The susceptibility of the vulnerable

Some realities reassessed

Bibliographic Data

ID15306331
AuthorsJames Lewis (0000-0002-8603-2761, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume23
Issue1
Pages2-11
Publication date2014-01-28
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDisaster Prevention and Management An International Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0965-3562 • E-ISSN: 1758-6100
PublisherEmerald Publishing Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1108/dpm-04-2013-0066
OpenAlexW1990092274
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited17

Purpose – This intentionally short paper considers the wide range of interpretations of “vulnerability” since its 1979 adoption in disaster studies and proposes some necessary separation and re-categorisation of its current applications. Design/methodology/approach – The short history of the use of “vulnerability” in disasters studies is examined, contrasting present day contexts with those of its earliest use. Findings – “Vulnerability” is retained for its conventional place-based role, whilst superimposed social and political constraints are allocated to “susceptibility”, a term often used to define “vulnerability”; the two terms taking on equal mutually supportive roles. Separation of the two terms is supported by on example of their realities in war and post-war conditions, together with other examples not in contexts of war. Separation of terms suggests the issue of whether manifestation of vulnerability brings about additional personal susceptibility. Research limitations/implications – Implications are that both vulnerability and susceptibility may become better understood in disaster studies and its applications in the field. Practical implications – The media is seen as a possible eventual target for a published version of this short paper so that, in time, public as well as academic readership may be reached. Originality/value – Dissatisfaction occasionally expressed regarding uses of “vulnerability” has, so far, received little radical attention

Computer security · Environmental ethics · Field (mathematics · Originality · Political science · Politics · Psychological resilience · Public relations · Qualitative research · Social science · Social vulnerability · Sociology · Value (mathematics · Vulnerability (computing · Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration · Computer Science · Disaster Management and Resilience · Flood Risk Assessment and Management · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology

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