Citation

Mostafavi A, Ganapati NE. Risk Anal. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Steven J. Green School of Public and International Affairs & The Extreme Events Institute, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Society for Risk Analysis, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/risa.13303

PMID

30884546

Abstract

Scholars across disciplines use simulation methods as tools to build theories; however, the full potential of simulation methods has not been fully used for building theories in convergence disaster research. Simulation methods could provide four unique opportunities for building theories for convergence disaster research. First, simulation methods could help researchers model the underlying mechanisms of disaster phenomena by enabling integration of qualitative and quantitative data. Second, they could help researchers specify and characterize the mechanisms affecting specific disaster phenomena by facilitating integration of empirical information with existing theoretical elements from different disciplines. Third, simulation methods could enable multilevel understanding of relationships between factors influencing disaster phenomena and emergent behaviors across different levels of analysis (e.g., individual, household, neighborhood, and community levels). Fourth, simulation methods could help researchers integrate theoretical elements on disasters across different disciplines (e.g., engineering, social science, sociology, and epidemiology) for a more convergent understanding of complex relationships affecting resilience at different levels.

© 2019 Society for Risk Analysis.

Language: en

Keywords

Convergence research; disasters; simulation; transdisciplinary theory development