Journal of Rescue and Relief
Year:2014 | Volume:6 | Issue:3|Papers Count:11

Background: Identifying the vulnerabilities of urban residential areas, zoning and vulnerability prioritization of these areas are the prevention and preparedness policies for retrofitting buildings. This paper aims to determine and prioritize the vulnerability of residential units in urban areas of Shiraz city based on skeleton index. Therefore, a multi-objective model with promising applications is presented for residential units’ vulnerabilities in the city.Method: In this descriptive-analytical and applied research, the vulnerability of residential units was performed on the basis of 7 criteria by using both the analytic hierarchy process for weighting the criteria and GIS for integrating the related mapping.Findings: The results indicated that design and urban planning in city of Shiraz are not based on physical parameters. So that the highest vulnerability due to access roads network and open space and the lowest vulnerability are related to district 8 and districts 1 and 6 respectively; As a result, for reducing the vulnerability of urban areas in Shiraz, the districts of 4 and 1 are to planning for priority based on the criterion of proximity to strategic areas. However, priority planning for different districts is as follows: the districts of 2, 5, 4 and 8 based on population density; the districts of 8, 3 and 7 based on open space and area of the residential units; the districts 1, 5 and 6 due to building density; and districts of 1, 5 and 8 based on standard life building in residential units and access network. The closer we get to the center of the city, the vulnerability of residential units increased. This is due to some items such as sensitive military sites, high population density and residential areas with small size in the city center.

Background: Natural disasters occur in communities and sometimes led to tragic disasters. In the meantime, earthquakes are the most surprising one, which becomes a human tragedy in the absence of community prevention and preparedness, and have a destructive effect on human beings, habitat and the community directly and indirectly. This study aims to answer this question how to take proper managing of relief operations; and to explore and identify the strengths and weaknesses points of relief operations management by asking directors’ and officers’ point of views of Red Crescent society and its branches involved in relief working to the affected people in Eastern Azerbaijan.Method: In this qualitative study, managers, deputies and heads of branches were selected and studied in the affected areas of Eastern Azerbaijan (Varzeqan, Ahar and Harris) in 2012. Using purposive sampling, data was collected and analyzed by content analysis and in-depth interviews technique. The reliability coefficient was C. (R=0.71).Findings: The results show that attendance time of relief workers category was appropriate than others categories in carrying out relief operations of Red Crescent society in East Azerbaijan and other categories were very inappropriate/low inappropriate/somewhat inappropriate.Conclusion: According to the results, a crisis management committee including different organizations and agencies are required to plan properly for the way to deal with disasters and relief working, and timely and equitable of facilities distribution. In one hand, this planning should be at the macro level between all agencies and organizations including military and armed forces, ministries (roads and transportation, power, telecommunications, health care, etc.), municipality, councils and governors, county, and Red Crescent society. On other hand, this planning should be at the micro-level (coordination between various parts of Red Crescent society) inside Red Crescent society and in form of a protocol job description defined clearly.

Background: Ilam province is one of the disaster prone areas in the country. So, this study aims to investigate factors influencing the effectiveness of rescue & relief teams in order to respond to disasters took place in the province.Method: In this cross-correlation and applied survey, all active and volunteer rescuers and relief workers (about 728) with different relief degree were studied through Morgan and Krejcie table. About 258 persons were selected by using stratified random sampling and self-administrated questionnaire. The reliability and validity were confirmed through Cronbach's alpha (0.87).Findings: According to the findings, there was a positive and significance relationship between rescue and relief team members’ collaboration times and their effects and duration of training with their effectiveness (p=0.000 and rs=0.676). Also, the items such as gender, marital status, place of residence, participation in rescue & relief operation, educational degree and type of group activity influence on rescue & relief teams’ effectiveness.Conclusion: According to the results, the following variables should be consider in the planning of rescue and relief teams such as rescue and relief teams members’ collaboration times with Red Crescent society; duration of training; members’ continuous participation in rescue and relief operation.

Background: Effective managers are those who take advantages of their emotional capacities and make effective and constructive relationship. In fact, successful managers focus on enhancing emotional intelligence and emotional nurturing capabilities. Actually, emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and correctly identify your own and others’ emotions as they are; the ability to use emotions in order to help solve problems and have an effective life; the ability to maintain motivation; perseverance in the face of adversity, regulating the mood and empathy for others. Thus, this study aimed to survey the impact of emotional intelligence on the skills of effective managers.Method: In this descriptive-analytical study, census method was used with all managers in Red Crescent society in provinces of Fars, Bushehr and Kohgiluyeh & Boyer-Ahmad (n=153). Data were collected through demographic characteristics, standardized questionnaire in 5 dimensions of emotional intelligence (subscale individual capabilities consists of self-awareness, self-regulation and motivation (3 dimensions), and subscale social capabilities consists of empathy and social skills (2 dimensions)) and standard questionnaire effective management skills. Reliability and validity was confirmed and data were analyzed by using software SPSS-21 and descriptive and inferential statistical methods.Findings: According to the findings, there were significant differences between the genders in emotional intelligence and also work experience in effective managers’ skills (p>0.05). All dimensions of emotional intelligence had a significant positive correlation with effective management skills; in addition, emotional intelligence (r=0.55, p<0.001) had relatively strong and significant positive correlation with the skills of effective managers. Emotional intelligence had the most significant predictive power for effective management skills (p>0.05) based on hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis with stepwise method, the dimension of self-awareness (Beta= 0.43, p>0.001), empathy (Beta=0.2, p>0.05) and social skills (Beta=0.3, p>0.001) respectively.Conclusion: Emotional intelligence with both dimensions of the social capability, i.e., empathy and social skills, and also dimension of self-awareness from the individual capability play important role in predicting the effective management skills. Therefore, more planning must be done for social capability and awareness in order to increase management skills.

Background: Mental Burnout is an inner feeling which causes negative feelings and attitudes of individual in relation to his job and dysfunction. In contrast, organizational commitment, resilience and mental health are as the predictor to prevent and reduce burnout. This study aims to investigate the relationship between organizational commitment, resilience and mental health with burnout syndrome of fire department employees in Tabriz in 2014.Method: In this applied, descriptive and correlation study, all employees of fire department were studied from 2013 to 2014 in Tabriz city. About 142 persons were selected by using random sampling. Data were collected through Maslach Burnout Inventory, Allen & Meyer Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire Goldberg, and Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale. Data were analyzed by using Pearson correlation coefficient, multiple regressions, SPSS-20.Findings: The results indicated that burnout syndrome has a significant and negative relationship with organizational commitment and resilience; and a positive and meaningful relationship with mental health status.Conclusion: According to the findings, mental health, organizational commitment and resilience have significant role in burnout.

Background: With the aim of workforce productivity, talent management is designed and used in many successful organizations. This idea will increase the motivation of people to participate in voluntary activities and to take advantage of Red Crescent society volunteers who provide humanitarian cooperation. This research aims to identify the barriers to volunteers’ talent management from the view of employees in Volunteers Organization.Method: In this applied and cross-sectional survey, about 104 people were studied and performed randomly among all employees (240) of Volunteers Organization in Tehran province and all provincial capitals. Data were collected by using self-administrated questionnaire and Cronbach's alpha (0.89). Then the obtained information was analyzed by using SPSS-15, one sample t-test and two independent samples t. (sig=0.05).Findings: The results indicate that the scores of all talent management indicators were lower than average and the difference was significant. The participants believed that based on triple pillars such as talent (skills & expertise), capability & ability and opportunity to develop the talents in volunteers of Volunteers Organization are lower than average and are not in good condition. Also, the organization is in a below average in considering five strategic factors underlying in talent management namely objectives & strategies, rules & regulations, management approach, organizational culture and human resource management. It should be noted that there is not a significance differences between the view of male and female respondents to identify barriers to talent management.Conclusion: According to the results, some items may be the barriers to successful implementation of talent management program in Volunteers Organization including lack of a database of volunteers’ skills and qualifications; lack of appropriate opportunities for the development of an unknown talent; lack of enough attention to concepts of talent management in programs; and no rules to attract and retain volunteers.

Background: In addition to the knowledge and skills, midwives should have adequate self-efficacy in order to provide effective reproductive health services in disasters; because self-efficacy is one of the factors influencing proper performance in emergency and stressful situations. Sudden onset disasters indicate the need to evaluate the midwives self-efficacy more, as a predictor of the performance in providing reproductive health services. Method: In this cross-sectional survey, 361 midwives who work in three areas of Tehran public hospitals, north, south and center after completing informed consent form, were participated by cluster random sampling. Data was collected by using a self-administered questionnaire and statistically analyzed by SPSS.Findings: The results are as follows: a total of 55, the self-efficiency score of midwives was moderate (38.3±8) and only 19% of the midwives had a good level of self-efficacy; The highest score of self-efficacy belonged to "collaborate with other team members in disaster" and the lowest score related to "adaptation to psychological stress with distress". There were significant correlation between self-efficacy with clinical experience (P=0.036), age (P=0.04), previous exposure to disasters (P=0.01) and completing the previous training course (P=0.04).Conclusion: With Consideration to average midwives self-efficacy scores and its relationship with training courses, preparing midwives by education seems necessary.

Background: Attention to people with disability is important at all stages of disaster management, besides reducing damage to these groups they cause to prevent the risk of many adverse and irreversible consequences of disasters. According to the previous experiences, not enough attention is being paid to the needs of the disabled people in national disaster management plans. However, this study aimed to collect and review the disability publications and studies conducted by Iranian researchers in order to describe characteristics of the existing evidences and also to explain the position of disabled people in disaster studies and researches in the country.Method: On September 2013, the relevant documents searched by using six databases such as SID, Irandoc, Iran Medex, Magiran, Database of Iranian Rehabilitation and Med Lib. Several keywords such as disability, disabled people, disasters, hazards, events, crisis, and earthquake were applied without any time limit in the publication years. About 13,624 documents were retrieved in initial search; finally, 10 studies including articles and thesis were selected and studied based on the inclusion and exclusion and eligibility criteria.Findings: The articles described in three parts: 1) The study of the disability before disasters (2 articles); 2) The study of the disability after disasters (4 articles); 3) The disaster management studies related to pre-disaster and post-disaster phases (1 article). The related thesis were conducted in Kerman University of Medical Sciences and Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences University and just explained in the form of first and second parts.Conclusion: The collected and studied existing scientific and academic documents on people with disability and disasters revealed inadequacy of related scientific resources and documentation. This considerable gap should fill with identifying the challenges and needs of all types of disabilities and reduce the risk of natural and man-made disasters for disabled people as well as improving their preparedness.