Broad-based Participatory Inquiry into the Definition and Scope of Disaster

Year 2017, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 165 - 182, 31.07.2017

Fulya Ozturk Tasci Ayse Oguz Unver

https://doi.org/10.21891/jeseh.326743

Cited By: 1

Abstract

Understanding what disaster means will not only raise our awareness but
will also bring us closer to knowing how to protect ourselves in the face of
their destructive effects. The aim of this study is to understand how the
concept of disaster is perceived in different demographics/subgroups of the
population and by defining the term, to determine its scope and contribute in
the long term to the content and effectiveness of the disaster education in the
school settings. The sample for the study, which was of survey design,
comprised 1600 individuals. A "Disaster Definition and Scope Scale
[DDSS]" developed by the researchers to inquire into the definition and
scope of disasters was used as a data collection instrument. The Cronbach Alpha
reliability coefficient for the internal consistency of the scale is .83. The
frequency analysis method of statistical analysis was used to examine the
participants' demographic features. The responses of the participants to the
open-ended questions on the definition of disaster were examined under 4 main
themes that categorized the responses as nature-based, people-based,
belief-based and outcome-based. The third section made up of 25 items on the
scope of the term disaster was analyzed using the one-way analysis of variance
and the Scheffe's test was employed to ascertain the source of the significant
differences between the groups in an inter-group post-hoc comparison. The
conclusion of the study is that the concept of disaster is generally confused
with natural phenomena in every aspects of the population and that the
participants in the research were not even aware of the existence of
institutions, associations and civil defense organizations that conduct
disaster emergency operations. The media tools occupy an important place in
providing the public with right disaster understanding.

Keywords

Natural phenomenon, Disaster, Natural disaster, Disaster education

References

• Ozturk Tasci, F. & Oguz Unver, A. (2017). Broad-based participatory inquiry into the definition and scope of disaster. Journal of Education in Science, Environment and Health (JESEH), 3(2), 165-182.