scholarly journals Twitter under Storm: Social Media Response Sensitization in the Caribbean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danilo T Perez-Rivera ◽  
Alexis Josué Martínez ◽  
Adriana Pons ◽  
Alejandro Rodríguez-Natal ◽  
Sergio Andrés Davila-Santana
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Previous History ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
Rising Sea Levels ◽  
Hurricane Exposure ◽  
Effective Design

Climate change has led to rising sea levels and warmer sea surface temperatures. These factors contribute greatly to the intensity of hurricanes and floods they provoke. Projections estimate there will be an increase of 45% to 87% in the frequency of Category >4 hurricanes originating in the Atlantic Basin, which typically impact the Caribbean and Continental United States of America. During the 2019 Hurricane Season, there were 20 depressions, 18 storms, 6 hurricanes and 3 major hurricanes. Through this work, we explored the response on Social Media to these natural phenomena as a function of their trajectory, intensity, and previous exposure of the population to intense natural disasters. Data was collected through the Twitter API. The influences of hurricane proximity and intensity on volume of Social Media production was explored. Hurricane Dorian, with its trajectory strongly threatening the previously exposed Puerto Rico, and eventually causing widespread damage in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas, presented the strongest case for the evaluation of the dichotomy of responses between populations with differences in previous history of exposure. The landscape of historic hurricane exposure Caribbean has radically changed in recent years. Taking advantage of Big Data to help elucidate these dynamics could be instrumental in the tailoring of emergency preparedness plans and the effective design of mental health first aid strategies.

“Choose yourself?”

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-68
Author(s):  
Jolynna Sinanan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Visual Language ◽  
Social Value ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Caribbean Island ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Town

Abstract Social media is often assumed to espouse ego-centred networking. Yet by comparing posts to Facebook and Instagram, it becomes apparent that the experience and aspirations of the individual are often embedded in structures of family and other institutions that have been historically determined. This article locates images posted by women to two social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, within the Caribbean island of Trinidad’s wider history of the significance of visibility and visuality. What individuals choose to make visible and its consequences form a visual language in which Trinidadians are entirely fluent. By extension, images are used to communicate forms of differentiated identity that are made visible through social media. The material gathered was based on 15 months of ethnographic research in a semi-urban town in Trinidad where, generally, uses of social media are expressive of a place-based sense of identity. The town is simultaneously a place that urban dwellers look down on and villagers look up to. Visual content posted to Facebook and Instagram reveal that while individuals seek to craft and shape images and aesthetics according to their own tastes, this must be done in a socially acceptable way; that is, placing emphasis on group conformity is far more of a social value than expressing individual distinction. Social media in this context communicates the imagination of oppositional futures and a divergence of lifestyles for young women: those who identify with being locally-oriented and those who identify with being globally-oriented.

scholarly journals Ecoutopia from Fiction to Fact: An Interview with Heather Alberro

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 44-47
Author(s):  
Heather Alberro
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New York ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Stephen Hawking ◽  
Ecological Consideration ◽  
History Of ◽  
Rising Sea Levels ◽  
Paris Climate Agreement ◽  
The Impact

Human is at the heart of the story of climate change in the Anthropocene where, according to Dipesh Chakrabarty (2012), human behaviors have influenced the environment and created a distinct geological epoch. Current climate change issues are largely human induced. This implies that the human species is now part of the natural history of the planet.  In November 2016, Stephen Hawking warned that humanity has 1000 years to leave the earth due to climate change, but in his most recent BBC documentary aired on June 15, 2017 called Expedition New Earth, he suggested humans have just 100 years left before doomsday. In spite of such warnings and writings, Donald Trump withdrew America from the Paris Climate Agreement on June 2017, on the same day, satellite images showed that a huge mass of ice in an area of ​​five thousand square kilometres was breaking away from the Antarctic continent under the impact of rising temperature. It seems that Trump’s act is beyond ecological consideration as he believes the agreement could “cost America as much as 2.7 million lost jobs by 2025”. Projections of climate change, however, have shown horrible scenarios involving a central economic metropolis such as New York losing much of its lands because of rising sea levels. The inhabitants of such areas will have to uproot their communities and cultures to move to less vulnerable lands. Thus, it is important to examine how ecoutopian literature is responding to the conditions of the human being in this epoch. In the following interview, Heather Alberro has answered to some questions on climate change, the conditions of human being in the Anthropocene, and the role of literature and culture in relation to environmental issues.

scholarly journals A genetic history of the pre-contact Caribbean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel M. Fernandes ◽  
Kendra A. Sirak ◽  
Harald Ringbauer ◽  
Jakob Sedig ◽  
Nadin Rohland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South America ◽  
High Mobility ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Caribbean Islands ◽  
Population Size Estimates ◽  
Ceramic Age ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Caribbean

Humans settled the Caribbean ~6,000 years ago, with intensified agriculture and ceramic use marking a shift from the Archaic Age to the Ceramic Age ~2,500 years ago. To shed new light on the history of Caribbean people, we report genome-wide data from 184 individuals predating European contact from The Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Curaçao, and northwestern Venezuela. A largely homogeneous ceramic-using population most likely originating in northeastern South America and related to present-day Arawak-speaking groups moved throughout the Caribbean at least 1,800 years ago, spreading ancestry that is still detected in parts of the region today. These people eventually almost entirely replaced Archaic-related lineages in Hispaniola but not in northwestern Cuba, where unadmixed Archaic-related ancestry persisted into the last millennium. We document high mobility and inter-island connectivity throughout the Ceramic Age as reflected in relatives buried ~75 kilometers apart in Hispaniola and low genetic differentiation across many Caribbean islands, albeit with subtle population structure distinguishing the Bahamian islands we studied from the rest of the Caribbean and from each other, and long-term population continuity in southeastern coastal Hispaniola differentiating this region from the rest of the island. Ceramic-associated people avoided close kin unions despite limited mate pools reflecting low effective population sizes (2Ne=1000-2000) even at sites on the large Caribbean islands. While census population sizes can be an order of magnitude larger than effective population sizes, pan-Caribbean population size estimates of hundreds of thousands are likely too large. Transitions in pottery styles show no evidence of being driven by waves of migration of new people from mainland South America; instead, they more likely reflect the spread of ideas and people within an interconnected Caribbean world.

scholarly journals Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (46) ◽  
pp. 12144-12149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessio Rovere ◽  
Elisa Casella ◽  
Daniel L. Harris ◽  
Thomas Lorscheid ◽  
Napayalage A. K. Nandasena ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Storm Intensity ◽  
The North ◽  
Rising Sea Levels ◽  
Mis 5E

As global climate warms and sea level rises, coastal areas will be subject to more frequent extreme flooding and hurricanes. Geologic evidence for extreme coastal storms during past warm periods has the potential to provide fundamental insights into their future intensity. Recent studies argue that during the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e, ∼128–116 ka) tropical and extratropical North Atlantic cyclones may have been more intense than at present, and may have produced waves larger than those observed historically. Such strong swells are inferred to have created a number of geologic features that can be observed today along the coastlines of Bermuda and the Bahamas. In this paper, we investigate the most iconic among these features: massive boulders atop a cliff in North Eleuthera, Bahamas. We combine geologic field surveys, wave models, and boulder transport equations to test the hypothesis that such boulders must have been emplaced by storms of greater-than-historical intensity. By contrast, our results suggest that with the higher relative sea level (RSL) estimated for the Bahamas during MIS 5e, boulders of this size could have been transported by waves generated by storms of historical intensity. Thus, while the megaboulders of Eleuthera cannot be used as geologic proof for past “superstorms,” they do show that with rising sea levels, cliffs and coastal barriers will be subject to significantly greater erosional energy, even without changes in storm intensity.

Dun Ara

2020 ◽  
Vol 149 ◽  
pp. 145-163
Author(s):  
James Petre
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Tidal Cycle ◽  
Short Article ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
The North ◽  
History Of ◽  
Rising Sea Levels

This short article explores the archaeology and fragmentary history of the site known as Dun Ara, in Mishnish, north Mull, in the light of increasing evidence of a Norse presence both generally in this part of the Inner Hebrides and more specifically this area of Mull. The focus is on the harbour and its appendages but it refers as well to the associated settlement and dun – or castle – perched above to the north. It is set in the context of recent work on early harbours and landing places in the Western Isles, some of which have been demonstrated to have had a Norse presence. Consideration is given to the ramifications of the tidal cycle and to what extent, if any, isostatic change and rising sea levels may affect the ‘picture’ as it is now observed. While reflecting that the evidence for a ‘Norse’ period at Dun Ara remains circumstantial, it suggests that the absence of conclusive proof does not preclude the likelihood.   Canmore ID 11028 Canmore ID 22069 Canmore ID 22071

Study Design and Results of a Population-Based Study on Perceived Stress Following Hurricane Sandy

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 325-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Schwartz ◽  
Bian Liu ◽  
Cristina Sison ◽  
Samantha M. Kerath ◽  
Trista Breil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Hurricane Sandy ◽  
Positive Direction ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Hurricane Exposure

AbstractObjectiveHurricane Sandy was one of the deadliest storms in US history, with at least 162 deaths and numerous injuries. This research aimed to quantify the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the New York metropolitan area.MethodsThe project included 601 volunteers aged at least 18 years who were recruited in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Richmond counties and Staten Island between 2013 and 2014 through close partnerships with coalition community leaders. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on demographics and behavioral factors and a 35-point check off list on hurricane exposure. Perceived stress was assessed by using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).ResultsParticipants had a mean stress score of 15.6 (SD=7.3; vs general population mean of 13.0), with 30.14% of the sample categorized as “high stress” (mean≥20). In the multivariable regression analysis, age was significantly negatively associated with PSS score. A reported history of mental health issues, Hispanic ethnicity, and overall exposure to Hurricane Sandy were statistically significantly associated with PSS score in a positive direction.ConclusionsPerceived stress was high in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy and was significantly associated with individual hurricane exposure. This study is a first step toward defining what segments of the population are more vulnerable and informing intervention and emergency preparedness efforts. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;10:325–332)

Identifying and Mapping Vulnerable Populations

2018 ◽  
pp. 73-109
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Preparedness Planning ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
The Social ◽  
Rising Sea Levels

Climate change does not affect all populations uniformly; there are disproportionate impacts on certain populations who are more vulnerable to displacement, injury or death due to risk factors such as poverty, race, age, and medical conditions. The social determinants of health interact with climate change to determine a population's risk of adverse health impacts from changing precipitation patterns, rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and extreme weather events. Emergency preparedness planning must take into account the special concerns of vulnerable populations in order to ensure that they have food, water, and a temperature-safe shelter during climate change events such as heat waves, floods, and hurricanes. In addition, they may require assistance in evacuating their residences. This chapter addresses the use of technologies to identify and map these vulnerable populations.

Welcome to Fairyland

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julio Capó
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Difference ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
International Tourist ◽  
Sexual Transgression ◽  
Transnational Connections ◽  
History Of ◽  
Multiple Meanings ◽  
The Caribbean ◽  
The City

Poised on the edge of the United States and at the center of a wider Caribbean world, today’s Miami is marketed as an international tourist hub that embraces gender and sexual difference. As Julio Capó Jr. shows in this fascinating history, Miami’s transnational connections reveal that the city has been a queer borderland for over a century. In chronicling Miami’s queer past from its 1896 founding through 1940, Capó shows the multifaceted ways gender and sexual renegades made the city their own. Drawing from a multilingual archive, Capó unearths the forgotten history of "fairyland," a marketing term crafted by boosters that held multiple meanings for different groups of people. In viewing Miami as a contested colonial space, he turns our attention to migrants and immigrants, tourism, and trade to and from the Caribbean—particularly the Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti—to expand the geographic and methodological parameters of urban and queer history. Recovering the world of Miami’s old saloons, brothels, immigration checkpoints, borders, nightclubs, bars, and cruising sites, Capó makes clear how critical gender and sexual transgression is to understanding the city and the broader region in all its fullness.

scholarly journals Origin, paleoecology, and extirpation of bluebirds and crossbills in the Bahamas across the last glacial–interglacial transition

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (37) ◽  
pp. 9924-9929 ◽  
Author(s):  
David W. Steadman ◽  
Janet Franklin
Keyword(s):  
Human Impacts ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Eastern Bluebird ◽  
Rising Sea Levels ◽  
Biotic Change ◽  
Animal Communities ◽  
Bahamian Archipelago ◽  
The Last Glacial

On low islands or island groups such as the Bahamas, surrounded by shallow oceans, Quaternary glacial–interglacial changes in climate and sea level had major effects on terrestrial plant and animal communities. We examine the paleoecology of two species of songbirds (Passeriformes) recorded as Late Pleistocene fossils on the Bahamian island of Abaco—the Eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) and Hispaniolan crossbill (Loxia megaplaga). Each species lives today only outside of the Bahamian Archipelago, with S. sialis occurring in North and Central America and L. megaplaga endemic to Hispaniola. Unrecorded in the Holocene fossil record of Abaco, both of these species probably colonized Abaco during the last glacial interval but were eliminated when the island became much smaller, warmer, wetter, and more isolated during the last glacial–interglacial transition from ∼15 to 9 ka. Today’s warming temperatures and rising sea levels, although not as great in magnitude as those that took place from ∼15 to 9 ka, are occurring rapidly and may contribute to considerable biotic change on islands by acting in synergy with direct human impacts.

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