Coastal Vulnerability as Discourse About Meanings and Values

This paper argues that any approach to defining vulnerability is a social act, and is expressive of and grounded in some assumptions about the nature and purpose of language. Managing a complex environment such as the coastal zone is necessarily about choice and conflicts. A purpose of language is to persuade others to adopt the course of action that the individual or group consider should be adopted. In consequence, the definitions of vulnerability will necessarily be multiple and contested. From the research perspective what is then of interest are those insights into the nature of the choice, and particularly as to appropriate course of action to adopt, that are generated by any specific elaboration of vulnerability. It is thus less what people say than why they say it that is of importance in understanding their definitions of vulnerability and the intentions that underlie their discourse.     

Under threat. Lay thinking about terrorism and the three‐dimensional model of personal involvement: a social psychological analysis

Global ‘standards’ in social security are set by the UN Specialist Agency, the International Labour Organization (ILO). The ILO ‘Standards’ prioritize one model of social security system in particular; namely, contributions‐financed social insurance. Specifically, social insurance systems are designed to mitigate the negative impacts of formal labour market risks. Accordingly, social security systems typically fail to address adequately many informal labour market and nonlabour market risks. The inherently limited focus of social protection provided by many social security systems is recognized to be of major concern for least developed countries (LDCs) in particular for whom western‐centric definitions of life‐cycle risk remain largely inappropriate for the majority. This realization has led the World Bank to experiment with a reconceptualized definition of social protection; Social Risk Management (SRM). Seeking to encourage wider debate across the multidisciplinary field of risk management research, this article outlines critically the tenets underpinning SRM and highlights the policy limitations of this innovative World Bank venture in two key respects. First, by outlining the likely policy implications of World Bank approaches to social protection for global social security standards and practice. Second, by questioning the short‐term contribution that SRM can make to poverty reduction, not least amongst the elderly poor.     

Representations of coastal risk (erosion and marine flooding) among inhabitants of at-risk municipalities

As part of an interdisciplinary research programme on coastal risks, a combined environmental psychology–geography approach was used to study representations of coastal erosion and sea flooding among inhabitants of coastal areas. The relationship between these representations and place, or more specifically sense of place, will initially be examined, followed by individuals’ preferred risk adaptation strategies. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 894 inhabitants from five coastal municipalities in Brittany. Results show that coastal risks are not a top priority for respondents. Paying particular attention to respondents who spontaneously cited coastal rather than other risks or no risk, we show that their relationship to place differs from the other respondents, as do their preferred adaptation strategies. These results lead to a better understanding of attitudes towards coastal risks among inhabitants of at-risk areas and provide more in-depth knowledge on coastal zone vulnerability.     

The two faces of social capital in private flood mitigation: opposing effects on risk perception,self-efficacy and coping capacity

Impacts of flooding are expected to increase, most notably in residential areas. As a consequence, private households are increasingly encouraged to engage in private flood mitigation complementary to public measures. Despite the growing literature on private flood mitigation, little is known about how social capital influences households’ perception of and coping with flood risks. This study draws on survey data of 226 flood-prone households in two Austrian Alpine municipalities, both recently affected by riverine flooding. We show that social capital cuts both ways: on the positive side, social capital increases perceived self-efficacy and provides critical support during and most notably after flood events. On the negative side, social capital reduces flood risk perceptions of private households. While social ties are effective when responding to and recovering from floods, the expectation of social support downplays risk, making precautionary action by households less likely. The results also show that flood-affected households receive more social support than they provide to others. In the long-run, this can lead to a problematic reciprocity imbalance, challenging the long-term stability of the interpersonal exchanges underlying social capital. Among the various sources of social support, informal social networks (neighbours, friends and relatives) provide the most important workforce in the response and recovery phase of a flood event. It is therefore crucial for flood risk management to recognise and promote the protective quality of social capital alongside conventional structural and non-structural measures.     

风险:我国社会保障面临的挑战

我国现行的社会保障潜伏着多重风险,既有社会保障基金收支风险,也有社会保障制度风险,更有社会保障社会风险。建立社会保障预警系统,才能进一步明晰中央政府与地方政府社会保障职责,加大财政对社会保障支付力度,解决养老保险转制成本,加快社会保障立法,化解社会保障风险。     

创新运用保险技术分解社会风险探究

处于经济社会转型期的当代中国所面临的社会风险比以往任何时候更具复杂性和威胁性,社会风险管理面临严重挑战。通过阐述国际社会风险管理的新理念和趋势、分析现实中国的主要社会风险及其风险源,提出创新运用保险技术分解社会风险的必要性、可行性和现实路径及方法。重点提出通过商业保险对社会风险源的定性、定量分析,转化部分社会风险成可保风险,达到相应社会风险的被分解和预控。     

老龄化与日本的社会保障

日本今年3月发生的大地震和核发电站的泄露事故,给政府和国民敲响警钟,震灾后的复兴,同时也是日本社会保障、社会福利的复兴。本文就日本的老龄化、社会保障、社会福利服务的现状进行分析,同时提出了社会保障构造改革后社会保障政策的诸多问题,并就日本社会保障未来的发展方向提出了思考和建议。     

Application of Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) and delineation of natural risk zones in Greater Lisbon,Portugal

Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) was applied to Greater Lisbon (Portugal). Based on the concepts used for the SoVI assessments in the US, 46 variables representing social vulnerability of the 149 civil parishes of Greater Lisbon were chosen. Thirty-eight variables were selected after application of correlation tests. They were standardized, and a Principal Component Analysis and a Varimax rotation were applied to them. Seven factors were extracted using the Kaiser criterion, which explain 79.5% of the variance, and the SoVI scores were then mapped using a standard deviation classification. Twelve of the 149 civil parishes of Greater Lisbon have a very high social vulnerability and 24 of them have a high social vulnerability. The map of SoVI was then integrated with susceptibility maps of earthquakes, floods, flash floods, landslides, tsunami, and coastal erosion, thus delineating risk zones. Twenty-two civil parishes of Greater Lisbon have a very high risk; among them, 17 belong to Lisbon Municipality, four belong to Loures Municipality, and one belongs to Vila Franca de Xira Municipality. Finally, exposed population was considered and combined with risk zones map in order to assess the number of people being potentially exposed to risk and their location.     

风险与社会保障：一个解释性框架

当今世界正经历着一个充满各类风险而个体普遍无力应对的风险社会时期。现代社会保障制度在应对工业化风险,保障社会成员基本生活,提升社会福利方面成效显著,但自福利国家危机以来,社会保障制度也正经历着深刻的变革。通过对人类不同发展阶段的社会风险和风险保障机制的考察,我们试图厘清和解读风险与社会保障的互动与变迁过程,建立起社会保障作为风险管理的社会机制的解释性框架,从而揭示其带给当代中国社会保障制度改革的启示意义。     

Coping with risk: analysis on the importance of integrating social perceptions on flood risk into management mechanisms – the case of the municipality of Águeda,Portugal

The paper reflects on how populations prone to flood risk perceive such hazards and the way this perception has or has not been incorporated into the measures and mechanisms of flood risk management. The frequent occurrence of flooding, as well as the population's vulnerability and exposure to this risk, shows that the municipality of Águeda is a paradigmatic case for analysis of these issues. Similar to the rest of the country, the municipality of Águeda has been neglecting the multidimensional nature of flood risk. The data collected present some disparity between the proposals and technical perspectives regarding the management and mitigation of flood risk and the perception of local populations. In addition, neither knowledge of social perception of flood risk nor of the local communities is being integrated in a substantial and pro‐active way, whether in the processes of policy‐making or in the implementation of these policies. Empirical evidence equally shows that there is a clear tendency towards acceptance and coping with flood risk by the population in the municipality of Águeda. This seems to be connected to the local populations' recognition that though it is impossible to eliminate risk, there are at the same time advantages to occupying the floodplains.     

国外保险企业风险预警的理论与实践及对中国的启示

有效的企业风险预警,能够降低企业破产成本、维护相关利益者权益、节约行政资源、防范系统性风险.保险作为"经济助推器"和"社会稳定器",肩负着为经济社会管理风险的特殊职能,保险业自身的安全,对整个经济社会的稳定具有特殊重要的作用,建立针对保险企业的风险预警机制已极为迫切.本文介绍了国外保险企业风险预警的理论和实践,希望能对...     

社会保障概念再思考

当前我国对于社会保障概念的理解存在泛化倾向,社会保障是旨在抵御各种风险,保障国民基本生活,维持社会安全的制度安排,主要包括社会保险和社会救助两部分内容。社会福利是比社会保障内涵更为丰富的概念;社会保障包括在社会福利之中,是社会福利的基础部分和初级阶段。     

互联网金融发展与风险管控研究

互联网金融是技术进步与金融产业相结合的产物,它的出现给传统银行业带来了一系列的制度变迁和前所未有的发展机遇,同时也给银行业带来了空前的负面效应。本文从互联网金融发展的现状入手,分析互联网金融风险产生的根源,提出健全和完善互联网金融风险防范和管理控制的有效措施。     

High‐risk Technology,Legitimacy and Science: The U.S. Search for Energy Policy Consensus

Since the 1980s, a growing body of social scientific research has focused on the organizational character of the institutions that are responsible for the management and functioning of high‐risk technological systems. While there are differences among the social theories of risks that have developed on both sides of the Atlantic, much of the work offers warnings that are relevant to public policy. The warnings have largely been ignored in recent U.S. policy decisions, as illustrated most clearly by the U.S. Energy Act of 2005, which largely overlooks important questions regarding the environmental and technological risks of the technologies favored by the Act. Sociological work suggests that the scientific systems that have been instrumental in the legitimization process of high‐risk technological options of energy, more broadly, should be examined in connection with the societal institutions having responsibility for transparency, safety, and environmental protection.     

Mental models and social representations of hazards: the significance of identity processes

This article examines the social influence processes that underpin the development of individual mental models of hazards and analyses the role that identity processes play in determining the nature and plasticity of the representations of risk that an individual will employ. It outlines the nature of the mental models approach (Morgan, Fischhoff, Bostrom and Atman, in press) to developing interventions in risk communication. It describes how social representations theory (Moscovici, 1988) can be used to account for the genesis and maintenance of a mental model of a hazard. In doing so, it is argued that mental models of hazards are social constructions, serving identifiable social purposes for the subculture in which they are elaborated, and that they are generally shared by the members of that subculture. However, within a group or subculture, there will be some individual variation in access to and use of a mental model of a hazard. It is suggested here that these variations are largely predictable on the basis of identity processes (Breakwell, in press). The implications of this analysis for risk communication strategies is explored.     

政府投资建设项目跟踪审计风险及其防范

政府投资建设项目跟踪审计作为我国审计监督体系的重要组成部分,在提高财政资金使用效益、规范建设项目管理、规避审计风险、发挥审计免疫系统功能等方面起到了积极的作用。然而随着社会经济和科学技术的迅猛发展,跟踪审计环境越来越复杂,审计风险也逐渐加大。论文分析了跟踪审计过程中存在的风险,并提出了防范和规避的具体措施和对策。     

Embodied uncertainty: living with complexity and natural hazards

In this paper, we examine the concept of embodied uncertainty by exploring multiple dimensions of uncertainty in the context of risks associated with extreme natural hazards. We highlight a need for greater recognition, particularly by disaster management and response agencies, of uncertainty as a subjective experience for those living at risk. Embodied uncertainty is distinguished from objective uncertainty by the nature of its internalisation at the individual level, where it is subjective, felt and directly experienced. This approach provides a conceptual pathway that sharpens knowledge of the processes that shape how individuals and communities interpret and contextualise risk. The ways in which individual characteristics, social identities and lived experiences shape interpretations of risk are explored by considering embodied uncertainty in four contexts: social identities and trauma, the co-production of knowledge, institutional structures and policy and long-term lived experiences. We conclude by outlining the opportunities that this approach presents, and provide recommendations for further research on how the concept of embodied uncertainty can aid decision-making and the management of risks in the context of extreme natural hazards.     

Trust,acceptance and knowledge of technological and environmental hazards in Chile

Studies over the past decade have found empirical links between trust in risk management institutions and the risk perceptions and acceptability of various individual hazards. Mostly addressing food technologies, no study to date has explored wider possible relationships among all four core variables (risk, benefit, trust and acceptability) covering a heterogeneous group of hazards. Our prime objective was to ascertain effects among social trust in regulatory entities, and the public's perceived risk, perceived benefit and the degree of acceptability towards both technological and environmental hazards. We also assess whether trust in regulatory authorities is the cause (causal model) or a consequence (associationist model) of a hazard's acceptability for a wide and heterogeneous range of hazards on all four core variables. Using a web‐based survey, 539 undergraduates in Chile rated the five variables across 30 hazards. Implications for technology and environmental risk management organizations are discussed. Independent of the magnitude of the perceived risk or benefit surrounding a given hazard, or how knowledgeable the public claim to be of it, the trust sustained in regulatory institutions will either generate or be the consequence of public attitudes towards the hazard.     

The determinants of integrating policy-based and community-based adaptation into coastal hazard risk management: a resilience approach

Abstract

A growing number of studies focus on improving the understanding of how the households’ adaptations can be encouraged in the process of coastal hazards and risk management. Particularly, this process is undergoing a major paradigm shift as it moves from an approach dominated by policy-based adaptation to another one in which community-based resilience building is favored. Thus, this article aims to apply a resilience approach to improve the knowledge about how public measures influence private autonomous adaptation behavior, through a transdisciplinary investigation of household adaptation behavior and its determinants. The Resilience Framework of Household Autonomous Adaptation to Climate- and Weather-Related Hazard Risks (ROHACHR) is proposed and combined with a focus group meeting and multivariate analysis to compare pre-disaster, during a disaster, post-disaster adaptations, and resilience behavior of households. Using an empirical survey of the households in three coastal municipalities in Taiwan, we examine the relationships between public measures and private adaptations that provides three distinguishing types of household behavior: ‘core’, ‘trust in governmental aid’, and ‘awareness and structures’. Results show that providing hazard risk information may be one step toward encouraging private autonomous adaptations. Several factors that help foster resilience also appear to be influential in households’ adaptation decisions, such as specific and positive governmental aid, information trust, and social capital. Based on these results, it shows that the ROHACHR is useful to characterize households’ adaptation and resilience behavior and explain how they respond to public measures. Finally, the policy implications of our findings for improving resilience of coastal communities and encouraging public-private collaboration in the process of hazard risk management are discussed.     

Aging and Retirement: Evidence Across Countries

How do demographic factors influence retirement? Using a large cross-country data set, I show that in countries with a larger share of elderly in their population the length of retirement is longer. This result holds true if I control for wealth effects, and when the effective labor force participation rate of the elderly is used instead of the official retirement age. Retirement policies and the social security size are strictly related: a new variable, representing the aggregate relevance of retirement policies, turns out to be significant in explaining the size of social security. Finally, the total amount of social security transfers is positively related with the increase of the elderly population, while in per capita terms this relation is not significant.