Overview of Class Subjects (Graduate School of Societal Safety Sciences Disaster Prevention and Reduction Major)

Safety Science Special Lecture I

　The full-time teachers of the Graduate Course provide a series of lectures pertaining to the latest situations and issues, the trends in academic circles and the trends in government policy and local government, in the specialized fields of each teacher. This lecture is connected with Safety Science Special Lecture II which is scheduled for the second semester. In Safety Science Special Lecture I, the teachers of the Disaster Prevention and Reduction Major will mainly lecture on various issues in the field of the measures necessary for natural disasters and policies for disaster mitigation. The purpose of this lecture, together with Safety Science Special Lecture II, is to provide the students with a broad understanding, from a bird's eye point of view, of what are the target issues of Societal Safety Sciences Graduate Course.

Remarks: Omnibus Style

Safety Science Special Lecture II

　The full-time teachers of the Graduate Course provide a series of lectures pertaining to the latest situations and issues, the trends in academic circles and the trends in government policy and local government of the specialized field of each teacher. This lecture is connected with Safety Science Special Lecture I which is scheduled in the prior semester. In Safety Science Special Lecture II, the teachers that belong to the Disaster Prevention and Reduction Major will mainly lecture on various issues in the field of the measures necessary for natural disasters and policies for disaster mitigation. The purpose of this lecture, together with Safety Science Special Lecture I, is to provide the students with a broad understanding, from a bird's eye point of view, of what are the target issues of the Societal Safety Sciences Graduate Course.

Remarks: Omnibus Style

Idee of ANZEN (=Japanese Notion of Safety)

　Societal Safety Science is the fundamental academic discipline of creating optimal safety measures exploiting the necessary knowledge from all academic fields with a viewpoint of “ensuring safety” and aiming for demonstrable effectiveness. Succinctly, it is the study of how to improve our ability to realize a society wherein safety issue have been carefully considered. Regarding the methodological characteristics, it does not look at safety issues and safety measures in the traditional specialized fields, but has the standpoint of utilizing the knowledge of specialized fields based on the characteristics of the issue at hand, and fields that compensate for the negative externalities of present science and technology which have accumulated in the modern scientific way of thinking, while keeping in consideration the perspectives and knowledge of technological history, social history and political history (including legislation, administration and judicature). In the lecture, through examination of several typical cases, we clarify the academic characteristics of such disciplines, and consider contemporary issues in Societal Safety Science.

Theory of Hydrospheric Disaster

　Large-scale hydrospheric disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and 2005 Hurricane Katrina occur all over the world, causing serious damage. In this lecture, we will cover water disasters such as tsunamis, floods and storm surges. We will learn about disaster mechanisms, analytical techniques, observation techniques, disaster prevention and mitigation technologies etc. for each disaster. Since there are many commonalities in these natural hydrospheric disasters, first of all we will learn about analysis technology etc. using tsunamis as an example and come to an understanding of disaster prevention with hardware and software. Later, we will learn about floods and storm surges, focusing on their own characteristics.

Damage Reduction in an Earthquake Disaster

　The magnitude of an earthquake disaster is determined by the relative magnitude of the "external force" which is spread over the society and "robustness" of the side receiving the disaster. In order to mitigate the disaster, it is necessary to assume an appropriate external force and to effectively raise society's tolerance to it. Although various methods can be considered to increase robustness and realize "disaster mitigation", in this lecture, we will study "real time earthquake disaster prevention" based on the culmination of earthquake observation, waveform processing technology, high-speed communication network, GIS etc. and will review current status and prospects for the future.

Administrative Law

　Students will study disaster prevention administration from the viewpoint of administrative law. (1) Administrative organizations use various methods for disaster prevention, such as making contracts and subsidies, as well as by compulsion. Through comprehensive/systematic/organic functioning of these methods, the purpose of disaster prevention can be achieved. Those involved in disaster prevention are required to understand the wide variety of disaster management administrative methods and to acquire knowledge of the legal philosophy of that system. (2) Business activities causing high risks of disaster conflict with administrative activities for disaster prevention. The occurrence of these conflicts must be prevented beforehand and the conflict that remains must be resolved properly and rationally. Those involved in disaster prevention need to acquire the ability to prevent and resolve conflicts. Through these (1) (2), students will acquire the theoretical and practical analytical problem solving abilities for the legal issues in disaster management.

Urban Planning for Disaster Mitigation

　Through explanation of the characteristics of disasters that are caused by the urban environment and specifying the predispositions and inducements, students are expected to understand the different mechanisms by which such disasters are likely to occur. Using the damage of Hanshin Awaji Earthquake Disaster as an introductory example, we will clarify the process from occurrence of earthquake motion to the onset of urban disaster. Subsequently, a lecture pertaining to the general characteristics of urban disasters (natural disasters, large-scale accidents, local disasters, daily disasters) shall be provided. Having learned the above, a lecture pertaining to various technological approaches to prevent urban disasters shall be provided.

Theory for Administration of Fire Services and Disaster Reduction

　The specialty of disaster research of fire-fighting disaster prevention administration research is not limited to the primary question of how to respond to disasters, but also looks at secondary issue of what sort of administrative management may be performed in order to respond to disasters successfully.
　In this lecture, we will clarify the academic significance of firefighting disaster prevention administration research from the viewpoint of administrative science and neighboring academic fields (policy studies, political science) and an interpretation of a new approach for further research shall be provided.

Theory of Transportation Systems

　In this lecture, we aim for a systematic understanding how transportation systems should work, especially we will examine the great structural changes in the present age that have been brought to transportation systems. Centering on 3 significant structural changes of informatization, population aging and internationalization, students are expected to consider what kind of role transportation should play and how such role should be realistically preserved while reviewing the essential meaning of each structure. Under these circumstances, naturally, as international trends become critical, historical trends of international traffic shall be also examined. This lecture also discusses the aviation system that is frequently adopted as a pilot study for deregulation.

Public Health Policy and Management

　The public health system was developed as a social system for controlling disease issues associated with industrialization and urbanization in the U.K. municipal government system. Japan also developed a system by imitating the public health system of industrialized countries in the Meiji Period. However, to understand the public health system, it is necessary to understand the Japanese political administration system, social system, current situation and community. In this class we will learn about the origin of the public health system based on the U.K. public health system, study the local system and public health systems in Japan, by incorporating examination of cases of protection of health for people in local communities and regions and fostering the people responsible for safety and security policies. Additionally, students are expected to discuss about how to apply the efforts for health impact assessments which have been made in Europe and by WHO to Japanese local communities.

Disaster Psychology

　Experience of disasters changes people significantly in various ways. Students are expected to deepen their understanding of behaviors and psychological changes of people during disasters or after having been struck by disasters, and what is required to do prior to the occurrence of disasters, through introduction of research and cases in psychological approaches.

Economics of Disasters

　There are concerns about the occurrence of a huge disaster such as an earthquake immediately under the capital, such as the Tokai, Tonankai and Nankai earthquakes, and concern as to what kind of economic impact it will have on Japan and affected areas. Also, how can we utilize market mechanisms in mitigating damage caused by large-scale disasters? This class aims to answer these two questions.
　The goal of the class is for students to acquire an economic viewpoint of social phenomena called disasters, and at the same time to acquire basic policy design skills to rebuild a disaster-stricken society.

Theory of Disaster Recovery and Revitalization

　Since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the concept of "reconstruction" has expanded and changed in tandem with the enactment of new laws. Based on these recent trends, this lecture focuses on "the process of re-adaptation of individuals and society in tackling recovery from damage" and discusses what is reconstruction. In the first half, as a general review, we examine and discuss the current literature in “ 'What is reconstruction'? Reviewing its definition, perspectives and framework in thinking about the problem of reconstruction”, how social correspondence relating to disaster reconstruction is formed in modern history. In the latter half we look at and consider reconstruction cases in each type of disaster. We will take up past cases of disasters related to students' research themes and consider how individual rebuilding of lives, livelihood, and community reconstruction have been involved. From the phenomenon of "reconstruction", to grasp the potential societal problems and to acquire the perspective to consider disaster reduction, the conditions of safety and security of society from there, and to design the research with such viewpoint, is the aim of this class.

Disaster Reduction Policy for Resilient Society

　In order to create a society that is resilient against disasters, it is necessary not only to simply propose policies but also to further explain the theoretical background of such policies and frameworks in order to realize such policies. While the Basic Disaster Countermeasures Act was first established in the world in 1961 it was significantly revised due to experience of the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake that occurred 34 years after the Act, there are still a lot of insufficiencies. Additionally, in spite of not having led to policies, various trials for such policies have been proposed immediately after huge disasters, which leads to establishment of the current regulations and laws. Here, along with presenting examples in detail, we introduce what kind of efforts should be continuously made.

Public Utility Economics

　Public utility means the economic business that is a natural monopoly that provides essential services for our daily lives. The representative examples are services such as electricity, gas, water supply, railway, buses, air transport, postal service, telegrams and telecommunication and broadcast etc. Most public utilities constitute essential utilities, so-called life-lines such as device systems to maintain urban functions and which are essential ones for our daily lives. In this lecture, the current situation and issues of such public utilities shall be studied from the aspects of systems and actual situations.

Theory of Human Errors

　Although it is widely recognized that there is a close relationship between human error and accidents and disasters, perfect countermeasures have not necessarily been established. Erroneous countermeasure against human errors leads impairment of the effect of safety measures, which may lead to accidents and disasters recurring.
　In this lecture, we explore the background factors of various cases, from familiar events to major accidents that had great influence on society, while grasping the essence of human error, concrete ways to prevent accidents and disasters need practical measures.

Engineering Safety Systems

　Based on “Safety of Nuclear Power Plant” organized by the Faculty of Societal Safety Sciences, focusing on advanced nuclear power plants, this lecture is aimed at deepening the understanding related to basic matters of design and planning for engineering safety systems. Starting from supply and demand projections for electricity and resource and energy problems, to history of development of nuclear reactors, structure of light water reactors, the state of safety research, basic planning, basic design, detailed design, mock-up tests, scale-up problems, design standards, safety assessments, various problems at the time of manufacturing, testing before operation, maintenance after starting operation, the state of the third party examinations and nuclear administration/system etc. these various problems shall be examined focusing on safety.

Mathematical Analysis for Risk Assessment

　To deepen the understanding of mathematical models (optimization problems) that quantitatively evaluate risks, to seek measures to minimize them, and to acquire a method (optimization method) of targeting solutions by using computers. Specifically, first, we learn conditions that can characterize the optimal solution of mathematical programming problem whose variable values can be continuous, including nonlinear functions in objective function and constraint conditions. Then a quasi-Newton method or successive quadratic programming method is examined and we learn how to execute them on parallel computers for high speed. In particular, we learn a bit more about secondary quadratic cone planning problems, probabilistic planning problems and fuzzy mathematical programming problems, which are often used in making decisions under ambiguous circumstances that are part of risk management. On the other hand, with regard to the combinatorial optimization problem where the values that variables can take, we learn the branch-and-bound method, which strictly obtains the optimal solution, and the idea of using an algorithm to find the desired solutions in practical time. Finally, we will present a perspective on risk management using mathematical models.

Engineering System Analysis

　In our daily lives, accidents often occur in chemical plants, transportation systems, etc. Also, as an alternatives to reproducing experiments involving danger, computer simulations can be a powerful accident analysis tool. Indeed, many models have been developed to simulate the flow of people and cars, for example, they are used to design train stations and buildings. In this lecture, we first explain the significance of quantitatively evaluating the safety in each engineering system. In addition, we explain the relationship between accident analysis using computer simulation and actual engineering systems.

Risk Psychology

　The concept of “risk” is significantly important to secure safety and peace of mind. “Risk” is the concept of uncertain risks and benefits in the future. From the social psychology perspective it can be said that such concept involves evaluative awareness of the reality of the circumstances around people. Risk perception is how people evaluate their daily lives, and how we act on it is risk coping behavior. In this lecture, based on risk concept, multilateral examination shall be performed for the psychological mechanism regarding how we conduct coping behaviors by perceiving/evaluating our circumstances around us in our daily lives. After examining the risk concept, students are expected to consider it in regard to concepts of “social cognition”, “attitude”, “heuristics” and “emotions” in social psychology and the mechanisms of how human beings perceive risk and determine risk. Based on the above-mentioned, such risk shall be explained regarding the concept that relates to coping with others, such as “social reality”, “social skills”, “trust” and “equity/justice”.

Risk Communication

　For risk governance on how to allocate the resources of society as a whole in order to reduce various risks ubiquitous in real society, it is necessary to form social consensus through risk communication. In the lecture, we introduce the case of various risk communication such as health and the environment, the related psychology and sociology theories, and consider the significance and the problems of risk communication to the consensus formation of society as a whole.

Theory of Risk Management

　In recent years, due to the growing expectations for risk management, approaches have been made to risk management from various specialized fields. In this lecture, students are expected to gain further specialized knowledge regarding a “basic framework of risk management systems” that can be applied to their studies and preparation of thesis for master’s degree in various fields pertaining to disaster prevention/disaster mitigation/safety that are developed in the Graduate School of Societal Safety Sciences. In the former part, the teacher in charge shall give class lectures, and in the latter part, the students shall make presentations. Frameworks shall be provided. This class is based on the theory of traditional risk management from the viewpoint of insurance science and business management.

Mental-Health Theory

　In the case where an accident occurred (for example, aircraft accidents and railroad accidents) because of human error that was triggered due to psychological stress, society may suffer enormous damage. Traditionally in Japan, it has been assumed that accidents should not occur and the measures taken after accidents actually occur and preparation for prevention of such accidents in the future tends to have been disregarded. However, recently, it has been said that since psychological stress is a potential factor for accidents it should be extracted and expunged in advance and the measures and manuals to minimize mental stress are required, assuming that accidents and natural disasters occur. In this lecture, students are expected to study mental health research that plays a role in mental health of victims of earthquakes in addition to prevention of human-made disasters.

Theory of Legal Systems for Social Safety

　Japanese laws pertaining to safety have been significantly changed due to the technological innovations and globalization in recent years, and international pressure etc. Japanese laws as a social system are at a turning point/in transition phase, in which various issues regarding safety and social order have become tangible.
　In this lecture, regarding “legal systems for social safety”, after having the lectures regarding comparative laws between Japan and Western countries, through introduction of the detailed events and lawsuits that undermine safety and social order, discussion by international organizations and public research organizations, and advanced research in research organizations, students are expected to discuss the existing legal systems and their relationships with safety/social order.

Advanced Law Related to Consumer Safety

　Since all people are consumers, their lives have been exposed to danger in recent years. Various accidents related to our daily lives naturally occur and earthquake disasters have been compounded by human-made disasters. Put another way for convenience due to IT development, peacefulness of our private lives has also been threatened. Many laws have been developed as countermeasures for the above-mentioned. For example, as well as the major revision of Consumer Contracts Law/Specified Commercial Transactions Law, the fact that Civil Codes are subject to major revision is in consideration. Additionally, along with establishment of 3 laws related to the consumer protection agency, the laws divided vertically into each field such as display/transactions/law/safety have become integrated. The Consumer Safety Act has also commenced as a key act. In this lecture, students are expected to study these legal systems pertaining to consumer safety, systems to protect consumer safety and future issues for the legal system.

English for Safety Science

　This lecture is aimed at developing the ability to deeply read English documents required to study societal safety. In detail, students are expected to take turns reading research books related to risk psychology. In this regard, the abilities for presentation by using tools (MS-PowerPoint etc.) shall be considered.
　The research book to be read in turns shall be decided after consultation on the first day of class. For example, candidates are, G. M. Breakwell, 2007, "The Psychology of Risk"or J. Flynn, P. Slovic, & H. Kunreuther (eds.), 2001, "Risk, Media, and Stigma”.

German for Safety Science

　Literacy in foreign languages is an essential ability in understanding overseas information and domestic materials of foreign countries and also from the standpoint of international exchange and negotiation. Especially, the languages of advanced western countries are important. Above all, German is an extremely important language, both to know the situation of Germany that plays a central leadership role in the EU and to search past materials, although its relative importance in engineering and technical fields has become less compared to that of English. By adopting books and accident reports that address safety issues in German, this lecture is aimed at grasping the meaning in the form of workshops and learning technical terms.

French for Safety Science

　In this class, students are expected to read French books pertaining to risk management. It was “Control Management” in “General and Industrial Administration” (1916) by Henri Fayol that first explained the importance of risk management in business management theory in the world. Since Charbonnier released “Theory of Business Control Management” (1976) as the first technical literature for risk management, France, which has Fayol as a theoretical founder, has shown its uniqueness in risk management studies. In 2007, Charbonnier released “Theory of Risk Management” as culmination of numerous papers that he had written by then. In this lecture, students are expected to read extracts from the main section from these papers. Other than these, at all times, students are expected to learn the situation related to risk management and safety in France by using news, videos etc. Although the ability to read high level French is not required, it is preferred that (1) the students are interested in the uniqueness of France (2) the students have been learning French as a second foreign language at least for a year.