International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 2018
Social science research on disaster-affected communities uses social capital to explain a variety... more Social science research on disaster-affected communities uses social capital to explain a variety of post-disaster outcomes. A promising recent line of inquiry looks at how disasters generate new forms of social capital, and reinvigorate place-based social networks and place attachment. Using survey data collected from 407 Calgary residents affected by the catastrophic 2013 Southern Alberta Flood, as well as interview data from 40 residents, this article examines factors that contributed to residents' expansion of their social networks during the disaster, and the impact of expanded social networks on residents' post-disaster place attachment and civic engagement. Findings reveal that people most affected by the flood, i.e., those who experienced house flooding and longer evacuations, were most likely to make new contacts during the disaster and immediately after it. However, results also indicate that these new forms of social capital did not translate into greater place attachment, even though they did engender some post-flood civic engagement. Overall, inundation, evacuation, and displacement are predictive of lesser post-disaster place attachment. The article concludes by discussing the relevance of the findings for theory and disaster scholarship.
Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 2019
Post-disaster migration patterns have been thoroughly studied from a demographic standpoint, but ... more Post-disaster migration patterns have been thoroughly studied from a demographic standpoint, but affected community residents' perceptions of ongoing risks and their willingness to remain in an affected community remain under-researched. Using data generated by 407 surveys and 40 interviews with residents impacted by the 2013 Calgary flood, this study analyses the effects of flood experience on residents' worry about future floods and their ensuing short-term and medium-term mobility plans. The results indicate that home flooding and evacuation orders are both predictive of worry about future floods. In turn, worry about future floods as well as age, homeownership, and place attachment are all predictive of post-disaster mobility plans. Residents discuss how the flood either strengthened or weakened their place attachment. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for social science research and for public policy that aims to mitigate disaster risk.
Disaster researchers have long analysed disruption to affected residents' ontological security, o... more Disaster researchers have long analysed disruption to affected residents' ontological security, often represented by routines and familiar landmarks. Surprisingly little of this work, though, assesses who is most likely to experience feelings of disruption. Using a representative set of survey data, complemented by follow-up interview data from 40 residents affected by the Southern Alberta Flood of June 2013, this paper explores how demographic characteristics, such as gender and place attachment, impact on residents' sense of disruption and loss. The findings indicate that women and people with stronger emotional and social ties to their neighbourhoods are most likely to experience disrupted ontological security; home flooding and evacuation orders are also significant predictors. The qualitative interview data reveal that many participants felt unsettled and disrupted by myriad factors, such as ongoing construction, which prevented them from establishing a 'new normal'. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for policymakers and service providers.
For many years, scholars have directed our attention to the gender gap in domestic labour. Even w... more For many years, scholars have directed our attention to the gender gap in domestic labour. Even when women engage in paid employment, they nevertheless perform the majority of the household labour in most wealthy countries. At the same time, disasters and crises both expose and exacerbate existing social inequalities. In this paper, we ask: in what ways has the COVID−19 pandemic contributed to the gender gap in household labour, including childcare? How do women and men feel about this gap? Using data from the Canadian Perspectives survey series (Wave 3), conducted by Statistics Canada three months into the pandemic, our analyses consider the task distribution that made household labour intensely unequal during COVID−19, with women ten times more likely than men to say childcare fell mostly on them, for example. Yet, in nearly all of our models, women did not ubiquitously report being more dissatisfied with the division of domestic tasks within the house, nor were they more likely than men to say that the household division of labour "got worse" during COVID; however, parents did feel This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
As climate change intensifies, scholars are beginning to ask whether firsthand experience with di... more As climate change intensifies, scholars are beginning to ask whether firsthand experience with disaster will cause complacent people to develop greater environmental concern and engage in more proenvironmental behaviors. Will the disruption caused by experiencing a local environmental disaster be enough to motivate residents to change their values and behaviors? The aim of this study is to answer that question by analyzing qualitative interview data collected from 40 residents of Calgary, Alberta, who survived the devastating and costly 2013 southern Alberta flood. Despite normally high levels of climate change denial and complacency, findings indicate that the flood prompted residents to concern themselves more with climate change and the climate crisis and to begin adopting many householdlevel proenvironmental behaviors. The findings also point to important gender differences in both environmental concern and proenvironmental behaviors. Thus, the article establishes a social-psychological process of attitudinal and behavioral change, allowing us to better understand how jarring environmental events disrupt complacency.
Scholarly attention has recently shifted to the creation and redevelopment of urban hazardscapes.... more Scholarly attention has recently shifted to the creation and redevelopment of urban hazardscapes. This body of work demonstrates how housing is deployed in close proximity to hazards, and how the attendant risks have been communicated—or not—to potential residents. Utilizing the case of Calgary, Alberta, this article uses interview data collected from flood-impacted residents, and looks at their perceptions of development and risk creation. The analyses focus on how people attribute responsibility for development in flood-prone areas, and their views on future development in these areas. Results reveal that many residents argued for more government regulations preventing new development in floodplains. Moreover, they viewed developers as narrow-interested capitalists who fail to protect public safety and work to conceal risk from the public. Others wished to see large structural mitigation projects—dams, levees, or floodwalls—or insisted that homebuyers be informed of flood risk prior to purchase. The article concludes by addressing the implications for scholarly work in urban sociology, environmental sociology, and the sociology of disaster—all of which grapple with tensions between place-making and risk creation.
Recent research in the area of science and technology studies focuses on climate change denial, t... more Recent research in the area of science and technology studies focuses on climate change denial, the spread of misinformation, and public distrust in climate scientists; these beliefs are held especially by those dependent on fossil fuel extraction for their livelihoods. Many of the same individuals who deny the scientific consensus on climate change are nevertheless directly impacted by the climate crisis and environmental disasters. In fossil fuel dependent locations, do people continue to deny the scientific consensus on climate change and distrust climate scientists even after themselves experiencing a catastrophic flood? This paper investigates this question through interviews with 40 people affected by the 2013 Southern Alberta Flood, the costliest flood in Canadian history, who also live in the City of Calgary, the economic hub for Canada's tar sands. Results indicate the participants rejected the scientific consensus on climate change, voiced a distrust in the motivations of climate scientists, though hoped they would one day discover the 'truth', and worked discursively to protect the oil industry. The findings reveal the complexity of post-disaster environmental views and trust in science, as well as how fossil fuel dependence shapes these views.
This paper utilizes Du Bois' double consciousness, as well as insights from feminist theory ... more This paper utilizes Du Bois' double consciousness, as well as insights from feminist theory and critical pedagogy, to examine the tensions involved in being both a professional sociologist and a New Orleanian affected by Hurricane Katrina. We argue that sociologists from New Orleans face barriers that prevent us from writing and teaching about Katrina 'objectively', as many in our discipline demand, while simultaneously discouraging us from engaging in research and teaching that draw on personal experiences with Katrina. We ...
International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 2018
Social science research on disaster-affected communities uses social capital to explain a variety... more Social science research on disaster-affected communities uses social capital to explain a variety of post-disaster outcomes. A promising recent line of inquiry looks at how disasters generate new forms of social capital, and reinvigorate place-based social networks and place attachment. Using survey data collected from 407 Calgary residents affected by the catastrophic 2013 Southern Alberta Flood, as well as interview data from 40 residents, this article examines factors that contributed to residents' expansion of their social networks during the disaster, and the impact of expanded social networks on residents' post-disaster place attachment and civic engagement. Findings reveal that people most affected by the flood, i.e., those who experienced house flooding and longer evacuations, were most likely to make new contacts during the disaster and immediately after it. However, results also indicate that these new forms of social capital did not translate into greater place attachment, even though they did engender some post-flood civic engagement. Overall, inundation, evacuation, and displacement are predictive of lesser post-disaster place attachment. The article concludes by discussing the relevance of the findings for theory and disaster scholarship.
Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 2019
Post-disaster migration patterns have been thoroughly studied from a demographic standpoint, but ... more Post-disaster migration patterns have been thoroughly studied from a demographic standpoint, but affected community residents' perceptions of ongoing risks and their willingness to remain in an affected community remain under-researched. Using data generated by 407 surveys and 40 interviews with residents impacted by the 2013 Calgary flood, this study analyses the effects of flood experience on residents' worry about future floods and their ensuing short-term and medium-term mobility plans. The results indicate that home flooding and evacuation orders are both predictive of worry about future floods. In turn, worry about future floods as well as age, homeownership, and place attachment are all predictive of post-disaster mobility plans. Residents discuss how the flood either strengthened or weakened their place attachment. The paper concludes by discussing the implications for social science research and for public policy that aims to mitigate disaster risk.
Disaster researchers have long analysed disruption to affected residents' ontological security, o... more Disaster researchers have long analysed disruption to affected residents' ontological security, often represented by routines and familiar landmarks. Surprisingly little of this work, though, assesses who is most likely to experience feelings of disruption. Using a representative set of survey data, complemented by follow-up interview data from 40 residents affected by the Southern Alberta Flood of June 2013, this paper explores how demographic characteristics, such as gender and place attachment, impact on residents' sense of disruption and loss. The findings indicate that women and people with stronger emotional and social ties to their neighbourhoods are most likely to experience disrupted ontological security; home flooding and evacuation orders are also significant predictors. The qualitative interview data reveal that many participants felt unsettled and disrupted by myriad factors, such as ongoing construction, which prevented them from establishing a 'new normal'. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for policymakers and service providers.
For many years, scholars have directed our attention to the gender gap in domestic labour. Even w... more For many years, scholars have directed our attention to the gender gap in domestic labour. Even when women engage in paid employment, they nevertheless perform the majority of the household labour in most wealthy countries. At the same time, disasters and crises both expose and exacerbate existing social inequalities. In this paper, we ask: in what ways has the COVID−19 pandemic contributed to the gender gap in household labour, including childcare? How do women and men feel about this gap? Using data from the Canadian Perspectives survey series (Wave 3), conducted by Statistics Canada three months into the pandemic, our analyses consider the task distribution that made household labour intensely unequal during COVID−19, with women ten times more likely than men to say childcare fell mostly on them, for example. Yet, in nearly all of our models, women did not ubiquitously report being more dissatisfied with the division of domestic tasks within the house, nor were they more likely than men to say that the household division of labour "got worse" during COVID; however, parents did feel This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
As climate change intensifies, scholars are beginning to ask whether firsthand experience with di... more As climate change intensifies, scholars are beginning to ask whether firsthand experience with disaster will cause complacent people to develop greater environmental concern and engage in more proenvironmental behaviors. Will the disruption caused by experiencing a local environmental disaster be enough to motivate residents to change their values and behaviors? The aim of this study is to answer that question by analyzing qualitative interview data collected from 40 residents of Calgary, Alberta, who survived the devastating and costly 2013 southern Alberta flood. Despite normally high levels of climate change denial and complacency, findings indicate that the flood prompted residents to concern themselves more with climate change and the climate crisis and to begin adopting many householdlevel proenvironmental behaviors. The findings also point to important gender differences in both environmental concern and proenvironmental behaviors. Thus, the article establishes a social-psychological process of attitudinal and behavioral change, allowing us to better understand how jarring environmental events disrupt complacency.
Scholarly attention has recently shifted to the creation and redevelopment of urban hazardscapes.... more Scholarly attention has recently shifted to the creation and redevelopment of urban hazardscapes. This body of work demonstrates how housing is deployed in close proximity to hazards, and how the attendant risks have been communicated—or not—to potential residents. Utilizing the case of Calgary, Alberta, this article uses interview data collected from flood-impacted residents, and looks at their perceptions of development and risk creation. The analyses focus on how people attribute responsibility for development in flood-prone areas, and their views on future development in these areas. Results reveal that many residents argued for more government regulations preventing new development in floodplains. Moreover, they viewed developers as narrow-interested capitalists who fail to protect public safety and work to conceal risk from the public. Others wished to see large structural mitigation projects—dams, levees, or floodwalls—or insisted that homebuyers be informed of flood risk prior to purchase. The article concludes by addressing the implications for scholarly work in urban sociology, environmental sociology, and the sociology of disaster—all of which grapple with tensions between place-making and risk creation.
Recent research in the area of science and technology studies focuses on climate change denial, t... more Recent research in the area of science and technology studies focuses on climate change denial, the spread of misinformation, and public distrust in climate scientists; these beliefs are held especially by those dependent on fossil fuel extraction for their livelihoods. Many of the same individuals who deny the scientific consensus on climate change are nevertheless directly impacted by the climate crisis and environmental disasters. In fossil fuel dependent locations, do people continue to deny the scientific consensus on climate change and distrust climate scientists even after themselves experiencing a catastrophic flood? This paper investigates this question through interviews with 40 people affected by the 2013 Southern Alberta Flood, the costliest flood in Canadian history, who also live in the City of Calgary, the economic hub for Canada's tar sands. Results indicate the participants rejected the scientific consensus on climate change, voiced a distrust in the motivations of climate scientists, though hoped they would one day discover the 'truth', and worked discursively to protect the oil industry. The findings reveal the complexity of post-disaster environmental views and trust in science, as well as how fossil fuel dependence shapes these views.
This paper utilizes Du Bois' double consciousness, as well as insights from feminist theory ... more This paper utilizes Du Bois' double consciousness, as well as insights from feminist theory and critical pedagogy, to examine the tensions involved in being both a professional sociologist and a New Orleanian affected by Hurricane Katrina. We argue that sociologists from New Orleans face barriers that prevent us from writing and teaching about Katrina 'objectively', as many in our discipline demand, while simultaneously discouraging us from engaging in research and teaching that draw on personal experiences with Katrina. We ...
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