Naturally-occurring and technology-based hazards affect public health and safety to varying degrees. Naturally-occurring hazards include weather-related events and infectious disease epidemics/pandemics. Examples of technology-based hazards include hazardous materials incidents and electrical power outages. Due to limited resources, emergency planners have to prioritize hazards that may affect local jurisdictions. The purpose of the reported study was to construct a hierarchy of public safety hazards at the county and district levels to aid emergency planners. Public safety representatives from Indiana's District 6 region completed a survey, based on the Oregon Emergency Management Hazard Analysis Methodology, which assigns numerical scores to various hazard categories based on history, vulnerability, maximum potential, and probability of occurrence within a given jurisdiction. Participants also completed an open-ended question, in narrative form, to describe any additional hazards that may affect their jurisdiction. Significant differences were found in point totals for various hazards (p = .000). Significant differences were found among public safety disciplines in rating the infectious disease hazard (p = .02). No significant differences were found in point totals between naturally-occurring and technology-based hazards (p = .86). Overall, a high level of agreement between disciplines on rating hazards, and significant differences between hazard categories suggests that hazard category prioritization is warranted. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

In South Africa, January 2011 was characterised by above average rainfall which resulted in many provinces being flooded. On the 17th of January 2011, the government of South Africa declared the City of Tshwane a National Disaster Area. It is in the city of Tshwane where a hotel was flooded causing great damage and disruption to the lives of the hotel workers. Given the lack of existing research focusing on the social dimensions of natural disasters, this provided an opportunity to study the social impact of the flood on the community of hotel workers at a Pretoria hotel. Four sub-aims were set for the study, which involved an exploration of the strengths that were exhibited, discovered or developed as a result of the flood; investigating the subjective experiences in relation to the flood; exploring the interactional patterns and relationships of the hotel workers; as well as investigating how the leadership of the hotel impacted on the manner in which the hotel workers dealt with the flood. A qualitative methodology, guided by a social constructivist epistemology was adopted as basis for the study. Data was gathered by means of individual semi-structured interviews, semi-structured questionnaires, and a focus group interview with a number of employees at the hotel. The data was subjected to qualitative content and grounded theoretical analysis. Five main themes emerged from the analysis, which include: Emotional responses, which included negative emotions such as shock, fear, frustration and anger, as well as positive emotions such as happiness and appreciation; a variety of interactional patterns and relationships; increased cohesiveness; enhanced leadership, and the development of group resilience. / MA, Medical Sociology, North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2012

The power of natural disasters to significantly and drastically alter the lives of the people they touch is vast, and the response rate of the provided aid can be the difference between a successful recovery and not. This study examines the relationship between natural disasters and volunteerism. The analysis makes use of panel data measurements on volunteer rate and volunteer hours per resident as well as FEMA measurements of major natural disasters from 2005 – 2012. I find that states that experience a natural disaster in the current year experience a significant and positive increase in volunteer rate in the year following the disaster. The findings highlight the importance of policy focused on harnessing volunteer labor in the wake of natural disasters.

Thesis (LL. M)--University of Toronto, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2009. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-117). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.C.R.P.)--California Polytechnic State University, 2009. / Mode of access: Internet. Title from PDF title page; viewed on July 10, 2009. Major professor: Dr. Michael Boswell. "Presented to the faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo." "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree [of] Master of City and Regional Planning." "June 2009." Includes bibliographical references (p. 66).

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Canterbury, 2008. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 156-162). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Liberty University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Southern Mississippi, 2004. / Title from title screen. "December 2004." Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation (PhD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Also available via the Internet. Bibliography.