Trial by fire: Community Wildfire Protection Plans put to the test

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 1134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela J. Jakes ◽  
Victoria Sturtevant

Research has found that community wildfire protection planning can make significant contributions to wildfire mitigation and preparedness, but can the planning process and resulting Community Wildfire Protection Plans make a difference to wildfire response and recovery? In case studies conducted in four USA communities with Community Wildfire Protection Plans in place when wildfires occurred, we saw a range of Community Wildfire Protection Plan projects designed to change the path and intensity of the wildfires. In most of our communities, the Community Wildfire Protection Plan and planning process improved relationships among firefighting agencies, clarified responsibilities and improved communication systems, contributing to fire response efficiency and effectiveness. We found that social learning resulting from the wildfire experience motivated communities to revisit and implement their Community Wildfire Protection Plans, changing the planning frame and scale and increasing the plan’s relevance for response and recovery. We conclude that Community Wildfire Protection Plans and experience with wildfire can also result in greater community capacity that builds resilience and increases adaptive capacity for future environmental changes and disasters.

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 4302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Chen ◽  
Weiteng Shen ◽  
Bing Yu

China’s marine fisheries are undergoing large-scale environmental changes associated with climate change, marine pollution, and overfishing. The assessment of marine fisheries vulnerability has become extremely necessary for fisheries management and sustainable development. However, studies on China’s marine fisheries vulnerability remains sparse. This study aimed to provide an analysis of the inter-provincial level vulnerability of China’s marine fisheries under multiple disturbances. The vulnerability measure was composed of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity indicators specific to marine fisheries based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) definitions. Results showed that Liaoning, Hebei, Fujian, and Hainan provinces appeared to be the most vulnerable; Shanghai appeared to be less vulnerable among China’s 11 coastal provinces; and the key sources of vulnerability differed considerably among coastal regions. The high vulnerability regions could be divided into two different patterns according to the combination of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity, but they all had one thing in common: relatively low adaptive capacity. While some existing coercive measures to reduce dependence on fisheries were found to be helpful in China, the reality showed that appropriate adaptation measures such as improving fishermen’s education level and increasing vocational training may be helpful in enhancing the existing policy effectiveness.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aino Rekola ◽  
Riikka Paloniemi

Societies aiming for a sustainable future need more effective and legitimate planning and decision making practices, in which various actors together find pathways towards a sustainable transition. In this paper, we approach sustainability and environmental justice as epistemological (and ontological) challenges for land-use planning, and empirically analyse how action research could support planners’ social learning and planning towards fair and sustainable development. We analysed qualitatively the evolution of the researcher–planner dialogue while co-designing and developing better methods, means and practices to improve environmental justice in regional scale planning in Kymenlaakso Region, South-East Finland. We found that researcher-planner dialogue developed during cooperation. While in the beginning, social learning related to approaching environmental justice as a fair distribution of power evolved incrementally, later, when dialogue became more focused, communicative and reflective as an outcome of mutual frames and trust, learning occurred in a more transformative way. Such transformative learning concerned recognising youth as a silent group in the planning process and the means to involve their perceptions in planning. In order to support sustainability transformation in the future, we conclude that it is essential to create opportunities for such incremental and transformative social learning through innovative modes of interaction in various contexts.


2014 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 182-188
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Skorupska ◽  
Ewa Mojs ◽  
Włodzimierz Samborski ◽  
José C. Millán-Calenti ◽  
Ana Maseda ◽  
...  

“UnderstAID” is a platform that helps informal caregivers to understand and aid their demented relatives. It is an international project initiated by Denmark, Poland and Spain.The aim of the project is to design, and implement the multimedia platform “understAID” to support informal caregivers of dementia patients. The project was launched in April 2013 and is expected to end 36 months later. The project is divided into five tasks concerning the final aim. The aim of task 1 is the management of the project, as well as the exploitation and dissemination of gathered information. Task 2 is meant to define the contents and solutions of the CarePlatform based on the knowledge gained from real-case studies. Demented elderlies from each country (n = 40) suffering from different degrees of dementia were evaluated by formal caregivers and dementia professionals. The aim of task 3 is the development of the social learning interface. Task 4 focuses on the CarePlatform development and system integration. Finally, task 5 assumes testing and validation of the platform. The platform is devised to be available in two versions, namely the light one for mobile appliance and the premium version. Also different activities leading to the popularization of the platform are planned.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-125
Author(s):  
Nataliya Zavatska ◽  
Ulyana Mykhaylyshyn

The article shows that the specificity of a holistic personality adjustment process in social systems is not confined only because of the peculiarities of its elements, such as the personal maturity, changes in the social conditions of the environment, and is determined by the interaction of structural components of the adaptive capacity of the individual. This maladjustment of one of these components will inevitably impact on the integrity of the individual adaptation process. It was determined that based on the analysis of the structural components of adaptation of the person (socially adapted situation, social need for adaptive, adaptive psychological need) there is the need to clarify the role of each of these components in the process of adaptation of the person. In the context of investigations under the holistic process of social adaptation of personality in social systems we mean active mutual adaptation of the individual and the social environment to each other in order to create a harmonious cooperation for the effective functioning of the individual in these social systems. Violation of this process or the implementation of its social disapproved or antisocial ways leads to the violation of the integrity of the adaptation process and it flows in unacceptable forms of society. It is emphasized that social exclusion leads to disruption of the socialization process, reflected in the increasing complexity of learning and the use of social roles, values and attitudes. In accordance with the social work we should pay attention to the replacement of anti-social norms, values and attitudes to prosocial. This process we treat as a social reinsertion - purposefully organized restructuring of the moral and valuable personality and behavioral areas that promotes the formation of social and value orientations and behavior. It was stated that the whole process of social adaptation of the person can provide awareness and reflection of environmental changes in the social systems of the environment; activity of the person in the regulation of adaptive capacity; transformation of adaptive capacity into more complex and sophisticated forms of interaction with the surrounding reality


Author(s):  
S. R. Mani Sekhar ◽  
Sharmitha S. Bysani ◽  
Vasireddy Prabha Kiranmai

Security and privacy issues are the challenging areas in the field of internet of things (IoT) and fog computing. IoT and fog has become an involving technology allowing major changes in the field of information systems and communication systems. This chapter provides the introduction of IoT and fog technology with a brief explanation of how fog is overcoming the challenges of cloud computing. Thereafter, the authors discuss the different security and privacy issues and its related solutions. Furthermore, they present six different case studies which will help the reader to understand the platform of IoT in fog.


Author(s):  
Julia Rey-Pérez ◽  
Ana Pereira Roders

PurposeThe main aim of this paper is to determine how well the UNESCO 2011 Recommendation on Historic Urban Landscape (hereafter, the HUL approach) is understood by the academic community today. It will review relevant research, highlight shortcomings regarding the HUL concept and approach and explore how well the six proposed steps are being considered when implementing the HUL approach.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents and discusses the results of a systematic review of 140 peer-reviewed publications, published in international academic journals between 2008 and 2019 and available in databases such as WoS and Scopus, such as journal articles, book chapters and books. More specifically, this research takes the six-step process as its theoretical framework in order to understand if the six steps are being followed in the case studies where the HUL approach has been implemented. Following this, it assesses gaps in the HUL concept and approach. The paper explores the HUL implementation management process, investigating what is being done, how it is being done and who is involved.FindingsThe concept ‘Historic Urban Landscape’ has been used in research since 2008. However, the first case studies implementing the HUL approach were not published until 2013. While there is an abundance of theoretical research in relation to the HUL concept and approach from different perspectives and to varying degrees of depth, the case studies which practically demonstrate the HUL approach and its six steps are scarce. This paper will also show how feasible the steps are and which are used the most.Originality/valueThis research demonstrates if the HUL approach is being understood in the academic field and if the implementation of the six steps is being reflected in the literature. This approach will reveal how these steps are being implemented and if this is having an effect on the heritage planning process.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 30-32

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings Greater focus is the key to better HR analytics. The authors summarize their six recommendations that will ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of HR analytics. Practical implications The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


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