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Article
Publication date: 11 April 2016

Christine Wamsler and Ebba Brink

Cities are both at risk and the cause of risk. The interconnectedness of urban features and systems increases the likelihood of complex disasters and a cascade or “domino” effect…

604

Abstract

Purpose

Cities are both at risk and the cause of risk. The interconnectedness of urban features and systems increases the likelihood of complex disasters and a cascade or “domino” effect from related impacts. However, the lack of research means that our knowledge of urban risk is both scarce and fragmented. Against this background, the purpose of this paper is to examine the unique dynamics of risk in urban settings.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on literal reading, grounded theory and systems analysis, this conceptual paper presents a framework for understanding and addressing urban risk. It conceptualizes how interdependent, interconnected risk is shaped by urban characteristics and exemplifies its particularities with data and analysis of specific cases. From this, it identifies improvements both in the content and the indicators of the successor to the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA2) that will be adopted in 2015.

Findings

While it is common to see disasters as “causes”, and the destruction of the built environment as “effects”, this paper highlights that the intricate links between cities and disasters cannot be described by a unidirectional cause-and-effect relationship. The city–disasters nexus is a bidirectional relationship, which constantly shapes, and is shaped by, other processes (such as climate change).

Practical implications

This paper argues that in-depth knowledge of the links between cities’ characteristic features, related systems and disasters is indispensable for addressing root causes and mainstreaming risk reduction into urban sector work. It enables city authorities and other urban actors to improve and adapt their work without negatively influencing the interconnectedness of urban risk.

Originality/value

This paper presents a framework for understanding and addressing urban risk and further demonstrates how the characteristics of the urban fabric (physical/spatial, environmental, social, economic and political/institutional) and related systems increase risk by: intensifying hazards or creating new ones, exacerbating vulnerabilities and negatively affecting existing response and recovery mechanisms.

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 7 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

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Article
Publication date: 9 February 2015

Christine Wamsler and Ebba Brink

This paper aims to investigate the strategies used by Swedish citizens to adapt to changing climate variability and extremes. There is an increasing consensus that individual…

2131

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate the strategies used by Swedish citizens to adapt to changing climate variability and extremes. There is an increasing consensus that individual adaptive capacities are critical to successfully adapt to climate change and achieve sustainable development. However, little is known about individual adaptive practices, particularly in developed countries.

Design/methodology/approach

The study covered a variety of geographical areas and included single-case studies of specific locations, cross-case studies and country-wide studies. Data were collected through literature review, interviews with at-risk people, observation and group discussions with municipal staff.

Findings

The paper provides an overview of Swedish citizens’ adaptive practices and highlights how institutional development efforts affect individuals and their activities, including the equitable distribution of adaptation needs and resources. The paper concludes that individual adaptive capacities do not necessarily translate into adaptation.

Practical implications

The results show that planned interventions are required. They emphasise the importance of more people-oriented adaptation planning that fosters the sustainable transformation of cities, together with the role that South-North knowledge transfer can play in this context.

Originality/value

The paper offers critical insights into the positive and negative effects of citizens’ adaptation strategies (based on criteria such as effectiveness, sustainability and equity), and it discusses their relevance in the formulation of development policies and programmes.

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 9 February 2015

Jerry Velasquez

1468

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, vol. 6 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-5908

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Article
Publication date: 18 May 2015

Ylva Gavel

The purpose of this paper is to describe how systems automating the local document supply process (such as integrated library systems and ILL management systems) can be integrated…

320

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe how systems automating the local document supply process (such as integrated library systems and ILL management systems) can be integrated with systems automating regional document requesting (interlending). This is illustrated with a case study of DocFlow, an ILL management system developed in-house at Karolinska Institutet and its integration with Libris, the national interlending system in Sweden.

Design/methodology/approach

The present paper describes how system integration between Libris and DocFlow was accomplished in practice. It also discusses various aspects of integration between systems offering automation of document supply.

Findings

Integration between local document supply workflows and regional document request flows may involve techniques such as import of outgoing and incoming interlending requests, synchronization of status values between systems, exchange of messages between systems and quick links to the native interfaces of external systems.

Practical implications

The paper brings up various aspects to consider when developing or procuring a system for the local management of ILL workflows.

Originality/value

The paper may provide a deeper understanding of system integration, as it applies to the document supply process.

Details

Interlending & Document Supply, vol. 43 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-1615

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Yasmine Chahed, Robert Charnock, Sabina Du Rietz Dahlström, Niels Joseph Lennon, Tommaso Palermo, Cristiana Parisi, Dane Pflueger, Andreas Sundström, Dorothy Toh and Lichen Yu

The purpose of this essay is to explore the opportunities and challenges that early-career researchers (ECRs) face when they seek to contribute to academic knowledge production…

476

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this essay is to explore the opportunities and challenges that early-career researchers (ECRs) face when they seek to contribute to academic knowledge production through research activities “other than” those directly focused on making progress with their own, to-be-published, research papers in a context associated with the “publish or perish” (PoP) mentality.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing broadly on the notion of technologies of humility (Jasanoff, 2003), this reflective essay develops upon the experiences of the authors in organizing and participating in a series of nine workshops undertaken between June 2013 and April 2021, as well as the arduous process of writing this paper itself. Retrospective accounts, workshop materials, email exchanges and surveys of workshop participants provide the key data sources for the analysis presented in the paper.

Findings

The paper shows how the organization of the workshops is intertwined with the building of a small community of ECRs and exploration of how to address the perceived limitations of a “gap-spotting” approach to developing research ideas and questions. The analysis foregrounds how the workshops provide a seemingly valuable research experience that is not without contradictions. Workshop participation reveals tensions between engagement in activities “other than” working on papers for publication and institutionalized pressures to produce publication outputs, between the (weak) perceived status of ECRs in the field and the aspiration to make a scholarly contribution, and between the desire to develop a personally satisfying intellectual journey and the pressure to respond to requirements that allow access to a wider community of scholars.

Originality/value

Our analysis contributes to debates about the ways in which seemingly valuable outputs are produced in academia despite a pervasive “publish or perish” mentality. The analysis also shows how reflexive writing can help to better understand the opportunities and challenges of pursuing activities that might be considered “unproductive” because they are not directly related to to-be-published papers.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 38 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

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