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Article
Publication date: 28 August 2019

David E. Alexander and Gianluca Pescaroli

The purpose of this paper is to explain the significance of cascading crises for translators and interpreters, and how their work may be affected by such events. It provides a…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explain the significance of cascading crises for translators and interpreters, and how their work may be affected by such events. It provides a theoretical basis for analysis and field practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors define cascades and explain how they influence the development of preparedness, mitigation and response. The authors identify key drivers of cascading crises and discuss how they challenge conventional approaches to emergency management. The authors discuss ways in which use of language could be a key factor in crisis escalation. The authors define priorities and operational challenges of cascading crises for translators and interpreters. In terms of methodology, this paper develops a conceptual framework that can be used for future enquiry and case history analysis.

Findings

The authors provide a qualitative description and synthesis of the key instructions to be used in the field. The authors offer a short list of key questions that can be referred to by linguists and scholars. The authors identify situations in which translation and interpretation are important ingredients in the success of emergency preparedness and response efforts. These include multilingual populations, migrant crises, international humanitarian deployment and emergency communication during infrastructure failures.

Research limitations/implications

This work has academic value for the process of understanding cascades and practical relevance in terms of how to deal with them.

Practical implications

Translators and interpreters need to understand cascading crises in order to be prepared for the challenges that such events will present.

Social implications

Society has become more complex and interconnected, with non-linear cascading escalation of secondary emergencies. Emergency planners and responders need to address this in new ways. Effective communication and information strategies are essential to the mitigation of cascading disaster risk.

Originality/value

The study of cascading crises from a socio-economic point of view is relatively new, but it is important because society is increasingly dependent on networks that can propagate failure of information supply.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 29 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 August 2018

David E. Alexander

The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical examination of the aftermath of the L’Aquila earthquake of 6 April 2009. It considers the elements of the recovery process that…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a critical examination of the aftermath of the L’Aquila earthquake of 6 April 2009. It considers the elements of the recovery process that are unique or exceptional and endeavours to explain them.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis is based on a survey and synthesis of the abundant literature on the disaster, coupled with observations from the author’s many visits to L’Aquila and personal involvement in the debates on the questions raised during the aftermath.

Findings

Several aspects of the disaster are unique. These include the use of large, well-appointed buildings as temporary accommodation and the efforts to use legal processes to obtain justice for alleged mismanagement of both the early emergency situation and faults in the recovery process.

Research limitations/implications

Politics, history, economics and geography have conspired to make the L’Aquila disaster and its aftermath a multi-layered event that poses considerable challenges of interpretation.

Practical implications

The L’Aquila case teaches first that moderate seismic events can entail a long and difficult process of recovery if the initial vulnerability is high. Second, for processes of recovery to be rational, they need to be safeguarded against the effects of political expediency and bureaucratic delay.

Social implications

Many survivors of the L’Aquila disaster have been hostages to fortune, victims as much of broader political and socio-economic forces than of the earthquake itself.

Originality/value

Although there are now many published analyses of the L’Aquila disaster, as the better part of a decade has elapsed since the event, there is value in taking stock and making a critical assessment of developments. The context of this disaster is dynamic and extraordinarily sophisticated, and it provides the key to interpretation of developments that otherwise would probably seem illogical.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2022

Gianluca Pescaroli, Kristen Guida, Jeremy Reynolds, Roger S. Pulwarty, Igor Linkov and David E. Alexander

This paper applies the theory of cascading, interconnected and compound risk to the practice of preparing for, managing, and responding to threats and hazards. Our goal is to…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper applies the theory of cascading, interconnected and compound risk to the practice of preparing for, managing, and responding to threats and hazards. Our goal is to propose a consistent approach for managing major risk in urban systems by bringing together emergency management, organisational resilience, and climate change adaptation.

Design/methodology/approach

We develop a theory-building process using an example from the work of the Greater London Authority in the United Kingdom. First, we explore how emergency management approaches systemic risk, including examples from of exercises, contingency plans and responses to complex incidents. Secondly, we analyse how systemic risk is integrated into strategies and practices of climate change adaptation. Thirdly, we consider organisational resilience as a cross cutting element between the approaches.

Findings

London has long been a champion of resilience strategies for dealing with systemic risk. However, this paper highlights a potential for integrating better the understanding of common points of failure in society and organisations, especially where they relate to interconnected domains and where they are driven by climate change.

Originality/value

The paper suggests shifting toward the concept of operational continuity to address systemic risk and gaps between Emergency Management, Organizational Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 32 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 February 2019

David E. Alexander and Ian R. Davis

The purpose of this paper is to review the issues and challenges associated with examining PhD theses in the modern, rapidly changing academic world. The PhD degree has been…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the issues and challenges associated with examining PhD theses in the modern, rapidly changing academic world. The PhD degree has been described as the “pinnacle of academic qualifications”, but it is under threat in terms of the quality of supervision and the outcome of examinations. By bringing the issues into the open and discussing them, more can be done to safeguard the health of the modern doctorate.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper reviews the mainstream academic literature on doctoral degrees from the point of view of the origin and development of the contemporary PhD. Then it offers some reflections on supervision, examination, standards of judgement, benchmarking of results and different routes to the doctorate. The pressures upon the modern university are related to issues encountered in examining doctoral theses.

Findings

In modern neo-liberal environments, the PhD degree is under pressure in terms of its quality and rigour. This paper offers a simple conceptual model of the challenges involved in ensuring the quality of PhD examinations and their outcomes. Priorities for the various stakeholders are suggested to ensure that PhD research continues to set the “gold standard” for excellence.

Practical implications

Recognising and confronting the problems with the modern PhD and how it is examined will help guarantee the quality of the degree. A more open debate on the pressures under which supervision and examinations are conducted will help establish rules or guidelines for conduct.

Originality/value

There are remarkably few evaluations of the PhD examination process, which in recent years has become increasingly problematic. The authors adopt a comprehensive approach to the issues and relate them to the societal context in which universities are developing.

Details

Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 27 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 April 2015

David E. Alexander

The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology for assessing and characterising the state of development of a civil protection (emergency preparedness) system, with…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to propose a methodology for assessing and characterising the state of development of a civil protection (emergency preparedness) system, with particular attention to the local level, where such systems are rooted.

Design/methodology/approach

Groups of indicators are suggested as a means of evaluating each component of the system. The paper proposes a means of using these to identify which parts of the system are most in need of development and additional resources, something that will also depend on local hazards, vulnerabilities and priorities. In order to illustrate the methodology, an example is presented from the town Teziutlán in the central Mexican state of Puebla.

Findings

The civil protection system of Teziutlán is in the midst of a long, difficult and uneven phase of growth, in which there are both encouraging developments and seriously neglected elements. Analysis of Teziutlán using the indicators listed in the preceding methodological section enables a model to be proposed for the emergence of a system of emergency preparedness and response at the local level.

Research limitations/implications

This paper proposes a simple methodology and uses one very modest example to illustrate it. However, civil protection systems at many scales and in many countries would benefit from evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses.

Practical implications

It is hoped that this will be of use to those who wish to evaluate the development of local and regional civil protection elsewhere in the world.

Social implications

Improvement of response capabilities is crucial to the development of a better civil protection system and the protection of the population against disaster.

Originality/value

Although assessment is widely used in science, technology and business, it has rarely been applied systematically to emergency management and civil protection systems.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2016

David E. Alexander

The purpose of this paper is to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of Disaster Prevention and Management. It reviews the modern-day challenges facing researchers, scholars…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of Disaster Prevention and Management. It reviews the modern-day challenges facing researchers, scholars and practitioners who work in the field of disaster risk reduction (DRR).

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews key issues in DRR, including the relationship between capital and labour and its influence on vulnerability, the role of human mobility and migration in disaster vulnerability and the definition of welfare.

Findings

There is a need for a major revision in the body of disaster theory so that it can take account dynamic changes in the modern world. In the future, climate change and migration may radically alter the bases of vulnerability, risk and impact. The ways in which this will occur are not yet clear, but indications can be gained from current trends and the state of foment in which the world presently exists.

Research limitations/implications

Prediction of future developments is always subject to the caveat that unexpected influences may change the expected course of events. However, the authors need to anticipate developments in order to produce theory, policies and practical solutions that are well-thought-out and viable.

Practical implications

Disaster theory must adapt to new conditions if it is to remain the “road-map” that clarifies complex realities and enables disasters to be managed and abated.

Social implications

Huge changes in the stability, expectations and vulnerabilities of populations are underway. These need to be understood much more fully in terms of their ability to influence disaster risks and impacts.

Originality/value

Presently, few analyses of the dynamism of global society are able to present a clear picture of the future needs of theory generation, scholarship and research.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

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…

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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

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Abstract

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Content available
Article
Publication date: 5 March 2019

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Abstract

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management, vol. 28 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Article
Publication date: 16 January 2020

Paul Hayes and Damian Jackson

This paper aims to argue that traditional ethical theories used in disaster response may be inadequate and particularly strained by the emergence of new technologies and social…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to argue that traditional ethical theories used in disaster response may be inadequate and particularly strained by the emergence of new technologies and social media, particularly with regard to privacy. The paper suggests incorporation of care ethics into the disaster ethics nexus to better include the perspectives of disaster affected communities.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper presents a theoretical examination of privacy and care ethics in the context of social media/digitally enhanced disaster response.

Findings

The paper proposes an ethics of care can fruitfully by used by public and private agents in disaster management. Its relational ontology restores the priority of fostering good relationships between stakeholders, thus giving central importance to values such as transparency and trust and the situated knowledge of disaster-affected communities.

Research limitations/implications

This paper presents theoretical research and is limited by the availability of empirical data. There is opportunity for future research to evaluate the impact of a conscious adoption of an ethics of care by disaster management agents.

Practical implications

An ethos of care ethics needs to be mainstreamed into disaster management organisations and digital initiatives.

Social implications

This paper argues that power asymmetry in disaster response renders the public vulnerable to abuse, and that the adoption of care ethics can support disaster management agents in recognising this power imbalance and wielding power responsibly.

Originality/value

This paper examines the applicability of an alternative ethical framework to novel circumstances.

Details

Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-996X

Keywords

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