Abstract: Previous research on fear of crime has identified, among women and other sub-groups of the population, high fear levels which could not be adequately explained by measures of exposure to risk. Several authors have argued, therefore, that vulnerability may be the key variable behind the observed distribution of fear of crime. In this paper, three dimensions of vulnerability (exposure to risk, seriousness of consequences, loss of control) are identified and integrated into an analytical framework which also takes into account physical, social, and situational factors of vulnerability. A selective international review of research reveals considerable support for the suggested model.

Abstract: This paper shows how vulnerability to natural hazards can be measured and analyzed and how drought vulnerability might relate to new agricultural technologies and land tenure in Mexico. Several authors have suggested that the impacts of drought on agricultural systems are determined as much by the technological, economic, and political characteristics of a region as by the severity of meteorological events. But the literature on natural hazards and cultural ecology lacks both detailed quantitative assessments of drought impacts at the regional scale and empirical measures of vulnerability to drought and climate change. In Mexico, agricultural losses from natural hazards are severe, varying widely between regions and between different farm sectors. This study analyzes the pattern and severity of drought losses in municipios in the states of Sonora and Puebla, using data from the 1970 Mexican agricultural census. These states represent a range of physical conditions, technological and economic reso...

Abstract: Assessing potential risks to children who participate in developmental research is a challenging task because children are a heterogeneous population, varying in developmental competencies and in background characteristics. This essay offers a developmental perspective on research risk, emphasizing that children's vulnerability to research risk changes in complex ways: some risks decrease with increasing age, some increase as the child matures, others change in a curvilinear fashion, while some remain essentially stable with development. Because vulnerability in research does not simply decline linearly with age, assessments of research risk must entail multidimensional considerations that vary over developmental time. In a similar manner, individual characteristics of children at any age (e.g., maltreatment, at-risk status, etc.) may also heighten their vulnerability to certain risks which require special consideration by researchers. Finally, this discussion of developmental vulnerability and the principles underlying research ethics suggests that in addition to the conventional risk/benefit analysis, researchers are in an optimal position to establish and maintain standards of decent treatment of children in research that safeguard their rights as research participants. Suggestions for fostering this process in the research community are outlined.

Abstract: The relationship between family social background and risks of problems in the areas of health, education, behaviour and offending was examined in a birth cohort of New Zealand children studied to the age of 11 years. The analysis showed the presence of small consistent correlations between family social background and individual outcomes on a range of childhood measures. These correlations ranged from 0.12 to 0.31 with a median value of 0.18. The association between family social background and childhood outcomes was modelled using LISREL modelling methods which assumed that this association was mediated by common non-observed vulnerability processes. This analysis suggested that while variations in family social background act as relatively weak determinants of specific problem outcomes, these factors had a relatively strong influence on the child's generalized vulnerability to a wide range of childhood problems. The implications of these results for research into social background and childhood are discussed.

Abstract: In this issue of theJournal, 1 Blum and colleagues report a surprisingly strong association between an allele of the dopamine D 2 receptor and alcoholism. This observation is provocative and promising but must be regarded with caution. Here is the background. Research during the last two decades has provided strong evidence that at least part of the vulnerability to becoming alcoholic on exposure to alcohol is inherited. 2 In most twin studies, identical (monozygotic) twins have been found to be approximately twice as likely to be in concordance for alcoholism as fraternal (dizygotic) twins of the same sex. The strongest evidence for a genetic role in alcoholism comes from the adoption studies of Bohman, Cloninger, and others. 2 Young children who were adopted away from alcoholic biological parents and raised in a nonalcoholic family developed many more alcohol problems as adults than similar adoptees whose biological parents were not

Abstract: The effects of the March 13, 1989, geomagnetic storm, which revealed significant vulnerabilities of electric power systems to this natural widespread phenomenon, are described. This vulnerability appears to be increasing during the 1990s. The economic consequences to the nation of this vulnerability are significant, on the order of several billion dollars for each major outage. It is suggested that the US government can play an important role in reducing the vulnerability of electric power systems to solar storms by installing an early warning satellite and cooperating with industry in a comprehensive research program. The Department of Energy can fill gaps in the research and provide for continuity of research during periods of reduced solar activity when industrial research tends to wane. >

Abstract: Although improving the mental health status of African Americans is an important goal, it is not clear that this can be accomplished by increasing access to professional services. Many have argued that stressful social conditions are the major cause of mental disorder in blacks and thus, psychopathology can be prevented by eliminating racism, oppression and poor economic conditions. This review argues that while the notion of primary prevention with African Americans should be taken seriously, there is still a need for more and better epidemiologic research. Three bodies of knowledge relevant to black mental health are addressed: 1) the need for an epidem- iologic knowledge base for prevention; 2) coping capacity and vulnerability to stress; 3) risk factor identification. Findings from a national survey of adult African Ameri- cans are presented as an example of risk factor identification for the purpose of specifying targets for preventive interventions. The paper concludes that before the prevention of psychopathology in black populations can be achieved, a number of measurement, theoretical and policy issues must be addressed. Specific directions for future research are outlined.

Abstract: While it is widely recognized that imports can discipline markets, the strength of that disciplinary power surely varies across industries. The determinants and extent of this interindustry variation in the disciplinary force for foreign trade flows is, however, relatively unexplored. This article investigates the microeconomic determinants of changing import shares at the industry level for U.S. manufacturing industries. Based upon this investigation, the authors are able to create an index that measures the relative vulnerability of the various manufacturing industries to foreign competition and test a number of hypotheses concerning the underlying causes of observed variations in import vulnerability. Copyright 1990 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Abstract: The investigation of depressive cognitions in children may offer a unique opportunity both to understand vulnerability in children and to explore the childhood precursors of depression in adults. The goal of this chapter is to examine the yield of the research on depression-related cognitions in children, and to consider the extent to which the opportunities for conceptual and clinical advancement have been met.

Abstract: An overview of the public network designing a network to survive computer disaster recovery backup for telephone central offices cost effective solutions to network recovery assessing vulnerability of the local serving office "common" communications disasters

Abstract: The forms of violence which are all too frequently encountered in armed conflicts today have given rise to an increase in the numbers of civilian victims, and particularly of children, who, an account of their special vulnerability, are the most seriously affected. The active participation of children in hostilities, too, is a disturbing factor – serious enough to justify the increasing attention the subject is receiving within the international community.

Abstract: Landscapes vary in their ability to protect associated surface waters and underlying aquifers. When coupled with land use data, vulnerability assessments allow managers to target those landscapes that pose the greatest risk to water quality. Soil and geologic data from a 7.5-minute topographic quadrangle were integrated to formulate surface and aquifer water vulnerability index values. The process is designed for easy implementation. Vulnerability assessment information can be displayed in map or numeric form. Water resource vulnerability assessment must take a holistic approach by integrating soil, geology, and land use information. Water resource vulnerability assessments, when considered with land management alternatives, can result in the development of agricultural production schemes that protect water resources from contamination by agricultural inputs.

Abstract: There have been breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment of depression in the past decade, but progress in our knowledge of the origins of depression is slower. Or perhaps it is more accurate to say that we know a great deal more now than we did, but the questions continue to grow more complicated. While such complexity may be frustrating, and sometimes even daunting, there is also a great deal of excitement among clinical researchers about the developments that have occurred. This chapter attempts to convey a sense of this complexity, of change and discovery, in selected psychological aspects of depression. Against a growing mass of research on biological aspects of mood disorders, studies of the psychosocial aspects of affective disorders have a great deal to contribute, not just in content but also in methods and conceptualization. In the sections to follow, the theme is vulnerability to depression — how the issue has been framed in my research program over time, how personal, situational, and family aspects of vulnerability to depression have been studied and what such studies have revealed, as well as what gaps remain.

Abstract: Drought affects more people than any other hazard, in both developed and developing countries, yet few governments have taken steps to prepare for it. This situation stems partly from the complex nature of drought, which affects various sectors of society in different ways, and partly from an inability or unwillingness of governments to accept drought as a normal part of climate, not as an extreme random event. Scientific and policy communities have become increasingly concerned about the inability of governments to respond to drought in an effective and timely manner, and some have called for improved drought planning and management. This paper discusses planning as a means to reduce societal vulnerability to drought and outlines an approach that governments and international organizations can follow to prepare for severe drought. The basis of this approach is a ten‐step planning process created from recommendations made at the 1986 Internationial Symposium and Workshop on Drought. The status of drought ...

Abstract: This community study of the mental health of women demonstrates twice as much psychiatric ill-health among those over the age of 65 compared to younger women. The findings are best explained in terms of the loss of the work role for the elderly women rather than the loss of the domestic role. An apparently high frequency of phobia in the urban women is seen as an understandable reaction to their increased vulnerability and decreased mobility consequent on their chronic physical ill-health.

Abstract: The academic health center has emerged as the cornerstone of the American health care system. To assess the vulnerability of the academic medical center to the new competitive forces that exist today, a prototype project has been developed that attempts to address the issue of competition in clinical activity, while at the same time enhancing the academic health center's education and research roles.

Abstract: As publicity related to computer abuse becomes commonplace, Information Systems (IS) managers are becoming aware of the vulnerability of computer systems. Much can be learned from established corporate-wide programs which have attempted to integrate ethics into decision-making. By establishing ethics codes, providing mechanisms for reporting problems, and using ethics training, corporations are attempting to alter the ethical climate of their businesses. IS can benefit by utilizing some of the same approaches. This article examines the current state of the objectives, extent, and content of ethics training and applies it to the IS environment.

Abstract: The average Japanese disaster, according to the British environmental agency Earthscan, kills 63 people In Peru, however, the average death toll is 2,900 persons This is because poor countries, and the poorest people within poor countries, are the most vulnerable--and it is vulnerability that kills