From the Back Cover
This edited volume presents the conference papers from the 1st International Conference on Business, Economics, Management, and Sustainability (BEMAS), organized by the Centre for International Trade and Business in Asia (CITBA) at James Cook University.
This book argues that the orthodox methods of external risks, climate change adaptation plans, and sustainable economic growth in cities are no longer adequate. These methods, so far, have not only ignored the ongoing structural changes associated with economic development but also failed to account for evolving industries' composition and the emergence of new comparative advantages and skills. Specifically, this book looks at the vulnerable communities and exposed areas, particularly in urban areas, that tend to experience higher susceptibility to external risks (such as climate change, natural disasters, and public health emergencies) have been largely ignored in incremental adaptation plans.
Vulnerable communities and areas not only require different adaptive responses to climate risk but also possess unlocked adaptive capacity that can motivate different patterns of sustainable development to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda. It is essential, therefore, to view transformative growth and fundamental reorientation of economic resources as integral parts of the solution.
Social disorganisation and vulnerability are other undesired outcomes of the unpredictable and widespread external economic shocks. This is due to a sudden and tough competition between members of society to acquire precious resources, most of which may be depleted during unprecedented events such as natural disasters or pandemics resulting in an even more chaotic and disorganised conditions.
Dr Taha Chaiechi is Australia Director, Centre for International Trade and Business in Asia (CITBA), at JCU where she is also an Associate Professor of Economics. Currently, Taha is serving JCU as Expert Member on the Academic Board. Previously Taha has contributed to the governance and the Teaching & Learning profile of the College in different capacities. She is also Associate Editor-in-Chief, Bulletin of Applied Economics (ABDC tanked).
Taha served JCU as the Head, Economics and Marketing Academic Group from October 2014- March 2019, she is also the Program Convenor for Master of Economics. Furthermore, she served the University in the acting position of Associate Dean, Learning and Teaching from July-2018- Jan 2019. Taha is an expert in systematic modelling of dynamic relationships between economic, environmental, and social variables. Taha's research attitude is holistic and inspired by issues in climate change and natural disasters, and their impact on different economic sectors such as public health, tourism, environmental, energy, and urban economics, which makes it especially suitable for sustainability analysis.
Associate Professor Jacob Wood is currently the Associate Dean of Research for the College of Business, Law and Governance in JCU Australia and the Associate Dean of Research for Business, IT, and Science in JCU Singapore. In addition to this, he is also the Director of the Centre for International Trade and Business in Asia (CITBA) and an Associate Professor of Trade and Economics at JCU. Associate Professor Wood was also awarded the Academic and Researcher of year in 2019 for JCU Singapore for his excellence and overall achievements in the field.
With a PhD in International Studies majoring in International Trade, Associate Professor Wood has more than 10 years experience working in South Korea where he has held roles as an Assistant Professor at Korea University of Technology and Education and then more recently as an Assistant Professor of Asia Business at Chungnam National University.
