Search results

This study aims to assess and evaluate the disaster management system in Sri Lanka and the capacity of a local community to respond to natural disasters, and to propose a strategy for the dissemination of tsunami knowledge while raising public awareness of tsunami disasters.

The survey focused on three clusters of respondents and different methodologies were adopted to collect data from each group, as follows: residents: questionnaires followed by a structured interview; school children: questionnaires completed under the guidance of a teacher; government officials: questionnaires completed independently by respondents, and followed up with unstructured interviews with officials in charge of disaster related activities.

The results of the survey of residents indicate that; more than 90 percent of residents lacked tsunami knowledge prior to the 2004 tsunami; the main source of information during the disaster was direct information from family and neighbors; school education is important for raising awareness of disaster reduction; and an early warning system is a key requirement for reducing damage in the future. The school surveys reveal that; about 30 percent of school children do not yet understand what causes a tsunami; 90 percent of school children have a keen interest in studying natural disasters; comprehensive disaster education has not been provided; and audio‐visual means are thought to be the most effective tool for disaster education. The survey of officials shows that; seminars and drills on natural disaster have not thus far been conducted among general officials other than the military and police; measures need to be developed to safeguard the interests of tourists; and sirens, TV, and radio broadcasts are effective tools for disseminating disaster warnings to residents.

Based on the findings of the questionnaire and interview surveys, the following recommendations are proposed for disseminating knowledge and raising public awareness of tsunami disasters: promote disaster education at the school level; implement community‐level public awareness programs; enhance information management systems; and improve coordination mechanisms within the disaster management system.

At present, this is the only study being conducted whose goal is to quantitatively evaluate public awareness of natural disasters and disaster management in Sri Lanka.

The purpose of this paper is the proposal of fatigue-life-prediction curve for cast aluminum alloy A356-T6 with different casting defect sizes.

Four kinds of A356-T6 fatigue specimens were sampled from the actual large-scale cast component, where the cooling rates were different. In addition, three kinds of A356 were casted under different casting conditions to simulate different defect sizes in the actual component. Subsequently, rotating bending fatigue tests were conducted using those samples. The maximum sizes of casting defects were quantitatively evaluated through microstructural observation and extreme value statistics. The fatigue limits of all samples were predicted using hardness and defect sizes based on modified Murakami’s equation.

The modified equation for fatigue limit prediction in A356-T6 was proposed. Fatigue limits were successfully predicted using the proposed equation.

Fatigue limit prediction method using hardness and maximum defect size was limited to steels. This paper proposed the modified method for A356-T6 aluminum alloy with lower elastic modulus. The method was valid for A356-T6 with different defect sizes.

The purpose of this paper is to review the nature of Japanese non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in international disaster response and analyzes their distinctive characteristics.

A literature review was conducted of secondary English and Japanese sources including peer-reviewed journals, books, and non-academic journals published by government and NGOs.

First, Japanese disaster response NGOs are relatively young compared to Western ones and they continue to increase in number. Second, the scale of disaster response NGOs is much larger than that of other NGOs in the development field not only because of the availability of government funds but also because of the presence of internationally affiliated NGOs and religious-based organisations with strong fundraising programs. Third, Japanese disaster response NGOs have a long-term engagement with the local community, not only during the emergency phase, but also during the recovery and development phases in various fields. Finally, coordination NGOs play an important role in networking, advocating and supplementing NGOs that often lack financial and human resources.

The limitation of this study is the definition of Japanese NGOs in the context of international disaster response; therefore, this paper adopts MOFA’s definition, which includes NGOs engaged in overseas activities through direct intervention.

There has been little research in English on the scale and nature of Japanese NGOs involved in disaster response activities.