Emergency Management Research Articles

Navigating wicked problems: the unrecognised contribution of social pedagogy to Aotearoa New Zealand’s successful Covid-19 response

Aotearoa New Zealand’s government, alongside its Indigenous Māori and Pacific communities, spearheaded a unique and effective response to the first three years of the Covid-19 crisis that swept the world. The measures taken enabled the country to largely keep its society within its borders open and functional, minimise the impact of the pandemic on individual lives and community well-being and keep morbidity rates low. While there have been numerous studies and articles exploring this national response, to this point no examination has been undertaken through a social pedagogical lens. This article identifies key concepts from the discipline that are relevant to Aotearoa New Zealand’s context, discusses the ways in which these were (albeit unknowingly) applied during the peak of the pandemic and explores future potential for application in social and public health policy and practice. Weaving together a shared framework of Māori, Pacific and unique Aotearoa New Zealand world views and cultural practices alongside the principles of social pedagogy presents an exciting opportunity to shape a national crisis response that is effective and meets the needs of diverse communities. It is argued that making the contribution of social pedagogy visible has the potential to enhance responses to wicked problems in times of crisis and further the acceptance of the discipline in the southern hemisphere.

Navigating Diverse Agency Priorities in Emergency Management: A Framework for Hazard Mitigation

Navigating Diverse Agency Priorities in Emergency Management: A Framework for Hazard Mitigation

Policy Note: Special Taxes for Special Times? A Critical Analysis of Fiscal Crisis Responses with an Earmarking Feature in the Context of EU Law

Do special times require special taxes? The answer may not be the same from a legal, political, or economic perspective. One type of answer that legislators in Europe – both on the national and the supranational level – have given to the crises that make our times special are fiscal measures targeting extraordinary profits, revenues, or even assets while reserving the collected revenue for specific purposes. This article discusses the arguments for and against such earmarked crisis response measures in the context of their implications in the framework of EU law. It argues that specific earmarks may be attractive for reasons of political psychology such as health expenditure or inflation relief for households and firms. However, they may have unintended legal consequences by putting the respective measure into the scope of other legal regimes such as social security or banking regulation. The article contributes to the current debate about appropriate fiscal measures in times of crisis by pointing to examples of such direct and indirect interactions with primary or secondary EU law based on earmarking.

Climate change, climate disasters and oncology care: a descriptive global survey of oncology healthcare professionals.

Climate disasters and climate change have implications for healthcare globally. As the number and intensity of climate disasters increase, it is important to understand the effects on healthcare. We conducted a global survey of oncology healthcare providers to identify awareness, experiences, and educational needs related to climate change. An existing climate and health survey was adapted to oncology. This IRB- approved, 30-item survey measured demographics, climate disaster awareness, effects on cancer care and educational needs. Healthcare professionals employed in oncology settings (practice, research, or academic) were eligible. The survey was disseminated via social media and professional organizations. Descriptive statistics were computed using SPSS. 154 responses from 26 countries were received from nurses (56%), physicians (19%), and other healthcare professionals (25%). Common climate change-related events impacting oncology care were extreme heat (63.8%) and heavy rains (52.2%). Respondents reported their workplace has a disaster plan for climate-related weather events (50.4%) or has taken steps to prepare for a climate-related weather event (48.5%). Respondents were aware that the planet has warmed significantly (98.7%), that healthcare contributes to greenhouse gas emissions (98.6%) and reported wanting to learn more about how climate change affects cancer care (88.3%). Preferred educational modalities include webinars (69%), e-learning (55%), journal articles (48.3%), conferences (46.3%) and podcasts (38.9%). This global survey is the first to identify the awareness, experiences, and educational needs of oncology healthcare professionals related to climate change and climate disasters. Healthcare providers are positioned to take leadership roles related to climate and health.

A review of risk analysis and accident prevention of blowout events in offshore drilling operations

A review of risk analysis and accident prevention of blowout events in offshore drilling operations

Short-term inbound passenger flow prediction at high-speed railway stations considering the departure passenger arrival pattern

Accurate prediction of short-term inbound passenger flow at high-speed railway stations is of great significance for the refined operation of stations, the formulation of emergency plans, and the provision of intelligent services. The arrival of passengers traveling on the same train at the same station shows a similar pattern, which is called the departure passenger arrival pattern (DPAP). The short-term inbound passenger flow at the station is composed of the short-term inbound passenger flow of all waiting trains within the same period. Inspired by this, this paper develops an ensemble prediction model based on the time series decomposition modeling strategy to introduce the DPAP to the short-term inbound passenger flow prediction at stations. Firstly, we propose a new framework for studying the DPAP to calculate the fitted station short-term inbound passenger flow, which is only affected by the DPAP. During this process, we find that 7minutes is the optimal time granularity. Secondly, based on the singular spectrum analysis, we prove that the DPAP is the determining factor affecting the station short-term inbound passenger flow. Finally, we propose an ensemble prediction model that considers the DPAP to achieve short-term inbound passenger flow prediction at stations. The model consists of two parts: the deterministic and stochastic components prediction, where the former is predicted by the fitted station short-term inbound passenger flow, and the latter is achieved by the combination of historical stochastic components and weather type with the help of the Seq2Seq model based on time attention mechanism. Using real inbound passenger flow data, we compare the proposed model with 13 benchmark models and the results show that under different training and prediction steps, our model achieves optimal prediction performance, whether in all-day period and the busiest period of the station. Through further ablation experiments, it has been proven that the introduction of the DPAP effectively improves the prediction accuracy. Our model can provide scientific support for the intelligent operation of stations and the refined management of passenger flow.

Protecting nutrition in a food crisis.

Food insecurity and malnutrition are rising worldwide due to disruptions in food systems related to interconnected health-, climate- and conflict-related crises. Although governments globally are committed to addressing nutritional challenges, policy responses have increasingly focused on food security and, particularly, on food affordability. However, these short-term measures often overlook the necessity of integrating nutritious foods into the food system to ensure improved long-term nutrition. By drawing on the United Nations Committee on World Food Security's Voluntary guidelines on food systems and nutrition, this article outlines opportunities for policy-makers to integrate nutrition into key elements of the crisis response. Key policy areas where nutrition could be further integrated include social protection, agricultural investment, trade policy and urban planning. Strengthening the focus of nutrition in these measures will be essential to establish long-term incentives that support food systems transformation for improved nutrition. Drawing on theories of the policy process, I propose that stronger governance and cross-sectoral dialogue will be critical to achieve sustained nutritional outcomes. Health policy-makers can play a leadership role in supporting cross-sectoral policy change by carefully framing the policy issues, advocating for institutional structures that promote collaboration across sectors to prioritize nutrition, and strengthening the management of conflicts of interest in food system policy-making.

Social media‐enabled crisis response in Vietnam: A tương thân tương ái perspective

AbstractA growing amount of information systems (IS) research is examining the use of social media to enable effective crisis response. However, existing studies have overlooked the impact of indigenous concepts, which play an important role in crisis response. Our study intends to offer an indigenous perspective to this research stream by examining how social media‐enabled crisis response is enacted in Vietnam. We used COVID‐19 as the focal crisis and collected a rich set of discussion threads from social media. By analysing the data through the grounded theory method, our study identifies the indigenous theoretical concept of tương thân tương ái. We further unveil a process model consisting of six mechanisms through which tương thân tương ái inspires crisis response on social media and three roles assumed by social media during this process. Our study contributes to the literature on social media‐enabled crisis response by providing an indigenous perspective and a context‐specific explanation. It also enriches IS theory in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by investigating how the indigenous concept of tương thân tương ái influences Vietnam's crisis response on social media. Our findings also provide guidelines that can help communities beyond Vietnam to promote the values of tương thân tương ái during crisis response.

The Double Mediating Effect of Safety Motivation and Safety Behavior in the Relationship Between Construction Site Workers' Emotional Safety Culture Awareness and Accident Prevention

The Double Mediating Effect of Safety Motivation and Safety Behavior in the Relationship Between Construction Site Workers' Emotional Safety Culture Awareness and Accident Prevention

Archetypes and change in wildfire risk perceptions, behaviours and intentions among adults in Tasmania, Australia

Background Anthropogenic climate change globally increases wildfire risk. Understanding how wildfire threats impact community-wide risk perceptions and response options will critically inform resilience education strategies. Aim To gain an increased understanding of wildfire risk perceptions and self-evacuation intentions among residents in the wildfire-prone state of Tasmania, Australia. Methods We co-designed survey questions with stakeholders from emergency management, health and community recovery, using a computer-aided telephone interview to survey residents over 18 years of age. Numerical classification analysis, linear regression and descriptive statistics were used to analyse survey data. Results We identified four archetypes – the ‘immediate leaver’, ‘prepared stayer’, ‘unprepared leaver’ and ‘informed leaver’, each with distinct sociodemographic characteristics. Key variables were gender, age, location and income, with women most likely to leave and lower-income householders from rural areas most likely to stay. Previous wildfire experience and owning a home were significantly associated with increased preparedness actions. Compared to 2016, we found a significant increase in the proportion of residents intending to leave their property, with rural men least likely and urban women most likely to leave. Implications Recent education campaigns have likely driven increases in wildfire threat-related self-evacuation, yet the existence of distinct archetypes argues for more tailored messaging and education programs.

Accident Prevention System for Cars, Buses, Trucks

Driver drowsiness is a significant factor in road accidents, contributing to a large number of crashes annually. To enhance road safety, the development of a Drivers Drowsiness Detection System is essential. This system builds to detect early signs of lazyness in drivers and provide timely alerts to prevent accidents. The proposed system uses to track key indicators of drowsiness, such as eye closure, head position, yawning, and blink rate. By utilizing a camera-based real-time monitoring system, it continuously analyzes the driver’s facial expressions. The system employs cadcade algorithms to distinguish a featurebased object detection algorithm to detect objects from images between alert and drowsy states based on collected data. When drowsiness is detected, the system triggers alerts like audio warnings, seat vibrations, or even vehicle slowing mechanisms, depending on the integration. This technology has the potential to significantly reduce the number of road accidents related to driver fatigue and could be applied in both personal vehicles and commercial fleets. The implementation of such systems represents a critical step toward improving road safety and decreasing driver-related incidents. Nowadays it is very challenging to stay active all the time due to busy schedules. Falling asleep while driving can lead to serious consequences, accidents, and even death. This situation is much more common and therefore it is very important to solve this problem. So, to solve this problem, we developed a sleep alarm system for drivers. This system alerts the user when he falls asleep at the wheel, thus the main concern is preventing accidents and saving lives. This system is useful for long- distance travelers and late-night drivers.

Prioritization of Evaluation Items for Industrial Accident Prevention Factors Using the Fuzzy TOPSIS Technique

With the rapid progress of industrialization, serious accidents have frequently occurred at industrial sites. Despite the existence of several laws and regulations for preventing industrial accidents, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, social criticism has been raised regarding their inefficiency. To address this issue, the Serious Accident Punishment Act was implemented. The Ministry of Employment and Labor and the Korea Safety and Health Agency have prepared and implemented various industrial accident prevention measures and programs; however, the number of industrial accidents has not decreased. Therefore, new evaluation criteria must be introduced when establishing policies or systems to prevent industrial accidents. This study introduces evaluation items used in Europe and the United States as industrial accident prevention items for assessing industrial accident prevention projects and proposes a plan to select priorities for these items by applying the fuzzy TOPSIS technique. Prioritization was determined by calculating four evaluation criteria and ten industrial accident prevention items using a 7-point linguistic scale. Our results allow for the simultaneous consideration of several industrial accident prevention items. Thus, various aspects of industrial accident prevention activities can be comprehensively evaluated, enhancing the effectiveness and execution of safety and health management, thereby helping to reduce industrial accidents.

Непряма благотворительная помощь американских и российских организаций и частных лиц в пользу России в годы Первой мировой войны

In the article has been attempted to consider the history of distant relief from the American and Russian organizations and individuals in favor of Russian disadvantaged children and orphans, sick and wounded Russian soldiers during the World War I. At the moment, in the Russian and American historiography, humanitarian cooperation between Russia and the United States is presented very fragmentally and haphazardly, and this topic has not received the deserved attention of researchers at all. Consequently, the author has identified the following purpose of this article – to summarize and expand the available material about the American and Russian relief and humanitarian assistance, to identify the features, forms and instruments of its activities, as well as to draw a general conclusion about the scale and benefits of the aforementioned assistance to Russia during the European war. The article was written on the basis of materials from the American and Russian periodicals, published documents and archive sources stored in the funds of The Russian State Historical Archive, the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Archive of the Navy. As a result, the author concluded that this assistance was of a national coverage and was expressed by both temporary and permanent American relief organizations. Russian organizations, which were under the auspices of Russian diplomatic authorities in the United States, set goal to collect funds through various entertainment events. Nevertheless, these donations took a small part in solving the problem of shortage of sanitary property. In general, both sides engaged in charitable activities not only out of a sense of compassion and a sincere desire to provide all possible assistance, but also within the framework of public diplomacy aimed at creating a favorable image of their country and stimulating friendly relations between Russia and the United States.

Assessment and management of emergencies during haemodialysis.

The haemodialysis unit is a complex clinical environment. Medical emergencies complicating haemodialysis treatment are relatively infrequent but are associated with high morbidity and mortality. The management of intradialytic emergencies is challenging and relevant to the practice of all nephrology and critical care clinicians. There are no dedicated resuscitation guidelines for this unique patient population. This review article provides an outline of the assessment and treatment of important intradialytic emergencies(hypotension, hypertension, haemorrhage, hypoxia, neurologic disturbances, cardiac arrest) based on the best available evidence.

Reimagining crisis management with an organizational learning framework

AbstractTechnological advancements have altered the landscape of crisis management, making many crises potentially preventable and controllable. Moreover, these technological advancements have provided opportunities for organizations to implement an informed learning approach in crisis responses. The interconnectedness and complementary aspects of three theories within crisis management, including the situational crisis communication theory's base crisis response strategies, image repair theory's corrective action, and discourse of renewal theory's organizational learning, were assessed and integrated into a proposed framework for understanding a comprehensive approach to crisis management. In this research, technology is regarded as both an asset for facilitating organizational learning (e.g., informed decision‐making through data analytics), and a potential source of challenges in crisis communication (e.g., Zoombombing and negative social amplification). The proposed framework aims to bridge proactive risk and reactive crisis management efforts through organizational learning. Findings from this 4 × 2 between‐subjects experimental design study explore the effectiveness of organizational learning to address crisis responsibility in an evolving technological landscape.

Prevention of traffic accidents through the moral knowledge approach in upper secondary students

Road traffic accidents that are very high among students can be overcome by instilling Moral Knowledge or Moral Knowledge, which is an important thing to teach. If students already know morals, they will have moral awareness which will be embedded consistently between knowledge and actions (moral action). This type of research is qualitative descriptive, in-depth interviews and questionnaires carry out the data collection method. The results showed that students' moral knowledge related to traffic ethics on the road had not been fully formed. The stages that can be done in understanding moral knowledge in students to reduce the number of traffic accidents among students are moral awareness so that students can distinguish between right and wrong actions or perceptions, prohibitions and recommendations, and good or bad behavior. Second, character education to foster habits (Habitation) towards noble moral values. Third, moral action is to practice noble moral values in daily behavior.

Research on the Impact of Managers’ Safety Perception on Construction Workers’ Safety Behaviors

The construction industry is replete with significant safety risks, underscoring the necessity to comprehend the factors that shape workers’ safety behaviors for efficacious accident prevention. This study aims to investigate the impact of managers’ safety perception (MSP) on construction workers’ safety behaviors (WSBs), while also exploring the mediating roles of workers’ safety awareness (WSA) and workers’ safety competency (WSC). Utilizing a structural equation model (SEM), data were collected from 248 construction workers through a validated questionnaire. The findings indicate that MSP has a direct influence on WSBs (mean effect size = 0.065, p < 0.01) and an indirect effect on WSBs through enhanced WSA (effect size = 0.386, p < 0.01) and WSC (effect size = 0.392, p < 0.01). This research makes a contribution to the existing literature in several ways. First, it introduces a new measurement scale for MSP. Second, it highlights the direct and indirect effects on WSBs. Third, it emphasizes the importance of fostering safety awareness and competency among workers. In addition, the study offers practical implications for construction managers seeking to improve safety outcomes on-site.

A Cloud Infrastructure for Health Monitoring in Emergency Response Scenarios

Wearable devices have a significant impact on society, and recent advancements in modern sensor technologies are opening up new possibilities for healthcare applications. Continuous vital sign monitoring using Internet of Things solutions can be a crucial tool for emergency management, reducing risks in rescue operations and ensuring the safety of workers. The massive amounts of data, high network traffic, and computational demands of a typical monitoring application can be challenging to manage with traditional infrastructure. Cloud computing provides a solution with its built-in resilience and elasticity capabilities. This study presents a Cloud-based monitoring architecture for remote vital sign tracking of paramedics and medical workers through the use of a mobile wearable device. The system monitors vital signs such as electrocardiograms and breathing patterns during work sessions, and it is able to manage real-time alarm events to a personnel management center. In this study, 900 paramedics and emergency workers were monitored using wearable devices over a period of 12 months. Data from these devices were collected, processed via Cloud infrastructure, and analyzed to assess the system’s reliability and scalability. The results showed a significant improvement in worker safety and operational efficiency. This study demonstrates the potential of Cloud-based systems and Internet of Things devices in enhancing emergency response efforts.

Factors Influencing the Skill Level of Primary Healthcare Workers in Managing Paediatric Emergencies

Paediatric emergencies continue to be a significant public health concern in Nigeria, particularly in rural areas where primary healthcare centers (PHCs) often serve as the sole source of medical care. The ability of healthcare workers in these settings to effectively manage paediatric emergencies is crucial for improving child health outcomes. This study aimed to assess the factors influencing the skill level of primary healthcare workers in managing paediatric emergencies in Zaria, Nigeria. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 139 randomly selected healthcare workers in Sabon Gari and Zaria Local Government Areas. A pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, work experience, and skills in managing paediatric emergencies. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. The results revealed that healthcare workers in PHCs in Zaria exhibited varying levels of skills in managing paediatric emergencies. Several factors were identified as influencing their skill levels. Healthcare workers with higher academic qualifications demonstrated significantly better skills in managing paediatric emergencies. This suggests that formal education plays a crucial role in developing the necessary competencies. While experience can be a valuable asset, the study did not find a strong association between years of experience and skill levels. This may indicate that experience alone is not sufficient for developing the necessary skills, and additional training and support may be required. Healthcare workers who had received recent training or participated in continuing medical education (CME) programs related to paediatric emergency management tended to have higher skill levels. This highlights the importance of ongoing professional development in maintaining and improving skills. The findings of this study suggest that a combination of factors influences the skill level of primary healthcare workers in managing paediatric emergencies. While academic qualifications are important, ongoing training and access to resources are also essential. It is crucial to address these factors through targeted interventions to improve the skills of healthcare workers and enhance the quality of care provided to children in need. This study highlights the critical need for targeted interventions to improve the skills of primary healthcare workers in managing paediatric emergencies in Zaria, Nigeria. By addressing factors such as academic qualifications, training, resource availability, and work environment, policymakers and healthcare providers can significantly enhance the quality of care provided to children in need.

Colon Cancer With Bladder Invasion: A Single Center Experience.

The aim of our study was to investigate the outcome of colon cancer with bladder invasion after surgical intervention. Between 2011 and 2022, a total of 41 patients diagnosed with colon cancer and bladder invasion underwent surgical procedures at Taichung Veterans General Hospital. The impact of various risk factors on overall survival (OS) was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analyses and Cox proportional hazards models. Among the enrolled patients, 21 underwent radical cystectomy, while 20 underwent partial cystectomy. Twelve had tumors located in the rectum, 19 in the sigmoid colon, and 10 in both the rectum and sigmoid colon. The median OS was 71.8 months in stage 2, 50.8 months in stage 3, and 11.2 months in stage 4 (p=0.061). Median OS was 71.8 months in patients with negative surgical margins and 10.5 months in those with positive surgical margins (p=0.003). In multivariate regression analysis, positive surgical margins [hazard ratio (HR)=3.64, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.28-10.34, p=0.015] and emergency operations (HR=4.57, 95%CI=1.34-15.55, p=0.015) significantly impacted OS. Complete resection of colon cancer with bladder invasion can yield excellent oncologic outcomes. The decision between partial and radical cystectomy should balance surgical margin clearance and the preservation of quality of life. Both surgical margin involvement and emergency operations are independent risk factors for OS.