In the past few years, natural disasters have been taking more lives and, especially more in the lesser-developed countries. There have been debates in the scientific world on what could be the best ways to mitigate disasters and reduce their impacts. In addition, there is a growing concern about finding the best way of restoring normal lives in the disaster affected communities. Traditional top-down approaches practiced by local governments, aid-agencies, and NGOs have now been replaced by community-based disaster management approaches. International aid-agencies such as the World Bank, UNDP, CIDA, USAID etc., emphasize on the involvement of the community for development purposes and long term sustainability. However, experiences from catastrophic disasters such as the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 or the Hurricane Katrina of 2005 revealed post-disaster scenario to be chaotic and at times insensitive to local cultures and needs of victims. Literature review of past theories indicated the widening gap in disaster management approaches for establishing effective models to deal with recurrent mega-disasters. To address some of the gaps and issues related to disaster management strategies and approaches, an ongoing reconstruction process of the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004 was evaluated in the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, India. Four underlying objectives were set. The first was to review the evolving disaster paradigm and related theories and concepts in literature and to build connections with planning models and community based planning. Gaps in the literature were identified and a ‘common framework’ to study both the domains of environmental planning and disaster management was designed. The ‘framework’ was designed using other interdisciplinary planning frameworks, and suffices the second objective of this dissertation. The third objective was to assess an ongoing reconstruction process using an appropriate methodology and suitable indicators. Environmental issues and disaster related problems have risen over the last decade with its effects worsening in the developing countries. Despite technological advancements, it seems almost impossible to make disaster related losses negligible. However, losses can be minimised with proper interventions and community preparedness. Case studies were carried out within disaster affected fishing communities in the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, India.

Corporate governance is usually related to corporate performance. Corporate governance means company should be controlled and monitored to protect the stakeholder¡¦s rights, and keeps creating profit by making company run well. Usually there are some companies run well during the financial crisis. This essay separates the companies into good corporate governance companies and bad corporate governance companies. First it shows the relationship between performance and corporate governance. Second, it proves companies which have good corporate governance actually perform better during the financial crisis. It classes three industries to discuss, which are financial industry, traditional industry, and electronic industry. It uses 8 corporate governance indexes to identify the relationship between performances. The samples are from 2000 to 2009, and it defines 2008 and 2009 as the span of financial tsunami in the research. In this research it use ROA, ROE , and Tobin¡¦Q to represent the company¡¦s performance.

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This dissertation presents the detailed results of investigations into the coastal geomorphological effects and sedimentation processes associated with a recent large tsunami event which took place on the 12th December 1992 in Flores, Indonesia, and the stratigraphical and sedimentological study of a widespread sand layer preserved in coastal sedimentary sequences along the eastern coast of Scotland representing a low-frequency, high-energy marine event, which took place at circa 7,000 radiocarbon years B.P. With modern alalogues, established in this dissertation, of both tsunami and storm surge sedimentary characteristics and sedimentation processes as the key, together with high-resolution sedimentological evidence obtained from the circa 7,000 radiocarbon years B. P. event, competing hypotheses of the likely causes of the marine flooding by either a tsunami or storm surge event are tested. It is concluded that the circa 7,000 B. P. marine flooding event was a tsunami, believed to have been generated by one of the world's largest submarine landslides in the Norwegian Sea - the Second Storegga Slide. The particle size composition of tsunami sediments is found to vary from well sorted to poorly sorted and is controlled by both the characteristics of the source sedement (local coastal sediments) and sedimentation processes associated with tsunami inundation. Tsunami sediments deposited on land are believed to form continuous and discontinuous sedimentary sheets ascending up to levels distinctively higher than contemporary sea levels and to contain a general landward-fining trend and multiple sets of grading (fining-upward) sequences, reflecting spatial changes in particle size composition. A conceptual model of coastal tsunami sedimentation is established including processes of seaward and landward sediment movements, episodic rapid deposition, sediment accumulation and erosion.

Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 410-414). / Electronic reproduction. / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / xxxi, 414 leaves, bound ill. (some col.), col. maps 29 cm

The popular tourist destination island of Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand was heavily affected by the Indian Ocean Tsunami in December 2004, which resulted in a destroyed tourism infrastructure and complete downturn of tourism. Extensive recovery and rebuilding work by emerging community groups, returned locals, international volunteers and Thai government units provided an efficient but hasty reconstruction of the destination. Ethnographic research conducted in the community provided insights into the complex stakeholder interactions and their roles and influences on the reconstruction of the community. The community�s level of vulnerability on Koh Phi Phi Don was influenced by social processes and interactions during the destination�s recovery process as the various stakeholders (e.g. government vs. locals) had differing perceptions of the island�s economic, environmental and social vulnerability. These disputes are grounded in different social time processes, particularly illustrated through land law disputes among locals, landowners and the government. Other factors which influenced the reconstruction of Koh Phi Phi as a tourist destination were pre-tsunami conditions (past overdevelopment), the empowerment of the community, the reconstructed place identity, various anniversary celebrations and the early warning system. A model is suggested to illustrate and discuss Koh Phi Phi Don as a disaster destination, which provides insights into the dynamics which govern a destination�s post-disaster recovery period. Thus, it illustrates how stakeholder interaction is influenced by distinct understandings of the multiple notions of vulnerability. Furthermore, this study establishes essential links between disaster and tourism theories and suggests an extended tourism disaster management framework, which calls for an inclusion of post-recovery processes.

This thesis examines the diversity of print news media frames during different stages of a crisis to enhance a model of media crisis communication, based on a framing analysis of the British print news media’s coverage of the Maldives after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster of 2004. The tourism sector is vulnerable to disasters and crises with a series of recent events ranging from natural disasters and epidemics to terrorists attacks, many of which have had devastating impacts on the economy of destinations. In 2004, one such event of significance for the tourism industry was the 9.2 magnitude earthquake that hit the coast of northwest Sumatra, unleashing a tsunami that destroyed coastal areas in the Indian Ocean region including the Maldives. This disaster led to extensive media coverage, and has highlighted the importance of immediate and strategic communications after a crisis such as this tsunami. This research adopts the theory of framing and applies it during a tourism crisis situation. There is a lack of knowledge about the process of framing in crisis communications in the tourism literature, especially as it relates to the implications for planning and managing a tourism destination during and after a crisis situation. Previous literature on the framing by the media of tourism events and issues has focused on travel articles, advertising and promotion messages. This thesis finds that framing theory is also useful to identify how the news media responds during a crisis and how that knowledge could help improve tourism crisis management. This study analyzes the print news media regarding Maldives tourism in the aftermath of the tsunami crisis, and evaluates the diversity of frames used by the British news media in different stages of a crisis to enable the enhancement of a media crisis communications model in a tourism related context. This research is underpinned by constructivism with an interpretive orientation with the strategy of inquiry based on a qualitative case study method, and aims to understand aspects of the social and cultural contexts interrelating media and tourism. The framing analysis uses newspaper articles from the British press between December 26, 2004 and December 31, 2005 inclusive. The research uses content analysis of the news stories within a framing analysis paradigm, identifying both the diversity of frames used at different times after a disaster or crisis and the media phases that correspond to the last four stages of Faulkner’s (2001) tourism disaster management framework. The framing analysis reveals how the frames change during the different stages of the crisis and contributes to theory development in the areas of media effects, news discourse and crisis management as well as offering practical advice on tourism destination marketing during a crisis situation. The findings from this research contribute to the theory of framing by finding that during the coverage of crises where events are changing rapidly the media frames also change and different frames become predominant during the stages of a crisis. The findings also contribute to the literature on news discourse by providing evidence on the evolution of news discourse concerning a crisis situation over an extended period. By examining the news media crisis communication language as used at various stages of a crisis, the findings reveal that the media’s response and the frames they use differ over time as a crisis evolves, and that this enables the identification of different media roles during a crisis and crisis communication action stages. The result is a model that contributes to theoretical knowledge in media effects research, news discourse and crisis communications.

This thesis examines the diversity of print news media frames during different stages of a crisis to enhance a model of media crisis communication, based on a framing analysis of the British print news media’s coverage of the Maldives after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster of 2004. The tourism sector is vulnerable to disasters and crises with a series of recent events ranging from natural disasters and epidemics to terrorists attacks, many of which have had devastating impacts on the economy of destinations. In 2004, one such event of significance for the tourism industry was the 9.2 magnitude earthquake that hit the coast of northwest Sumatra, unleashing a tsunami that destroyed coastal areas in the Indian Ocean region including the Maldives. This disaster led to extensive media coverage, and has highlighted the importance of immediate and strategic communications after a crisis such as this tsunami. This research adopts the theory of framing and applies it during a tourism crisis situation. There is a lack of knowledge about the process of framing in crisis communications in the tourism literature, especially as it relates to the implications for planning and managing a tourism destination during and after a crisis situation. Previous literature on the framing by the media of tourism events and issues has focused on travel articles, advertising and promotion messages. This thesis finds that framing theory is also useful to identify how the news media responds during a crisis and how that knowledge could help improve tourism crisis management. This study analyzes the print news media regarding Maldives tourism in the aftermath of the tsunami crisis, and evaluates the diversity of frames used by the British news media in different stages of a crisis to enable the enhancement of a media crisis communications model in a tourism related context. This research is underpinned by constructivism with an interpretive orientation with the strategy of inquiry based on a qualitative case study method, and aims to understand aspects of the social and cultural contexts interrelating media and tourism. The framing analysis uses newspaper articles from the British press between December 26, 2004 and December 31, 2005 inclusive. The research uses content analysis of the news stories within a framing analysis paradigm, identifying both the diversity of frames used at different times after a disaster or crisis and the media phases that correspond to the last four stages of Faulkner’s (2001) tourism disaster management framework. The framing analysis reveals how the frames change during the different stages of the crisis and contributes to theory development in the areas of media effects, news discourse and crisis management as well as offering practical advice on tourism destination marketing during a crisis situation. The findings from this research contribute to the theory of framing by finding that during the coverage of crises where events are changing rapidly the media frames also change and different frames become predominant during the stages of a crisis. The findings also contribute to the literature on news discourse by providing evidence on the evolution of news discourse concerning a crisis situation over an extended period. By examining the news media crisis communication language as used at various stages of a crisis, the findings reveal that the media’s response and the frames they use differ over time as a crisis evolves, and that this enables the identification of different media roles during a crisis and crisis communication action stages. The result is a model that contributes to theoretical knowledge in media effects research, news discourse and crisis communications.

The small land area of the islands of the Maldives, combined with high population density, makes the communities of these islands vulnerable to natural disaster events such as flooding and tsunami. The Indian Ocean Tsunami on 26 December 2004 impacted 69 islands of the Maldives, killing 82 people, leaving 26 people missing and 15, 000 people internally displaced, making it the worst disaster in recorded history. Following the event, the Government of the Maldives announced a Safer Island Development Programme which seeks to provide the infrastructure necessary to adapt to natural disasters. The key focus of disaster management is to reduce the vulnerability of the communities exposed to hazards and risks, and to help them to enhance their resilience. Efforts have been made to develop safer and sustainable communities in all corners of the developed and developing worlds. New Zealand Government announced its effort to build safe and secure communities in 2007 while at a local level the Christchurch City Council published the Safer Christchurch Strategy in 2005. Overseas, the Community Strategy 2000, outlines the vision of "A safe and strong Island" at Isle of Wight United Kingdom. The islands of the Maldives have natural characteristics which make them vulnerable to disasters such as tsunami. This research has been able to identify the relationship between these characteristics and the natural vulnerability of the islands using the data that was collected following the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Out of 11 island, that have been identified for the Safer Islands Development Programme, one island is found to have very high natural vulnerability and 5 islands a high natural vulnerability, from the island vulnerability index model developed through this study. The Island Vulnerability Index model could be used to enhance the present Safer Island Development Programme island selection criteria, to reduce the possibility of 'building risk' into the infrastructure development on the islands. The index could also be used in the Environmental Impact Assessment studies to address the issue of disasters, effective resources allocation in the Public Sector Infrastructure Programme for 'building back better', and resource identification in land use planning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, August, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references.