scholarly journals Citizen Engagement Challenges in Urban Disaster Management Programs with Special Reference to Fire, Waterlogging and Pandemics

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-74
Author(s):  
Kazi Nazmul Huda ◽  
M. Jamir Uddin ◽  
Moslehuddin Chowdhury Khaled

The main objective of this study is to explore the challenges of engaging citizens in urban disaster management (UDM) in the urban fire, waterlogging, and pandemic like COVID 19. A qualitative research approach, mainly in-depth interview method was applied to gain insights from different government officials of civil defense, police force, and ward councilors of Dhaka and Chattogram City Corporations, who were experienced in working at the field level UDM. The study tried to investigate the challenges faced by the officials during disaster rescue operations with special reference to the role of urban citizens. The findings of the study capture, in detail, the challenges faced by different personnel involved in UDM operations. While citizen engagement is expected to be a positive notion, in most cases, citizens themselves become the main obstacle of disaster management, due to their ignorance, negligence, and lack of patience in the given disastrous and pandemic situation, and thus, hinders UDM operations and crisis management. The lessons learned from contemporary urban disasters like fire and the COVID 19 pandemic are recorded elaborately. Based on that, different recommendations are made to ensure the active engagement of citizens to facilitate UDM activities in an orderly manner.   

Author(s):  
M. Shaikh ◽  
C. Bean ◽  
L. Bergholz ◽  
M. Rojas ◽  
M. Ali ◽  
...  

AbstractThere is a pressing need to equip youth-serving community organizations to respond to the unique needs of trauma-exposed children. Early prevention measures can be an effective means of redirecting children to self-regulatory healing, while facilitating their transition toward strength-based thriving. Sport can offer a powerful opportunity to reach these children; however there remains little information on how to effectively develop, deliver, evaluate, and sustain trauma-sensitive sport programs in a community context. The purpose of this paper is to outline a case study of integrating sport-based trauma-sensitive practices with BGC Canada’s national Bounce Back League program. An interdisciplinary partnership of academic, community, and practice experts used a community-based participatory action research approach, paired with a knowledge translational approach, to guide the process of program development. Mixed methods (e.g., surveys, logbooks, interviews, focus groups, online communications) were used to generate ongoing insights of staff’s training experiences, successes and challenges of program implementation, and potential impact of program on club members. Several stages of program development are described, including: (a) collaboratively planning the program; (b) piloting the program to three clubs; (c) adapting the program using pilot insights; (d) expanding the adapted program to ten clubs; and (e) creating opportunities to maintain, sustain, and scale-out practices throughout grant duration and beyond. Lessons learned regarding the leadership team’s experiences in terms of developing, adapting, and integrating trauma-sensitive practices in this community context are shared.


2021 ◽  
pp. 107780122110211
Author(s):  
Arabella Castro ◽  
Marisol Lila ◽  
Enrique Gracia ◽  
Maria Wemrell

The aim of this study was to understand the reasons why Spain has one of the lowest prevalence rates of intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) in the European Union. Using a qualitative and inductive research approach, a total of five focus groups ( n = 19) and 10 unstructured interviews with key informants were conducted. Three main categories were identified as possible explanations of the relatively low prevalence of IPVAW in Spain: law and policy, social awareness, and cultural patterns. Lessons learned and implications to improve future macrolevel intervention and prevention strategies are discussed.


2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-69
Author(s):  
Sisi Zlatanova ◽  
Peter van Oosterom ◽  
Edward Verbree

Within the management of urban disasters, geo-information systems (GIS) are used in any of the phases of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery as most of the required data have a spatial component. Examples of GIS-based decision support systems on mitigation are found in simulation models of floods and earthquakes. In the preparation phase all kinds of spatial observations and models can be used to predict which areas will be threatened. To prepare for adequately responding in case of an actual disaster, these systems are capable of developing realistic scenarios that are used within training and virtual reality (VR) systems. During the actual response phase geo-information is used intensively: for getting an impression of the environment, for routing, for obtaining up-to-date information about the actual situation, etc. In the recovery phase, there is often a high public and political interest to judge the situation - comparing the pre- and post-disaster situation - and to set priorities for the rebuilding. Despite this potential of GIS-based support for urban disaster management, the use of these systems or even the utilisation of geo-information itself is still very limited in countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The emergency management is usually done with paper maps that are seldom up-to-date. Useful systems to support decision makers in any of the phases of disaster management are nearly completely lacking. To improve the work of decision makers and rescue teams, different premises have to be archived in relation to: meta-information to provide insight on the availability and usefulness of the geo-information itself, the technical equipment of the rescue teams (i.e. communication devices and field computers), and the up-to-date information from the affected areas (images, observations, reports). This paper suggests a framework for “urban and urgent” disaster management to facilitate the work of police forces, fire departments, ambulances and government coordinators in disaster situations by extending and improving the utilisation of geo-information. Within a pre-disaster situation, geo-information support management further can assist planning for prevention and mitigation.


Author(s):  
Dejo Olowu

At the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, Hyogo, Japan, in January 2005, the international community adopted a 10-year plan to make the world safer from disasters. The resultant Hyogo Framework for Action is the global blueprint for disaster risk reduction with the goal of substantially reducing disaster losses in human lives and socio-economic assets. What is the signi!cance of the HFA for the adoption of disaster prevention, management and risk reduction frameworks in African States? Since 2005, what has been the attitude of African States to the promise of the HFA? In terms of policy and planning, how should African States engage the HFA towards securing human lives and properties against natural and human-induced disasters? With the myriad challenges of mass poverty and underdevelopment across Africa, what implications does the HFA hold for disaster risk reduction and management in African States? This article attempts to address this plethora of questions, drawing on lessons learned in Africa and beyond. The article examines the background of the HFA and its progress in shaping the global policy agenda towards disaster management and reduction. While the article acknowledges some of the inherent weaknesses in the promise of the HFA, it nonetheless accentuates its inimitable implications for broad legal and policy strategies towards ameliorating the usual horrific aftermath of disasters in Africa.


2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 781-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn M. Tucker ◽  
Jaime L. Williams ◽  
Julia Roncoroni ◽  
Martin Heesacker

Significant health disparities continue to plague many groups of people who have been systematically oppressed and largely unrepresented in health research. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is a collaborative research approach that has been shown to be effective in addressing health disparities; a community–university partnership approach can be used to conduct this research. Counseling psychologists are well suited to establish and lead CBPR partnerships, yet there is a paucity of research to guide them in utilizing effective leadership approaches when conducting CBPR for reducing health disparities. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to (a) review existing leadership models applicable to conducting CBPR; (b) identify guiding principles of socially just leadership that emerged from the aforementioned review; (c) offer an example of how the guiding principles were used in a community–university partnership, highlighting challenges, solutions, and lessons learned; and (d) discuss the benefits of socially just leadership for counseling psychologists.


Complexity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Dan Su ◽  
Xiaokang Lei ◽  
Yongming Wang ◽  
Haijun Wang

This paper analyzes the formation mechanism of urban hazard chains. The results demonstrate that the complex interaction between the disaster-bearing bodies under the action of disaster-causing factors is the direct cause of urban hazard chains. The analysis of the energy effects of urban hazard chains shows that the coupling of the excitation energy released by the causative agent and the energy of the disaster-bearing bodies is the fundamental cause of urban hazard chains. Based on the description of the dynamical mechanism of the urban disaster chain system, this paper first sets up a disaster scenario and considers the effect of the time lag to establish a system dynamics model of the urban disaster chain and urban disaster management. The model of urban disaster management system dynamics shows the mutual influence and complementary relationship between disasters and the economy, pointing out that emphasizing the spill-over effects of disaster management systems can improve the effectiveness of disaster mitigation. This study also uses equilibrium entropy and brittle entropy theories to characterize the vulnerability of single-function networks and the degree of brittle association of each lifeline subsystem, respectively, and establishes a model for assessing the sensitivity of lifeline systems to disaster damage. Built on the collection and feedback of information from disaster areas after the occurrence of emergencies, this paper establishes a deterministic multihazard emergency resource dispatches model and an uncertain multihazard emergency resource dispatch model.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. David Merrill

In this paper I will chronicle my 50+ year career, from my interest in making education more effective, to an epiphany about theories, and some of my published work that, for a time, gained the attention of others in the field of instructional technology.  My extensive experience with computer-assisted learning covers early efforts to teach concepts to attempts to design automated authoring systems. My most recent work attempts to identify underlying principles common to most theories of instruction.The professional press publishes reports of theory, research, data, prescriptions, and opinions, but seldom do we get the back story. Where did these ideas originate?  What events led to a particular theoretical or research approach?  What were the challenges—personal and interpersonal—that affected a given approach, theory or research study?  In this paper, in addition to identifying a few of the most notable contributions to this literature, I will provide some of the back story that contributed to my career and inspired or significantly influenced my work. I will also highlight some of the lessons learned along the way.Download the PDF and read more...


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. pp71-83
Author(s):  
Julie Béliveau ◽  
Anne-Marie Corriveau

Organization members often complain about insufficient time to reflect collectively as they grapple with constant significant changes. The Learning History methodology can support this collective reflection. Given the scant empirical studies of this action research approach, the present paper fills this gap by giving an overview of this methodology and by presenting a qualitative study that answers the following research question: How does the Learning History methodology contribute to collective reflection among organization members during major organizational change? To answer this question, an empirical research project was led within five healthcare organizations in Canada during their implementation of the Planetree person-centered approach to management, care, and services. The data set includes 150 semi-structured interviews, 20 focus groups and 10 feedback meetings involving organization members representing all hierarchical levels in the five participating institutions. The results highlight the five types of contributions of the Learning History methodology to collective reflection within the five institutions that participated in the study: 1) a process of expression, dialogue, and reflection among organization members; 2) a portrait of the change underway; 3) a support tool for the change process; 4) a vector for mobilizing stakeholders; and 5) a source of organizational learning.  The results also show how organization members’ collective reflection is built through the various stages of the Learning History methodology. By demonstrating that this collective reflection leads to true organizational learning, the findings position the Learning History as a research-action method useful both from a research standpoint and as an organizational development tool. In the conclusion, lessons learned using the LH approach are shared from a researcher’s perspective. This paper should interest researchers and practitioners who seek research methodologies that can offer an infrastructure for collective reflection to support organizational change and learning.


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