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In the eyes of the beholder: technological and naturalistic interpretations of a disaster

University of Tulsa, OK, USA

Darren E. Sherkat

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

An assumption shared by most literature on calamities is that blame assigna tion occurs in technological but not natural disaster situations. In this study of a major urban flood, 65% of the sample assigned responsibility for the disaster to human agents and technological failures. Those who attributed economic and psychological losses to human agency believed that natural disasters are controllable and that it is the responsibility of government to control nature through the use of technology and regulation. If natural disasters are increas ingly being interpreted in technological terms, collective responses are likely to call for technological means to assess and minimize risks.

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