This study proposes a model for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and similar organisations to enhance project resilience in response to pandemic-related vulnerabilities. By integrating scholarly research with project management practitioners' insights, the study identifies key resilience enablers through a literature review on project management and business continuity during COVID-19. A survey of 331 IFRC project managers assessed the significance of these enablers using PLS-SEM analysis. Findings indicate that IFRC projects have demonstrated resilience during COVID-19. Two out of three tested hypotheses were accepted, confirming that internal resources and a conducive environment significantly influence project resilience. Moreover, structural model assessment highlights the importance of external factors such as collaboration, aid localisation, and sustainable development goals (SDGs) progress in shaping resilience strategies. The study concludes with recommendations on optimising resilience attributes for humanitarian project management, emphasising the need for a balanced approach that prioritises both internal and external resilience drivers.
Responding to ongoing life-threatening violence incidents is complex and dangerous, requiring first responders to act consistently and effectively. During the action phase, an interdisciplinary on-scene command team (OSCT), consisting of incident commanders from the involved first responder agencies, is quickly formed to manage the situation. Their situational awareness (SA) is based on available information, with verbal updates from field units as the main source. Effective information sharing between OSCT and field units is crucial for success, requiring shared team SA. Misunderstandings may reduce performance, highlighting the need for robust information-sharing systems. Based on empirical data from exercises, surveys, and interviews, this study analyses how live video images could enhance information sharing and improve OSCT's SA. Two key challenges are identified: (1) inadequate information during the alert phase, and (2) limited information sharing for team SA. Findings emphasise the potential of live video to address these challenges while considering both benefits and difficulties.
On December 10, 2021, tornadoes tore through six Southeastern states causing injuries, deaths, and property damage. To understand the disaster-related causes and circumstances of death, CDC's Disaster Epidemiology and Response Team (DERT) activated media-based mortality surveillance. CDC/DERT cross-checked the data collected via media-based mortality with Red Cross mortality surveillance forms received for Kentucky. We used Epi InfoTM to analyse mortality surveillance forms from the Red Cross for Kentucky deaths and cross-checked this data source with deaths collected through media mortality surveillance. Kentucky deaths between 10-23 December, 2021, 92 tornado-related deaths were reported from five states. Most decedents (83.7%) were reported from Kentucky. Blunt force trauma (68.5%) was the most common cause of death. Media-based mortality surveillance is a tool to assess the impacts of a disaster. It provides timely data which can be used for an all-hazards response and help inform overall response preparedness planning efforts.
This paper explores using computational intelligence technologies in disaster response, particularly in developing and utilising emergency exercise scenarios. The paper emphasises the importance of using scenario-based methodologies to enhance emergency management protocols, specifically by creating a hierarchical, organised model for emergency exercise situations. The study analyses and predicts emergency exercise scenarios, highlighting their importance in shaping legal systems, enhancing plan compatibility, and addressing resource allocation challenges within emergency teams. Furthermore, the paper includes detailed case studies analysing incidents involving safety in petroleum and natural gas pipeline transportation, as well as storage firms. The case studies provide valuable theoretical insights for creating effective emergency response strategies in fluidised mining operations. This paper improves emergency management methods by examining the potential of scenario construction technologies. Its goal is to enhance preparedness and adaptability in managing different emergencies.
In this research, the role of strategy and public participation in the perceived effectiveness of crisis management was investigated. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 310 participants with an online questionnaire and analysed using structural equation modelling. Crisis management strategy (CMS) and public participation (PP) had statistically significant associations with perceived effectiveness of crisis management (PECM). However, CMS had a considerably stronger association with the PECM than did PP. The findings indicate that not having a proper strategy is associated, in the participants' view, with ineffectiveness in managing crises, and citizens were not satisfied with the government's actions in managing crises. The results of this study suggest that governments need to match their crisis strategies and actions not only with crisis-ridden situations but also with citizens' expectations if they want to be effective in managing crises and mitigating hazards.
The study aims to develop a landslide hazard zonation (LHZ) map along the National Highway-1 in Kashmir Himalaya, India, utilising the relative effect model (REM). Therefore, the final LHZ map was created by combining all the factors contributing to landslides, with each factor assigned a weight according to its relative effectiveness. Further, the LHZ map was trained and validated using a significant landslide database. Furthermore, a generated LHZ map was categorized into the five hazard classes viz., very high (7.39%), high (20.83%), moderate (30.88%), low (26.94%), and very low (13.95%). According to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) evaluation result, the final LHZ map shows an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.761. Moreover, the LHZ map generated in this study can be utilised for development planning, slope management, and landslide hazard mitigation to reduce the likelihood of landslides in the area.
Emergency management is the effective planning and execution of resources to reduce mortality rates while protecting critical assets. This study examines the impact of emergency strategy policies on an emergency scenario. A test case was examined where a mobile field hospital (MFH) supported a regional hospital (RH) during a post-disaster incident. The strategy of this study involves the use of agent-based modelling and simulation (ABMS) (NetLogo 6.3.0), which involves the representation of interacting agents within a system defined by simple rules and goals. Model data were sampled and analysed using BehaviorSpace, Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and Python (Pandas Tools). The validation was carried out using a scenario-based tabletop role-playing game (tRPG). The strategy with MFH as a support system produced better results. However, the validation results highlighted the challenge of using RPG in ABM validation. This study demonstrated the value and promise of ABMS and tRPG techniques.
This paper examines the impact of the refugee management crisis on the role of NGOs in Greece. The expansion of a deterrent migration policy after the EU-Turkey deal was complemented by an increased delegation of humanitarian actions to non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It is argued that the role of NGOs has become oriented to the same direction as the neoliberal welfare state and the EU's deterrent migration policy. Through field research with NGOs in Greece, the focus on fragmented and short-term emergency services, the rise in political instrumentalisation, and the tendency towards professionalisation and flexibilisation of the working conditions of their staff are explored.
Effective fire detection is critical in firefighting operations, especially in remote and challenging-to-access areas. This study introduces and tests a fire detection model in two National Parks. Each location utilises drones, cameras, and sensors monitoring environmental parameters (temperature, humidity, pressure, CO, CO2). The model employs an algorithm analysing sensor data to assess current fire risk in real-time, aiding timely decision-making for drone deployment. A star-of-stars wireless sensor network (WSN) layout maximises coverage with minimal resources, adaptable to various terrains. The scalable, distributed system leverages virtualisation technologies, enhancing cost-effectiveness in monitoring inaccessible terrain. Future integration of AI-driven solutions promises advanced data analysis, bolstering local fire prevention strategies.
In order to accurately grasp the basic connotation of the development of emergency management in China and effectively deal with various challenges brought about by the emergency processes of natural disasters such as the Wenchuan earthquake, public health events such as the SARS epidemic and the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as accident disasters such as the major dangerous chemical explosion at Tianjin Port on August 12th, this paper takes the time span as the main line and uses methods such as literature review and comparative analysis to systematically summarise the management ideas, management contents, institutional reforms, system construction, and construction of the regulatory system of emergency management in China, and to explore the inherent laws of emergency management, and then to provide decision-making references for the top-level design, system arrangement, and construction of the regulatory system of emergency management in China.
The purpose of this study is to determine the disaster awareness levels and factors affecting preparedness, as well as the earthquake concerns of politicians who are competent in producing policies on disasters, as well as of public administrators. This cross-sectional research was conducted with a total of 422 public managers residing in Kayseri. Earthquake fear scale, disaster awareness scale, and disaster preparedness scale were used in the data collection form. While the earthquake fear scale mean score of the participants who have not worked in any disaster before is significantly higher, the disaster awareness scale and disaster readiness scale mean score of the participants who have worked in any disaster before are significantly higher. In this study, the factors affecting public administrators' earthquake fears, disaster awareness and disaster preparedness were found to be gender, age, education level, marital status, place of work and previous disaster duty history.
The main employers of part-time firefighters are important partners for the fire and rescue services (FRSs) in rural areas of Sweden. The purpose of this study was to identify the pivotal factors that influence the ability of main employers in rural Sweden to have employees who are part-time firefighters. A modified version of the Delphi technique was used, where opinions from a group of main employers were collected to find consensus. The Delphi technique is characterised by a number of rounds in which questionnaires are used until consensus is reached. This study identified 20 pivotal factors among the main employers. On one hand, employing part-time firefighters brought a sense of safety at the workplace but, on the other hand, there was a lack of appreciation and dialogue from the FRSss.
Ongoing research has shown the effectiveness of agent technology in modelling and simulating disaster management systems and dealing with related activities such as risk assessment, victim search and rescue, evacuation operations and many other disaster management processes. In this paper we provide a comprehensive review of agent-based disaster management research in view of understanding the benefits and potential opportunities of applying agent modelling and simulation to support managers at different disaster phases. The review has revealed that the potential contribution of agent technology to disaster management lies in its inherent capacity to cope with issues such as human behaviour simulation, dynamic and distributed decision making under uncertainties, cooperative planning and optimisation, learning and prediction as well as other associated problems. The review helps readers to identify current challenges related to agent-based disaster management that are considered worthy for future research and publication.
Digital marketing is increasingly used by government organisations during crises to improve information dissemination as well as foster citizen and general public participation. This paper explores the adoption of digital marketing by Kuwait Fire Force. Qualitative data was used to understand the strategic approach and effectiveness. Secondary data was collected from social media platforms to determine participation of citizens, the impact of the strategies, the sentiments of the information and the reach of information through the platforms. This paper argues that commercial digital marketing strategies can be applied in crisis management through social media channels. the results show that to a certain extent, the digital marketing strategies are effective. However, care should be taken to ensure that all platforms are well-integrated, have similar messages and the tone of these messages need to be clearly defined in the digital marketing strategy. Recommendations have been provided to improve the impact of these strategies.
Systematic evaluations are vital to support learning and enhance performance in a crisis response. There are quantitative methods available today for evaluating crisis response management (CRM), but there are limiting factors negatively affecting their potential; They often involve techniques difficult to implement in real events, lack reliability testing, provide outcomes questionable from a learning perspective, are often not applicable across professions, and their correlation to effectiveness is rarely investigated. This paper exemplifies how these identified limitations can be addressed through an iterative development process, using a combination of theoretical knowledge and empirical data. The result is the sensemaking interaction analysis (SIA), a new method developed using techniques found in the design sciences. The idea behind SIA is that a crisis management team who collectively make sense of a crisis, its consequences, and possible actions will perform better than a team who fails to do so.
COVID-19 is a contagious disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, and WHO recommended preventive measures like social distancing, testing, lockdowns, face masks, etc. to limit its spread. Failure to implement and monitor these measures increases the risk of spread and mortality rates. In this paper, a near real-time system using Twitter for detecting the risk of COVID-19 spread is proposed. The system uses Apache Spark framework for text mining, machine learning, and near real-time processing of data from Twitter. Five base machine learning classifiers: support vector machine (SVM), logistic regression (LR), multilayer perceptron (MLP), decision tree (DT), and Naive Bayes (NB) are combined to form an ensemble majority voting classifier (EMVC). Results show that the EMVC achieved an accuracy of 94.76%. Then, the proposed system is tested in real-time for detecting tweets related to the risk of COVID-19 spread in London, Mumbai, and New York in June 2020.
This paper investigates one crisis management effort during the COVID-19 pandemic's first wave in Stockholm, Sweden. Decision-makers in Stockholm were afraid that intensive care unit beds would run out due to the massive sp?read of the virus and therefore decided to build a temporary hospital in an exhibition hall outside Stockholm. Using field study observations and interviews, this paper uses grounded theory method to describe what happened between two actors, a hospital and a regional administrative body, during this process. These two actors, in this paper called the Operational and the Administrative organisation, are two separate but dependent actors who had to collaborate during this crisis. The crisis management process can be seen as forced collaboration. By investigating the different phases of the crisis management, we found that there were conflicting situational assessments, conflicting actions, power play and stereotyping, which contributed to making collaboration and crisis management difficult.
