The generative power of metaphor: long‐term action research on disaster recovery in a small Japanese village

Disaster recovery is a dynamic process of creating, maintaining, and changing the meaningful context of survivors. It is completed when they redevelop their self‐reliance and resume managing their social relations with a sense of community. This study employed action research to examine how researchers and survivors collaborated to change disaster recovery through the generative power of metaphor in a small village in Japan that experienced the Niigata–Chuetsu earthquake on 23 October 2004. It outlines long‐term collaborative practices as survivors undertook new activities owing to the power of the metaphor of ‘school’. Once ‘school’ was adopted as the metaphor for where survivors learnt new skills and passed on traditional knowledge, they created new metaphors and performed new activities independently, which is critical for recovery as it demonstrates self‐reliance. The paper assesses the reasons why generative metaphors worked effectively in this case and highlights some academic and practical implications for disaster recovery.     

青藏铁路路基病害决策支持系统数据库分析

通过对青藏铁路可能产生的路基病害的分析 ,笔者提出了建立青藏铁路路基病害数据库的重要性 ,给出了数据库的项目设计 ,研究了各种数据集的处理方案、数据工作空间和数据逻辑分组 ,并且采用数据仓库和面向对象的数据设计方式对数据库进行集成设计 ,给出了青藏铁路信息系统数据仓库体系结构以及数据在病害系统中的流程 ,建立了较完整的路基病害数据库内容。该研究为病害整治系统的进一步开发奠定了基础 ,可为将来青藏铁路可能产生的路基病害的迅速整治、降低铁路运营后的维护费用提供技术支持。     

Nutritional response to the 1998 Bangladesh flood disaster: Sphere minimum standards in disaster response

In this study we use a cross-sectional survey to evaluate the nutritional response to the 1998 Bangladesh Flood Disaster by 15 relief agencies using standards developed by the Sphere Project. The Sphere Project is a recent attempt by agencies around the world to establish universal minimum standards for the purpose of ensuring quality and accountability in disaster response. The main outcomes measured were resources allocated to disaster relief types of relief activities and percentage of agencies meeting selected Sphere food aid and nutrition indicators. Although the process of nutritional response was measured, specific nutritional and health outcomes were not assessed. This review found that self-reported disaster and nutritional resources varied widely between implementing agencies, ranging from US $58,947 to $15,908,712. The percentage of resources these agencies allocated to food aid and nutritional response also varied, ranging from approximately 6 to 99 per cent of total resources. Agencies met between 8 and 83 per cent of the specific Sphere indicators which were assessed Areas in which performance was poor included preliminary nutritional analysis; beneficiary participation and feedback; disaster preparedness during non-emergency times; monitoring of local markets and impact assessment. Agencies were generally successful in areas of core humanitarian response, such as targeting the vulnerable (83 per cent) and monitoring and evaluating the process of disaster response (75 per cent). The results here identify both strengths and gaps in the quality of humanitarian response in developing nations such as Bangladesh. However, they also raise the question of implementing a rights-based approach to disaster response in nations without a commitment to meeting positive human rights in non-disaster times.     

基于“3S”技术构建农业灾害监测信息系统

本文从介绍遥感、地理信息系统、全球定位系统在建设农业灾害监测信息系统中的特点和优势出发,阐述了“3S”技术在农业灾害监测信息系统中的作用。在此基础上,提出了基于“3S”技术建设农业灾害监测信息系统的构想。     

Disaster warning and evacuation responses by private business employees

When people are advised that their place of employment is threatened with disaster, how do they respond? Interviews with employees (n=406) of 118 businesses affected by one of seven recent disasters provide the first answers to this question. Multivariate analyses document the key variables that best predict variation are: 1) emergent perceptions of risk; 2) time of evacuation from work; 3) time of evacuation from home; 4) multiple evacuations; and 5) tension between work and family commitments. When warned of impending disaster, most employees initially responded with denial. Gradually, however, emergent perceptions of risk intensified especially among those living in communities in which the least amount of disaster planning had occurred or who resided in a mobile home or apartment. Highest levels of work and family tensions during these evacuations were reported by racial minority employees who had children living at home. Policy implications for these and other findings are discussed so as to pin‐point changes business managers should make that will enable them to provide the leadership and compassion expected by employees.     

Integrated Countermeasures for Urban Industrial Disaster Reduction

1Introduction of urban industrial disastersAt the Ministers' Forum on Disaster Reduction and Economic Development in China held on1March2 0 0 0 ,Deputy Director-General YANG Fu of the State Commission of Economy and Tradeemphasized by saying:" Security is importantnotonly to individual life,butalso to social stabilityand economic development. Among the 1 1 8catastrophic accidents in China in 1 999,each ofwhich caused the death of more than ten people,over70 % were connected with urban…     

安全社区模式及其运行机制研究

社区建设是当前我国城市发展中的一个热点课题,社区安全对实现公共安全建设有着重要的意义。安全社区的概念和理论研究源自于安全管理,对社区安全理论的研究可以为安全社区的发展提供重要的依据和思路,还可以为社区安全管理体系的建立奠定基础。笔者简要论述国内外安全社区建设的发展状况,介绍世界卫生组织安全社区的认可标准及其有关指标,并评价我国实现安全活动的两大创新理论,解释当代人的安全第一公理概念,在该基础上提出了安全社区建设的基本模式———“自组织”与“他组织”相结合的模式与安全文化教育模式,并根据区域灾害形成过程中的灾害分散与转移的概念化方式,提出构建安全社区防灾减灾的运行机制及建议与对策。     

地质灾害控灾因素的遥感地质分析--以藏南拉轨岗日地区为例

以实地调研数据为基础,在综合分析TM影像所提供的空间及光谱信息之后认为:(1)拉轨岗日变质核杂岩带通过其接触带中的断裂体系直接控制相应的地质灾害,通过所形成的构造地貌和特征水系对地质灾害的孕育、规模和强度产生间接影响;(2)拉轨岗日变质核杂岩带各个组成变质核杂岩的接触带及其外延的盖层区域因受构造变动的影响而成为崩塌、滑坡和泥石流等地质灾害的易发区域;(3)研究拉轨岗日变质核杂岩带的结构形式及成因模式可对地质灾害易发区域的圈绘起到指导作用.     

自然灾害软风险区划图模式研究

如何表达风险值估计不准,是深层次风险区划研究的问题.将模糊风险研究引向自然灾害风险区划领域,探讨了风险值估计不准条件下自然灾害风险区划的图型模式.给出了一种带有“层次“结构的“多值的“的自然灾害风险区划图图型模式.这是应用软计算的思想和方法得到的一种自然灾害风险区划图,我们称之为自然灾害软风险区划图.自然灾害软风险区划图不仅提供了表达风险值估计不准这一信息,而且提供了风险信息的可靠性,为改进自然灾害风险区划提供一种新的思路.     

1990年以来中国海洋灾害系统风险特征分析及其综合风险管理

长期以来,海洋灾害一直是困扰着海域及海岸带社会经济发展的一大障碍.中国是深受海洋灾害影响的国家之一.为此,从灾害系统论的角度,分析了1990年以来中国海洋灾害系统的风险特征.研究表明,中国在过去的15年中,工程性防灾减灾措施已经使海洋灾害灾情得到了一定的控制,但由于中国海域海事活动不断增多、海岸带经济密度快速提高,大大增加了海域及海岸带承灾体对海洋灾害风险的暴露,又由于海岸带及近海海域污染加重,海洋生物灾害发生的可能性增大,使中国海域面临的灾害风险趋于上升.此外,还讨论了中国海洋灾害综合风险管理的体系,提出从海洋灾害系统角度,加强海洋灾害综合风险管理能力的建设,以促进海洋及海岸带地区由政府、企业、社区共同组成的综合减灾范式的建立.