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Narratives of a Drought: Exploring Resilience in Kenya’s Drylands

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Advances in Social Simulation

Part of the book series: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing ((AISC,volume 229))

Abstract

Drylands are complex, dynamic social-ecological systems under threat from potential climate change and land-use changes. Mixed qualitative methods, including participatory observation and informal and semi-structured interviews, have been used to capture narratives of livelihoods and environment in Kajiado District, Kenya, with particular reference to a severe drought event in 2009. Analyses have shown cultural changes to be important processes in responding to system shocks and stresses. A Beliefs-Desires-Intentions agent architecture has been employed in an agent-based model to explore the emerging narratives after the drought, offering a means of focussing on these key processes and their implications for the system. A series of iterative periods of fieldwork have allowed model strategy, parameters and assumptions to be tested and refined with the original research participants.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

    Elizabeth Anne Carabine & Chasca Twyman

  2. Department of Geography, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom

    John Wainwright

Authors
  1. Elizabeth Anne Carabine
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  2. John Wainwright
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  3. Chasca Twyman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elizabeth Anne Carabine .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Decision Analysis and Support, School of Economics Institute of Econometrics, Warsaw, Poland

    Bogumił Kamiński

  2. Division of Decision Analysis and Support, School of Economics, Institute of Econometrics, Warsaw, Poland

    Grzegorz Koloch

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Carabine, E.A., Wainwright, J., Twyman, C. (2014). Narratives of a Drought: Exploring Resilience in Kenya’s Drylands. In: Kamiński, B., Koloch, G. (eds) Advances in Social Simulation. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 229. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39829-2_27

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-39829-2_27

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-39828-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-39829-2

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

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