Technological Hazards

Kroll-Smith, J. Stephen; Couch, Stephen R.

doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-2820-3_7

Cited by 50 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Increasingly, the disaster literature emphasizes that understanding the stressors of disasters is found not just in issues of toxic exposure, but in disasters' symbolic (e.g., meanings, interpretations, attributions) and social processes, whose impact on responses to disasters have been underestimated (e.g., Blocker and Sherkat 1992; Kroll-Smith et al 2002; Edelstein 2004; Freudenburg 1997; Picou et al 2004). This may be particularly true for slow-motion technological disasters that have the potential to damage the social fabric of a community.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community‐Level Social Support Responses in a Slow‐Motion Technological Disaster: The Case of Libby, Montana

Cline

Orom

Berry-Bobovski

et al. 2010

American J of Comm Psychol

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Social support is an important resource for communities experiencing disasters. However, a disaster's nature (rapid- versus slow-onset, natural versus technological) may influence community-level responses. Disaster research on social support focuses primarily on rapid-onset natural disasters and, to a lesser extent, rapid-onset technological disasters. Little research has addressed slow-onset disasters. This study explores social support processes in Libby, MT, a community experiencing a “slow-motion technological disaster” due to widespread amphibole asbestos exposure. A comprehensive social support coding system was applied to focus-group and in-depth-interview transcripts. Results reveal that, although the community has a history of normative supportiveness during community and individual crises, that norm has been violated in the asbestos disaster context. Results are interpreted as a failure to achieve an “emergent altruistic community.” Specifically, community-level conflict appears to interfere with previously established social support patterns. The observed phenomenon can be understood as the deterioration of a previously supportive community.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community‐Level Social Support Responses in a Slow‐Motion Technological Disaster: The Case of Libby, Montana

Cline

Orom

Berry-Bobovski

et al. 2010

American J of Comm Psychol

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“…Nonetheless, researchers such as Ulrich Beck (1992;, Kai Erikson (1976;, and others (cf. Kroll-Smith et al 2002;Picou and Gill 2000;Freudenburg and Jones 1991) continue to reinforce the distinction between technological and natural hazards, based on the assumption that natural risks are met with therapeutic community characteristics that serve to ameliorate disruption. In contrast to natural hazards, technological risks are assumed or found to be met with corrosive community processes that break down the social fabric due to the ambiguity of risk (Picou and Gill 2000;Beck 1999;Freudenburg and Jones 1991;Kroll-Smith and Couch 1989;Couch and Kroll-Smith 1985;Short 1984).…”

Section: Risk Researchmentioning

confidence: 95%

Natural Resource-Based Communities, Risk, and Disaster: An Intersection of Theories

Flint

Luloff

2005

Society & Natural Resources

191

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“…The local decision-makers ask for technical studies in order to specify the exact problem and provide explanations for it (Kroll-Smith et al 2002, pp. 296-297, Robinson 2002.…”

Section: Problem Construction On the Local Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

From unknown problem to an acknowledged local environmental problem – a case of polluted soil in the city of Helsinki

Saikkonen

2013

Local Environment

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The article focuses on the administrative processes and factors that have been constructing polluted soil as an environmental problem on the local level. The main questions are how polluted soil was constructed as an environmental problem and by whom? The research material consists of documents from the municipality's administration, and the method of analysis is qualitative content analysis. Finally, it is argued that the definition of the problem radically changed in 20 years. However, there was a noticeable institutional delay between the national-and local-level decision-making and some randomness seemed to be involved in the process of understanding and defining the environmental problem.

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Technological Hazards

Cited by 50 publications

References 27 publications

Community‐Level Social Support Responses in a Slow‐Motion Technological Disaster: The Case of Libby, Montana

Community‐Level Social Support Responses in a Slow‐Motion Technological Disaster: The Case of Libby, Montana

Natural Resource-Based Communities, Risk, and Disaster: An Intersection of Theories

From unknown problem to an acknowledged local environmental problem – a case of polluted soil in the city of Helsinki

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