BUILDING DISASTER RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY IN RURAL COMMUNITIES IN CENTRAL FLORIDA: APPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 0222878
• Grant No.: 2010-67023-21698
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $387,556.00
• Proposal No.: 2009-06102
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2010
• Project End Date: Dec 31, 2012
• Grant Year: 2010
• Program Code: [96460]- Disaster Resilience for Rural Communities

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA
12722 RESEARCH PARKWAY
ORLANDO,FL 32826

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
Intellectual Merit: This project has three specific implications. First, this project will identify core principles and link community resiliency to disasters and to essential behavioral, motivational, affective, and cognitive dynamics and ultimately to important community outcomes. Second, the research will analyze the most pressing practical problems, and their relation to network features, with a focus on multiagency structures operating in highly complex environments of disasters. Third, the project will evaluate standardization of communication norms and pre-disaster establishment of network linkages and community capacity in enabling collective action in response to disasters in rural communities. Broader Impact: Developing disaster resilient communities is critical to enabling rural communities to manage emergencies and disasters more efficiently and effectively. Tested and effective models of dynamically changing capacity for performance in rural communities would enable decision makers in public, private and nonprofit organizations worldwide to manage scarce resources and mobilize essential expertise and services to reduce catastrophic losses of lives and property. Findings from this research will make a substantial contribution to those who are responsible for risk reduction and response in their respective communities.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

100%

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
608	6050	3080	25%
610	6050	3080	15%
803	6050	3080	10%
805	6050	3080	25%
805	7299	3080	25%

Knowledge Area
805 - Community Institutions, Health, and Social Services; 803 - Sociological and Technological Change Affecting Individuals, Families, and Communities; 608 - Community Resource Planning and Development; 610 - Domestic Policy Analysis;

Subject Of Investigation
6050 - Communities, areas, and regions; 7299 - Research equipment and methods, general/other;

Field Of Science
3080 - Sociology;

Keywords

disaster resiliency, social capital, adaptive capacity, central

florida rural and urban counties, hurricanes wildfires, tornadoes,

social networks, mitigation planning

Goals / Objectives
This project seeks to assess current hazard mitigation practices, emergency response networks, and disaster recovery methods used by rural counties and rural parts of urban counties in Central Florida. Specifically, the project will address Public Management and Policy, Planning and Rural Community Development, and Sociological, Behavioral and Social Networks perspectives to uncover fundamental relationships governing the functioning of resilient communities in response to disasters. Along each of the four phases of emergency management, we propose to utilize a Community Resiliency and Adaptive Capacity Framework to investigate a series of questions related to current hazard mitigation practices, emergency response networks and disaster recovery methods. In order to meet this need, a mixed-method and an interdisciplinary research program will address the following questions in each of the three areas of need identified above. The long-term goals of the project include the application of an asset-based approach to improving community capacity for sustainability in rural communities and the development of strategies for improved management in the mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery to natural hazards. Scientific Working Meeting. In the final quarter of year 2, the team will lead an outreach effort whereby a scientific meeting will be held to bring together national and international experts in the field of disaster management, networks, community resiliency, and social capital along with interested parties from the larger scientific community, practitioners, and governmental researchers. We expect to have a volume published based on the first day of the workshop. Professional Conferences. The investigators and their graduate student researchers will participate in the preparation of the annual and final project reports and in the dissemination of findings from the project. This project will be available to all emergency managers, as well as interested students, professionals, policy makers, and the public. Education. With the rising need for highly qualified professionals to gain knowledge in emergency management, UCF provides an opportunity to train future leaders through the Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, offered in addition to the undergraduate minor. The proposed research project will have full access to the resources available through the UCF Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management and Homeland Security. This research will serve as the basis for a diverse student learning perspective by developing interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate courses on disaster vulnerability and community resiliency. The course syllabi will be developed during the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning summer conference at UCF. We will share our experiences with UCF faculty at the conference and as a published article in the faculty newsletter, Faculty Focus.

Project Methods
In collaboration with practicing emergency planners and managers from the eleven counties in Central Florida, especially the rural counties and rural parts of the urban counties, this research will be conducted by a multidisciplinary team of faculty and graduate students from public policy and management, planning, and sociology at the University of Central Florida (UCF). The goals of our proposed work are to utilize 3 different perspectives to understand rural communities' vulnerability and resilience to natural hazards - hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfire. The 3 perspectives and its goal are as follows: (1) Public Policy and Management which will focus on intergovernmental and inter-organizational relations in hazard and disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery; the role of forces and organizations external to rural communities in the development of resiliency, and the risk perceptions and behavioral reactions to communications from official and other sources. (2) Planning and Rural Community Development, which will explore the causes and consequences of community and regional resilience including the role of markets, especially agricultural and labor, in understanding vulnerability and resilience; the relationship of land-use and housing decisions to hazard mitigation in rural communities. (3) Sociological, Behavioral, and Social Networks perspectives, that focuses primarily on measuring vulnerability and resilience at the individual, group, and community scales, and investigating the role of culture, complexity, and social networks in vulnerability and resilience in rural communities. Our research process will begin with a comprehensive literature review of disaster resiliency in rural communities, along with an analysis of the demographic characteristics of the aforementioned rural counties. We will then conduct a secondary data analysis of an existing social capital survey collected from the proposed 11 counties to shed light on possible urban-rural differences. In addition, we will analyze a public complacency survey of emergency managers in the study's rural areas. The team will also analyze the assets of the community by creating a community asset map. Additionally, a documentary content analysis will be created, alongside an organizational network survey. These data will form the basis of a social network analysis of organizations (governmental and non-governmental) in the study target area. Finally, a focus group (one per county) will be administered to gain the input of other community members such as private citizens, faith-based organizations, governmental officials, and farmers. All of the proposed research goals and projected completion dates are listed: 1. 1. Literature review on disaster resiliency in rural communities (Y1). 1. 2. Analysis of social capital data (Y1)1. 3. Analysis of public complacency survey (Y1). 1. 4. Community asset mapping (Y1)1. 5. Documentary content analysis (Y1 & Y2). 1. 6. Network survey and analysis (Y2). 1. 7. Focus groups (Y2).

Progress 09/01/10 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Below is the list of outputs. (Please note the complete final report document have been emailed to our USDA contact person, Mr. Sivapathasun Sureshwaran). Extensive literature review on disaster resiliency (completed); Content analysis of 2004 Hurricanes (completed); Analysis of public complacency survey (completed); Analysis of social capital survey (completed); Network survey development, administration, and analysis (completed); Develop a disaster resiliency and sustainability course syllabus (completed); Network analysis of official documents (completed); Summary of key disasters in the geographic region (completed); Community asset map (completed)/shared with the participant organizations (completed); Community focus groups formation, discussions, and analysis of focus group data (completed); Organize scientific workshop (completed); PARTICIPANTS: Project team members: Naim Kapucu, School of Public Administration, Principle Investigator. Dr. Kapucu was responsible for the day to day operation of the project. He analyzed the public complacency survey and created and analyzed the network survey instrument for emergency managers and community participants. Dr. Christopher Hawkins, School of Public Administration and Co-Principle Investigator, was responsible for community asset mapping and facilitating the focus groups. Fernando Rivera, Department of Sociology and Co-Principle Investigator, was responsible for the analysis of social capital data organizing and conduction focus group discussions. The PIs were supported with Graduate Research Assistants Fatih Demiroz (Public Policy and Management Subteam), Marc Settembrino (Sociology Subteam) and Rebecca Dodson (Public Policy and Management Subteam). The research project included a formal Advisory Board. Advisory Council Members (Representatives of Partnering Agencies) included the following individuals: Robert S. Lay, Director, Emergency Management, Brevard County; Bob Wesch, Director, Emergency Management Citrus County; Dave Freeman, Director, Emergency Management Orange County; Troy Harper, Chief, Emergency Management, Flagler County; Jerry Smith, Director, Emergency Management, Lake County; Mark Johnson, Director, Department of Emergency Management, Levy County; Chip Wildy, Director, Emergency Management, Marion County; Richard Collins Director, Emergency Management, Osceola County; Alan Harris, Director, Emergency Management, Seminole County; David Casto, Director, Emergency Management, Sumter County; Charlie Craig, Director, Emergency Management, Volusia County; Larry LaHue, Emergency Management, Volusia County; Robert Rogers, Deputy Fire Chief, City of Deltona Fire/Rescue Department; April Raulerson, Emergency Preparedness Manager, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council; Tara McCue, Planner II, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council; Tirso Moreno, General Coordinator, Farmworkers Association of Florida; Jada Smith, COO, American Red Cross Mid-Florida Region; Shirley Exner, Seminole County Office of Emergency Management Specialist; Maureen Long, CEM Project Manager I, Seminole County Emergency Management; Pastor John Murphy, President/Founder, Harvest Time International, Inc.; Patricia Shields, Seminole County Volunteer Program, Inc.; Gabriel De Jesus, Assistant to the City Manager, City of Kissimmee; Larry Olness, Vice President, Community Services, United Way Heart of Florida; Paul Smith, Planning Section Chief Titusville Emergency Management, Titusville Police Department; Sue Cordova, President/CEO, United Way of Lake & Sumter Counties, Inc.; Jim Stencel, COO, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida; Ronald Plummer, Assistant Manager, Orange County Office of Emergency Management; Jim Judge, Lake -Sumter EMS, Lake County. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience is the professional emergency managers in eleven counties (UCF service area) and beyond. We organized a scholarly workshop and invited domestic and international scholars to participate (Japan, Canada, and Turkey). Students of disasters studies also benefit from the results of the project. We have developed an undergraduate course syllabus. It has been approved by the UCF interdisciplinary honors college. The course proposal will be submitted for approval for the emergency management program at UCF. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
This final report presents the activities and outcomes that were carried out by the University of Central Florida research team. The activities presented in final document fulfill the goals listed in the grant proposal. Project team members: Naim Kapucu, School of Public Administration, Principle Investigator. Dr. Kapucu was responsible for the day to day operation of the project. He analyzed the public complacency survey and created and analyzed the network survey instrument for emergency managers and community participants. Dr. Christopher Hawkins, School of Public Administration and Co-Principle Investigator, was responsible for community asset mapping and facilitating the focus groups. Fernando Rivera, Department of Sociology and Co-Principle Investigator, was responsible for the analysis of social capital data organizing and conduction focus group discussions. The PIs were supported with Graduate Research Assistants Fatih Demiroz (Public Policy and Management Subteam), Marc Settembrino (Sociology Subteam) and Rebecca Dodson (Public Policy and Management Subteam). The research project included a formal Advisory Board. Advisory Council Members (Representatives of Partnering Agencies) Target Audience The target audience is the professional emergency managers in eleven counties (UCF service area) and beyond. We organized a scholarly workshop and invited domestic and international scholars to participate (Japan, Canada, and Turkey). Students of disasters studies also benefit from the results of the project. We have developed an undergraduate course syllabus. It has been approved by the UCF interdisciplinary honors college. The course proposal will be submitted for approval for the emergency management program at UCF. Two examples: We hired an undergraduate researcher as part of the project. Now, she is working as an emergency management specialist for Lake County Emergency Management Office. She is also completing her masters in public administration degree. One or the team members, Dr. Fatih Demiroz, completed his dissertation using the data collected as part of the project. He is now an assistant professor, visiting, at Florida International University.

Publications

• Fatih Demiroz, Naim Kapucu (2011). Disaster Resiliency and Sustainability in Rural Communities. Paper Presented at Presented at American Society of Public Administration (ASPA) 72st Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD, March 11-15.
• Christopher Hawkins (2011). Building Disaster Resilience and Sustainability in Rural Communities. Paper presented at the ACSP annual conference, Salt Lake City, UT, October.
• Naim Kapucu, Christopher Hawkins, and Fernando Rivera (eds). (2013). Disaster Resiliency: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: Routledge,
• Fatih Demiroz, Naim Kapucu, and Rebecca Dodson (2013). Measuring Community Disaster Resilience: Comparison of Rural and Urban Counties Using Social Network Analysis Tools. In Naim Kapucu, Fernando Rivera, and Christopher Hawkins (eds.), Disaster Resiliency: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: Routledge.
• Christopher Hawkins. (2013). Networks, Collaborative Planning, and Perceived Quality of Comprehensive Plans. In Naim Kapucu, Fernando Rivera, and Christopher Hawkins (eds.), Disaster Resiliency: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: Routledge.
• Fernando Rivera and Marc Settembrino. (2013). Sociological Insights on the Role of Social Capital in Disaster Resilience. In Naim Kapucu, Fernando Rivera, and Christopher Hawkins (eds.), Disaster Resiliency: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. New York: Routledge.
• Naim Kapucu, Fernando Rivera, Christopher Hawkins, Fatih Demiroz, Marc Settembrino, and Rebecca Dodson. (2011). Resilient Communities Resilient Government. Presented at UCF 5th Annual Public Administration Conference, Orlando, FL, March 25.
• Fatih Demiroz (2012) Cross-Sector and Inter-Organizational Collaborative Capacity in Community Disaster Resilience and Sustainability: Evidence from Central Florida Counties. Paper presented at American Society of Public Administration (ASPA) 73rd Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV, March, 2-5.
• Fatih Demiroz, Naim Kapucu (2011). Developing and Managing Interorganizational and Cross-Sector Networks in Building Disaster Resiliency in Rural Communities. Poster Presented at Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) 33rd Annual Conference, Washington D.C., November 3-5.
• Fatih Demiroz, Sana Khosa (2011) Designing Policy and Management Tools for Building Resilient Communities. Paper Presented at Public Management Research Association (PMRC) 11th Biannual Conference, Syracuse, NY, June 2-4.
• Christopher Hawkins. (2011). Building Disaster Resiliency in Rural Communities: A Network Approach. Paper accepted for presentation at the 2011 Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM), Washington DC, November 3-5.
• Christopher Hawkins (2012). Building Disaster Resilient Regions. Paper submitted to Urban Affairs Association Conference, Pittsburg, PA, March.
• Fernando Rivera, Marc Settembrino (2011). Sociological insights in the search of the disaster resilient community: past, present and future. Paper presented at 61st Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems 2011, Las Vegas, NV, August 19-21.
• Media Coverage, UCF Today. (2010, September 21). Study Examines How Rural Communities Cope With Natural Disasters. Accessed October 17, 2011 at http://today.ucf.edu/study-how-ruralcommunities-cope-with-natural-dis asters/

Progress 09/01/10 to 08/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Below is the list of outputs: I will send a PDF to the contact person at USDA. Extensive literature review on disaster resiliency (completed) Content analyses of 2004 Hurricanes (completed) Analyses of public complacency survey (completed) Analyses of social capital survey (completed) Network survey development (completed) Developing a disaster resiliency and sustainability course syllabus (completed) Network analysis of official documents (completed) Summary of key disasters in the geographic region (completed) Community asset map (completed)/shared with the participant organizations PARTICIPANTS: Project team members: Naim Kapucu, School of Public Administration, Principle Investigator Dr. Kapucu is in charge of the day to day operation of the project. He is responsible for analyzing the public complacency survey, and creating and analyzing the survey network instrument for emergency managers and community participants. Christopher Hawkins, School of Public Administration, Co-Principle Investigator Dr. Hawkins is responsible for community asset mapping in year one of the project. Fernando Rivera, School of Public Administration, Co-Principle Investigator Dr. Rivera is responsible for the analysis of social capital data in year one of the project. He will conduct focus groups in year two of the project. Graduate Research Assistants Fatih Demiroz (Public Policy and Management Subteam) Dan Stephens (Planning Subteam) Marc Settembrino (Sociology Subteam) Rebecca Dodson (Public Policy and Management Subteam) Advisory Council Members (Representatives of Partnering Agencies) Robert S. Lay, Director, Emergency Management, Brevard County Bob Wesch, Director, Emergency Management Citrus County Dave Freeman, Director, Emergency Management Orange COunty Troy Harper, Chief, Emergency Management, Flagler County Jerry Smith, Director, Emergency Management, Lake County Mark Johnson, Director, Department of Emergency Management, Levy County Chip Wildy, Director, Emergency Management, Marion County David Casto, Director, Emergency Management, Osceola County Alan Harris, Director, Emergency Management, Seminole County Judd Wright, Director, Emergency Management, Sumter County Charlie Craig, Director, Emergency Management, Volusia County Larry LaHue, Emergency Management, Volusia County Robert Rogers, Deputy Fire Chief, City of Deltona Fire/Rescue Department April Raulerson, Emergency Preparedness Manager, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council Tara McCue, Planner II, East Central Florida Regional Planning Council Tirso Moreno, General Coordinator, Farmworkers Association of Florida Jada Smith, COO, American Red Cross Mid-Florida Region Shirley Exner, Seminole County Office of Emergency Management Specialist Maureen Long, CEM Project Manager I, Seminole County Emergency Management Pastor John Murphy, President/Founder, Harvest Time International, Inc. Patricia Shields, Seminole County Volunteer Program, Inc. Gabriel De Jesus, Assistant to the City Manager, City of Kissimmee Larry Olness, Vice President, Community Services, United Way Heart of Florida Paul Smith, Planning Section Chief Titusville Emergency Management, Titusville Police Department Sue Cordova, President/CEO, United Way of Lake & Sumter Counties, Inc. Jim Stencel, COO, Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida Ronald Plummer, Assistant Manager, Orange County Office of Emergency Management Jim Judge, Lake - Sumter EMS, Lake County TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audience is the professional emergency managers in eleven counties (UCF service area) and beyond. We will have the workshop and other dissemination efforts to the group. Students of disasters studies also will be benefited from the results of the project. We have developed an undergraduate course syllabus. It has been already approved for our interdisciplinary honors college. The course proposal will be submitted for approval for the emergency management program at UCF. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Not relevant to this project.

Impacts
This annual report presents the activities and outcomes that were carried out by University of Central Florida research team consisting of Dr. Naim Kapucu, Dr. Christopher Hawkins, and Dr. Fernando Rivera. The activities presented in this document fulfill the goals listed in the grant proposal. The report consists of five sections. Section one presents the conference presentations, publications, and media coverage related to the research activities. Section two presents the activities that were completed by the Public Policy and Management Subteam for this project. In this section, there are thirteen items included. The activities include an analysis of Central Florida Counties' response network to the 2004 hurricane season, an analysis of the 2004 hurricane season public complacency survey, network analysis of each of the eleven county's comprehensive emergency management plans, and summary of the emergency management response to the Brevard and Volusia County fires that occurred between February- March 2011. Section three presents the activities completed by the Planning Subteam. This section includes the code book developed for conducting asset mapping for each of the eleven counties. Also presented is a sample hazards planning and emergency management asset map of Volusia County. Section four presents the activities conducted by the Sociology Subteam. This team of researchers analyzed the social capital data of Central Florida. In addition, the team developed an interview script as part of the focus groups interviews proposed in the grant. The report of their analysis and the interview script are attached as a separate document. Fifth section includes a comprehensive review of the literature conducted by the full research team.

Publications

• Naim Kapucu, Fernando Rivera, Christopher Hawkins, Fatih Demiroz, Marc Settembrino, and Rebecca Dodson. (2011). Resilient Communities Resilient Government. Presented at UCF 5th Annual Public Administration Conference, Orlando, FL, March 25.
• Fatih Demiroz, Naim Kapucu (2011). Developing and Managing Interorganizational and Cross-Sector Networks in Building Disaster Resiliency in Rural Communities. Poster Accepted for Presentation at Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) 33rd Annual Conference, Washington D.C., November 3-5.
• Fatih Demiroz, Sana Khosa (2011) Designing Policy and Management Tools for Building Resilient Communities. Paper Presented at Public Management Research Association (PMRC) 11th Biannual Conference, Syracuse, NY, June 2-4, 2011.
• Fatih Demiroz, Naim Kapucu (2011).Disaster Resiliency and Sustainability in Rural Communities. Paper Presented at Presented at American Society of Public Administration (ASPA) 72st Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD, March 11-15.
• Christopher Hawkins (2011).Building Disaster Resilience and Sustainability in Rural Communities. Paper presented at the ACSP annual conference, Salt Lake City, UT, October.
• Christopher Hawkins. (2011). Building Disaster Resiliency in Rural Communities: A Network Approach. Paper accepted for presentation at the 2011 Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM), Washington DC, November 3-5.
• Christopher Hawkins (2012). Building Disaster Resilient Regions. Paper submitted to Urban Affairs Association Conference, Pittsburg, PA, March.
• Fernando Rivera, Marc Settembrino (2011). Sociological insights in the search of the disaster resilient community: past, present and future. Paper presented at 61st Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems 2011, Las Vegas, NV, August 19-21.
• Media Coverage, UCF Today. (2010, September 21). Study Examines How Rural Communities Cope With Natural Disasters. Accessed October 17, 2011 at http://today.ucf.edu/study-how-rural-communities-cope-with-natural-di sasters/