Context Of Emergency Management Research Articles

A review of cognitive aids and their application to emergency management in Australia

Decision-making in disasters and major crises faced by emergency services globally is a difficult combination of science and art to master. To assist decision-makers in these environments, a number of cognitive aids have been developed and subsequently adopted by individuals and organisations alike. However, these aids vary according to their intent and the context in which they are intended to be applied. This review explores the use of cognitive aids in the context of emergency management and explores how existing knowledge regarding the use of cognitive aids from other industries may be translated to emergency management. An iterative literature review of academic and industry material related to cognitive aids during incident and crisis response across a broad range of international emergency service and other industries within the last 20 years was completed. Ultimately, cognitive aids are not a silver bullet when it comes to decision-making in the emergency management context. The correct tool (that is correctly designed) must be correctly applied by trained and competent end users. The Australian emergency management sector may benefit from future research exploring how these existing tools adhere to the good practice principles identified in this study.

Leadership in collaborative emergency management for compound hurricane‐pandemic threats: Insights from practitioners' experiences

AbstractEmergency management is a key government function for mitigating risks and reducing the impacts of disasters. Emergency management leaders play a critical role in preparing for and responding to disasters whose impacts are exacerbated by a pandemic. Using the example of the compound threat of hurricanes and the COVID‐19 pandemic, this qualitative research uses insights from emergency management professionals to describe collaborative approaches and leadership skills that help balance the needs for stability and flexibility. Data collected using focus groups and one‐on‐one interviews with emergency management professionals highlight that collaboration involved existing and new partners in a changing and uncertain environment that challenged traditional leadership of emergency management. The study develops understanding of how emergency management leaders navigate the tension between stability and flexibility in this different collaborative emergency management context involving a compound hurricane‐pandemic threat. Findings show that emergency management leaders leverage the stability of established partnerships, plans, and processes to bring in new partners with needed expertise, adjust based on new information, and meet specific COVID‐19 information needs. They utilize several skills to balance stability and flexibility including developing shared vision, stakeholder engagement, strategic thinking, adaptability, communication, and coordination.

Building community resiliency and trust: A framework

This paper outlines the context of emergency management in Canada and identifies some of the key factors that have contributed to public emergency preparedness initiatives reaching a saturation point. Readers will gain insight and actionable suggestions from the proposed Community Resiliency Framework. Readers will learn how emergency management agencies can engage and collaborate authentically with communities and leverage existing preparedness initiatives with new methodologies to increase community resiliency.

“WE ALWAYS THINK IT'S NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN TO US”: UNDERSTANDING WHAT MOTIVATES COMMUNITIES TO ENGAGE IN EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS

AbstractCommunity-based disaster risk reduction is an effective approach for emergency management to address the needs of communities. This approach focuses on identifying the community-specific needs and context of emergency management in that area to develop technologies that help mitigate effects of disasters. The complex network of community, technology, and user motivation makes it challenging to understand how to encourage users to adopt preparation efforts, as opposed to reactive measures that have been shown to be less effective and can lead to inequitable results. To address this research gap, qualitative interviews were conducted with participants from one medium-sized midwestern city in the United States to understand how community members think about preparation and make decision about adopting preventative technologies. The results of the qualitative analysis reveal that there were 5 main themes that are important to consider when developing technologies for emergency preparedness; Importance of communication during emergencies, the role of technology in emergency management, unequal access to resources, reaction instead of preparation, and motivation to engage in community preparedness and response.

Leadership emotion: how leaders influence employee wellbeing and performance in the disaster and emergency management context

Leaders play a unique role in the disaster management context as they address the safety needs of communities and manage the complexities of the response and recovery task. Leaders who effectively navigate the challenges of leading in this unique context bring hope and positivity, uniting the efforts of community and government to address the needs of those seeking safety and support. Positive affect is one aspect of effective leadership that receives considerable attention in the academic literature but has, as yet, received little attention in the disaster and emergency management area. This paper draws on contemporary literature on the understanding of positive affect in leadership, bringing together the limited current literature in the area of leader affect in the emergency management context and identifying a significant gap. It calls for a research focus on positive affect in the unique context of disaster and emergency management and consideration of the implications for wellbeing and performance.

Improving the resiliency of the United States healthcare system before, during, and after disasters.

The current emergency standards for training, exercises, communication, coordination, and response utilized by the United States (US) healthcare system are inadequate to meet patient needs before, during, and after disasters. Through a focused review of the literature and supporting expert interviews, this study aims to identify major barriers to US healthcare system resiliency in an emergency management context. Findings include that organizations across the healthcare system remain fragmented, often acting as standalone entities instead of being part of a larger ecosystem, which weakens the overall healthcare response framework. Despite advances in collaborative technology, many healthcare organizations rely on technologies that cannot meet their needs during a major emergency or disaster. Additionally, this research indicates that training and education standards need updates to match current and future disaster healthcare needs. Finally, based on the findings, seven recommendations were made as a starting point to what must be an ongoing discussion. While the recommendations are based on data from the US, this research has both national and international implications.

Time Analysis Model in Semantic Context of Emergency Management

In the context of emergency management, where information comes from heterogeneous, complex and dynamic sources, decision making is required to be assertive and within a timely interval of time. Time has great relevance, being fundamental in the domain of this context, because it is creating a timeline, that is to say during it, the perception and comprehension of all the characteristics of a situation becomes viable. The quality of information becomes indispensable in the context of emergency management, mainly by dynamic and complex factors. This work aims to improve the informational processes of information retrieval through the creation of a model of temporal analysis in the semantic context. The nature of this work is qualitative, of theoretical-applied purpose and exploratory, and its methodology involving fire emergency situations, in which it was possible to evaluate the behavior of information quality and infer new temporal knowledge that may serve as inputs for making more assertive decisions.

Testing the forms and consequences of collaboration risk in emergency management networks

ABSTRACT This paper elaborates the concept of collaboration risk and measures collaboration risk in an emergency management context to investigate the relations between perceived collaboration risks and network structure and to test a hypothesized non-linear form for this relation. Using an Institutional Collective Action (ICA) framework, the study discusses three dimensions of collaborative risk derived from coordination, division, and defection risk and measures these by means of a structured-survey of 69 organizations in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, South Korea. The results of a fractional polynomial regression model show that the perceived level of collaboration risk has an inverse U-curve relation with the number of collaborative ties forged by organizations. These findings imply that organizations’ perceived collaboration risk beyond a threshold point motivates the termination of former ineffective arrangements. At the same time, the collaboration with other participants increases to a specific level of collaboration risk.

Navigating authority and legitimacy when ‘outsider’ volunteers co-produce emergency management services

ABSTRACT This paper examines the thorny issue of authority and legitimacy in relation to ‘outsider’ emergency volunteering within the context of the community resilience policy agenda. Outsider emergency volunteering is any volunteering that: (a) aims to assist communities in any aspect of disaster preparedness, response, relief and recovery, and (b) is not registered with or under the direction of a formally recognised emergency management organisation (EMO). Hence, it does not have clear grounds to establish its authority and legitimacy within the formal authorising environment of the emergency management sector. The paper draws on co-production theory to examine how three important challenges for establishing authority and legitimacy were navigated in four Australian cases of co-production involving outsider emergency volunteering. Given the rise of resilience in disaster policy and the changing nature of volunteering in modern society, the very formalised and defined foundations of authority and legitimacy in emergency management will need to soften and expand to become more networked and distributed. The four cases described here shed some light on what softer and expanded foundations for authority and legitimacy can look like and the processes that can support them in the emergency management context.

Nonprofit and public sector interorganizational collaboration in disaster recovery: Lessons from the field

AbstractRecent disasters have identified that interorganizational collaboration is often fraught with complexity. This article explores interorganizational collaboration in the nonprofit and public sectors during the disaster recovery efforts after a catastrophic flooding event. Based on a series of in‐depth interviews with practitioners involved in the recovery following a flooding event, the findings offer insights into the barriers and mechanisms used to facilitate collaboration. In disaster recovery, collaboration is reliant on established interorganizational structures and trusting relationships. Role clarity is the link between these two characteristics, and this article posits the association between this and the concept of swift trust to facilitate collaboration. Theoretically, this article extends an existing multidimensional model of collaboration into the context of emergency management. Importantly, it also offers a tangible output for industry in the form of an aide‐mémoire for collaborating in disaster recovery.

In What Ways Does Australian Emergency Management Reflect the Criteria of a Profession?

Introduction:The term “profession” to describe the people who carry out emergency management (EM) in Australia continues to gain momentum. Many emergency managers see themselves and are seen by others as professionals, yet little evidence exists to confirm this proposition. Unlike other professions, there is no peak body or overarching organization in Australia to help the diverse group of emergency managers to identify standards of performance and to lobby decision-makers on their behalf.Aim:This study identifies criteria that define a profession and considers how the emergency management sector in Australia reflects them.Methods:A literature review and review of established professions informed criteria of what constitutes a profession. Using these criteria, a survey was conducted to identify the demographic profiles of Australian emergency managers, their perception of the criteria of a profession, and their attitudes towards professionalization of their sector. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a representative sample. Ethics approval was obtained.Results:A set of criteria for an EM context in Australia was created. 859 emergency managers in Australia were surveyed using an online questionnaire. No common profile emerged from the survey in terms of age, gender, background, expertise, skills, or experience. Likewise, no clear career path, no clearly defined standard training, no universal standards of performance, and no statutory certification to qualify an emergency manager as a professional were revealed. Participants variously identified some of the necessary criteria of a profession, but no uniformity emerged.Discussion:This unique study concludes that the sector is not yet in a position to regard emergency management as a profession. Recommendations suggest steps be taken in the short- and long-term to facilitate the establishment of EM as a profession and identifies further research to inform the journey towards professionalizing the emergency management sector.

Understanding risk in an emergency management context

Understanding of risk is important for emergency managers. The variety of definitions, expressions, assessment techniques, efforts to measure, perceptions, levels of acceptability and the role of probability consideration can create challenges when considering and communicating risk. This paper presents a brief overview of some important factors with regard to risk, along with some case studies to inform emergency managers. It also introduces an alternative approach to risk that includes and retains the three dimensions of hazard, exposure and vulnerability.

A conceptual review of risk communication network for protecting immigrant knowledge workers

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to define immigrant knowledge workers (IKWs) as a vulnerable population in the urban emergency management context, and explored how to provide public safety services to IKWs. Due to nomadic features such as high mobility, spatio-temporality, and preferred autonomy, IKWs have difficulties in building required social ties with long-term residents in the urban emergency management system (UEMS). As such, IKWs are easily isolated and become vulnerable to disasters.Design/methodology/approach– This study introduced possible types of network structure, compared each structure’s weaknesses and strengths in terms of risk communication, and suggested the strategic use of brokers for effective risk communication with application of network analysis perspective.Findings– This study argued that the current space-based model causes tension in protecting NKWs and suggested the strategic use of brokers for the facilitated risk communication and for the protection of UKWs in more effective ways. The brokers in UEMS should pursue the core values of partnership, participation, and consultation in building mutual supportive channels within UEMS and the brokers should have sufficient cognitive capacity to avoid system fragmentation and collapse.Research limitations/implications– Due to the limitations as conceptual paper, sometimes it lacks empirical data to support the main arguments of this paper. To address this, the authors put that part as a suggestion for future studies.Originality/value– With the strategic use of brokers, UEMS would be more resilient and accountable in providing public safety services to its citizens.

Exponential random graph modeling of emergency collaboration networks

Effective response to bushfires requires collaboration involving a set of interdependent complex tasks that need to be carried out in a synergistic manner. Improved response to bushfires has been attributed to how effective different emergency management agencies carry out their tasks in a coordinated manner. Previous studies have documented the underlying relationships between collaboration among emergency management personnel on the effective outcome in delivering improved bushfire response. There are, however, very few systematic empirical studies with a focus on the effect of collaboration networks among emergency management personnel and bushfire response. Given that collaboration evolves among emergency management personnel when they communicate, in this study, we first propose an approach to map the collaboration network among emergency management personnel. Then, we use Exponential Random Graph (ERG) models to explore the micro-level network structures of emergency management networks and their impact on performance. ERG Models are probabilistic models presented by locally determined explanatory variables and that can effectively identify structural properties of networks. It simplifies a complex structure down to a combination of basic parameters such as 2-star, 3-star, and triangle. By applying our proposed mapping approach and ERG modeling technique to the 2009 Royal Commission Report dataset, we construct and model emergency management response networks. We notice that alternative-k-star, and alternative-k-two-path parameters of ERG have impact on bushfire response. The findings of this study may be utilized by emergency managers or administrators for developing an emergency practice culture to optimize response within an emergency management context.

Determinants of Emergency Management Decision Support Software Technology: An Empirical Analysis of Social Influence in Technology Adoption

AbstractTechnology is being applied to governmental functions with the intent to improve governmental operations. Most research on technology acceptance has focused on the private sector with less being applied to the public sector, and little applied to the domain of disaster management. As we continue to expand upon technological applications in governmental affairs, it is important to understand how the increasing role of information and communications technology (ICT) affects disaster management. Utilizing a conceptual model adapting Venkatesh et al’s (2003) unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model to an emergency management context, factors of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and social influence along with emergency management specific factors such as threat perception, disaster history, social vulnerability, disaster exercises and emergency management collaboration are used to examine the intent to use EMDSS. Multiple regression analysis using data obtained from a survey of local emergency managers in FEMA Region VI taken in the fall of 2012 indicate that social influence, effort expectancy, community social vulnerability and collaboration among emergency management agencies influences the intent to use EMDSS technology. This study contributes to our understanding of technology adoption among local governments by showing that the factors that influence emergency management officials’ intent to use EMDSS differ from factors found in private sector applications. Most notably, in EMDSS applications, social influence and ease of use are the strongest predictors of intent to use rather than performance expectations.

Understanding Multiplexity of Collaborative Emergency Management Networks

This article explores the multiplex relationships among organizations within the context of emergency management. It examines the role of friendship networks and disaster preparedness networks in predicting sustainable collaborative disaster response networks. Furthermore, it examines the impact of emergency management systems on network building and sustainability. This article applies inferential network analysis methods in analyzing relationships among emergency management networks and examines the predictive power of preestablished network arrangements. This research suggests that friendship networks are important for encouraging organizations to be involved in disaster preparedness networks. Yet it is the collaboration ties during disaster preparedness that influence the formation of collaborations during disaster response. Structural attributes of emergency management systems have impacts on the development of multiplex relationships among organizations within various networks. These findings not only contribute to developing sustainable emergency management networks but also provide insights for building collaborative networks in a broader context.

Bridging and Bonding in Emergency Management Networks

Research into emergency management has made clear that collaboration is a common strategy to prepare for and respond to disasters. The Department of Homeland Security has embraced a whole-of-government approach within its most recent quadrennial report. At times, it has broadened this approach to include non-governmental organizations in a whole-of-society approach - particularly within public health preparedness efforts. It has become clear that the future of emergency management will require extensive collaboration between government and nongovernmental organizations.Attitudes among practicing emergency managers towards collaboration, however, are quite mixed. While the official training material from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emphasizes that emergency managers are facilitators who must rely on collaboration to accomplish key mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery operations, many emergency managers are skeptical of the value of broad and diverse emergency management networks. Skeptics fear that efforts at collaboration trade-off with time dealing with internal administrative needs and further developing relationships with organizations already a part of an organization's network.Relying on theories of social networking, this paper introduces alternative strategies for emergency management collaborations based on bridging and bonding approaches to building collaborative capacity. The bridging approach, popular among the promoters of broad collaboration in emergency management, emphasizes the use of diverse collaborative partners to provide access to a wide range of resources and information. The bonding approach, common among skeptics of broad collaboration in emergency management, emphasizes collaboration with only those organizations that are similar to ones own in order to reduce communication problems and other symptoms of cultural conflict.This article illustrates these two strategies using semi-structured interview data from emergency management organizations that exemplify each approach. The interview data serve as the foundation for a typology of collaborative strategies based on the bridging/bonding trade-off within the specific context of emergency management. The article concludes with a discussion of the costs and benefits of each strategy.

Effects of networks on learning during emergency events

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the relationship between learning and the social networks employed within the context of emergency management. It hypothesises, using social network theory as a framework for analysis, that changes to interconnectedness between actors are implicated in the potential for those actors to learn and improvise in dynamically changing and emergent conditions.Design/methodology/approachTo test the hypotheses, survey data were investigated which were collected as part of a research study with the support of the Australian Bushfire Co‐operative Research Centre (CRC). This survey was completed by experienced personnel reflecting on a number of indicators in an emergency event.FindingsResults show that increases in actors’ involvement within the social emergency management network influences the ability of those actors to engage in learning‐related work activity. The paper infers that by developing learning related resources within the context of their social interactions these emergency personnel are better able to adapt and improvise in complex emergency events.Research limitations/implicationsAs an area of further research, it would be useful to apply the existing theoretical model to the context of another domain, preferably one that shares characteristics of uncertainty and unstable environments.Originality/valueMost existing studies of learning theory in human networks have focused on learning in situations requiring stable working relationships with no environmental uncertainties. In this paper, it is argued that the designs of existing models are useful as a building block, yet flawed for application within the context of disaster management. By presenting a model of learning‐related work activity, as an ongoing aspect of network connectedness, personnel within emergency services organisations can strengthen their capacity to be flexible and adaptable.

Disaster and emergency management systems in urban areas

This article focuses on the factors shaping and constituting governance in urban/metropolitan emergency management. The main focus of the article is the multi-faceted inter-organizational relationships producing shared goals that are practiced at the local level, and specifically within the context of county-level metropolitan emergency management. The article presents a conceptual understanding of the governance concept, a brief summary of related research in the context of emergency management, and an example of the Orlando Metropolitan Area in the State of Florida for practical purposes.

Visualizing Diurnal Population Change in Urban Areas for Emergency Management*

There is an increasing need for a quick, simple method to represent diurnal population change in metropolitan areas for effective emergency management and risk analysis. Many geographic studies rely on decennial U.S. Census data that assume that urban populations are static in space and time. This has obvious limitations in the context of dynamic geographic problems. The U.S. Department of Transportation publishes population data at the transportation analysis zone level in fifteen-minute increments. This level of spatial and temporal detail allows for improved dynamic population modeling. This article presents a methodology for visualizing and analyzing diurnal population change for metropolitan areas based on this readily available data. Areal interpolation within a geographic information system is used to create twenty-four (one per hour) population surfaces for the larger metropolitan area of Salt Lake County, Utah. The resulting surfaces represent diurnal population change for an average workday and are easily combined to produce an animation that illustrates population dynamics throughout the day. A case study of using the method to visualize population distributions in an emergency management context is provided using two scenarios: a chemical release and a dirty bomb in Salt Lake County. This methodology can be used to address a wide variety of problems in emergency management.