Living with disasters: social capital for disaster governance

Maria de Lourdes Melo Zurita; Brian Cook; Dana C Thomsen; Paul G Munro; Timothy F Smith; John Gallina

doi:10.1111/disa.12257

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Living with disasters: social capital for disaster governance

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Living with disasters: social capital for disaster governance

Maria de Lourdes Melo Zurita, Brian Cook, Dana C Thomsen, Paul G Munro, Timothy F Smith and John Gallina

Disasters, Vol.42(3), pp.571-589

2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12257

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Abstract

Australia

disaster governance

floods

local government

Queensland

social capital

subsidiarity

This paper explores how social networks and bonds within and across organisations shape disaster operations and strategies. Local government disaster training exercises serve as a window through which to view these relations, and 'social capital' is used as an analytic for making sense of the human relations at the core of disaster management operations. These elements help to expose and substantiate the often intangible relations that compose the culture that exists, and that is shaped by preparations for disasters. The study reveals how this social capital has been generated through personal interactions, which are shared among disaster managers across different organisations and across 'levels' within those organisations. Recognition of these 'group resources' has significant implications for disaster management in which conducive social relations have become paramount. The paper concludes that socio-cultural relations, as well as a people-centred approach to preparations, appear to be effective means of readying for, and ultimately responding to, disasters.

Details

Title: Living with disasters: social capital for disaster governance
Authors: Maria de Lourdes Melo Zurita (Corresponding Author) - University of Sydney
Brian Cook (Author) - University of Melbourne
Dana C Thomsen (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Paul G Munro (Author) - University of New South Wales
Timothy F Smith (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
John Gallina (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Arts, Business and Law
Publication details: Disasters, Vol.42(3), pp.571-589
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Date published: 2018
DOI: 10.1111/disa.12257
ISSN: 0361-3666
Copyright note: Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2017 This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Organisation Unit: School of Social Sciences - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99450594802621
Output Type: Journal article

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Web Of Science research areas: Environmental Studies; Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary

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