Since 1994, fundamental transformation has taken place in South Africa in terms of disaster risk management. The transformation processes have led to the promulgation of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No 57 of 2002) that was heralded as a new era for disaster risk management in South Africa. Subsequently, the publication of the National Disaster Risk Management Framework (of 2005) provides a set of clear guidelines on the implementation of the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No 57 of 2002). The National Disaster Risk Management Framework underscores the significance of the integration and co-ordination of disaster risk management activities in all levels of government in South Africa. This emphasises the fact that Disaster risk management in South Africa has been established as a public sector function within each sphere of government. In its KPA1, the framework further emphasis the establishment of integrated disaster risk management structures by each sphere of government. The disaster risk management structures, such as interdepartmental committees and a district forum have not yet been established in the Capricorn District Municipality. In cases where other structures have been established, the main challenge is the participation of all role players and the inconsistency in the representation of local municipality in those structures. Another gap is the lack of clear responsibility of disaster risk management in some of the internal key role players. This dissertation aims to evaluate the implementation of the institutional capacity for Disaster Risk Reduction in the Capricorn District Municipality. This dissertation caters for the reader within the theory of organisation. Subsequently, the disaster risk management structures were discussed, based on the requirements of both the Disaster Management Act, 2002 (Act No 57 of 2002) and a National Disaster Risk Management Framework policy document (of 2005). This dissertation made use of the one-on-one semi-structured interviews for data collection in the field of disaster risk management within the Capricorn District Municipality. As regards recommendations, this dissertation suggests a number of points that the Capricorn District Municipality needs to implement in order to fast-track the establishment of disaster risk management structures that could lead to progress in meeting the legislative mandate of Disaster Risk Reduction. / Thesis (M. Development and management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karol. inst., 2004. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Virginia, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available online through Digital Dissertations.

Environmental disasters result in the death of tens to hundreds of thousands of people and the loss of US$250-300 billion annually. Vulnerability to environmental disasters stems from both social and biophysical factors. While there is increasing awareness that individual hazards are often found in combination with other environmental or social risks in what can be referred to as multi-hazard landscapes, few studies directly examine how people respond to environmental hazards in a multi-hazard environment and the role that risk reduction and development organizations (DOs) play in that response. In this dissertation, I address this research gap through an investigation of risk perception and management in a multi-hazard environment of eastern Uganda dominated by people relying on subsistence agriculture for their livelihoods. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative statistical analyses, I investigate how individual farmers and DOs differ in their perception and prioritization of hazards and the factors that influence farmers’ perception of multiple risks and their decisions to adopt best management strategies. Building on this household-level analysis of perception and action, I also draw on data from community-level focus groups and participatory mapping exercises to relate individual to community vulnerability. Results from these analyses show that the factors that shape farmers’ perception and management of different environmental hazards are not universal. Instead, the predictors of risk perception and adoption of best management practices are unique to particular hazards and management strategies. DOs can play an important role in reducing vulnerability through training and material inputs but need to recognize the heterogeneity of communities in doing so. Results show that communities are heterogeneous with respect to vulnerabilities, motivations, and capacities. DO programs must address these differences to achieve perception and behavior changes on a large scale. Participatory mapping exercises can be useful complements to expert risk assessments as they highlight local capacity and risk prioritizations, which do not always align with those determined by outside experts. While mapping is a promising tool for vulnerability analysis, the aspatial and unmappable components of vulnerability require a combination of methods across many scales and data types in order to be more holistically understood.

Women and persons with disabilities are at increased risks of experiencing negative health outcomes during and after disasters. The Sendai Framework (2015), published by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, highlights the need to strengthen disaster risk reduction (DRR) among populations at disproportionate risk, using an all-of-society approach that is inclusive and engaging. This research investigated the perceptions of capability among female stroke survivors, in the context of DRR. The purpose of this study was to 1) examine the role of asset literacy in the social construction of capability and lived experiences of female stroke survivors and 2) create an opportunity for female stroke survivors to share their lived experiences among themselves, and members of the stroke and DRR communities. Four women were recruited through snowball sampling. Study participants were invited to join a PhotoVoice project – a participatory method in which survivors were asked to respond to prompts using photography. Data was analyzed using qualitative, thematic analysis. Study results revealed that perceptions of capability in DRR for stroke survivors was rooted in the context of their recovery. Participants discussed 4 sets of recovery and DRR assets: 1) physical, 2) social, 3) energy and 4) personal characteristics. Autonomy was identified as a valued recovery outcome, and as needed to establish self-efficacy and adaptive capacity to cope with disasters. Social participation and asset literacy can support one another, and may enhance disaster resilience. An important aspect of Photovoice initiatives is sharing the messages with important stakeholders, as identified by the participants. This research has been shared at the annual international EnRiCH meeting (2018). We are currently planning a photo exhibit to be held in the fall of 2018. Overall, this research shows how creative tools (i.e. Photovoice, asset-mapping) can be used to foster social participation, and include populations at disproportionate risk in the DRR discussion.

Background: College settings are likely environments for Black women to contract STIs (including HIV) or experience unintentional/unwanted pregnancies. Effective prevention strategies for this population include dialogue and activities that focus on gender, maturity, cultural barriers, personal strength, and information needs. However, technological advancements (including virtual reality) and innovation are limited in prevention efforts. Methods: Four 90-minute focus group sessions were conducted in a convenience sample of Black college females (ages 18 years or older) and a research-intensive public institution in the southeast. A series of surveys were distributed during each audio-recorded focus group session. A mixed-method approach to data analysis was based on applications of the Health Belief Model constructs to three principal research questions: (1) Q1: How do Black college females perceive the importance of sexual risk topics? (2) What are the experiences and attitudes of Black college females regarding the use of VR for education and training versus video game entertainment (i.e. “gaming)? and (3) Among Black college females, what sexual risk topics are considered most relevant to a VR education and training platform? Results: Each of four study cohorts enrolled between 2-6 participants each (n=15). Participant ages ranged from 18-48 (x̅=28.6, σ=9.2) years within age groups of 18-24 years (60%, n=9), 25-34 years (26.7%, n=4), and 35 years or above (13.3%, n=2). The majority of participants (86.7%, n=13) were enrolled as full-time students, and resided in various off-campus locations (73.3%; n=11). Assessments of sexual risk topic importance were reported based on aggregated Survey 1 Lickert scale values. The majority of participants equally viewed the topics of HIV and STI status as important, mostly important, or very important. Other notable concerns include sex with drug/alcohol use, risk of intimate partner violence, and sexual communication (e.g. partners and peers. Despite the lack of formal virtual reality knowledge, the majority of participants reported experience with VF technology via “gaming” (e.g. SIMS). They also concluded that a virtual reality platform for sexual health education and training should involve comprehensive approaches to HIV/STI and unintentional pregnancy via use of barrier methods, including birth control, as well as facilitation of sexual communication. Discussion: This research represents a unique approach to the identification of sexual health risk importance for HIV/STI transmission, as well as unintentional pregnancy, in Black college females. Although a successful demonstration of feasibility, this research is formative in nature – results should be interpreted as preliminary. However, methods and concepts presented in this thesis hold the potential for scientific contribution in prevention research, clinical practice, and other fields of study.

The thesis titled Risk analysis in a manufacturing company aims to analyze risks. The first part contains theoretical bases, which are important for practical application. These are mainly in using methods of risk analysis, classification and risk reduction options. The second part focuses on the identification of risk itself. After assessing the risks there will be assessed their impact. The last part will introduce measures that will lead to the elimination of the risk or to eliminate them completely. This thesis presents a comprehensive analysis of the risks that could serve as a basis for future management decisions in risk management.

Kyoto University (京都大学) / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第15363号 / 工博第3242号 / 新制||工||1488(附属図書館) / 27841 / 京都大学大学院工学研究科都市環境工学専攻 / (主査)教授 寶 馨, 准教授 山敷 庸亮, 准教授 立川 康人 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当

This is a study about disasters, vulnerability and power. With regards to social justice organizing a particular research problem guides the work, specifically that emancipatory projects are often initiated and steered by privileged actors who do not belong to the marginalized communities they wish to strengthen, yet the work is based on the belief that empowerment requires self-organizing from within. Through an ethnographic field study of social justice organizing in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in Rockaway, New York City, the thesis explores whether and how vulnerable groups were empowered within the Occupy Sandy network. It is a process study that traces outside activists attempts at empowering storm-affected residents over time, from the immediate relief phase to long-term organizing in the recovery phase. The activists aimed to put to practice three organizing ideals: inclusion, flexibility and horizontality, based on a belief that doing so would enhance empowerment. The analysis demonstrates that collaboration functioned better in the relief phase than in the long-term recovery phase. The same organizing ideals that seem to have created an empowering milieu for storm-affected residents in the relief phase became troublesome when relief turned to long-term recovery. The relief phase saw storm-affected people step up and take on leadership roles, whereas empowerment in the recovery phase was conditional on alignment with outside activists’ agendas. Internal tensions, conflicts and resistance from residents toward the outside organizers marked the recovery phase. It seems that length of collaborative projects is not the only factor for developing trust but so is complexity. The more complex the activities over which partners are to collaborate the less easy it is. Based on this we could further theorize that the more complex the work is the more challenging it is for privileged groups to give away control. The internal struggles of the organization partially explain the failures to influence an urban planning process that the organization attempted to impact, which connects the micro-processes with broader change processes toward transformation of vulnerability.

In this thesis, I conduct a global event-data study investigating the relationship between exposure to natural hazards and climate change adaptation. Exposure to natural hazards has previously been linked to actions aimed at reducing risks related to future natural hazards. With climate change, and predicted increase in hazard frequency and intensity, a feasible approach to risk mitigation is climate change adaptation, which can thus be considered a disaster risk reduction strategy. I investigate the effects of disaster frequency and severity on the amount of climate change adaptation actions taken on a subnational level of government, using disaster data from the International Disaster Database (EM-DAT) and data on adaptation actions from CDP. Disaster severity is operationalised in three separate ways to distinguish between different kinds of disaster impacts: in terms of (1) economic damage, (2) how many are affected, and (3) fatalities. I hypothesise that all independent variables are positively related to climate change adaptation, and test the hypotheses using OLS regression. The result depicts a positive correlation between the number of disasters experienced and adaptation actions. I do not see a positive relationship between climate change adaptation actions and the two impact variables total affected and total fatalities. The relationship between economic damages and adaptation actions indicates that economic damages could have different impacts depending on the level of economic development in a country. This study contributes to the integration of the two research fields climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction by studying climate change adaptation as a form of disaster risk reduction, and deepening the knowledge of what can drive adaptation. Finally, this study contributes by showing that the level of economic development could be an important aspect of the exposure-adaptation relationship.