WHAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE BUILDING OF

RESILIENT COMMUNITIES?: INTEGRATION

OF KNOWLEDGE, RISK PERCEPTION, AND

AWARENESS OF SOCIAL VULNERABILITY

• Pamela McMullin-Messier,

Department of Sociology, CWU

Interdisciplinary Teaching of Geoscience

and Social Science for a Sustainable Future

• Piloted an interdisciplinary undergraduate classroom module (2 weeks).

• This module provided students with an interactive mechanism to engage in place-based exploration of natural hazards, social vulnerabilities, and factors that shape perception of natural hazards and risk.

• We attempted to use a flipped classroom approach, where we prepared lectures and materials for viewing in advance and had students work in groups in class to collaborate and find solutions together.

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Motivations for the Module

• Previous findings indicate:

• (1) illustration of an increase in the students' interest and

level of engagement with material on hazards; and

• (2) demonstration of knowledge and interpretation of

survey data collected within the student community.

• Students found that a lack of accurate knowledge of

regional natural hazards corresponds to a low

perception of risk associated with these hazards,

even among those who had grown up or had lived

within the region.

• Bridging this communication gap is critical in creating

a culture of safety rather than moments of reaction.

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Purpose of the Module• The module allowed for students to integrate geoscience

and social science methodologies to understand societal impacts that result from natural hazards.

• Within the module, students will:

• (1) identify and apply credible geologic and social science datasets to identify and map hazards and social vulnerabilities within their region; http://epamap14.epa.gov/ejmap/ejmap.aspx?wherestr=ellensburg%2C%20wa

• (2) collect and evaluate survey data on the knowledge, risk perception and preparedness within their social networks; and

• (3) make recommendations to potential community stakeholders in order to develop a prepared, resilient community.

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What is Social Vulnerability and How Does

It Intersect with Risk?• Potential for damage or loss of a societal asset.

• Examples include the examination of societalconditions:• Land use (e.g. building in flood or fire zones)

• Building stocks (e.g. pre-1950 housing susceptible to seismic shifts)

• Demographic patterns (age, gender, minority status, poverty status)

• Cultural context (Who is self reliant? Who needs more care or special assistance? Who is responsible for safety?)

• Political forces (Democracy in action – who has power, who does not have a voice, and why?)

• Communication strategies (or lack thereof) and social relations (do you know your neighbors?)

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Factors Which Shape Risk Perception

• Hazard knowledge from

experience of previous

events and/or information

provided by different media

• The frequency and credibility

of information received

• Sense of community – a

stronger relationship to

community may lead to

higher individual confidence

(self-efficacy) and more

optimistic views concerning

natural hazard risks

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Goals and Objectives of the Module

• The goal of the module was that students gained insight into how our knowledge and perspectives of the world shape how we interact with it and how we promote and build resilient communities through understanding the relationship between human systems (built environment) and natural systems.

• A broader objective of this module was to promote an informed community and bridge the gap between the scientific and hazard mitigation communities through the education of undergraduate students.

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Bottom Line…

• Humans tend to ignore risks that are high hazard

and low probability.

• Classes like these create an opportunity for

community awareness and also to build resilience

strategies.

• Life is indeed risky sometimes, and it has material

worries and uncertainties.

• Sometimes those worries and uncertainties become

disastrous realities.

• Disasters not only affect individual people, but can also

threaten the social fabric that links us one to another.

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