Описание
xii PREFACE
institutions, potential leaders who are trained in this new paradigm. The real issue
for our profession will be gaining the acceptance of elected officials and the public
for this new role and overcoming the roadblocks created by the well-meaning but
out-of-touch Department of Homeland Security.
The ideas in this book are likely to be controversial and, I hope, spark discussion
among my colleagues. There is no single best way to respond to disasters-by virtue
of the need for innovation and creative problem solving during response, there really
can’t be. However, we can define a common set of criteria that positions us for success. It is this belief that has caused a number of my colleagues to expend considerable efforts to develop NFPA 1600 and the EMAP Standard. So while some of my
ideas may be controversial, they are grounded in this common set of criteria and in a
considerable body of social science research.
I had hoped initially to write a book that would be applicable to both the public
and private sectors. However, I began to realize that there are, in fact, qualitative differences between the two sectors that make such a task extremely difficult. The principles are the same but there are enough subtle nuances that would have made the
book cumbersome. Wherever I could, I have tried to focus on concepts and principles, so it is my hope that this book may be of some value to my colleagues in the
private sector.
I’ve had to make similar decisions in some of the titles I selected. Over the last
few years there have been many new players getting involved in disaster response.
We are seeing a convergence of disciplines that will have a profound impact on our
professions in the future. Risk managers, security managers, business continuity
managers and so many others are lending important new skills to our programs. So
while 1 have focused this book on public sector emergency managers, it is my hope
that there will be applicability to the other disciplines that are involved with disaster
response. Each of these disciplines has a specialized body of knowledge that makes
us experts in our field but there is a commonality among disciplines when we start
discussing emergency preparedness and response.
It’s been said that no book is the sole product of the author and how true that is!
The two most humbling things I know are teaching a course or writing a book about
your profession. It forces you to confront how little you really know and how much
better others have expressed the ideas you’re groping toward. Sir Isaac Newton once
said, “If I have seen farther than others, it is because I have stood on the shoulders of
giants.” Many of those giants are listed in the bibliography.
I am an emergency management dinosaur. I came to the profession with previous
experience in private security and the military at a time when you learned your craft
from your mentors and your colleagues. It was years before I discovered that everything that I had learned the hard way had already been written about by social scientists like Russell Dynes and E.L. Quarantelli. The advantage to coining to their work
late in my career is that I know they are right-their work corresponds to the lessons
I have learned in over 30 years of dealing with crisis. So to all those social scientists
that are building the knowledge base so critical to our profession, at least one emergency manager has heard you and appreciates your hard work.
Детали
- Год издания
- 2006
- Format