Factors Affecting Household Disaster Preparedness Among Foreign Residents in Japan

Author(s):  
David GREEN ◽  
Matthew LINLEY ◽  
Justin WHITNEY ◽  
Yae SANO

Abstract Japan is a country known both for its devastating natural disasters and its high level of community preparedness. However, while demographic pressures stemming from an aging society have led to a growing foreign population, scholars have paid little attention to understanding the levels of disaster preparedness exhibited by this group. Using representative data from the 2015 Nagoya City Foreign Resident Survey, this article is the first to explore variations in household disaster preparedness among Japan’s foreign residents. Although numerous factors were found to affect preparedness, the most important appear to be national origin, experience with disaster training, and exposure to disaster information. Japanese language proficiency, perhaps surprisingly, was of minor importance. We thus argue that a person’s cultural background and their exposure to information about local hazards affect their ability to identify and assess risk, which increases the likelihood that they will prepare their household for emergencies. This study not only provides insight into what might drive preparedness activities within foreign populations but also helps explain how migrants obtain disaster information. Its main implication is that Japan’s disparate migrant populations require a strategically varied approach when considering interventions to address disaster vulnerability.

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 3683-3709 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Mohammad-pajooh ◽  
K. Ab. Aziz

Abstract. The review of past researches discussed that factors such as climate change and movement toward urbanization will result in more frequent and severe disasters in the near future (Yasuhara et al., 2011). Flash flood is the most common type of disaster that residents of Kuala Lumpur (KL) come across, thus in this study, it was desired to discover the factors affecting preparedness among residents of KL as well as assessing the variation of individual preparedness among residents. With the aid of SPSS analysis, the reliability of data, correlation and regression analysis between the investigated factors and disaster preparedness were obtained. According to this research it was found that level of preparedness of residents of KL is still below average; majority of social demographic indicators such as income, education, age, and property ownership showed significant contribution to the variation of disaster preparedness among the residents. For instance men were much more prepared in comparison to women; residents with high level of income and education had also significantly higher preparedness compared to those with low level of income and education. Race was the only factor that differs from the findings of previous studies; since race does not affect the preparedness.


Author(s):  
Anton Rozhkov ◽  
Anton Popov ◽  
Vitaliy Balahonskiy

The article is devoted to the study of subjective factors affecting shooting accuracy of law enforcement officers. The empirical study identified some subjective factors reducing gun shooting accuracy and effectiveness among law enforcers. These characteristics include sensorimotor coordination and subjective experience of stress during the shooting process. Scientific analysis made it possible to determine statistical significance of the influence of these factors on the accuracy of shooting. To increase the effectiveness of shooting among officers with a low index of sensorimotor coordination, the authors suggest using exercises aimed at cultivating sensorimotor coordination in fire training classes. While working with employees being under a high level of subjectively experienced stress, more attention should be paid to training techniques to overcome stress and form intelligent behavior in extreme situations. The authors also draw readers’ attention to factors increasing the effectiveness of shooting: officers’ ability to determine the subjective level of stress, their knowledge of emotional self-regulation techniques, knowledge of the sequence of their actions in the firing line.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Qiao ◽  
Qiming Cheng ◽  
Yutong Zhang ◽  
Wei Yan ◽  
Fengyan Yi ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia Scop) is not only a high-quality legume forage, but also a nectar-producing plant. Therefore, the flower color of sainfoin is an important agronomic trait, but the factors affecting its flower phenotype are still unclear. To gain insights into the regulatory networks associated with metabolic pathways of coloration compounds (flavonoids or anthocyanins) and identify the key genes, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the phenotype, metabolome and transcriptome of WF and AF of sainfoin. Results Delphinidin, petunidin and malvidin derivatives were the main anthocyanin compounds in the AF of sainfoin. These substances were not detected in the WF of sainfoin. The transcriptomes of WF and AF in sainfoin at the S1 and S3 stages were obtained using the Illumina HiSeq4000 platform. Overall, 10,166 (4273 upregulated and 5893 downregulated) and 15,334 (8174 upregulated and 7160 downregulated) DEGs were identified in flowers at S1 and S3 stages, respectively (WF-VS-AF). KEGG pathway annotations showed that 6396 unigenes were annotated to 120 pathways and contained 866 DEGs at S1 stages, and 6396 unigenes were annotated to 131 pathways and included 1546 DEGs at the S3 stage. Nine DEGs belonging to the “flavonoid biosynthesis”and “phenylpropanoid biosynthesis” pathways involved in flower color formation were identified and verified by RT-qPCR analyses. Among these DEGs, 4CL3, FLS, ANS, CHS, DFR and CHI2 exhibited downregulated expression, and F3H exhibited upregulated expression in the WF compared to the AF, resulting in a decrease in anthocyanin synthesis and the formation of WF in sainfoin. Conclusions This study is the first to use transcriptome technology to study the mechanism of white flower formation in sainfoin. Our transcriptome data will be a great enrichment of the genetic information for sainfoin. In addition, the data presented herein will provide valuable molecular information for genetic breeding and provide insight into the future study of flower color polymorphisms in sainfoin.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 4113
Author(s):  
Valeria Superti ◽  
Cynthia Houmani ◽  
Ralph Hansmann ◽  
Ivo Baur ◽  
Claudia R. Binder

With increasing urbanisation, new approaches such as the Circular Economy (CE) are needed to reduce resource consumption. In Switzerland, Construction & Demolition (C&D) waste accounts for the largest portion of waste (84%). Beyond limiting the depletion of primary resources, implementing recycling strategies for C&D waste (such as using recycled aggregates to produce recycled concrete (RC)), can also decrease the amount of landfilled C&D waste. The use of RC still faces adoption barriers. In this research, we examined the factors driving the adoption of recycled products for a CE in the C&D sector by focusing on RC for structural applications. We developed a behavioural framework to understand the determinants of architects’ decisions to recommend RC. We collected and analysed survey data from 727 respondents. The analyses focused on architects’ a priori beliefs about RC, behavioural factors affecting their recommendations of RC, and project-specific contextual factors that might play a role in the recommendation of RC. Our results show that the factors that mainly facilitate the recommendation of RC by architects are: a senior position, a high level of RC knowledge and of the Minergie label, beliefs about the reduced environmental impact of RC, as well as favourable prescriptive social norms expressed by clients and other architects. We emphasise the importance of a holistic theoretical framework in approaching decision-making processes related to the adoption of innovation, and the importance of the agency of each involved actor for a transition towards a circular construction sector.


Oryx ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Felipe Osuna ◽  
Roger Guevara ◽  
Enrique Martínez-Meyer ◽  
Raúl Alcalá ◽  
Alejandro Espinosa de los Monteros

Abstract Habitat specialists are particularly vulnerable to extinction when habitat conditions are altered. Information on the habitat use of such species is thus important because it provides insight into factors that influence distribution and abundance, which is crucial for conservation. Here, we aimed to identify factors that influence the patterns of presence and abundance of the Endangered volcano rabbit Romerolagus diazi, a rare leporid with a patchy distribution. Through exhaustive sampling of its range in the Sierra Chichinautzin and Sierra Nevada volcanic fields, Mexico, and using generalized linear models, we found that the probability of patch occupancy was higher where bunchgrass cover exceeded 75%, rock cover exceeded 5%, no cattle grazing was observed and human settlements were at least 7 km away. Patches with greater relative abundance were those with similar characteristics, but located at elevations > 3,600 m, and with rock cover < 15%. Cattle grazing was identified as a major threat to local populations of the volcano rabbit, particularly in the Sierra Chichinautzin. Because of the significance of bunchgrasses for this species, the protection of the mountain grasslands is required in both volcanic fields.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 947
Author(s):  
Shanshan Wu ◽  
Lucang Wang ◽  
Haiyang Liu

The development of tourism is based on tourism flow and studying a tourism flow network can help to elucidate its mechanism of operation. Transportation network is the path to realize the spatial displacement of tourism flow. This study used “Tencent migration” big data to explore the spatial distribution characteristics and rules of tourism flow in China, providing suggestions for the development of tourism. The results demonstrate that the 361 cities studied can be divided into three types: destination-oriented, tourist-origin-oriented, and destination-oriented and tourist-origin-oriented. There are significant differences in the quantity of flow, the area of concentration, and the factors affecting the flow in the three types of cities. The larger the flow of tourism between cities, the higher the network level, and the wider the network range. The high-level nodes are closely related, while the peripheral nodes are more widely distributed, with weak attractiveness and inconvenient traffic, forming a “core-edge” structure. Different network patterns are established for different modes of transportation. The degree of response of different types of transportation to distance is the main factor influencing the network patterns of diverse paths. These findings have practical implications for the choice of appropriate travel destinations and transportation modes for tourists.


Author(s):  
H. Wayne Nelson ◽  
Bo Kyum Yang ◽  
F. Ellen Netting ◽  
Erin Monahan

AbstractThe high elder care death toll of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, pushed the federally mandated Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) into the unsought and unforeseen realm of disaster preparedness. This new role was an extension of the LTCOP’s historic resident’s rights investigative case advocacy. To assess if, how, and to what extent local ombudsmen adapted to this new function, 102 local LTCOP leaders completed a telephone survey based on the CMS Emergency Planning Checklist. This assessed their own and their programs’: (a) readiness to help facilities reduce disaster threats to residents, (b) familiarity with relevant disaster laws, rules, and resources; (c) readiness to help residents through the disaster cycle; and (d) levels of disaster training and/or their plans to provide such training to their staff and LTC stakeholders. Forty-two respondents (41.13%) had experienced a public disaster but over half or those responding (n = 56, 54.90%) felt fairly to somewhat prepared to help in a public crisis. After being ready to work away from their office during a crisis ($\overline{x}$ = 4.14, SD = 1.00) respondents felt most prepared “to assist during nursing home emergency closure and evacuation” ($\overline{x}$ = 3.86, SD = 1.09). t-tests revealed that respondents with a disaster experience were significantly more prepared in all assessed dimensions than as those without disaster experience. The study highlights the training needs of ombudsmen in high risk areas to better prepare them for disaster mitigation in nursing homes.


2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 208-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rameshwar Dubey ◽  
Angappa Gunasekaran ◽  
Nezih Altay ◽  
Stephen J Childe ◽  
Thanos Papadopoulos

Purpose – At a time when the number and seriousness of disasters seems to be increasing, humanitarian organizations find that besides their challenging work they are faced with problems caused by a high level of turnover of staff. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the 24 variables leading to employee turnover identified by Cotton and Tuttle (1986) the authors analyse the work-related, external and personal factors affecting employee turnover in humanitarian organizations, using a survey of members of the Indian National Institute of Disaster Management. Findings – Results indicated that the three factors are present. Of the external factors, only employment perception had a factor loading over 0.7; of the work-related factors, all were significant; of the personal factors, biographical information, marital status, number of dependants, aptitude and ability and intelligence had the highest loadings. It was also shown that behavioural intentions and net expectation were not significant. Originality/value – Only a few studies reported on employee turnover and its reasons are not well understood in the context of humanitarian organizations. To address this need, the aim of this paper is to explore the personal reasons impacting employee turnover in humanitarian organizations. In the study the authors have adopted 24 variables used in Cotton and Tuttle (1986) and classified into constructs to explain turnover, and further tested the model using data gathered from humanitarian organizations.


2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 300-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia N. Bordallo ◽  
Derly H. Silva ◽  
José Maria ◽  
Cosme D. Cruz ◽  
Elizabeth P. Fontes

Synthetic seeds can be an alternative for those species in which botanical seeds are not viable. One of the major problems of in vitro plant cultivation is the high level of somaclonal variation. The most common factors affecting somaclonal variation are genotype, explant source, in vitro period and cultivation conditions in which the culture is established. In this work, calli were induced using leaf and stem explants of the commercial potato cultivars Achat, Baraka, Baronesa, Bintje, and Contenda in MS culture media supplemented with 1.65 mM of picloram and 11.5 mM of 2,4-D. Seventy and 90 days after induction, DNA samples of 40 calli were compared concerning the effects of the two explant (leaf and stem) and two growth regulator sources on five potatoes cultivars. A total of 20 arbitrary sequence primers were evaluated. The RAPD pattern generated by these primers suggested a high percentage of polymorphic fragments among the five genotypes, indicating a high level of genetic variation among cultivars. Cultivar Baronesa showed the highest number of polymorphic fragments for all treatments. The cultivar Contenda showed the smallest somaclonal variation, for most of the treatments, except for the treatment which consisted of stem explants, picloram (1.65 mM) application, and a 70-day period of callus formation. 'Contenda' is, therefore, the most suitable cultivar for synthetic seed production.


1969 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 587-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. N. Khan

Variability in the host-reaction of barley to infection by Drechslera teres was examined in the parents and progeny of selected crosses under different environmental conditions of testing.The Ethiopian variety C.I. 5791 exhibits a consistently high level of resistance under a range of environmental conditions, which is in contrast to the Manchurian variety C.I. 2330. The sensitivity of the genes for resistance possessed by these varieties to environmental modifications is considered to depend upon their respective genetic backgrounds. Furthermore, variability of host reaction in the progeny of these resistant varieties was shown to be influenced by the genetic background of the susceptible parent used.The implications of these findings in the conduct and interpretation of genetic studies and in backcross breeding programs is discussed.


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