89th Sogo Bosai seminar

We are pleased to announce the 89th Sogo Bosai Seminar (Mar. 4, Monday)as follows.
We look forward to your participation. This seminar will be held in English.
 
[Date & Time]
March. 4, Monday, 16:00-18:00
 
[Venue]
S519D of Main building, Uji campus and Online
 
If you will attend via online, please register yourself by March 1st: https://forms.gle/5ktmSXgDYEimGhfk9
 
[Title]
The Problems and Prospects of Mobile Public Warning in Japan and the United States: A Sister Cities Collaboration
 
[Speakers]
Hamilton Bean, Professor, Department of Communication, University of Colorado Denver
 
[Abstract]
Over the last decade, numerous countries have adopted cell broadcast technologies to support mobile public warning for natural and human-caused hazards and disasters. Japan and the United States have pioneered the development of mobile public warning technologies, yet both countries continue to experience problems with the nonuse, misuse, and evolution of these systems. To improve this situation, this study will present a thematic analysis of transcripts from four joint Japan-U.S. workshops with researchers, officials, and citizens focused on the actual and imagined use of mobile public warning systems in the “sister cities” of Yamagata, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, and Boulder, Colorado, USA. Analysis of workshop transcripts will reveal shared problems and prospects confronting mobile public warning stakeholders. The study’s cross-national findings could contribute new insights and questions regarding the appropriate level of local adaptation versus global standardization of mobile public warning. The findings could help officials who are increasingly relying on mobile public warning systems to keep communities safe amid the intensifying impacts of climate change. As a “project-in-process” with Dr. Ana Maria Cruz (Kyoto University) and Dr. Kensuke Takenouchi (Kagawa University) this presentation will focus on the project background, research questions, and methodology, seeking feedback from audience members.

[Short bio]
Hamilton Bean, Ph.D., MBA, APR, is Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado Denver. He also serves as Director of the University of Colorado Denver’s International Studies Program. He specializes in the study of communication and security. He was part of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security-funded research team that investigated the optimization of Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) messages for imminent threats. He has earned funding from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Japan Foundation’s Center for Global Partnership to study mobile public warning. He is Associate Editor for IDRiM Journal and Natural Hazards Review, and his research has been published in numerous international academic journals and edited volumes. His book, Mobile Technology and the Transformation of Public Alert and Warning (Praeger Security International, 2019) won the 2021 Sue DeWine Distinguished Scholarly Book Award from the Applied Communication Division of the National Communication Association. He returns to DPRI as a Guest Researcher after serving as a Visiting Professor (2021) and Guest Researcher (2019).