week 6

Question 1

how are disasters embedded in our everyday

Answer 1

• architecture
• household routines
• institutional routines

Question 2

4 ways of cultural memory

Answer 2

1. material, geographical and traditional (like a monument)
2. abstract, a-geographical and modern (like 13 en de oorlog?)
3. experiental, but passive and institutional (museum)
4. experiental, but pro-active and community based (students interviewing older generations, bringing new and old generation together)

Question 3

4 reasons for investigating memory in the context of disaster

Answer 3

1. to track the resilience of the system
2. to keep using the past to remember
3. broader context of investigation of the everyday of disasters
4. to keep a memory at different scales

Question 4

ecological theory

Answer 4

a linear systems approach. An ecosystem is an entity/system to which you can attribute boundaries and in which the elements have functional relations with each other. They have density-dependent feedback mechanisms and the system is steered towards equilibrium. Biomass or biodiversity can reach a climax or an optimum. According to ecosystem theory, there were too many people and animals  cause of Sahel disaster (people thought it was according to the ecosystem theory) the disaster was attributed to human action, thought that overuse of the environment led to the degradation, therefore, people deemed farming and pastoralism as unsustainable since it (and overpopulation) pushed the ecosystem out of equilibrium.
society pushes ecosystem out of equilibrium

Question 5

new ecology

Answer 5

marginal ecological systems are not driven by feedback mechanisms, but by factors from outside, notably rainfall and temperature
You cannot predict the rainfall and how much biomass will grow because of the rainfall variability  uncertainty in equilibrium of ecosystem
Non-equilibrium ecology says: Because of rainfall variability, ecosystem cannot be in equilibrium. Therefore there is no climax in vegetation. You cannot even measure the impact of ecological hazards and exploitation because of variability in rainfall. You do not know the contribution of other factors. Disaster is part of the system
the ecosystem pushes society out of equilibrium

Question 6

complex adaptive systems theory

Answer 6

Does not only talk about the ecosystem, can go from a set of conditions to a next set of conditions. It is about the interaction between society and ecosystem: the socio-ecological system. Allows for multiple equilibria and shifts. We take into account non-linear system dynamics.

think about the link between society and ecosystems

Question 7

the adaptive cycle

Answer 7

exploitation –> conservation –> release –> reorganization
R = when things go up, the exploitation phase. System is capturing more energy. E.g. when pastoralism goes well, they get more animals. Energy is stored in these animals
K: Conservation phase: amount of energy doesn’t go up much. Maximum is reached (when you start a forest, at a point the biomass doesn’t increase anymore, maximum energy is stored in the system. At his point, the system also becomes more vulnerable. Possible impact is bigger because you have more that can be affected)
System collapse/release: external shock/factor (drought) imposing itself on the system. Energy is released from the system
Reorganization: system reorganizes itself to go into a new cycle of exploitation.

Question 8

resilience

Answer 8

• Capacity to absorb shocks and maintain system capacities
• Capacity to bounce back after a shock
• It refers to two important dimensions of an ecosystem
  o Connectedness: the density of relations between the system components
  o Return time to normal. The speed of this can also be a measure of resilience. For some ecosystems it takes a longer time to return back to normal

Question 9

scales in the adaptive cycle

Answer 9

cycles within cycles, cycle on the bottom could be a family, they are embedded in cycles of the level at their community. A lot of families together can affect the community cycle. Many small changes may lead to higher order changes. The lower the level, the smaller the disturbance might be but it happens faster. The higher the level, the larger the disturbance but the slower the impact. The lower the level, the smaller and faster the disturbance. The higher the level, the larger and slower the impact of a disturbance. Many small changes may lead to higher order changes

Question 10

systemic risks

Answer 10

Systemic risks affect the system on which society as a whole depends (look at covid for example). You can also apply this kind of thinking to large-scale irrigation, or putting a lot of people in urban areas, global warming. Impact of a shock might be bigger when population is concentrated densely.
Systemic risks are embedded in a larger context of social, financial and economic factors. (natural) events are amplified by human action and therefore we need a holistic approach.