Given the livelihoods challenges which face many rural communities, understanding a community’s livelihoods dynamics and opportunities is one major step to developing workable options to address the challenges. This study has focused on one rural community and used the five determinants of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach to describe the livelihoods situation in Embui sub-location in Machakos County, Kenya. Residents of Embui have had to deal with the fact that traditional production systems are not sufficient to provide for their livelihoods needs. The community and continues to be challenged by limited capital for diversifying income sources, low skills and limited social and economic services. This study recommends support to marketing of locally produced artifacts, improved access to capital and provision of water for irrigation along with extension services as the key areas of support to improve the living standards of the residents of Embui / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the pre-disaster planning processes and practices used by Florida's community college administrators as of December 2008. FEMA's Building a Disaster Resistant University (DRU) model was the conceptual lens for this study. A mixed methods research design included 15 surveys completed by Florida community college business officers and six semi-structured interviews with staff most involved in pre-disaster planning. Data were compared to DRU guidelines to establish whether processes and practices were congruent with the DRU. Six quantitative findings were reported in this study. First, 5 of 14 (35.7%) survey respondents appointed a project manager ; second, 14 of 15 respondents (93.3%) conducted a risk assessment ; third, 13 of 15 (87%) respondents reported contacting 2 to14 stakeholders; fourth, 14 of 15 (93.3%) survey respondents conducted an inventory of buildings and infrastructure assets; fifth, majority of survey respondents ( 87.7%) reported they identified mitigation goals and objectives; sixth, 8 of 14 (57.1%) respondents' president formally adopted the pre-disaster mitigation plan. / Qualitative findings were, first, wide internal and external stakeholder representation was organized; second, advisory committees have no mission statement; third, one site identified hazards by consulting with stakeholders, but neither one could provide a list of hazards; fourth, sites used only half of the DRU's building inventory items; fifth, recording and mapping of infrastructure (i.e., utilities) are evolved at one site, while both sites backup administrative systems; sixth, neither site considered several hazard profile formula variables recommended by the DRU; seventh, Beta's internal and external stakeholders conduct a rigorous vetting process, which allows it to establish a prioritized list of mitigation goals and objectives; eighth, neither site uses an adequate formula for benefitcost an consultant has been hired to do so; ninth, only one participant could articulate how the mission guided mitigation action prioritization; tenth, key internal and external stakeholders adopted mitigation actions; eleventh, no plan for measuring mitigation action efficacy exists; and twelfth, mitigation action successes are communicated to internal stakeholders, but not external stakeholders making it difficult to achieve plan momentum and funding. Recommendations are provided for community college administrators. / by Timothy J. De Palma. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

During an incident, which is critical in nature, sense-making by the individuals involved are essential in ensuring an optimal response to the incident. The incident management systems employed to manage the allocation of resources to an incident allow for the visualisation of the incident and its constituents, and this visualisation supports sense-making by improving knowledge transfer. Knowledge visualisation contains pitfalls that can be avoided by implementing knowledge visualisation criteria. The purpose of this study is to identify the knowledge visualisation criteria that optimise the knowledge transfer by visual artifacts in incident management systems like emergency medical or fire-response systems. This study used the design science research (DSR) methodology and was conducted in the context of critical incident response management. A review of the existing literature was done to identify an initial set of knowledge visualisation criteria. The initial set was evaluated by content experts (using questionnaire driven interviews) and usability experts (using questionnaire driven interviews, usability testing with eye tracking and a survey) in the context of an emergency incident management system. The main contribution of this study is a validated set of knowledge visualisation criteria to guide knowledge transfer in incident management systems. / School of Computing / M. Sc. Computing

保障人民的生命財產安全向來為政府的基本職責之一，而要如何在重大災害發生之際，擬訂周全的處理計畫，確保人民的生命財產安全，則取決於政府的「緊急災難管理」（emergency management）能力。 我國政府自民國八十三年由行政院頒佈「災害防救方案」後，無疑為我國「緊急災難管理」的體系與決策運作制度立下新的里程碑。然而此一體系在歷經了民國八十五年「賀伯風災」、八十六年「溫妮風災」、台北縣汐止鎮「林肯大郡災難」、八十七年桃園縣「華航大園空難」，直至去年（民國八十八年）「九二一大地震」的嚴苛挑戰後，卻如殘垣破瓦般不堪一擊。政府雖於今年（民國八十九年）六月底完成「災害防救法」三讀程序，然而其內容除了在提高災害防救委員會的層級，以及擴增消防署之功能上有所建樹外，仍多半延續舊有的災害防救體制，是否真能一掃以往「災害防救方案」在執行過程中所產生的缺失，仍有待時間來加以檢驗，但吾人不難從今年七月二十二日「八掌溪事件」，政府救災體系的複雜，以及決策運作的紊亂中看出端倪。 本論文的研究目的在探討我國如何建立一個足以防範多元災害的整合性緊急管理體系，並成立從中央至地方一條鞭式，運作順暢的災難決策運作模式。本論文的研究方法主要是透過文獻資料分析，從制度面、決策面與程序面三面向進行美、日兩國的個案比較。制度面旨在探討緊急災難管理之組織體系與架構；決策面旨在分析中央至地方的決策運作模式；程序面則是從美、日之救災實例過程中尋求可供我國政府參考，提高救災績效的運作程序。在此舉美國政府處理加州北嶺大地震（又稱洛杉磯大地震）以及日本政府處理阪神大地震之經過為例。 本論文除透過文獻分析進行美、日兩國的個案比較之外，更於其後藉由「德菲法」（Delphi technique）問卷調查的方式，設計開放式問卷以供專家學者針對如何改進我國目前災害防救體系做出具體回應，以收集思廣益之效。最後則綜合專家學者之意見並取得共識，找出最可行的方案，以作為本論文之政策建議。 本論文的政策建議仍分為制度面、決策面與程序面三面向分別加以探討。除建議我國政府可倣效美國「緊急災難管理」體系，成立台灣之FEMA（緊急管理總署）外，必須將決策層級改為中央－地方兩級制以利決策管道之順暢，至於培訓專業人才、健全法源依據、賦予地方政府較大的決策自主性、加強緊急通訊設備等課題，都是攸關「緊急災難管理機制」健全與否的重要因素，政府千萬不可等閒視之。 「緊急災難管理」是一門「科際整合」的（inter-disciplinary）學問，本論文僅從組織的觀點切入，建議後續研究人員可從法制層面、軍事民防層面與都市計劃層面進行研究探討，使我國「緊急災難管理」體系與制度更趨完備。

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Government and Public Administration

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Government and Public Administration

In this dissertation project, I examine the experiences of displaced Hurricane Katrina survivors in the context of post-disaster housing policies and practices. This research is based on two years of in-depth interviews with Katrina survivors who were displaced to Austin, Texas. I analyze these interviews to understand the raced, classed, and gendered implications of post-disaster housing policies and to consider what these implications reveal about the relationship between social policies, housing, and social inequality more broadly. This project is informed by an intersectional understanding of social stratification systems and inequalities and a critical analysis of neoliberal social policy. First, I outline the gender, family, and class ideologies embedded in government-run post-Katrina housing policies and practices, and show how they specifically disadvantaged people who did not conform to them. I identify temporal domination as a specific aspect of class oppression evident in respondents’ experiences with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) rental assistance programs. Next, I specifically examine respondents’ experiences settling into their new neighborhoods and searching for jobs. I found that many black survivors ended up in segregated remote areas of the city, far from jobs and public transportation. Their job searching experiences suggest that employers used racist stereotypes about Latino workers to coerce them to work for low wages. This reveals the complex and interrelated racial dynamics of low-wage urban housing and labor markets. Finally, I explore how survivors got by in the face of such difficult and in some cases dire circumstances. One primary way survivors coped with the uncertainty caused by their displacement was relying on their social networks. While women tended to depend on adult child - parent and other familial relationships, men tended to distance themselves from the potential support of their mothers and other relatives. Respondents also constructed fictive kin relationships to provide support to others, sometimes for the explicit purpose of ensuring one or both members of the relationship had access to stable housing. This reveals how both gender and family relationships can shape disaster recovery and everyday experiences of poverty. Overall, this project contributes to the study of race/class/gender inequality, social policy, housing, and disaster recovery. / text

Through the analysis of relationships between aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities in Upper St'at'imc Territory in British Columbia, this thesis illustrates how bridging and bonding forms of social capital affect vulnerability and cooperation to prepare for disasters in communities characterised by cultural conflict. Social capital is based upon networks of trust and reciprocity, which enable individuals to cooperate to achieve shared goals. In Upper St'at'imc Territory, people are most likely to have close relationships or bonds with those from the same cultural background. The absence of inter-cultural bonds means that bridges linking those less well known to each other (from each culture) are necessary to facilitate cooperation. However, there are few arenas that enable the formation of bridges between aboriginals and non-aboriginals. Pre-existing patterns of social capital between aboriginals and non-aboriginals were played out in BC Hydro's Exercise "Bridge River", a simulation exercise to prepare for a potential dam incident affecting downstream communities. Lack of bridges between the cultures was highlighted by low levels of cultural interaction during the exercise and the establishment of separate emergency operations centers. Nevertheless, the exercise resulted in some aboriginals and non-aboriginals coming into contact with each other and building new bridges. Unfortunately opportunities for strengthening these bridges through regular cultural interaction are limited. This is due to cultural divisions in membership of emergency preparedness organisations as well as wider social and employment networks. The exercise reinforced the strong bonds that enable non-aboriginal emergency responders to work well together. The benefits of these strong bonds are restricted if they result in excluding aboriginal participation in emergency response organisations. Exercise "Bridge River" organisers were unaware of the strong bonds among non-aboriginal emergency responders. This affected their ability to anticipate how these bonds were used during the exercise and resulted in delaying the process. Social capital is essentially a neutral phenomenon, how it is used determines whether or not it is a destructive weapon or a constructive tool for building disaster resilient communities. Nevertheless, social capital can be easily destroyed and bridges burnt by conflict and lack of trust between cultural groups. Understanding a community's social capital will enhance disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts. Inter-cultural social capital produced in one arena can be used to increase cooperation in disaster preparedness. At the same time, disaster preparedness activities can be used as a foundation to strengthen and build bridges between cultures.

Every year thousands of tons of chemicals are transported by railroad in Delaware County, Indiana. All the rail lines pass through the geographical center of Muncie. Because of population densities close to rail lines is high, the vulnerability is substantial for any kind of chemical spill.To respond to possible emergency problems, the latest technology is needed which can be used in the most efficient and fastest way, so that lives can be protected. GIS can provide detailed, and time sensitive information before and after the disaster, thereby increasing the ability to make better decisions during the time of emergency.According to Gosnell (2004), the Emergency Management Agency of Delaware County is least prepared for any kind of action plan if a chemical spill situation occurs. This research is intended to create an Emergency Management System for a hypothetical chemical spill involving all the five phases of operation using GIS so that it can be a demonstration for the emergency management agency of Delaware County of how such a situation can be planned from its initial stage to final stage of operation thereby the life, property and environment can be protected. / Department of Geography