Date of Award

2014

Publisher

North Dakota State University

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Awarded

Master of Science (MS)

Program

Emergency Management

Department

Emergency Management

College

Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Faculty Advisor

Jensen, Jessica

Description

This thesis attempted to explore how county emergency managers understand the risks most likely to manifest in their jurisdiction using an internet survey. This study addressed the following research questions: 1) What risks do county emergency managers perceive to be the most likely to manifest in their jurisdiction? 2) What factors explain their risk perceptions? Data were collected by internet survey which was sent to county emergency managers in FEMA Region V. When data collection ceased, 165 county emergency managers had completed the internet survey in full. Regression analysis revealed that a small amount of the variance in risk perception was explained. The notion of extending traditional variables professionally in a way that makes sense for county emergency managers proved to be valuable. Additionally, operationalization issues raised in this study can be used as valuable lessons learned for future risk perception research.

Rights

NDSU Policy 190.6.2

Rights Link

https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf

Handle Identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/10365/27567

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