Disaster study of war

In the first part of this article I argue that war should be considered as a disaster. A brief historical review of the relationship of the field of disaster studies to military concerns is presented in an effort to demonstrate that, in fact, war has been a familiar subject in the field. I then consider definitions of disaster and conclude that war is easily accommodated by them. In the main section of the article I attempt to uncover distinctive characteristics of war by submitting war to analysis within well known sociological frameworks for disasters. Finally, some methodological considerations for the study of war disasters are presented.     

The Response of the South Manchester Accident Rescue Team (SMART) to the Armenian Earthquake and Lockerbie Air Disaster: A Report to the Prime Minister's Office

The delay in receiving authorisation for the despatch of SMART significantly reduced our overall effectiveness. The majority of injured survivors were extracted during this time and our special expertise could have saved a significant number of lives. The episode has provided SMART with unique experience for a British medical team and this knowledge should not be wasted. In contrast to other major western countries the British response was fragmented. We have no central stockpile of equipment and no official response team. The British who responded were independent of each other even when from the same service. The quality of the individual British teams was as good as any and often better. However, the ability of other nations to coordinate their response centrally and draw from a pool of workers already used to working together, improved both their efficiency and effectiveness. There are great difficulties in communication during any disaster and these increase with the scale of the disaster. Incoming rescue workers were given false or misleading information and rumour was widespread. Even when few people were found alive rescue workers expressed a strong need for a medical presence in case they discovered an injured person or they them selves became ill or injured. We were told repeatedly by experienced rescuers that we were the first team of British senior doctors they had met at the front line of a disaster and they were extremely pleased to see us. Transport was a major problem both in terms of vehicles and local knowledge. It was not thought to be within the remit of a medical team to make provision for food and shelter and this was confirmed in Moscow prior to departure for Yerevan. In retrospect this was a mistake and reduced the time we could stay at the front line. If we had not equipped ourselves with special clothing we could not have gone to the front line. A medical team must be part of larger team of rescue workers. Within this unit there will be provision for food, shelter, transport and communication as well as medical and surgical equipment.     

A test of stress theory: relief workers in refugee camps

The purpose of this paper is to apply a stress model drawn from the literature to the relief and social service workers who have been active in refugee camps for a prolonged period of time. Working in difficult environments, social service workers deliver essential services to refugee populations around the world. A model of four work-stress determinants--tasks, management, appreciation and collaboration--was tested on 274 social workers in five regions of the Middle East (Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, as well as the occupied Palestinian territories of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank). Statistical fit indices were adequate but two relationships were statistically insignificant. The collaboration variable was dropped to create a modified model with tasks indirectly and management and appreciation directly affecting work-related stress. The five direct relationships and two indirect relationships of this modified model are consistent with stress theory, and all relationships--direct and indirect--are statistically significant.     

Citizen feedback in a fragile setting: social accountability interventions in the primary healthcare sector in Sierra Leone

Fragile and conflict‐affected states are frequently characterised by their inability to fulfil three core governance functions: provision of security, effective delivery of basic public goods and services, and managing political participation and accountability. This article explores the utility of social accountability interventions in fragile environments. Successful social accountability interventions can lead to joint examinations of public service standards by service‐users and providers, resulting in collaborative improvement efforts. The few available studies of such interventions implemented in fragile or conflict‐affected states show reasons for optimism as well as challenges. This article advocates the continued use of social accountability methods in fragile settings and provides examples of social accountability interventions in the health sector in Sierra Leone. The study suggests that social accountability can improve interaction between citizens and public service providers. Successful social accountability interventions can also lead to better quality and more accessible public services, which, in turn, can enhance state legitimacy.     

对灾害研究中几个问题的思考

对灾害研究中有关的几个问题进行了探讨。认为： 灾害学是最重要的自然社会科学; 人文灾害比自然灾害更具毁灭性; 研究人文灾害中的公路交通事故、核战争问题、人口问题、环境污染问题等具有重要的现实意义和深远的历史意义。     

Social media and disasters: a functional framework for social media use in disaster planning,response, and research

A comprehensive review of online, official, and scientific literature was carried out in 2012–13 to develop a framework of disaster social media. This framework can be used to facilitate the creation of disaster social media tools, the formulation of disaster social media implementation processes, and the scientific study of disaster social media effects. Disaster social media users in the framework include communities, government, individuals, organisations, and media outlets. Fifteen distinct disaster social media uses were identified, ranging from preparing and receiving disaster preparedness information and warnings and signalling and detecting disasters prior to an event to (re)connecting community members following a disaster. The framework illustrates that a variety of entities may utilise and produce disaster social media content. Consequently, disaster social media use can be conceptualised as occurring at a number of levels, even within the same disaster. Suggestions are provided on how the proposed framework can inform future disaster social media development and research.     

新时期科普期刊在防灾减灾工作中的作用——以《城市与减灾》期刊为例

对科普期刊在防灾减灾工作中的作用及重要性进行了阐述,并结合《城市与减灾》综合科普双月刊14年的办刊实践,总结了科普期刊的基本工作思路和方法.重点对今后如何进一步提高防灾减灾期刊编辑的质量进行了思考;认为办好防灾减灾期刊不仅是科普工作者的责任,而且是科技工作者的共同责任.优质服务是办刊的立足之本;期刊应走跨媒介的创新之路;按照文化产业的思路做大做强防灾减灾期刊.     

Guatemala: violence in peacetime--a critical analysis of the armed conflict and the peace process

The recent history of Guatemala is interpreted here using an interdisciplinary approach inspired by recent development and conflict studies. The author reflects on his experience in peace-building activities and uses a combination of primary and secondary sources to present the Guatemalan war as a complex political emergency. The first part (a methodological introduction) proposes an analytical framework, taking into account both the root causes and the different functions of violence, in order to achieve a better understanding of contemporary conflicts. In the second and central part of the article, the integrated framework is applied to Guatemala, trying to understand causes and functions of war and negotiation and underlining the existence of structural obstacles to a lasting peace. The conclusions are dedicated to policy implications: if the signing of peace accords represents only a step towards negative peace, the condition for a lasting peace is a strategy for reconciliation and development based on social participation and social justice.     

基于小程序的海洋牧场台风灾害预警预报服务

台风多要素信息及灾情状况是海洋牧场各方急切想掌握的,而应用于海洋牧场灾害预警专报服务还未见报道,基于此开发了海洋牧场台风灾害预警预报服务小程序.结合wx.request请求获取第三方要素数据与自建云数据库访问灾情数据.搭建海洋牧场台风灾害预警预报服务的层次结构体系构架,推出海洋牧场气象要素预警预报、海洋牧场水文要素预警...     

基于综合灾害风险防范模式的台风灾害防御效益评价研究初探

以综合灾害风险防范模式作为理论基础,从中国气象防灾减灾工作机制的特点出发,结合当前的社会学和经济学研究方法,构建包含气象服务水平评价、灾害防御行为评价的防灾减灾综合效益评价指标体系,涵盖从前期预报预警,到后期灾害应对的3个一级指标,8个二级指标和17个三级指标;并基于社会学调查的技术方法,实时跟踪2017-2018年登...     

泥石流风险评价

针对当前泥石流灾害评价研究中的问题，论述了引入风险概念的重要性。简要介绍了泥石流危险度的研究方法。根据人的价值理论改进了泥石流灾害易损度评价体系，提出了社会易损度的定量化方法。将可能造成的人员伤亡在风险评价的成果中单列出来，解决了对人的社会价值评价难题。改进了泥石流风险评价指标体系，提出了对今后泥石流灾害评价的建议。     

手机移动气象防灾减灾服务系统的设计与实现

应用目前先进的KJAVA技术，研究开发了江西省手机移动气象防灾减灾服务系统，简要介绍了该系统的基本原理、使用环境、信息流程、体系结构和主要功能。该系统投入业务运行以来，已得到各级党政领导和森林防火、防汛指挥、人工增雨等部门的好评，在防灾减灾方面取得了明显的社会经济效益。     

Arts as a vehicle for community building and post‐disaster development

Use of the arts in international aid is common in an ad hoc form, but it has not been systematically theorised or evaluated. The arts have the potential to be a culturally contextualised and sustainable intervention for adults and children in the aftermath of war or disaster. On the micro level, the arts are a method to enable the retrieval and reprocessing of traumatic memories that are often encoded in images rather than in words. On a macro level, they can help to reconstruct a group narrative of a disaster as well as mobilise people back into control of their lives. This paper researches a long‐term project using arts in Sri Lanka following the civil war and tsunami. A central finding is the need to understand arts within their cultural context, and their usefulness in strengthening the voices and problem‐solving capacities of the victims of the disaster.     

Providing health services during a civil war: the experience of a garrison town in South Sudan

The impact of conflict, particularly conflict arising during civil wars, on the provision of healthcare is a subject that has not been widely considered in conflict‐related research. Combatants often target health services to weaken or to defeat the enemy, while attempts to maintain or improve health systems also can comprise part of counter‐insurgency ‘hearts‐and‐minds’ strategies. This paper describes the dynamics associated with the provision of health services in Malakal, an important garrison town in South Sudan, during the second Sudanese civil war (1983–2005). Drawing on the concepts of opportunity hoarding and exploitation, it explores the social and political dynamics of service provision in and around the town during the war. These concepts provide a useful lens with which to understand better how health services are affected by conflict, while the empirical case study presented in the paper illustrates dynamics that may be repeated in other contexts. The concepts and case study set out in this paper should prove useful to healthcare providers working in conflict zones, including humanitarian aid agencies and their employees, increasing their understanding of the social and political dynamics that they are likely to face during future conflict‐related complex emergencies.     

基于可变模糊聚类的城镇综合承灾能力评价研究

城镇灾害的多样性、频繁发生与其造成的各种损失和破坏的严重化趋势,已经对城镇经济社会发展构成重大威胁。城镇应对灾害的预测、防御、救助及灾后恢复的综合能力,直接决定了城镇可持续发展的基础和能力。建立了基于城镇社会、经济和环境属性功能的城镇综合承灾能力评价指标体系,运用可变模糊聚类方法,通过指标权重、相对隶属度与聚类中心之间的动态迭代,得到了更为合理的样本城镇的防灾、抗灾、救灾和灾后恢复能力相对比较结果。与已有研究相比,可变模糊聚类在综合评价问题上的数据处理和分析能力更客观和多样化。     

Through Women's Eyes: A Gendered Research Agenda for Disaster Social Science

Gender is a central organising principle in social life and hence in disaster-affected communities, yet gender issues are rarely examined by disaster scholars or practitioners. Building on findings from emerging and industrial nations, three key research directions are identified: How is gendered vulnerability to disaster constructed? How do gender relations shape the practice of disaster planning and response in households and organisations? How are gender relations affected over time by the social experience of disaster? The discussion suggests how analysis of the gendered terrain of disaster both develops disaster theory and fosters more equitable and effective disaster practice.     

防灾减灾的基础研究及应用研究进展概况

人类社会是在对自然灾害的不断斗争中得到发展。近代由于全球人口的迅速增长和城市化程度的提高，自然灾害的损失也在急剧增加。防灾减灾是减轻灾害损失、保障社会可持续发展的系统工程。当前灾害监测技术、灾害的形成和发展规律、灾情评估方法、灾害管理及灾害对社会经济的影响等方面的基础研究及应用研究已有了不小的进展。本文概括地介绍了这些进展，并指出了防灾减灾工作中存在的一些问题及对策     

Risk factors for long‐term post‐traumatic stress disorder among medical rescue workers appointed to the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake response in China

This study aims to determine the risk factors for clinically‐significant post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Chinese medical rescue workers one year after the response to the Wenchuan earthquake on 12 May 2008. A sample of 337 medical workers who performed response work within the first three months of the event completed an online questionnaire, which included information on demographics, social support, the management and organisation of the disaster response, and an assessment of PTSD. Symptoms consistent with PTSD were prevalent in 17 per cent of the rescue workers. Those who developed PTSD symptoms were more likely to have been injured, experienced a water shortage, been disconnected from family and friends during the response, and have passive coping styles and neurotic personalities. Factors that cannot be changed easily, such as personality traits, should be evaluated prior to deployment to ensure that rescue workers at higher risk of PTSD are provided with adequate support before and during deployment.     

大气化学灾害应急气象保障系统的设计与开发

大气化学灾害应急气象保障系统是针对危险化学品的泄漏、爆炸和光化学烟雾等大气化学灾害应急处置专门设计开发的技术支持系统，该系统由大气化学灾害事故信息接警、现场气象监测、气象资料综合显示、社会经济环境背景查询、危险大气成分预报、决策服务产品制作、应急指挥、预警信息发布等若干子系统组成，可以为各级政府指挥大气化学灾害的应急工作提供科技支撑平台。     

Post‐Ike economic resilience along the Texas coast

The economic devastation resulting from recent natural disasters has spawned intense interest in programmes that promote regional resilience. The economic impacts of Hurricane Ike (September 2008) endured long beyond the storm's landfall, compounded by a national recession. This study analyses the pattern of post‐Ike industrial growth in eight coastal counties of Texas, United States, and identifies sources of resilience and potential drivers of recovery. The results indicate that post‐disaster growth patterns differ from established growth patterns. Levels of resilience vary across industrial sectors, and service sectors tend to lead a recovery. The resilience of the hotel and restaurant sector, for instance, suggests that the presence of relief workers might immunise certain sectors against a post‐disaster economic downturn. Besides the sectors that are generally resilient, each county has its own distinct sectors that, depending on the extent of the damage suffered, tend to perform strongly after a disaster, owing to the characteristics of the respective county's economy.