The role of social capital and community leadership in post-disaster recovery practices: an ethnography of Minami-Sanriku after the 2011 Tsunami

This research explores community post-disaster recovery practices in Minami-Sanriku, Japan after the 2011 tsunami by focusing on how various types of social capital have been developed and deployed in bottom up community-based tourism initiatives. In so doing, the research fills a gap in the existing disaster recovery literature by bringing to the fore the voices and experiences of the tsunami survivors as opposed to outsiders (Government, NGOs etc.) who have already received extensive attention in terms of their roles in the reconstruction efforts. The study adopts a social capital lens which is applied to the context of disaster recovery and illustrated via empirical cases which unpack the processes by which social innovation was facilitated by and in turn facilitated the development of bonding, bridging and linking social forms of capital. The research also demonstrates the dynamics of Kizuna as perceived by the local community which challenges the official meaning of Kizuna of social solidarity as espoused by the government in its reconstruction rhetoric. Finally, this research contributes new insights to the role of community leadership by highlighting its emergent and collective nature and its roots in a crisis situation. This alerts us to rethink power-sharing in decision-making and coordinating recovery activities at all levels to achieve the goal of “building back better”. The research is ethnographic and the data was collected via a mosaic of complementary methods. Classical American pragmatism was chosen due to its emphasis on problem-driven inquiry and to the view that theory is valid and rigorous only when it has consequences in the real world. The research findings can inform preparing for future disasters, thus being beneficial for other disaster-prone communities. It is hoped that the study will inspire other researchers to put community experiences at the heart of studying disaster recovery practices

PAPER PEOPLE AND DIGITAL MEMORY: RECREATING THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE IN JAPAN

This research examines how reading and writing on digital platforms establishes public and private spheres in Tokyo, Japan. Based upon findings from a group of students at an international University, I develop new modes of thinking about people and their use of Internet capable devices by exploring the paradoxes present in contemporary literacies. Contextualizing reading and writing within the speech patterns and exchange rituals (aisatsu) which mark public spheres in Japan, writing practices are found to reflect multiple nuanced identity performances in which the varied use of the cultural principles uchi/soto (inside/outside) and ura/omote (back/front) create parallel publics. Constructed by authors and recognized by readers, these parallel publics are the result of student agency as well as the materiality of platform programing and device capabilities. Contemporary literacies have developed conventions which account for the message recipient carrying an ever-present Internet capable device, leading authors to utilize message practices which align the proximity of a platform to levels of intimacy in a relationship. Authors also compose messages which are less likely to require the receiver to excuse themselves from any given social situation. The ubiquity of human-device pairs has also impacted memory practices, with youths prioritizing recognition skills over memorization

Feature Papers "Age-Friendly Cities & Communities: State of the Art and Future Perspectives"

The "Age-Friendly Cities & Communities: States of the Art and Future Perspectives" publication presents contemporary, innovative, and insightful narratives, debates, and frameworks based on an international collection of papers from scholars spanning the fields of gerontology, social sciences, architecture, computer science, and gerontechnology. This extensive collection of papers aims to move the narrative and debates forward in this interdisciplinary field of age-friendly cities and communities