Context Of Disaster Management Research Articles

Considering collaborative incident management: A study of the COVID-19 response and initial recovery in a rural West Virginia community.

Hierarchical command-style structures are commonplace in the management of disasters, though researchers have begun to recommend the exploration of networked approaches to incident management. Furthermore, few studies are explicitly looking at the rural context of disaster management. This study seeks to contribute to both topics by examining the motivations for emergent collaboration in the direction of the response and initial recovery to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in a rural West Virginia community. Between March 2020 and March 2022, the primary investigator moderated regular briefings of a community task force convened to coordinate the pandemic response and recovery. As regular operations concluded, members completed a survey, and 10 randomly selected members participated in semistructured interviews regarding their experiences in the task force. Survey responses suggest that common motivations for collaboration in nondisaster contexts (as they appear in the scholarly literature) and potential benefits of networked approaches highlighted in the incident management literature could also serve as motivators within the disaster context. Qualitative interview data extend that discussion and identify the need to gain clear information regarding the concerned authorities and specific local information to better inform the expenditure of limited resources as two additional motivators for collaboration.

Drivers of Social Media Use in Disaster Management and Impact on User Satisfaction: The Role of Psychological Conditions and Information Accessibility

The aim of this study is to determine social factors behind social media use and the impact of their use on psychological conditions and satisfaction in disaster management context. In the management of disasters field, social drivers of social media use are not yet well clarified et explained in literature.

Promoting Sustainability in Kuwait: An Exploratory Study of Disaster Management Preparedness and Resilience in State Organizations

This exploratory study examines the current state of disaster management preparedness and resilience in Kuwaiti organizations, focusing on sustainability. The study employed a cross-sectional survey design, using a web-based questionnaire distributed through social media platforms, collecting data from 438 respondents representing a diverse range of institutions and job classes. The study assessed employees’ perceptions of their institutions’ competence in disaster management, addressing four phases of the disaster management cycle: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. The findings reveal areas for potential improvement in Kuwaiti organizations’ preparedness and resilience towards disasters and crises, highlighting the need for ongoing training programs, infrastructure investment, and supply chain sustainability. Discrepancies in perceptions of potential risks and the effectiveness of training programs were identified, as well as concerns about the selection process for disaster management response teams. The study’s findings emphasize the importance of developing comprehensive, sustainable disaster management strategies that prioritize employee safety, operational continuity, and realistic recovery plans. The results contribute significant insights for policy and practice development in Kuwait and other countries facing similar challenges, laying the groundwork for future research on operations and supply chain management within the context of disaster management.

Human Security Policy Initiative on Catastrophic Disaster and Crisis Response in Indonesia

This paper discusses the internalization of global ideas in a country’s national policies. This paper reviews the application of the human security concept to Indonesia’s domestic policies, especially on the issue of catastrophic disaster and crisis response. This topic arises as Indonesia has historically experienced various crises, such as the 1997 financial crisis, the health crisis due to the 2002 SARS pandemic outbreak, and the humanitarian crisis caused by the 2004 tsunami disaster. In addition, Indonesia is threatened by other issues, such as domestic conflict, separatism, terrorism, and environmental problems. All of these issues, according to experts, have an equivalent impact on conflict and significantly affect the security of citizens. Therefore, this article intends to discover the capacity and ability of Indonesia to apply human security ideas in its domestic policies. This paper uses two approaches to achieve its objective: the human security approach according to the global perspective and the policy network approach in public policy studies. This paper argues that the idea of human security has not yet become a platform in the formulation of security policy in Indonesia. However, the basic principles of the concept of human security are contained in the national constitution. Besides, in the disaster and crisis management context directly related to human security, the state is still working alone. It has not optimized all the resources and non-governmental actors to work together to produce the community’s specific policies.
 Keywords: Human Security, Policy Network, Crisis, Disaster, Indonesia

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.

Community factors and local governments’ hazard mitigation efforts: Focusing on nonprofit organizations

Even though the role of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in a disaster management context has been well-studied, scholars have little understanding of NPOs' engagement in a relationship with local governments, particularly during the hazard mitigation stage. Based on existing studies, we focus on the prominence of local nonprofit organizations in influencing local governments' hazard mitigation efforts along with other community characteristics. By analyzing panel data on the U.S. counties that experienced presidentially declared disasters, we found that different types of NPOs may affect local governments' hazard mitigation efforts in different ways. While counties with a greater number of public safety and faith-based NPOs are more likely to participate in the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), civil rights NPOs are negatively associated with the county's HMGP participation. This study offers empirical evidence of the significant influence of NPOs on local governments' hazard mitigation efforts and provides important implications related to how local governments can facilitate community-based hazard mitigation efforts in a relationship with NPOs.

Knowledge management for extreme public health events COVID-19: based on Tiktok data

PurposeTaking the COVID-19 as the background, this study aims to investigate the direct influencing factors regarding knowledge sharing behavior (KSB) on new media platforms and discuss how the characteristics of the users could enhance the KSB through moderation effect, and provide empirical evidences.Design/methodology/approachBased on the social exchange theory and after the text analysis of the data collected from the Tiktok platform in 2020, this paper uses the quantitative method to evaluate the factors influence KSB on short video social platform during the COVID-19 outbreak.FindingsKSB on new media platform could be enhanced by richer knowledge content of the video posted and the attribute of the platform users directly. Platform users could affect the trustworthiness of the knowledge shared, thus influence the knowledge sharing. On the early stage of the COVID-19, the richer content of the knowledge released by users could effectively enhance the KSB. On the early stage of the emergency events, the official users could play a significant role on KS. During the mitigation stage of COVID-19, the KSB of the knowledge shared by unofficial users with richer content could be enhanced and the moderation effect is relatively stronger.Originality/valueThe research extends the social exchange theory to a disaster management context. The authors provide an effective reference for future governments to effectively cope with the epidemic and spread public knowledge in an emergency response context. By analyzing the influence of knowledge content and influencer characteristics, it could help the social media platform to improve content management and optimize resource allocation.

“Disaster” Within Disaster Management: Women and Nonhuman Animals Issues

This analysis will refer to the structural inequalities under disaster management context, where women and more-than-human animals receive imbalanced preparedness for disaster management, risk reduction, and resilience. The concept of feminism and speciesism will visualize the similarity between women and more-than-human animals as an “object” exclusion instead of “subject” inclusion. The vitality of observation is considered from assessing women's capacity to cope, adapt, and survive during and post the socio-ecological emergency (social instability and natural and human-made disaster). The data shows that women were the most susceptible in rapid or slow-onset emergencies, whereas the nonhuman animals will be objectified as no more than property. These two normalized-lens navigate to the skills and knowledge acquired by women regarding socio-ecological resilience. On the other hand, the demand for equal treatment for women and more-than-human animals will be based on their intrinsic values. This article argues that the phenomenon is highly influenced by religious and cultural values in shaping socio-ecological treatment and power relations. In other words, the patriarchal system and human supremacism will become the most influential aspects. The epistemological revolutions through proper laws and policies are required to promote and achieve a more stable socio-ecological structure of women and more-than-human entanglement within disaster management in particular.

Ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction concept for forest and land fire disaster

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to develop an ecosystem-based DRR concept and explore how far the concept can be applied in a disaster-management context.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used the ecosystem concept established by Tsujimoto et al. (2018) as the foundation of this study. They then conducted a literature search to adapt the ecosystem concept to fit the context of disaster management. Thus, they developed an ecosystem-based DRR concept. They used a case study method to test whether the adapted ecosystem concept can be applied to examine a real-life case of disaster management. For data collection, they used qualitative methods; a semi-structured interview with practitioners and other actors involved in disaster-management practice as well as document review. For data analysis, they used thematic analysis to find themes within the data.FindingsBy using this concept, the authors found some actors fulfil their role in the ecosystem toward the DRR effort, some actors are ill-equipped, and some actors are actively working against DRR effort. There are also implementation challenges, as numerous programs are only halfway done due to a lack of resources. However, the main problems of this disaster can be summarized into three categories: technical problems, socio-economic problems and law-enforcement problems. All three problems need to be addressed altogether because even neglecting only one problem would lead to a flawed solution.Research limitations/implicationsOne of the limitations is the respondents' bias. This research aims to find out their part, or more accurately what they are representative of, regarding disaster management for forest and land fire case. As some of the questions may reveal unflattering action or may even hurting their credibility, respondents might not have provided an entirely honest answer. Another limitation is the differing respondents' roles within the disaster. As each of the respondents is a representative of an actor in disaster management, they all have different traits. Thus, this situation makes it challenging to produce similar quality and quantity data for each of them.Practical implicationsAs concluded, the ecosystem-based DRR concept can be used as a framework to examine a real-life case of disaster management. It can be utilized to explain roles, relationships and the whole network of disaster-management actors. The authors hope that this concept could help decision-makers in designing their policies.Social implicationsThe main problems of this disaster can be summarized into three categories: technical problems, socio-economic problems and law-enforcement problems. All three problems need to be addressed altogether for even neglecting only one problem would lead to a flawed solution. However, the yearly reoccurrences of fires and the widespread of illegal and dangerous practice, slash and burn agriculture, are evidence that the government mishandles the other two problems. There is a need for reform within legal institutions and government's treatment regarding local farmers. There is a need for trust, cooperation and synergy between disaster-management actors.Originality/valueThe ecosystem concept has been used widely in the field of management of technology and innovation. However, while ecosystem concept is commonly used in the management of technology and innovation, it is rarely used in a disaster-management context.

Relationship matters: How government organization-public relationship impacts disaster recovery outcomes among multiethnic communities

Government and emergency management (EM) agencies play a leading role in managing natural disasters. However, it is less well understood how the quality of the relationship between government and various publics may impact long-term disaster-coping and recovery outcomes. Extending the relationship management framework to the context of disaster management, the current study tests the relationships among different ethnic publics’ OPR quality, their communicative behaviors of seeking government and EM information, and disaster-coping outcomes. Results suggest that government OPR quality is positively related to information seeking and major disaster-coping outcomes, including self-efficacy, collective efficacy, and community resilience perceptions. Moreover, the extent to which OPR quality impacts disaster-coping outcomes significantly diverges across ethnic lines. Results provide implications for multicultural relationship management in the context of post-disaster recovery and community building.

Assessing social resilience in disaster management

The key challenge in social resilience assessment is to translate abstract and complex concepts to enable its measurement. Existing measures of social resilience indicators are problematic as these do not necessarily account for the multi-faceted and dynamic nature of the indicators. Therefore, innovative and reliable measurement approaches are required to improve the incorporation of social resilience measures in disaster management policy and practice. The adoption of a surrogate approach, which has received limited attention in a disaster management context, can help to overcome the conceptual challenges inherent in measuring such indicators by capturing key facets of the target indicator and facilitate robust social resilience measurement. This manuscript presents a set of potential surrogates for social resilience indicators identified in an exploratory research investigation. The data was collected using a case study approach utilising interviews with disaster practitioners and policy makers. The data analysis revealed six potential surrogates for each social resilience indicator. The identified potential surrogates provide a reliable measure of social resilience in policy and practice to devise appropriate strategies for enhancing social resilience by regularly monitoring and updating the resilience status using locally available administrative data. The potential surrogates identified to measure social resilience indicators can also be replicated with proper contextualisation in different geographic and hazard exposure settings.

Born in Times of Trouble: An Exploration of Spontaneous Entrepreneurial Venturing from Disasters

We adopt an exploratory approach to study the processes, enabling and constraining factors, and motivations of disaster related entrepreneurial venturing. The findings point toward unique characteristics of disaster related venturing in general, as well as specific considerations for spontaneous venturing from disaster and venturing during a disaster. We propose that disaster characteristics, disaster management culture and context, and dual logics of aiding and profiting shape the entrepreneurial experience of disaster related venturing.

Assessment of local adaptive capacities in the context of local politics after the 2016 Ecuadorian earthquake

Focusing on four municipalities in two provinces (Manabí and Esmeraldas), this article discusses the comparative findings resulting from the first long-term assessment of the decelerated socioeconomic recovery process on the Ecuadorian coast after the earthquake of April 2016. To do so, we draw on the framework of collective adaptive capacities developed by Ross (2014), repeated field stays between 2017 and 2018, and aerial photographic documentation. By putting emphasis on both the national context of post-neoliberal Buen Vivir disaster management as well as the subtleties and vital role of local politics in the recovery process, we find serious ecological, institutional, infrastructural and economic shortcomings at the municipal level. By typically fostering disaster capitalism and securitization in favor of cantonal seats, and to the detriment of parishes, the recovery process revealed a tendency to deepen already existing vulnerabilities and inequalities in the region instead of mitigating them.

CASE STUDY OF BOG HOLE, JAMAICA: BUILDING CAPITALS IN DISASTER THROUGH LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

This paper details the qualitative analysis of data collected about a 2017 flood in the community of Bog Hole, Clarendon in Jamaica during February-May, 2018. The data aimed to answer the how did the local knowledge on disaster risk reduction strategies enhance the capital base of this area, as well as how did it contribute to poverty eradication within the context of disaster management. The data was analysed through the lens of a framework that amalgamated the principles of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework and the Disaster Management Cycle. Both frameworks enabled the author to present a context that addresses the external and uncontrollable factors or attributes that influence and affect people’s assets and livelihoods and how they utilized their local experiences and history to overcome these situations to build the assets (capital) that are crucial for the pursuit of positive livelihood, while utilizing the main tenets of the disaster management cycle, namely: Preparedness, Mitigation, Response and Recovery. The study found the main natural capital of the area is also a source of hazard to the area. However, it is their local knowledge that has afforded them the technical knowhow of how to seize the opportunities from the pond as a capital in periods of disaster and normalcy. The residents of the community have accepted the inevitability of the floods, because of their geographic location, the knowledge systems that they have developed over the years to cope with floods and the way in which they control the market post disaster. Thus, the study shows that in the face of the recurrent disaster, residents have found a way to stimulate rural trade and finance, develop a tourism product and by so doing, have increased their income generation. The study highlights that a disaster has different meanings for different farmers in the same space. This working paper is therefore making a recommendation for further studies on the transient nature of vulnerability to natural disasters in rural spaces in Jamaica. Article visualizations:

Communication Style and Psychological Well-Being Among Flood Victim in Malaysia

While most people who are involved in disaster recover with the support of their families, friends and colleagues, the effect on some people health, relationships and welfare can be extensive and sustained. Flooding can pose substantial social and mental problems that may continue over extended periods of time. Flooding can challenge the psychosocial resilience of the hardiest of people who are affected. Communication skills used in managing disaster to provide emotional support, provide information, giving hope to the victim and help them to cope with anxiety. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between perception toward communication style practiced by relief workers and psychological well-being. This study was carried out among flood victim in Malaysia. The participants were asked to complete communication style and psychological well-being inventory. Data was analysed using of Pearson correlation coefficient. The result showed that communication style and psychological well-being were significantly related. This study provides theoretical contributions to organizational communication research and the literature on disaster management context. On the other hand, the findings provide support for the effects of relationships between communication style and well-being of flood victims.

Towards a customized foresight model on “disaster risk management” in developing countries

PurposeThe human efforts to be prepared better for the future challenges of natural disasters go back ages. Natural disasters occur when a natural event, such as an earthquake, triggers the social vulnerability. These natural disasters kill thousands of people worldwide annually and cause economic losses in millions of dollars. Moreover, the global cost of natural disasters has increased substantially, and mega-disasters occur when the need for recovery truly becomes national or international. There are several trends in nature and society, which suggest that this pattern may continue, with mega-disasters occurring more frequently in the future. In the past 100 years, the number of disasters and the number of people affected by these disasters have exponentially up surged. Thus, there is no other way to improve preparedness in a meaningful or diverse future-oriented manner.Design/methodology/approachThis paper focuses on how to design and customize a conceptual foresight model in “disaster risk management” in Iran, and offers an executive model to help decision-makers in disaster management, through which an appropriate practical framework for the implementation of foresight has been developed.FindingThe model has presented a possible framework for implementing a foresight practice within the context of disaster management. This paper particularly addresses different elements of a customized model, developed through a substantial literature review and comparative study for defining the suitable model in the disaster management context. The final model is validated using two rounds of the Delphi method, with the participation of national disaster management experts, practitioners and scientists.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the whole model could be used all around the world, the main source of data validating the proposed model is limited to the expert’s opinions in a developing country (I. R. Iran.) and the geographical conditions of Iran are considered as a core of attention in response to natural disasters. Based on the indicators for choosing Delphi participants and experts, only 43 qualified experts are selected to validate the model. The main focus of this research is on natural disasters issues.Practical implicationsThis study showed that while there has been a scattered global effort to recognize the increasing uncertainties in diverse disciplines, very little work in academic foresight has been undertaken to identify how it could be implemented. In particular, a series of factors in foresight processes is identified based on the comparative study and some additional elements are added to precisely identify the disaster management context and the most suitable model for national foresight implementation in disaster management.Originality/valueThe main value of this research paper is to clarify the exact relationship between the two interdisciplinary fields; the relationship between the key concepts of “futures studies” and “disaster management” has been thoroughly established. Also, a specific conceptual model for enriching the “pre-foresight” stage and selecting a proper “foresight approach” in “disaster management” is provided. This model has been validated through two rounds of the Delphi method. Finally, a cumulative framework of foresight patterns that includes the new model is presented to be applied in areas especially related to “natural disaster management”.

Understanding Malaysian Malays Communication Characteristics in Reducing Psychological Impact on Flood Victims

Culture has a very important function in the daily lives of Malaysians. In spite of its importance, less attention has been paid to identifying Malaysian ethnic values from their own perspective. Most of previous studies have focused on a universal approach to identify the values of Malaysians. By addressing the gap, this paper hopes to identify a more comprehensive list of values related to Malaysian communication characteristics in flood disaster management context. Over the past decade, flood has become Malaysia’s most common natural disaster. Sustainable flood mitigation and relief management is important as it reflects the ruling government for dealing with crisis. The psychological support on victims’ wellbeing, during and after the disaster is substantial from the humanitarian perspective. Hence, this paper discusses the communication practices from indigenous perspective to help reduce the psychological impact of flooding. This paper presents qualitative data, based on in-depth interviews with 13 flood victims. The findings indicate that local values are important characteristics of effective communication surplus to the aids that bound to reduce the psychological impact of a disaster. This research intends to contribute in terms of the identification of the local code of conduct in communication in an attempt to obtain insights about flood disaster management. Besides, the outcome of the study could help to develop policies for aid agencies, information resources and community organisations in relation to the competency in communication to advocate the betterment and well-being of flood disaster victims. Keywords: Communication, disaster management, well-being, local values, psychological impact .

Social business for responding to natural disasters: a post-tsunami case study in Indonesian region

Disasters, mostly uncontrollable in nature, outbreak with devastating impacts throughout the world every year. Disasters might happen in any part of the world at any time. Though the aftermath of disasters negatively impacts all walks of life it usually creates casualties and affects the socio-economically vulnerable more severely than others. Following disasters, many volunteering organizations, government organizations and international aids collaborate to assist the overall populations affected, in particular the most disadvantaged. While these initial and immediate aid activities do certainly assuage problems for a short time, long term solutions actually depend on working with a sustainable approach, of which social business is one. In such situations, social business as an entrepreneurial tool can be a powerful strategy in alleviating the sufferings of this weaker section of the society with long term effect of ensuring sustainable development. Social business methods can be applied in various stages of a disaster management lifecycle (prior to disaster, during disaster and post-disaster operations). As in many other areas of sustainable development, social business plays a vital role for disaster management. In this paper, we present three case studies related to the impact of social business from the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake and Disaster management in Aceh province, Indonesia. Using a desk- research approach, we propose that social business within a disaster management context may aid the victims by promoting financial assistance in micro form at community level, increase stakeholders’ collaboration in agriculture sector, resources distribution to reach more victims and encourage more community engagement at both rural and urban settings.

An Organizational Capability Framework for Earthquake Recovery

Engineering and construction capability affects the cost and pace of post-disaster recovery. An organizational capability framework for effective earthquake recovery was developed after studying longitudinally 15 engineering and construction organizations following the 2010/11 earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand. The longitudinal case studies, conducted from 2012 to 2015, revealed insights regarding the multitude of decisions that affected demands for engineering and construction post-earthquake, and thus the capability of organizations to meet demands. The framework presents five major challenges faced by organizations operating in an earthquake recovery environment and three core organizational capabilities required to address these challenges: disaster recovery know-how, organizational adaptive capacity to meet changing demands, and collective support among organizations. The findings offer real experience to help engineering and construction industries anticipate capability challenges and prepare for them as a business, as a sector, and as a partner with government agencies in a disaster management context.

Bureaucratic Accountability and Disaster Response: Why Did the Korea Coast Guard Fail in Its Rescue Mission During the Sewol Ferry Accident?

The Sewol ferry accident, occurring in the ocean in South Korea on April 16, 2014, resulted in the loss of 304 lives. Some argue that one of the primary reasons for such an excessive death toll was because the post‐disaster rescue operations led by the Korea Coast Guard (KCG) were neither timely nor efficient and effective. In this study, we attempt to understand whether there was any systemic cause behind such an unsuccessful disaster response on the part of the KCG. In doing so, we analyze the KCG's aptitudes, attitudes, and behaviors vis‐à‐vis its rescue operations in the broader context of Sewol ferry disaster management, while utilizing the classic theories of bureaucratic accountability. We conclude this research by arguing that the KCG was more concerned about hierarchical, political, and legal accountability than professional accountability in the midst of the accident, and discuss theoretical and practical ramifications of our findings.