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.

Introdução: As comunidades quilombolas passaram a ter alguma visibilidade a partir da Constituição Federal brasileira de 1988. Objetivo: avaliar o desenvolvimento psicológico – moral e a coerção em duas comunidades quilombolas do município de Viamão/RS, relacionando a vulnerabilidade a estes conceitos. Método: Foram estudadas 62 pessoas pertencentes a duas comunidades quilombolas do município de Viamão/RS-Brasil. Todos os participantes eram maiores de 18 anos. Foram utilizados instrumentos validados para avaliar o desenvolvimento psicológico-moral e a expressão de coerção. Da mesma forma, foram realizadas observações de campo, com abordagem qualitativa, que permitiram descrever melhor as condições de pertencimento e vulnerabilidade destas comunidades. Resultados: Todos os participantes tinham capacidade para tomada de decisão no seu melhor interesse. Da mesma forma, a expressão de coerção foi baixa, atingindo um dos menores valores obtidos até a presente data em estudos semelhantes. A escolaridade destas comunidades foi precária. As noções de pertencimento e vulnerabilidade estavam presentes nos relatos que foram coletados. Conclusão: Por meio destas análises obtivemos um quadro de referência que permite diferenciar autonomia e autodeterminação, pertencimento e vulnerabilidade. / Introduction: The Quilombola communities startet to have some visibility since the Brazilian Federal Constitution of 1988. Objective: To evaluate the psychological and moral development and coercion in two rural communities in Viamão / RS relating vulnerability to these concepts. Methods: We studied 62 persons belonging to two Quilombola communities in the municipality of Viamão / Rio Grande do Sul – Brazil. All participants were over 18 years old. Two validated instruments were used to assess the moral and psychological development and the expression of coercion. Similarly, field observations were carried out with a qualitative approach, which allowed better describe the conditions of belonging and vulnerability of these communities. Results: All participants had the capacity to make decisions in their best interest. Likewise, the expression of coercion was low, reaching one of the lowest values obtained to date in similar studies. The schooling of these communities was precarious. The notions of belonging and vulnerability were present in the reports that were collected. Conclusion: Through these analyzes we obtained a framework reference that allows to differentiate autonomy and self-determination, belonging and vulnerability.

O coletivo de crianças em situação de vulnerabilidade é o grupo social mais exposto a constrangimentos que dificultam a tarefa de conhecer e pertencer à cidade onde moram. Nesse atual contexto e com orientação da perspectiva sociológica da infância, o objetivo dessa pesquisa foi conhecer e compreender as percepções de crianças vivendo condições complexas de vulnerabilidade, residentes na periferia, acerca de seu território na cidade de São Paulo, assim como conhecer as relações por elas estabelecidas com esses espaços. Tratou-se de uma pesquisa participativa de caráter colaborativo que utilizou o recurso metodológico do fotovoz. Foram realizados sete encontros com um grupo de cinco crianças entre 08 e 10 anos de idade em acompanhamento em um Centro de Atenção Psicossocial Infanto-Juvenil (CAPSij) devido às situações complexas de vida e vulnerabilidade, mas sem transtornos mentais severos. Foi proposta a circulação coletiva pelos espaços de sentido no território para que as crianças registrassem em fotografia suas percepções cotidianas do espaço no qual vivem. Ademais, foi realizada uma exposição fotográfica aberta à comunidade a partir das seleções individuais de fotografias e discussões coletivas sobre a experiência, assim como encontros individuais de devolutiva com as crianças. O material verbal e imagético passou por análise temática em diálogo com diário de campo da pesquisadora. Os resultados contemplaram os retratos de cada criança participante, o processo de construção coletiva da pesquisa, o material fotográfico produzido pelas crianças a partir dos seus olhares e a exposição fotográfica intitulada \"Nosso Mundo\". Os registros fotográficos abordaram as seguintes categorias temáticas: (1) Corpo: experimentando a si mesmo e constituindo um grupo, (2) CAPSij: revisitando pela fotografia um espaço conhecido, (3) O território como lugar de desejo e consumo, (4) Percursos cotidianos e histórias de vida no território físico e existencial e (5) As sutilezas em meio ao concreto da cidade: território e natureza. Em diálogo com a literatura, foram apresentadas as reflexões teóricas sobre a circulação das crianças colaboradoras nos seus espaços de pertencimento, organizada em três argumentos principais: (1) Territórios existenciais: o corpo, lugares de vida e a circulação na cidade, (2) Produção de culturas da infância: as lógicas de consumo e a descoberta da natureza e (3) O fotovoz como recurso metodológico: protagonismo e processos de identificação social. Cada participante do estudo pode contribuir de maneira importante para o debate e análise do objeto de pesquisa e, consequentemente, para o processo de reconstrução da compreensão da infância na sociedade. O fotovoz permitiu os registros das experiências significativas da vida das crianças, a partir de suas perspectivas. A pesquisa revelou que as crianças têm um olhar crítico e complexo sobre seus espaços de circulação e pelas relações com esses estabelecidas. Um olhar permeado por suas singularidades de vida, atendo ao belo e à delicadeza da natureza em meio ao concreto cinza da cidade, dialogando constantemente com as culturas de massa e os valores sociais hegemônicos / The group of children in vulnerable condition is the social group most exposed to constraints that make it difficult to know and belong to the city where they live. In this current context and guided by the sociological perspective of childhood, the objective of this research was to know and understand the perceptions of children living in complex conditions of vulnerability, living in the periphery, about their territory in the city of São Paulo, as well as to know the relations they establish with these spaces. It was a participatory research of collaborative character that used the methodological resource of the photovoice. Seven meetings were held with a group of five children between 08 and 10 years of age, without severe mental disorders, being followed up at a Child and Adolescent Psychosocial Care Center (CAPSij) due to the complex life situations and vulnerability to which they are subjected. It was proposed the collective circulation through spaces of meaning in the territory so that the children recorded in photography their daily perceptions of the space in which they live. In addition, a photographic exhibition was held open to the community from the individual selections of photographs and collective discussions about the experience, as well as individual feedback meetings with the children. The verbal and imaginary material underwent a thematic analysis in dialogue with the researcher\'s field diary. The results included the portraits of each participating child, the collective construction process of the research, the photographic material produced by the children from their views and the photographic exhibition titled \"Our World\". The photographic records addressed the following thematic categories: (1) Body: experimenting with oneself and forming a group, (2) CAPSij: revisiting a known space through photography, (3) Territory as place of desire and consumption, everyday paths and life histories at a physical and existential territory and (5) The subtleties amidst the concrete of the city: territory and nature. In a dialogue with the literature, theoretical reflections on the circulation of the collaborating children in their spaces of belonging were presented, organized in three ideas: (1) Existential territories: the body, places of life and circulation in the city, (2) Production of childhood cultures: the logics of consumption and the discovery of nature and (3) The photovoice as a methodological resource: protagonism and processes of social identification. Each participant in the study was able to contribute in an important way to the debate and analysis of the object of research and, consequently, to the process of reconstructing the understanding of childhood in society. The photovoice allowed the records of the significant experiences of children\'s lives, from their perspectives. The research revealed that children have a critical and complex view at their spaces of circulation and their relationships with the established ones. A view permeated by their singularities of life, attending to the beautiful and the subtlety of nature amid the gray concrete of the city, constantly dialoguing with mass cultures and hegemonic social values

Participation as a way to ensure equal accessibility to democracy has gained importance alongside the concept of sustainability. At the same time, it has become clear that not everyone has equal opportunity to participate in these participatory events, creating power issues that leave out the voices of certain societal groups from the political context. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to research how this issue can be solved, by looking at how local governments are working to ensure that everyone is given equal opportunity to participate when it is of relevance to them. The purpose is also to specifically research how social vulnerability and marginalisation is taken into consideration in the participatory process. The researched questions used to fulfil this purpose is: 1) How do local municipalities work to ensure equal accessibility to participatory events? 2) How is social vulnerability or marginalisation taken into consideration in the participatory process? 3) Can the strategies used by the municipality be argued to increase citizens’ accessibility to democracy? To answer these questions this study uses a case study design and a combination of two methods: interviews and text analysis. The data material consists of interviews with public officials and politicians at Örebro municipality along with the guidelines and handbooks developed by the municipality about their work with participatory events. The study concludes that Örebro municipality uses a number of different strategies that arguably enables them to have a more inclusive participatory process. They for example uses target group analysis, adapts the event to the group it concerns, take language, place of event, method of announcement into consideration and adapts the language to make the event more accessible. The study could conclude that through these strategies, along with directed efforts towards socially vulnerable and marginalised groups, the municipality appears to take these aspects in to consideration and therefore enhance the possible for more citizens to participate. The questions whether the strategies used by the municipality could increase citizens accessibility to democracy through participatory events generated a more ambivalent discussion and could not be giving a clear answer. There were aspects that to a certain degree could indicate that it was made possible through the strategies used by the municipality. But other aspect such as the ambiguity related to the purpose and definition of the participatory events contradicted this and showed that there exists a tension between wanting to enforce decisions and including citizens perspectives and input.

No description available.

Background: An estimated 1.27 million people per year are experiencing acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) due to private water sources, which are federally unregulated drinking water sources in the US (Murphy et al., 2017). Previous studies have found a relationship between drinking water source (domestic well or publicly supplied water) and waterborne disease. Although some work has been done to characterize the quality of water in karstic terrain, and karst is considered to be a risk factor for pathogenic contamination of domestic wells, little work has been done to assess the relationship between karst and incidence of enteric disease. There is also little known about the socio-demographic factors of populations in the US using domestic wells. Although studies have also shown an association between rain, antecedent rain, and waterborne illness, the relationship is not well defined. Objective: The dissertation uses spatiotemporal and epidemiologic methods to characterize domestic well users in Pennsylvania, determine the relationship between use of domestic wells and cases of illness, and investigate an interactive effect between rain and drought on county level occurrence of reporting of illness. This work includes illness due to Salmonella, Campylobacter, Giardia, and Cryptosporidium as reported to the PA department of health. The population of interest is the estimated 12.8 million people who lived in PA from 2010-2019, of which an estimated 3.5 million used a domestic well. Aim 1: Determine whether populations of Pennsylvania that rely on domestic wells are more socially vulnerable than those with access to public water supply or wastewater treatment. Hypothesis: Census tracts that are generally more socially vulnerable are also more likely to lack access to public water supply. Aim 2: Determine presence of spatial clusters of reportable enteric diseases (Salmonella, Campylobacter, Giardia, or Cryptosporidium) between 2010 and 2019 in PA, and whether those clusters are associated with drinking water source (whether a domestic well or publicly supplied water). Hypothesis 1: Enteric disease in PA for the 2014 - 2018 time period cluster in time and space. Hypothesis 2: The incidence risk ratio of reported enteric disease will be positively associated with the proportion of households utilizing domestic wells. Aim 3: Determine the effects of rain and drought on weekly counts of reportable enteric illness (Salmonella, Campylobacter, Giardia, or Cryptosporidium) in PA, 2010-2019. Hypothesis 1: County level weekly enteric illness incidence rates are positively associated with total rain (cm) in prior week(s). Hypothesis 2: The incidence rate of reportable enteric illness by county is associated with an interaction between total rain (cm) in the prior week by county and drought conditions as measured by the Palmer Drought Severity Index in the same week the rain is measured preceding disease onset. Methods: Using county and zip code tabulation area incidence data on enteric illnesses made available from the Pennsylvania Department of Health for the years 2010 to 2019, this thesis investigated the potential relationships between rain, drought conditions, use of private wells, and the occurrence of karstic terrain and illness. The social characteristics of those who do not have access to public water supply were also explored. This was done in three parts, all utilizing ecologic study designs. Aim 1: We assessed how social vulnerability measures co-occur with domestic well use and also how those patterns change over space using a profile regression method. Aim 2: We examined the spatial patterns, by Zip Code Tabulation Area using a Poisson Spatial only SaTScan analysis with 5% of the state population without Philadelphia allowing for hierarchical clusters, and temporal patterns, using the R software trending package to develop a season adjusted negative binomial model to assess outbreaks, of weekly reported enteric illnesses. The weekly county incidence rates for each illness were also assessed by percentage of a county that did not have access to public water supply and presence of karst using a zero-inflated negative binomial model with random intercept for county. Philadelphia was excluded because they did not share their data. To assess the second hypothesis, that the incidence risk ratio of reported enteric disease is positively associated with the proportion of households utilizing domestic wells, a zero-inflated negative binomial model with a random intercept for county was utilized to determine if there was an association. This same model was expanded as assessment of an association between illness rates and percentage of a county underlain by karst. Aim 3: We assessed multiple time lags using a zero-inflated negative binomial model with random intercept for county to determine if there was an relationship between county level weekly rainfall (cm) and drought, as measured by the Palmer Drought Severity Index, on the weekly incidence rates of these four reportable enteric illnesses. Philadelphia was excluded, because they did not share their data. If both the amount of rain and the level of drought were found to be related to the number of cases of illnesses, an interaction was assessed for that lag time.Results: Aim 1: Measures of social vulnerability have 15 distinct profiles or clusters in the state of PA. These clusters occur spatially heterogeneously across the state. Five distinct population-profiles are more likely to rely on a domestic well. Two of these profiles are also more likely to experience social vulnerability when measured at the census tract level. In general, census tracts with higher proportions of homeowners, lower proportions of those without a high school diploma, lower median per capita income, and higher proportions of children under the age of 5 and 17 are more likely to rely on an unregulated drinking water source than populations with greater proportions of their population having a high school diploma, higher median per capita income and lower proportions of their population consisting of people under the age of 5 and 17. Aim 2: All four pathogens, which were assessed, have spatial heterogeneity in the state of Pennsylvania. All pathogens had higher incidence rates in the summer and lowest rates in the winter. However, most outbreaks occurred in the wintertime. A positive association was found between quartile of area of a county not served by public water supply and incidence rates of campylobacteriosis [IRR = 1.35 (95%CI 1.21, 1.51 p < 0.001)], cryptosporidiosis [IRR = 1.33 (95%CI 1.07, 1.66, p < 0.05)], and giardiasis [IRR = 1.25 (95%CI 1.11, 1.42, p < 0.01)]. An association was also observed between the quartile of area of a underlain by karst and incidence rates of campylobacteriosis [IRR = 1.21 (95%CI 1.08, 1.35, p <0.01)] and cryptosporidiosis [IRR = 1.36 (95%CI 1.09, 1.69, p < 0.01)]. Aim 3: There was at least one lag time (weeks between weekly measure of rain and specimen collection) where the amount of rain was positively associated with counts of campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, and giardiasis. We also evaluated potential associations between enteric disease and rain as well as previous drought conditions (wetness or lack thereof) with various time-lags for 66 counties of PA for a 10-year time, Philadelphia is not included in this analysis because their data was not shared. In the case of Salmonella, there were four different lag times with an increase in incidence (weeks 4, 5, 11 and 12) and Giardia had two different lag times that showed an increase in incidence (weeks 12, and 14 ). At week 11 for cases due to Campylobacter, there was also an assessed interaction, while both rain and drought, as measured by the weekly Palmer Drought Index (PDI) had a positive relationship with risk, the relationship changed direction and was protective [IRR = 0.9997 (95%CI 0.9997, 0.9999, p < 0.01)]. Conclusions: The key findings are: 1. There are distinct profiles of domestic well users that differ by measures of social vulnerability. Two types of census tracts in PA are likely to have a high number of domestic wells and experience high social vulnerability traits. 2. Enteric illnesses due to Salmonella, Campylobacter, Giardia and Cryptosporidium, have patterns of clustering spatially across the state, and have a strong relationship with season. 3. There is a positive association between the area of a county not served by public water supply and incidence rates of campylobacteriosis, cryptosporidiosis, and giardiasis. 4. There is a positive association between the area of a county underlain by karst and incidence rates of campylobacteriosis and cryptosporidiosis. 5. That rain and drought (wetness) conditions weeks to several weeks prior, affect the incidence rate ratio of cases of Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Campylobacter, and Salmonella in Pennsylvania. The relationship between rain and drought conditions and illness varies by organism type which could be attributed to incubation period, reporting time, transport time in the environment and exposure sources (drinking water, food, recreation). There was evidence of an interactive effect between rain and drought conditions for cases of campylobacteriosis, with an 11-week lag time. / Epidemiology

Historical redlining, a discriminatory practice of the 1930s, present-day social vulnerability (SVI), and sports and recreational injury (SRI) hospitalizations are interconnected topics that highlight the intersection of race, class, and health in the United States but the relationships have not been studied to date. Thus, the overall aim of this dissertation is to examine the effects of historical redlining and present-day social vulnerability on SRI hospitalizations in the United States. The first study systematically reviewed studies that examined the relationships between neighborhood characteristics and SRI using multilevel modeling approach. Studies reviewed show that certain neighborhood factors, such as living in urban communities, were associated with increased risk of SRI. The second study examined the association between historical redlining and present-day neighborhood SVI in the United States. Results show that formerly redlined areas have higher SVI presently. The third study examined the association between historical redlining and present-day SRI hospitalization in the United States. Results show that redlining was not associated with increased odds of SRI hospitalizations, but was associated with longer length of hospital stay (LOS) among Black and Hispanic patients, and higher total hospital charges among Hispanic patients. The fourth study examined the association between individual and neighborhood social vulnerability and sports and recreation-related traumatic brain injury (SR-TBI) hospitalizations among pediatric patients in the United States. Results show that Native American children had higher odds of hospitalization for SR-TBI, longer LOS, but lower odds of discharge to post-acute care compared to White children. Older age was associated with higher odds of hospitalization and longer LOS while male sex was associated with shorter LOS for SR-TBI in children. Compared to children with private insurance, children with public insurance had longer LOS while uninsured children had shorter LOS. Also, hospitalization in neighborhood with higher overall SVI was associated with longer LOS. This study advances our knowledge on the impact of structural racism on present-day SRI outcomes and will inform policy makers to prioritize health equity by addressing the underlying social determinants of health and the root causes of disparities in SRI outcomes. / Doctor of Philosophy / Every year, around 9 million people get hurt while playing sports or participating in recreational activities in the United States. Out of these, more than a third go to the emergency department for treatment, and several thousands need to stay in the hospital because their injuries are more serious. Even though only a small number of sports and recreational injuries (SRI) require hospitalization compared to those treated in the emergency department or outpatient clinics, these injuries tend to be more severe. They can cause significant harm to a person's physical, mental, and emotional well-being, and they also put a lot of pressure on the healthcare system and society as a whole. This dissertation assessed how historical discrimination against certain neighborhoods, called redlining, and present-day social vulnerability affect sports and recreational injury hospitalizations in the United States. This research found that the neighborhood where people live or are hospitalized matter for how often they are hospitalized for SRI, their length of stay in hospital, the amount of money they pay while in hospital, and how often they receive follow-up care after leaving hospital. While historical redlining was not directly linked to higher odds of hospitalization, it was associated with longer hospital stays for Black and Hispanic patients and higher costs for Hispanic patients. This research also found that children from socially vulnerable backgrounds were more likely to be hospitalized for sports-related traumatic brain injuries (SR-TBI) and stay in hospital longer, but were less like to receive follow-up care after leaving hospital. For instance, children from Native American backgrounds were three times more likely to be hospitalized for SR-TBI and stayed in the hospital 27% longer, but were 99.9% less likely to receive follow-up care after leaving hospital compared to White children. Also, children with public health insurance tended to have longer stays in hospital for SR-TBI compared to those with private health insurance. This research highlights how structural discrimination can impact health outcomes, and suggests that policymakers should address the root causes of health disparities in order to promote health equity.

Climate change is projected to increase the intensity and frequency of storm events that would increase flooding hazards. Urbanization associated with land use and land cover change has altered hydrological cycles by increasing stormwater runoff, reducing baseflow and increasing flooding hazards. Combined urbanization and climate change impacts on long-term riparian flooding during future growth are likely to affect more socially vulnerable populations. Growth strategies and green infrastructure are critical planning interventions for minimizing urbanization impacts and mitigating flooding hazards. Within the social-ecological systems planning framework, this empirical research evaluated the effects of planning interventions (infill development and stormwater detention) through a risk assessment in three studies. First, a climate sensitivity study using SWAT modeling was conducted for building a long-term flooding hazard index (HI) and determining climate change impact scenarios. A Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) was constructed using socio-economic variables and statistical methods. Subsequently, the long-term climate change-induced flooding risk index (RI) was formulated by multiplying HI and SoVI. Second, growth strategies in four future growth scenarios developed through the BMA ULTRA-ex project were evaluated through land use change input in SWAT modeling and under climate change impact scenarios for the effects on the risk indices. Third, detention under climate sensitivity study using SWAT modeling was investigated in relation to long-term flooding hazard indices. The results illustrated that increasing temperature decreases HI while increasing precipitation change and land use change would increase HI. In addition, there is a relationship between climate change and growth scenarios which illustrates a potential threshold when the impacts from land use and land cover change diminished under the High impact climate change scenario. Moreover, spatial analysis revealed no correlation between HI and SoVI in their current conditions. Nevertheless, the Current Trends scenario has planned to allocate more people living in the long-term climate change-induced flooding risk hotspots. Finally, the results of using 3% of the watershed area currently available for detention in the model revealed that a projected range of 0 to 8% watershed area would be required to mitigate climate change-induced flooding hazards to the current climate conditions. This research has demonstrated the value of using empirical study on a local scale in order to understand the place-based and watershed-specific flooding risks under linked social-ecological dynamics. The outcomes of evaluating planning interventions are critical to inform policy-makers and practitioners for setting climate change parameters in seeking innovations in planning policy and practices through a transdisciplinary participatory planning process. Subsequently, communities are able to set priorities for allocating resources in order to enhance people's livelihoods and invest in green infrastructure for building communities toward resilience and sustainability

Crime prevention is taking action early before serious problems arise. Waiting for a problemto arise is costly, inefficient and worse for the individual and society. Nevertheless, much ofthe preventive work today is devoted to intervening in individuals with obvious and numerousrisk factors. The study was carried out in an outpatient care company called Hassela Skåne,the company takes care of exposed high-risk children and youth people who have a highprobability of falling into crime or becoming victims of crime. The purpose of the studies wasto map Hassela Skåne's data to see what differences there are between their child/youthintervention and family intervention regarding risk factors and goal fulfillment, in order tofind possible development paths to a favorable intervention. The material used includes anumber of different static risk factors from the outpatient care company Hassela's database,linked to the individuals who are/are being treated at Hassela. The result showed that therewere no differences between different types of intervention, neither in terms of risk factorsnor goal achievement, but the result is very likely to be influenced by the majority ofbackground factors. Continued research on evaluations within outpatient care in Sweden isrequested, in order to build on favorable interventions that can reduce child and youthdelinquency.

This dissertation examines the extent to which social vulnerability, as studied by researchers across multiple disciplines, has influenced the practice of emergency management at the local level. This study addresses two major research questions to accomplish this goal. First, how do local emergency managers perceive and define social vulnerability? Second, what strategies do local emergency managers employ to reach and meet the needs of socially vulnerable populations? Semi-structured interviews were conducted in person or by phone with a sample of local emergency managers, city managers, and American Red Cross personnel from the Houston - Galveston and the South East Texas regions as defined by the respective Councils of Government. A modified grounded theory approach was used with a constant comparative method to identify themes for each research question. Triangulation was accomplished through secondary census data and supplemental interviews. The interview data reveal that social vulnerability research has had an indirect influence on the practice of emergency management at the local level. This influence is facilitated through state and federal policy, training, and plans development. Based on the interview data, four themes were identified that capture the various ways in which local emergency management officials perceive and define social vulnerability. These include vulnerability as poverty and culture, vulnerability as a lack of security, vulnerability as a moral imperative, and vulnerability as a lack of awareness and knowledge. In terms of strategies employed to address social vulnerability, the data suggest four themes: leaving it to the professionals, bringing in volunteers, leveraging protocols to build buy-in, and fostering flexibility. The findings reveal the importance in closing the knowledge gap between research and practice, because increased damage, harm, and death can occur when the social inequalities of everyday life are not addressed in the planning process by emergency managers. The findings also reveal that state and federal policy, training, and plans development are the most trusted sources by emergency managers to transfer knowledge to practice. Additionally, with the proliferation of emergency management degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, higher education can potentially play a more active and visible role in bridging the gap between research and practice, particularly as it relates to social vulnerability.