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Article
Publication date: 2 January 2024

Terry Cannon

The transcript is of one from a number of interviews with disaster risk reduction (DRR) “pioneers” carried out in 2022 as a part of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk…

129

Abstract

Purpose

The transcript is of one from a number of interviews with disaster risk reduction (DRR) “pioneers” carried out in 2022 as a part of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) project to record the history of the field. It aims to enable one of the “pioneers” to explain his role in the emergence of disaster studies and provide critical commentary on what he considers is wrong with current DRR approaches.

Design/methodology/approach

Terry Cannon was interviewed to explain the beginnings of his involvement in disasters research and to comment on his views on progress in the field of disaster risk reduction since his early work in the 1980s. The transcript and video were developed in the context of the UNDRR project on the history of DRR.

Findings

The interview provides an account of the origins of the book “At Risk” and why it was considered necessary. This is put into the context of how the field of DRR has emerged since the 1980s. It elicits opinions on what he considers the gaps in both his early work (especially in the book “At Risk” of which he was a co-author) and in the field of DRR recently.

Originality/value

It provides historical context on how early disaster research developed the alternative framework of “social construction” of disasters, in opposition to the idea that they are “natural”. It challenges some of the approaches that have emerged as DRR and has been institutionalised, including its increasing difficulty in supporting the ideas of social construction.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 33 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

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Article
Publication date: 6 May 2024

Ben Wisner

The transcript provides an overview of the development of the field and changing paradigms in this regard.

40

Abstract

Purpose

The transcript provides an overview of the development of the field and changing paradigms in this regard.

Design/methodology/approach

The transcript was developed in the context of a United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) project on the history of disaster risk reduction (DRR).

Findings

The transcript traces the initial discussions of how the At Risk book was conceived and presents new dimensions and challenges within the field.

Originality/value

The interview highlights the importance of the need to document the transitions, developments and paradigm changes in the field over time.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 20 June 2008

Terry Cannon

The purpose of this paper is to make an argument that there are different types of social construction of disasters.

6097

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to make an argument that there are different types of social construction of disasters.

Design/methodology/approach

The focus is on disasters triggered by natural hazards.

Findings

It is now widely accepted that disasters are a product of a natural hazard having an impact on a vulnerable population. But the value of the concept of vulnerability is in danger of becoming less meaningful because it is removed from the political and economic processes that generate some vulnerabilities. On the other hand, there are some types of disasters that are relatively “innocent”, in the sense that people live in places that are exposed to risk for purposes of access to their livelihood, and not because social forces or power relations have forced them to live there, or made some groups more vulnerable than others.

Practical implications

If it is the case that some vulnerability is “innocent”, then forms of explanation are needed of people's willingness to expose themselves to risk that go beyond the “strong” forms of social construction (where power relations are a key factor in generating the social construction of disasters). Instead, it is essential to examine “cultural” and psychological explanations of people's behaviour, including an understanding of group behaviour, religious beliefs and other aspects that often distinguish the perspective on risk taken by “insiders” compared with the supposedly rational and policy‐oriented approach of “outsiders” who see it as their role to help reduce disaster risks.

Originality/value

The discussion of different types of social construction of disasters is original. Debate on the need to include analysis of cultural and psychological aspects in disaster risk reduction is not very well developed and, according to this paper, is of absolutely crucial importance in reducing the impact of natural hazards.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

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Article
Publication date: 2 October 2018

Lei Sun and A.J. Faas

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether it is useful to tease apart the intimately related propositions of social production and social construction to guide thinking in…

1168

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether it is useful to tease apart the intimately related propositions of social production and social construction to guide thinking in the multidisciplinary study of disasters.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors address our question by reviewing literature on disasters in the social sciences to disambiguate the concepts of social production and social construction.

Findings

The authors have found that entertaining the distinction between social production and social construct can inform both thinking and action on disasters by facilitating critical exercises in reframing that facilitate dialog across difference. The authors present a series of arguments on the social production and construction of disaster and advocate putting these constructs in dialog with vulnerability frameworks of the social production of disasters.

Originality/value

This commentary contributes to disambiguating important theoretical and practical concepts in disaster studies. The reframing approach can inform both research and more inclusive disaster management and risk reduction efforts.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 27 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2004

Krishna S. Vatsa

Households are exposed to a wide array of risks, characterized by a known or unknown probability distribution of events. Disasters are one of these risks at the extreme end…

6679

Abstract

Households are exposed to a wide array of risks, characterized by a known or unknown probability distribution of events. Disasters are one of these risks at the extreme end. Understanding the nature of these risks is critical to recommending appropriate mitigation measures. A household’s resilience in resisting the negative outcomes of these risky events is indicative of its level of vulnerability. Vulnerability has emerged as the most critical concept in disaster studies, with several attempts at defining, measuring, indexing and modeling it. The paper presents the concept and meanings of risk and vulnerability as they have evolved in different disciplines. Building on these basic concepts, the paper suggests that assets are the key to reducing risk and vulnerability. Households resist and cope with adverse consequences of disasters and other risks through the assets that they can mobilize in face of shocks. Asustainable strategy for disaster reduction must therefore focus on asset‐building. There could be different types of assets, and their selection and application for disaster risk management is necessarily a contextual exercise. The mix of asset‐building strategies could vary from one community to another, depending upon households’ asset profile. The paper addresses the dynamics of assets‐risk interaction, thus focusing on the role of assets in risk management.

Details

International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, vol. 24 no. 10/11
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-333X

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 20 June 2008

Jean-Christophe Gaillard and Pauline Texier

567

Abstract

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 17 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

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Article
Publication date: 1 June 1999

Karl M. Wiig

Globalization has placed businesses everywhere in new and different competitive situations where knowledgeable, effective behavior has come to provide the competitive edge…

4702

Abstract

Globalization has placed businesses everywhere in new and different competitive situations where knowledgeable, effective behavior has come to provide the competitive edge. Enterprises have turned to explicit and systematic knowledge management (KM) to develop the intellectual capital needed to succeed. Further developments are expected to provide considerable benefits resulting from changes in the workplace and in management and operational practices. Changes will partly come from information technology and artificial intelligence developments. However, more important changes are expected in people‐centric practices to build, apply, and deploy knowledge and understanding for support of innovative and effective knowledge‐intensive work. Much remains to be done. Next generation KM methods will still be crude. Our understanding of knowledge and how people use it to work has a long way to go. We need a“theory of knowledge” and perhaps a new theory of the firm to create a solid foundation for future KM. Still, users can expect significant benefits from KM as it develops over the next decades.

Details

Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 3 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1367-3270

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Book part
Publication date: 20 March 2012

Tsuneki Hori and Rajib Shaw

Cartago City is located in the central valley of Costa Rica. Situated at the southern foot of the Irazu volcano and characterized by rugged mountainous topography, the city in…

Abstract

Cartago City is located in the central valley of Costa Rica. Situated at the southern foot of the Irazu volcano and characterized by rugged mountainous topography, the city in general is exposed to multiple natural hazards including floods, volcanic eruption, and pyroclastic flows. Indeed, the city has experienced catastrophes in 1724, 1861, 1891, 1928, and 1951. The most recent one was a combination of pyroclastic flows and several floods in 1963–1964. This catastrophe caused US$3.5 million of economic damage as well as 20 deaths (ICE, 1966).

Details

Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-85724-868-8

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 20 February 2024

Dorothea Hilhorst

The transcript takes you on a journey of the book mapping vulnerability and the developments thereafter.

242

Abstract

Purpose

The transcript takes you on a journey of the book mapping vulnerability and the developments thereafter.

Design/methodology/approach

The transcript and video was developed in the context of a United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) project on the History of DRR.

Findings

This interview highlights how DRR is central to conflict settings as well.

Originality/value

The interview provides reflections on DRR in conflict settings.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 33 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 1 April 2004

66

Abstract

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 13 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

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