Hazards Vulnerability and Environmental Justice

Hazards Vulnerability and Environmental Justice
Author: Susan L. Cutter
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 528
Release: 2012-05-04
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1136564276

From Hurricane Katrina and the south Asian tsunami to human-induced atrocities, terrorist attacks and the looming effects of climate change, the world is assailed by both natural and unnatural hazards and disasters. These expose not only human vulnerability - particularly that of the poorest, who are least able to respond and adapt - but also the profound worldwide environmental injustices that result from the geographical distribution of risks, hazards and disasters. This collection of essays, from one of the most renowned and experienced experts, provides a timely assessment of these critical themes. Presenting the top selections from Susan L. Cutter's thirty years of scholarship on hazards, vulnerability and environmental justice, the volume tackles issues such as nuclear and toxic hazards, risk assessment, communication and planning, and societal responses. Cutter maps out the terrain and draws out the salient themes with a fresh, powerful introduction written in the wake of her work in the aftermath of Katrina. This essential collection is ideal for professionals, researchers, academics and students working on hazards, risk, disasters and environmental justice across a range of disciplines.

Handbook of Disaster Research

Handbook of Disaster Research
Author: Havidán Rodríguez
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 635
Release: 2017-11-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 331963254X

This timely Handbook is based on the principle that disasters are social constructions and focuses on social science disaster research. It provides an interdisciplinary approach to disasters with theoretical, methodological, and practical applications. Attention is given to conceptual issues dealing with the concept "disaster" and to methodological issues relating to research on disasters. These include Geographic Information Systems as a useful research tool and its implications for future research. This seminal work is the first interdisciplinary collection of disaster research as it stands now while outlining how the field will continue to grow.

Of Risks and Normative Responses

Of Risks and Normative Responses
Author: Christina Anikó Simmig
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2023-10-25
Genre: Law
ISBN: 3031411048

Disaster losses in the context of natural hazards continue to rise, despite a growing understanding of disaster risks and measures to reduce them. One obstacle to enhancing private and public disaster risk reduction is the influence of the distorted risk perception of laypeople. The book argues for the necessity of public regulations and explores means to mitigate the consequences of such distorted risk perception through legal measures and adjustments to political decision-making in Council of Europe member states, while respecting the value of autonomy and democratic principles. In terms of collective decision-making, the book advocates for the implementation of deliberative fora in the democratic decision-making process to mitigate the influence of distorted risk perception associated with natural hazards. Additionally, the book discusses a range of disaster risk reducing measures that member states may lawfully implement to protect individuals and communities from the consequences of distorted risk perceptions related to common natural hazards. To underscore the merits of strengthening disaster risk reduction from the bottom-up, this book demonstrates how fundamental rights and democratic values impede attempts to increase DRR from the top-down, even in cases where people's risk perceptions are distorted. In doing so, the book addresses the issue of disaster risk reduction in a novel way by exposing how legal and political barriers to disaster loss reduction can be overcome by giving higher priority to mitigating distorted risk perceptions.

Transport Survey Methods

Transport Survey Methods
Author: Jean-Loup Madre
Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing
Total Pages: 662
Release: 2009-11-02
Genre: Transportation
ISBN: 1848558449

Identifies various challenges to the world community of transport survey specialists as well as the larger constituency of practitioners, planners, and decision-makers that it serves and provides potential solutions and recommendations for addressing them.

Handbook of Disaster Research

Handbook of Disaster Research
Author: Havidan Rodriguez
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 639
Release: 2009-11-14
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0387323538

This timely Handbook is based on the principle that disasters are social constructions and focuses on social science disaster research. It provides an interdisciplinary approach to disasters with theoretical, methodological, and practical applications. Attention is given to conceptual issues dealing with the concept "disaster" and to methodological issues relating to research on disasters. These include Geographic Information Systems as a useful research tool and its implications for future research. This seminal work is the first interdisciplinary collection of disaster research as it stands now while outlining how the field will continue to grow.

Handbook of Crisis and Emergency Management

Handbook of Crisis and Emergency Management
Author: Ali Farazmand
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 816
Release: 2001-06-22
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9781420002454

Including contributions from sixty international authors, this book examines emergency responses to environmental dangers such as chemical fires, hazardous material and oil spills, nuclear reactor accidents, and earthquakes, and crises in the environment, global public service, and politics. It covers a wide range of international issues and topics, using various analyses, including critical, descriptive, empirical, quantitative, and normative methods. The book discusses approaches to natural disasters, resolutions to cultural, religious, and political tensions, terrorism and the potential use of biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons, the role of crisis public relations, and more.

The Human Side of Disaster

The Human Side of Disaster
Author: Thomas E. Drabek
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 449
Release: 2018-09-03
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1315360454

Since the first edition of The Human Side of Disaster was published in 2009, new catastrophes have plagued the globe, including earthquakes in Haiti and New Zealand, tornadoes in Alabama and Missouri, floods in numerous locations, Hurricane Sandy, and the infamous BP oil spill. Enhanced with new cases and real-world examples, The Human Side of Disaster, Second Edition presents an updated summary of the social science knowledge base of human responses to disaster. Dr. Drabek draws upon his 40-plus years of conducting research on individual, group, and organizational responses to disaster to illustrate and integrate key insights from the social sciences to teach us how to anticipate human behaviors in crisis. The book begins with a series of original short stories rooted within actual disaster events. These stories are woven into the entire text to demonstrate essential findings from the research literature. Dr. Drabek provides an overview of the range of disasters and hazards confronting the public and an explanation of why these are increasing each year, both in number and scope of impact. The core of the book is a summary of key findings regarding disaster warning responses, evacuation behavior, initial post-impact survival behavior, traditional and emergent roles of volunteers, and both short-term and longer-term disaster impacts. The theme of "organized-disorganization" is used to illustrate multiorganizational response networks that form the key managerial task for local emergency managers. The final chapter provides a new vision for the emergency management profession—one that reflects a more strategic approach wherein disasters are viewed as non-routine social problems. This book will continue to be an invaluable reference for professionals and students in emergency management and public policy and aid organizations who need to understand human behavior and how best to communicate and work with the public in disaster situations.

Information Technology Applications for Crisis Response and Management

Information Technology Applications for Crisis Response and Management
Author: Beard, Jon W.
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2021-02-19
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1799872122

Properly addressing a crisis requires more than just guesswork and a reaction; it requires a properly structured approach supported by good information. With the rapid evolution of information systems and information technology, including hardware, software, the internet, and communications capabilities, there are abundant opportunities to apply these technology capabilities and resources to support and improve responses to and management of crisis situations. Approaches to crisis response and management include the design, development, implementation, and application of systematic methodologies on how to respond, as well as how to apply information systems to enhance and extend responses to crises. Information Technology Applications for Crisis Response and Management provides a multi-disciplinary perspective on current and cutting-edge research exploring and extending our understanding of the use of information systems and information technology to support responses to crises of all kinds—accidental, intentional, and acts of nature. The chapters in this book focus on the design, development, implementation, use, and evaluation of information system technologies and methodologies to support crisis response and management, as well as technology management-related issues for crisis response and management. While highlighting technical, cognitive, organizational, and human-focused issues within the field, this book is ideal for policymakers, IT specialists, government officials, crisis response teams, managers, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the use of information technology and information systems to support diverse types of crises.

Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems For Climate Change

Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems For Climate Change
Author: Ashbindu Singh
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 394
Release: 2014-05-12
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9401785988

Around the world, extreme weather events are becoming increasingly "the new normal" and are expected to increase in the 21st century as a result of climate change. Extreme weather events have devastating impacts on human lives and national economies. This book examines ways to protect people from hazards using early warning systems, and includes contributions from experts from four different continents representing 14 different universities, 8 government agencies and two UN agencies. Chapters detail critical components of early warning systems, ways to identify vulnerable communities, predict hazards and deliver information. Unique satellite images illustrate the transnational impact of disasters, while case studies provide detailed examples of warning systems. With contributors from the fields of economics, ethics, meteorology, geography and biology, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in disaster risk reduction or climate change.