Emergency Management: The Human Factor

Abstract

This monograph summarizes results of recent emergency management research from a sociological perspective. Topics include: (1) Hazard perception - This topic is impacted by 6 factors: experience; age; sex; location; job dependency; and personality. There appears to be a minimal correlation between perceived risk and scientifically-assessed risk. (2) Disaster planning - The organizational location of the disaster planning function varies greatly among the cities and counties. (3) Warning responses - content, source, and number of warning messages substantially affect the success of the warning effort. (4) Evacuation processes - Four key axioms dealing with evacuations are discussed, (5) Emergency actions - Disaster responses of victims, non-victims, emergency organizations, multi-organizational networks, and the media are examined. (6) Restoration activities - The same groups listed above are examined in relation to their short - and long-term adaptation to the restoration process. (7) Reconstruction - Attitudes toward reconstruction, behavioral adaptations, and effects of crisis intervention are assessed. (8) Attitudes toward Mitigation - Mitigation is described as a human adjustment to a perceived threat.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1986
Accession Number
ADA226012

Entities

People

  • Thomas E. Drabek

Organizations

  • Federal Emergency Management Agency

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accidents
  • Behavioral Sciences
  • Civil Defense
  • Disasters
  • Emergency Response
  • Geography
  • Health Services
  • Human Behavior
  • Medical Personnel
  • Psychology
  • Public Administration
  • Public Policy
  • Risk
  • Risk Analysis
  • Social Psychology
  • United States
  • Warning Systems

Readers

  • Emergency Management and Homeland Security.
  • Organizational Psychology.
  • Systems Analysis and Design