Doctoral Dissertation Research: Reciprocity, Collective Action, and Political Inequalities in Post-Disaster Resettlements in Andean Ecuador

博士论文研究：厄瓜多尔安第斯山灾后安置中的互惠、集体行动和政治不平等

• 批准号: 1123962
• 负责人: Linda Whiteford
• 金额: $ 0.92万
• 依托单位: University of South Florida
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-07-15 至 2012-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1123962&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Reciprocity; Collective

Doctoral student Albert J. Faas (University of South Florida), with the guidance of Dr. Linda M. Whiteford, will undertake research on how processes of disaster, displacement, and resettlement affect and are affected by both traditions of collective action and unequal local power structures. Particular attention will be paid to possible links between informal exchange relationships and post-event survival. Understanding the micro-processes of disaster response and recovery is critical to the future design and implementation of effective disaster responses.The research will be conducted in highland Ecuador where relocation because of active volanoes offers an ideal opportunity to examine these processes. The researcher will focus in part on traditional communal labor groups (called "mingas"). Preliminary research has suggested that there is a tension between cooperative, mutual support practices and unequal power relations in disaster-induced resettlement communities. This dynamic, which can be presumed to exist in other post-disaster contexts as well, may affect resettled individuals' access to disaster relief and development resources. The researcher will collect qualitative and quantitative data to address two overarching research questions: (1) To what extent are cultural practices of reciprocity eroded in the disaster and resettlement process? (2) To what extent are cultural practices of reciprocity leveraged to exert influence over the distribution of resources in the disaster and resettlement process? Data will be gathered through unstructured and semi-structured interviews with 90 participants and key informants, the examination of public records of attendance at key events, and participant observation at public meetings and in daily life. The first goal is to determine whether or not reciprocity and communal labor continue after resettlement. The second goal is to determine if different ways of participating in reciprocity and communal labor are associated with different degrees of influence in collective decision-making.The research is important because in the aftermath of both natural and manmade disasters quick but economical relief responses are essential. Understanding how to work with rather than against existing cultural practices will make such efforts both more effective and more efficient. Findings from the research will contribute to the growing body of multi-scale and inter-scalar theory of disaster cultures. Funding this research also supports the education of a graduate student.

博士生阿尔伯特·J·法斯(南佛罗里达大学)将在琳达·M·怀特福德博士的指导下，研究灾害、流离失所和重新安置过程如何影响集体行动的传统和不平等的地方权力结构，并受到这些影响。将特别注意非正式交换关系与事后生存之间可能存在的联系。了解灾害应对和恢复的微观过程对于今后设计和实施有效的灾害应对措施至关重要。研究将在厄瓜多尔高原地区进行，在那里，由于活跃的火山活动而重新安置，为审查这些过程提供了理想的机会。这位研究人员将在一定程度上关注传统的集体劳动群体(称为“Mingas”)。初步研究表明，在受灾安置社区中，合作、相互支持的做法与不平等的权力关系之间存在紧张关系。这一动态可以推定也存在于其他灾后环境中，可能会影响重新安置的个人获得救灾和发展资源。研究人员将收集定性和定量的数据来解决两个主要的研究问题：(1)在灾难和重新安置过程中，互惠的文化实践受到了多大程度的侵蚀？(2)在灾难和重新安置过程中，互惠的文化实践在多大程度上被利用来对资源的分配施加影响？将通过对90名参与者和关键信息提供人进行非结构化和半结构化访谈、审查出席关键活动的公共记录以及在公开会议和日常生活中观察参与者的情况来收集数据。第一个目标是确定重新安置后是否继续互惠和集体劳动。第二个目标是确定参与互惠和共同劳动的不同方式是否与集体决策中不同程度的影响有关。这项研究很重要，因为在自然灾害和人为灾难发生后，快速但经济的救援反应是必不可少的。了解如何与现有的文化习俗合作，而不是反对现有的文化习俗，将使这种努力更有成效和效率。这项研究的发现将有助于不断壮大的多尺度和跨尺度灾难文化理论。资助这项研究还支持研究生的教育。