This proceedings contains articles, posters, and abstracts of presentations from the second Human... more This proceedings contains articles, posters, and abstracts of presentations from the second Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire Conference held 27-29 April 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. The conference covered the social issues at the root of wildland fire management's most serious challenges. Specific topics included: firefighter and public safety; social acceptance of fuels treatments; community and homeowner fire hazard mitigation; public responses during fires and fire-related evacuations; fire communication and education; and the performance of fire management organizations-from operational efficiency to cost management and from community relations to risk management. The conference included 59 presentations, three special sessions, and nine poster presentations. Conference attendees included fire researchers and wildland fire management practitioners from the United States,
Environmental studies and environmental sciences programs in American and Canadian colleges and u... more Environmental studies and environmental sciences programs in American and Canadian colleges and universities seek to ameliorate environmental problems through empirical enquiry and analytic judgment. In a companion article (Part 1) we describe the environmental program movement (EPM) and discuss factors that have hindered its performance. Here, we complete our analysis by proposing strategies for improvement. We recommend that environmental programs re-organize around three principles. First, adopt as an overriding goal the concept of human dignity-defined as freedom and social justice in healthy, sustainable environments. This clear higher-order goal captures the human and environmental aspirations of the EPM and would provide a more coherent direction for the efforts of diverse participants. Second, employ an explicit, genuinely interdisciplinary analytical framework that facilitates the use of multiple methods to investigate and address environmental and social problems in context. Third, develop educational programs and applied experiences that provide students with the technical knowledge, powers of observation, critical thinking skills and management acumen required for them to become effective professionals and leaders. Organizing around these three principles would build unity in the EPM while at the same time capitalizing on the strengths of the many disciplines and diverse local conditions involved.
The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) directs agencies to determine their obj... more The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) directs agencies to determine their objectives based on what stakeholders value. Identifying, measuring and analyzing values and objectives is a key challenge for public land management agencies. Using R and Q factor analysis we assess the values and objectives within the Leadership Team (LT) of the United States Forest Service (USFS). R-factor analysis demonstrates strong support among the LT for a more preservation-oriented view to manage public lands. Q-factor analysis reveals divergent perspectives among the LT and how the aggregated preservation orientation found with the R-factor analysis plays out according to individual perspectives. The ¢ndings illustrate the challenges inherent in identifying what values and objectives exist, how they should be analyzed, and the implications for choosing one set of values and objectives over another in public lands management to ful¢ll the mandates under GPRA.
ABSTRACT We leverage economic theory, network theory, and social network analytical techniques to... more ABSTRACT We leverage economic theory, network theory, and social network analytical techniques to bring greater conceptual and methodological rigor to understand how information is exchanged during disasters. We ask, “How can information relationships be evaluated more systematically during a disaster response?” “Infocentric analysis”—a term and approach we develop here—can (a) define an information market and information needs, (b) identify suppliers of information and mechanisms for information exchange, (c) map the information exchange network, and (d) diagnose information exchange failures. These steps are essential for describing how information flows, diagnosing complications, and positing solutions to rectify information problems during a disaster.
This proceedings contains articles, posters, and abstracts of presentations from the second Human... more This proceedings contains articles, posters, and abstracts of presentations from the second Human Dimensions of Wildland Fire Conference held 27-29 April 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. The conference covered the social issues at the root of wildland fire management's most serious challenges. Specific topics included: firefighter and public safety; social acceptance of fuels treatments; community and homeowner fire hazard mitigation; public responses during fires and fire-related evacuations; fire communication and education; and the performance of fire management organizations-from operational efficiency to cost management and from community relations to risk management. The conference included 59 presentations, three special sessions, and nine poster presentations. Conference attendees included fire researchers and wildland fire management practitioners from the United States,
Environmental studies and environmental sciences programs in American and Canadian colleges and u... more Environmental studies and environmental sciences programs in American and Canadian colleges and universities seek to ameliorate environmental problems through empirical enquiry and analytic judgment. In a companion article (Part 1) we describe the environmental program movement (EPM) and discuss factors that have hindered its performance. Here, we complete our analysis by proposing strategies for improvement. We recommend that environmental programs re-organize around three principles. First, adopt as an overriding goal the concept of human dignity-defined as freedom and social justice in healthy, sustainable environments. This clear higher-order goal captures the human and environmental aspirations of the EPM and would provide a more coherent direction for the efforts of diverse participants. Second, employ an explicit, genuinely interdisciplinary analytical framework that facilitates the use of multiple methods to investigate and address environmental and social problems in context. Third, develop educational programs and applied experiences that provide students with the technical knowledge, powers of observation, critical thinking skills and management acumen required for them to become effective professionals and leaders. Organizing around these three principles would build unity in the EPM while at the same time capitalizing on the strengths of the many disciplines and diverse local conditions involved.
The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) directs agencies to determine their obj... more The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) directs agencies to determine their objectives based on what stakeholders value. Identifying, measuring and analyzing values and objectives is a key challenge for public land management agencies. Using R and Q factor analysis we assess the values and objectives within the Leadership Team (LT) of the United States Forest Service (USFS). R-factor analysis demonstrates strong support among the LT for a more preservation-oriented view to manage public lands. Q-factor analysis reveals divergent perspectives among the LT and how the aggregated preservation orientation found with the R-factor analysis plays out according to individual perspectives. The ¢ndings illustrate the challenges inherent in identifying what values and objectives exist, how they should be analyzed, and the implications for choosing one set of values and objectives over another in public lands management to ful¢ll the mandates under GPRA.
ABSTRACT We leverage economic theory, network theory, and social network analytical techniques to... more ABSTRACT We leverage economic theory, network theory, and social network analytical techniques to bring greater conceptual and methodological rigor to understand how information is exchanged during disasters. We ask, “How can information relationships be evaluated more systematically during a disaster response?” “Infocentric analysis”—a term and approach we develop here—can (a) define an information market and information needs, (b) identify suppliers of information and mechanisms for information exchange, (c) map the information exchange network, and (d) diagnose information exchange failures. These steps are essential for describing how information flows, diagnosing complications, and positing solutions to rectify information problems during a disaster.
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Papers by T. Steelman