The life history of the emergent organization in times of disaster

Article Abstract:

This article offers a conceptualization and measurement of the emergence of organizations to cope with disasters. The authors define an organization as the simultaneous presence of four individually necessary elements: domains, tasks, resources, and activities. Combinations of these elements in various configurations yield a taxonomy of 24 different ways of organizing to meet the demands of emergencies. Using this taxonomy - and organization variables of timing, duration, restructuring, and survival - a model was developed for the life histories of 52 ephemeral organizations that responded to 12 natural disasters throughout the U.S., based on data from the archives of the Disaster Research Center. The model's exogenous variables include characteristics of disaster events, enacting organizations, and affected communities. The authors found that theories of formal organization and collective behavior have mutual relevance for studies of organizing, and discuss the implications of their research for emergency management. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Planning, Natural disasters, Organizational behavior

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The informal-intermittent organization: a vehicle for successful citizen protest

Article Abstract:

This article presents the case history of a local, informal protest group and reasons for its effectiveness and longevity. The Delta Avenue Citizens Organization (DACO), formed to prevent the construction of a bridge, has remained devoted to a single issue and unaffiliated with other groups, a course of action that may harm a social movement organization but that apparently has allowed DACO to survive for more than 25 years. In 1979 the author began studying DACO by interviewing group leaders, attending group and public meetings, and reviewing such documents as city plans and commission minutes, newspaper articles, legal briefs, and correspondence. The author attributes DACO's success thus far to three factors: emergent solidarity, the group's internal nature, and an external support system. The group has become an informal-intermittent organization with an inclusive membership, and the author considers it an efficient, resilient force within its community. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Case studies, Citizens' associations

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Social organization, profit cycles, and statewide land use controls: welcome to Oregon - enjoy your visit

Article Abstract:

Land use control in the U.S. has in many places been elevated to higher, more extensive levels of government, causing considerable controversy as to whose interests such reform serves. This article offers a political economic analysis of statewide land use controls, focusing on the land use program of Oregon. Using empirical evidence based on the state's population characteristics, industries, and elections featuring referenda to repeal the land use statutes, the author suggests that statewide land use controls in Oregon are supported by identifiable private interests: amenity-based industries, high-income professionals and technicians, and citizens in urban areas. The article suggests how changes in the structure of Oregon society - reflecting the development of the state's economy - led to the development of statewide land use controls. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Political aspects, Oregon, Land use

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