Date of Award

2013

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

There exists a lack of consensus around the definition of “sustainability” and numerous of applications of the concept in the disaster literature. Reviewing the disaster literature on sustainability, its intended audience, and the disciplines that inform it, a disconnect between the strategies proposed and the current role of county emergency managers in the U.S is evident. This study qualitatively explored how sustainability is conceptualized and perceived to be applicable at the local level by interviewing county emergency managers in the states of Florida and North Dakota. The study demonstrated that the lack of definitional clarity evidenced in the disaster literature is also reflected in emergency manager conceptualizations of sustainability. However, themes related to meaning were identified in the interviewed managers’ conceptualizations of sustainability, contextual factors influencing these conceptualizations offered, and implications of these findings for the development of the profession and discipline of emergency management discussed.

Rights

NDSU Policy 190.6.2

Rights Link

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

Handle Identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/10365/26611

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