DRC Research
DRC projects have been supported by diverse sources, including: National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT), U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Grant Program, Social Science Research Council (SSRC), and Public Entity Risk Institute (PERI).
Coastal Hazards, Equity, Economic Prosperity and Resilience (CHEER)
DURATION: September 1, 2022 –
RESEARCHERS: Rachel Davidson, Sarah DeYoung, Joseph Trainor, A.R. Siders[/if 449]
FUNDING: National Science Foundation
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The UD-led hub — Coastal Hazards, Equity, Economic prosperity and Resilience (CHEER) — is one of five NSF-funded projects announced recently as part of the agency’s Coastlines and People program, which is concentrating its research efforts to protect the natural, social and economic resources of U.S. coasts, and to help create more resilient coastal communities.
This five-year project will be led by Rachel Davidson, a core DRC faculty member and UD professor of civil and environmental engineering. Co-principal investigators include Sarah DeYoung, core DRC faculty member and associate professor of sociology and criminal justice at UD; Linda Nozick, professor and director of civil and environmental engineering at Cornell University; Brian Colle, professor and division head of atmospheric sciences at Stony Brook University; and Meghan Millea, professor of economics at East Carolina University.
COVID-19: Community Impacts and Adaptation To Crisis: Delawareans Living With HIV/Aids
RESEARCHERS: Tricia Wachtendorf
FUNDING: Internally Funded, Delaware HIV Consortium
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The crisis surrounding COVID-19 impacted communities across the globe. Appreciating that disasters have differential impacts on those affected, this study examined the impact the crisis had on Delawareans living with HIV/AIDS. The study explored issues of preparedness, response, adaptation, and decision-making, among other social consequences, as well as challenges related to health, housing, finances, and support. Over 50 interviews were conducted with clients of the Delaware HIV Consortium to better understand their experiences and needs over the course of the pandemic.
DRC RESEARCH PROJECTS: 5
FILTER BY RESEARCH AREA:
4 Climate Change | 5 Humanitarian Assistance | 6 Infrastructure Risk Management | 12 Protective Actions | 14 Public Health | 15 Response | 3 Social Vulnerability | 4 Warning and Risk Perception | CLEAR ALL
FILTER BY CLASSIFICATION:
11 Active Research | 19 Past Research | 5 Student Research | CLEAR ALL
Addressing the Holy Grail of Emergency Management: A Study Of Faith-Based Organizational Coordination Following Hurricane Florence
ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATOR: Lauren Clay, MPH at D’Youville College
FUNDING: Self-Funded, The National Academies of Sciences, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, & Medicine Gulf Research Program, Early-Career Research Fellowship
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
This research explores the interorganizational coordination of faith-based organizations responding to disaster-impacted communities. During disasters, faith-based organizations play an integral role by providing extensive human, physical, and monetary resources to address the needs of the impacted community. This research buildings on the existing literature by studying how resources, norms, and environment enable or constrain the coordination of faith-based organizations. This study is a qualitative inquiry exploring the interorganizational coordination of faith-based organizations which responded to 2018 Hurricane Florence in the community of New Bern, North Carolina. Findings from this study will address gaps in the existing literature and inform emergency management practitioners on better coordination practices for faith-based and other community-based organizations in disasters.
Business Continuity as Entrepreneurship
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Now into its second year, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt community life by forcing small organizations like businesses, non-profits, and neighborhood committees to adapt in ways that they never could have imagined. This study seeks to engage with the owners, managers, and employees of small organizations across two sets of interviews to understand how they’ve been updating their processes, products, and services to preserve their value and spur recovery.
Compounded Social Vulnerability: Parole Supervision and Disasters
RESEARCHERS: Tricia Wachtendorf, Felicia Henry
FUNDING: Unidel Award (Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Henry with Wachtendorf is using an exploratory case study method and documentary analysis to review parole policies in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. We find that parole policies in each state fail to address how parolees should respond during disasters and the implications for compliance failure. Conditions of parole and parole policies and procedures (or lack thereof) can make it extremely difficult for individuals on parole to successfully and simultaneously navigate disasters. Without proper guidance from the agencies responsible for parole in each state, individuals may be caught further on the web of correctional control. Our findings lead us to make several recommendations for justice agencies, as well as state and local governments.
Mission First, Greyshirts Always: An Exploration into the Reintegration Experiences of Short-Term Volunteers Following Disaster Response Operations
RESEARCHERS: Roni Fraser
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Following a disaster, waves of helpers and voluntary organizations converge to the disaster area and provide immediate assistance and emotional support to survivors. This study sought to expand on previous research related to disaster volunteerism and reentry experiences to contribute to the gap in knowledge related to permanent disaster volunteer re-integration and resilience. Through primary data and qualitative interviews with 25 volunteers from Team Rubicon, a national disaster response nonprofit results found that volunteers engaged in additional volunteer activities and communicated with fellow volunteers as strategies for successful post-operation re-integration. Through a social capital approach, bonding and bridging capital was crucial in the development of resilience among volunteers. This study is critical to consider given the reliance on volunteers in the disaster response and recovery process and the need to ensure the mental well-being of disaster survivors and disaster volunteers. To best promote the resilience capacity among volunteers, organizations should focus on the volunteer experience related to billet conditions, diversity of membership and volunteer roles, development of organizational trust, and appreciation of volunteer service throughout the volunteer’s membership. Future research should expand on these findings by quantitatively exploring the volunteer reentry experience with a larger sample of NVOAD volunteers and the role that linking capital may have in influencing the volunteer reentry experience.
The Emergency Medical Services Delivery in Mass Gathering Events: A Case Study Of The Hajj
RESEARCHERS: Abdulhadi Al Ruwaithi
FUNDING: Umm al-Qura University
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Mass gatherings occur more frequently in today’s world, and they have increased in size and magnitude. They can be organized/regular events or non-organized/irregular events, local or international, and peaceful or aggressive. One of the best well-known of these international mass-gathering events is the Hajj (or pilgrimage to Mecca), which occurs annually when over three million people come to a defined area within a very well-known schedule to perform a set of specific Islamic rituals. Over its long history, the Hajj has been prone to many documented risks -either security-related risks, health-related, or others- which are attributed to factors such as transportation, human mistakes, and diverse international attendance. Several instances happened in the past when those risks materialized. It is in this context that studying the response of public health and emergency organizations in these mass-gathering events can generate knowledge for improving the safety of those attending these events. This dissertation project focuses on investigating the emergency medical services delivery system in the Hajj sites, to reveal the factors associated with the EMS systems’ successes and failures during both regular times and emergencies. The project aims to understand factors that impact the EMS process within the Hajj mass gathering context. A mixed-methods approach is utilized by which the patients’ presentation statistics are analyzed and a stratified sample of EMS ambulance crews are interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The quantitative approach is used to evaluate the EMS response time and inform the sample stratification process. The qualitative approach (interview data) is used to evaluate the intra- and inter-organizational coordination between the ambulance operators and other agencies in the Hajj.
DRC RESEARCH PROJECTS: 5
FILTER BY RESEARCH AREA:
4 Climate Change | 5 Humanitarian Assistance | 6 Infrastructure Risk Management | 12 Protective Actions | 14 Public Health | 15 Response | 3 Social Vulnerability | 4 Warning and Risk Perception | CLEAR ALL
FILTER BY CLASSIFICATION:
11 Active Research | 19 Past Research | 5 Student Research | CLEAR ALL
Addressing the Holy Grail of Emergency Management: A Study Of Faith-Based Organizational Coordination Following Hurricane Florence
ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATOR: Lauren Clay, MPH at D’Youville College
FUNDING: Self-Funded, The National Academies of Sciences, The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, & Medicine Gulf Research Program, Early-Career Research Fellowship
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
This research explores the interorganizational coordination of faith-based organizations responding to disaster-impacted communities. During disasters, faith-based organizations play an integral role by providing extensive human, physical, and monetary resources to address the needs of the impacted community. This research buildings on the existing literature by studying how resources, norms, and environment enable or constrain the coordination of faith-based organizations. This study is a qualitative inquiry exploring the interorganizational coordination of faith-based organizations which responded to 2018 Hurricane Florence in the community of New Bern, North Carolina. Findings from this study will address gaps in the existing literature and inform emergency management practitioners on better coordination practices for faith-based and other community-based organizations in disasters.
Business Continuity as Entrepreneurship
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Now into its second year, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt community life by forcing small organizations like businesses, non-profits, and neighborhood committees to adapt in ways that they never could have imagined. This study seeks to engage with the owners, managers, and employees of small organizations across two sets of interviews to understand how they’ve been updating their processes, products, and services to preserve their value and spur recovery.
Compounded Social Vulnerability: Parole Supervision and Disasters
RESEARCHERS: Tricia Wachtendorf, Felicia Henry
FUNDING: Unidel Award (Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice)
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Henry with Wachtendorf is using an exploratory case study method and documentary analysis to review parole policies in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida. We find that parole policies in each state fail to address how parolees should respond during disasters and the implications for compliance failure. Conditions of parole and parole policies and procedures (or lack thereof) can make it extremely difficult for individuals on parole to successfully and simultaneously navigate disasters. Without proper guidance from the agencies responsible for parole in each state, individuals may be caught further on the web of correctional control. Our findings lead us to make several recommendations for justice agencies, as well as state and local governments.
Mission First, Greyshirts Always: An Exploration into the Reintegration Experiences of Short-Term Volunteers Following Disaster Response Operations
RESEARCHERS: Roni Fraser
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Following a disaster, waves of helpers and voluntary organizations converge to the disaster area and provide immediate assistance and emotional support to survivors. This study sought to expand on previous research related to disaster volunteerism and reentry experiences to contribute to the gap in knowledge related to permanent disaster volunteer re-integration and resilience. Through primary data and qualitative interviews with 25 volunteers from Team Rubicon, a national disaster response nonprofit results found that volunteers engaged in additional volunteer activities and communicated with fellow volunteers as strategies for successful post-operation re-integration. Through a social capital approach, bonding and bridging capital was crucial in the development of resilience among volunteers. This study is critical to consider given the reliance on volunteers in the disaster response and recovery process and the need to ensure the mental well-being of disaster survivors and disaster volunteers. To best promote the resilience capacity among volunteers, organizations should focus on the volunteer experience related to billet conditions, diversity of membership and volunteer roles, development of organizational trust, and appreciation of volunteer service throughout the volunteer’s membership. Future research should expand on these findings by quantitatively exploring the volunteer reentry experience with a larger sample of NVOAD volunteers and the role that linking capital may have in influencing the volunteer reentry experience.
The Emergency Medical Services Delivery in Mass Gathering Events: A Case Study Of The Hajj
RESEARCHERS: Abdulhadi Al Ruwaithi
FUNDING: Umm al-Qura University
PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
Mass gatherings occur more frequently in today’s world, and they have increased in size and magnitude. They can be organized/regular events or non-organized/irregular events, local or international, and peaceful or aggressive. One of the best well-known of these international mass-gathering events is the Hajj (or pilgrimage to Mecca), which occurs annually when over three million people come to a defined area within a very well-known schedule to perform a set of specific Islamic rituals. Over its long history, the Hajj has been prone to many documented risks -either security-related risks, health-related, or others- which are attributed to factors such as transportation, human mistakes, and diverse international attendance. Several instances happened in the past when those risks materialized. It is in this context that studying the response of public health and emergency organizations in these mass-gathering events can generate knowledge for improving the safety of those attending these events. This dissertation project focuses on investigating the emergency medical services delivery system in the Hajj sites, to reveal the factors associated with the EMS systems’ successes and failures during both regular times and emergencies. The project aims to understand factors that impact the EMS process within the Hajj mass gathering context. A mixed-methods approach is utilized by which the patients’ presentation statistics are analyzed and a stratified sample of EMS ambulance crews are interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The quantitative approach is used to evaluate the EMS response time and inform the sample stratification process. The qualitative approach (interview data) is used to evaluate the intra- and inter-organizational coordination between the ambulance operators and other agencies in the Hajj.
