Disasters kill, maim, and generate increasingly large economic losses. But they do not wreak their damage equally across populations, and every disaster has social dimensions at its very core. This important book sheds light on the social conditions and on the global, national, and local processes that produce disasters. Topics covered include the social roots of disaster vulnerability, exposure to natural hazards such as hurricanes and tsunamis as a form of environmental injustice, and emerging threats. Written by a leading expert in the field, this book provides the necessary frameworks for understanding hazards and disasters, exploring the contributions of very different social science fields to disaster research and showing how these ideas have evolved over time. Bringing the social aspects of recent devastating disasters to the forefront, Tierney discusses the challenges of conducting research in the aftermath of disasters and critiques the concept of disaster resilience, which has come to be seen as a key to disaster risk reduction. Peppered with case studies, research examples, and insights from very different disciplines, this rich introduction is an invaluable resource to students and scholars interested in the social nature of disasters and their relation to broader social forces.

Disasters kill, maim, and generate increasingly large economic losses. But they do not wreak their damage equally across populations, and every disaster has social dimensions at its very core. This important book sheds light on the social conditions and on the global, national, and local processes that produce disasters. Topics covered include the social roots of disaster vulnerability, exposure to natural hazards such as hurricanes and tsunamis as a form of environmental injustice, and emerging threats. Written by a leading expert in the field, this book provides the necessary frameworks for understanding hazards and disasters, exploring the contributions of very different social science fields to disaster research and showing how these ideas have evolved over time. Bringing the social aspects of recent devastating disasters to the forefront, Tierney discusses the challenges of conducting research in the aftermath of disasters and critiques the concept of disaster resilience, which has come to be seen as a key to disaster risk reduction. Peppered with case studies, research examples, and insights from very different disciplines, this rich introduction is an invaluable resource to students and scholars interested in the social nature of disasters and their relation to broader social forces.

From its inception in 1983, ESPRIT (the European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology) has aimed at improving the competitiveness of European industry and providing it with the technology needed for the 1990s. Esprit Project 623, on which most of the work presented in this book is based, was one of the key projects in the ESPRIT area, Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). From its beginnings in 1985, it brought together a team of researchers from industry, research institutes and universities to explore and develop a critical stream of advanced manufacturing technology that would be timely and mature for industrial exploitation in a five year time frame. The synergy of cross border collaboration between technology users and vendors has led to results ranging from new and improved products to training courses given at universities. The subject of Esprit Project 623 was the integration of robots into manufacturing environments. Robots are a vital element in flexible automation and can contribute substantially to manufacturing efficiency. The project had two main themes, off-line programming and robot system planning. Off-line programming enlarges the application area of robots and opens up new possibilities in domains such as laser cutting, and other hazardous operations. Reported benefits obtained from off-line program ming include: - significant cost reductions because re-programming eliminates robot down-time; - faster production cycles, in some cases time-savings of up to 85% are reported; - the optimal engineering of products with improved quality."

From its inception in 1983, ESPRIT (the European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in Information Technology) has aimed at improving the competitiveness of European industry and providing it with the technology needed for the 1990s. Esprit Project 623, on which most of the work presented in this book is based, was one of the key projects in the ESPRIT area, Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM). From its beginnings in 1985, it brought together a team of researchers from industry, research institutes and universities to explore and develop a critical stream of advanced manufacturing technology that would be timely and mature for industrial exploitation in a five year time frame. The synergy of cross border collaboration between technology users and vendors has led to results ranging from new and improved products to training courses given at universities. The subject of Esprit Project 623 was the integration of robots into manufacturing environments. Robots are a vital element in flexible automation and can contribute substantially to manufacturing efficiency. The project had two main themes, off-line programming and robot system planning. Off-line programming enlarges the application area of robots and opens up new possibilities in domains such as laser cutting, and other hazardous operations. Reported benefits obtained from off-line program ming include: - significant cost reductions because re-programming eliminates robot down-time; - faster production cycles, in some cases time-savings of up to 85% are reported; - the optimal engineering of products with improved quality."