@article {bnh-7784, title = {Checks and balances: A business-oriented lens on disaster management and warnings}, journal = {Disasters}, year = {2020}, month = {12/2020}, abstract = {

Following disasters, small businesses are critical to community recovery. Yet, factors that affect outcomes (e.g., planning, information needs, and response to warnings) are understudied. To overcome the research record{\textquoteright}s focus on policy favoured towards disaster mitigation rather than response, this article presents a two-phased, mixed method approach. The first study comprised interviews with businesses to elucidate disaster planning approaches, knowledge and information needs, and current warning system adequacy. It revealed opportunities to build knowledge and add business-specific content to agency-issued warnings. Through an online survey, study two examined how disaster knowledge, planning and experience related to existing bushfire warnings and those modified with business-relevant content. Findings showed that planning related to experience and knowledge but not to business-related protective action intentions. Modified messages were perceived as more effective and resulted in greater action intentions for those with bushfire experience. The article provides implications for small business-oriented disaster risk communication.

}, keywords = {business, communication, community, disaster, recovery}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12473}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/disa.12473}, author = {Amisha Mehta and Scott Murray and Cindy Hammill and Paula Dootson and Rebecca Langdon} } @article {bnh-7845, title = {Checks and balances: A business-oriented lens on disaster management and warnings}, journal = {Disasters}, year = {2020}, month = {12/2020}, abstract = {

Following disasters, small businesses are critical to community recovery. Yet, factors that affect outcomes (e.g., planning, information needs, and response to warnings) are understudied. To overcome the research record{\textquoteright}s focus on policy favoured towards disaster mitigation rather than response, this article presents a two-phased, mixed method approach. The first study comprised interviews with businesses to elucidate disaster planning approaches, knowledge and information needs, and current warning system adequacy. It revealed opportunities to build knowledge and add business-specific content to agency-issued warnings. Through an online survey, study two examined how disaster knowledge, planning and experience related to existing bushfire warnings and those modified with business-relevant content. Findings showed that planning related to experience and knowledge but not to business-related protective action intentions. Modified messages were perceived as more effective and resulted in greater action intentions for those with bushfire experience. The article provides implications for small business-oriented disaster risk communication.

}, keywords = {business, communications, disaster, Warnings}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12473}, url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/disa.12473?af=R}, author = {Amisha Mehta and Scott Murray and Cindy Hammill and Paula Dootson and Rebecca Langdon} } @conference {bnh-3900, title = {Evidence-based risk communication: an industry-academic research collaboration that enhanced dam release message effectiveness}, booktitle = {AFAC17}, year = {2017}, month = {09/2017}, publisher = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, organization = {Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC}, address = {Sydney}, abstract = {

In the past, intuition, experience, and anecdotal information have shaped the design of public risk communication and education campaigns, potentially limiting their effectiveness (Wood et al., 2012). However, collaborations between industry and academia better use and combine theory with practice and can generate evidence to support or counter intuitive thinking. This extended abstract outlines the research collaboration between Seqwater and QUT, which supported Seqwater{\textquoteright}s response to the Inspector-General for Emergency Management{\textquoteright}s (IGEM) review of dam release messaging.

In their 2015 Review of Seqwater and SunWater Warnings Communications, the Office of the Inspector General for Emergency Management (IGEM) identified the need for more effective communication from Seqwater and SunWater during natural hazards. Specifically, under Recommendation one {\textendash} Messaging, IGEM recommended that Seqwater and SunWater focus immediate attention and action on issues of collaboration with local disaster management groups, addressing information sharing, messaging responsibilities, terminology and timing (IGEM, 2015).

}, author = {Amisha Mehta and Sophie Walker and Aimee Tutticci and Dominique Greer and Paula Dootson and Cindy Hammill and Vivienne Tippett} }