Browsing by Author "Tyler, Jenna"

Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Critical Public Infrastructure Underwater: The Flood Risk Pro
    (Springer Nature, 2023-05) Sun, Pin; Entress, Rebecca; Tyler, Jenna; Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem; Noonan, Douglas; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    Hospitals play a critical role during disasters where they provide critical medical care to disaster victims and help the community to respond more effectively and recover quicker. However, hospitals face risks from the natural environment, such as flood risks. Amid the increasing flood risks due to climate change, it is essential to examine hospitals’ risk exposure. Motivated by this, this paper aims to answer four specific questions related to hospitals in Florida: (1) Are hospitals located in flood zones? (2) What is the relationship between hospital network size and flood hazard? (3) To what extent does hospital flood hazard vary by hospital attributes? (4) How do hospitals’ flood hazards differ from other public structures’ flood hazards? By leveraging two micro-level datasets, we found that approximately 12% of Florida hospitals are in flood zones, and that hospitals’ flood hazard is not influenced by hospital network size or hospital attributes. We also found that hospitals are one of the most flood-prone public structures in our sample, raising questions about public infrastructure in flood management. We conclude by offering recommendations for improving hospital resilience to future flood disasters.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Decision Making for Managing Community Flood Risks: Perspectives of United States Floodplain Managers
    (Springer, 2021-10) Tyler, Jenna; Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem; Noonan, Douglas S.; Entress, Rebecca M.; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    To reduce flood losses, floodplain managers make decisions on how to effectively manage their community’s flood risks. While there is a growing body of research that examines how individuals and households make decisions to manage their flood risks, far less attention has been directed at understanding the decision-making processes for flood management at the community level. This study aimed to narrow this research gap by examining floodplain managers’ perceptions of the quality of their community’s flood management decision-making processes. Data gathered from interviews with 200 floodplain managers in the United States indicate that most floodplain managers perceive their community’s flood management decision-making processes to be good. The results also indicate that communities participating in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Community Rating System, as well as communities with a higher level of concern for flooding and a lower poverty rate, are significantly more likely to report better flood management decision-making processes.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Employees’ Perceptions of Workplace Preparedness for Climate Change-Related Natural Hazards
    (Wiley, 2016-06) Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem; Ollier, Meredith; Tyler, Jenna; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    Despite climate change being identified as a current or future risk for organizations, researchers have yet to understand employees’ perceptions of their workplaces’ preparedness for climate change-related natural hazards (cc hazards) such as floods and wildfires. The purpose of this preliminary study is to describe the current state of workplace preparedness for cc hazards and to ascertain whether workplace preparedness for cc hazards aligns with state hazard priorities for cc hazards. Using data collected in 2014 from an online, national survey of 2,008 employees in the United States, the results indicate that workplaces are moderately prepared for cc hazards. In addition, there is a slight mismatch between workplace preparedness and state preparedness priorities for cc hazards. This study contributes to the literature on organizational preparedness for cc hazards by providing insights on the current state of workplace preparedness—from the perspectives of employees—for natural hazards associated with the global threat known as climate change. The paper concludes with a policy recommendation and provides an outline for future research on organizational preparedness for cc hazards.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Is flood mitigation funding distributed equitably? Evidence from coastal states in the southeastern United States
    (Wiley, 2023-06) Tyler, Jenna; Entress, Rebecca M.; Sun, Pin; Noonan, Douglas; Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    The United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides funding to state and local governments as well as tribes and territories (SLTTs) through its Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant program to engage in flood risk management efforts. Although all communities are susceptible to flooding, flooding does not impact communities equally. This article contributes to FEMA's goal of addressing equity concerns by examining whether the FMA program is distributed equitably in counties located in eight coastal states in the United States. Using secondary data from OpenFEMA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and parcel-level flood risk data from First Street Foundation from 2016 to 2020, results indicate that socially vulnerable counties are less likely to receive FMA funding, and counties with greater average flood risk are more likely to receive FMA funding. The findings suggest that there is an opportunity for FEMA to improve the FMA program so that funding can be more equitably distributed, such as providing grant writing and application training and support to socially vulnerable communities, educating socially vulnerable communities about the benefits of the FMA program, and extending the application deadline for socially vulnerable communities impacted by flood events.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Participation and non-participation in FEMA's Community Rating System (CRS) program: Insights from CRS coordinators and floodplain managers
    (Elsevier, 2020-09) Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem; Tyler, Jenna; Noonan, Douglas; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    Given that floods cause the greatest economic impact and affect more communities annually than any other natural hazard, there is a compelling need to better understand how communities can enhance their resilience to future flood disasters. One mechanism for enhancing communities' resilience to future flood disasters is through participation in the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Community Rating System (CRS). The CRS is a federal voluntary program that incentivizes communities in the United States to implement floodplain management activities that exceed those required under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In exchange for engaging in additional floodplain management activities, policyholders residing in CRS-participating communities receive discounts in their flood insurance premiums. To better understand the factors driving CRS participation, this study uses propensity score matching to match 100 randomly selected CRS participating communities with 100 non-CRS participating communities. Data gathered from CRS coordinators and floodplain managers indicate several factors are responsible for why communities participate, continue to participate, or do not participate the CRS. The main reason for participating in the CRS and continuing to participate is the reduction in flood insurance premiums, while the main reason for not joining the CRS is lack of resources (staff, funding, and time).
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A review of community flood risk management studies in the United States
    (Elsevier, 2019-12) Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem; Tyler, Jenna; Noonan, Douglas S.; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    Given the substantial and diverse body of research on community flood risk management in the United States, there is a need to establish the current state of knowledge, synthesize the methodological dimensions of community flood risk management studies, and identify directions for future research on community flood risk management. The present study addresses these needs by conducting a comprehensive and systematic review of community flood risk management empirical studies in the United States. We searched three academic databases and identified 60 studies that met our selection criteria (e.g., study must be focused on flood risk management at the community level and conducted in the United States). Findings indicate that the number of studies on community flood risk management is increasing, most studies employ flood mitigation and flood impact as their dependent variables, the preferred analytical method is regression, and this literature is dominated by social scientists, among other findings. We discuss six themes that emerge, present four recommendations based on the gaps identified, and outline a robust research agenda for enhancing communities' resilience to future flood disasters.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    A review of the community flood risk management literature in the USA: lessons for improving community resilience to floods
    (Springer, 2019) Tyler, Jenna; Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem; Noonan, Douglas S.; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    This study systematically reviews the diverse body of research on community flood risk management in the USA to identify knowledge gaps and develop innovative and practical lessons to aid flood management decision-makers in their efforts to reduce flood losses. The authors discovered and reviewed 60 studies that met the selection criteria (e.g., study is written in English, is empirical, focuses on flood risk management at the community level in the USA, etc.). Upon reviewing the major findings from each study, the authors identified seven practical lessons that, if implemented, could not only help flood management decision-makers better understand communities’ flood risks, but could also reduce the impacts of flood disasters and improve communities’ resilience to future flood disasters. These seven lessons include: (1) recognizing that acquiring open space and conserving wetlands are some of the most effective approaches to reducing flood losses; (2) recognizing that, depending on a community’s flood risks, different development patterns are more effective at reducing flood losses; (3) considering the costs and benefits of participating in FEMA’s Community Rating System program; (4) engaging community members in the flood planning and recovery processes; (5) considering socially vulnerable populations in flood risk management programs; (6) relying on a variety of floodplain management tools to delineate flood risk; and (7) ensuring that flood mitigation plans are fully implemented and continually revised.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Variations in public and private employees’ perceptions of organizational preparedness for natural disasters
    (Taylor & Francis, 2016) Sadiq, Abdul-Akeem; Tyler, Jenna; School of Public and Environmental Affairs
    Studies have demonstrated that public and private organizations differ in many respects (e.g. funding mechanisms and risk-taking capabilities). Based on this scholarship, we expect to see differences in their disaster preparedness levels. Hence, we propose the following research question: Are there variations in public and private employees’ perceptions of organizational preparedness for natural disasters? We answer this question by employing the theories of publicness and social identity. We define publicness through the core approach arguing that public and private organizations are uniquely different based on their legal status or ownership and social identity as an individual’s feeling of oneness or belongingness to a particular group or organization. Using data gathered in 2014 from a nationally representative sample of 1634 public and private employees in the United States, we posit that employees of private organizations will report higher preparedness levels in comparison to employees of public organizations. Our proposition is based on scholarship that found a negative relationship between publicness and organizational identification and a positive relationship between organizational identification and organizational performance. Contrary to our proposition, but in line with the disaster literature, the results showed that in general, employees of public organizations reported a higher preparedness level than employees of private organizations.