Theory Of Emergency Management Research Articles

Research on the evaluation of emergency management capability for urban public health emergencies under the perspective of resilience—a case study of Henan Province, China

With the rapid development of the economy and society, the likelihood of sudden public health emergencies in urban areas continues to rise. In particular, major infectious diseases that have gained global attention, such as the SARS virus, H1N1 influenza, Ebola outbreak, and COVID-19 pandemic, have presented significant challenges to urban emergency management systems. Evaluating emergency management capability is a fundamental requirement for developing emergency response capacity. To this end, this study combines the theory of resilience with the theory of full-process equilibrium emergency management, selects 31 evaluation indicators from six key aspects: preparedness, forewarning, mitigation, disposal, recovery, and learning. The indicator weights are determined using the AHP-Entropy Weight Method, and a TOPSIS model is constructed to assess the emergency management capability of urban public health emergencies. The model’s applicability is validated by examining 18 cities in Henan Province. The findings suggest that Jiaozuo, Hebi, Zhengzhou, and Luohe possess relatively robust emergency management capabilities for sudden public health incidents, whereas Kaifeng, Pingdingshan, and Shangqiu exhibit weaker capabilities.

Effect of Emergency Preparedness on Security in Kenyan Universities: A Case Study of Garissa University

Security emergencies and threats have lately been on the increase, with public universities in Kenya reporting many incidents of insecurity. Despite investigation efforts by university management, the high prevalence of insecurity has continued, pointing to the need to determine the relationship between security emergency preparedness and security management in public universities in Kenya. This paper explores the existing types of emergency situations, the existing types of emergency response approaches, and the level of institutional emergency preparedness and their influence on security at Garissa University. Utilizing the emergency Management Theory, the paper points out that the common type of emergency situation in the study institution is terror-related attacks. Training is the common emergency situation response strategy that the university is utilizing in readiness to face emergency situations, and strict checking at the gate is the most common plan that the university has used to deal with emergency situations within its compound and emergency planning in the study institution has enhanced security through control of movement. The study recommends that the university invest in modern and advanced information technology infrastructure and systems to avert incidences of insecurity.

Research on the dynamic mechanism of digital economy system coupling to enhance urban ecological resilience.

Urban ecological environment resilience is an important characteristic that should be possessed in the process of urban development. It is conducive to coping with the challenges of multiple risks and disturbances such as climate change, resolving chronic pressure, improving the ability to resist disaster risk, self-adjustment, and recovery, to maintain the structure and function stability of the urban system. The digital economy is a new economic form caused by the new technological revolution, which may effectively promote economic ecology and ecological economization. We clarify the elements of the digital economic system, construct the coupling evaluation index system of "digital infrastructure-industrial digitization-digital industrialization," and establish the coupling degree model to analyze the characteristics of the integration interaction, coordination, and self-organization of the digital economy subsystem. Based on emergency management theory, adaptive management concept, and resilient city theory, an evaluation index system is constructed from four levels of prevention, resistance, adaptation, and recovery to measure urban ecological resilience. Taking 278 cities in China from 2011 to 2021 as the research object, we established a spatial econometric model to explore the dynamic mechanism of digital economy system composition and coupling coordination to enhance urban resilience and summarize the theoretical model form. Based on this, we further propose countermeasures and suggestions for improving urban ecological resilience by using a digital economic system.

Government Administrative Practices and Spread of COVID-19 in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

This study examined government administrative practices and the spread of COVID-19 in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, employing a survey research design. The study sought to ascertain the effect of lockdown and quarantine as administrative practices on the spread of COVID-19 in Akwa Ibom State. Data were collected from three hospitals, one from each of the three senatorial districts of the state. A descriptive research design was adopted to review data, using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25. The Emergency management theory was reviewed as a basis for the explanation of concepts for the study. The findings of the study revealed a significant effect of lockdown administrative practices on reducing the spread of COVID-19, while quarantine administrative practices indicated an insignificant impact on the spread of COVID-19 in Akwa Ibom State. It was concluded that the use of lockdown and quarantine were useful administrative instruments for curtailing the spread of COVID-19 in Akwa Ibom State. The study therefore recommended that lockdown should be used in disease-endemic areas in Akwa Ibom state, especially in areas with high infection rates for Lassa fever and others. This would help curb infections like coronavirus. Also. there is a need for the government to retain all the activated quarantine centres for healthcare purposes if another pandemic occurs. This will reinforce the preventive capacity of the government to deal with such.

A SWOT analysis of smart governance applications amid the COVID-19 pandemic

Smart governance technologies are emergent information and communication technologies (ICT), which amid the COVID-19 pandemic have been widely used to govern COVID’s impacts. However, very few studies have provided insight into the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of smart governance technologies under COVID-19. This prevents the widespread usage of smart governance technologies across cities and countries and impedes their usefulness during emergencies. This study combines knowledge of emergency management theory and planning support systems (PSS) to frame the functional usefulness of smart governance technologies in handling practical tasks amid the COVID-19 state of emergency into a task-technology fit model. By employing qualitative content analysis to collect views and insights from the international news-based cases (n= 69), we identify SWOT of smart governance technologies under COVID-19. Results indicate that usefulness of smart governance technologies is reflected in task-handling in the ex-post emergency phases of response (e.g., provide e-health service, tracing and tracking) and recovery (e.g., improve e-government services, enhance collaboration for renewal), whereas few applications focus on tasks in the ex-ante emergency phases of mitigation (e.g., hazard analysis, vulnerability assessment) and preparedness (e.g., planning, training and exercises). Main findings lead to a conclusion that hidden capacities of smart governance technologies can be fully achieved if policy makers and practitioners can focus on the full range of tasks and demands before, amid, or after emergencies and identify collaborative opportunities for technological development.

Effects of Disaster Management towards Academic Achievement in Public Secondary Schools in Arusha District

This study investigated the effects of disaster management towards academic achievement in public secondary schools in Arusha District Council, Tanzania. Objectives were to; examine ways of managing disasters in secondary schools and effects of disaster management towards academic achievement of students in public secondary schools. Emergency Management Theory guided the study. Convergent mixed methods design was adopted. Questionnaires, documentary analysis, photo taking and interviews were used to collect data from 105students and 85teachers selected by simple and stratified random sampling techniques. Five school heads and 4 WEOs were purposively selected. Validity was fortified through expert inputs. Reliability employed test-retest technique and reliability index, SQ r=0.735, TQ r=0.827and NTSQ r= 0.761were obtained. Credibility and dependability of qualitative data was established through detailed reporting of the research process. Qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics in the SPSS version 23 and results were presented in tables. Findings include provision of fire extinguishers to help in putting off fire outbreaks, enhancing drainage system and raising building foundation to prevent surface runoff from accessing classrooms and offices. Proper use of fire extinguishers to minimize damages caused by fire in schools hence minimal interference to learning process. In conclusion, without a disaster management plan, schools spend more time and resources reacting to a situation instead of planning for the anticipated disaster. Recommendations entailed all institutions to provide fire extinguishers, enhance drainage system and improve students’ discipline as disaster mitigation measures.

A pricing and transshipment hybrid strategy for perishable product in two external scenarios for supply disruption

PurposeDifferent external supply scenarios faced by the retailers will affect their choice of strategy when supply is disrupted and becomes far less than demand, urgently. This study focuses on analyzing both demand and supply side response strategies to meet customer demand and reduce the impact of the shortage during supply disruptions.Design/methodology/approachAccording to the quantity of products that the external market can provide, the external supply scenarios were divided into sufficient-type external supply and learning-type external supply. A two-echelon perishable goods supply chain was analyzed, and three kinds of contingency strategy models for downstream retailers were investigated. First, in the sufficient external supply scenario, the optimal price and transshipment quantity to maximize retailer's profits is discussed. Second, in the scenario of learning-type external supply, this study analyzes the optimal decision in three mechanisms of the hybrid strategy and their application: price priority mechanism, quantity priority mechanism and price–quantity balance mechanism. Furthermore, the influence of penalty cost and supply on the priority orders of different mechanisms was studied.FindingsResults show that comparing the two pure strategies (pricing strategy and transshipment strategy)it was noted that the hybrid strategy produces the best results in sufficient-type external supply scenario. In the learning-type external supply scenario, a numerical study has shown the existence of three areas in case of penalty cost and supplier's capacity, and each areas has different priority orders of the three mechanisms. Under the situation of learning external supply, the retailer's optimal strategy is affected by parameters such as penalty cost and supply volume.Originality/valueThe main innovation of the work lies in the following: First; the external supply situation was divided into sufficiency type and learning type, which improves the external situation faced by retailers after the outbreak of emergencies, helps retailers understand the external situation, conforms to the actual situation and has certain practical application value. Second; in the context of learning external supply, there are three coping strategies for retailers, including: Price priority mechanism, Quantity priority mechanism and Pricing and transshipment balance mechanism. This will help retailers make strategic choices, make more scientific management decisions and improve the supply chain emergency management theory. Third; the demand side response was managed through the change of external supply during supply side recovery period and supply disruption. The proposed model enables managing and analyzing supply disruption efficiently and effectively via handling uncertainty by considering all aspects of decision-making process. The proposed model can be applied in various fields such as vegetable and fruit, fresh food, etc.

Effective Emergency Management: Scrutinizing the Malaysia Lead Responding Agency Planning and Information Management Approach During Disaster Exercise

The impact of a disaster is closely related to the response and recovery of the lead responding agency in managing the disaster effectively. Malaysia has established the MNSC20 policies for managing disasters. Unfortunately, the implementation of MNSC20 can only be evaluated through lead responding agency disaster exercises. Each responding agency’s responsibility is to identify and record the information as required to ensure effective emergency management; however, problems in terms of inaccurate and/or incomplete information may be many challenges that need to be addressed. Hence, this paper aims to propose several areas for improvement for planning and information management elements in effective emergency management theory by identifying its challenges through the FRDM, which may benefit Malaysia’s overall emergency management process. Four disaster exercises at the state and federal levels were observed using a structured checklist. The result indicates challenges were found in terms of proactivity in gaining information, disseminating critical information during emergencies, developing a specific incident action plan, and media management. A good area of improvement is suggested based on the evaluation. It is hoped that this paper could contribute to developing better disaster management by the lead responding agency in Malaysia.

Evaluation of COVID-19 outbreak prevention and control in Beijing using the emergency management theory

On April 29, 2020, China entered a normalization stage of prevention and control. By December 2021, more than 40 outbreaks had occurred in China, which reflected the shortcomings of the pandemic prevention and control measures in China at that time. As the capital city of China, Beijing faces more pressure in epidemic prevention and control. We used the COVID-19 cluster containment evaluation indicators to determine the effects of prevention and control measures on four COVID-19 outbreaks in Beijing. After considering the specificity and operability of evaluation indicators and the availability of evaluation data, the evaluation system in our study consisted of six dimensions: epidemic prevention and control effect, discovery and detection ability, precision prevention and control capability, public protection effect, medical treatment and nosocomial infection prevention and control ability, and information release and public opinion response ability. The composite scores of the prevention and control effects of the Xinfadi, Shunyi, Daxing, and Ejina Banner–associated COVID-19 outbreaks in Beijing were 62, 82, 87, and 76, respectively. In the six dimensions, the epidemic prevention and control effect, discovery and detection ability, precision prevention and control capability, and public protection effect scores for the Xinfadi outbreak were lower than those for the Shunyi, Daxing and Ejina Banner–associated outbreaks. The medical treatment and nosocomial infection prevention and control ability scores for the outbreak associated with Ejina Banner were lower than those for the Xinfadi, Shunyi, and Daxing outbreaks. In managing cluster outbreaks, Beijing was able to detect index cases early enough to reduce the scale and duration of the outbreak and consistently release official information to reduce public panic, standardize the management of centralized quarantine sites to prevent cross-infection, adhere to the “dynamic COVID‐zero” strategy to accurately prevent and control outbreaks, reduce the societal influence of the pandemic, and coordinate the epidemic prevention and control and socio-economic development.

Empirical Evaluation of the Environmental Emergency Management Capability of Local Governments in China

Environmental emergency management is an important practical subject for local governments. Understanding the different dimensions of environmental emergency management capability is crucial for enabling a well-informed governance performance. Based on the crisis management 4R theory (comprising four stages: reduction, readiness, response and recovery), PPRR emergency management theory (emergency management is categorized into four stages: prevention, preparation, response and recovery), crisis life cycle theory and ISO 22320, this paper divided local government environmental emergency management capability into four dimensions of a dynamic pre–during–post process: preparedness, early warning, response and recovery. This paper applied a confirmatory factor analysis model to confirm the classification standards of the four capabilities, which are strongly correlated within environmental emergency management. We found that China’s local government environmental emergency management capability is generally at an upper-middle level, according to the empirical data. We also analyzed the regional differences in local government environmental emergency management capability across China and concluded that the environmental emergency management capability of local governments in the eastern region is higher than those in other regions. The capability levels in the central, western and northeastern regions are more similar to each other and show a decreasing distribution in the east–central–west–northeast region.

Business Model Adaptation to the COVID-19 Crisis: Strategic Response of the Spanish Cultural and Creative Firms

Surviving in a humanitarian disaster such as the COVID-19 pandemic is a big challenge for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in all industries. Furthermore, cultural and creative firms face additional challenges. Many of those firms have survived the effects of the pandemic by proposing redesigned business models that have brought new added value in response to environmental hostility; they have strategically responded to the crises by adapting their business model. According to the extant literature, in VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) environments, dynamic capabilities are developed to detect and seize new opportunities and reconfigure the company’s assets. However, in very hostile environments, such as the COVID-19 crisis, the dynamic capabilities approach fails to explain the firm owners’ strategic decisions. A cross-case comparative analysis of ten micro and small firms in Spain’s cultural and creative industries has been conducted to examine how enterprises adapted to the COVID-19 crisis and the different organizational capabilities they implemented. This work proposes a new framework that postulates that business model adaptation is better understood under the emergency management theory and improvisational capability, instead of only under the dynamic capabilities lens. Organizational proximity in the diffusion of innovations under the open innovation paradigm is also critical to understanding the business model adaptation. From an academic perspective, this article enriches the current understanding of business model asdaptation by micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in very hostile environments. The new framework intends to offer managers concrete guidelines about systematically adapting their business models in hostile situations.

A Comparative Policy for the COVID-19 Emergency Management of Frontline Health Workers in Selected African Countries

Health workers are often exposed to health risks and danger in the discharge of their duties. This is especially distressing during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study employs a multiple case study design to investigate the COVID-19 emergency management of frontline workers in South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria. The findings from the study reveal that governments in the selected countries prioritize the response phase of the emergency management theory over the mitigation and preparedness phases. The response phase was meted with inevitable consequences. Health workers feared risking their lives, and the majority threatened to abandon their jobs due to insufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) and welfare support. The study concludes that the government should prioritize all the phases of emergency management instead of focusing on the response phase, which involves the use of both human and financial resources on an overwhelming pandemic. They should have prepared the frontline workers adequately and equipped their health systems in preparation for any impending epidemic.

Applicability of emergency management theory in the management of Covid-19 health pandemic in Nigeria

Emergency has become a global reoccurrence and when it occurs in a country, the government usually adopt measures to curtail the negative effects of the phenomenon. COVID-19 as the present global emergency needs to be tackled with proper and effective management measures. The principles of Emergency Management Theory are among the global highly rated and most common measures used to tackle emergencies to achieve minimal effect on lives and economies. It is based on the above statements that this study examined the Application of the principles of Emergency Management Theory in the Federal Government of Nigeria‟s management of COVID-19 to ascertain the extent the Federal Government is utilizing the theory‟s principles in its fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria. The study utilized the secondary method of data collection and used observations and documents as its tools of evaluation. The study found that the principles of Emergency Management Theory have been applied by the Federal Government in the management of COVID-19 in Nigeria. The study concludes that the application of the principles Emergency Management Theory in the management of COVID-19 has greatly enhanced Government‟s efforts in the fight against the disease in Nigeria. To improve on emergency management in Nigeria, the study recommended that: Individual researchers and research institutes be supported to develop more proactive ways of dealing with emergencies in the country and Nigerians should all be re-orientated and sensitized on how to prevent, respond and deal with emergencies.

Understanding the challenges of e-learning during the global pandemic emergency: the students’ perspective

PurposeThis study aims to debate and highlight the challenges faced by university students regarding e-learning during the global pandemic emergency. Furthermore, it sketches the solutions of e-learning using a theoretical lens of emergency management theory (EMT). Finally, the study argues a case for improvement in existing e-learning systems to enable higher education systems, particularly in a developing country, to recover the losses and increase education quality.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research design and phenomenology research approach were applied to conduct the current study. A total of 10 in-depth online interviews were recorded from students studying in Pakistan and the UK. Verbatim transcriptions were analysed using the reflexive thematic analysis approach.FindingsThe current study results explained in detail the numerous challenges, including lack of preparedness (students and institutions), low quality of interaction, lack of motivation, lack of class activities and forceful adoption of e-learning. Alternatively, few opportunities also emerged through a set of suggestions such as a comprehensive emergency management plan, introduction of strong student counselling programmes and a strategic plan for quality of online learning content.Originality/valueThis study’s contribution stands out in crucial times of the global pandemic. EMT is applied to understand the different dimensions of preparedness, response, mitigation and recovery from a students’ perspective. Furthermore, considering students as important members of higher education institutions and understanding students’ opinions regarding quality assurance during the global pandemic was imperative.

Foundations of the Theory of Emergency Situations

The basic terms underlying the theory of emergency management are analyzed. The advantages and disadvantages of official definitions are considered, in particular, the data in the law of 21.12.1994 No. 68-FZ (Federal Law), in GOST (State Standard) R 22.0.02-2016, as well as in the number of authoritative foreign sources (Webster's dictionary, encyclopedia Britannica, Cambridge dictionary, Oxford dictionary, documents of the European Commission, etc.). The consequences of the legislative definition of an emergency in No. 68-FZ are investigated. The etymological, epistemological and gnoseological basis of the concepts of emergency, safety and danger, risk and uncertainty are analyzed. There is a great deal of variation in the interpretation of the concepts of safety and danger in sources of different origin and the illegality of mixing or substituting these concepts.

Hotspot Discovery in the Field of Emergency Management

[Purpose/Significance] Real time analysis and mining of hot spots and the research trends of domestic scholars in the field of emergency management are the basic work to promote the theory and application of emergency management. [Methods/Process] Using the Bibliometrics method and CiteSpace visual analysis tool, the key words of 1619 domestic emergency management documents from 2013 to 2019 were mapped and clustered to identify the hot spots of emergency management research; Through the co-occurrence matrix and similarity matrix of high-frequency keywords, the research trend of emergency management is further explored; [Results/Conclusions] The research results show that the research focus of domestic emergency management mainly focuses on 21 topics, such as public opinion management and control, emergency coordination, emergency network and system optimization, emergency resource capacity reserve, disaster risk assessment etc.

Revelation of Wuhan City’s Response to COVID-19 Pandemic on Urban Resilience Enhancement

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant economic and social impacts worldwide and revealed the importance and urgency of urban resilience enhancement. To learn the lessons from this pandemic, this study undertook a case study in Wuhan City, which was the first city in China where the outbreak was declared, and analyzed the process of its response to the pandemic. Based on the theory of emergency management, this study identified four stages of the emergency management process and conducted an in-depth analysis of the experience gained at each stage from the perspective of urban resilience. Then, this study evaluated the level of urban resilience of Wuhan City, and put forward suggestions for enhancement of the emergency system of China. The findings provided important revelation for other cities to cope with major disasters in the future.

Collective action during the Covid-19 pandemic: The case of Germany’s fragmented authority

Countering the calls for more centralized public decision-making and unified command-and-control administration, we show how fragmented authority can foster collective action to mount an effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic. To this aim, we use a conceptual framework that integrates emergency management and political economic theory and provide several examples to illustrate how public and private actors in Germany met the challenges of the pandemic with coordinated, cooperative, and collaborative action. The motivational, strategic, and structural solutions we identify in this research offer to scholars and practitioners insight into the design of resilient public health systems.

Research on the Participation Mechanism of Social Rescue Organizations

In order to study the participation mechanism of social rescue organizations, this article chooses the social rescue organization which is more mature in China—Rescue Team of Ramunion in Zhejiang Province as a typical case. We use three methods, such as offline survey, software analysis and theoretical analysis to investigate the participation mechanism of social rescue organizations in disaster prevention, disaster reduction and disaster relief system. Then we analyzed the successful experiences and mechanism advantages of Rescue Team of Ramunion. We constructed a conceptual model of social rescue organization participation governance based on grounded theory. Finally, on the basis of summing up the conclusions of the study, we put forward countermeasures and suggestions to improve the participation mechanism of social rescue organizations. All of these countermeasures can provide policy reference for promoting the innovation of the theory and practice of emergency management with Chinese characteristics and promoting the modernization of the national governance system.

Influencing factors and mechanisms of inter-organization collaboration obstacles in emergency rescue for urban rail transit

The characteristics of urban rail transit emergencies include fast diffusion, wide-ranging influence and difficult handling. They require the coordination of multiple organizations. Previous studies have shown that the inter-organization collaboration efficiency is low. This article takes the subject of urban rail transit emergencies and studies the factors that influence inter-organization collaboration obstacles in emergency rescues, trying to reveal the formation path of inter-organization emergency collaboration obstacles. The 25 factors that influence inter-organization collaboration obstacles, which are determined using interviews and a survey, are grouped into five major elements (emergency organization obstacles, emergency information obstacles, emergency resource obstacles, emergency plan obstacles and emergency command obstacles). A hypothesis model of the relationship among these factors is established based on emergency management theory and organization collaboration theory, and then empirical research is conducted using a structural equation model combined with large-scale questionnaires. Then the dynamic causal model of inter-organization collaboration obstacles is established through system dynamics to explore the formation mechanism of such obstacles. The results indicate that the five elements interact with each other, and that eliminating these obstacles, especially those in the emergency organization obstacles and emergency plan obstacles groups, is essential for improving the efficiency of emergency command and inter-organization collaboration.