Because most environmental problems result from human intervention in the ecosystem, ecological research in the social sciences is joining research in the biological and physical sciences to address long-range problems. To assess the impact of sudden cataclysms on the living conditions of families or communities, scientists need a set of measures that can be used cross-culturally. In this book, the authors introduce and describe the Domestic Assets Scale. They first present theoretical arguments that relate living conditions to the concepts of disaster and development; they then show how the measure was constructed with the use of data collected in sample communities around the world. Throughout, they emphasize the practical application of their theoretical arguments and address the problems and constraints faced by investigators using this procedure. Finally, they assess the validity and reliability of the Domestic Assets Scale and show how it can be used to measure long-term change.