Preparing for fire-related emergencies and consequence management is considered to be dynamic and challenging in managing crises, preventing losses, and in the allocation of resources. In this study, we argue that improving plans and operations of personnel involved in managing fire-related emergencies is an important area of investigation. Here, we investigate the effects of social connectedness among different team members to manage bushfires. We further analyze response coordination by exploring variables such as participants' preparedness quality, quality of incident action planning, and quality of accessibility of resources. In doing so, we also test the effects of these variables on improved adaptive behavior. Our results show high positive correlation between social connectedness for team members and coordination quality and also adaptive behavior. We also found significant relationship between coordination and adaptive behavior. Applying regression analyses, the results indicate positive significant effect of social connectedness on coordination and adaptive behavior and also the effect of coordination on adaptive behavior. By exploring the proposed model, we are able to develop a better understanding of the factors that support adaptive behavior in incident management teams responding to bushfire events.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	team connectedness, coordination quality, participants adaptive behavior, disaster management, incident management team
Research Division:	Education
Research Group:	Other Education
Research Field:	Education not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Education and Training
Objective Group:	Other Education and Training
Objective Field:	Education and Training not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Owen, C (Dr Christine Owen)
ID Code:	88115
Year Published:	2013
Web of Science® Times Cited:	10
Deposited By:	Education
Deposited On:	2014-01-13
Last Modified:	2018-03-19
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