April 4, 2014 Panel 3 Dr. McMullen-Messier Cascadia Hazards Institute @CWU Seismic Hazards & the Built Environment

1. 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

2. 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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3. 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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4. 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;
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• (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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5. 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 societal
conditions:
• 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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6. 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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7. 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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8. 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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