culture and disasters

Disaster Risk ReductionDoes Culture Determine Perception?Disaster Risk ReductionDoes Culture Determine Perception?

David AlexanderGlobal Risk Forum - DavosDavid AlexanderGlobal Risk Forum - Davos

Culture: the customs, ideasand social behaviour of a

particular people or group (OED)

Culture is often the missing elementin the social analysis of disasters

Diffusion of information

Perceptual filter

Cultural filter

Emergency not decodedEmergency not decoded

Emergency decodedEmergency decoded

Information flux

IgnoranceImages

of reality

Symbolicconstructions

Enlightenment

Technologyas risk

mitigation

Technologyas risk

mitigation

Technologyas a source

of vulnerability

Technologyas a source

of vulnerability

Research,development

and investmentin technology

Research,development

and investmentin technology

individualfamilypeer grouporganisationcommunitysocietyinternational C

ult

ura

l fi

lter

SociocentrismSociocentrism TechnocentrismTechnocentrism

Culturalfilter

Culturalfilter

Riskmanagement

practices

Riskmanagement

practices

perc

epti

on

decisio

n

Benign

Malignant

Technologyas a source ofrisk reduction

Technology asan inadvertentsource of risk

Technologyas a deliberatesource of risk

Ceaselessdevelopmentof technology

Long term

Short term

Emic components

Etic components

METAMORPHOSISOF CULTURE

Experiences of culture[mass-media and consumer culture]

Accumulated cultural traits and beliefs

Inherited cultural background

Ideological(non-scientific)interpretations

of disaster

Ideological(non-scientific)interpretations

of disaster

Learned(scientific)

interpretationsof disaster

Learned(scientific)

interpretationsof disaster

Valuesystem

Familyculture

Workculture

Peergroupculture

Personalculture

National culture

Regional culture

Consum

er

cultu

re

Civil Protection

culture

Riskamplificati

onfactors

Riskmitigation

factors

Totalvulnerability

Risk perception

factors- +

positivenegative

DIALECTIC

Filter

PerceptionPerception

CultureCulture

DecisionDecision

ActionAction

ResultResult

PositivePositive NegativeNegative

RiskRisk

AccurateAccurate InaccurateInaccurate

DRR

Knowledge of

communityvulerability

Knowledgeof hazardsand their impacts

Knowledgeof copingcapacity

andresilience

DisasterRisk

Reduction

Technologyorganisationssafety culture

Ethnologysocieties

community culturePsychology

ethnic groupsindividual culture

Communicationmass media

multicultural societies

Resilient

culture

Culture of

resilience

Retribution Judgement Portent

DISASTERMEANING ACCEPTANCE

Retrospectiveinterpretation

Predictiveinterpretation

Traditional view of disaster - modern parallels?

Haas, Kates andBowden 1977

ReconstructionFollowing Disaster

Norberg-Schulz 1980

Haas et al. 1977Lisbon: monumental reconstruction and

regeneration of the genius loci of a place.

Preservation of thegenius loci of Lioni(Avellino) after the1980 southern Italy

earthquake

Does this place still have a genius loci?

Romagnano al Monte: ruined in 1980the struggle for genius loci

• spontaneous abandonment, 23-11-1980

• no resettlement for 30 years

• plans for gradual recolonisation

• process entirely driven by funding

• funding sources obscure, scarce and stop-start.

Further reading: www.emergency-planning.blogspot.com

Further reading

technology andtechnocentrism

symbolicsignificancedisaster

culture

david.alexander@grforum.orgwww.slideshare.net/dealexander

emergency-planning.blogspot.com

Thank you for your attention!