1. Disaster Risk Reduction Does Culture Determine Perception? David Alexander Global Risk Forum - Davos

2. Culture:the customs, ideas and social behaviour of a particular people or group (OED)

3. Culture is often the missing element in the social analysis of disasters

4. Images of reality Symbolic constructions Diffusion of information Emergency not decoded Ignorance Cultural filter Information flux Perceptual filter Enlightenment Emergency decoded

5. Sociocentrism Technocentrism Technology as risk mitigation individual family peer group organisation community society international Research, development and investment in technology Cultural filter Technology as a source of vulnerability

6. Technology as a source of risk reduction Technology as an inadvertent source of risk Technology as a deliberate source of risk decision perception Risk management practices Cultural filter Ceaseless development of technology Benign Malignant

7. Long term Emic components Short term Etic components Ideological (non-scientific) interpretations of disaster Learned (scientific) interpretations of disaster METAMORPHOSISOF CULTURE Experiences of culture [mass-media and consumer culture] Accumulated cultural traits and beliefs Inherited cultural background

8. National culture Family culture Regional culture Peer group culture Value system Personal culture Civil Protection culture Consumer culture Work culture

9. Risk perception factors - + positive negative Total vulnerability Risk amplification factors Risk mitigation factors DIALECTIC

10. Risk Perception Filter Culture Accurate Inaccurate Decision Action Result Positive Negative

11. Knowledge of community vulerability Knowledge of hazards and their impacts DRR Knowledge of coping capacity and resilience Disaster Risk Reduction

12. Technology organisations safety culture Ethnology societies community culture Communication mass media multicultural societies Psychology ethnic groups individual culture

13. Culture of resilience Resilient culture

14. Portent Retribution Judgement DISASTER ACCEPTANCE MEANING Retrospective interpretation Predictive interpretation Traditional view of disaster - modern parallels?

15. Haas, Kates and Bowden 1977 Reconstruction Following Disaster Norberg-Schulz 1980

16. Haas et al. 1977 Lisbon: monumental reconstruction and regeneration of the genius loci of a place.

17. Preservation of the genius loci of Lioni (Avellino) after the 1980 southern Italy earthquake

18. Does this place still have a genius loci?

20. no resettlement for 30 years

21. plans for gradual recolonisation

22. process entirely driven by funding

23. funding sources obscure, scarce and stop-start.

24. Further reading: www.emergency-planning.blogspot.com

25. culture technology and technocentrism symbolic significance disaster Further reading

26. Thank you for your attention! david.alexander@grforum.org www.slideshare.net/dealexander emergency-planning.blogspot.com