Methodology - 2 | 8. Cultural Dimensions and Vulnerability | Disaster Preparedness &Planning - Vol 5
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Sustainable Livelihoods Framework

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Teacher
Teacher

Today, we're going to discuss the sustainable livelihoods framework. Can anyone tell me what this framework focuses on?

Student 1
Student 1

It’s about how people access resources for their livelihoods.

Teacher
Teacher

Exactly! This framework, developed in 1997, emphasizes the assets communities utilize for organizing their livelihoods. Can anyone name the types of assets?

Student 2
Student 2

Natural, physical, social, human, and financial assets.

Teacher
Teacher

Great job! Remember the acronym 'NPSHF' to help you recall these types of assets. Each impacts how communities respond to challenges. Let's dive deeper!

Cultural Factors in Disaster Recovery

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Teacher
Teacher

Next, let’s analyze how cultural factors influence disaster recovery. Why do you think culture is critical in these contexts?

Student 3
Student 3

Because people’s beliefs and practices can affect how they respond to disasters!

Teacher
Teacher

Absolutely! Cultural dynamics shape various aspects of life, including decision-making in emergencies. Can someone explain what Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital means?

Student 4
Student 4

It refers to the advantages people inherit, like family traditions and credentials?

Teacher
Teacher

Exactly! Cultural capital impacts how communities utilize their assets in recovery. Let’s remember it with the mnemonic 'ICE': Inherited, Cultural, and Educational assets.

Morphology and Community Dynamics

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Teacher
Teacher

Let’s consider the role of morphology in community recovery post-disaster. How does our environment influence our cultural practices?

Student 1
Student 1

The layout and design of our surroundings can affect social interactions and community solidarity.

Teacher
Teacher

Exactly! The theory of responsive environments can help us understand how to measure these changes. Can anyone name the qualities we should be observing?

Student 2
Student 2

Permeability, legibility, and personalization?

Teacher
Teacher

Yes! Using the acronym 'PLV' (Permeability, Legibility, Variety), we can remember these essential qualities. Now, let’s discuss how these characteristics affect disaster recovery.

Introduction & Overview

Read a summary of the section's main ideas. Choose from Basic, Medium, or Detailed.

Quick Overview

This section discusses the interplay between culture, vulnerability, and development, focusing on how these elements affect disaster response and recovery.

Standard

The methodology presented in this section emphasizes the significance of cultural factors in shaping the relationship between disaster recovery and development. It outlines frameworks and theories that highlight how communities access resources and organize their livelihoods, emphasizing the need to incorporate cultural dimensions in humanitarian efforts.

Detailed

In this section, the focus is on understanding the relationship between cultural factors, vulnerability, and development, particularly in the context of disasters. The discussion references a sustainable livelihoods framework developed in 1997, which emphasizes resource access and the capacities of individuals and groups to enact changes. The methodologies employed in research consider cultural dimensions through various theoretical lenses, including Bourdieu's cultural capital and Lim's cultural environment matrix. These frameworks assist in exploring how built environments and cultural identities influence community dynamics and responses to disasters. The section highlights the necessity of integrating cultural considerations into post-disaster recovery processes to improve outcomes for affected communities and enhance the effectiveness of humanitarian agencies.

Audio Book

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Understanding Sustainable Livelihoods

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There is also sustainable livelihoods framework which talks about the asset framework where it is a different model in 1997, which they have developed how the individuals or a groups access the resources which are basically an assets to organize their livelihoods and how the capacities make them able to act engage and change the world.

Detailed Explanation

The sustainable livelihoods framework is a model that was developed in 1997 to help understand how individuals or groups utilize resources to make a living. It emphasizes that people have various assets—like financial, social, and physical resources—that help them in organizing their livelihoods. These assets empower them to act, engage in their communities, and ultimately create positive change in their surroundings.

Examples & Analogies

Think of a small farmer who has access to land (physical asset), knowledge about farming (human asset), and a network of friends who can lend help (social asset). Utilizing these resources, the farmer can adapt to challenges like droughts or pests, ensuring they continue to thrive and support their community.

Cultural Factors in Livelihood Decisions

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But here, the thing is it is not just for the economic necessity where households or groups act upon. But it is with the cultural factors which people manage the results and make their livelihood choices to act upon.

Detailed Explanation

While economic needs are a significant driving force behind how households and groups make decisions about their livelihoods, cultural factors also play a crucial role. People's cultural backgrounds, traditions, and values influence their choices and how they respond to challenges. This highlights that decision-making is not purely about financial resources but is intertwined with social and cultural contexts.

Examples & Analogies

Consider a community of fishers who decide to continue traditional fishing methods, not just because they are effective, but because it connects them with their heritage and family practices. Their choice reflects a deep-rooted cultural identity rather than just economic efficiency.

Framework for Understanding Culture in Disaster Context

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I am looking from my ontological perspective, the built environment perspective and especially, in a disaster context, so that is where I started reviewing a variety of literature starting from Bourdieu’s cultural capital.

Detailed Explanation

The methodology focuses on understanding how culture intersects with disaster recovery within built environments. The researcher begins by reviewing existing literature on cultural capital, following theories by noted scholars. This academic exploration aims to construct a framework that appreciates cultural dimensions alongside disaster and development processes.

Examples & Analogies

Imagine a researcher studying how different neighborhoods recover from a hurricane. They might look at how the cultural practices of diverse communities influence their recovery efforts, gathering insights from prior studies that discuss the value of cultural heritage in rebuilding efforts.

Cultural Capital and Space

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And similarly, I spoke about the Bourdieu’s theory which talks about the cultural capital which is the inherited capital, the objectified capital and the institutional capital inherited which is basically, an inbuilt with what the qualities you achieve from your family and through your socialization process.

Detailed Explanation

Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital categorizes the resources and advantages individuals inherit from their families and broader society. This includes inherited skills, status-associated symbols (objectified capital like art), and educational credentials (institutional capital). These forms of cultural capital shape individuals' identities and influence their actions and decisions, especially in the context of recovery from disasters.

Examples & Analogies

Consider a college student whose parents are academics. This student benefits from their family's knowledge about higher education, study habits, and cultural expectations. Their academic success is partly due to this cultural capital, similar to how communities leverage their social and cultural backgrounds to navigate recovery after disasters.

Framework of Cultural Environment

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So, I have adopted Lim’s model of cultural environment. Which she calls it is a kind of matrix of religion, ecological environment, economy, family structure, kinship, gender roles, politics, cultural interaction.

Detailed Explanation

Lim's model proposes a matrix that assesses multiple dimensions of culture, including religion, the ecological environment, and social structures such as family and kinship. This multi-faceted view allows researchers to understand how these interconnected elements shape community responses to disasters, highlighting the complexity of cultural influences on recovery.

Examples & Analogies

Imagine a community recovering from a flood. Lim’s model could help analyze how local religious practices (like communal prayers), economic structures (like fishing cooperatives), and family networks influence their recovery strategies. This approach captures the richness of cultural interactions impacting recovery efforts.

Research Questions and Methodology

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So, my research question talks about how to understand the role of culture in the post disaster recovery process and its relation to the vulnerability, especially, in particular to the built environment of affected traditional settlements.

Detailed Explanation

The key research question directs the focus towards understanding the interplay between culture and post-disaster recovery. It aims to dissect how cultural factors affect the vulnerability of traditional settlements in the context of disaster recovery. This implies a critical look at both cultural practices and physical structures as they interact with recovery processes.

Examples & Analogies

Similar to investigating how a small village might integrate its traditional crafts into rebuilding after a disaster, this question explores how local customs and architectural styles influence recovery efforts and the community's resilience.

Case Study Approach

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So, what I did was I travelled around Tamilnadu, I have taken a lot of statistical information of the damage statistics what districts have been affected, what are the villages, what are the NGOs working on, what approaches they are doing whether they are doing Institute or a relocation and accordingly have visited about 17 villages along the stretch of Tamilnadu coast.

Detailed Explanation

The research involves a case study approach where extensive travel throughout Tamilnadu allows the researcher to gather quantitative data on the damage from disasters and qualitative insights into community recovery processes. By visiting diverse villages, the researcher evaluates how different communities cope with disasters based on their unique contexts.

Examples & Analogies

Think of a journalist traveling to cover a story about recoveries after a natural disaster. By visiting various impacted communities and interviewing residents, they gather stories that convey the human experience behind statistics. Similarly, the research captures both numbers and narratives to convey a comprehensive picture of disaster recovery.

Definitions & Key Concepts

Learn essential terms and foundational ideas that form the basis of the topic.

Key Concepts

  • Cultural Factors: Influence community resilience and decision-making during disasters.

  • Sustainable Livelihoods Framework: Encourages examining how resources are accessed in recovery.

  • Morphology: The structure of communities which influences social dynamics.

Examples & Real-Life Applications

See how the concepts apply in real-world scenarios to understand their practical implications.

Examples

  • In a disaster context, communities with strong cultural identities may recover more quickly due to cohesive social networks.

  • A village with varied cultural backgrounds may experience conflict during recovery, requiring tailored approaches.

Memory Aids

Use mnemonics, acronyms, or visual cues to help remember key information more easily.

🎵 Rhymes Time

  • Sustainable living means strong community, for disasters won't take away our unity.

📖 Fascinating Stories

  • In a small village, people relied on their traditions and family to rebuild after a storm, showcasing how cultural capital aided their recovery.

🧠 Other Memory Gems

  • Remember 'PLV' for Permeability, Legibility, Variety in measuring responsive environments.

🎯 Super Acronyms

Use 'NPSHF' to recall Natural, Physical, Social, Human, and Financial assets in livelihoods.

Flash Cards

Review key concepts with flashcards.

Glossary of Terms

Review the Definitions for terms.

  • Term: Sustainable Livelihoods Framework

    Definition:

    A framework focused on how communities access and manage resources for their livelihoods.

  • Term: Cultural Capital

    Definition:

    The non-financial social assets that promote social mobility, such as education and family inheritance.

  • Term: Morphology

    Definition:

    The study of the form and structure of communities and their environments.

  • Term: Responsive Environments

    Definition:

    An approach that examines how people interact with their built environment and its impact on their behavior.