Daniel Aldrich showcase
Are you thinking about community preparedness but aren’t sure what the best bang for buck is? Or are you living in a disaster affected community and are a bit unclear about some of the things that you should be prioritising when there is so much to do? Or perhaps you’re working in disaster recovery and are convinced that there are some communities that you’re working with that seem to be navigating recovery better than others but can’t put your finger on why?
Folks, I’d like to introduce (or reacquaint) you to the world of Daniel Aldrich’s research. He’s a political scientist based at North-Eastern University in the United States, and frequently blows people’s minds with his work.
Since his he was personally impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, his work has focussed on the link between social connections and disaster resilience. While the research techniques Daniel uses are a bit complicated, his message isn’t: strong social connections are the predictors of good recovery after disasters. He and his colleagues helpfully look at the different types of social ties (formal and informal) that matter.
So if you’re trying to find bang for preparedness buck, look at building the social ties within communities and go from there. If you’re in a disaster affected community and you’re trying to figure out what to prioritise, look for things that help re-establish social ties. And if you’re working in communities that are having different experiences, have a look at the state of the social ties.
He’s a prolific publisher of scientific research, but if that’s not your preferred mode of absorbing new information (don’t worry, I am a researcher and it’s not my preferred way either), he has a bunch of videos and short summary pieces that are great cheat sheets.
Ease your way into Aldrich’s work here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7A8m0zQ6T8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRhHhTyStM0
Go full nerd here:
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/author/A/D/au13896872.html
https://scholar.google.com.au/citations?user=fiPV5HEAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao