Volume 17, No. 2 (August 1999)

Articles by:

Jon Shefner, "Pre- and Post-Disaster Political Instability and Contentious Supporters: A Case Study of Political Ferment," pp. 137-160.

Recent statistical confirmation of the link between disasters and political instability has increased interest in exactly how disasters impact political regimes. This case study of the 1992 Guadalajara sewer explosions contributes to this discussion by analyzing political and economic pressures which predisposed a militant response to the 1992 disaster. A new set of political activists aided the disaster victims in their political struggle by contributing resources and by helping to construct the disaster as a political event. (AA)

Hayim Granot, "Facing Catastrophe: Mad Cows and Emergency Policy-Making," pp. 161-184.

Discovery of an apparent link between eating infected beef and a rare human degenerative brain condition, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, has necessitated life and death decisions by agriculture and health authorities in Britain, where the problem has thus far been concentrated. This slow developing health emergency shares many features in common with emergencies generally. The way in which this health crisis has been handled appears to have contributed to the apprehension and confusion of the British public, undermining confidence in those who must provide leadership in a stressful and costly crisis. After reviewing the development of the crisis, the author examines a number of features in policy-making in this case which could prove instructive with regard to hazard management and risk communication generally. (AA)

Ann Enander and Claes Wallenius, "Psychological Reactions and Experiences Among Swedish Citizens Resident in Kobe During the 1995 Earthquake," pp. 185-205.

This paper discusses reactions and experiences of temporary residents and transients in a community struck by a major natural disaster. A retrospective questionnaire study was conducted among a group of Swedish citizens who were resident in Kobe during the Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake. Respondents describe aspects of their behavior before, during, and after the earthquake. The findings indicate that, as a group, the Swedes appear to have coped well, even though they were not well-prepared for this type of situation. One factor found to be related to the behavioral responses was ability to speak the local language, in this case Japanese. On the basis of the study results, some particular needs and resources of foreign residents are discussed. (AA)

A special symposium on Drabek's, Human System Reponses To Disaster

T. Joseph Scanlon, "Introduction," pp. 207-209.

Russell R. Dynes, "Comments on Drabek and Other Encyclopedists," pp. 211-215.

Jennifer Wilson, "The Inventory's Legacy for the Next Generation," pp. 217-221.

Neil R. Britton, "Whither the Emergency Manager?" pp. 223-235.

Thomas E. Drabek, "Revisiting the Disaster Encyclopedia," pp. 237-257.