Department of Geology and Geography University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA 01003 U.S.A.
Disasters. 1991 Sep;15(3):209-26. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-7717.1991.tb00455.x.
Natural disasters are defined in this paper by relating the impact of extreme geophysical events to patterns of human vulnerability. Hazard perception is shown to be a factor that limits the mitigation of risk. The historical development of disaster studies is traced and five different schools of thought are identified. The current International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) is evaluated critically with regard to its potential for unifying the disparate strands of knowledge and its scope as a vehicle for education. A pedagogical framework for disaster studies is presented. Time and space provide valuable unifying factors, while the subject matter can be differentiated according to the continua and dichotomies that it presents. In disaster studies as in other branches of higher education, an ecocentric approach is preferable to a technocentric one, as many of the poorer nations of the world, which are most afflicted by natural catastrophe, will have to rely for mitigation on maintaining their ecological sustainability, instead of depending on sophisticated technology. Valuable insights into the impact of environmental extremes on mankind are gained from the study of disasters as human ecology.
本文通过将极端地球物理事件的影响与人类脆弱性模式联系起来，对自然灾害进行了定义。研究表明，灾害感知是限制风险缓解的一个因素。本文追溯了灾害研究的历史发展，并确定了五种不同的思潮。本文批判性地评估了当前的国际减轻自然灾害十年（IDNDR）在统一各种知识方面的潜力及其作为教育工具的范围。本文提出了灾害研究的教学框架。时间和空间提供了有价值的统一因素，而主题可以根据其呈现的连续体和二分法进行区分。在灾害研究以及其他高等教育领域，生态中心方法优于技术中心方法，因为世界上许多受自然灾害影响最严重的较贫穷国家将不得不依靠维持其生态可持续性来减轻灾害，而不是依赖复杂的技术。通过研究人类生态学，我们可以深入了解环境极端对人类的影响。
