Understanding stakeholder participation in post-disaster recovery (case study: Nagapattinam, India)

Stakeholder participation is widely acknowledged as a critical component of post-disaster recovery because it helps create a shared understanding of local hazard risk and vulnerability, improves recovery and mitigation decision efficacy, and builds social capital and local resilience to future disasters. But approaches commonly used to facilitate participation and empower local communities depend on lengthy consensus-building processes which is not conducive to time-constrained post-disaster recovery. Moreover, these approaches are often criticized for being overly technocratic and ignoring existing community power and trust structures. Therefore, there is a need for more nuanced, analytical and applied research on stakeholder participation in planning for post-disaster recovery. This research examines participatory behavior of three stakeholder groups (government agencies, non-local non-government organizations, local community-based organizations) in three coastal village communities of Nagapattinam (India) that were recovering from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The study found eight different forms of participation and non-participation in the case study communities, ranging from 'transformative' participation to 'marginalized' non-participation. These forms of participation and non-participatory behavior emanated from the negotiation of four factors, namely stakeholder power, legitimacy, trust, and urgency for action. The study also found that the time constraints and changing conditions of recovery pose particular challenges for how these factors operated on the ground and over the course of recovery. Finally, the study uses these insights to suggest four strategies for recovery managers to use in the short- and long-term to facilitate more effective stakeholder participation in post-disaster recovery.

Connecting: the use of information and communication technologies by older adults in a retirement community

This is a long-term study of the use of information and communication technologies by 30 older adults (ages 70–97) living in a large retirement community. The study spanned the years of 1996 to 2008, during which time the research participants grappled with the challenges of computer use while aging 12 years. The researcher, herself a ‘mature learner,’ used a qualitative research design which included observations and open-ended interviews. Using a strategy of “intermittent immersion,” she spent an average of two weeks per visit on site and participated in the lives of the research population in numerous ways, including service as their computer tutor. With e-mail and telephone contact, she was able to continue her interactions with participants throughout the 12-year period. A long-term perspective afforded the view of the evolution, devolution or cessation of the technology use by these older adults, and this process is chronicled in detail through five individual “profiles.” Three research questions dominated the inquiry: What function do computers serve in the lives of older adults? Does computer use foster or interfere with social ties? Is social support necessary for success in the face of challenging learning tasks? In answer to the first question, it became clear that computers were valued as a symbol of competence and intelligence. Some individuals brought their computers with them when transferred to the single-room residences of assisted living or nursing care facilities. Even when use had ceased, their computers were displayed to signal that their owners were or had once been keeping up to date. In answer to the second question, computer owners socialized around computing use (with in-person family members or friends) more than, or as much as, they socialized through their computers in the digital realm of the Internet. And in answer to the third question, while the existence of social support did facilitate computer exploration, more important was the social support network generated and developed among fellow computer users.

Training civic bridge builders: Outcomes of community leadership development programs

As rural communities experience rapid economic, demographic, and political change, program interventions that focus on the development of community leadership capacity could be valuable. Community leadership development programs have been deployed in rural U.S. communities for the past 30 years by university extension units, chambers of commerce, and other nonprofit foundations. Prior research on program outcomes has largely focused on trainees’ self-reported change in individual leadership knowledge, skills, and attitudes. However, postindustrial leadership theories suggest that leadership in the community relies not on individuals but on social relationships that develop across groups akin to social bridging. The purpose of this study is to extend and strengthen prior evaluative research on community leadership development programs by examining program effects on opportunities to develop bridging social capital using more rigorous methods. Data from a quasi-experimental study of rural community leaders (n = 768) in six states are used to isolate unique program effects on individual changes in both cognitive and behavioral community leadership outcomes. Regression modeling shows that participation in community leadership development programs is associated with increased leadership development in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors that are a catalyst for social bridging. The community capitals framework is used to show that program participants are significantly more likely to broaden their span of involvement across community capital asset areas over time compared to non-participants. Data on specific program structure elements show that skills training may be important for cognitive outcomes while community development learning and group projects are important for changes in organizational behavior. Suggestions for community leadership program practitioners are presented.