Search

The alarming rise in occurrences of disasters, along with the positive development of corporate social responsibility (CSR), has led to the growing need for and involvement of businesses in disaster relief. However, this involvement differs greatly across organisations, and the fragmented research that exists has not offered an understanding of these differences and how they affect disaster relief. This study provides a comprehensive model of companies' involvement in disaster relief by integrating two disaster relief frameworks (activities and timing) into two CSR frameworks (motivation and employee engagement). The result is the MATE Model of four inextricably linked dimensions (motivation, activities, timing, and employee engagement), examined in a qualitative study with 57 interviewees across 34 organisations in Australia. The resulting Corporate Involvement in Disasters Model details the four MATE dimensions and categorises three approaches to corporate involvement in disaster relief: reactive, relational, and comprehensive. This model details a roadmap for effective business involvement in disaster relief. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers across disciplines have long sought to collect 'perishable data' in the context of disasters. Yet, this data type is neither consistently defined nor discussed in specific detail in the literature. To address this gap, this paper defines perishable data and provides guidance on ways to improve both how it is collected and shared. Here, perishable data is conceptualised as highly transient data that may degrade in quality, be irrevocably altered, or be permanently lost if not gathered soon after it is generated. Perishable data may include ephemeral information that must be collected to characterise pre‐existing hazardous conditions, near‐miss events, actual disasters, and longer‐term recovery processes. This data may need to be gathered at multiple points in time across varying geographic scales to accurately characterise exposure, susceptibility to harm, or coping capacity. The paper considers ethical and logistical challenges and discusses opportunities to advance equitable perishable data collection and dissemination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disaster corruption is a vexing problem, damaging state legitimacy and exacerbating human suffering. Mexico has a history of both major disasters and persistently high levels of corruption. A magnitude 7.1 earthquake in 2017 provided an opportunity to study change over time in expectations and tolerance of corruption in disaster relief. Twenty years earlier, Mexico City residents expected, on average, essentially three out of 10 hypothetical trucks loaded with humanitarian assistance to be lost to corruption but expressed near zero tolerance of such conduct. By 2018–19, Mexico City residents expected more than one‐half of all relief, six out of 10 trucks, to be stolen, and could tolerate three out of 10 trucks being pilfered. Similar results were found at the national level. Hence, Mexicans appear to be giving up on the state. Addressing corruption in disaster risk reduction and humanitarian relief specifically might provide a template for improving public trust across other state institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disaster survivors are often criticised for being dependent on humanitarian (and development) assistance. This dependency is perceived pejoratively by civil servants and other elites, including non‐governmental organisation staff. Officials offered up such narratives in relation to the disaster response and recovery programmes following the Nepal earthquake of 2015. Using a Bourdieusian framework, and undertaking qualitative inquiry in four earthquake‐affected districts of Nepal, this paper contrasts the official narratives of dependency syndrome with people's perspectives and lived experiences. The findings problematise official discourse. Aid was frequently insufficient, poorly targeted, or non‐existent. Moreover, the Bourdieusian framing highlights the agency of survivors, as their habitus predisposed them to help others. It broadens the notion of assistance and dependence, suggesting that social and cultural (as well as economic) capital are vital resources for recovery. Lastly, it shows that dependencies are not necessarily bad. Greater attention to these non‐economic capitals and 'good dependencies' could expedite recovery from future disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian bushfires in 2019–20 triggered massive amounts of charitable giving from the community. This study applied agenda‐setting theory to examine if and how disaster news coverage influenced public donations in response to the crisis. A survey of 949 Australians found that people perceived news coverage of the event to be a strong influence on the amount they donated to bushfire appeals, over and above past giving levels. Furthermore, media coverage was more influential in participants' charity selection than both peer influence and direct communications from the charities. Next, a textual analysis of international news coverage of the event (N = 30,239 unique articles) was conducted. Compared to a control corpus of text, news coverage of the disaster used words related to 'money' and 'support' at disproportionately high frequencies. Together, the studies suggest that the media plays an agenda‐setting role in determining how and to what extent people give to disaster appeals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behind humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts are governance networks of actors working together to facilitate, coordinate, and deliver joint aid and response initiatives. Militaries are key stakeholders in these networks because of their unique capabilities, particularly in Southeast Asia. This paper explores the role of military governance networks in shaping HADR affairs. It presents a framework for examining military‐to‐military relational structures in humanitarian and disaster contexts using network theory and social network analysis. It also assesses the nature of military ties and their influence on two capability areas essential to humanitarian activities in the region: (i) the distribution of military assets and equipment used in HADR; and (ii) the coordination of HADR exercises and training. This paper seeks to provide insights into how governance network features and properties affect the capacity of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) militaries to use available resources efficiently and to achieve shared objectives in regional disaster response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LGBTQ+ communities comprise 16 million individuals in the United States, yet this population is often rendered invisible within disaster policies. Bias in federal disaster response programmes, a lack of recognition of LGBTQ+ families, and the prevalence of faith‐based organisations in disaster relief services together heighten the risks that LGBTQ+ individuals face. This paper describes the ways in which this reality combines with the contextual vulnerability of LGBTQ+ communities, whereby existing inequalities and marginalisation are exacerbated during disasters and in their aftermath. As a result, the immediate trauma of a disaster, such as physical injury or the loss of loved ones or possessions, is compounded in multiple ways for LGBTQ+ individuals, making them less likely to benefit from disaster relief services. To address these inequalities, the paper concludes with a set of policy recommendations to inform prevention, mitigation, and recovery planning, as well as to reduce the impacts of disasters on LGBTQ+ individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study sought to learn how women participated in the recovery process after the Kashmir earthquake of October 2005 in Union Council Langarpura, Azad Kashmir state of Pakistan. Focus‐group discussions, semi‐structured interviews, and participant observations were conducted with a total of 48 participants. The results revealed that women played various important roles in the reproductive, productive, and community spheres, encompassing, inter alia, normal household responsibilities of cooking, cleaning, and caring for cattle, and non‐traditional tasks such as rebuilding the home. In addition, they participated in income‐generating activities such as carrying construction materials and water for daily wages, dairy farming, and working in fields and in the education and health sectors. Community endeavours, meanwhile, consisted of search and rescue, caring for the injured, collective cooking and food sharing, and supervising the reconstruction of public structures, including schools, roads, and water supply facilities, and establishing a sewing centre to provide vocational training to local women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses volcanic eruptions on the Caribbean islands of Montserrat and Saint Vincent to explore the role that British colonial rule in the past and near past (1800–2000) has played in response to and recovery from hazardous events, and in turn, the influence that the nature of the hazards has on these responses. It shows that systemic vulnerabilities to natural hazards have been created by inadequate aid responses and longer‐term chronic problems and demonstrates that hazard impacts are compounded by them. Vulnerabilities could be reduced by analysing integrated hazard impacts to generate mitigative measures across hazards and identify actions that more closely match timescales of political decision‐making. Incorporating local knowledge and experience into risk analysis will enable the most effective use of aid resources, ahead of emergencies. Finally, coupling aid for long‐term development with emergency response would improve outcomes and adaptation to longer‐term vulnerabilities in immediate rebuilding and short‐term recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sustainable Development Goals have included cultural heritage in the development agenda. However, natural hazards threaten the existence of several historic districts, like Intramuros in Manila, Philippines. Pre‐disaster recovery planning has gained ground as a promising approach to improve disaster preparedness and recovery, although it has yet to be widely utilised for cultural heritage preservation. The authors organised a pre‐disaster recovery planning workshop, which helped observe the existing system of disaster management for cultural heritage in Intramuros. Heritage Values and Vulnerability Assessments, which were presented to heritage experts, disaster managers, and the local community at the workshop, were conducted. As disaster risk management for cultural heritage is largely unexplored, the workshop generated much interest among stakeholders, as this was the first time that contact had been facilitated among them. It successfully demonstrated the benefits of pre‐disaster recovery planning to provide inclusive and better recovery outcomes for historic districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While social vulnerability in the face of disasters has received increasing academic attention, relatively little is known about the extent to which that knowledge is reflected in practice by institutions involved in disaster management. This study charts the practitioners' approaches to disaster vulnerability in eight European countries: Belgium; Estonia; Finland; Germany; Hungary; Italy; Norway; and Sweden. It draws on a comparative document analysis and 95 interviews with disaster managers and reveals significant differences across countries in terms of the ontology of vulnerability, its sources, reduction strategies, and the allocation of related duties. To advance the debate and provide conceptual clarity, we put forward a heuristic model to facilitate different understandings of vulnerability along the dimensions of human agency and technological structures as well as social support through private relations and state actors. This could guide risk analysis of and planning for major hazards and could be adapted further to particular types of disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a narrative‐based ethnographic study of the Nepal earthquake of 2015, this study aims to comprehend Nepali women's experiences of relief and rehabilitation. It adopts an intersectional approach to vulnerability and privileges the voices of marginalised women in post‐disaster contexts. The paper draws out some troubling experiences, including stories of rampant alcoholism, drug abuse, illegal trafficking, prostitution, self‐harm, and suicide. These cases are more pronounced among Dalit women, who also face institutionalised violence in the form of unequal access to aid, dignity kits, and safe spaces, among other resources. Such discrimination makes Dalit women from poor socioeconomic backgrounds more vulnerable in post‐disaster settings. In the case of Nepal, relief and rehabilitation processes failed to understand and address intersectional vulnerability, and in some ways, became part of the problem. By examining the accounts of women from different castes and classes, this paper argues, therefore, for an intersectional approach to investigating vulnerability in the wake of disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper spotlights post‐disaster relief provision in Johannesburg, South Africa, following the floods of 2016 in a bid to explore how local government and non‐governmental actors in the country conceive of compounding vulnerability and conflict within urban disaster governance. It reveals the diverse strategies employed to navigate violent conflict during the cyclical occurrence of disaster and reconstruction that the predominantly migrant population experiences in the Setswetla informal settlement, adjacent to the Alexandra township in northern Johannesburg. Rendered visible in moments of disaster and recovery are the spatial politics and multidimensional nature of conflict. These phenomena unfold across various levels of urban governance and in the affected community and effectively construct a disaster citizenship that makes risk reduction and community cohesion impossible in the eyes of disaster managers. This research, based on a set of expert interviews, integrates conflict and disaster studies to shed light on how the conflict–disaster interface materialises, and is operationalised, in an urban setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post‐disaster recovery requires co‐production; that is, the inputs of citizens are essential for successful community recovery to occur. Citizens contribute to post‐disaster recovery by volunteering, taking on consultative and decision‐making roles within their communities, and directly participating in post‐disaster reconstruction efforts. Without meaning ful contributions from citizens—the intended beneficiaries—unilateral efforts by public officials and authorities will inevitably fail. This study shows that social entrepreneurs can thus play a critical role in spurring post‐disaster recovery by facilitating co‐production. It focuses on the role of social entrepreneurs after disasters and centres on one rural village, Giranchaur Namuna Basti in the Sindhupalchowk District of Nepal. Specifically, the study uses the case of the Dhurmus Suntali Foundation's Namuna village project in Giranchaur following the 7.8‐magnitude earthquake that struck on 25 April 2015 to examine the pivotal role that social entrepreneurs assume in promoting voluntary activities, community engagement, and participation in post‐disaster recovery efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response to the earthquakes in Nepal on 25 April and 12 May 2015 was as overwhelming as the magnitude of the events themselves. Tensions between the humanitarian imperative and the post‐conflict state‐building agenda soon became evident. Many actors offered support by creatively complying with the state's approach, whereas others bypassed official channels completely. In post‐conflict settings such as Nepal, the situation is especially complicated because of the contradiction between policies underscoring the importance of the state in the response and the reality of the fragility of the state, which often leads to the significant involvement of aid organisations. The post‐conflict political landscape of Nepal shaped the contours of the response, as well as how actors decided to operate within them. This paper, based on empirical findings from four months of research, contributes to a better understanding of the intricacies of the post‐conflict and post‐disaster nexus in the context of a state‐led response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What causes a disaster's aftermath? Scholars have increasingly turned to historical approaches that link outcomes to pre‐disaster sociopolitical dynamics. Disasters lead to 'critical junctures' that 'trigger' events that unfold in the wake of the initial phenomenon. This paper argues that the 'critical junctures' paradigm shares limitations with 'path dependency' theory from which it is derived, namely a tendency towards historicism—a functionalist teleology better able to explain continuity than change. As an alternative, this analysis draws on Michel Foucault's understanding of 'conditions of possibility' as a way of rethinking agency/causation, moving away from individual subjects, events, or even historical conditions towards, instead, the new, radically destabilised 'epistemological field' emerging in the disaster's aftermath. This paper examines a series of devastating earthquakes in Nepal to consider how post‐disaster 'epistemological fields' present new 'conditions of possibility' within which new ideas, actions, and outcomes become thinkable and possible in ways that pre‐disaster historical conditions could not have predicted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent appraisal of disaster studies undertaken over the past 40 years draws attention to the urgency of advancing different epistemologies that reflect local realities of disaster experiences and of developing appropriate instruments with which to do so. This paper argues that feminist methods and perspectives can contribute greatly to this important endeavour of promoting epistemic diversity in research on disasters, advancing approaches that engender the co‐construction of knowledge, and consequently challenging the 'hegemonic' (and often gender‐blind) narratives that dominate disaster studies today. Specifically, the paper makes a case for a feminist photo‐based approach that I designed (PhotoKwento) to examine women's experiences of disaster recovery in Tacloban City, Philippines. It demonstrates how the technique fosters engaged research relationships and participatory knowledge construction practices pertaining to disaster experiences. In addition, it highlights the potential of PhotoKwento to embody the qualities of research that are necessary for the progress of disaster studies 'from below'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the role of non‐established relief groups (NERGs) and their involvement in the response to Hurricane Irma after it struck the state of Florida, United States, in September 2017. Its principal goal is to discover more about the engagement of NERGs in disaster response, as well as their motivations and their coordination with other emergency management agencies. The findings of a review of after‐action reports and the outcomes of interviews with NERGs and other established organisations suggest that these groups often work with previously established networks. Many of the emergent type of NERGs have not worked with any established organisations prior to a disaster; frequently, therefore, they reach out to other emergent groups to acquire information and coordinate relief efforts. Given that emergent actors tend to lack a strict hierarchical structure for decision‐making and coordination, there is a need to enhance communication between NERGs and established response bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents conceptual research designed to assess how the sharing economy concept can be leveraged to increase the participation of commercial organisations, such as retailers and transporters, in disaster relief operations. Drawing on social exchange theory, the academic literature on the sharing economy and blockchain, as well as existing resource‐sharing practices in commercial and humanitarian logistics, the study develops a theoretical framework for analysing the structure, benefits, and prerequisites of a logistics‐sharing system in emergency response. In addition, it proposes to utilise the blockchain distributed ledger technology—a shared data platform that enables authenticated communication and the widespread sharing of real‐time information—to facilitate interactions and enhance trust between emergency responders and commercial organisations. It is argued that using commercial logistics resources, including emergency supplies, transport capacity, and storage space, has the potential to improve the mobilisation and deployment of urgently needed relief items and augment the flexibility of emergency response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post‐disaster business return is key to restoring the local economy. This paper applies a duration model to analyse factors that explain the delay in reopening a business in south Texas, United States, after Hurricane Harvey struck the region in August 2017. Other than property damage, the duration of business closure depended on the type of business and the various characteristics of its owner. Reflecting the vital role that social capital plays in disaster resilience, local chamber of commerce members tended to reopen their businesses sooner than their non‐member counterparts. Yet, there is evidence in support of the vulnerability of female chamber members. In addition to social networks, the finding of spatial interdependence implies that the decision of business owners to resume operations in the wake of a disaster is influenced by the decisions of their neighbours. Spatial interdependence also highlights the importance of providing disaster relief to businesses in a timely manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study performed a comparative analysis of changes in the operating status of initial surviving disaster‐stricken businesses and non‐disaster‐stricken businesses in Lushan County, China, after a devastating earthquake on 20 April 2013. It used a logistic regression model to explore the key factors associated with 'post‐disaster continued business operation' in the long term. Field data were collected from 1,078 businesses and questionnaire data from 263 small businesses between 2013 and 2017. The results indicate that a higher proportion of initial surviving disaster‐stricken businesses than non‐disaster‐stricken businesses managed to remain operational in each observation period. The continued operation of disaster‐stricken businesses after the earthquake was positively associated with the owner's age, previous disaster experience, pre‐disaster financial conditions, closure duration, and borrowing money from family or friends. A negative association was found with the size of the business. The findings serve as a vital reference for strategies to promote post‐disaster continued business operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disasters have the potential to act as focusing events, which can increase the amount of attention on disaster‐related problems and encourage policy action. Understanding of the political characteristics of disaster policymaking is underdeveloped, yet it is known that these features may be dissimilar to those of non‐disaster policy areas, especially concerning the coalitions of policy actors engaged in the disaster policy process. Coalitions in the realm of disaster policy processes may be less likely to form, may look very different, and may have different goals than those in non‐disaster domains. Knowledge of the emergence, composition, and purpose of coalitions in disaster policy is lacking. This paper draws on prior theory and case observations to define and describe the characteristics of a disaster policy subsystem and to build a typology of coalitions that may appear within such a subsystem, providing a foundation upon which scholars can work to study coalition dynamics in disaster policy subsystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ideal notions of efficient aid are challenged continuously by realities on the ground in the wake of major disasters, such as dire needs, limited resources, and opportunism. This paper demonstrates how 'relief lists' can be productive entry points for a systematic inquiry into the pervasive politics of disaster assistance. Through an analysis of qualitative data collected during the five years after Cyclone Sidr struck Bangladesh on 15 November 2007, it examines how relief lists featured in both physical and phantom forms and then developed beyond their transparency‐making aims, becoming elevated sites of struggle for post‐disaster resources. Three list processes, selected to indicate the temporal, material, and spatial dynamics of relief encounters, are assessed in depth. Although recipients of cyclone relief appreciated its value, the paper argues that list politics also stimulated structures of vulnerability, including inequality. Gradually, relief, as governed after Sidr, also served to restore the differential vulnerability of the country's coastal poor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the vulnerability of households to disasters, using an asset vulnerability framework to represent livelihoods. Such frameworks are widely employed to analyse household poverty and focus on living conditions and well‐being rather than money‐metric measures of consumption and income. The conceptualisation of household vulnerability is a challenge in current studies on coping with disasters. The paper considers whether a capital assets framework is useful in identifying and assessing household vulnerability in the context of the Wenchuan earthquake in China in 2008. The framework has five categories of assets (financial, human, natural, physical, and social capital) and attempts to measure the resilience and vulnerability of households. When applied to a major disaster, asset‐based methods face the problem of heterogeneity of the population, such as with regard to livelihood type or residence. Moreover, the effect of external interventions, such as the provision of relief assistance, must be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the confluence of humanitarian aid, centralisation, and politics. The 7.0 magnitude earthquake in Haiti on 12 January 2010 led to more than USD 16 billion in pledges. By contrast, Hurricane Matthew, which made landfall in Haiti on 4 October 2016, stayed in the shadows, attracting about one per cent of the amount. While the earthquake exhibited one face of centralisation, the Category 4 storm laid bare rural vulnerabilities shaped by postcolonial state neglect, and reinforced by the influx of non‐governmental organisations in the 'Republic of Port‐au‐Prince'. The study draws on data from four case studies in two departments to illuminate the legacies of hyper‐centralisation in Haiti. Compounding matters, Matthew struck in the middle of an extended election that the international community attempted to control again. The paper argues that disaster assistance and politics are uncomfortably close, while reflecting on the momentary decentralisation of aid after the hurricane and its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPAs) are volunteer‐based groups of trained private landowners who are authorised to respond to events in partnership with governmental agencies. This study analysed the functioning and structure of RFPAs in Idaho and Oregon in the western United States to characterise this under‐researched model of disaster response. RFPAs represent an expanding type of disaster response organisation that interfaces with established fire suppression entities, yet 'emergent behaviour' manifested in some RFPA response actions. This appeared to lessen and mediate with time, as well as due to recognition of the issues, increased experience of fires, and training that fostered new mutual understandings. There is a need for continued examination of the effect of repeat experience in developing the characteristics of disaster response organisations. In addition, it is crucial to know how the interface between established and other types of organisations may be enhanced to make cooperative disaster response more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on coastal counties in Texas, United States, affected by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 to gauge the influence of individual and contextual characteristics on people's ability to return to normalcy in the short term. Data from a survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Episcopal Health Foundation between October and November 2017 were utilised in the analysis. The paper observes, based on the results of an ordered logistic regression, and contrary to previous work, that age, gender, levels of poverty, and social capital are not significant predictors of a return to normalcy. However, indicators such as whether a person evacuated, if he/she identified as Hispanic/Latino, the extent of damage sustained to one's home, and if one's automobile was damaged or destroyed are shown to affect recovery. A discussion of the potential reasons for these findings is provided as a means of informing future research on disaster recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuing incidence of disasters and their associated challenges has increased the demand for humanitarian logisticians. However, there is a dearth of research on their essential competencies. This paper proposes, therefore, a humanitarian logistics competency framework (HlCF) to assist with the professional development of humanitarian logisticians. In creating the HlCF, nine competency domains containing 29 specific competencies across four levels (entry to senior management) were identified. This study makes two key contributions to the literature: (i) it extends the discussion of competency frameworks in humanitarian logistics; and (ii) it presents a framework designed to support the human resource plans and practices of aid agencies. The HlCF allows not only individual humanitarian logisticians to develop the competencies necessary for career success, but also humanitarian organisations to map their own competency frameworks to a common standard. This will, in turn, facilitate workforce mobility and support the overall concept of a certified humanitarian logistics professional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This reflection, based on a keynote address to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Disasters on 14 September 2017, begins by considering some of the prevailing assumptions that existed at the time of the journal's creation. Next is a summary of significant milestones during the past 40 years, covering major global trends, changing disaster impacts, and key developments in disaster risk management. Contrasting approaches in the first and fourth decade of the journal's history are then followed by examples of changes in terminology in the disaster field as an indication of shifting values. The paper goes on to explore the context of 2017, with observations of problem areas such as the loss of knowledge, failures to tackle the root causes of disasters, shortfalls in international assistance, and some negative attitudes. It closes by evaluating some current positive occurrences, including a reduction in casualties, sharing of experience, technological advances, and dramatic improvements in disaster warning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the crucial part that faith‐based organisations (FBOs) play in acting as intermediaries between international donors and local faith communities (LFCs) implementing humanitarian relief projects for Syrian refugees. Humanitarian responses to the mounting Syrian refugee crisis have coincided with greater collaboration between international donors and LFCs. This cooperation often is facilitated by a complex web of non‐state intermediaries at the international, national, and local level. This study probes the breadth of roles of these intermediaries, drawing on primary data from case studies of two Christian intermediaries supporting Christian LFCs as they deliver aid primarily to Muslim Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. The results of the study are connected to the wider literature on LFCs in humanitarian response, revealing how intermediaries address issues of accountability, capacity‐building, impartiality, neutrality, and professionalism. The paper concludes by offering suggestions for further research on intermediaries as key actors in the localisation of humanitarian assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Paired Assistance to Disaster Affected Areas (PADAA) programme is a mutual aid initiative with Chinese characteristics, which speeded up the process of restoring and reconstructing regions affected by the Wenchuan earthquake on 12 May 2008. The PADAA is an efficient instrument for catastrophe recovery, yet it remains a mysterious mechanism to many members of disaster management communities. This paper aims to lift the veil on it by assessing its origins and evolution. It draws on the multi‐level moderated competition model to explain how the PADAA functions within the Chinese administrative system. The country's top‐down political system allows the central authority to mandate provincial and local governments from more economically developed regions to assist devastated areas with post‐disaster reconstruction. The practices of local accountability complement vertical control by giving leaders from donor regions strong incentives to accomplish assigned reconstruction tasks, resulting in intense competition between them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates predictors of local participation in recovery projects and programmes following Hurricane Katrina in the United States in 2005 and the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Using two sets of survey data, it examines whether disaster impacts and social capital (social trust and civic engagement) are associated with disaster recovery participation and compares predictors of such engagement in the two locations. Multivariate logistic regression results reveal that physical injuries, limited community mobility, and government trust increase recovery participation in Haiti (n=278), whereas emotional distress and homeownership decrease it. On the Gulf Coast of the US (n=259), physical injuries and higher civic engagement augment recovery participation, while homeownership and age reduce it. The confounding factors of national contexts and post‐disaster time frames might explain the differences in the results. The discussion addresses the relation between country‐specific vulnerability and recovery participation and suggests implications for policy and practice to improve local citizens’ capabilities to participate in sustainable recovery processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan suffered large‐scale flooding in summer 2010 that caused damage amounting to approximately USD 43 billion, claimed the lives of at least 1,700 people, and negatively affected some 20 million others. Observers have debated the degree to which social capital plays a role in recovery after a catastrophe of this magnitude. Using new survey data on 450 residents impacted by the disaster, this study found that, controlling for various confounding factors, the social capital levels of victims serve as robust correlates of life recovery. Other important variables connected with recovery include education and income, family size, occupation, material damage suffered, stability of home, and trauma experience. The findings point to a number of relevant policy recommendations, most notably that during and following major shocks, disaster managers should work to keep the social networks of victims intact so that they can benefit from interaction with family, friends, and neighbours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's disaster management system contains no law‐based presidential disaster declarations; however, the national leader's instructions (pishi in Chinese) play a similar role to disaster declarations, which increase the intensity of disaster relief. This raises the question of what affects presidential disaster instructions within an authoritarian regime. This research shows that China's disaster politics depend on a crisis threshold system for operation and that the public and social features of disasters are at the core of this system. China's political cycle has no significant impact on disaster politics. A change in the emergency management system has a significant bearing on presidential disaster instructions, reflecting the strong influence of the concept of rule of law and benefiting the sustainable development of the emergency management system. In terms of disaster politics research, unlocking the black box of China's disaster politics and increasing the number of comparative political studies will benefit the development of empirical and theoretical study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A plethora of untapped resources exist within disaster-affected communities that can be used to address relief and development concerns. A systematic review of the literature relating to community participation in humanitarian logistics activities revealed that communities are able to form ad hoc networks that have the ability to meet a wide range of disaster management needs. These structures, characterised as Collaborative Aid Networks (CANs), have demonstrated efficient logistical capabilities exclusive of humanitarian organisations. This study proposes that CANs, as a result of their unique characteristics, present alternatives to established humanitarian approaches to logistics, while also mitigating the challenges commonly faced by traditional humanitarian organisations. Furthermore, CANs offer a more holistic, long-term approach to disaster management, owing to their impact on development through their involvement in humanitarian logistics. This research provides the foundation for further theoretical analysis of effective and efficient disaster management, and details opportunities for policy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent experience of hurricanes, particularly in the southeast United States, has heightened awareness of the multifaceted nature of and the challenges to effective disaster relief planning. One key element of this planning is providing adequate shelter at secure locations for people who evacuate. Some of these individuals will have 'special needs', yet there is little research on the relationship with shelter space. This study designed a geographic information systems-based network optimisation methodology for the siting of special needs hurricane relief shelters, with a focus on the transportation component. It sought to find new locations for shelters that maximise accessibility by vulnerable populations, given capacity constraints, concentrating on the ageing population. The framework was implemented in a medium-sized metropolitan statistical area in the state of Florida where data suggest a possible deficit in special needs shelter space. The study analysed options for increasing special needs shelter capacity, while considering potential uncertainties in transportation network availability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crisis mapping is a legitimate component of both crisis informatics and disaster risk management. It has become an effective tool for humanitarian workers, especially after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Ushahidi is among the many mapping platforms on offer in the growing field of crisis mapping, and involves the application of crowdsourcing to create online and interactive maps of areas in turmoil. This paper presents the Crisis Map of the Czech Republic, which is the first such instrument to be deployed nationwide in Central Europe. It describes the methodologies used in the preparatory work phase and details some practices identified during the creation and actual employment of the map. In addition, the paper assesses its structure and technological architecture, as well as its potential possible development in the future. Lastly, it evaluates the utilisation of the Crisis Map during the floods in the Czech Republic in 2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social vulnerability indicators can assist with informing disaster relief preparation. Certain demographic segments of a population may suffer disproportionately during disaster events, and a geographical understanding of them can help to determine where to place strategically logistical assets and to target disaster-awareness outreach endeavours. Records of house fire events and American Red Cross aid provision over a five-year period were mapped for the County of Los Angeles, California, United States, to examine the congruence between actual events and expectations of risk based on vulnerability theory. The geographical context provided by the data was compared with spatially-explicit indicators of vulnerability, such as age, race, and wealth. Fire events were found to occur more frequently in more vulnerable areas, and Red Cross aid was found to have an even stronger relationship to those places. The findings suggest that these indicators speak beyond vulnerability and relate to patterns of fire risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public, nonprofit and private organisations respond to large-scale disasters domestically and overseas. Critics of these assistance efforts, as well as those involved, often cite poor interorganisational partnering as an obstacle to successful disaster response. Observers frequently call for 'more' and 'better' partnering. We found important qualitative distinctions existed within partnering behaviours. We identified four different types of interorganisational partnering activities often referred to interchangeably: communication, cooperation, coordination and collaboration-the Four Cs. We derived definitions of the Four Cs from the partnering literature. We then tested them in a case study of the response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. We suggest that the Four Cs are distinct activities, that organisations are typically strong or weak in one or more for various reasons, and that the four terms represent a continuum of increased interorganisational embeddedness in partnering activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are widely believed to raise their flag in humanitarian hotspots with a strong media presence in order to attract higher private donations. We assess this hypothesis by comparing the changes in donations between US-based NGOs with and without aid operations in the four countries most affected by the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004. Simple before-after comparisons tend to support the hypothesis that 'flying the flag' helps attract higher private donations. However, performing a difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) approach, we find only weak indications that private donors systematically and strongly preferred NGOs with operations in the region. Extended specifications of the baseline regressions reveal that our major findings are robust. NGO heterogeneity matters in some respects, but the DDD results hold when accounting for proxies of the NGOs' reputation and experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the influence of gift giving, geographical location, political regime, and trade openness on disaster donation decisions, using five severe earthquakes that occurred between 2008 and 2012 as case studies. The results show that global disaster donation is not dominated by only philanthropy or trade interests, and that the determinants of donation decisions vary with the scale of the natural disaster and the characteristics of the disaster-affected countries. While gift giving exists in the case of middle-size earthquakes, political regimes play a very important part in the overall donation process. Countries with higher perceived corruption may donate more frequently, but those that are more democratic may be more generous in their donations. Generosity based on geographical proximity to the calamity is significant in the decision-making process for most natural disasters, yet it may have a negative effect on donations in Latin America and the Caribbean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In conflict-affected situations, aid-funded livelihood interventions are often tasked with a dual imperative: to generate material welfare benefits and to contribute to peacebuilding outcomes. There may be some logic to such a transformative agenda, but does the reality square with the rhetoric? Through a review of the effectiveness of a range of livelihood promotion interventions-from job creation to microfinance-this paper finds that high quality empirical evidence is hard to come by in conflict-affected situations. Many evaluations appear to conflate outputs with impacts and numerous studies fail to include adequate information on their methodologies and datasets, making it difficult to appraise the reliability of their conclusions. Given the primary purpose of this literature-to provide policy guidance on effective ways to promote livelihoods-this silence is particularly concerning. As such, there is a strong case to be made for a restrained and nuanced handling of such interventions in conflict-affected settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How might historical perspectives assist the goal of improving humanitarian responses? This introduction to a special issue of Disasters on the history of humanitarian action explores this question and outlines how the other submissions to the edition, each with its own approach and focus area from the nineteenth-century to the present today, make different contributions to understanding of humanitarian action. The paper argues that the value of history lies not so much in the information it might offer, but in the challenges it can pose to habitual ways of thinking and in the skills of investigation and interpretation it fosters. These attributes make historical perspectives a potentially valuable addition to the critical questioning of humanitarian practitioners and policymakers. The paper advocates integrating history into a more reflective attitude to change and a more adventurous and holistic approach to innovation, as opposed to simply using it to 'learn lessons'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Once afflicted by frequent episodes of famine, China-particularly the Chinese state-is growing in importance as a player in the overseas aid and development sector. This paper examines four famines in modern China-defined as the period since the First Opium War of 1839-42-to shed light on the changing nature of state involvement in disaster relief in the country, while also demonstrating the breadth and diversity of relief agency in the past. It makes the case that traditional disaster relief principles and methods were active well into the twentieth century, and that the statist model of today's People's Republic is not an essential characteristic of Chinese humanitarian organisation. Rather, the extent to which the Chinese state will continue to assume a dominant role in the country's re-emerging civic and charity sector is, as in earlier times, a function of the political developments and struggles that lie ahead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary academic debates on the history of the colonial Famine Codes in India-also considered to be the first coded and institutionalised normative frameworks for natural disaster response on the continent-generally are based on one of two perspectives. The first focuses on their economic rationale, whereas the second underlines that they constitute an anti-famine contract between the colonial masters and the people of India. This paper demonstrates that both of these viewpoints are limited in scope and that they simplify the nature of governance instituted through famine response practices in Colonial India. It links this reality to current disaster response policies and practices in India and shows that the discussion on the development of normative frameworks underlying disaster response is far from over. The paper goes on to evaluate the development of normative frameworks for disaster response and recovery, which remain embroiled in the politics of governmentality that underlies their development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing complex emergency situations is a challenging task, mainly due to the heterogeneity of the partners involved and the critical nature of such events. Whatever approach is adopted to support this objective, one unavoidable issue is knowledge management. In the context of our research project, gathering, formalising and exploiting all the knowledge and information about a given crisis situation is a critical requirement. This paper presents some research results concerning this specific topic: from a theoretical point of view, the generic dimensions of crisis characterisation are defined, while from a technical point of view, we describe a software solution able to collect that knowledge (based on meta-models and ontologies). This is used to confront the characteristics of the situation (context) with characteristics of the resources (relief system) in order to design a suitable response. Finally, an illustrative example concerning a crash between a tanker truck and a train is described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By interpreting disasters as opportunities to initiate the fulfilment of development needs, realise the vulnerability of the affected community and environment, and extend the legacy of relief funds and effort, this paper builds upon the concept linking relief, rehabilitation and development (LRRD) in the sanitation sector. It aims to use a composite of case studies to devise a framework for a semi-hypothetical scenario to identify critical components and generic processes for a LRRD action plan. The scenario is based on a latrine wetland sanitation system in a Muslim community. Several sub-frameworks are developed: (i) latrine design; (ii) assessment of human waste treatment; (iii) connective sanitation promotion strategy; and (iv) ecological systems and environmental services for sanitation and development. This scenario illustrates the complex issues involved in LRRD in sanitation work and provides technical notes and references for a legacy plan for disaster relief and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]