Citation

Goode N, Salmon PM, Spencer C, McArdle D, Archer F. Disasters 2016; 41(1): 171-193.

Affiliation

Emeritus Professor at the Monash Injury Research Institute, Monash University, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/disa.12189

PMID

26987455

Abstract

Three years after the introduction of the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience there remains no unanimously adopted definition of disaster resilience within Australia's emergency management sector. The aim of this study is to determine what the concept means to key stakeholders in the emergency management sector in the Australian State of Victoria, and how these conceptualisations overlap and diverge. Via an online survey, 113 people were asked how they define disaster resilience in their work in the emergency management sector. A data mining software tool, Leximancer, was employed to uncover the relationships between the definitions provided. The findings show that stakeholders see resilience as an 'ability' that encompasses emergency management activities and personal responsibility. However, the findings also highlight some possible points of conflict between stakeholders. In addition, the paper outlines and discusses a number of potential consequences for the implementation and the success of the resilience-based approach in Australia.

© 2016 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2016.

Language: en