Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | 12th International Conference on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Civil Engineering, ICASP 2012 - Vancouver, Canada Duration: 12 Jul 2015 → 15 Jul 2015 |
Conference
| Conference | 12th International Conference on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Civil Engineering, ICASP 2012 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Canada |
| City | Vancouver |
| Period | 12 Jul 2015 → 15 Jul 2015 |
Abstract
There are many examples of unpredicted natural and man-made disasters occurring over the past few decades, for example Hillsborough (1989) and the 7/7 Bombings (2005). Most of these incidents led to legislative reform to either improve infrastructure or the operational response, in an attempt to minimise future risks. However, suggested changes have not taken into consideration how to manage and communicate risk to the public. This is despite the impact that ineffective risk communication could have on both potential casualties and the environment. For example, during the Fukushima accident (2011) people were evacuated from light radioactive areas and ended up in more heavily contaminated areas, partly due to poor risk communication (Robertson et al., 2012). In order to investigate the current status of acceptance from the public when receiving risk information in an emergency, a large-scale live multi-agency training event was developed. This event was based on a ferry collision, which resulted in the release of a potential contaminant, requiring members of the public to undergo mass decontamination. Data was collected using questionnaires and conducting post incident debriefs with a total of 53 members of the public who played the role of 'passengers' on-board the ferry. Data was analysed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings indicate that the operational element was accepted, and often praised, but participants had problems with the non-technical side of the response, particularly the communication; this had a significant impact on the perception of the services involved. It is recommended that there is more frequent, clear and direct communication given to the public throughout a disaster as it will potentially increase the level of compliance and reassurance, and will reduce anxiety. This will benefit the agencies involved as effective communication has been found to increase trust and promote future confidence in agencies (Carter et al., 2013). This research has future implications for policy making, disaster management, and improving risk communication to members of the public.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Engineering(all)
- Civil and Structural Engineering
- Mathematics(all)
- Statistics and Probability
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2015. Paper presented at 12th International Conference on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Civil Engineering, ICASP 2012, Vancouver, Canada.
Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper › Research › peer review
}
TY - CONF
T1 - Communicating risk in major incidents
T2 - 12th International Conference on Applications of Statistics and Probability in Civil Engineering, ICASP 2012
AU - Swan, Lauren
AU - Waring, Sara
AU - Alison, Laurence
AU - Beer, Michael
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - There are many examples of unpredicted natural and man-made disasters occurring over the past few decades, for example Hillsborough (1989) and the 7/7 Bombings (2005). Most of these incidents led to legislative reform to either improve infrastructure or the operational response, in an attempt to minimise future risks. However, suggested changes have not taken into consideration how to manage and communicate risk to the public. This is despite the impact that ineffective risk communication could have on both potential casualties and the environment. For example, during the Fukushima accident (2011) people were evacuated from light radioactive areas and ended up in more heavily contaminated areas, partly due to poor risk communication (Robertson et al., 2012). In order to investigate the current status of acceptance from the public when receiving risk information in an emergency, a large-scale live multi-agency training event was developed. This event was based on a ferry collision, which resulted in the release of a potential contaminant, requiring members of the public to undergo mass decontamination. Data was collected using questionnaires and conducting post incident debriefs with a total of 53 members of the public who played the role of 'passengers' on-board the ferry. Data was analysed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings indicate that the operational element was accepted, and often praised, but participants had problems with the non-technical side of the response, particularly the communication; this had a significant impact on the perception of the services involved. It is recommended that there is more frequent, clear and direct communication given to the public throughout a disaster as it will potentially increase the level of compliance and reassurance, and will reduce anxiety. This will benefit the agencies involved as effective communication has been found to increase trust and promote future confidence in agencies (Carter et al., 2013). This research has future implications for policy making, disaster management, and improving risk communication to members of the public.
AB - There are many examples of unpredicted natural and man-made disasters occurring over the past few decades, for example Hillsborough (1989) and the 7/7 Bombings (2005). Most of these incidents led to legislative reform to either improve infrastructure or the operational response, in an attempt to minimise future risks. However, suggested changes have not taken into consideration how to manage and communicate risk to the public. This is despite the impact that ineffective risk communication could have on both potential casualties and the environment. For example, during the Fukushima accident (2011) people were evacuated from light radioactive areas and ended up in more heavily contaminated areas, partly due to poor risk communication (Robertson et al., 2012). In order to investigate the current status of acceptance from the public when receiving risk information in an emergency, a large-scale live multi-agency training event was developed. This event was based on a ferry collision, which resulted in the release of a potential contaminant, requiring members of the public to undergo mass decontamination. Data was collected using questionnaires and conducting post incident debriefs with a total of 53 members of the public who played the role of 'passengers' on-board the ferry. Data was analysed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings indicate that the operational element was accepted, and often praised, but participants had problems with the non-technical side of the response, particularly the communication; this had a significant impact on the perception of the services involved. It is recommended that there is more frequent, clear and direct communication given to the public throughout a disaster as it will potentially increase the level of compliance and reassurance, and will reduce anxiety. This will benefit the agencies involved as effective communication has been found to increase trust and promote future confidence in agencies (Carter et al., 2013). This research has future implications for policy making, disaster management, and improving risk communication to members of the public.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84978719049&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.14288/1.0076023
DO - 10.14288/1.0076023
M3 - Paper
Y2 - 12 July 2015 through 15 July 2015
ER -