passive and reactive in response to the actions of authorities; the second active and relying mainly on personal judgments and decisions.
Shelter Life after Hurricane Katrina: A Visual Analysis of Evacuee Perspectives
Authors: Blinn-Pike Lynn , Phillips Brenda , Reeves Patsilu
Published: January 2023

Nine survivors of Hurricane Katrina, who were residents in two Red Cross shelters, provided the researchers with a total of 90 Polaroid photographs of their lives in their respective disaster shelters. After they completed the photographic activity, they participated in semi-structured interviews about their individual photos. The following research questions were addressed to discover the emic (insider) perspectives of the shelter residents: a) what features of shelter life did the residents photograph and discuss; and b) what needs were evident in their photos and interviews? The results showed that the residents had particular needs related to a) privacy, b) interpersonal relationships, c) security, and d) outreach. The discussion covers recommendations for using visual research methodologies to understand the needs of shelter residents and suggests practical implications for shelter managers and other professionals serving those displaced by disaster.
Promotion of Disaster Education in Nepal: The Role of Teachers as Change Agents
Authors: Shiwaku Koichi , Shaw Rajib , Kandel Ram Chandra , Shrestha Surya Narayan , Dixit Amod Mani
Published: January 2023

Disaster education allows community members to initiate pre-disaster measures at the individual level. The National Society for Earthquake Technology (NSET) has initiated a school safety program in selected government schools in Nepal, one of the most disaster prone countries.

This study outlines the current condition of disaster education in Nepal, identifies teachers’ levels of awareness and evaluates the effect of NSET's work. A survey of 130 teachers was conducted in over 40 schools in which it was found that while a level of disaster education in Nepal is widespread, it has not been implemented systematically but depends on the awareness of individual teachers. More teachers in NSET project schools provided disaster education than in the typical government and private schools that were observed. However, the quality of education provided was found to be the same. The teaching focused particularly on the effects of disasters in which the teachers had personal experience. These topics were often covered even if they were not included in the textbooks.

The majority of teachers surveyed reported a need for curriculum development in this area. However, considering the results listed above, it can be considered that teacher training is the most important step to improve disaster education in Nepal.
Disaster Risk Sense in Japan and Gaming Approach to Risk Communication
Authors: Yamori Katsuya
Published: January 2023

The aim of the present paper was to identify and describe the three different modes of risk sense that occurred before Japanese society digested and finally accepted the unfamiliar and imported concept of “risk” (or its Japanese translation “risuku”) in the context of natural disaster reduction. These modes were: mode zero, in which the concept of risk was almost absent before the mid-1990s; the first mode, which occurred after the 1990s when the concept of risk became rapidly and widely accepted by linking it with the preexisting concept of “danger,” or “kiken” in Japanese; the second mode, in which, some people highlighted active and participatory risk management processes based on the significant distinction between risk and danger proposed by Luhmann (1991a). Today, another mode of risk sense is needed, to move beyond the limitations of the first and second modes, and to deal with the recurrence of natural disasters we are bound to face in Japan. To deal with such disasters, a novel and promising gaming approach is proposed that entails a new, third mode conceptualization of risk.
Mobilization of the Black Community following Hurricane Katrina: From Disaster Assistance to Advocacy of Social Change and Equity
Authors: Anderson William A.
Published: January 2023

In August, 2005, Hurricane Katrina dealt a devastating blow to the Gulf Coast region of the United States, and the Black population was hit particularly hard because of its preexisting vulnerability. Thus, this disaster became what Birkland refers to as a focusing event for the larger Black community in the U.S., one that attracted an unusual amount of attention from stakeholders and put it on their agenda for policy change. Katrina resulted in a surge of interest within the Black community regarding the immediate challenges created by the event and the factors perceived to sustain the community's vulnerability. This is reflected in two types of actions undertaken by the Black community in response to Katrina discussed in this paper. First, there was a mobilization across the country to provide disaster relief for victims, which included housing, financial, and educational assistance. Second, Blacks rallied to challenge the government's response to the disaster, to urge it to take more decisive and fair actions and, looking beyond Katrina, to initiate major public policy changes that would alter conditions related to race, class, and poverty which were perceived as major underlying factors in the continuing vulnerability of disadvantaged groups in the society to future disasters. Such actions were frequently undertaken by activists in the larger Black community in collaboration with other groups, reminiscent of the civil rights movement of an earlier era.
Natural Disasters and Social Order: Modeling Crime Outcomes in Florida
Authors: Zahran Sammy , Shelley Tara O'Connor , Peek Lori , Brody Samuel D.
Published: January 2023

This study analyzes the spatial distribution of crime outcomes at the county scale in Florida as a function of natural disasters. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and conditional fixed effects negative binomial statistical techniques are used. Four crime outcomes are analyzed: index crimes, property crimes, violent crimes, and domestic violence crimes. Adjusting for socio-demographic and social order variables, we find that natural disasters significantly decrease levels of reported index, property, and violent crimes, but significantly increase the expected count of reported domestic violence crimes.
Age and Motivations to Become an Australian Volunteer Firefighter
Authors: McLennan Jim , Birch Adrian
Published: January 2023

Australian communities are very dependent on volunteer-based fire services for protection against wildfires and other disasters. However, volunteer firefighter numbers have declined significantly over the past decade, due mostly to impacts of economic and demographic changes on Australian society. One effect of these is that volunteer fire service memberships are ageing. Little is known with certainty about what motivates individuals to become volunteer firefighters. The current study of 988 volunteer firefighters suggests that those who volunteer do so because of a mix of self-oriented, fire safety-oriented, and community-oriented motivations. It appears that younger volunteers are more likely to be motivated by perceived self-oriented benefits from volunteering compared with older volunteers. However, they are no less motivated, on average, by safety concerns and community contribution motivations than are older volunteers.
Large-Scale Rooftop Search and Rescue: The Experience of Hurricane Katrina
Authors: Katirai Matin , Simpson David M.
Published: January 2023

This article examines issues arising in large-scale rooftop search and rescue operations, in this case following Hurricane Katrina. Few events in the U.S. disaster experience have provided the background or means to prepare for the scale of airlift required following Katrina. Unique characteristics of this event created new challenges, and agencies were operating with little coordination. Observations and recommendations regarding communications and similar means of dealing with these large-scale events are described.
Disaster Warnings and Compliance: The Impact of Social Process Factors over Time
Authors: Kirschenbaum Alan , Rapaport Carmit
Published: January 2023

Disaster warnings have proved to be only partially effective in bringing about behaviors that enhance survival. For disasters that are ongoing and associated with repeated warnings, determinants of compliance may change over time. To test this argument, a theoretical working model is developed and tested on the basis of data collected from a field survey of a national representative sample of Israeli households (814). Respondents were asked if they complied with the warning to enter a sealed room (i.e., shelter in place) at the initial and toward the end of a three month long ballistic missile attack on Israeli civilians during the First Gulf War. Compliance decreased with time. We then sought to generate a parsimonious model to explain the drop in compliance by focusing on a variety of factors that included “message” oriented and social process variables. Results of the logistic regression models demonstrated that compliance initially was determined by prior levels of preparedness whereas determinants of behavioral compliance three months later broadened to include gender, risk perceptions, and the source of knowledge for actions to the threat. These results strongly suggest that initial compliance with warnings depend on having available fundamental survival assets. With repeated warnings over time, social process variables significantly affected compliance decisions. Efforts to increase disaster survival should therefore consider the time continuum in terms of the impact of social process variables on complying with warnings.
Household Awareness of What to Do in a Disaster: A Social Capital Approach
Authors: Brunie Aurélie
Published: January 2023

This article investigates the utility of a social capital approach for explaining household awareness of what to do in a disaster in the context of long-term threats. Using data from a household survey in Dominica, it assesses how the concepts and measures for two variants of social capita—relational and community—can be used to explain three separate awareness outcomes. Results demonstrate the relevance of both relational and community social capital tools for disaster research. Each type of social capital was found to be significantly related to a different awareness outcome. Further, although there was no evidence of a different effect of relational social capital across outcomes, there were significant differences between the effects of community social capital on awareness of protective measures, knowledge of what to take to a shelter, and familiarity with disaster committee responsibilities.
Disaster Plans: Challenges and Choices to Build the Resiliency of Vulnerable Populations
Authors: Berke Philip , Cooper John , Salvesen David , Spurlock Danielle , Rausch Christina
Published: January 2023

This paper explains how local government disaster plans can foster disaster resiliency of socially vulnerable population groups in ways that are not fully addressed by the predominant disaster planning literature. The benefits of disaster planning aimed at building the capacity of socially vulnerable populations are discussed. We present two critical choices that must be considered in creating high quality disaster plans: choices among plan design options; and choices to support plan quality principles that provide guidance to account for socially vulnerable populations. Application of the design options and principles is illustrated based on a content analysis of three local disaster plans. The conceptual and practical implications of the options and principles are reviewed.
The Relationship between Physical Health Problems and Couple Violence and Conflict in Survivors of the 2004 Tsunami: Mediation by Marital Satisfaction
Authors: Banford Alyssa , Wickrama Thulitha , Brown Matt , Ketring Scott
Published: January 2023

The impact of the 2004 East Asian Tsunami on Buddhist, Sri Lankan mothers’ relationships was investigated in this study. More specifically, the relationship between increased violence and conflict post-Tsunami and the daily intrusiveness of Tsunami-related persisting physical health problems was examined in a sample of 170 women, nearly four years after the disaster. Mediation by marital satisfaction, on the relationship between these variables, after controlling for mental health status was also tested. Increased couple violence or conflict post-Tsunami was significantly and positively related to the daily effect of persistent physical health problems resulting from the Tsunami. Full mediation was revealed through a pronounced path model negatively linking increased couple violence and conflict with marital satisfaction, and negatively linking marital satisfaction to the influence of physical health challenges.
Building a Theory of Recovery: Institutional Dimensions
Authors: Smith Gavin , Birkland Thomas
Published: January 2023

This article discusses the institutional arrangements that influence pre-disaster planning for recovery, and, more importantly, post-disaster recovery outcomes. The importance and value of planning for disaster recovery is well known in the disaster literature, although not often practiced as well as it could be. A theory of disaster recovery must therefore account for the institutional environment referred to here as the disaster recovery assistance framework. Describing the underlying dimensions of this network will help to clarify the process of recovery, uncover ways to improve recovery outcomes, and define the factors that influence the achievement of improved outcomes. Part of the challenge will be in defining these improved outcomes, which could include increased levels of disaster resilience or achieving a more sustainable disaster recovery.
The Role of the Built Environment in the Recovery of Cities and Communities from Extreme Events
Authors: Alesch Daniel J. , Siembieda William
Published: January 2023

This article contributes to the development of a theory of recovery of a city from a disaster generated by an extreme event. It focuses on the functions performed by the built environment in an urban system and the recovery of that system. The city is viewed as a complex, self-organizing system. A disaster results when the parts of the system are damaged to an extent that they are unable to perform their respective functions effectively and the relationships among those parts are disrupted. Recovery occurs as the parts of the system regain their functions and as critical relationships among the parts are restored based on the new conditions created by the extreme event. Rebuilding or restoring the built environment is necessary but only rarely sufficient for system recovery. Recovery processes are perhaps best depicted in terms of agent-based models.
Social Dimensions of Disaster Recovery
Authors: Tierney Kathleen , Oliver-Smith Anthony
Published: January 2023

Research on disaster recovery has moved beyond earlier uni-dimensional, stage-oriented, and linear conceptualizations and toward approaches that recognize variability, social inequality and diversity, and disparities in recovery processes and outcomes. Theory development has been hampered by the lack of a systematic comparative focus and a failure to contextualize recovery within broader global and societal conditions and trends. Recovery theories should take into account a range of factors that include (1) pre-disaster factors that shape vulnerabilities and exposures at multiple scales, such as indicators of social and economic well-being and governmental capacity; (2) disaster impacts and their implications for recovery; (3) immediate post-impact responses; and (4) post-disaster variables such as the quality of governance systems; institutional capacity; civil society-state relationships; systems of social provision; the appropriateness, coverage, and equity of recovery aid; and post-disaster conditions, trends and events that occur independently of disasters but that also shape recovery processes and outcomes.
Assumptions and Processes for the Development of No-Notice Evacuation Scenarios for Transportation Simulations
Authors: Murray-Tuite Pamela , Wolshon Brian
Published: January 2023

Emergency management agencies and departments of transportation benefit from transportation simulation support when developing their emergency response or evacuation plans. No-notice events are increasingly becoming part of these plans. Few, if any, studies have shown how to operationalize general no-notice evacuation considerations. To fill this gap, this article describes essential features and reasonable assumptions that should be considered in the development of no-notice evacuation scenarios for use in conjunction with transportation simulation models. Although the information presented here centers on a specific location and disaster, the concepts may be generalized and adapted for use in other locations and hazards and are of value to both practitioners as well as researchers seeking to develop similar models.
Emergency Planning and Disabled Populations: Assessing the FNSS Approach
Authors: Robinson Scott E. , Gerber Brian J. , Eller Warren S. , Gall Melanie
Published: January 2023

Emergency managers face a variety of planning challenges, especially because the needs of any community are heterogeneous. One illustration of these planning challenges is the historical neglect of community members with disabilities or other functional needs. The salience of including residents with disabilities and other functional needs gained momentum in the Post-Katrina environment. Within this context, the Federal Emergency Management Agency developed the Functional Need Support Services (FNSS) approach to disaster evacuation shelter management. In this paper, we assess the FNSS model and identify several key challenges that can be expected in the development and implementation of this approach based on a social construction approach to understanding policy making. These challenges can be thought to be generally relevant to most new programmatic initiatives, but as we show in this case, are particularly applicable to community-wide hosting of evacuees. Interviews with key stakeholders with experience in evacuation hosting reveal deep seated social constructions of residents with functional needs that may constrain the possible impact of the FNSS guidance.
Fifteen Years of Disaster Volunteers in Japan: A Longitudinal Fieldwork Assessment of a Disaster Non-Profit Organization
Authors: Atsumi Tomohide , Goltz James D.
Published: January 2023

Since the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake, Japanese society has become accustomed to the presence of volunteers in the pre- and post-disaster environments, more specifically, in preparedness, response and recovery. The present study draws on the disaster research literature in exploring the social contexts in which groups of Kobe earthquake volunteers converged in January 1995 and formed organizations that continued to respond to national and international disasters during the 15 years that followed the 1995 earthquake. Based on the first author's own longitudinal participant observation at a non-profit organization, the Nippon Volunteer Network Active in Disaster (NVNAD), the present study traces the development of the NVNAD over the last 15 years. The study's basic conclusion is that, over the years, organized volunteerism in Japan has witnessed a struggle between the development of formal organizations emphasizing interagency cooperation and coordination of volunteers on one hand and the maintenance of a more affective social support-oriented approach with volunteers being physically and emotionally present to disaster survivors on the other.
“Everything Always Works”: Continuity as a Source of Disaster Preparedness Problems
Authors: Baker Natalie D.
Published: January 2023

This paper offers new theoretical explanations about the problems with disaster preparedness efforts for vulnerable publics. Findings were developed through an inductive, grounded theory study conducted among staff and students at a large university in Southern California. Disaster preparedness is traditionally conceptualized as a collection of practices consisting of the collection and storage of material objects, resources, knowledge, and plans. People who do not engage in these activities in known risk areas are often blamed for the negative consequences of disaster. Here it is argued that preparedness reflects an assumed continuity between pre-and post-disaster contexts. This is closely tied to the pervasive need for social actors to maintain a sense of continuity in everyday life otherwise known as ontological security. The continuity of infrastructure and everyday life are major obstacles to the engagement of preparedness efforts for people. This study shows the notion of a potential catastrophe presents as an ontological crisis that impedes people's preparedness practices on both organizational and individual levels. It also demonstrates how the very idea of preparedness as directly connected to successful response is a product of the particular societal context of a risk area.
Citizens and Contingencies – Swedish Crisis Managers’ Views of the Public
Authors: Hobbins Jennifer , Enander Ann
Published: January 2023

Assumptions about citizens and their behaviour in a crisis situation strongly influence emergency planning and decision-making. This article therefore aims to explore municipal crisis managers’ views of citizens in relation to contingencies. We identified two dimensions in the municipal leaders’ views of the general public, illustrating how these views can be characterized by two separate stages. They embrace individual prerequisites for preparing for and dealing with contingencies, as well as characteristics of the current crisis and its effects on the citizens. The article highlights public leaders’ awareness of social vulnerability factors and demonstrates a more complex image of crisis managers’ views of the general public than has generally been depicted.
Learning and Usefulness of Collaboration Exercises: A Study of the Three Level Collaboration (3LC) Exercises between the Police, Ambulance, and Rescue Services
Authors: Berlin Johan M. , Carlström Eric D.
Published: January 2023

In this article, we studied collaboration exercises (3LC) between the rescue services, ambulance services, and police force, which were developed to enhance learning and usefulness. The exercises’ structure was based on identified deficiencies in previous collaboration exercises. The purpose was to test the exercise model in terms of learning and usefulness. Ten 3LC exercises were observed. A total of 65 semi-structured interviews were conducted (2011–2014) in connection with the exercises. The exercises contained across-boundary elements, seminars, and interactive documentation. The participants were given the opportunity to discuss, analyze, and critically reflect on their efforts. During the seminars, the individual actions were analyzed, which led to alternative strategies that were subsequently tested in a repeated exercise. Our results demonstrate that repetitive features and seminars during collaboration exercises promote learning toward an organic behavior and usefulness in the actual incident work.
A Methodology for Community-Centric Recovery Planning and Operations
Authors: Crowther Kenneth G. , Staats Rich , Gradishar Anna , Burtt Kel , French Mike
Published: January 2023

Governments around the world have implemented policies, programs, and technologies to reduce human suffering and help residents in the aftermath of disasters. The effectiveness of these programs has generally gauged by measures such as the amount of funding committed and the quantities of supplies moved. While these measures are useful for determining the effectiveness of logistical operations, they are poor surrogates for measuring the fundamental, desired outcomes - the well-being of individuals and families and their ability to reenter, prosper, and thrive in their communities. This paper identifies 12 community magnets through a meta-analysis of literature and personal experience. These community magnets describe the conditions of a community as it transitions from a survival state, to a stable state with limited capacity, and finally to a post-disaster normal. We also show how government and community functions can be mapped to how they motivate state-transitions across the community magnets of interest. This paper illustrates how this methodology can provide a foundation to unify approaches, integrate model and simulation work, promote systemic decision making, and ultimately improve how response decisions affect the recovery of whole communities.
Better Understanding Disasters by Better Using History: Systematically Using the Historical Record as One Way to Advance Research into Disasters
Authors: van Bavel Bas , Curtis Daniel
Published: January 2023

This paper argues that the understanding of causes and effects of hazards and shocks could be furthered by making more explicit and systematic use of the historical record, that is, by using ‘the past’ as a laboratory to test hypotheses in a careful way. History lends itself towards this end because of the opportunity it offers to identify distinct and divergent social structures existing very close to one another on a regional level and the possibility this creates of making comparisons between societal responses to shocks spatially and chronologically. Furthermore, the basic richness of the historical record itself enables us to make a long-term reconstruction of the social, economic and cultural impact of hazards and shocks simply not possible in contemporary disaster studies material.
Posthumanist Perspectives and the Chernobyl Disaster: Dances of Agency, Temporal Emergence, and Disaster Risk Management
Authors: Abbott Owen
Published: January 2023

This article applies the philosophical perspective of posthumanism to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. A posthumanist perspective attempts to break with the notion of human exceptionalism by recognising the performative agency of the non-human. It is maintained that such an approach is necessary to understanding how the disaster occurred in the first place, the calamitous initial responses the disaster, and its long-term consequence – including the environmental restoration that has occurred in the exclusion zone. Indeed, it is argued that much of the previous literature on the disaster takes the perspective of human exceptionalism, which has led to a failure to accurately interpret how the disaster unfolded and how it continues to emerge.
School Construction as Catalysts for Community Change: Evidence from Safer School Construction Projects in Nepal
Authors: Paci-Green Rebekah , Pandey Bishnu
Published: January 2023

Organizations in Nepal have retrofitted weak school buildings using earthquake-resistant construction techniques for over a decade. Some of these safer school projects have been carried out as technical interventions only, while others have been embedded within programs of community engagement, masonry training, and oversight. Following the 2015 Gorkha earthquake, 12 school sites were assessed through visual inspection and a series of community interviews to understand the impacts of safer school construction projects on local perceptions and construction practice. Compared to communities that had received technical intervention only, or no intervention at all, communities that had experienced community engagement were more knowledgeable of earthquake-resistant construction techniques and reported more adoption of these techniques in housing construction. They also evidenced more trust in the school building, using it as shelter following the earthquake. Community engagement can amplify the benefit of future school retrofit and reconstruction projects, simultaneously building social and infrastructure capital.
Two Faces of Disaster Response: Transcending the Dichotomy of Control and Collaboration during the Nepal Earthquake Relief Operation
Authors: Wolbers Jeroen , Ferguson Julie , Groenewegen Peter , Mulder Femke , Boersma Kees
Published: January 2023

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in Nepal, a large scale humanitarian response was launched. We studied the response operation four weeks after the last quake, using participant observations and interviews. Our findings indicate that the response operation was characterized by two faces: control and collaboration. These are rooted in governance models of chaos, command and control, versus continuity, coordination and collaboration. Using the case of Kathmandu Living Labs, we show how during the first phase of the response formal humanitarian organizations gradually pushed aside important grassroots initiatives. In the second phase, we analyse how the government sought to take control of the response by formally ending the relief phase, having regained itself after the shock of the first impact. Drawing on these results, we theorize consequences for network governance, and identify a new governance mode that transcends the dichotomy between control and collaboration: net-centric governance.
Social Capital and Natural Disaster: Local Responses to 2015 Earthquake in Kathmandu
Authors: Devkota Bishnu Prasad , Doberstein Brent , Nepal Sanjay K.
Published: January 2023

Catastrophic natural disasters often require rapid community mobilization to meet local needs.. This study uses social capital to explore how indigenous Newar communities in Kathmandu responded to the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Data from thirty-three semi-structured interviews with local Newar inhabitants, and secondary sources, form the basis of analysis. Newari prosocial behaviors learned through living in communal neighborhoods, experiences of working for community welfare through cultural Guthi systems, spiritual strength drawn from ancestors and their proud heritage, and the community's high level of equanimity facilitated disaster responses in a positive way. The study provides insights on how social capital among ethnic groups like the Newar influence community responses to natural disasters.
Migration as a Disaster Recovery Strategy in Post-Earthquake Nepal: Challenges and Vulnerabilities for Young Women Migrants
Authors: Grossman-Thompson Barbara
Published: January 2023

Foreign labor migration has been an historically common livelihood strategy for young Nepali men. Increasingly, young women have migrated abroad for work as well in spite of a number of gender discriminatory migration laws that limit women's access to legal labor migration channels. To what extent out-migration will be employed by women as a livelihood strategy in the post-earthquake context remains to be seen. This paper focuses specifically on young women's migration decision-making in the immediate aftermath of the 2015 April/May earthquakes. Using survey data collected from two districts in July 2015 – one severely earthquake-affected district and one less-affected district – the research is guided by a vulnerabilities approach to disasters. This paper considers how the April/May earthquakes have affected young women migrants’ decision-making processes around future migration as a livelihood strategy and how the earthquake may have a synergistic affect with existing gender discriminatory migration and citizenship laws and local systems of social stratification to exacerbate and multiply women labor migrants’ vulnerabilities.
Bio-indicators as a Measure of Social Fragility
Authors: Sarmiento Juan-Pablo , Sarmiento Catalina , Jerath Meenakshi
Published: January 2023

Disaster risk results from the interaction between hazards and vulnerabilities, but there are considerable variations in how vulnerability and its three dimensions (exposure, fragility, and resilience) are conceptualized and measured. This study demonstrates how certain bio-indicators allow an objective, direct, and efficient measurement of a population's social fragility. Using data available for 159 countries, we selected two bio-indicators, Low Birth Weight (LBW) and Life Expectancy at Birth (LEB), and developed the Social Fragility Index (SFI). We then analysed their effect on existing vulnerability indices: the Susceptibility Index (SI) and the Prevalent Vulnerability Index (PVI). Results showed that the selected bio-indicators and particularly the proposed index are efficient in measuring the fragility of a community before a disaster, and that they could also be used to measure the social impact caused by an extreme natural event, technological disasters, population displacement/migration, armed unrest, conflict, changes in political regimes, and economic crises.
“Sometimes you Can't Even Sleep at Night:” Social Vulnerability to Disasters among Men Experiencing Homelessness in Central Florida
Authors: Settembrino Marc R.
Published: January 2023

There has been relatively little research on how people experiencing homelessness prepare for, experience, and recover from disasters. This oversight means emergency managers have few resources to help them plan for the needs of the homeless during disasters. The present study utilizes the social vulnerability perspective to examine the risks that natural hazards pose to unsheltered men experiencing homelessness in Central Florida and analyse the structural origins of vulnerability among the homeless. The findings presented are the result of field interviews with unsheltered men and group interviews with homeless services providers. I argue that unequal exposure, social stigma, special medical needs, and chronic unemployment aggravate exposure to hazards among individuals experiencing homelessness. I conclude with recommendations for researchers, policy makers, and emergency managers to help individuals experiencing homelessness better manage their risk.
Empowering Remote Indigenous Communities in Natural Disaster Prone Northern Australia
Authors: Sangha Kamaljit K. , Sithole Bevlyn , Hunter-Xenie Hmalan , Daniels Cherry , Yibarbuk Dean , James Glenn , Michael Christine , Gould Jackie , Edwards Andrew C , Russell-Smith Jeremy
Published: January 2023

Risks and challenges associated with recurring natural hazards (especially wet season cyclonic and flooding events; dry season extensive savanna fires) facing remote north Australian Indigenous communities are well recognised. Less well appreciated are longer-term challenges required for building community resilience in the face of responding to natural hazards. We report on detailed surveys of community perceptions of resilience undertaken in two communities, Ngukurr and Gunbalanya, in northern Australia. This assessment highlights the critical challenge for government authorities to effectively engage with remote communities. We then address the equally challenging issue of enhancing resilience through building enterprise opportunities. Currently, only few employment opportunities exist in either community. Based on experience with market-based savanna burning greenhouse gas emissions abatement projects in north Australia, we illustrate the potential for ecosystem service-based enterprises to deliver culturally appropriate employment, which offers evident benefits for local communities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from major natural disaster events.
Using the Bioecological Theory of Human Behavior to Link Homeowners to Hurricane: Preparedness in the Southeast United States
Authors: Sewell Charles , Cantrell Randall , Spranger Michael
Published: January 2023

More than a decade passed without a major hurricane reaching landfall in the US until the unfortunate events resulting from Hurricane Harvey in August 2017 (which is when this article was in final review). This suggests homeowners could have been feeling a false sense of security regarding hurricane preparedness. This study provides information about which populations might benefit from outreach programs, such as cooperative extension, designed to increase homeowner understanding of aid available to them when and if needed. Increasing hurricane preparedness in this way enables efficient distribution of resources because homeowners are more informed about how and where to obtain assistance. Relationships were assessed between homeowners’ location, education, income, age, presence of minors in the home, tenure within the community, and two measures developed by this study: the Hurricane-Preparedness Knowledge Scale and the Trust in Support Entities Scale. Findings showed that those having lived within the community longer were more interested in increasing their knowledge about hurricane preparedness. Respondents in Georgia were least interested in obtaining more knowledge about hurricane preparedness, but this was the one region where the study extended farthest inland from the coast. However, homeowners living in Georgia were less trusting of support entities (i.e., FEMA, Red Cross, county emergency management, and local governments) than their southern bordering states—a finding that should not be affected by proximity to the coast. Irrespective of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana showed no less trust in support entities than any other state throughout the area studied. Also, those with advance levels of formal education were less trusting in support entities than those with less education.
Measuring Successful Disaster Recovery
Authors: Horney Jennifer , Dwyer Caroline , Chirra Bhagath , McCarthy Kerry , Shafer Jennifer , Smith Gavin
Published: January 2023

Disaster recovery involves a delicate balance between mitigating risks posed by future hazards and acquiescing to the desire of the community to return to normal. Even the best plans and policies put forth under such conditions often do not address all factors that are critical for successful recovery. If there are no plans, it becomes much more difficult to assess a community's recovery progress over time. In communities lacking robust planning capacity, metrics that characterize a community's baseline and post-disaster status may serve as a roadmap to inform the best use of limited resources and focus energy and attention where it is most needed. To assist with this, a disaster recovery tracking tool comprised of 79 metrics was developed and tested to determine if it could be used to characterize recovery progress, identify problems with recovery, and support proactive recovery planning to improve future recovery and resilience.
2018 International Sociological Association Research Committee on Disasters (RC39) Presidential Address: Looking Back and Moving Forward
Authors: Peek Lori
Published: January 2023

Editor's Note: This article is a revised and lightly edited version of the International Sociological Association Research Committee on Disasters (RC39) Presidential Address, which was delivered on July 18, 2018, at the RC39 Business Meeting at the World Congress of Sociology in Toronto, Canada. In this address, Peek—who is a long-time member of the committee and the first woman to have served as president of the RC39—reflects on the history of the organization, how it has changed over time, challenges ahead, and future possibilities.
Disaster Movies in the Classroom: Pedagogical Value and Teaching Approaches
Authors: Kendra James , Siebeneck Laura K. , Andrew Simon A.
Published: January 2023

Film as a pedagogical technique has been increasingly utilized by instructors in the classroom setting. As previous research highlights the benefits of this method, the question remains as to how this strategy can be effectively applied in the study of hazards, disasters, and emergency management. This paper describes an undergraduate course that uses cinematic portrayals of disaster to present and highlight a number of significant themes from the disaster science literature. We have found the examination of disaster films to be a valuable strategy for teaching topics which can range from disaster myths or erroneous science or, by contrast, relatively accurate portrayals of human behavior in disaster. This article surveys some of the existing literature on film in teaching; highlights how we have used films in courses; and offers suggestions on how some noteworthy films can be used to demonstrate and rein force challenging theories from the literature.
On the Margins, No More: Teaching and Learning as a Core Concern of Disaster Scholarship Introduction to the IJMED Special Issues on Teaching and Learning II
Authors: Haney Timothy J. , Lovekamp William E.
Published: January 2023

This paper introduces the second of two special issues of the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters focused on teaching and learning. Though there is much recent literature on teaching from other fields, the hazards and disasters community has produced little written scholarship on pedagogy and curriculum design. To address this gap, we produced a call for papers for a special issue and received many submissions. In this paper, we introduce the papers that make up this second special issue on “Curricular Innovations in Hazards and Disaster Studies.” We hope that the papers contained in both special issues will create a sustained dialogue on best practices in teaching about hazards and disasters.
Partnering for Resilience: An Innovative Approach to Hazard Education and Child-Centered Risk Reduction
Authors: Denham Magdalena A. , Miller Lee M.
Published: January 2023

Our study engaged graduate students enrolled in a Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) course designated as Academic Community Engagement (ACE) at an Institution of Higher Education (IHE) in rural Texas. The aim of ACE courses is to employ the scholarly endeavors of facilitating academic content and strengthening transversal competencies of learners to provide needed services in situ to communities in which the IHE is anchored. The study leveraged a nongovernmental (NGO) child-centered risk reduction initiative called the Pillowcase Project: Learn, Practice, Share by the American Red Cross (ARC) in a community with high social vulnerability. Our students taught the ARC initiative to 3rd graders. We envisioned our study to serve as a template for HSEM educators whose objectives were to (a) adopt child-centered risk reduction in contextualized teaching for post-secondary students of disaster, (b) highlight integrative, collaborative processes involved in emergency preparedness and disaster training through experiential learning; (c) engage graduate HSEM students in critical thinking with respect to complex networks of agencies involved in hazards education and with respect to existing risk-reduction educational initiatives, and (d) leverage social capita l of IHEs by providing information on hazards and clear action steps grade school children and households can take in an emergency. We assessed the impact of graduate student-delivered, child-centered risk reduction education through in-class observations, children quizzes (N = 117), Pillowcase Household Surveys (34% return rate), and graduate student reflection logs (N = 14). Our findings offer support that child-centered risk reduction education might influence households to be more likely to consider adjustments such as smoke detector installations and inspections. Moreover, experiential teaching methodology applied highlighted students’ ability to critically assess HSEM concepts and generate field recommendations for better practice.
Voluntary Household Relocation Decision Making in the Wake of Disaster: Re-interpreting the Empirical Record
Authors: Greer Alex , Trainor Joseph , McNeil Sue
Published: January 2023

Household relocation decisions after disasters are influenced by many factors. Among others, these include pre- and post-event community conditions, disaster experience, available financial and social resources, place attachment, risk perceptions, and demographics. This paper provides a synthesis of the body of knowledge surrounding voluntary household relocation decisions. Simply stated, we are focused on better understanding what influences the decision to stay somewhere that has been affected by disaster or permanently leave it. This work provides two main contributions by characterizing and synthesizing research exploring relocation drivers. First, we provide several new directions for the study of this issue by proposing theoretical models not commonly used in this area of research with potential to provide insight. Second, we critically discuss the need for improvements in the conceptualization and measurement of these concepts.
“His Game is Called Survivin”: A Resistance to Resilience
Authors: Baker Natalie D.
Published: January 2023

The discipline of disaster studies has been hesitant to critically interrogate dual discourses of vulnerability and “building resilience” in a meaningful way as it continues to dominate research and practice. This is despite deep engagement within different disciplines to offer radical reconsiderations of these discourses. I use multi-year long autoethnographic immersion into the problematic of resilience. I integrate personal experience as a White, female scholar who studies disasters, with an almost decade-long project focused on the pre-and-post Katrina context of New Orleans bounce rap. I task what it means “to be resilient” and who decides when groups have reached this state. I situate an empirical challenge to metanarratives of resilience and the colonialism they suggest, and also task resilience as constructed by elites and imposed on those decided as vulnerable. This work suggests a dramatic shift away from the building resilience discourse into meaningful engagement with the institutional neglect of the colonial present that fosters disaster in the first place.
Staying above Water: Educational Outcomes of College Students during the 2016 Louisiana Flood
Authors: Breen Kyle , Meyer Michelle Annette
Published: January 2023

College students occupy a socially constructed transitional space between childhood and traditional adulthood that may generate unique risks for them during disasters. Yet, few disaster research studies focus specifically on college students. Using data derived from in-depth, qualitative interviews six to eight months following the 2016 Louisiana Flood, this paper explores college students’ perspectives on how the flood affected their educational experience. The students described attendance issues, course schedule changes, grade fluctuations, and changes in motivation. These impacts were often indirectly related to the flood, and varied based on the amount of damage that they or their families experienced, as well as secondary effects including emotional stress, living arrangements, socioeconomic status, and connection with family during recovery. This research exposes the need for further studies on how disasters within college students’ families may reverberate through the students’ educational experiences and potentially affect their life trajectories.