Aim

• To improve the students capability to analyse and discuss theoretical and practical aspects of national and international disaster management..

• Provide a foundation for students interested in research to be used as a base for their research on disaster management.

Knowledge and understanding
For a passing grade the student must

• Be able to critically analyse coordination in disaster management situations.

• Be able to critically analyse the prerequisites and the challenges for effective disaster preparedness.

Skills and abilities
For a passing grade the student must

• Be able to understand the conditions of disaster management and employ relevant knowledge in emergency situations.

• Be able to critically analyse challenges in effective disaster management situations.

Judgement and approach
For a passing grade the student must

• Demonstrate capability for identifying his/her needs for further knowledge and for ongoing improvement of his/her competence.

• Demonstrate capacity to make assessments regarding disaster response management with respect to the relevant scientific, community-related and ethical aspects.

Contents
Disaster response managers need to continuously analyse and adapt to ever changing situations in environments where people are in distress, there is a constant lack of time and information and where available resources are related to different formal organizations. Harnessing such complexity is one of the cornerstones of a successful disaster operation.

Traditionally, disaster response management has to large extent been influenced by a traditional command and control perspective which has emphasized the role of a central authority and clear command structures. However, in recent years alternative perspectives on management in complex situations have emerged. Such perspectives acknowledge the importance of informal networks, trust and argues that in fact disaster operations seldom work according to defined roles and responsibilities or standard operating procedures.

Disaster response management explores the multi-organizational management context from both an academic/theoretical and a practical perspective. Moreover, the course deals with important aspects of decision-making, group dynamics and leadership. The course aims to improve the students' ability to analyze different aspects of disaster response management and how to cope with several of the challenges associated with response operations. Disaster response management is based on three interrelated themes:

• The disaster response system: During the course theoretical and practical approaches to the complexity in disaster response operations will be discussed. Among other things ideas based on complex adaptive systems will be introduced. Practical experiences from the international field will be provided. Other topics included in this theme are the important issues of trust media and security management.

• Decision making: This theme focuses on cognitive aspects of disaster response management. How can we understand decision-making processes? What is situational awareness? Is a common operational picture necessary?

• Leadership: The importance of the leader in disaster response is broadly recognised, but what is leadership and what is special about being a leader in a disaster situation? Which are the different approaches that a leader may apply in order to ensure the successful outcome of an operation?

Methods: The course is based on interdisciplinary teaching and problem-oriented learning and seeks to draw on students' own experience as a resource. Both lectures and group work are important components. Students are expected to actively participate in the learning process and prepare for the sessions by studying distributed and recommended reading materials.

Literature
der Heide E., R., (2000) Disaster response – Principles of Preparation and Response,
Online edition designed by the centre of excellence in disaster management and
humanitarian assistance; Available from: http://orgmail2.coe-dmha.org/dr/static.htm. Chapter 1: The problem; Chapter 3: The “paper plan syndrome”; Chapter 9: Communication with the public; Chapter 10: The media: friend and foe.
National Incident Management System. Department of Homeland Security, 2004.
Available from: http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/NIMS-90-web.pdf. Chapter 1: Introduction and overview; Chapter 2: Command and management.
Brehmer, B. Understanding the Functions of C2 is the Key to Progress, The
International C2 Journal, 1(1), 2007, pp. 211-232.
Buck, Dick A.; Trainor, Joseph E.; and Aguirre, Benigno E. A Critical
Evaluation of the Incident Command System and NIMS, Journal of Homeland
Security and Emergency Management, 3(1), 2006.
Harrald, J. and Jefferson, T. Shared situational awareness in emergency
mitigation and response, Proceedings of the 40th Hawaii International Conference on
System Sciences - 2007.
McEntire, D. The Status of Emergency Management Theory: Issues, Barriers,
and Recommendations for Improved Scholarship. Paper presented at FEMA Higher
Education Conference, Emmitsburg, MD, 2004.
Weick, K.E. The Collapse of Sensemaking in Organizations: The Mann Gulch
Disaster, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 38, No. 4, 1993, pp. 628-652.