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Item An Exploration of the Creation and Maintenance of Local Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster(North Dakota State University, 2014) Jorissen, James DanielThis study sought to explore the factors that influence the creation and maintenance of Local Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (LVOADs). Semistructured interviews were conducted and data was analyzed following the principles of Grounded Theory as outlined by Charmaz (2006). Seventeen individuals were selected based on their involvement in five LVOADs within FEMA’s Region VIII. It was found that creation factors held a high degree of consistency LVOAD-to-LVOAD, but the maintenance factors suffered from a limited number of available LVOADs that progressed to the maintenance stage. Findings suggest communities require multiple hazard events, strong leadership, and a formal organizational structure to develop LVOADs and they are difficult to maintain. Throughout creation, LVOADs face a number of barriers including burnout, turnover, and turf issues. During maintenance, LVOADs attempted to counteract barriers by offering value with membership. This study concludes with implications for emergency management practice and the academic discipline.Item The Context and Concept of Individual and Household Preparedness: The Case of Fako Division in Cameroon(North Dakota State University, 2015) Nojang, Emmanuel NzengungAlmost every day, we see and hear about disasters impacting individuals and households in communities worldwide. Impacts experienced include loss of life and injury, loss of property, and more. Disasters are often devastating for those who experience them. It is for this reason that preparedness is advocated by national and international organizations such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the United Nations. And, it is for this reason that researchers have often attempted to assess how prepared people are. Yet, what is this thing they call preparedness? What does it look like? What is involved in becoming a wholly prepared person? One might have assumed that organizations like FEMA and researchers would have addressed these fundamental questions prior to recommending that people become prepared or measuring how prepared people are, but that is not the case. The absence of an understanding of what preparedness is and entails is a critical theoretical gap with significant practical implications. This research explored the basic issue of what preparedness means and entails to people in Fako Division, Cameroon—a place threated by many hazards and which has experienced many disasters. From the analysis of the 33 interviews conducted in this study, the researcher found that preparedness is a dynamic state of readiness that is dependent on context, a social process, and a process of completing activities to save lives and minimize the effects of disasters. In addition, the researcher found that Cameroonians view a wholly prepared person as a) one who would have knowledge about hazards and what to do about them, b) one who would engage others, including their families and neighbors, in discussions about activities related to hazards and what to do about them, and c) one who would engage in activities to minimize loss from hazards, sustain themselves in the face of hazards, and flee from hazards. The findings from the interview data synch to a large extent with what is implied, but not clearly stated, in the existing research literature. The researcher address this synchrony and posit a definition of preparedness and identify the theoretical components of preparedness.Item Pursuit and Achievement of Emergency Management Program Accreditation(North Dakota State University, 2022) Ferreira, MarceloWhile accreditation of emergency management programs has been available for more than two decades, very few emergency management programs are accredited, particularly at the local level. This study examined what may facilitate or hinder the pursuit and achievement of Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) accreditation by emergency management program leaders (EMs) in programs located in a United States city with a population over 300,000 (n=69). The multidisciplinary accreditation body of literature has not matured to the point of offering a theoretical or statistical model which could guide quantitative work on the topic. Additionally, accreditation is understudied in the context of emergency management. A qualitative approach to the research was most appropriate for these reasons. In-depth interviews with thirty EMs were conducted using the Responsive Interviewing Model (Rubin & Rubin, 2012) to gather rich data related to the research questions and analyze it. The study results in a series of key findings and recommendations related to practice and research. Findings related emergency management, suggest: a) perceptions of EMs are the most important facilitator or barrier of formal pursuit of accreditation, b) emulating The Emergency Management Standard (2019) is critical to understanding the commencement of formal pursuit, c) local emergency management compliance with structuring mechanisms does not result in compliance with The Standard, and the relationship between them is not explicit or otherwise apparent, and d) while most EMs interviewed as part of this study knew of The Standard and EMAP, and valued it, awareness could be improved. Related to the accreditation body of knowledge, the results suggest: a) program leaders may have more influence than the body of accreditation work might lead one to believe, particularly in the absence of extrinsic forces, b) some facilitators and barriers to accreditation may be heavily influenced by more than one category, c) a period of emulation was required and pursuit was delayed until the program leader believed accreditation would be achieved once the formal process got underway, and d) the period leading to formal instigation was that the most important to both pursuit and achievement.Item An Evaluation of the Protective Action Decision Model using Data from a Train Derailment in Casselton, North Dakota(North Dakota State University, 2015) Savitt, AmandaThis study was designed to answer the questions: a) What factors affected peoples' decision to evacuate or not evacuate after a train derailment and explosion in Casselton, ND; and b) What factors affected the amount of time people took to evacuate? A survey was designed using criteria from literature on the Protective Action Decision Model, and administered by telephone. Results of the survey were examined with correlation analysis. Nine factors were found to be significantly correlated with the decision to evacuate and two variables were found to be significantly correlated with evacuation time. Implications of these findings are discussed.Item Examining NGO Performance: A Case of the Cluster Approach(North Dakota State University, 2017) Thomas, Brian JasonThe need for coordinated efforts to respond to emerging crises, disasters, and conflicts has become ever-more apparent in the past decade. As events occur more frequently, at a larger scale, and the 24 hour news cycle associated with cable networks and the web-based media enhanced the public’s exposure to disasters, the need for coordination has become more apparent. To that end the United Nations implemented the Cluster Approach. In the decade since its deployment, starting with the Pakistan Earthquake of 2006, little independent academic research has been conducted to assess the approach. Instead, the literature tends to be confined to two camps: internal after action reports from the United Nations and editorials in respected, though non-academic journals, such as Slate Magazine. The following paper suggests exploratory research be done to assess whether the coordination approaches utilized by the Cluster Approach are proving to be beneficial, efficient, and functional.Item Factors Explaining the Risk Perception of County Emergency Managers(North Dakota State University, 2014) Huibregtse, Jared JonThis thesis attempted to explore how county emergency managers understand the risks most likely to manifest in their jurisdiction using an internet survey. This study addressed the following research questions: 1) What risks do county emergency managers perceive to be the most likely to manifest in their jurisdiction? 2) What factors explain their risk perceptions? Data were collected by internet survey which was sent to county emergency managers in FEMA Region V. When data collection ceased, 165 county emergency managers had completed the internet survey in full. Regression analysis revealed that a small amount of the variance in risk perception was explained. The notion of extending traditional variables professionally in a way that makes sense for county emergency managers proved to be valuable. Additionally, operationalization issues raised in this study can be used as valuable lessons learned for future risk perception research.Item The Quality of Mitigation Plans in Large Jurisdictions in the Upper Midwest(North Dakota State University, 2020) Bhandari, Aastha SinghThis study sought to evaluate the plan quality of Hazard Mitigation plans of 30 larger jurisdictions counties in the upper Mid-West. Better plans serve as better guidance for communities to choose better actions and inflict fewer damages. The planning research literature was reviewed to identify important plan components and the plan characteristics that determined the plan quality. The fundamental evaluation characteristics were identified, and those, along with recommended components, were put into an evaluation form. This evaluation form was used to evaluate the county plans, and the findings of the evaluation were discussed. It was found that the quality of the plans was moderate to good. Also, rooms for improvement for plan quality were also identified. The implications of the findings were discussed, and recommendations were made to improve their future quality.Item Red River Flooding in Fargo: Organizational Learning Through Repeated Events(North Dakota State University, 2016) Thompson, Steven AndrewThis research is a case study of the spring flooding from the Red River in Fargo, North Dakota. The 1997 record flood level broke a long standing record. However, in the last 7 years there have been three additional major floods, with 2009 breaking the 1997 level. The purpose of the study is to understand what was learned from repeated major flood events. This qualitative research gathered pertinent data from leaders involved in the flood management. In-depth interviews gathered rich data on these topics. The results from this case study found evolution in coordination, communication, response organizations, and mitigation. Specifically, the data revealed the expansion of the leadership team, expansion of communication, reduction in hazard vulnerability, increased focus on logistical planning for sandbags, and reduction in volunteer variability. All of these actions learned from these flood events are transferable and therefore add to the current emergency management body of knowledge on flood planning.Item Factors Associated with Collaboration in Disaster Response(North Dakota State University, 2014) Carignan, Stanley AllanThis paper explores the factors the literature suggests help organizations collaborate during disaster response. The nature of disasters requires that people and organizations collaborate; yet, collaboration has been frequently identified as a problem by policymakers and researchers alike. It would be of value to policymakers and researchers if there was an understanding of the factors that contribute to collaboration. The paper attempted to address this issue. It identifies four categories of variables that the literature suggests lead to inter-organizational collaboration including leadership, relationships, culture, and inter-dependency. The paper also suggests how understanding of these factors might be applied in practice, policy, and future research.Item Assessing the Preparedness and Mitigation Research on Tornadoes: Clarifying Risk Perceptions and Identifying Contradictions(North Dakota State University, 2012) Freeman, Pierre AlbertThis paper examines literature from various disciplines contributing to the objective of saving lives and reducing damages from tornadoes. Specific topics include changes in tornado incidence, the genesis of tornadoes, and alterations in geographical distributions of tornadoes. I also review data on damages, casualties and deaths along with associated housing type vulnerability and atypical nocturnal tornado events. Literature associated with predictions including historical data and forecasting is addressed. Further data was presented regarding false alarms, warnings, watches and response behavior. Finally, mitigation issues regarding policy and planning, building practices and sheltering is reviewed. While reviewing the data, several contradictions were found regarding density, lead time expectations, vehicular use and actual increases in events and damages. Perception of risk may be dependent on factors of cultural geography and societal memory. Improved understanding of warning times, effective education, outreach and removing the human factor in tornadoes are points that need further study.