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Social Sciences
Special Issues
Anthropological Reflections on Crisis and Disaster
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Anthropological Reflections on Crisis and Disaster

A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2023) | Viewed by 10994

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Christopher Dyer

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Division, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
Interests: aquatic biology; social science research methods; social science theory; world fisheries; human responses to coastal hazards and disasters; fisheries resource management: policy and praxis; ecological

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Our Global Anthropocene community is experiencing historically unprecedented increases in the frequency and severity of disasters and accompanying risks. The very fabric of human societies and cultures is challenged with events that potentially lead to dysfunction and ultimate collapse. Anthropologists responding to such events come from diverse backgrounds—some that are not traditionally labeled “Anthropological”—but all come from the perspective of applying knowledge to mitigate outcomes that degrade the ability of humanity to thrive or even survive. The goal of this Special Issue on Social Science is to encapsulate many of these perspectives in a way that can lead to comprehensive solutions to disaster and risk. Collectively they can provide scientists and practitioners with tools to mitigate disaster and risk outcomes, problem-solving strategies, and models that can be applied across many disciplines and diverse disaster and risk scenarios. Ultimately we cannot totally eliminate or avoid risk and disaster events, but through comprehensive understanding proactively plan for and build disaster resilience before, during and after events occur. We invite scholars and practitioners from all backgrounds to contribute to the potential following areas:  

  • Quantitative modeling of agent-based human responses to hazards and disasters  
  • Health and medical responses to disasters, pandemics, social-psychological impacts
  • Disaster response training of medical professionals
  • Culture loss and tradition impacts of disaster and hazards
  • Loss/degradation of community natural resources after disaster
  • Climate change impacts on island communities and coastal fisheries
  • Impacts of severe weather events on rural communities and economies
  • Human responses to nuclear disasters and hazards
  • Impacts of water pollution events on community health and survivability
  • Culture loss and mass migration due to war, famine, or drought
  • Biodiversity loss and impacts on culture and community
  • Food and water security - disaster and source pollution.

Other topics can be added based on research interests, with a target goal of at least 18 chapters prepared in bound book format.

Prof. Dr. Christopher Dyer
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 641 KiB  
Article
Perceptions of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and La Niña Shape Fishers’ Adaptive Capacity and Resilience
by Richard Pollnac, Christine M. Beitl, Michael A. Vina and Nikita Gaibor
Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(7), 356; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13070356 - 3 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1195
Abstract
Much research has raised concerns about how a warming planet will interact with natural cyclical climatic variations, and the implications for the resilience and vulnerability of coastal communities. As the anticipated effects of climate change will continue to intensify, it is necessary to [...] Read more.
Much research has raised concerns about how a warming planet will interact with natural cyclical climatic variations, and the implications for the resilience and vulnerability of coastal communities. As the anticipated effects of climate change will continue to intensify, it is necessary to understand the response and adaptive capacity of individuals and communities. Coastal communities in Ecuador have evolved in an environment of such cyclical climatic variations referred to as El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and La Niña. These climatic events are frequently characterized by extreme variations in precipitation, violent storms, and coastal flooding during El Niño and lowered sea water temperatures and drought during La Niña. This paper draws on survey data and long-term ethnographic research in Ecuadorian coastal communities to explore how fishers understand the impacts of ENSO and implications for their livelihood decisions and resilience to climate variability. The results suggest that fishers along the coast of Ecuador understand and respond differentially to the impacts of ENSO depending on social, cultural, environmental, and geographical factors. These differential levels of response suggest that livelihood diversification may uphold social resilience, which has implications for how coastal communities may adapt to the increasingly harsh weather conditions predicted by many climate models. Our findings further suggest that the impacts of El Niño are more salient than the impacts of La Niña; these findings have significant implications for fisheries management and science communication. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropological Reflections on Crisis and Disaster)
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16 pages, 2259 KiB  
Article
Understanding Factors Affecting Fishers’ Wellbeing in the U.S. Virgin Islands through the Lens of Heuristic Modelling
by Tarsila Seara and Richard Pollnac
Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(7), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13070329 - 24 Jun 2024
Viewed by 743
Abstract
Ongoing efforts to improve U.S. Caribbean fisheries management include increased consideration for human dimensions data and increased stakeholder input and engagement. Given the significant pressure that the local fisheries have sustained due to environmental degradation, climate change, storms and hurricanes, and overharvesting, combined [...] Read more.
Ongoing efforts to improve U.S. Caribbean fisheries management include increased consideration for human dimensions data and increased stakeholder input and engagement. Given the significant pressure that the local fisheries have sustained due to environmental degradation, climate change, storms and hurricanes, and overharvesting, combined with the critical data gaps that exist in both natural and human dimensions, it becomes particularly important to understand fishers’ perceptions and aspects influencing them to promote efforts that will maximize the wellbeing of these social-ecological systems. In this study, data collected through surveys with fishers in the U.S. Virgin Islands were used to develop a correlation model to test relationships between variables using a heuristic model, the Anthropic Impact Assessment Model (AIAM) as the basis. Findings support the application of heuristic models, such as the AIAM, to develop hypotheses and test relationships to understand complex fishery social-ecological systems. The most significant findings with implications for decision making in the region include support for considering fishers’ wellbeing as an indicator of ecosystem health and for using fishers’ local ecological knowledge in the management process, particularly under data-poor conditions, for information that can be used to better target outreach and education efforts, as well as more effective recovery plans to promote resilience and adaptation to environmental change, including the impacts of natural disasters. Results of this study and future analyses using similar approaches can be used to guide the incorporation of human dimensions data into the decision-making process in the U.S. Caribbean and elsewhere. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropological Reflections on Crisis and Disaster)
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19 pages, 2754 KiB  
Article
Social and Cultural Hazards, from the 3.11 Disaster through Today’s Global Warming: Shifting Conceptions of the Soma Nomaoi Cavalry Event in Fukushima, Japan
by Nobuko Adachi
Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(6), 302; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13060302 - 3 Jun 2024
Viewed by 664
Abstract
This case study is an anthropological reflection on the impact of multiple disaster events on the culture and economy of the Hamadōri coastal area of Fukushima, Japan. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown; the pandemic of 2020; and today’s global warming [...] Read more.
This case study is an anthropological reflection on the impact of multiple disaster events on the culture and economy of the Hamadōri coastal area of Fukushima, Japan. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear meltdown; the pandemic of 2020; and today’s global warming have affected this area’s economic, touristic, and cultural practices, such as the Soma Nomaoi Calvary tradition. Outcomes exemplify the concept of punctuated entropy: a permanent decline in the adaptive flexibility of a human cultural system to the environment brought on by the cumulative impact of periodic disaster events. In the case of Fukushima, efforts to mitigate and recover from these closely occurring disaster events have been only partially successful, and the outcomes provide profound lessons learned regarding the complexity of the recovery process when deep-seated and sustaining cultural practices are disrupted or lost. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropological Reflections on Crisis and Disaster)
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13 pages, 2635 KiB  
Article
The Driving Federal Interest in Environmental Hazards: Weather Disaster as Global Security Threat
by Lance L. Larkin and Nicholas M. Josefik
Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(4), 219; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13040219 - 18 Apr 2024
Viewed by 1327
Abstract
The U.S. federal government manages many domestic and global operations, including environmental disasters. With the need to both mitigate and adapt to climate change, legislative and executive branches have spurred research efforts as the impacts of the Anthropocene accelerate around the country. The [...] Read more.
The U.S. federal government manages many domestic and global operations, including environmental disasters. With the need to both mitigate and adapt to climate change, legislative and executive branches have spurred research efforts as the impacts of the Anthropocene accelerate around the country. The Army Corps of Engineers’ overlapping interest in security and providing technological answers to mitigate weather disasters has led to recent research and development, including facilitating the federal mandate to convert military fleets to electric vehicles by 2027 while also building a hydrogen fuel cell emergency operations vehicle. The emergency vehicle, H2Rescue, has recently been tested in the field, and further refinements in the technology are leading towards a transition out of development and into production. However, the engineered solution must also attend to the social dimensions of disaster relief. This paper examines past environmental disasters in one location, the Navajo Nation, to describe how the vehicle could provide a combination of technological and societal future research possibilities for environmental anthropology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropological Reflections on Crisis and Disaster)
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29 pages, 343 KiB  
Article
Social Disability as Disaster: Case Studies of the COVID-19 Pandemic on People Living with Disabilities
by Irena L. C. Connon, Alexandra Crampton, Christopher Dyer and Rita Xiaochen Hu
Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(4), 203; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13040203 - 5 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1667
Abstract
Social disability is a process or event that significantly disrupts, paralyzes, or prevents the formation and/or sustaining of interpersonal social relations required for meeting human needs. When prolonged, the ‘disabling’ of essential human interrelationships can have a destructive impact. This is especially true [...] Read more.
Social disability is a process or event that significantly disrupts, paralyzes, or prevents the formation and/or sustaining of interpersonal social relations required for meeting human needs. When prolonged, the ‘disabling’ of essential human interrelationships can have a destructive impact. This is especially true in communities where people are highly interdependent and where individuals living with disabilities rely upon social relationships to prevent isolation and decline in overall wellbeing. Meanwhile, disaster response systems have developed to first rescue or protect individuals’ ‘bare life’ and immediate, bodily needs. We argue that these systems, intended to mitigate disaster, can exacerbate social disability as a kind of collateral damage. We explore this problem as it unfolded amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in two research sites: one located in rural, northern Scotland and another located in rural, Midwestern United States. The Scottish research focuses on experiences, causes and risks of social disability for adults living with disabilities within a small rural community, while the U.S. research focuses on emergence of and resistance to social disability among residents of a continuing care retirement community for 55+ aged adults. We conclude with implications and recommendations for disaster intervention and future research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropological Reflections on Crisis and Disaster)
20 pages, 8238 KiB  
Article
The Public Health Crisis Conceptual Model: Historical Application to the World’s First Nuclear Bomb Test
by Mary Pat Couig, Roberta Lavin, Heidi Honegger Rogers and Sara Bandish Nugent
Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(4), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13040186 - 25 Mar 2024
Viewed by 2052
Abstract
Background/purpose: The Public Health Crisis Conceptual Model was developed to identify and address healthcare and human services needs related to a disaster. The purpose of this study was to historically apply this model to the counties and populations most affected by the first [...] Read more.
Background/purpose: The Public Health Crisis Conceptual Model was developed to identify and address healthcare and human services needs related to a disaster. The purpose of this study was to historically apply this model to the counties and populations most affected by the first nuclear test in 1945, with a focus on community and local priorities, and to further describe this model and validate its usefulness. If the model had been applied in 1945, what might have been different with respect to research, epidemiological studies, and reparations? Methods: A historical, descriptive case study approach was used, with a focus on community and local priorities. Results: While it was deemed necessary to maintain secrecy surrounding the Trinity test during wartime efforts, scientists and the military knew of the potential dangers of radioactive fallout. However, they neglected to inform exposed New Mexicans after the information about the nature of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been made public. Conclusions: Research and epidemiological studies could have been implemented years before they were. Resources were not and have not been distributed equitably to those exposed to fallout from the Trinity test site. Using the Public Health Crisis Conceptual Model will help ensure that community and local priorities are an integral component of future disaster-related research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropological Reflections on Crisis and Disaster)
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17 pages, 301 KiB  
Article
Changes in the Well-Being of Foreign Language Speaking Migrant Mothers Living in Finland during the Initial Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic
by Eveliina Heino, Hanna Kara and Camilla Nordberg
Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(1), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13010042 - 9 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1452
Abstract
This article examines changes in the well-being of foreign-language-speaking migrant mothers living in Finland during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. Our data consist of 73 mothers’ responses to a qualitative survey conducted between 18 April and [...] Read more.
This article examines changes in the well-being of foreign-language-speaking migrant mothers living in Finland during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. Our data consist of 73 mothers’ responses to a qualitative survey conducted between 18 April and 26 May 2020. In our analysis, we employ the division of well-being into three dimensions: having, loving, and being. According to our results, the participating mothers experienced dramatic changes, such as an increased burden of care and domestic work, difficulties helping children with remote studies, health concerns, a lack of free time, isolation from Finnish society and the inability to travel to their country of origin. Family-centered activities helped the mothers to cope in this situation but also caused strains. Based on our findings, we discuss the vulnerabilities these mothers experienced in relation to language, migration background and gender roles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropological Reflections on Crisis and Disaster)

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21 pages, 1215 KiB  
Essay
Small Island Risks: Research Reflections for Disaster Anthropologists and Climate Ethnographers
by Crystal A. Felima
Soc. Sci. 2024, 13(7), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13070348 - 28 Jun 2024
Viewed by 970
Abstract
Disasters and climate-related events, including tropical storms, droughts, coastal erosion, and ocean acidification, threaten small island nations. Given the urgency of reducing disaster risks and the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations, this reflection essay pursues three objectives. First, it highlights the [...] Read more.
Disasters and climate-related events, including tropical storms, droughts, coastal erosion, and ocean acidification, threaten small island nations. Given the urgency of reducing disaster risks and the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations, this reflection essay pursues three objectives. First, it highlights the role of anthropology, ethnography, and multi-sited research in exploring disaster impacts, climate crises, and public policy in island communities. It then highlights national planning and inter-regional activities to build awareness of various risk reduction efforts by island nations and multi-governmental organizations. This article concludes with discussion prompts to engage researchers, scholars, students, and practitioners studying and working in small island nations. Due to the growing interest in climate equity and justice, this paper argues that anthropologists can offer valuable methodologies and approaches to develop transdisciplinary and nuanced insights into researching disaster risk reduction efforts and climate policy networks in and across island nations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anthropological Reflections on Crisis and Disaster)
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