Title: Searching for a holistic paradigm and policy guide: a proposal for the future of emergency management

Authors: David A. McEntire

Addresses: Emergency Administration and Planning, Department of Public Administration, University of North Texas, P.O. Box 310617, Denton, TX 76203-0617, USA

Abstract: The following article illustrates that whilst the disaster resistant community, disaster resilient community and sustainable development concepts provide many unique advantages for disaster scholarship and management, they fail to sufficiently address each of the hazards, phases, actors, variables and disciplines pertaining to calamitous events. In making this argument, the paper asserts that any future paradigm and policy guide must be built on - yet go further than - comprehensive emergency management. The article also notes the importance of vulnerability as it relates to disasters, and consequently suggests that ||invulnerable development|| - a process of vulnerability management - is better suited to guide scholarly and practitioner efforts to understand and reduce disasters.

Keywords: comprehensive emergency management; resistance; resilience; sustainability; development; liabilities; capabilities; vulnerability management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEM.2003.003295

International Journal of Emergency Management, 2003 Vol.1 No.3, pp.298 - 308

Published online: 20 Aug 2003 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article