Incident Management Systems used in New Zealand have their origins in the fire-fighting organisations of the United States of America in the 1970’s. They began in an atmosphere of disciplined quasi-military emergency response organizations. Emergency management research, theory and practice have since evolved to incorporate comprehensive facets acknowledging disasters are about people, individually and collectively and their environment. Emergency Management now includes addressing psycho-social aspects. New Zealand emergency services adopted the Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) as a result of a requirement following the Cave Creek disaster of 1995, where a multi- agency response to the event was found to be unsatisfactorily managed. Emergency management in the modern era now requires the orchestration of many and varied agencies and organisations including government and non-government organisations. These organisations are not necessarily suited to command type management styles and during a recovery phase of an incident, an approach involving a coordination style is more appropriate than a command style. An examination of the 2004 eastern Bay of Plenty flood event highlights that improved coordination by using a suitable incident management system benefits the response and recovery process. The Eastern Bay of Plenty community has social and cultural characteristics that impact on the effectiveness of emergency management outcomes. An incident management system that improves communication within the multi-agency organisation and between an emergency management organisation and the disaster-affected communities contributes to overall trauma reduction by stress reduction and facilitating early support and interventions. This allows where necessary, for modern emergency management to use systems that can utilise the unique community cultures, structures and networks that form the dynamic communities that they serve. If disasters magnify pre-existing social and community problems then the incident management system model used in a disaster can determine the degree of magnification.

Incident Management Systems used in New Zealand have their origins in the fire-fighting organisations of the United States of America in the 1970’s. They began in an atmosphere of disciplined quasi-military emergency response organizations. Emergency management research, theory and practice have since evolved to incorporate comprehensive facets acknowledging disasters are about people, individually and collectively and their environment. Emergency Management now includes addressing psycho-social aspects. New Zealand emergency services adopted the Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) as a result of a requirement following the Cave Creek disaster of 1995, where a multi- agency response to the event was found to be unsatisfactorily managed. Emergency management in the modern era now requires the orchestration of many and varied agencies and organisations including government and non-government organisations. These organisations are not necessarily suited to command type management styles and during a recovery phase of an incident, an approach involving a coordination style is more appropriate than a command style. An examination of the 2004 eastern Bay of Plenty flood event highlights that improved coordination by using a suitable incident management system benefits the response and recovery process. The Eastern Bay of Plenty community has social and cultural characteristics that impact on the effectiveness of emergency management outcomes. An incident management system that improves communication within the multi-agency organisation and between an emergency management organisation and the disaster-affected communities contributes to overall trauma reduction by stress reduction and facilitating early support and interventions. This allows where necessary, for modern emergency management to use systems that can utilise the unique community cultures, structures and networks that form the dynamic communities that they serve. If disasters magnify pre-existing social and community problems then the incident management system model used in a disaster can determine the degree of magnification.

Incident Management Systems used in New Zealand have their origins in the fire-fighting organisations of the United States of America in the 1970’s. They began in an atmosphere of disciplined quasi-military emergency response organizations. Emergency management research, theory and practice have since evolved to incorporate comprehensive facets acknowledging disasters are about people, individually and collectively and their environment. Emergency Management now includes addressing psycho-social aspects. New Zealand emergency services adopted the Coordinated Incident Management System (CIMS) as a result of a requirement following the Cave Creek disaster of 1995, where a multi- agency response to the event was found to be unsatisfactorily managed. Emergency management in the modern era now requires the orchestration of many and varied agencies and organisations including government and non-government organisations. These organisations are not necessarily suited to command type management styles and during a recovery phase of an incident, an approach involving a coordination style is more appropriate than a command style. An examination of the 2004 eastern Bay of Plenty flood event highlights that improved coordination by using a suitable incident management system benefits the response and recovery process. The Eastern Bay of Plenty community has social and cultural characteristics that impact on the effectiveness of emergency management outcomes. An incident management system that improves communication within the multi-agency organisation and between an emergency management organisation and the disaster-affected communities contributes to overall trauma reduction by stress reduction and facilitating early support and interventions. This allows where necessary, for modern emergency management to use systems that can utilise the unique community cultures, structures and networks that form the dynamic communities that they serve. If disasters magnify pre-existing social and community problems then the incident management system model used in a disaster can determine the degree of magnification.

Thesis (M.S.)--Florida State University, 2005. / Advisor: Dr. Bruce A. Harvey, Florida State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 10, 2005). Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 73 pages. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (LL.M.)--George Washington University, 2006. / Title from title screen (viewed Dec. 29, 2006). "ADA454285"--URL. Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in paper format.

This study investigates the temporal, spatial and impact characteristics of severe convective storm hazard and risk in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Using historical data on severe convective storms dating from 1897, patterns of the hazard threat and risk to various geographic populations were investigated. A conceptual framework that emphasises the combined role hazard and vulnerability play in defining risk was used for the study. A methodology for ranking the severity of the storms in the historical dataset, based on recorded damage/impact, was specifically developed for the study. It is intended that this methodology will have a potentially wider application and may be adapted to a range of hazard impact and risk studies in South Africa and internationally. The study was undertaken within the context of the South African Disaster Management Act of 2002. Findings of the study show that severe convective storms can occur throughout the province, but there are clearly demarcated areas of higher frequency and concentration. The impact of storms is particularly severe on impoverished and vulnerable rural populations in the eastern parts of the province, where there is an urgent need for building capacity in disaster risk management. A major outcome of the study is the production of a severe convective storm hazard/risk map of the Eastern Cape, which it is hoped will be of benefit to a number of stakeholders in the province, particularly disaster management, but also the South African Weather Service, agricultural organisations, development/planning authorities, educational authorities and risk insurers. It is hoped that this map and the study in general will assist in guiding the operational responses of the various authorities, especially in terms of those interventions aimed at disaster risk reduction in the Eastern Cape.

The world has experienced multiple disasters in recent years that have highlighted the importance of effective disaster preparedness and response initiatives. One prominent example is the January 12, 2010, 7.0 magnitude earthquake that shook Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The massive disaster made it difficult for local Haitian community officials to respond immediately, leaving the country reliant on foreign aid and international and non-governmental relief organizations. Within days, hundreds of organizations and volunteers mobilized to send physicians and medical specialists, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists and social workers to the affected area. However, the political and financial instability of Haiti, in conjunction with limited resources and severe destruction from the earthquake, made it difficult to coordinate response efforts between hundreds of responding organizations. The literature indicates that when health professionals are disorganized and unprepared, they are at risk physically, emotionally and mentally which could hinder their effectiveness as first responders. While these risks have been made known, there is little literature that explores the effectiveness of the supports, as perceived by Canadian health and social service providers in Haiti. In order to address this gap, this qualitative study explores various supports that were available to health and social service providers in Haiti by focusing on their lived experiences pre-deployment, on-site and post-deployment. These findings provide evidence to inform policy development regarding future disaster relief and the supports available to health and social service workers assisting with international disaster response.

Humanitarian aid and disaster relief are delivered in times of crises or natural disasters, such as after a conflict or in response to a hurricane, typhoon, or tsunami. Different from regular aid programs, aid and relief are provided to deal with emergency and immediate local areas, and to shelter affected people and refugees impacted by sudden traumatic events. There is evidence that natural and man-made disasters are increasing in numbers all around the world, affecting hundreds of millions of people every year. In spite of this fact, only in recent years – beginning in 2005 – has management of the supply chain of resources and materials for humanitarian aid and disaster relief been a topic of interest for researchers. Consequently, the academic literature in this field is comparatively new and still sparse, indicating a requirement for more academic studies. As a key part of the C-Change International Community-University Research Alliance (ICURA) project for managing adaptation to environmental change in coastal communities of Canada and the Caribbean, this thesis develops a framework and analytical model for domestic supply chain management in humanitarian aid and disaster relief in the event of severe storm and flooding in the Canadian C-Change community of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In particular, the focus includes quantitative modeling of two specific aspects during the preparedness phase for emergency management: (1) inventory prepositioning and (2) transportation planning. In addition, this thesis proposes and analyses the characteristics of an effective supply chain management framework in practice to assist Canadian coastal communities in improving their preparation and performance in disaster relief efforts. The results indicate Charlottetown system effectiveness and decreased time to assist affected people are improved by distributing central emergency supply among more than one base station.

Canada coordinates its responses to natural disasters abroad through implementing its ‘whole-of-government’ policy framework. The two largest natural disasters that struck in 2010 were the January earthquake in Haiti and the flooding in Pakistan seven months later. In contrast to the fast and robust earthquake relief provided to Haiti, Canada’s response to the Pakistan floods was minimal, especially when considering the extent of damage sustained. This dissertation applies a public administration lens to trace factors that led to the Government of Canada’s 2010 disaster-relief decisions. It develops a multi-level theoretical framework to holistically explore the role of problem-definition in shaping decision-making. It applies historical institutionalism at the macro level; recognizes the role of case-specific details and arenas at the meso level; and uses the logic of appropriateness to identify informal institutions affecting individual action at the micro level. Analysis of interviews, government documents and media coverage indicates that bureaucratic actors involved in the whole-of-government approach recognize that their role is ultimately removed from final disaster-relief decisions. There is an informal acceptance that political will, more than needs in the disaster-affected region, shapes implementation decisions. Consequently, technical assessment is inadvertently affected, and recommendations reflect what is deemed most in line with ministerial disposition to assist. The primary motivators for Government of Canada action are found to be the gaining of public support or the need to subdue targeted criticisms. Findings indicate that as a result of its media appeal, there was a strong incentive for the deployment of military assets in response to the earthquake in Haiti, even when doing so was not in the best interest of the affected region. Where Canada could respond only with non-military means, there was less incentive for action. This leads to supply-driven relief rather than a needs-based humanitarian response. With the developed theoretical framework, process-mapping and media analysis methodologies, and the actor-centred approach adopted, the dissertation makes theoretical and empirical contributions to existing public administration literature on decision-making and problem definition. It also presents a hitherto unexplored perspective on donor behaviour for consideration by international relations and development scholars.

The December 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami wrecked thousands of lives, homes, and livelihoods - losses that could have been avoided with timely and better information. A resource such as information is needed at a fundamental level much like water, food, medicine, or shelter. This dissertation examines the development of the Thai information society, in terms of the share of information workforce and the level of diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as, the role of the Thai information society in response to the tsunami disaster. The study combined the historical and political economy analyses in explaining factors influencing the growth of information workforce and the development of ICT in Thailand. Interviews conducted in 2007-08 revealed the Thai information society responded to the 2004 Tsunami - the first global internet-mediated natural disaster - in two areas: on-site assistance in collecting and recording identification information of tsunami disaster victims and on-line dissemination of disaster relief information. The effectiveness of ICT institutions in providing the tsunami disaster relief efforts and increasing the development of the information society were assessed using statistical procedures analyzing the perceptions of the Internet-based survey respondents. The disaster effects on survey respondents were also assessed. The study's findings include: (1) the Thai information sector development pattern confirmed a key difference between development patterns of information sectors in developed and developing countries, (2) the increasing number of Thai information workers was due more to the expansion of government than the expansion in the manufacturing and service sectors during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, (3) Thailand's expansion of ICT infrastructure was influenced not only on the basis of economic profitability but also by political desirability, and (4) volunteers were crucial in humanitarian aid and disaster relief.