Opening and Closing the Future: Climate Change, Adaptation, and Scenario Planning

The cost of social vulnerability: an integrative conceptual framework and model for assessing financial risks in natural disaster management

Groups that are unable to prepare for disasters, or to recover from damage on their own, have a high dependency on government services, which inevitably leads to more government spending. Given this, governments can better project the entire cost of disasters and, in turn, effectively manage their finances, by proactively identifying high-vulnerable populations in anticipating financial costs of disasters. However, little attention has been paid to social vulnerability in assessing financial risks in the natural hazards or public finance studies. Thus, this article fills this gap by bringing the concept of social vulnerability from three different fields of study to propose a conceptual framework and corresponding applicable model for estimating disaster costs to inform governmental financial management: the sociological literature on disaster management, economics literature on risk management, and environmental literature of disasters. We review 134 articles on vulnerability from 1990 to 2021, assessing the different conceptualizations of social vulnerability, and the factors affecting vulnerable populations, in each literature. This study contributes to the natural hazards literature on financial and emergency management by integrating the existing literature on social vulnerability into a conceptual framework for measuring social vulnerability and relating it to efforts to assess the financial impact of disasters. Furthermore, based on this conceptual framework, we develop an applicable model for estimating the financial costs of disasters that researchers or governments may apply to assess and develop effective strategies for managing the financial risks associated with disasters. Specifically, the model, which we call the cost of social vulnerability to disasters model (CSVDM), suggests specific indicators from the literature to measure the costs of social vulnerability to more accurately predict the financial impact of disasters.

A perspective on the role of uncertainty in sustainability science and engineering

The Trans-Atlantic Research and Development Interchange on Sustainability Workshop (TARDIS) is a meeting on scientific topics related to sustainability. The 2019 workshop theme was "On the Role of Uncertainty in Managing the Earth for Global Sustainability." This paper presents the perspectives on this topic derived from talks and discussions at the 2019 TARDIS workshop. There are four kinds of uncertainties encountered in sustainability ranging from clear enough futures to true surprises. The current state-of-the-art in assessing and mitigating these uncertainties is discussed.

A Leap from Negative to Positive Bond. A Step towards Project Sustainability

Departing from the normative formulation of stakeholder theory and building upon the current body of knowledge, this study aims to advance understandings on the benefits and challenges towards a more holistic approach to stakeholder management at the local level of major public infrastructure and construction projects (MPIC). Major construction projects, project managers, and the local community stakeholder are deemed to operate within a ‘negative bond’. This interaction is elucidated through the attribution theory lens, which shape the conceptual framework of the study. This paper illustrates that a broader inclusiveness of stakeholder views into managerial decisions can initiate to break this negative bond and shift it towards positive relationships. An organization’s conscious approach towards transparent communication with the local community stakeholder might help to shape a long-term perspective for better project benefits realization either at the national, regional, or local level. By ‘exceeding stakeholders needs and expectations’, project managers and local communities can better collaborate in order to achieve sustainable development over time.

Joseonjok and their evolving roles as mediators in transnational enterprises in Qingdao, China

This paper looks at the role played by Joseonjok (Korean Chinese who live in China) as mediators between newly arrived Korean entrepreneurs and Han Chinese migrant workers in the context of Qingdao, China. Based on archival analysis and ethnographic fieldwork, the paper demonstrates that the interactions and conflicts among Joseonjok (who are second- and third-generation transnational migrants), newcomer Korean entrepreneurs and Han Chinese migrant workers reflect the dynamics of geopolitics and the transnationalism process. The study found that Joseonjok’s mediating role diminished as Korean entrepreneurs and Han workers learned to adapt to each other, a development that prompted Joseonjok to consider other options.