Examines the socially constructed relationship between hazards and disasters. Introduces the key stakeholders involved with emergency management, and explores the historic and contemporary principles, policies, and legal frameworks guiding the field of practice. Analyzes different paradigms for conceptualizing the practice of disaster and emergency management in Canadian and international contexts.
Analyzes contextual factors that need to be taken into account by emergency managers when developing hazard mitigation strategies, and preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters. Explores competencies required to effectively engage stakeholders and take into account the diversity of perspectives present in the multi-sector, multi-agency, collaborative environments that characterize disaster and emergency management in the 21st century. Examines characteristics and processes of ethical decision-making.
Explore the ethical, social, cultural, psychosocial and behavioral implications of disasters. Examine the influence and interaction of human, event, and contextual characteristics and their contributions to social vulnerability and resilience, decision-making, and leadership.
Examines the changing hazard landscape in the 21st century and explores contemporary approaches to disaster risk management. Explores hazard, vulnerability and resilience in greater depth and analyzes risk management frameworks that structure the assessment of hazards and their impacts on contemporary society. Uses research literature to examine best practices in minimizing residual risk by proactively managing risk, with particular attention given to the preparedness dimension of emergency management practice.
Analyzes response to and recovery from disaster events across different social units (e.g., household, organizations, communities). Examines paradigms, theories and models that aid in the understanding of disaster response and sustainable recovery. Explores the ways in which life in a digital world is influencing and shaping response and recovery practices. Examines what is empirically known about disaster response and sustainable recovery and appraises the implications of this knowledge for advancing response and recovery practice.
Examines the psychology and behaviour of survivors, responders and leaders in situations of conflict, crisis, and disaster. Analyzes theory and evidence-informed practices that promote individual and collective resilience and recovery. Explores stress, trauma, grief and coping. Analyzes interventions that address the psychosocial needs of individuals and communities.
Examines communication needs associated with contexts of heightened concern (e.g., crisis, conflict, disasters). Analyzes theories about perception of risk. Explores theories, principles and practices of risk and crisis communication that support individuals, organizations and communities making effective risk/benefit decisions, managing fear and uncertainty, and responding to crisis.