Natural Disasters as Unique Socioscientific Events: Curricular Responses to the New Zealand Earthquakes

2018 ◽  
pp. 105-125
Author(s):  
Léonie Rennie ◽  
John Wallace ◽  
Grady Venville
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Natural Disasters

scholarly journals Demographic and Psychological Factors and Preparation for Earthquakes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Matthew John Spittal
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Home Ownership ◽  
Unrealistic Optimism ◽  
Psychological Variables ◽  
Major Earthquake ◽  
Earthquake Preparation ◽  
Emergency Managers ◽  
Control Risk

<p>New Zealand, like many countries, is at risk from a number of natural disasters including flooding, volcanoes, and earthquakes. The risk of exposure to such disasters over the course of a lifetime is substantial (Norris, 1992). Despite this, many New Zealanders are unprepared for the consequences of a natural disaster; nearly a quarter of New Zealand homes have flaws which could see them seriously damaged or detached from their foundations in a major earthquake (Ansell & Taber, 1996). Recent research suggests that psychological variables contribute to people's lack of preparation for natural disasters. A limitation, however, of much of this research has been the lack of attention paid to the psychometric quality of the instruments used to measure key constructs. The present investigation aimed to examine the relationships between different dimensions of personality and earthquake preparation in a large sample of Wellington residents using psychometrically sound measures. Measures of locus of control, risk, and earthquake preparation were first evaluated in a series of studies using both university students and Wellington residents. These questionnaires were then administered, along with items pertaining to the construct of unrealistic optimism, to a total of 358 Wellington residents. The results showed that locus of control, risk precaution, home ownership, and length of residence were significant predictors of earthquake preparation. Moreover, people exhibited evidence of unrealistic optimism, as demonstrated by both a belief that they were better prepared for a major earthquake than an acquaintance, or other Wellingtonians, and by a belief that they were personally less likely than others to suffer injury in a major earthquake. The implications of these results for emergency managers are discussed and several recommendations are made.</p>

scholarly journals Unexpected Faults: Managing Entomology Collections through the 2010/11 Canterbury Earthquakes

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. e27268
Author(s):  
John Marris ◽  
Cor Vink
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Seismic Events ◽  
Significant Damage ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Research Collection ◽  
Heritage Building ◽  
The City ◽  
Lincoln University ◽  
Storey Building

On 4 September 2010, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck near Darfield, 40 kilometres west of Christchurch, New Zealand. The quake caused significant damage to land and buildings nearby, with damage extending to Christchurch city. On 22 February 2011, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck Christchurch, causing extensive and significant damage across the city and with the loss of 185 lives. Years on from these events, occasional large aftershocks continue to shake the region. Two main entomological collections were situated within close proximity to the 2010/11 Canterbury earthquakes. The Lincoln University Entomology Research Collection, which is housed on the 5th floor of a 7 storey building, was 27.5 km from the 2010 Darfield earthquake epicentre. The Canterbury Museum Entomology Collection, which is housed in the basement of a multi-storeyed heritage building, was 10 km from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake epicentre. We discuss the impacts of the earthquakes on these collections, the causes of the damage to the specimens and facilities, and subsequent efforts that were made to prevent further damage in the event of future seismic events. We also discuss the wider need for preparedness against the risks posed by natural disasters and other catastrophic events.

The adaptive capacity of New Zealand communities to wildfire

2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela J. Jakes ◽  
E. R. (Lisa) Langer
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Local Knowledge ◽  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Volcanic Eruptions ◽  
Institutional Capacity ◽  
Process Elements

When we think of natural disasters in New Zealand, we tend to think of earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. However, a series of events is placing New Zealand communities at greater risk of wildfire. In a case study of a rural New Zealand community that experienced wildfire, process elements such as networks and relationships among locals, development and application of local knowledge and experience, and access to and application of expert knowledge and institutional capacity helped build adaptive capacity for disasters.

Biodiversity: Implementation of the 1992 CBD in Malaysia†

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 273-308
Author(s):  
Tanya Marie Lopez ◽  
Rajesvaran Nagarajan ◽  
Sobana Swarta Thevi
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Convention On Biological Diversity ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Winter Temperatures ◽  
The World ◽  
State Of The Environment ◽  
Mother Earth

Of late, particularly since the inception of the Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”), there has been some recognition of the relevance of biological resources and the need to protect and conserve these resources for the benefit of humankind. Natural disasters which have been occurring around the world, such as the recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, the 2009 earthquake in Haiti, the floods in Pakistan and the mystery surrounding the fallen dead birds from the sky en masse in Arkansas have raised concerns on the state of the environment in which we live in today. The resultant long-term effects of such natural disasters is colossal to the inhabitants of mother Earth although those who are not directly affected by such disasters are rarely of the view that they have, in some way, contributed to the happenings of such disasters. In Europe and parts of America, winter temperatures plummeted towards the end of 2010 recording some of the lowest temperatures in history whilst in the southern hemisphere, cyclones and floods have plagued Australia thereby giving rise to prophecies that perhaps, the world may be coming to an end.

scholarly journals Colonial Homelessness

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 42-55
Author(s):  
Christine McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Conditions

Published references to homelessness in newspapers of the 1940s include instances of both foreign and local homelessness. International homelessness is frequently stated to be a result of social conditions: poverty and unemployment. Natural disasters figure small. New Zealand accounts vary more widely, but are dominated by Pākehā homelessness resulting from sub-leasing regulations, "native insurgents" - usually in reference to the attack on Kororāreka, and Wellington's 1848 earthquake, whose homeless sheltered with friends who lived in "wooden buildings." Yet, simultaneously, New Zealand was also proposed as a potential home for England's unemployed homeless, and Auckland - "the neglected offspring of avaricious parents ... exhibiting the tokens of permanent prosperity" due to its merchantile, rather than colonial, British settlement - is stated to have accommodated refugee settlers "driven from their homes by acts of violence and destruction which the native insurgents, intoxicated with success, so wantonly committed." In 1840s newspapers there are no references to homelessness in serialised literature, and few abstract uses of the term. Māori do not figure large in the references to homelessness as being homeless. There is reference though in the late 1840s to Tommy, who is praised because when he "found himself homeless ... [he] did not return to the savage horde from whence he came, but sought and found other employment amongst the Pakeha's [sic]," and there is a heartfelt plea from a father of half-caste children to other fathers: "let not your children fall back to the state of degradation, from whence their mothers sprung." Potential homeless here is tied to prostitution and disease. This paper will examine the reporting of homelessness throughout the 1840s, and will attempt to isolate specifically architectural issues of the decade which emerge from this.

scholarly journals Good tax policy on shaky ground? An assessment of tax policy responses to natural disasters

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Carolyn Palmer
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Tax Policy ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Tax Incentives ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Post Disaster

<p>Recent years have seen a series of natural disasters place significant social and fiscal strain on a number of economies. Determining the appropriate tax response to natural disasters involves multiple complex policy decisions, which often need to be made under significant time pressure with limited information. While natural disasters are predicted to become more frequent and costly, there has been little focus on the links between tax policy development and responses to natural disasters. In particular, no research has systematically compared international tax policy responses to natural disasters.  This thesis outlines the tax responses in the pre-disaster, disaster response, and post-disaster recovery stages of the 2010/11 Canterbury earthquakes in New Zealand and the 2010/11 Queensland floods in Australia. By summarising the responses in this way, a useful resource for future tax policy makers has been created. These tax responses are evaluated against the standard economic principles of good tax policy, and an investigation is made into the relationship between the responses and the strength of the existing tax policy system, as measured by OECD, World Bank and other expert reviews. As part of that investigation, individual case studies are presented that dissect 44 semi-structured interviews with tax policy makers from Australia and New Zealand, selected to represent the views of government officials, tax practitioners and tax academics. A large number of legislative documents, policy reports, formal reports, technical guidance, submissions, academic literature and media items prepared by these policy makers are also analysed.  The analysis shows that both countries had a range of pre-existing rules for dealing with natural disasters but there were gaps and a lack of consistency, which were more pronounced in New Zealand. The immediate response in both countries involved significant administrative effort, and in New Zealand there were a large number of legislative changes which reflected the comparative lack of pre-disaster tax settings. New Zealand also made a large number of changes to support post-disaster recovery. Such changes were not required following the Queensland floods, because timing issues for revenue expenditure and the timing or taxation of capital expenditure had previously been addressed by earlier generic tax changes and Australia’s comprehensive capital gains tax (CGT). While both countries were forced to consider funding options for recovery, pressure was mitigated in New Zealand by high levels of public and private insurance, allowing the New Zealand government to rely on existing taxes and increased debt. The Australian government, which did not have a disaster fund or insurance scheme, implemented a one-year flood levy. New Zealand also supported reconstruction through tax incentives. In contrast, no such measures were proposed or enacted in Australia, due to existing rules, Australia’s comprehensive CGT, and the extensive range of Australian government disaster recovery grants which reduce pressure for tax incentives to aid recovery.  The empirically-based patterns from the two case studies suggest that countries with stronger existing tax policy systems have tax responses to natural disasters which align more with the standard economic principles of good tax policy, even when they are less prepared for an event. However, any weaknesses will also be reflected in the tax responses made.</p>

scholarly journals Fighting words in the antipodes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Lacey ◽  
MP Kelly ◽  
Annemarie Jutel
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Rhetorical Strategies ◽  
Social Form ◽  
Johns Hopkins University ◽  
Local Media ◽  
Sociology Of Diagnosis ◽  
Health And Well Being

© 2020 by Johns Hopkins University Press. In this commentary, written in two bursts—the first completed in April 2020, and the second at the end of July—we explore how media metaphors of COVID-19 constitute the pandemic in Australia and New Zealand. We argue that the media’s rhetorical strategies play an important role not only in describing the illness, but in influencing and shaping individual and collective responses to the pandemic, with significant consequences for mental health and well-being in the context of crisis. We align this commentary with the tenets of the sociology of diagnosis, which argue that even though there are material realities of disease, their social form and conse-quence cannot be separated from the tangible nature of illness and its management. We also lean on Derrida’s approach to metaphor, which underlines how even observable viral entities such as COVID-19 are simultaneously material, abstract, and in flux. We describe the metaphors used by local media to describe the pandemic—including combat, bush fires, earthquakes, and other natural disasters—and we explore how and why these metaphors construct the pandemic locally and farther afield.

scholarly journals LEGISLATION FOR EFFECTIVE POST‐DISASTER RECONSTRUCTION

2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Olabode Rotimi ◽  
Suzanne Wilkinson ◽  
Kelvin Zuo ◽  
Dean Myburgh
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Building Control ◽  
Post Disaster

New Zealand is vulnerable to natural disasters. When disasters occur, the effects can be devastating on the built environment. As one aspect of a major programme of research in New Zealand, the authors address the recovery issue in terms of how legislation either facilitates or hinders reconstruction. The results of a survey to building control officers and other disaster practitioners in New Zealand on the application of the Building Act 2004 post‐disaster are presented in this paper. There are indications that the New Zealand Building Act 2004 will not be supportive or enabling in post‐disaster reconstruction environments, particularly in large‐scale disaster events. Key problems found were procedural constraints as a result of high consenting standards and logistic considerations. The desire is to create the best possible conditions that will encourage rapid rebuilding of lives and communities after large‐scale disasters in New Zealand and that can only be done within a supportive legislative environment. Santruka Infrastruktūros tinklai Naujojoje Zelandijoje platūs, miestai išbarstyti, tačiau tankiai apgyvendinti, tad stichines nelaimes gali pridaryti žalos. Tokios nelaimes gali nusiaubti gamtine ir užstatyta aplinka. Bendruomene tam turetu pasiruošti iš anksto, o ne pasikliauti operatyviu atkūrimo procesu po ivykio. Kaip viena iš Naujojoje Zelandijoje vykstančios stambios tyrimu programos aspektu autoriai pasirinko atkūrimo klausima ir ji nagrineja analizuodami, kaip istatymai padeda arba trukdo atstatymo projektams ir programoms. Iprastoms statyboms taikomi istatymai numato saugu infrastruktūros, kapitalo investiciju ir žemetvarkos pletojima, užtikrindami aplinkosauga, tačiau dažnai jie netinka atstatymo po stichiniu nelaimiu projektams. Šiame darbe pristatomi rezultatai, gauti apklausus Naujosios Zelandijos statybu kontroles pareigūnus ir kitus stichiniu nelaimiu specialistus del Statybu istatymo (2004) taikymo po stichiniu nelaimiu. Yra ženklu, kad Naujosios Zelandijos statybu istatymas (2004) nebus palankus arba sudarantis galimybes nuo stichiniu nelaimiu nukentejusioms teritorijoms atstatyti, ypač kai stichines nelaimes yra stambaus masto. Apklausos rezultatai rodo, kad tebekyla iššūkiai, kaip pagal ši istatyma atstatymo uždavinius ivykdyti veiksmingai. Daugiausia demesio tarp iškeltu klausimu skirta procedūriniams suvaržymams, susijusiems su aukštais kvalifikaciniais standartais ir kitomis logistikos aplinkybemis. Būtinas nemenkas demesys, norint taikyti Statybu istatyma reagavimo i nelaimes ir aplinkos atkūrimo srityje. Siekiama sukurti geriausias imanomas salygas, kurios skatins spartu gyvenamosios aplinkos ir bendruomenes infrastruktūros atstatyma po stambiu stichiniu nelaimiu Naujojoje Zelandijoje ir kurios imanomos tik palankioje teisineje aplinkoje.

scholarly journals Discussion of Ormond: Who Determines What Story is Told? Silenced Voices and Narratives of Marginalisation

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mere Kēpa
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Climatic Change ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Active Process ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand

AbstractDevelopment or transformation can be understood as an active process. The process has confronted and mobilised Maori people since our ancestors departed Hawai'iki to settle Aotearoa-New Zealand. In coming to understand the land the ancestors called ‘Aotearoa’, we changed. And as we changed, our internal and external symbionts and parasites also changed with us. Maori people have endured disease, climatic change, natural disasters, human made disasters, political disasters, economic disasters, educational disasters, and linguistic disasters for nearly two centuries. And as the indigenous people of Aotearoa we continue to be changed by and to change the prevailing assumptions on development (and sustainability) to become healthier and more imaginative people.

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