Martin Schöneld
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195132182
- eISBN:
- 9780199786336
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195132181.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
This chapter explores Kant’s studies from 1754 to 1757, the application of his dynamic perspectives to fire, tides, the Earth’s rotation, climate, winds, and earthquakes. Section 1 surveys the ...
More
This chapter explores Kant’s studies from 1754 to 1757, the application of his dynamic perspectives to fire, tides, the Earth’s rotation, climate, winds, and earthquakes. Section 1 surveys the background of Kant’s efforts in the 1750s, such as how his earthquake papers relate to the Lisbon tsunami (1755), and describes his co-discovery of sea wind patterns and his discovery of the monsoon dynamics. Section 2 examines Kant’s study of the fate of Earth’s rotation (1754) and its correct determination of the dynamic interplay among lunar period, tidal forces, oceanic friction, and the long-term slowdown of Earth’s rotation. Section 3 discusses Kant’s Master’s Thesis (1755), his chemical conjectures on fire, and his attempt to clarify the spatial energy field, the ether. Section 4 examines Kant’s qualitative approach to cosmological questions and his heuristic reliance on analogical reasoning.Less
This chapter explores Kant’s studies from 1754 to 1757, the application of his dynamic perspectives to fire, tides, the Earth’s rotation, climate, winds, and earthquakes. Section 1 surveys the background of Kant’s efforts in the 1750s, such as how his earthquake papers relate to the Lisbon tsunami (1755), and describes his co-discovery of sea wind patterns and his discovery of the monsoon dynamics. Section 2 examines Kant’s study of the fate of Earth’s rotation (1754) and its correct determination of the dynamic interplay among lunar period, tidal forces, oceanic friction, and the long-term slowdown of Earth’s rotation. Section 3 discusses Kant’s Master’s Thesis (1755), his chemical conjectures on fire, and his attempt to clarify the spatial energy field, the ether. Section 4 examines Kant’s qualitative approach to cosmological questions and his heuristic reliance on analogical reasoning.
Stephen E. Lahey
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195183313
- eISBN:
- 9780199870349
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195183313.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This chapter provides the basic biographical material necessary to understand the course of Wyclif’s life. The first section traces Wyclif’s career at Oxford University, specifically at Merton and ...
More
This chapter provides the basic biographical material necessary to understand the course of Wyclif’s life. The first section traces Wyclif’s career at Oxford University, specifically at Merton and Balliol Colleges. Wyclif was a prolific writer, and while establishing a precise chronology for his works as they have come down to us is difficult, given his apparently extensive re-editing of his works, the chapter describes the organization of his two major philosophical collections, the Summa de Ente and the Summa Theologie. The second section surveys Wyclif’s career in the service of the Duke of Lancaster, his subsequent dismissal from Oxford University, and his ongoing disputes with Bishop William Courtenay of London. During his final years in exile in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, Wyclif produced a significant body of writing, ranging from exegesis to polemics, remaining active in his criticisms of the ecclesiastical status quo.Less
This chapter provides the basic biographical material necessary to understand the course of Wyclif’s life. The first section traces Wyclif’s career at Oxford University, specifically at Merton and Balliol Colleges. Wyclif was a prolific writer, and while establishing a precise chronology for his works as they have come down to us is difficult, given his apparently extensive re-editing of his works, the chapter describes the organization of his two major philosophical collections, the Summa de Ente and the Summa Theologie. The second section surveys Wyclif’s career in the service of the Duke of Lancaster, his subsequent dismissal from Oxford University, and his ongoing disputes with Bishop William Courtenay of London. During his final years in exile in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, Wyclif produced a significant body of writing, ranging from exegesis to polemics, remaining active in his criticisms of the ecclesiastical status quo.
Donald Miller
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520234925
- eISBN:
- 9780520929142
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520234925.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
A remarkable view of how geopolitics affects ordinary people, this book documents the lives of Armenians in the last two decades. Based on intimate interviews with 300 Armenians, it brings together ...
More
A remarkable view of how geopolitics affects ordinary people, this book documents the lives of Armenians in the last two decades. Based on intimate interviews with 300 Armenians, it brings together firsthand testimony about the social, economic, and spiritual circumstances of Armenians during the 1980s and 1990s, when the country faced an earthquake, pogroms, and war. The book is a story of extreme suffering and hardship, a searching look at the fight for independence and a complex portrait of the human spirit. A companion to Survivors: An Oral History of the Armenian Genocide by the same authors, it focuses on four groups of people: survivors of the earthquakes that devastated northwestern Armenia in 1988; refugees from Azerbaijan who fled Baku and Sumgait because of pogroms against them; women, children, and soldiers who were affected by the war in Nagorno-Karabakh; and ordinary citizens who survived several winters without heat because of the blockade against Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan. The authors' narrative situates these accounts contextually and thematically, but the voices of individuals remain paramount.Less
A remarkable view of how geopolitics affects ordinary people, this book documents the lives of Armenians in the last two decades. Based on intimate interviews with 300 Armenians, it brings together firsthand testimony about the social, economic, and spiritual circumstances of Armenians during the 1980s and 1990s, when the country faced an earthquake, pogroms, and war. The book is a story of extreme suffering and hardship, a searching look at the fight for independence and a complex portrait of the human spirit. A companion to Survivors: An Oral History of the Armenian Genocide by the same authors, it focuses on four groups of people: survivors of the earthquakes that devastated northwestern Armenia in 1988; refugees from Azerbaijan who fled Baku and Sumgait because of pogroms against them; women, children, and soldiers who were affected by the war in Nagorno-Karabakh; and ordinary citizens who survived several winters without heat because of the blockade against Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan. The authors' narrative situates these accounts contextually and thematically, but the voices of individuals remain paramount.
S. LADSTÄTTER and A. PÜLZ
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264027
- eISBN:
- 9780191734908
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264027.003.0016
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
The third century marked a profound change in the urban landscape of Ephesus and proved to exert a profound influence on the city's later development. There is conclusive evidence for catastrophic ...
More
The third century marked a profound change in the urban landscape of Ephesus and proved to exert a profound influence on the city's later development. There is conclusive evidence for catastrophic disasters when the city was afflicted by a series of earthquakes which led to a temporary downturn in its economic circumstances. These destructive earthquakes not only had long-term consequences for the city's appearance, but also affected the very foundations of urbanism. This chapter traces the history of Metropolis Asiae after the earthquakes of the third and fourth centuries. The archaeological evidence proves that rebuilding took place and within public areas, such as agorae or buildings along the roads and included fountains and baths. The work was not limited only to the reconstruction of buildings but efforts were made to restore the splendid appearance of the city, reflecting the restoration of its high urban status and commercial importance. This chapter also describes the city's numerous churches that graphically attest to the growing importance of Christianity as the state religion.Less
The third century marked a profound change in the urban landscape of Ephesus and proved to exert a profound influence on the city's later development. There is conclusive evidence for catastrophic disasters when the city was afflicted by a series of earthquakes which led to a temporary downturn in its economic circumstances. These destructive earthquakes not only had long-term consequences for the city's appearance, but also affected the very foundations of urbanism. This chapter traces the history of Metropolis Asiae after the earthquakes of the third and fourth centuries. The archaeological evidence proves that rebuilding took place and within public areas, such as agorae or buildings along the roads and included fountains and baths. The work was not limited only to the reconstruction of buildings but efforts were made to restore the splendid appearance of the city, reflecting the restoration of its high urban status and commercial importance. This chapter also describes the city's numerous churches that graphically attest to the growing importance of Christianity as the state religion.
Frank H. T. Rhodes
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801478239
- eISBN:
- 9780801466212
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801478239.001.0001
- Subject:
- Earth Sciences and Geography, Environmental Geography
This book provides a sweeping, accessible, and deeply informed guide to the home we all share, showing us how we might best preserve the Earth's livability for ourselves and future generations. The ...
More
This book provides a sweeping, accessible, and deeply informed guide to the home we all share, showing us how we might best preserve the Earth's livability for ourselves and future generations. The book begins by setting the scene for our active planet and explaining how its location and composition determine how the Earth works and why it teems with life. It emphasizes the changes that are of concern to us today, from earthquakes to climate change and the clashes over the energy resources needed for the Earth's exploding population. It concludes with an extended exploration of humanity's prospects on a complex, protean, and ultimately finite world. It is not a question of whether the planet is sustainable; the challenge facing life on Earth—and the life of the Earth—is whether an expanding and high-consumption species like ours is sustainable. Only new resources, new priorities, new policies and, most of all, new knowledge, can reverse the damage that humanity is doing to our home—and ourselves. A sustainable human future, the book concludes, will require a sense of responsible stewardship, for we are not owners of this planet; we are tenants. Surveying the systems, large and small, that govern Earth's processes and influence its changes, the book addresses the negative consequences of human activities for the health of its regulatory systems but offers practical suggestions as to how we might effect repairs, or at least limit further damage to our home.Less
This book provides a sweeping, accessible, and deeply informed guide to the home we all share, showing us how we might best preserve the Earth's livability for ourselves and future generations. The book begins by setting the scene for our active planet and explaining how its location and composition determine how the Earth works and why it teems with life. It emphasizes the changes that are of concern to us today, from earthquakes to climate change and the clashes over the energy resources needed for the Earth's exploding population. It concludes with an extended exploration of humanity's prospects on a complex, protean, and ultimately finite world. It is not a question of whether the planet is sustainable; the challenge facing life on Earth—and the life of the Earth—is whether an expanding and high-consumption species like ours is sustainable. Only new resources, new priorities, new policies and, most of all, new knowledge, can reverse the damage that humanity is doing to our home—and ourselves. A sustainable human future, the book concludes, will require a sense of responsible stewardship, for we are not owners of this planet; we are tenants. Surveying the systems, large and small, that govern Earth's processes and influence its changes, the book addresses the negative consequences of human activities for the health of its regulatory systems but offers practical suggestions as to how we might effect repairs, or at least limit further damage to our home.
Gregory Smits
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824838171
- eISBN:
- 9780824870997
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824838171.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
What are we to make of contemporary newspapers in Japan speculating about the possible connection between aquatic creatures and earthquakes? Why, between 1977 and 1993, did Japan's government spend ...
More
What are we to make of contemporary newspapers in Japan speculating about the possible connection between aquatic creatures and earthquakes? Why, between 1977 and 1993, did Japan's government spend taxpayer money to observe catfish in aquariums as part of its mandate to fund earthquake prediction research? These actions are direct legacies of the 1855 Ansei Edo earthquake, one of the major natural disasters of the period. This book examines this earthquake in a broad historical context. The Ansei Edo earthquake shook the shogun's capital during a year of special religious significance and at a time of particularly vigorous seismic activity. It was also a turning point because, according to the prevailing understanding of earthquakes at the time, it should never have happened. Many Japanese, therefore, became receptive to new ideas about the causes of earthquakes as well as to the notion that by observing some phenomena—for example, the behavior of catfish—one might determine when an earthquake would strike. All subsequent major earthquakes in Japan resulted in claims, always made after the fact, that certain phenomena had been signs of the impending catastrophe. Indeed, earthquake prediction in Japan from 1855 to the present has largely consisted of amassing collections of alleged or possible precursor phenomena. In addition, the Ansei Edo earthquake served as a catalyst accelerating socio-political trends already underway. It revealed bakufu military weaknesses and enhanced the prestige of the imperial deity Amaterasu at the expense of the bakufu deity Kashima.Less
What are we to make of contemporary newspapers in Japan speculating about the possible connection between aquatic creatures and earthquakes? Why, between 1977 and 1993, did Japan's government spend taxpayer money to observe catfish in aquariums as part of its mandate to fund earthquake prediction research? These actions are direct legacies of the 1855 Ansei Edo earthquake, one of the major natural disasters of the period. This book examines this earthquake in a broad historical context. The Ansei Edo earthquake shook the shogun's capital during a year of special religious significance and at a time of particularly vigorous seismic activity. It was also a turning point because, according to the prevailing understanding of earthquakes at the time, it should never have happened. Many Japanese, therefore, became receptive to new ideas about the causes of earthquakes as well as to the notion that by observing some phenomena—for example, the behavior of catfish—one might determine when an earthquake would strike. All subsequent major earthquakes in Japan resulted in claims, always made after the fact, that certain phenomena had been signs of the impending catastrophe. Indeed, earthquake prediction in Japan from 1855 to the present has largely consisted of amassing collections of alleged or possible precursor phenomena. In addition, the Ansei Edo earthquake served as a catalyst accelerating socio-political trends already underway. It revealed bakufu military weaknesses and enhanced the prestige of the imperial deity Amaterasu at the expense of the bakufu deity Kashima.
Michael Lavalette and Vasilios Ioakimidis (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9781847427182
- eISBN:
- 9781447303558
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781847427182.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Social Policy
What is the relationship between social work and the state? Who controls which services' needs are addressed and how? This book looks at social work responses in different countries to extreme ...
More
What is the relationship between social work and the state? Who controls which services' needs are addressed and how? This book looks at social work responses in different countries to extreme social, economic and political situations in order to answer these questions. Examples include war situations, military regimes, earthquakes and tsunamis. The results show the innovative nature of grass-roots provision and social work intervention.Less
What is the relationship between social work and the state? Who controls which services' needs are addressed and how? This book looks at social work responses in different countries to extreme social, economic and political situations in order to answer these questions. Examples include war situations, military regimes, earthquakes and tsunamis. The results show the innovative nature of grass-roots provision and social work intervention.
Paul Charbonneau
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780691176840
- eISBN:
- 9781400885497
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691176840.001.0001
- Subject:
- Computer Science, Programming Languages
This book provides a short, hands-on introduction to the science of complexity using simple computational models of natural complex systems—with models and exercises drawn from physics, chemistry, ...
More
This book provides a short, hands-on introduction to the science of complexity using simple computational models of natural complex systems—with models and exercises drawn from physics, chemistry, geology, and biology. By working through the models and engaging in additional computational explorations suggested at the end of each chapter, readers very quickly develop an understanding of how complex structures and behaviors can emerge in natural phenomena as diverse as avalanches, forest fires, earthquakes, chemical reactions, animal flocks, and epidemic diseases. This book provides the necessary topical background, complete source codes in Python, and detailed explanations for all computational models. Ideal for undergraduates, beginning graduate students, and researchers in the physical and natural sciences, this unique handbook requires no advanced mathematical knowledge or programming skills and is suitable for self-learners with a working knowledge of precalculus and high-school physics. The book enables readers to identify and quantify common underlying structural and dynamical patterns shared by the various systems and phenomena it examines, so that they can form their own answers to the questions of what natural complexity is and how it arises.Less
This book provides a short, hands-on introduction to the science of complexity using simple computational models of natural complex systems—with models and exercises drawn from physics, chemistry, geology, and biology. By working through the models and engaging in additional computational explorations suggested at the end of each chapter, readers very quickly develop an understanding of how complex structures and behaviors can emerge in natural phenomena as diverse as avalanches, forest fires, earthquakes, chemical reactions, animal flocks, and epidemic diseases. This book provides the necessary topical background, complete source codes in Python, and detailed explanations for all computational models. Ideal for undergraduates, beginning graduate students, and researchers in the physical and natural sciences, this unique handbook requires no advanced mathematical knowledge or programming skills and is suitable for self-learners with a working knowledge of precalculus and high-school physics. The book enables readers to identify and quantify common underlying structural and dynamical patterns shared by the various systems and phenomena it examines, so that they can form their own answers to the questions of what natural complexity is and how it arises.
Robert W. Righter
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195149470
- eISBN:
- 9780199788934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195149470.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, American History: 20th Century
Two leaders emerged as San Francisco pursued the valley: Mayor James Phelan and naturalist John Muir. Both were determined and led strong constituencies, and each held competing views of the meaning ...
More
Two leaders emerged as San Francisco pursued the valley: Mayor James Phelan and naturalist John Muir. Both were determined and led strong constituencies, and each held competing views of the meaning of progress. Phelan was convinced a great dam symbolized human determination and ingenuity, and would enhance nature. Muir was skeptical that humans could improve on nature, and certainly not in the mountain sanctuary of Hetch Hetchy. John Muir and the Sierra Club held the upper hand until the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 intervened to change everything. The prostrate city with four square miles of its heart in smoldering ruins became an object of both pity and charity. Who could deny the city its desire for abundant water? Furthermore, many blamed the fire on the privately-owned Spring Valley Water Company. San Francisco reapplied for a permit. With the support of US Forest Service chief Gifford Pinchot and the sympathy of Secretary of the Interior James Garfield, the city felt assured that soon its engineers would be damming the Hetch Hetchy Valley and building an aqueduct to transport the water to the city.Less
Two leaders emerged as San Francisco pursued the valley: Mayor James Phelan and naturalist John Muir. Both were determined and led strong constituencies, and each held competing views of the meaning of progress. Phelan was convinced a great dam symbolized human determination and ingenuity, and would enhance nature. Muir was skeptical that humans could improve on nature, and certainly not in the mountain sanctuary of Hetch Hetchy. John Muir and the Sierra Club held the upper hand until the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906 intervened to change everything. The prostrate city with four square miles of its heart in smoldering ruins became an object of both pity and charity. Who could deny the city its desire for abundant water? Furthermore, many blamed the fire on the privately-owned Spring Valley Water Company. San Francisco reapplied for a permit. With the support of US Forest Service chief Gifford Pinchot and the sympathy of Secretary of the Interior James Garfield, the city felt assured that soon its engineers would be damming the Hetch Hetchy Valley and building an aqueduct to transport the water to the city.
Greg Clancey
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520246072
- eISBN:
- 9780520932296
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520246072.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
Accelerating seismic activity in late Meiji Japan climaxed in the legendary Great Nobi Earthquake of 1891, which rocked the main island from Tokyo to Osaka, killing thousands. Ironically, the ...
More
Accelerating seismic activity in late Meiji Japan climaxed in the legendary Great Nobi Earthquake of 1891, which rocked the main island from Tokyo to Osaka, killing thousands. Ironically, the earthquake brought down many “modern” structures built on the advice of foreign architects and engineers, while leaving certain traditional, wooden ones standing. This book considers the cultural and political ramifications of this and other catastrophic events on Japan's relationship with the West, with modern science, and with itself. The book argues that seismicity was both the Achilles' heel of Japan's nation-building project — revealing the state's western-style infrastructure to be surprisingly fragile — and a new focus for nativizing discourses which credited traditional Japanese architecture with unique abilities to ride out seismic waves. Tracing the subject from the Meiji Restoration to the Great Kant Earthquake of 1923 (which destroyed Tokyo), the book shows earthquakes to have been a continual though mercurial agent in Japan's self-fashioning; a catastrophic undercurrent to Japanese modernity. This study moves earthquakes nearer the center of modern Japan change — both materially and symbolically — and also shows how fundamentally Japan shaped the global art, science, and culture of natural disaster.Less
Accelerating seismic activity in late Meiji Japan climaxed in the legendary Great Nobi Earthquake of 1891, which rocked the main island from Tokyo to Osaka, killing thousands. Ironically, the earthquake brought down many “modern” structures built on the advice of foreign architects and engineers, while leaving certain traditional, wooden ones standing. This book considers the cultural and political ramifications of this and other catastrophic events on Japan's relationship with the West, with modern science, and with itself. The book argues that seismicity was both the Achilles' heel of Japan's nation-building project — revealing the state's western-style infrastructure to be surprisingly fragile — and a new focus for nativizing discourses which credited traditional Japanese architecture with unique abilities to ride out seismic waves. Tracing the subject from the Meiji Restoration to the Great Kant Earthquake of 1923 (which destroyed Tokyo), the book shows earthquakes to have been a continual though mercurial agent in Japan's self-fashioning; a catastrophic undercurrent to Japanese modernity. This study moves earthquakes nearer the center of modern Japan change — both materially and symbolically — and also shows how fundamentally Japan shaped the global art, science, and culture of natural disaster.
Gareth Williams
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199731589
- eISBN:
- 9780199933112
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199731589.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
Book 6 of the Natural Questions is allegedly precipitated by Seneca's learning of the devastation wrought by the earthquake which struck Campania in early 62 CE. Rhetorical consolation is here ...
More
Book 6 of the Natural Questions is allegedly precipitated by Seneca's learning of the devastation wrought by the earthquake which struck Campania in early 62 CE. Rhetorical consolation is here combined with scientific rationalization in Seneca's systematic treatment of earthquakes and theories of their causation (whether by fire, earth, water or air, the latter his favoured cause). This chapter argues that, in his rationalizing process, Seneca applies a technique of intellectual control over nature that fortifies us against the sublime awe induced by the spectacle of natural disaster. The passive sublimity of submission to nature's majesty is thus offset by a positive sublimity (with Kantian overtones), thereby allowing us to see the effects of the Campanian earthquake in an alleviating perspective.Less
Book 6 of the Natural Questions is allegedly precipitated by Seneca's learning of the devastation wrought by the earthquake which struck Campania in early 62 CE. Rhetorical consolation is here combined with scientific rationalization in Seneca's systematic treatment of earthquakes and theories of their causation (whether by fire, earth, water or air, the latter his favoured cause). This chapter argues that, in his rationalizing process, Seneca applies a technique of intellectual control over nature that fortifies us against the sublime awe induced by the spectacle of natural disaster. The passive sublimity of submission to nature's majesty is thus offset by a positive sublimity (with Kantian overtones), thereby allowing us to see the effects of the Campanian earthquake in an alleviating perspective.
Frank Baldwin and Anne Allison
- Published in print:
- 1953
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781479889389
- eISBN:
- 9781479830893
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479889389.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Economic Sociology
The earthquake, tidal wave, and nuclear meltdown in 2011 brought enormous loss of life and destruction to a Japan already grappling with recession, demographic dilemmas, and challenges from China. ...
More
The earthquake, tidal wave, and nuclear meltdown in 2011 brought enormous loss of life and destruction to a Japan already grappling with recession, demographic dilemmas, and challenges from China. Could the country rally, recover economic vitality, and face the future confidently or was the natural disaster the tipping point to national decline? Although there is no consensus among the authors in this volume--guarded pessimism vies with tentative optimism—they all see Japan’s future as precarious.Less
The earthquake, tidal wave, and nuclear meltdown in 2011 brought enormous loss of life and destruction to a Japan already grappling with recession, demographic dilemmas, and challenges from China. Could the country rally, recover economic vitality, and face the future confidently or was the natural disaster the tipping point to national decline? Although there is no consensus among the authors in this volume--guarded pessimism vies with tentative optimism—they all see Japan’s future as precarious.
Beverly Bell
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452123
- eISBN:
- 9780801468322
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452123.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Social and Cultural Anthropology
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing more than a quarter-million people and leaving another two million Haitians homeless. This book is a searing account of the first ...
More
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing more than a quarter-million people and leaving another two million Haitians homeless. This book is a searing account of the first year after the earthquake. It explores how strong communities and an age-old gift culture have helped Haitians survive in the wake of an unimaginable disaster, one that only compounded the preexisting social and economic distress of their society. The book examines the history that caused such astronomical destruction, and draws in theories of resistance and social movements to scrutinize grassroots organizing for a more just and equitable country. The book offers rich perspectives rarely seen outside Haiti. It takes the reader through displaced persons camps, shantytowns, and rural villages, where they get a view that defies the stereotype of Haiti as a lost nation of victims. It also combines excerpts of more than one hundred interviews with Haitians, historical and political analysis, and investigative journalism. The book investigates and critiques U.S. foreign policy, emergency aid, standard development approaches, the role of nongovernmental organizations, and disaster capitalism. Woven through the text are comparisons to the crisis and cultural resistance in the city of New Orleans, when the levees broke in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Ultimately a tale of hope, the book will give readers a new understanding of daily life, structural challenges, and collective dreams in one of the world's most complex countries.Less
On January 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, killing more than a quarter-million people and leaving another two million Haitians homeless. This book is a searing account of the first year after the earthquake. It explores how strong communities and an age-old gift culture have helped Haitians survive in the wake of an unimaginable disaster, one that only compounded the preexisting social and economic distress of their society. The book examines the history that caused such astronomical destruction, and draws in theories of resistance and social movements to scrutinize grassroots organizing for a more just and equitable country. The book offers rich perspectives rarely seen outside Haiti. It takes the reader through displaced persons camps, shantytowns, and rural villages, where they get a view that defies the stereotype of Haiti as a lost nation of victims. It also combines excerpts of more than one hundred interviews with Haitians, historical and political analysis, and investigative journalism. The book investigates and critiques U.S. foreign policy, emergency aid, standard development approaches, the role of nongovernmental organizations, and disaster capitalism. Woven through the text are comparisons to the crisis and cultural resistance in the city of New Orleans, when the levees broke in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Ultimately a tale of hope, the book will give readers a new understanding of daily life, structural challenges, and collective dreams in one of the world's most complex countries.
Yasuyuki Sawada
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199841936
- eISBN:
- 9780199950157
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199841936.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Japan is vulnerable to a wide variety of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, floods, landslides and avalanches. Of these natural disasters, earthquakes are ...
More
Japan is vulnerable to a wide variety of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, floods, landslides and avalanches. Of these natural disasters, earthquakes are the most serious and frequently occurring. In this chapter, after reviewing the two contrasting cases of the Kobe and Chuetsu earthquakes, we discuss the role of public policy in facilitating risk management at the household level in the case of natural disasters. The Kobe earthquake hit the urban centre, where industries and residence are densely located, while the Chuetsu earthquake occurred in mountainous and remote farming areas. A comparison of Kobe and Chuetsu earthquakes shows differences in income, consumption, and other household level socio-economic variables that help us to identify the effectiveness of formal and informal insurance mechanisms.Less
Japan is vulnerable to a wide variety of natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, floods, landslides and avalanches. Of these natural disasters, earthquakes are the most serious and frequently occurring. In this chapter, after reviewing the two contrasting cases of the Kobe and Chuetsu earthquakes, we discuss the role of public policy in facilitating risk management at the household level in the case of natural disasters. The Kobe earthquake hit the urban centre, where industries and residence are densely located, while the Chuetsu earthquake occurred in mountainous and remote farming areas. A comparison of Kobe and Chuetsu earthquakes shows differences in income, consumption, and other household level socio-economic variables that help us to identify the effectiveness of formal and informal insurance mechanisms.
Andrew T. McDonald and Verlaine Stoner McDonald
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780813176079
- eISBN:
- 9780813176109
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813176079.003.0002
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
Chapter 1 traces Paul Rusch’s early life in Louisville as the son of a grocer and as a soldier in World War I. After the war, Rusch led an effort to establish a bohemian art colony in Louisville, ...
More
Chapter 1 traces Paul Rusch’s early life in Louisville as the son of a grocer and as a soldier in World War I. After the war, Rusch led an effort to establish a bohemian art colony in Louisville, though his venture eventually went bankrupt and landed Rusch in court. Rusch left Kentucky and then on a lark volunteered to help rebuild the Tokyo and Yokohama YMCA branches after the Great Kanto Earthquake. His connections at Holy Trinity Church in Tokyo led to positions on the Rikkyo University faculty and as a fund-raiser for St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo. As Rusch worked to convert young Japanese men to Christianity by relaunching the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, Japan was swept up in political and social turmoil and militarism. Along the way, he staged the first organized game of American football in Japan and laid the foundation for Japan’s collegiate football league. Dr. Rudolf Teusler mentored Rusch during tours in America, honing Rusch’s skills in fund-raising, expanding his network to include wealthy patrons, and shaping Rusch’s staunch anti-Communist views.Less
Chapter 1 traces Paul Rusch’s early life in Louisville as the son of a grocer and as a soldier in World War I. After the war, Rusch led an effort to establish a bohemian art colony in Louisville, though his venture eventually went bankrupt and landed Rusch in court. Rusch left Kentucky and then on a lark volunteered to help rebuild the Tokyo and Yokohama YMCA branches after the Great Kanto Earthquake. His connections at Holy Trinity Church in Tokyo led to positions on the Rikkyo University faculty and as a fund-raiser for St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo. As Rusch worked to convert young Japanese men to Christianity by relaunching the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, Japan was swept up in political and social turmoil and militarism. Along the way, he staged the first organized game of American football in Japan and laid the foundation for Japan’s collegiate football league. Dr. Rudolf Teusler mentored Rusch during tours in America, honing Rusch’s skills in fund-raising, expanding his network to include wealthy patrons, and shaping Rusch’s staunch anti-Communist views.
Louise K. Comfort
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780691165370
- eISBN:
- 9780691186023
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691165370.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
Earthquakes are a huge global threat. In thirty-six countries, severe seismic risks threaten populations and their increasingly interdependent systems of transportation, communication, energy, and ...
More
Earthquakes are a huge global threat. In thirty-six countries, severe seismic risks threaten populations and their increasingly interdependent systems of transportation, communication, energy, and finance. This book provides an examination of how twelve communities in nine countries responded to destructive earthquakes between 1999 and 2015. And many of the book's lessons can also be applied to other large-scale risks. The book sets the global problem of seismic risk in the framework of complex adaptive systems to explore how the consequences of such events ripple across jurisdictions, communities, and organizations in complex societies, triggering unexpected alliances but also exposing social, economic, and legal gaps. It assesses how the networks of organizations involved in response and recovery adapted and acted collectively after the twelve earthquakes it examines. It describes how advances in information technology enabled some communities to anticipate seismic risk better and to manage response and recovery operations more effectively, decreasing losses. Finally, the book shows why investing substantively in global information infrastructure would create shared awareness of seismic risk and make post-disaster relief more effective and less expensive. The result is a landmark study of how to improve the way we prepare for and respond to earthquakes and other disasters in our ever-more-complex world.Less
Earthquakes are a huge global threat. In thirty-six countries, severe seismic risks threaten populations and their increasingly interdependent systems of transportation, communication, energy, and finance. This book provides an examination of how twelve communities in nine countries responded to destructive earthquakes between 1999 and 2015. And many of the book's lessons can also be applied to other large-scale risks. The book sets the global problem of seismic risk in the framework of complex adaptive systems to explore how the consequences of such events ripple across jurisdictions, communities, and organizations in complex societies, triggering unexpected alliances but also exposing social, economic, and legal gaps. It assesses how the networks of organizations involved in response and recovery adapted and acted collectively after the twelve earthquakes it examines. It describes how advances in information technology enabled some communities to anticipate seismic risk better and to manage response and recovery operations more effectively, decreasing losses. Finally, the book shows why investing substantively in global information infrastructure would create shared awareness of seismic risk and make post-disaster relief more effective and less expensive. The result is a landmark study of how to improve the way we prepare for and respond to earthquakes and other disasters in our ever-more-complex world.
Deborah R. Coen
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226111810
- eISBN:
- 9780226111834
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226111834.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Earthquakes have taught us much about our planet's hidden structure and the forces that have shaped it. This knowledge rests not only on the recordings of seismographs, but also on the observations ...
More
Earthquakes have taught us much about our planet's hidden structure and the forces that have shaped it. This knowledge rests not only on the recordings of seismographs, but also on the observations of eyewitnesses to destruction. During the nineteenth century, a scientific description of an earthquake was built of stories—stories from as many people in as many situations as possible. Sometimes their stories told of fear and devastation, sometimes of wonder and excitement. This book acquaints readers with not only the century’s most eloquent seismic commentators, including Alexander von Humboldt, Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Karl Kraus, Ernst Mach, John Muir, and William James, but also countless other citizen—observers, many of whom were women. The author explains how observing networks transformed an instant of panic and confusion into a field for scientific research, turning earthquakes into natural experiments at the nexus of the physical and human sciences. Seismology abandoned this project of citizen science with the introduction of the Richter Scale in the 1930s, only to revive it in the twenty-first century in the face of new hazards and uncertainties. The book tells the history of this interrupted dialogue between scientists and citizens about living with environmental risk.Less
Earthquakes have taught us much about our planet's hidden structure and the forces that have shaped it. This knowledge rests not only on the recordings of seismographs, but also on the observations of eyewitnesses to destruction. During the nineteenth century, a scientific description of an earthquake was built of stories—stories from as many people in as many situations as possible. Sometimes their stories told of fear and devastation, sometimes of wonder and excitement. This book acquaints readers with not only the century’s most eloquent seismic commentators, including Alexander von Humboldt, Charles Darwin, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Karl Kraus, Ernst Mach, John Muir, and William James, but also countless other citizen—observers, many of whom were women. The author explains how observing networks transformed an instant of panic and confusion into a field for scientific research, turning earthquakes into natural experiments at the nexus of the physical and human sciences. Seismology abandoned this project of citizen science with the introduction of the Richter Scale in the 1930s, only to revive it in the twenty-first century in the face of new hazards and uncertainties. The book tells the history of this interrupted dialogue between scientists and citizens about living with environmental risk.
Florin Curta and Siu-lun Wong
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748638093
- eISBN:
- 9780748670741
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748638093.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
The examination of the archaeological evidence from the main urban centers of late antique Greece shows that only in a few cases (Thessalonica, Nikopolis) did the ancient urban layout and street grid ...
More
The examination of the archaeological evidence from the main urban centers of late antique Greece shows that only in a few cases (Thessalonica, Nikopolis) did the ancient urban layout and street grid survive beyond ca. 500. In most other cases, the urban occupation was considerably diminished and re-grouped on a fortified acropolis, while previously grand buildings were turned into modest houses or workshops. Another parallel phenomenon is the appearance of intramural burials, often right in the agora. Neither earthquakes, nor the plague or barbarian invasions can be blamed for this phenomenon, which seems to have been associated instead with the withdrawal of the urban elites and the interruption of long-distance trade connections. When troops and administration were finally withdrawn from the Balkans in ca. 620, most urban centers in Greece were abandoned.Less
The examination of the archaeological evidence from the main urban centers of late antique Greece shows that only in a few cases (Thessalonica, Nikopolis) did the ancient urban layout and street grid survive beyond ca. 500. In most other cases, the urban occupation was considerably diminished and re-grouped on a fortified acropolis, while previously grand buildings were turned into modest houses or workshops. Another parallel phenomenon is the appearance of intramural burials, often right in the agora. Neither earthquakes, nor the plague or barbarian invasions can be blamed for this phenomenon, which seems to have been associated instead with the withdrawal of the urban elites and the interruption of long-distance trade connections. When troops and administration were finally withdrawn from the Balkans in ca. 620, most urban centers in Greece were abandoned.
Christian P. Sorace
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781501707537
- eISBN:
- 9781501708503
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501707537.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Asian Politics
This book examines the political mechanisms at work in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the broader ideological energies that drove them. The book takes Chinese Communist Party ideas ...
More
This book examines the political mechanisms at work in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the broader ideological energies that drove them. The book takes Chinese Communist Party ideas and discourse as central to how that organization formulates policies, defines legitimacy, and exerts its power. It argues that the Communist Party has never abandoned its conviction that discourse can shape the world and the people who inhabit it. It demonstrates how the Communist Party's planning apparatus continues to play a crucial role in engineering the Chinese economy and market construction, especially in the countryside. It takes a distinctive and original interpretive approach to understanding Chinese politics, and demonstrates how Communist Party discourse and ideology influenced the official decisions and responses to the Sichuan earthquake. The book provides a clear view of the lived outcomes of Communist Party plans, rationalities, and discourses in the earthquake zone. The three case studies presented each demonstrates a different type of reconstruction and model of development: urban–rural integration, tourism, and ecological civilization. The book emphasizes the need for a grounded literacy in the political concepts, discourses, and vocabularies of the Communist Party itself.Less
This book examines the political mechanisms at work in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and the broader ideological energies that drove them. The book takes Chinese Communist Party ideas and discourse as central to how that organization formulates policies, defines legitimacy, and exerts its power. It argues that the Communist Party has never abandoned its conviction that discourse can shape the world and the people who inhabit it. It demonstrates how the Communist Party's planning apparatus continues to play a crucial role in engineering the Chinese economy and market construction, especially in the countryside. It takes a distinctive and original interpretive approach to understanding Chinese politics, and demonstrates how Communist Party discourse and ideology influenced the official decisions and responses to the Sichuan earthquake. The book provides a clear view of the lived outcomes of Communist Party plans, rationalities, and discourses in the earthquake zone. The three case studies presented each demonstrates a different type of reconstruction and model of development: urban–rural integration, tourism, and ecological civilization. The book emphasizes the need for a grounded literacy in the political concepts, discourses, and vocabularies of the Communist Party itself.
Naoto Kan
Jeffrey S. Irish (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9781501705816
- eISBN:
- 9781501706110
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501705816.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Asian History
On March 11, 2011, a massive undersea earthquake off Japan's coast triggered devastating tsunami waves that in turn caused meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. ...
More
On March 11, 2011, a massive undersea earthquake off Japan's coast triggered devastating tsunami waves that in turn caused meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Ranked with Chernobyl as the worst nuclear disaster in history, Fukushima will have lasting consequences for generations. Until 3.11, Japan's Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, had supported the use of nuclear power. His position would undergo a radical change, however, as Kan watched the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 Power Plant unfold and came to understand the potential for the physical, economic, and political destruction of Japan. This book offers a fascinating day-by-day account of the Prime Minister's actions in the harrowing week after the earthquake struck. He records the anguished decisions he had to make as the scale of destruction became clear and the threat of nuclear catastrophe loomed ever larger—decisions made on the basis of information that was often unreliable. For example, frustrated by the lack of clarity from the executives at Tepco, the company that owned the power plant, Kan decided to visit Fukushima himself, despite the risks, so he could talk to the plant's manager and find out what was really happening on the ground. As the text details, a combination of extremely good fortune and hard work just barely prevented a total meltdown of all of Fukushima's reactor units, which would have necessitated the evacuation of the thirty million residents of the greater Tokyo metropolitan area.Less
On March 11, 2011, a massive undersea earthquake off Japan's coast triggered devastating tsunami waves that in turn caused meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Ranked with Chernobyl as the worst nuclear disaster in history, Fukushima will have lasting consequences for generations. Until 3.11, Japan's Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, had supported the use of nuclear power. His position would undergo a radical change, however, as Kan watched the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 Power Plant unfold and came to understand the potential for the physical, economic, and political destruction of Japan. This book offers a fascinating day-by-day account of the Prime Minister's actions in the harrowing week after the earthquake struck. He records the anguished decisions he had to make as the scale of destruction became clear and the threat of nuclear catastrophe loomed ever larger—decisions made on the basis of information that was often unreliable. For example, frustrated by the lack of clarity from the executives at Tepco, the company that owned the power plant, Kan decided to visit Fukushima himself, despite the risks, so he could talk to the plant's manager and find out what was really happening on the ground. As the text details, a combination of extremely good fortune and hard work just barely prevented a total meltdown of all of Fukushima's reactor units, which would have necessitated the evacuation of the thirty million residents of the greater Tokyo metropolitan area.
