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Research papers, The University of Auckland Library

As damage and loss caused by natural hazards have increased worldwide over the past several decades, it is important for governments and aid agencies to have tools that enable effective post-disaster livelihood recovery to create self-sufficiency for the affected population. This study introduces a framework of critical components that constitute livelihood recovery and the critical factors that lead to people’s livelihood recovery. A comparative case study is employed in this research, combined with questionnaire surveys and interviews with those communities affected by large earthquakes in Lushan, China and in Christchurch and Kaikōura, New Zealand. In Lushan, China, a framework with four livelihood components was established, namely, housing, employment, wellbeing and external assistance. Respondents considered recovery of their housing to be the most essential element for livelihood diversification. External assistance was also rated highly in assisting with their livelihood recovery. Family ties and social connections seemed to have played a larger role than that of government agencies and NGOs. However, the recovery of livelihood cannot be fully achieved without wellbeing aspects being taken into account, and people believed that quality of life and their physical and mental health were essential for livelihood restoration. In Christchurch, New Zealand, the identified livelihood components were validated through in-depth interviews. The results showed that the above framework presenting what constitutes successful livelihood recovery could also be applied in Christchurch. This study also identified the critical factors to affect livelihood recovery following the Lushan and Kaikōura earthquakes, and these include community safety, availability of family support, level of community cohesion, long-term livelihood support, external housing recovery support, level of housing recovery and availability of health and wellbeing support. The framework developed will provide guidance for policy makers and aid agencies to prioritise their strategies and initiatives in assisting people to reinstate their livelihood in a timely manner post-disaster. It will also assist the policy makers and practitioners in China and New Zealand by setting an agenda for preparing for livelihood recovery in non-urgent times so the economic impact and livelihood disruption of those affected can be effectively mitigated.

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

This literature review uses research informed by disasters including the Christchurch Earthquakes, Hurricane Katrina, Red River floods, War in Israel and natural disasters in Indonesia to identify key aspects within teacher-student relationships which result in an increase in the emotional stability of our students. These aspects include prior knowledge of students and their development, psycho-social interventions and incorporation of the disaster into the curriculum. Teacher-student relationships are highlighted as vital to a child’s healing and resilience after experiencing disaster trauma.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Clarendon Tower (left), Westpac Bank (centre), Grant Thornton building (white right of the Westpac in the distance), ANZ Bank (white with vertical stripes below the Grant Thornton), BNZ bank (red), and Holiday Inn (right) all under demolition, viewed from Alice in Videoland".

Research papers, University of Canterbury Library

Knowing how to rapidly rebuild disaster-damaged infrastructure, while deciding appropriate recovery strategies and catering for future investment is a matter of core interest to government decision makers, utility providers, and business sectors. The purpose of this research is to explore the effects of decisions and outcomes for physical reconstruction on the overall recovery process of horizontal infrastructure in New Zealand using the Canterbury and Kaikoura earthquakes as cases. A mixed approach including a systematic review, questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews is used to capture perspectives of those involved in reconstruction process and gain insights into the effect of critical elements on infrastructure downtime. Findings from this research will contribute towards advancements of a systems dynamics model considering critical decision-making variables across phases of the reconstruction process to assess how these variables affect the rebuild process and the corresponding downtime. This project will improve the ability to explore alternative resilience improvement pathways and test the efficacy of alternative means for facilitating a faster and better reconstruction process.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

An aerial photograph of High, Lichfield, Manchester, and Tuam Streets. The photographs has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "High Street can be seen running from the bottom left to the top right of the photograph. The old Majestic Theatre is prominent halfway up on the left. The prominent streets are Lichfield Street (on the left) and Tuam Street (on the right)".

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of Adam McGrath, Jess Shanks and Alice Ryan Williams from Lyttelton band The Eastern singing songs to people in the community. The song recipients were nominated by family, friends or workmates, and in total seven people were chosen, including a teacher, office worker and traffic controller. The video and event were organised by All Right?. The video was distributed by The Press and was posted to the All Right? Facebook Timeline in October 2014.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

An aerial photograph of the Christchurch central city. The photograph has been captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "High Street runs across this photograph in the top third from the old Majestic Theatre at the intersection of Manchester and Lichfield Streets to the intersection of Madras and St Asaph Street which is just beyond the edge of the photo".