Suchergebnisse

Due to the widespread destruction of the Camp Fire in Paradise, California in November 2018, residents faced long‐term displacement and disruption to community life. In response, digital spaces emerged as an important gathering space for survivors. While research has addressed the role of social media during disasters, less is known about the long‐term uses of digital platforms in post‐disaster recovery. This study presents a content analysis of the use of public Facebook groups created by and for survivors of the Camp Fire approximately 1 year after the event. It examines 480 posts from seven groups during a 2‐week period from November 19, 2019 through December 2, 2019. Users were most often seeking or providing informational support, but they also frequently used the groups for community‐building. Less frequent uses included instrumental, material, and emotional supports. Social media provide an alternative space for these community functions and also enable the recovery of the town itself.

AbstractClimate‐related disasters are becoming increasingly frequent and destructive. These events result in extensive material losses, but also more abstract disruptions, such as those to identity, well‐being, and community. Using transcripts from 24 qualitative interviews with residents of Paradise, California after a wildfire destroyed their town; I consider the changes to residents' physical and social infrastructure. Physical places provide a structure for social life to play out, and their familiarity offers feelings of belonging and security. But, relationships, routines, and personal histories also inscribe meaning and value on these spaces. After disaster, the loss of physical landmarks hinders residents' ability to navigate their community and inhibits social connections that would otherwise offer important supports. At the same time, new meanings become inscribed on existing places, through trauma reminders (which constrain social life) and positive cues from the natural world (which shift meanings from destruction‐ to recovery‐oriented). Because physical places are imbedded in social context, and vice versa, I examine these processes in tandem.

AbstractBackgroundResearch on the social bases of environmental concern has established robust findings across various sociodemographic characteristics. This includes interaction effects between education and political identity, as well as particularly low concern among supporters of President Trump.ObjectivesUsing 2016 survey data, we extend such research to examine U.S. public support for four climate‐change mitigation strategies: investment in renewable energy, lifestyle changes, a revenue‐neutral carbon tax, and cap‐and‐trade.MethodsWe perform ordered logit regression of belief in anthropogenic climate change and support for these strategies on several key independent variables.ResultsSupport follows some of the patterns expected for environmental concern generally but with new details. Trump support is a dominant predictor, and education × party interactions show significant variations in levels of support.ConclusionThis provides important insights for public policy decision making related to climate change by considering which characteristics are most predictive of support for specific strategies.