bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A Model for Scaling Undergraduate Research Experiences: The Global Ethnohydrology Study
Authors: Ruth Alissa , Wutich Amber , Brewis Alexandra
Published: January 2023

Engaging students early as researchers is a potentially powerful tool for both encouraging a diversity of undergraduates to consider career-tracks in disaster/emergency management and building the skills essential to those fields. Traditional faculty-centered, lab-based research apprenticeship models are limited in their capacity to scale. Within large, diverse public institutions, there is accordingly a challenge of how to make such experiences readily available to a variety of students with diverse backgrounds and levels of preparation. To this end, we designed the Global Ethnohydrology Study, a scaled research training and mentorship program that integrates undergraduates in data collection (through fieldwork) and analysis (through lab research) in to a multi-sited, multi-year research program on the perception of water and climate issues cross-culturally. Here we explain the strategy, outcomes, and some keys to success to this approach of broadening access to research experiences, and suggest ways educators could adopt similar strategies in their instructional designs.
Challenging Command and Control: A Rejoinder to Anonymous Commentary
Authors: Burke Ryan P.
Published: January 2023

Modern military command and control (C2) incorporates flexibility, cooperation, and coordination – focal elements of Dynes’ revered Problem-Solving model – as part of its institutionalized orientation to disaster response. However, there remains a committed faction of scholars resistant to the notion that their seminal Problem-Solving model can – in fact – resemble the long decried military C2 approach. Such deep-rooted attachment to the Problem-Solving model must then be defended against any perceived threat to equate it to the tabooed military C2, for surely such a likened comparison must not be permitted to influence disaster research. This is precisely the aim, it seems, of a commentary piece submitted to IJMED in response to my August 2018 article: “Command and Control: Challenging Fallacies of the Military Model in Research and Practice.” In that piece, the commentary author misinterpreted at best – or manipulated at worst – my central argument, stating that I introduced modern military C2 “as a practical solution that satisfies the disaster researchers’ recommendations” (Anonymous 2019:125). The commentary response then proceeds to challenge the arguments presented in my article through a series of flawed assertions and subjective claims. This rejoinder addresses the anonymous author's response commentary in detail and counters the counter-arguments with discussions indicating the apparent biases and subjectivity presented in the argument. It concludes with my personal assessment of the issue and what truly compels the ongoing discussion within the disaster research community.
Thinking outside of the Hospital and Nurse-Midwife Paradigms: A Qualitative Examination of Midwifery in Times of Natural Disasters
Authors: Monteblanco Adelle Dora , Leyser-Whalen Ophra
Published: January 2023

Scientists predict that natural disasters will occur with increasing frequency and severity. Although hospitals provide the backbone for medical response during a disaster event, disasters increase demand for medical care and simultaneously reduce medical systems’ abilities to provide that care. This study considers the role that out-of-hospital midwives (birth-center and home-birth midwives) could play as disaster responders for the vulnerable population of pregnant women, new mothers, and infants who have time-sensitive, specialized medical needs. Drawing on qualitative data, we examine midwives’ commitment to respond, their preparedness measures, and the barriers to disaster response that they perceive. Many midwives believed that their model of care prepared them for natural disaster response, and they expressed a deep commitment to assist their own clients, other mothers, and infants. However, all midwives in the sample identified two barriers to their potential disaster response: limited social networks and low occupational status.
Paved with Good Intentions: A Social Construction Approach to Alignment in Disaster Donations
Authors: Nelan Mary M. , Penta Samantha , Wachtendorf Tricia
Published: January 2023

Following disasters, materiel convergence (the influx of materiel donations) can cause extreme negative impacts; it has been described as a “second disaster”. Non-priority goods and donations that exceed the need can negatively impact transportation into the area and create storage concerns for both distribution centers and survivors. A successful supply chain aligns the needs and interests of the actors involved. This paper focuses on how actors involved in the disaster donations supply chain construct and understand their own interests, and how those interests align between actor groups (i.e. donors, donation collectors, and distributors). Interviews were conducted following Hurricane Sandy in 2013 and two tornadoes outside of Oklahoma City in May 2013 with individual actors in the donation supply chain. These interviews were analyzed for how interviewees constructed the need for donations, and the alignment of their interests with other actors at different stages. Overall, a misalignment was observed between donors, donation collectors, and donations distributors. Future research should investigate the specific interests of survivors and how their interests align with other actors in the donation supply chain.
Livelihood Impacts of Flash Floods in Cox's Bazar District, Bangladesh
Authors: Ahmed Bayes , Kelman Ilan , Raja Debasish Roy , Islam Md Rabiul , Das Sourav , Shamsudduha Mohammad , Fordham Maureen
Published: January 2023

This article aims to understand local views and understandings of livelihood impacts of flash floods, and how to tackle the challenges. The work is completed through case studies of two villages in Cox's Bazar District in south-east Bangladesh, Manirjhil and Chotojamchori. Based in theoretical understandings from disaster research of how underlying conditions rather than hazards cause disasters, this empirical study combined household surveys and participatory rural appraisal (PRA) techniques for collecting field data. The results detail local perspectives of underlying conditions—namely poverty, inequity, precarious livelihoods, and few contingency options—impacting livelihoods, especially highlighting food, water, disease, and migration, all of which link directly to livelihoods. A significant concern is the need to take out loans which can contribute to continuing poverty. Suggested strategies for dealing with flash flood impacts were based in local contexts and did not always account for broader remits, such as the deep-seated gendered nature of societal roles in Bangladesh or power and governance structures within the Bangladeshi context.
Mitigating Disaster in Digital Space: DiaspoRicans Organizing after Hurricane Maria
Authors: González Melinda
Published: January 2023

As Puerto Ricans lived facing increasing precarity after Hurricane Maria, DiaspoRicans (Puerto Ricans living outside of Puerto Rico) rushed to get aid to their relatives. A lack of trust in the local government and Congress’ refusal to lift the 1920 Merchant Marines Act limited direct international aid. This fueled narratives of genocide intersecting with relief efforts. In this article, I use digital ethnography and ethnographic interviews to discuss how and why DiaspoRicans engaged in grassroots recovery efforts through social media. I conclude with discussing the challenges of digital organizing faced by community organizers in Puerto Rico in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane and the potential contributions of digital research as catastrophic weather events increase.
Is it Time to Move Away? How Hurricanes Affect Future Plans
Authors: Welch-Devine Meredith , Orland Brian
Published: January 2023

Using surveys and interviews in the aftermath of Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, we investigated people's reasons for living on the coast of Georgia, their expectations for the future, and their intentions to stay in place or migrate away from the coast. We found that age, income, and ethnicity all play small but significant roles in determining intention to migrate, but that more intangible elements such as changes in quality of life or lifestyle may be more important. Many residents indicated a preference for remaining close if they were to permanently leave their homes, and residents were more likely to indicate a preference for staying in place after Irma than after Matthew. Residents may have many reasons for becoming more reluctant to move – complacency borne out of repeated “near misses”, increased awareness of the likely costs and inconvenience of re-location, or the realization that specific impacts are highly variable—making responses by coastal planners and managers more challenging.
Information as Intervention: How Hurricane Risk Communication Interacted with Vulnerability and Capacities in Superstorm Sandy
Authors: Lazrus Heather , Wilhelmi Olga , Morss Rebecca , Henderson Jennifer , Dietrich Alexa
Published: January 2023

As meteorological prediction and communication technologies have advanced, disaster outcomes following hurricanes have not shown matching progress. Through analysis of focus group conversations held with specific populations in New York City communities affected by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, we investigate how risk communication might help mediate societal vulnerability to hurricanes by influencing the information that people receive, their perceptions of approaching hurricane risks, and their behavioral responses. The focus group conversations illuminated both shared themes and important differences among the various populations who participated in the study. The findings illustrate the complexity behind the term vulnerability, particularly as it interacts with risk communication to influence outcomes. We propose that risk communication with diverse populations can be improved by incorporating understandings of unseen capacities as well as susceptibilities, therefore moving toward a more just and equitable hazard information system.
Disaster Narratives by Design: Is Japan Different?
Authors: Hood Christopher P.
Published: January 2023

Disaster movies remain a relatively under-studied “genre” of narrative, particularly in relation to which conventions are used within such narratives. One of the key works is by Yacowar (2012) and not only categorized disaster narratives into eight types, but also highlighted 16 conventions that exist in these movies. However, that study was done in 1976. Furthermore, Yacowar's study was primarily on English-language narratives. Just as Mileti (1999) has suggested that disasters are “designed” by a range of cultural and social influences, are disaster narratives similarly constructed through inherent cultural and social influences? This article not only looks at the conventions in 38 disaster narratives covering the 40-year period from 1978 to 2018, but it also analyzes 22 Japanese-language narratives in order to assess the degree to which conventions may be universal. Japanese disaster narratives were chosen due to Japan being linguistically and culturally different from the countries where English-language narratives were made, and that Japan has a developed film industry and one that has produced many disaster movies over the years. The article finds that many of the conventions suggested by Yacowar no longer apply, but that there are 17 conventions that can be placed into one of three groups; those found in English and Japanese narratives, those found only in the former and those found in the latter. That there are three separate groups reveals that there are clear differences between what constitutes a disaster narrative in different areas. These differences, ultimately, are likely to not only influence the degree to which a narrative will be successful in its own country, but also the degree to which it could be exported to other countries.
Balancing Mechanistic and Organic Design Elements: The Design and Implementation of the Incident Command System (ICS)
Authors: Chang Ray Hsienho , Trainor Joseph
Published: January 2023

The Incident Command System (ICS), since its establishment in the 1980s, has been repeatedly discussed with the focuses on its pros and cons. These discussions are related to the benefits and limitations of using a mechanistic system. ICS proponents like its mechanistic design elements to command and control all responders. ICS critics, however, regard ICS mechanistic elements as hurdles to managing disaster response activities, and thus, they propose using more organic elements to design a new response system. Organizational theorists say the two types of systems are not dichotomous. It is possible the ICS has some organic design elements, and thus, cannot be treated as a pure command and control system. This research aims to explore to what degree the ICS is organic versus mechanistic. The researchers will present their analyses of two official ICS documents and three ICS online training courses, which indicates the ICS possesses both organic and mechanistic features. Results of the content analysis also demonstrate some limitations of using the ICS and show why there are so many different viewpoints toward this system.
Self-Reliance in Disaster Recovery: A Systematic Literature Review 1990–2019
Authors: Oloruntoba Richard , Asare-Doku Winifred
Published: January 2023

Community and governmental agencies often address disaster recovery and resilience. However, few studies focus on how to achieve self-reliance and use the psychological resources within to be adaptive and resilient in disaster recovery. This systematic literature review explores models of self-reliance in disaster recovery and resilience in order to (1) identify the range of publications on the topic in the literature, and (2) to identify the range of constituent elements that have been proposed as contributing to the idea of self-reliance and self-help as a subset of individual psychological and trait resilience in disaster recovery contexts. The systematic literature review found three elements of individual resilience in the study: faith, religious practices, and psychological capital, all of which may contribute to self-reliance and self-help as a subset of individual psychological and trait resilience in disaster recovery. The findings of this study may assist with utilizing strengths that can improve the activation of individual response and resilience in disaster recovery contexts.
Post-Disaster Temporary Housing: An Emic Study of Lived Experiences of Victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
Authors: Mazumdar Sanjoy , Itoh Shunsuke , Iwasa Akihiko
Published: January 2023

In Japan, after a brief stay at a temporary shelter immediately following a disaster, disaster victims (DVs) are provided temporary housing (TH), which precedes permanent recovery housing. Procurement, design, and allocation of TH are standardized and done using an outsider's (etic) perspective and considerations. The research questions for this study were: What were the lived experiences of DVs having to live in the TH supplied? How could life in TH be made more comfortable through design and planning? This research was conducted from a local person's (emic) perspective and focused on lived experiences, fit, coping, and adjustments. To uncover and understand what was important to the DV a Naturalistic Field Research method was used which involved fieldwork, on-site observations, and interviews. Important learnings included the following: Lived experience in TH was made difficult by their unsuitable, inconvenient, and impractical design, which lacked appropriate consideration of residents’ needs as well as cultural and religious practices. Adequate privacy was not provided by the nature of the construction. Though modifications were not permitted at most TH, unauthorized do-it-yourself modification efforts were made by DVs to improve their quality of life. Theoretical considerations and pragmatic implications are described in the concluding discussion.
The Gendered Effect of Disasters on Mental Health: A Systematic Review
Authors: McKinzie Ashleigh Elain , Clay-Warner Jody
Published: January 2023

Disasters produce or exacerbate mental health problems. While women and men generally experience different rates of mental illness, there have been few attempts to synthesize the literature on the gendered impacts of disaster on mental health. Our strategy was to first conduct a Google Scholar search for articles containing the words “trauma,” “gender,” and “disaster.” We then searched all 1990–2020 issues of journals germane to this topic. These combined searches yielded 167 articles, of which 34 met our inclusion criteria. We reviewed the findings of these articles within three categories: natural disaster, human-induced disaster, and disaster results in displacement/relocation. We observed three trends: 1) women and men report similar levels of mental health difficulties after human-induced disasters; 2) women report more mental health problems than men in developed countries following a natural disaster; 3) displaced women report more mental health problems than displaced men.
Perspectives of Fitness, Parks, and Active Transportation Organizations on Factors Influencing Physical Activity and Wellbeing during Disaster Recovery
Authors: Pendergrast Claire , Errett Nicole , Miles Scot , Choe Youngjun
Published: January 2023

While increasing physical activity is a public health priority in the United States and is known to improve health and wellbeing, little is known about how disasters influence physical activity among members of impacted communities. This qualitative study examines the experiences and activities of 17 representatives of fitness, parks, and active transportation organizations in Houston, Texas following Hurricane Harvey and in Santa Rosa, California following the Tubbs Wildfires. Interview transcripts were thematically analyzed using a combined inductive and deductive approach. Our findings suggest that factors on the individual, social and organizational, built environment, and natural environment levels influence participation in physical activity post-event. Fitness, parks, and active transportation organizations support activities that promote social and physical wellbeing during the disaster recovery process and would benefit from tailored resources and technical assistance to support their activities during disaster recovery.
“A Yam between Two Rocks”: A Comparative Analysis of Disaster Coverage and Geopolitical Dynamics in Nepali and Indian News Reporting of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake
Authors: Karki Srijana , Mix Tamara L.
Published: January 2023

The devastating Gorkha earthquake, measuring 7.8M on the Richter scale, struck Nepal on April 25, 2015, followed by a major aftershock on May 12, 2015. The earthquakes killed approximately 9,000 people and injured thousands more, garnering significant media coverage. We employ qualitative content analysis and media framing theories to demonstrate evidence of social construction in the Gorkha earthquake media coverage from two Nepali national and two Indian newspapers. Using a sample of 2,862 articles published within a year of the earthquake, five major frames: the disaster frame, disaster myths, the therapeutic community frame, recreancy, and international support emerged during the analysis. Our study demonstrates how media coverage reflects current geopolitical dynamics in the region, distinguishing impoverished Nepal from two emerging economic giants, India and China. We contribute to developing literature arguing that media coverage during disasters produces global human life hierarchies. Our study adds a class hierarchy dimension, where tourists are more valuable than locals, and even among tourists, those involved in high-end tourism attract additional media attention.
Managing Complex Crises through the Lens of Intuitive Expertise: A Naturalistic Decision-Making Perspective
Authors: Okoli Justin , Hatami-Marbini Adel
Published: January 2023

This theoretical paper draws extensively on the extant literature to examine the role of expert intuition in the management of non-routine crises within a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environment. It follows a theoretically driven inductive design to explore the construct of intuitive expertise, with a specific focus on high-risk domains. Methodically, the paper builds on the naturalistic decision-making (NDM) theory to explore how experienced crisis managers perform complex tasks with the aid of their tacit and intuitive knowledge. Evidence suggests that experienced decision-makers are more likely to solve time-pressured tasks using their intuitive mode as the default strategy, only switching to a deliberative mode when the proposed course(s) of action require some form of justification or where pattern recognition has proven insufficient. The paper also develops a four-dimensional framework that describes both individual and situational factors that generally influence decision-making dynamics in a VUCA crisis environment. A synthesis of the literature results in the emergence of four theoretical propositions, with implications discussed for crisis and emergency practice. A key recommendation is to integrate the NDM sub-discipline into the field of crisis management, with suggestions that such integration may lead to significant improvements in crisis response effectiveness.
Understanding where Emergency Management Gets the Knowledge to Solve the Problems They Face: Where are We More than 20 Years after the IJMED Special Edition Calls on Closing the Gap?
Authors: Williams Brian D.
Published: January 2023

In 1993, the IJMED published a special edition calling for a closing of the gap between academic research and the practice of emergency management. The goal of this paper is to understand where we are in the knowledge gap by examining where emergency management professionals get the information needed to solve the problems they face. Twenty— four interviews were conducted with emergency management professionals in the Southeast Texas and Houston-Galveston Regions along the Texas Gulf Coast. The findings suggest that experience is pervasive as a source and most report utilizing a network of peers to gain information to solve problems. Even among those with an advanced degree, there is a perception that there is either no research out there, or at least nothing that is readily available. The findings accentuate the need for research to focus its distribution efforts through federal and state training programs and planning, for academia to facilitate a mix of education and experience in practice, and for experienced practitioners to reach out to research through degreed peers to facilitate knowledge transfer and close the knowledge gap for disasters.
Disaster Subculture in Greater Concepción, Chile: Resourcefulness in the Face of Earthquake and Tsunami Events
Authors: Engel Karen , Warner Jeroen , Frerks Georg
Published: January 2023

On February 27, 2010, Greater Concepción (GC), Chile, was hit by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake that triggered a tsunami. This article presents the findings in a qualitative and exploratory study format that used the disaster subculture framework as a lens to learn more about the vulnerability, specifically capacity of response, that people in GC experience vis-a-vis substantial earthquake and tsunami events. By applying the disaster subculture lens we shed light on the means or assets that have emerged over time in response to recurring disasters and which form the basis of people's capacity of response. We found that the GC region is characterized by a long-standing, broad, and comprehensive disaster subculture that provides people with relevant resources to ensure resistance, agility, and adaptability in the face of substantial earthquake and tsunami events. Their disaster specific cultural reservoir included a clever mixture of tangible and intangible assets, ranging from values and beliefs to more complex technical systems.
Transdisciplinary Disaster Research: A Case Study from the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricanes Irma and Maria
Authors: Bui Lily , Sylman Shanasia , Rosario Génesis Álvarez , Commodore-Mensah Miriam , Derakhshan Sahar , Mcdermot Covel , Nibbs Farah , Higgs Isaiah , Adegoke Muritala , Lane Rashon I.
Published: January 2023

Transdisciplinary approaches to research involve deliberate integration of theory, methods, and knowledge across disciplines. In disaster studies, transdisciplinarity can be valuable for research teams that span multiple disciplines, offering a framework for identifying problems and proposing solutions in a way that is inclusive of traditional and non-traditional actors. This paper distinguishes transdisciplinary approaches from multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to disaster research; presents a case study of transdisciplinary disaster research in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) after Hurricanes Irma and Maria; and summarizes key insights about the challenges and opportunities of applying transdisciplinarity in the field. Finally, the authors articulate the importance of transdisciplinary approaches to disaster research and argue for further development for transdisciplinary approaches in disaster research and practice.
Measuring Community Resilience: An Empirical Evaluation of Two Instruments
Authors: McNeill Charleen , Garrison M. E. Betsy , Killian Timothy S.
Published: January 2023

Communities’ attempts to recover from disasters will be strengthened if efforts are guided by evidence about community resilience and its underlying components. However, both the definition and operationalization of community resilience are disputed. Currently, there is no single measurement of resilience for all elements comprising resilience for all communities. Exploring what constructs and dimensions of resilience are measured by community resilience instruments may elucidate what components of community resilience are being measured by a particular instrument. This research focuses on two empirical approaches to measure community resilience: The Conjoint Community Resilience Assessment Measure (CCRAM) and the Communities Assessing Resilience Toolkit (CART) to ascertain whether the CCRAM and CART measure a single emergent construct unifying the two instruments or if the instruments measured separate, but related constructs. Comparative psychometric properties of the measures were examined. Data were analyzed using theory-driven Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) models. All CFA models were constructed using Weighted Least Squares Means Variance-adjusted estimators. Model fit was estimated by examining the Comparative Fit Index, the Tucker-Lewis Fit Index, the Root-Mean-Square of Approximation, and the Standardized-Root-Mean-Residual. Results indicate the CCRAM and the CART do not measure the same unifying construct; they each represent their own separate, yet related unifying factors. The individual latent variables in the CCRAM and the CART have generally acceptable psychometric properties. An agreed upon definition of community resilience continues to elude the field. However, studies that compare and contrast measurements of the construct illuminate the core underlying components of the construct providing evidence for common ground about the key components of community resilience. The findings of this research may serve to aid in determining which instrument measuring community resilience is preferred based on the goals of those measuring it as well as the context and community in which it is being measured.
Health and Mental Health Impact of Tornadoes: Are Older Adults More Resilient?
Authors: Cong Zhen , Liang Daan
Published: January 2023

Guided by influential theories of disaster research and gerontology, this study examines health resilience associated with tornadoes, particularly focusing on how individuals’ tornado-associated stress, financial losses, and family members’ well-being affected posttraumatic distress (PTD), posttraumatic growth (PTG), and self-reported changes in health among adults. To reach this goal, this study collected data from residents affected by two violent tornadoes in 2013, with the assistance of a professional survey lab which implemented a random-digit-dialling telephone survey. The working sample included 517 respondents with oversampled older adults. Multinomial logistic regression, Poisson regression, and Ordinary Least Square Regression were conducted separately for younger and older adults. The results indicated a significant effect of stress levels on PTG among older adults only. Nonetheless, the differences in effect sizes between the two groups were not significant. Meanwhile, respondents’ financial losses and their family members’ declined health were significant predictors of improved health among older adults. Similarly, family members’ declined mental health was a significant predictor of PTD among older adults, but not younger adults. Compared to young adults, older adults were more vulnerable to their family members’ declined mental health, but also more resilient to stressful situations, financial losses, and family members’ declined physical health. Lastly, although risk and resilience factors could be constructed with the same set of items, they function differently among different groups of people. Hence, more studies on heterogeneity are needed to further refine resilience frameworks.
Stuck in the Middle: The Challenges of Local Government Administration of Post-Hurricane Disaster Mitigation
Authors: Campbell Leah , Schwaller Nora Louise , Nguyen Mai Thi , Smith Gavin
Published: January 2023

The use of post-disaster mitigation strategies such as buyouts and home elevations as climate change adaptation and risk reduction strategies has become increasingly common. Little research to-date, however, has examined the experience of local administrators of these programs, despite the critical role they play as on-the-ground implementers. We interviewed 18 county and town officials from North Carolina who administered the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) following Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Our goal was to better understand the difficulties local administrators face in program implementation and the complexities of their relationship with other program stakeholders. We identified several recurring challenges facing these officials, including limited capacity; staff turnover, program delays; and a lack of flexibility, clarity, and communication. These issues make implementation challenging for administrators and strain their relationships with program participants and higher levels of government, in turn reducing program success and credibility. These results provide valuable insight into the perspective and experience of local administrators as HMGP implementers.
A Qualitative Study of Immediate and Evolving Reactions of Directly-Exposed Survivors of the Oklahoma City Bombing
Authors: Abu-Hamad Samir J. , Pollio David E. , Moden Michaela , North Carol S.
Published: January 2023

This study's purpose was to learn about survivors' raw personal experiences of the Oklahoma City bombing in terms of reported actions, thoughts, and feelings, and to examine the evolution of their feelings with the passage of time, post-disaster. A randomly selected sample of 182 directly-exposed survivors of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing were interviewed approximately six months after the disaster and asked four open-ended questions about reactions to the bombing and to reminders of it. Responses to questions were conceptually divided, providing structure for a subsequent qualitative content analysis. Initial thoughts and actions at the time of the bomb blast included efforts to make sense of what was happening and helping themselves and others to safety. Feelings evolved in type and intensity, with varied time courses. Based on these findings, responders, clinicians, and health authorities can anticipate different emotional responses over time, allowing tailoring of mental health interventions to needs.
Book Review: Review of Earthquake Children: Building Resilience from the Ruins of Tokyo, 2020
Authors: Peek Lori
Published: January 2023

“I was at school when the big earthquake struck. I got a terrible shock. Before long it turned into a great fire. We went to the Honjo Clothing Depot to escape the fires. My father got burned and died. My big sister was crushed by people and died. Now it is just me, my mother, my other big sister, and my big brother.” A testimony from Kimura Sayoko, a first-grader in the 1923 Great Kantω Earthquake. ( The Big Earthquake 1924 [p. 66 in Earthquake Children]).
The Near Disaster at Three Mile Island
Authors: Bartlett Glen S. , Houts Peter S. , Byrnes Linda K. , Miller Robert W.
Published: January 2023

On March 28, 1979, a serious reactor accident occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant near Harris-burg, Pennsylvania (USA). Pregnant women and families with pre-school age children were asked to evacuate a five mile area around the plant. Evacuation plans were developed for a twenty mile radius, although no such evacuation occurred.

Telephone surveys of adults and a questionnaire survey of high school students living near Three Mile Island were carried out from May, 1979, to January, 1980. The data collected show that living near the plant (absolute or perceived proximity), younger age and lower grade level of the adolescent respondent, presence of pre-school age child in the home, lower parent's or adult's education, and evacuation of all or part of the family were all associated with a stronger negative affective response to the accident and with the likelihood of having evacuated the area.

The behavior of individuals and families following the Three Mile Island accident parallel those occurring in an actual disaster, and extend the theoretical framework of Kinston and Rosser to include the circumstances of potential disasters.
Family Separation and Boundary Ambiguity
Authors: Boss Pauline Grossenbacher
Published: January 2023

The quality of a father's absence or presence in the family is the long-time focus of the researcher and presents a new view in the father absent literature. The variable of Psychological Father Presence (PFP) is described, operationalized and empirically verified as dysfunctional for families with physically missing fathers. Based on these finding which are reviewed, the author demonstrated how disaster research can be used to build stress theory for more normative family situations of father absence such as divorce. To illustrate, examples from the Boss boundary ambiguity project and the McCubbin coping project are presented. This author's major premise is that high family boundary ambiguity (as indicated by high PFP with physical father absence) will be predicted of high family dysfunction and that such family boundary ambiguity can be found in situations of divorce as well as in situations where families face the disaster of having a father missing from war. The overall thesis is that ambiguity in the family boundary is the critical predictor regarding the outcome of various kinds of father absence.
Beyond Family Crisis: Family Adaptation
Authors: McCubbin Hamilton I. , Olson David H. , Patterson Joan M.
Published: January 2023

Families in Disaster research has drawn heavily from the family stress and crises research paradigms and concepts advanced by Reuben Hill's ABC-X Model and by related research. This article attempts to broaden the perspective of family behavior in disaster situations by advancing additional concepts, definitions and propositions. Findings from longitudinal research on American families faced with the historically unique traumatic situation of having a husband/father held captive or unaccounted for in the Vietnam War were analyzed first in reference to the ABC-X Model, which suggested the need to expand this classic model. This article introduces the Double ABC-X Model in an effort to capture the dynamic nature of family response to stress over time. This expanded model includes: AA-the family's pile up of life events and stressors over time; BB-the family's resources which are strenghened or developed within and in transaction with the community and include coping and social support; CC-the family's perception of the stressor and related changes in the family; and XX-the additional end state of family adaptation following a crisis. This model merits careful consideration and additional testing in light of stress and disaster studies reviewed and propositions advanced during the past decade.
Household Response to Warnings
Authors: Carter T. Michael , Kendall Stephanie , Clark John P.
Published: January 2023

By use of a two-stage decision-model, the effect of family structure on household response to natural hazard warnings is examined for a sample of 429 Mobile, Alabama residents interviewed after Hurricane Frederic in 1979. The basic hypothesis that is examined is that the manner in which residents decide to evacuate differs depending on the structural characteristics of the household. Results show that the complete nuclear family-father, mother, and children—appears to respond much more like relatively isolated groups, relying on their own interpretation of warning information, in contrast to what may be Jabelled as incomplete nuclear families—married couples without children and single residents living alone–who rely on their prior perceptions of risk and their social contacts with other significant persons.
Disaster Response in Bangladesh
Authors: Feldman Shelley , McCarthy Florence E.
Published: January 2023

Basic socio-economic trends in Bangladesh surrounded the independence of the country in the early Seventies and have contributed to the changing forms and functions of the Bangladeshi family. This period included not only a Liberation War, but a set of environmental and social upheavals that ran the gamut from floods, typhoons and famine to social and political instability. It is suggested that selected changes in social relations or social institutions, which were exacerbated by these natural and social upheavals, have become permanent aspects of daily life in the country. It is hypothesized that disasters tend to exacerbate existing trends and patterns of instability or inequality rather than initiate completely new forms of response. In one sense, disasters may be said to attack the weakest link in a society and may encourage changes which are already imminent in that society.
The Social Status of War Widows
Authors: Shamgar-Handelman Lea
Published: January 2023

The paper deals with changes in the place of families in society due to the long term effect of disaster on the family. It draws on interviews with Israeli war widows, faced with erosion in the status formerly accorded them through their late husband.

Three alternative methods used by the widows to create a substitute status to halt this decline are described. None of them succeeded in preventing erosion in the status of the widow and her family. Over time, the place of the family within the various social groups and categories to which it had belonged was lost, due to the weakened position of the widow in her social network.

The centrifugal process which pushes families affected by disaster to the margin of society, creates vacancies in different social groups and categories throughout society. Quantitatively large changes of this sort might result in significant qualitative changes in the composition of those groups and categories.
Alternative Patterns Op Decision-making in Emergent Disaster Response Networks
Authors: Drabek Thomas E.
Published: January 2023

Data are presonted which depict the pattern of decision-making in seven emergent mulitorganizational networks (EMONS). These EMONS were the emergency response systems through which most search am’ rescue (SAR) activities were accomplished in one remote area mission and six natural disaster settings, including the 1979 Wichita Falls tornado, Hurricane Frederic (1979), and the eruption of Mount St. Helens (1980). Discussion of results focussed on key structuring factors, i.e., why did these EMONS assume these particular shapes; performance implications; and policy implications. The major conclusion is that a new theoretical foundation for emergency management is required which is rooted in a locally focused perspective which reflects an imagery of loosely coupled systems whose degrees of interdependency undergo episodic, but very temporary, change.
Government Liability and Natural Hazard Mitigation in Japan, the Soviet Union, China, New Zealand and the United States
Authors: Huffman James L.
Published: January 2023

Earthquake hazard mitigation is an important part of most governmental efforts to mitigate the harm which results from natural disasters. As part of the effort to mitigate harm, governments should consider how the assignment of the external or unintended costs of mitigation impacts on the success of the mitigation effort. Central to the assignment of these costs is the law of government liability. This article reports on the preliminary results of a comparative study of government liability law as it relates to natural hazard mitigation in five countries. A brief survey of the government liability law of Japan, the Soviet Union, China, New Zealand, and the United States is presented. Laws relating specifically to natural hazard mitigation are also examined. The five countries represent very different economic, political, and social systems, yet reveal a concern for a problem which seems common to all of them. A comparative analysis is drawn upon to develop a framework for policy analysis. The analytical framework identifies policy concerns which a government might wish to pursue and an array of legal mechanisms for affecting selected policy goals. The general conclusion is that governments have numerous cost assignment mechanisms in addition to liability in the narrow sense of the law of torts or obligations. The selection of appropriate legal mechanisms will depend upon the goals and circumstances of particular governments.
The Organization of Disaster Response Core Concepts and Processes
Authors: Kreps Gary A.
Published: January 2023

A theory of the structure and process of organization is being developed from archival data which describe the activities of established and emergent groups and organizations following disasters. The theory points to four necessary and sufficient elements of organization—domain, tasks, human and material resources, and activities—while making no assumption about their patterning in time and space. It is argued that 24 logically possible patterns of initiating, maintaining, and suspending organization reflect an underlying continuum of Weberian formal rationality to more elemental forms of collective behavior. Documented patterns for 423 instances of organization from 15 events, the disaster demands to which they wore directed, and the focal organizations who performed them are presented. Implications of the evolving theory for disaster research and general sociology are discussed.
Emergencies and Rationality the Case of Three Mile Island
Authors: Shelton R.B.
Published: January 2023

The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant is analyzed from the perspective of rationality theory. Contrary to the popular view that operator errors are inexplicable, the concept of practical rationality reveals the subjective meaning of the operators’ actions. It is argued that rat-tonality is a valuable notion for the practical management of emergencies and man-made disasters, and that rationality is an essential element in the development of a sociology of disasters.
Nuclear Power Emergency Planning: Politics of the Task
Authors: Sylves Richard T.
Published: January 2023

Great uncertainty currently prevails in the matter of off-site emergency response planning around U.S. civilian nuclear power plants. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Federal Emergency Management Agency share in review and approval of off-site emergency plans prepared by state and local governments in the emergency planning zone of nuclear power plants. This study examines why off-site nuclear accident planning has been a low federal priority, why the problem is intergovernmentally complex, and why this sub-policy issue remains controversial.
Blame Assignment in a Diffuse Disaster Situation: A Case Example of the Role of an Emergenct Citizen Group
Authors: Neal David M.
Published: January 2023

Blame occurs frequently after disaster, yet, the process of blame is a neglected topic of disaster research. Our study looks at how a grassroots citizen's group blamed a local company for air pollution and health problems. The blaming process directed toward the company aided in the mobilization of the citizen's group but also prevented any immediate issue-oriented actions. As blame directed toward the company decreased within the group, solidarity within the group decreased. Yet, as blame decreased within the group, issue-oriented actions by the group increased. The placement of blame by the group had both positive and negative consequences for their goals. Comparing this case with other studies of blame in disaster, we found: 1) placing blame does not lead to structural changes in the social system, 2) organizations can be the focus of blame, and 3) only one target of blame can exist. In addition, we suggest that the type of disaster (diffuse or focalized, and technological or natural) may have an impact upon who or what becomes the target of blame.
Are the News Media Responsible for the Disaster Myths? A Content Analysis of Emergency Response Imagery
Authors: Goltz James D.
Published: January 2023

Disaster research scholars and emergency planners have often contended that the news media play a major role in creating and perpetuating various myths of natural disaster response. These myths include widespread panic flight, psychological dependency and vicious competition for necessities on the part of victims and physical convergence for the purpose of looting by non-victims. The evidence which ties the news media to these myths of community breakdown is largely indirect. Survey data reveal a generalized belief among members of the public that the above enumerated behaviors are typical reactions of people faced with a sudden crisis. These data also indicate that the news media are the principal source of information about disasters for most people. Lacking are detailed analyses which document the extent to which the myths of community breakdown actually appear in news coverage of natural disaster events. The present study, which focuses on the reporting of four earthquake events by two Southern California newspapers, attempts to address this issue. The results, though preliminary, suggest that some caution is warranted in making the generalization that natural disaster coverage disproportionately conveys a breakdown imagery of communities facing a major natural catastrophe.
Earthquake Prediction in Japan and the United States
Authors: Hirose Hirotada
Published: January 2023

Major earthquakes were predicted on both sides of the Pacific in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, and the state of California, the United States, at roughly the same time. These predictions differ from those made previously in that (1) the location, scale, and likelihood in a given timeframe have been specified; (2) the predictions for both regions have been taken seriously by the governments; and (3) there has been an unprecedented increase in earthquake concern among the area's residents.

In the present study, the American and Japanese reactions to these earthquake predictions are compared in terms of earthquake policy and the impact on residents’ lifestyles.

Conclusins are that (1) there is a major difference in the time, money, and energy spent on earthquake policy, Shizuoka being far better prepared than California; (2) Tokai earthquake policy is premised on the assumption of short-term predictability, but California policy is not; and (3) Shizuoka residents are ahead of Californians in earthquake preparedness, but public earthquake awareness is growing steadily in California, and should be considerably enhanced in the near future.