Making Meaning of Numbers from a Historic Storm

This paper examines the relationship between media coverage of a major natural disaster and charitable giving for disaster relief, focusing on three questions: first, was media coverage of Cyclone Nargis in May 2008 correlated with charitable giving to disaster relief in Myanmar? Second, were charitable contributions earmarked for disaster relief in Myanmar impacted by the occurrence of a second major natural disaster — the May 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan, China? Third, how did different types of news stories affect same-day charitable giving to disaster relief efforts in Myanmar? These questions are analyzed in a rich multivariate regression framework, and results show that charitable giving is indeed correlated with media coverage, that donations to disaster relief in China appear to compete with those to disaster relief in Myanmar, and that “event-driven” news stories strongly and positively influence the level of giving whereas news stories classified as “institutional” or “human-interest” do not have any discernible impact.

Download Full-text

The use of Airpower on Humanitarian Operations: a case study in Brazil

Brazilian Journal of Operations & Production Management ◽

10.14488/bjopm.2019.v16.n3.a11 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 490-500

Author(s):

Rodrigo Antônio Silveira Santos

Keyword(s):

Natural Disaster ◽

Air Force ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Local Governments ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Real Data ◽

Crisis Response ◽

Data Coding ◽

Humanitarian Operations

Goal: The main purpose of this research is to present the benefits reached with the use of airpower resources during humanitarian operations, in order to verify how the main airpower’s characteristics influenced the response stage of a natural disaster in Brazil. Design / Methodology / Approach: A qualitative case study was conducted to evaluate benefits reached with the use of airpower during humanitarian operations. Primary and secondary data were gathered from operational reports provided by the Brazilian Air Force, from media coverage about the flood and waterlogging events happened in November 2008, in Itajai Valley, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Interviews with three informants involved in crisis response were also conducted. Data analysis processes were conducted to search codes about airpower engagement during humanitarian operations. Data coding followed an inductive approach and the codes emerged from data. Results: The research concludes that the use of airpower can leverage crisis response capabilities during humanitarian operations, as airpower’s characteristics of speed, mobility, flexibility, penetration, range, and readiness meet the needs of humanitarian operations to respond to a natural disaster. The case study demonstrates an increase of operational capabilities after airpower engagement. Limitations of the investigation: Only one crisis situation was studied, because the access to operational data provided by the Brazilian Air Force is restricted. Besides, it was not possible to analyze values and budgetary costs derived from airpower engagement. Practical implications: The results of this research demonstrate that it is highly important to involve airpower during humanitarian operations, as it can leverage crisis response capabilities. In this way, humanitarian organizations can stablish new forms of relationship to national and local governments in order to quickly engage airpower resources on the response phase of natural disasters. Originality/Value: This research presents an original contribution to the field of humanitarian operations as it presents real data in terms of the engagement of airpower resources during humanitarian operations.

Download Full-text

The Desert of Experience: Jarhead and the Geography of the Persian Gulf War

PMLA ◽

10.1632/pmla.2009.124.5.1677 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 124 (5) ◽

pp. 1677-1689 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Geoffrey A. Wright

Keyword(s):

Persian Gulf ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Gulf War ◽

Persian Gulf War ◽

Film Adaptation ◽

Making Meaning ◽

Personal Experiences ◽

Words And Images ◽

The Persian Gulf ◽

Literature And Film

The censored media coverage of the Persian Gulf War obscured the region's geography and erased the suffering of combatants and civilians. In contrast, the literature and film on the war emphasize the human rather than the technological dimension of the fighting. The words and images used to represent the foot soldiers' deeply personal experiences are bound to the landscape. This essay sets forth a geographic semiotics of Persian Gulf War combat narratives, which entails the study of an array of geographically oriented codes for making meaning out of wartime experience. The study of geographic signs in these narratives revolves around images and descriptions of the desert, which permeate such literary and filmic accounts of the ground fighting as Anthony Swofford's memoir Jarhead (2003), Sam Mendes's film adaptation Jarhead (2005), and David Russell's Three Kings (1999). Practicing a geographic semiotics of Persian Gulf War combat narratives allows us to rethink the war, to reimagine what its stories might signify—morally as well as politically.

Download Full-text

Advocacy coalitions and flood insurance: Power and policies in the Australian Natural Disaster Insurance Review

Environment and Planning C Politics and Space ◽

10.1177/2399654420960484 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 239965442096048

Author(s):

Michaela Dolk ◽

Edmund C Penning-Rowsell

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Natural Disaster ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Private Insurance ◽

Flood Insurance ◽

Primary Role ◽

Advocacy Coalitions ◽

Case Study Methodology ◽

Disaster Insurance ◽

Public Inquiry

Insurance against flooding creates households and places that are protected against financial harm in the form of catastrophic losses. Contested here are questions surrounding the availability and affordability of private insurance cover, significantly affecting the lives of people in at-risk geographies by imposing costs either as insurance premiums or episodic flood damages. Policy choices and decisions (‘political/economic’) about such controversial place-based environmental/risk issues (‘spatial’) are often made “behind closed doors”. A public inquiry opens those doors, albeit briefly, so we can see “what goes on”. The Natural Disaster Insurance Review (NDIR), a public inquiry after the 2010/2011 Australian floods, was a major forum of debate about Australian flood insurance policy. We explore the intricate politics of the key advocacy coalitions involved, to understand the NDIR’s role and outcomes. Our case study methodology uses content analysis of c. 100 NDIR submissions and reports, media coverage, and insurance industry and government statements, supported by in-depth interviews with people directly involved. We show that a well-resourced and powerful coalition of insurers was the dominant advocacy coalition in the NDIR and that consumers and their at-risk communities were represented by a relatively under-resourced coalition. The primary role of the inquiry as a problem-solving process was ultimately overridden during the post-inquiry implementation phase, during which the insurance coalition was dominant. Major NDIR recommendations were not implemented, and hence key spatial/political issues that the inquiry was established to address for the benefit of those at risk remained unresolved.

Download Full-text

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss Hits Teens: ASHA Holds National Press Club Event to Highlight Dangers of MP3 Players; Media Coverage Goes Worldwide

ASHA Leader ◽

10.1044/leader.an1.11052006.1 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 1-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Dee Naquin Shafer

Keyword(s):

Hearing Loss ◽

Media Coverage ◽

Noise Induced Hearing Loss ◽

Mp3 Players

Download Full-text

Spreading the Word: Seasonal Changes Mean New Opportunities for Media Coverage

ASHA Leader ◽

10.1044/leader.stw.18072013.np ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

Keyword(s):

Media Coverage ◽

Seasonal Changes ◽

Swimming Pools

Summer kicking into high gear conjures images of swimming pools and barbeques. But before you book your beach house for the weekend, think about what the changing seasons can mean for you professionally.

Download Full-text

When Mother Earth Rises Up

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000112 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 271-277 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Simona Sacchi ◽

Paolo Riva ◽

Marco Brambilla

Keyword(s):

Free Will ◽

Natural Disasters ◽

Natural Disaster ◽

Mental States ◽

Disaster Victims ◽

Willingness To Help ◽

Mother Earth

Anthropomorphization is the tendency to ascribe humanlike features and mental states, such as free will and consciousness, to nonhuman beings or inanimate agents. Two studies investigated the consequences of the anthropomorphization of nature on people’s willingness to help victims of natural disasters. Study 1 (N = 96) showed that the humanization of nature correlated negatively with willingness to help natural disaster victims. Study 2 (N = 52) tested for causality, showing that the anthropomorphization of nature reduced participants’ intentions to help the victims. Overall, our findings suggest that humanizing nature undermines the tendency to support victims of natural disasters.

Download Full-text