We Will Rise No Matter What\u27: Community Perspectives of Disaster Resilience Following Hurricanes Irma and Maria In Puerto Rico

Category 4 Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on 20 September 2017 and ploughed across the territory with sustained winds of 155 mph. Just two weeks earlier, category 5 Hurricane Irma had struck the island already damaging critical infrastructure making Hurricane Maria even more devasting. The hurricanes caused catastrophic damage, resulting in the largest and longest response to a domestic disaster in the history of the United States. This paper explores the recovery process in Puerto Rico using a community resilience lens. The study examines narratives, the media environment, trusted sources, and information preferences following the crisis. Community workshops, interviews, and focus groups reveal indicators of resilience in Puerto Rico alongside areas for improvement. Theoretical contributions discuss the role of identity, sense of place, and the impact of culture on community resilience. Practical contributions touch on messaging, acknowledging infrastructure vulnerabilities, and the importance of strengthening community relationships

Integrating and evaluating interdisciplinary sustainability and STEM curriculum in geographical education: A case of three teaching modalities

The effectiveness of interdisciplinary sustainability curriculum remains understudied in geography education. Accordingly, we deployed and evaluated an interdisciplinary sustainability and STEM module for in-person and online sections of a fall 2018 Human Geography course. Results indicate that sustainability knowledge improved after the interdisciplinary curricular intervention irrespective of course modality. Another focus is to explore student reactions to teaching modality due to COVID-19 disruptions. Results indicate that online student sustainability knowledge also improved during COVID-19 (fall 2020). For students in a section converted from in-person to blended, sustainability knowledge did not improve. Implications are provided

The role of STEM-based sustainability in business and management curricula: Exploring cognitive and affective outcomes in university students

To address deficiencies in STEM and sustainability in business management and intra-university curricula, we developed and implemented an interdisciplinary STEM-based sustainability curriculum at a university in the Western United States. Six classes participated in curricular efforts including in-person and online sections of a business management course, in-person and online sections of a general elective STEM course, and a matched control course for each (n = 214). We systematically designed, developed, and implemented curricular interventions—multi-week STEM-based business sustainability modules—using the case teaching method. A comprehensive evaluation with pre- and post-tests was conducted to assess student sustainability cognition and affect. Significant results emerged for sustainability cognition including the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability. Counterintuitively, student sustainability affect did not improve. However, sustainability cognition and affect were significantly correlated on the post-test for treatment students, an indication that cognitive and affective changes share the same directionality. Discussion, implications, limitations, and future research directions are provided

Chemophobia and the Relation to Names

Chemophobia is a recently identified cultural phenomena where people are afraid of chemicals in their lives, whether chemicals are in their food, their medicines, vaccinations, and other products. An increasing amount of people have a concern about the risk associated with chemicals in their everyday life. Chemistry professionals find this a bit strange as Chemistry states that all matter is made up of chemicals. Chemistry has many systems of naming and understanding chemicals which can exclude people from understanding the risk or lack thereof attributed to materials that are common in daily life. This effect could be accentuated by educational background of both the individual and his family. If people were to know more about what is and is not safe, perhaps scientific literacy as a whole could improve. The American Chemical Society and other sources have done studies on chemophobia and the related misperceptions of risk associated with certain substances. The research question I investigated is Would students misconstrue risk with the names of substances because of the complexity of the name of the substance (i.e., Latin)? I chose to distribute two surveys to Honors students at Tyler Junior College of various majors. One had them view images of nine everyday items and give their opinion on whether the object was hazardous or not, and the other survey had the same questions with only the names of the corresponding chemicals. The collected data was analyzed to find if there is a dissonance between the risk perceived through the chemical name versus with the common name or pictures, as well as if there is any difference in this effect related to one\u27s major, or the education of an individual\u27s family

Organizational Response to Perceptual Risk: Managing Substantial Response to Unsubstantiated Events

Analysis and perceived severity of risk influences organizational decisions to anticipated threats. As economic development and technology improve our standards of living, they also create new challenges to conceptualizing concrete and abstract threats. Organizations that face new threats, along with agencies that oversee these organizations, produce tightly coupled systems that increase risks for direct, indirect, and future stakeholders (Perrow, 1999). Natural disasters, political misbehavior, organizational corruption, financial collapse, food and water contaminations, chemical or nuclear accidents, international tension, to name a few, all present risks and challenges. Unfortunately, many of these situations endanger the lives and well-being of persons. The ability of individuals to conceptualize, prioritize, and respond to myriad threats ultimately determines their risk perception and intention to act accordingly. Individuals often exaggerate some risks, while failing to acknowledge the severity of others (Sandman, 1989; Lachlan & Spence, 2007). This study will contribute to the understanding of subjectively constructed threats by examining three specific perceptual crises: A hoax, near miss, and risk misconstrual event. Each of these cases relies on robust newspaper descriptions, content analysis of media, and confirmatory organizational interviews. They are documented through a level of legislative action to determine real and structural changes incurred from perceptual crises. From these investigations this dissertation articulates how perceptual crises challenge organizations and governments, ascertains the viability of actional legitimacy theory, and observes variance in communication challenges between differing crisis contexts. These expectations encompass both applied and theoretical contributions

British and Pakistani children's understanding of death: Cultural and developmental influences

This study explored British and Pakistani 4- to 7-year-olds’ (N = 188 understanding of death. The aim was to examine possible influences on the acquisition of the subcomponents of the death concept by investigating how they are understood by children of different ages and cultural and religious backgrounds. Three groups of children were compared: White British and British Muslim living in London, and Pakistani Muslim living in rural Pakistan. In line with previous research (Slaughter, 2005, Aust. Psychol., 40(3), 179), irreversibility of death was one of the first subcomponents to be acquired, while causality was the last. The two groups of British children shared many similarities in their understanding of inevitability, applicability, irreversibility, and cessation. Pakistani Muslim children understood irreversibility earlier than did children in both British groups. In all three cultural groups, children’s responses demonstrated very limited understanding of causality. Our findings support the view that aspects of a mature understanding of death develop between the ages of 4 and 7 years and that the process of understanding death as a biological event is, to a great extent, universal. They also suggest that aspects of children’s reasoning are influenced by culturally specific experiences, particularly those arising from living in rural versus urban settings

A medium frequency transformer design for spot welding machine using sizing equation and finite element analysis

In this study, a medium frequency power transformer has been designed analytically and its sizes have been obtained. The transformer’s analyses were made numerically by 2D AnsysMaxwell Solver software package. The Solver has also helped to study suitable transformer core and winding samples. Unlike medium frequency transformer, which is generally driven by unipolar PWM method, the designed transformer is driven by bipolar PWM method in the study. The core losses were obtained for different core materials (Trafoperm N3 and Amorfous 2605SA1) by AnsysMaxwell numerical and analytical calculations. The calculated losses for no-load working conditions were compared with each other. The designed transformer has been analyzed for its noload and loaded working conditions magnetically. Finally, the radial and axial forces created in the windings have also been examined for loaded working condition

The Role of Investor Relations in Crisis Communications

By the end of the 2000s, Domino’s Pizza Inc. was facing decreasing sales and a dwindling stock price, as consumers were frequently disappointed in the quality of the chain’s food. In April 2009, the pizza giant was faced with a sudden crisis when a YouTube video surfaced showing employees contaminating food with bodily functions. This study will focus on the events following the crisis. Specifically, the study will examine Dominos’ unique pivot towards a transparent communications strategy in hopes of revitalizing its business model and its share price. The methodology used to explore Domino’s new communications approach includes an in-depth examination of Domino’s communications and advertisements. Further research included heavy analysis of media publications and analyst recommendations surrounding the company. The analysis will argue that Domino’s used an innovative communications strategy centered on transparency and honesty to revitalize its business. Additionally, this study will argue that the company’s approach fully aligns with the Page Principles, seven key guidelines for public relations professionals. Ultimately, Domino’s multi-step approach will be considered a model for future crisis communications efforts. The campaigns have resulted in a 13 times return for Domino’s share price over the past seven years and have led to the company being named the World’s Top Pizza Chain by Business Insider