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1 – 10 of over 1000This article looks at the relationship between human rights law and geography. Drawing from a meeting of the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), the article explores how the right to…
Abstract
This article looks at the relationship between human rights law and geography. Drawing from a meeting of the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC), the article explores how the right to life was legally interpreted to apply to the loss of life associated with Hurricane Katrina. In particular, the article argues that the HRC’s legal interpretation of the right to life shifted as part of a discussion between the United States and nongovernmental organizations. The shift incorporated a more nuanced understanding of the spatial dimension of injustice by including preexisting inequalities and ongoing internal displacement in the analysis of human rights obligations related to the hurricane. The HRC meeting and the legal interpretations arising from that meeting therefore provide an example of Seyla Benhabib’s concept of “democratic iterations” as well as an example of how law can be “spatialized” through international legal processes.
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This action research study reports on an important unit of study having evidence of success. The paper discusses how students in a social studies classroom setting may be…
Abstract
This action research study reports on an important unit of study having evidence of success. The paper discusses how students in a social studies classroom setting may be encouraged to develop and display empathy for individuals who are impacted by hurricane disasters. It uses aspects of the documentary “When the Levees Broke” in collaboration with the “Teaching the Levees Module” and several technology based classroom resources. The findings indicate that as students contextualized the impact of Hurricane Katrina and similar natural disasters on human populations they begin to develop and display empathy. The students who were involved in this investigation also were able to apply principles of social justice which facilitated reflective thinking as they used hindsight to analyze and discuss the context of this natural disaster
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This chapter chronicles some of the early years of the author growing up in the racially segregated South Alabama and its influence on his thinking about race, environment, social…
Abstract
This chapter chronicles some of the early years of the author growing up in the racially segregated South Alabama and its influence on his thinking about race, environment, social equity, and government responsibility and his journey to becoming an environmental sociologist, scholar, and activist. Using an environmental justice paradigm, he uncovers the underlying assumptions that contribute to and produce unequal protection. The environmental justice paradigm provides a useful framework for examining and explaining the spatial relation between the health of marginalized populations and their built and natural environment, and government response to natural and man-made disasters in African American communities. Clearly, people of color communities have borne a disproportionate burden and have received differential treatment from government in its response to health threats such as childhood lead poisoning, toxic waste and contamination, industrial accidents, hurricanes, floods and related weather-related disasters, and a host of other man-made disasters. The chapter brings to the surface the ethical and political questions of “who gets what, why, and how much” and why some communities get left behind before and after disasters strike.
Christopher L. Atkinson and Alka K. Sapat
Hurricane Katrina remains the “most destructive disaster in U.S. history” (Farber & Chen, 2006). The purpose of this article is to examine the public procurement practices…
Abstract
Hurricane Katrina remains the “most destructive disaster in U.S. history” (Farber & Chen, 2006). The purpose of this article is to examine the public procurement practices followed by local government officials in and around New Orleans within the context of Hurricane Katrina, and define impacts of disaster on procurement processes. Original and primary data drawn from interviews with officials working in and with public procurement are used to examine the role of institutional culture and practices which encourage or constrain active, responsible behavior. We find that this behavior influences the quality, including the transparency and fairness, of purchasing responses.
Danny Woosik Choi, Seoki Lee and Manisha Singal
The purpose of this study is to examine how the lodging market and the state economy affected by Hurricane Sandy have recovered from the damages sustained. Specifically, this…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine how the lodging market and the state economy affected by Hurricane Sandy have recovered from the damages sustained. Specifically, this study examines and predicts the influence of revenue management key performance indicators (KPIs) on recovery and lodging revenue in the affected states and the states’ economies. These KPIs include average daily rate (ADR), occupancy and revenue per available room (RevPAR).
Design/methodology/approach
Secondary financial data were collected for the states most damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Subsequently, pooled Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression was conducted combining time and non-time dependent variables based on the states and radius from the landfall.
Findings
The results indicate that although the lodging market and the state economies have recovered since the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy, certain KPIs still need to improve.
Practical implications
Managerial implications are suggested in terms of dynamic pricing, market-based recovery, the KPIs, federal aid and facility management.
Originality/value
Despite its importance, research on the effects of climate change in the hospitality context has not actively progressed after Hurricane Katrina. Time and non-time dependent variables are combined in this analysis to gain a richer understanding of the impacts and recovery of KPIs on the revenue in the lodging market and the revenue on states’ economies. Additional analysis based on the radius from the landfall of the hurricane was performed to examine the impact and recovery based on geographical proximity.
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The purpose of this paper is to recover the narratives constructed by the disaster management policy network in Washington, DC, about the management of Hurricanes Katrina and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to recover the narratives constructed by the disaster management policy network in Washington, DC, about the management of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Recovering and analysing these narratives provides an opportunity to understand the stories constructed about these events and consider the implications of this framing for post-event learning and adaptation of government policy.
Design/methodology/approach
This research was conducted through an extended ethnographic study in Washington, DC, that incorporated field observation, qualitative interviews and desktop research.
Findings
The meta-narratives recovered through this research point to a collective tendency to fit the experiences of Hurricane Katrina and Sandy into a neatly constructed redemption arc. This narrative framing poses significant risk to policy learning and highlights the importance of exploring counter-narratives as part of the policy analysis process.
Research limitations/implications
The narratives in this paper reflect the stories and beliefs of the participants interviewed. As such, it is inherently subjective and should not be generalised. Nonetheless, it is illustrative of how narrative framing can obscure important learnings from disasters.
Originality/value
The paper represents a valuable addition to the field of disaster management policy analysis. It extends the tools of narrative analysis and administrative ethnography into the disaster management policy domain and demonstrates how these techniques can be used to analyse complex historical events.
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Shari R. Veil and Rebekah A. Husted
This study aims to use the now‐classic case study of American Red Cross's response to Hurricane Katrina to demonstrate the utility of the best practices in risk and crisis…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to use the now‐classic case study of American Red Cross's response to Hurricane Katrina to demonstrate the utility of the best practices in risk and crisis communication as an assessment tool.
Design/methodology/approach
Qualitative case study methodology is used to provide a thick description of the case based on media analysis and internal and external evaluations. The best practices in risk and crisis communication are then used to assess Red Cross's response efforts.
Findings
This study provides contextual support for the best practices in risk and crisis communication and demonstrates their usefulness in post‐crisis assessment. Lessons learned specific to the case outline the importance of: maintaining flexibility in the crisis plan; developing a crisis communication protocol with partners; considering the affects of response procedures on the emotional and psychological health of crisis victims; and establishing connections with diverse populations and the communities in which the organization works.
Practical implications
As an assessment tool in the post‐crisis stage, the best practices provide an outline for organizations to question whether their planning was sufficient and their strategies and responses met the needs of their stakeholders.
Originality/value
This study provides reason for continuing to develop, study, and apply best practices in risk and crisis communication across organizations and industries. By using the best practices as an assessment tool post‐crisis, organizations can look at each specific practice through the lens of the crisis to stimulate organizational learning.
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Pamela A. Kennett‐Hensel, Julie Z. Sneath and Russell Lacey
This study seeks to examine how event‐induced outcomes impact consumption attitudes and buying behavior by surveying victims at distinct intervals following Hurricane Katrina, the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to examine how event‐induced outcomes impact consumption attitudes and buying behavior by surveying victims at distinct intervals following Hurricane Katrina, the largest natural disaster in US history.
Design/methodology/approach
Using van Gennep's liminal transitions framework and Belk's conceptualization of possessions and sense of self, the authors present findings from three studies: depth interviews of 21 victims conducted eight weeks after the storm; an online study of 427 victims that was conducted eight months following the storm; and a follow‐up online study of 176 victims that took place three years after the first online survey.
Findings
The results suggest that when significant life transitions occur, consumption behavior helps to facilitate the process and serves as a marker for each stage.
Research limitations/implications
Because many of the US Gulf Coast region's residents still struggle to cope with the devastation wrought by the storm, the situation offers a unique opportunity to investigate short‐ and long‐term effects of a single catastrophic event on consumers' view of possessions and subsequent consumption behavior.
Practical implications
The studies conducted by the researchers provide insight about the impact of stress and loss on natural disaster victim's purchasing behavior, both in the weeks and months following the storm as well as more than three years later.
Originality/value
The study explores the role of consumption in coping and recovery after a natural catastrophic event. It uses a historic US natural disaster to examine how emotional distress and associated loss of possessions have impacted victims' lives, attitudes, and buying behaviors.
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