Forces of Nature and Cultural Responses

Forces of Nature and Cultural Responses PDF Author: Katrin Pfeifer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400750005
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
How do and how did people perceive, manage and respond to natural disasters? How are the causes of natural disasters explained in history, how are they explained today? This volume investigates relationships between forces of nature and human culture in a multidisciplinary context bridging science and the humanities. Forces of nature and cultural responses is divided into four sections: (1) ball lightnings, (2) earthquakes and tsunamis, (3) volcanic eruptions and plagues, and (4) hurricanes and floodings. Specifically, Section 1 investigates theories and case studies of ball lightning phenomena. Section 2 includes a psychological study on the impact of earthquakes on academic performance, a study on tsunami vulnerability and recovery strategies in Thailand and a study on the social and economic aftermaths of a tsunami and a hurricane in Hawaii. Section 3 consists of a chapter on volcanic eruptions and plagues as well as cultural responses in Ancient Times and a study on contemporary vulnerability and resilience under chronic volcanic eruptions. Section 4 investigates the impact of hurricane Katrina on the current jazz scene in New Orleans and cultural responses to floodings in The Netherlands in Early Modern Times.

Forces of Nature and Cultural Responses

Forces of Nature and Cultural Responses PDF Author: Katrin Pfeifer
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400750005
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 233

Get Book Here

Book Description
How do and how did people perceive, manage and respond to natural disasters? How are the causes of natural disasters explained in history, how are they explained today? This volume investigates relationships between forces of nature and human culture in a multidisciplinary context bridging science and the humanities. Forces of nature and cultural responses is divided into four sections: (1) ball lightnings, (2) earthquakes and tsunamis, (3) volcanic eruptions and plagues, and (4) hurricanes and floodings. Specifically, Section 1 investigates theories and case studies of ball lightning phenomena. Section 2 includes a psychological study on the impact of earthquakes on academic performance, a study on tsunami vulnerability and recovery strategies in Thailand and a study on the social and economic aftermaths of a tsunami and a hurricane in Hawaii. Section 3 consists of a chapter on volcanic eruptions and plagues as well as cultural responses in Ancient Times and a study on contemporary vulnerability and resilience under chronic volcanic eruptions. Section 4 investigates the impact of hurricane Katrina on the current jazz scene in New Orleans and cultural responses to floodings in The Netherlands in Early Modern Times.

Forces of Nature

Forces of Nature PDF Author: Adrian Renner
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110783827
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Um 1800 diskutierte man über Naturkräfte in verschiedenen wissenschaftlichen und künstlerischen Zusammenhängen: Anziehung und Abstoßung, Lebenskräfte und elektrische Ströme, der "Bildungstrieb" und biologische Organismen wurden als Kräfte untersucht, die sich auf „natürliche" Prozesse zurückführen lassen. Literatur, Wissenschaft und Philosophie der deutschsprachigen Romantik von Schelling bis zu Günderrode und Hölderlin arbeiteten sich an Konzepten von Kräften ab, die als dynamisch und in beständiger Tätigkeit begriffen wurden – Kräfte, die auch menschliche Handlungen, soziale Strukturen und kulturelle Entwicklungen einzuschließen schienen. Der Band erkundet Vor- und Darstellungen von Naturkräften in der Romantik an der Schnittstelle von Naturwissenschaft und kulturellen Vorstellungswelten.

Environmental History in the Making

Environmental History in the Making PDF Author: Estelita Vaz
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319410857
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
This book is the product of the 2nd World Conference on Environmental History, held in Guimarães, Portugal, in 2014. It gathers works by authors from the five continents, addressing concerns raised by past events so as to provide information to help manage the present and the future. It reveals how our cultural background and examples of past territorial intervention can help to combat political and cultural limitations through the common language of environmental benefits without disguising harmful past human interventions. Considering that political ideologies such as socialism and capitalism, as well as religion, fail to offer global paradigms for common ground, an environmentally positive discourse instead of an ecological determinism might serve as an umbrella common language to overcome blocking factors, real or invented, and avoid repeating ecological loss. Therefore, agency, environmental speech and historical research are urgently needed in order to sustain environmental paradigms and overcome political, cultural an economic interests in the public arena. This book intertwines reflections on our bonds with landscapes, processes of natural and scientific transfer across the globe, the changing of ecosystems, the way in which scientific knowledge has historically both accelerated destruction and allowed a better distribution of vital resources or as it, in today’s world, can offer alternatives that avoid harming those same vital natural resources: water, soil and air. In addition, it shows the relevance of cultural factors both in the taming of nature in favor of human comfort and in the role of the environment matters in the forging of cultural identities, which cannot be detached from technical intervention in the world. In short, the book firstly studies the past, approaching it as a data set of how the environment has shaped culture, secondly seeks to understand the present, and thirdly assesses future perspectives: what to keep, what to change, and what to dream anew, considering that conventional solutions have not sufficed to protect life on our planet.

250 Years of Industrial Consumption and Transformation of Nature: Impacts on Global Ecosystems and Life

250 Years of Industrial Consumption and Transformation of Nature: Impacts on Global Ecosystems and Life PDF Author: Hubert Engelbrecht
Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
ISBN: 1681086018
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
Anthropogenic changes in the environment, caused by 250 years of economic growth and utilization of fuel and mineral resources, have considerably impacted the natural environment. The resulting physical and chemical alterations to the Earth's sphere and our adaptive responses in the biosphere are detailed in this reference book. Readers will learn about concepts relevant to Earth’s history, the evolution of life, economy, ecology, environmental history, biology, and medicine and how these concepts can be linked to environmental change. The scope of this interdisciplinary work entails to convey the true degree of responsibility for the universal consequences of ecosystem degradation resulting from industrial processing, human consumption and the transformation of natural sites due to industrialization and urbanization. Topics covered in the book include: -ecosystem transformations by natural and anthropogenic forces -the Anthropocene epoch -a short history of industrialization -environmental sites and the impact of socio-economic influences -the current environmental crisis, This textbook is intended for graduate students in economics, civil engineering, architecture, agronomics, forestry, technical and mining sciences, political sciences, business studies and humanities. General readers who wish to understand the basic philosophy behind environmental studies and their relation to human activity can also benefit from this book.

The Atmosphere and Ionosphere

The Atmosphere and Ionosphere PDF Author: Vladimir L. Bychkov
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331905239X
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 403

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Book Description
This book presents a collection of reviews prepared for the conference “Atmosphere, Ionosphere, Safety,” held in Kaliningrad, Russia, in July 2012. It provides the reader insight into the current developments in the following fields: physics of elementary processes; ionosphere dynamics; ball lightning and aerosol structures; as well as remote detection of the radioactive and highly toxic substances. The diversity of scope presented offers readers an up-to-date overview of trends, questions and their solutions.

Managing Disaster Risks to Cultural Heritage

Managing Disaster Risks to Cultural Heritage PDF Author: Bijan Rouhani
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1003803555
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
Managing Disaster Risks to Cultural Heritage presents case studies from different regions in the world and establishes a framework for understanding, identifying, and analysing disaster risks to immovable cultural heritage. Featuring contributions from academics and practitioners from around the globe, the book presents a comprehensive view of the scholarship relating to cultural heritage, disaster risk preparedness, and post-disaster recovery. Particular attention is given to the complex and dynamic nature of disaster risks and how they evolve during different phases of a catastrophic event, especially as hazards can create secondary effects that have greater impacts on cultural heritage, infrastructure, and economy. Arguing that risk preparedness and mitigation have historically been secondary to reactive emergency and first aid response, the book demonstrates that preparedness plans based on sound risk assessments can prevent hazards from becoming disasters. Emphasising that the protection of cultural heritage through preparedness, mitigation actions, and risk adaptation measures – especially for climate change – can contribute to the resilience of societies, the book highlights the vital role of communities in such activities. Managing Disaster Risks to Cultural Heritage will be useful to students, professionals, and scholars studying and working with cultural heritage protection. It will be of particular interest to those working in the fields of Cultural Heritage, Archaeology, Conservation and Preservation, Sustainable Development, and Disaster Studies.

Natural Hazards

Natural Hazards PDF Author: Burrell E. Montz
Publisher: Guilford Publications
ISBN: 1462529208
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 464

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Book Description
What can we learn from the spatial patterns of disasters? What human and structural factors need to be addressed to explain hazard vulnerability? As populations grow and the climate warms, how can natural hazards be mitigated? Thoroughly revised and updated, and now with a more global perspective, the second edition of this accessible text provides an integrated framework for understanding and managing natural hazards. Numerous case studies from around the world illustrate the complexities of extreme geophysical events and highlight their physical, social, political, and economic dimensions. The text identifies essential principles for tackling the fundamental causes of differential vulnerabilities that perpetuate human distress, and for promoting recovery and resilience. New to This Edition *New frameworks for understanding human resilience and adaptive capacity in recovery, dynamics of risk and uncertainty, and more. *Chapter on spatial and temporal aspects of hazards. *Discussions of cutting-edge topics, such as chronic disasters, controversies in international aid, and how hazards affect regions differentially. *Many new case studies, including Hurricanes Katrina and Charley, Superstorm Sandy, the 2011 Japan tsunami, Ecuador's chronic volcanic hazard, and others. *Reflects 20 years of research advances across the physical and social sciences, development trends, new technologies, and ongoing global climate change.

The New Environmentalism?

The New Environmentalism? PDF Author: Davide Torsello
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131702284X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
Drawing on rich ethnographic work in both Eastern and Western Europe, The New Environmentalism? presents a range of case studies to explore the impact of corruption in EU-funded structural development projects. With detailed analyses of the forms and contexts of environmentalism, the book reveals the manner in which corruption is generated by the planning and implementation procedures of the projects, demonstrating in each case that environmental movements emerge as by-products of these processes, using corruption as part of a discourse employed in support of their action against political (regional and state) institutions, as well as to communicate their goals to local citizens. Shedding light on the ways in which revelations about corruption are adopted as a means to fostering civic participation in environmental movements and influencing institutional trust, this book contributes to our understanding of the loss of legitimacy and trust in local and global political institutions. Comparative in approach, The New Environmentalism? provides new insights into the emergence of strong civic movements at local and trans-local levels, in resistance to citizens' sense of increasing alienation from political participation and decision making. As such, it will be of interest to anthropologists, sociologists and political scientists concerned with questions of legitimacy, corruption and activism.

Natural Disasters in the Ottoman Empire

Natural Disasters in the Ottoman Empire PDF Author: Yaron Ayalon
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107072972
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
Yaron Ayalon explores the Ottoman Empire's history of natural disasters and its responses on a state, communal, and individual level.

Natural Disasters

Natural Disasters PDF Author: Anders Wijkman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000708152
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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Book Description
Originally published in 1984 Natural Disasters shows how misleading the term “natural disaster” can be. Forces of nature such as earthquakes, cyclones and extreme variations in weather can trigger disasters, but in many Third World countries it is environmental degradation, poverty and rapid population growth which turn a natural hazard into major disaster. This book questions whether the rich nations’ usual response to disaster – fast, short-lived emergency assistance – is any longer adequate. Today, most major disasters are “development” gone wrong, development which puts millions of poor people on the margins of existence. Disaster relief alone is like bandaging a rapidly growing wound. The appropriate response must include an element of true development – development which reduces rather than increases vulnerability to disasters.