Salford postgraduate annual research conference (SPARC) 2012 proceedings

These proceedings bring together a selection of papers from the 2012 Salford Postgraduate Annual Research Conference (SPARC). They reflect the breadth and diversity of research interests showcased at the conference, at which over 130 researchers from Salford, the North West and other UK universities presented their work. 21 papers are collated here from the humanities, arts, social sciences, health, engineering, environment and life sciences, built environment and business

Application of spatial analysis in post-disaster resettlement

Post-disaster resettlement programmes are being conducted by governments and other relevant organisations to relocate displaced people to provided safe places; considering the original land standards to subsequently improve the standard of living. Although resettlement programmes have been broadly implemented within several communities who were exposed to hazards, it appears that numerous intricate problems were identified throughout their implementation. These results illustrate unsuccessful resettlement programmes which require a more effective solution. According to previous works, vulnerable hazard areas have been rarely studied in terms of displaced persons’ activities correlated between spatial and socio-economic aspects. With respect to the interaction between human and locations, humans perform their activities based upon their locations; likewise, displaced people also perform their activities based on the resettlement areas. Effective applications integrated with the theoretical knowledge-base in Geoinformatics help mitigate the problems associated with the interaction between human and locations. Specifically, the spatial analysis techniques employing several scenes of high-resolution images that are carefully applied in this research in order to present an effective method to minimise the spatial and non-spatial problems in resettlement programme. A case study of Ban Nam Ko sub-district is used to gain knowledge from the resettlement activities associated with displacement locations. The explored results of this research present appropriate functions and specific conditions for displacement locations used in resettlement activities. The explored results propose potential solutions of achieving a successful resettlement programme response to debris-flow disasters. With consideration of physical, socio-economic, and administrative factors of residents and surrounding environment, this study is beneficial to governments and relevant organisations to establish displacement locations associated with activities in each resettlement phase and to setup the spatial and non-spatial database in resettlement plan for other vulnerable debris-flow hazard areas

Achieving success in post-disaster resettlement programmes through better coordination between spatial and socio-economic/cultural factors

Purpose – While the top-down approach to design and implement post-disaster resettlement programmes are often influenced by spatial factors such as land availability and access to infrastructure facilities, failure to recognise socio-economic and cultural sensitivities of resettling communities have been noted as a common reason for unsuccessful resettlement programmes. Since these socio-economic and political issues are not mutually exclusive from spatial factors, the aim of this research is to develop a framework to assist the design and implementation of better post-disaster resettlement programmes through better coordination between spatial and socio-economic/cultural factors. Design/methodology/approach – An initial theoretical framework was developed through a comprehensive literature review followed by a validation through a case study approach. Findings – During the theoretical framework development, the differentiating priorities of policy maker's viewpoint and resettling community's viewpoints have been established as key theoretical constructs, within the emergency, transitional, and potential development phases of post-disaster resettlement programmes. Further, spatial analysis has been identified as an effective technique that can be used to investigate the interdependencies between the spatial, socio-economic and cultural factors within the post-disaster resettlement programmes. The case study findings confirmed that spatial analysis indeed can be used effectively to evaluate the above mentioned interdependencies within the context of post-debris flow event disaster resettlement programmes. Originality/value – It is expected that the developed framework can be used by authorities and policy makers who are designing and implementing resettlement programmes to evaluate how the spatial design of the programme can be used to minimise socio-economic and cultural issues of settling communities

Achieving success in post-disaster resettlement programmes through better coordination between spatial and socio-economic/cultural factors

Purpose – While the top-down approach to design and implement post-disaster resettlement programmes are often influenced by spatial factors such as land availability and access to infrastructure facilities, failure to recognise socio-economic and cultural sensitivities of resettling communities have been noted as a common reason for unsuccessful resettlement programmes. Since these socio-economic and political issues are not mutually exclusive from spatial factors, the aim of this research is to develop a framework to assist the design and implementation of better post-disaster resettlement programmes through better coordination between spatial and socio-economic/cultural factors. Design/methodology/approach – An initial theoretical framework was developed through a comprehensive literature review followed by a validation through a case study approach. Findings – During the theoretical framework development, the differentiating priorities of policy maker's viewpoint and resettling community's viewpoints have been established as key theoretical constructs, within the emergency, transitional, and potential development phases of post-disaster resettlement programmes. Further, spatial analysis has been identified as an effective technique that can be used to investigate the interdependencies between the spatial, socio-economic and cultural factors within the post-disaster resettlement programmes. The case study findings confirmed that spatial analysis indeed can be used effectively to evaluate the above mentioned interdependencies within the context of post-debris flow event disaster resettlement programmes. Originality/value – It is expected that the developed framework can be used by authorities and policy makers who are designing and implementing resettlement programmes to evaluate how the spatial design of the programme can be used to minimise socio-economic and cultural issues of settling communities