From Google Scholar+ [to 28 June 2014]
Selected content from beyond the journals and sources covered above, aggregated from a range of Google Scholar monitoring algorithms and other monitoring strategies.

Food Security
Volume 6, Issue 3, June 2014
http://link.springer.com/journal/12571/6/3/page/1
Food security governance: a systematic literature review
Jeroen J. L. Candel
Abstract
The role of governance has been receiving increasing attention from food security scholars in recent years. However, in spite of the recognition that governance matters, current knowledge of food security governance is rather fragmented. To provide some clarity in the debate about the role of governance in addressing food (in)security, this paper reports the results of a systematic review of the literature. The synthesis revolves around seven recurring themes: i) the view of governance as both a challenge and solution to food security; ii) a governability that is characterized by high degrees of complexity; iii) failures of the current institutional architectures; iv) the arrival of new players at the forefront; v) calls for coherency and coordination across multiple scales; vi) variation and conflict of ideas; and vii) calls for the allocation of sufficient resources and the integration of democratic values in food security governance. Two lines of discussion of this synthesis are raised. First, the researcher argues that a large proportion of the food security governance literature is characterized by an optimist governance perspective, i.e., a view of governance as a problem-solving mechanism. Complementing this body of literature with alternative governance perspectives in future research may strengthen current understandings of food security governance. Approaching food security as a ‘wicked problem’ could provide valuable insights in this respect. Second, food security governance as a research field could make headway by engaging in further empirical investigation of current governance arrangements, particularly at sub-national levels.

.GI_Forum 2014. Geospatial Innovation for Society.
Applying Satellite Imagery and Geospatial Techniques to Explore Patterns of Buruli Ulcer Prevalence in Central Cameroon
Elisabeth SCHÖPFER
German Aerospace Center (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen / Germany • elisabeth.schoepfer@dlr.de
Abstract
Geospatial information obtained from satellite data can contribute in various ways to
assessing and dealing with humanitarian issues and tasks. In this study, patterns of Buruli
Ulcer in Central Cameroon were explored using satellite imagery and GIS approaches, in
order to provide a better understanding of spatial characteristics and a possible causal
mechanism of Buruli Ulcer.
Using Student Volunteers to Crowdsource Land Cover Information
Franziska ALBRECHT1*, Mario ZUSSNER1, Christoph PERGER2, Martina DÜRAUER2,
Linda SEE2, Ian MCCALLUM2, Steffen FRITZ2 and Wolfgang KAINZ1
1 Dept. of Geography and Regional Research,
University of Vienna / Austria • franziska.albrecht@univie.ac.at
2 IIASA, Ecosystem Services and Management Program, Laxenburg / Austria
Abstract:
Accurate geospatial cropland information is one of several critical input parameters needed for the assessment of food security and for achieving sustainable development. However, current land cover products are either not accurate enough or lacking in many food insecure countries. Here we demonstrate how we can use the Geo-Wiki crowdsourcing tool and student volunteers to generate a cropland map of Myanmar, and validate a global hybrid cropland map. The preliminary results clearly indicate that the method could be applied in a similar manner to other countries.

Humanitarian Exchange Magazine
Issue 61 May 2014
http://www.odihpn.org/humanitarian-exchange-magazine/issue-61
Path-dependency culture in humanitarian decision-making: why it was hard to change direction in Haiti
Kate Crawford, Jim Kennedy and Alison Killing
Abstract
The humanitarian industry collectively chose to spend $500m of the $6bn in aid money on timber-framed transitional shelters in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. This analysis of that decision suggests that the international community recognised within months the flaws in its strategy but was unable to change direction. Early decisions will often be made with limited information and in the face of rapid, unpredictable change: mechanisms and leadership that make it possible to adapt are critical not only to better longer-term outcomes but also to the sector’s accountability to the people and governments affected by disasters.

Global Environmental Change
Volume 27, In Progress (July 2014)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/09593780/27/supp/C
Using community led development approaches to address vulnerability after disaster: Caught in a sad romance
John F. McCarthy,
Highlights
:: Community based approaches addressed vulnerability in limited ways.
:: Despite huge expenditures, very high levels of vulnerability remained.
:: Social capital ideas provided a useful heuristic.
:: Projects attempting to mobilize social capital ideas did not generate sustained outcomes.
:: Interventions need to address drivers of vulnerability in agrarian livelihoods.
Abstract
A reading of the social capital literature suggests that the networks and the social relationships which enable collective action can be used to address critical livelihood needs, even in disaster contexts. Yet even when such community-led approaches are combined with substantial resources, too often these interventions (re)produce vulnerabilities without recovering prior levels of development. Examining the outcomes of community-led approaches in post-tsunami Aceh after the gaze of the aid industry has moved elsewhere, this paper finds that in a few cases, interventions worked with social networks to revive livelihoods successfully, albeit in complex, contingent ways. Yet, given the nature of post-disaster contexts and the exigencies driving NGO and donors actions, the research concludes that the capacity for community based approaches to address the underlying drivers of vulnerability remains limited. The paper calls for a rewriting of intervention narratives and a reworking of intervention practices, to address the deeper determinants of disadvantage and vulnerability.

Disaster Prevention and Management
Vol. 23 Issue 4 2014
Social Capital in Disaster Risk Management; A Case Study of Social Capital mobilization following the 1934 Kathmandu Valley Earthquake in Nepal.
Roshan Bhakta Bhandari, (University of Tasmania)
Abstract
Purpose – This study examines how social capital operated in the lives of fifteen respondents from Lalitpur following the massive 1934 Kathmandu Valley earthquake. Based on experiences of the survivors, it attempts to understand how individuals and families utilized their social capital in the aftermath of the earthquake, and rebuild their lives and communities.
Design/methodology/approach – This is a qualitative study based on non-structured interviews and discussions with disaster victims on their own locality. Following Padgett’s (2008) grounded theory approach, flexible method of data collection is adopted through interactions with respondents and following up on important cues or patterns as additional data emerged.
Findings – Participants described a process through which they relied on bonding, bridging and linking social capital in different stages of earthquake response and recovery. Close ties or bonding social capital were important for immediate support, but bridging and linking social capital offered pathways to longer term survival and wider neighborhood and community revitalization. This paper also discusses how social capital inclusion in pre-disaster communities might be helpful to strengthen their response capacity.
Research limitations/implications – As the study participants were less than ten years old when the earthquake happened, they might have omitted or overlooked some important details about the event. The findings are based not only on participant’s own memories, but they also shared stories told by their parents which were the indirect experiences.
Practical implications – This study indicates the potential value and need for including bonding, bridging and linking social capital and traditional social networks in disaster planning. A key outcome related to disaster policy would be what institutional condition or combinations of different dimensions of social capital may serve the public for better disaster response and recovery.
Originality/value – This study has paid attention to how social capital might be useful in disaster risk reduction both in post disaster phase and in predisaster condition which may be rare in disaster studies. It also provides an insight into how community based disaster management can take into account pre-existing social systems and traditional social networks to build local capacities.