Investigators at Faculty of Engineering LTH Report Findings in Disaster Risk Reduction (Striking a Balance Between the Costs and Benefits of Increasing Response Capability: a Microworld Study of the Effect of Capability Assessments)

2020 JAN 17 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Politics, Law & Government Daily -- Current study results on Disaster Risk Reduction have been published. According to news reporting originating from Lund, Sweden, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “The Hyogo and Sendai frameworks highlight the key role of disaster risk management (DRM). However, the guidance is limited on how to best conduct DRM activities, such as capability assessments, to reduce the impact of disasters.”

Financial support for this research came from Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the Faculty of Engineering LTH, “In this study, we examine the effectiveness of different ways of presenting capability assessments, both when dealing with so-called high impact/low probability (HILP) events and low impact/high probability (LIHP) events. More specifically, we introduce microworld experiments as a new approach to studying and developing DRM knowledge. This approach allows the researcher to retain some of the dynamics and complexity of the real DRM context while providing greater experimental control compared to field studies. We report the results from such a study in which forty-nine DRM professionals assumed the role of municipal decision-makers who were asked to balance investments in public services and goods with increasing response capability (in order to reduce losses from potential future adverse events), with or without support from capability assessments. The results show, as expected that it was harder to manage the trade-off between the cost of increasing response capability and benefits in terms of reduced losses in HILP situations compared to LIHP. Also, the results show that presenting capability assessments to the decision-makers increased the investments in capability and they became better at balancing the cost of investment with reduced losses.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “The results thus suggest that capability assessments can be useful to support decision-making for proactively reducing the impacts of disasters.”

For more information on this research see: Striking a Balance Between the Costs and Benefits of Increasing Response Capability: a Microworld Study of the Effect of Capability Assessments. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2019;41():. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction can be contacted at: Elsevier, Radarweg 29, 1043 Nx Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Elsevier - www.elsevier.com; International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction - http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-journal-of-disaster-risk-reduction/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting H. Lindbom, Faculty of Engineering LTH, Div Risk Management & Soc Safety, Pob 118, S-22100 Lund, Sweden.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101297. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

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