Anne-Lise Knox Velez

An Exploratory Study of Public Service Motivation and the Institutional–Occupational Model of the Military

This article empirically connects Moskos’ Institutional–Occupational model to the large body of cross-nationally validated research on public service motivation (PSM). We find that in our sample, the PSM construct is positively correlated with institutional motivations that reflect Moskos’ insights. We also find evidence that the four dimensions of PSM (Attraction to Public Participation, Commitment to Public Values, Self-sacrifice, and Compassion) may offer a more nuanced way to assess institutional motivations. Our research suggests that those interested in military recruitment/retention/performance and public administration scholars may have much to learn from each other. We call for further research in this area.

Public information seeking, place-based risk messaging and wildfire preparedness in southern California

Southern California is a challenging environment for managing and adapting to wildland–urban interface fires. Previous research shows risk perception and information seeking are related and that public information dissemination influences locally specific risk perception and preparedness actions. Here, we examine relationships between residents’ wildfire knowledge and experience, readiness actions and media choice to determine how to integrate preparedness information and the recently developed Santa Ana Wildfire Threat Index into public information. Based on frequencies, means tests and correlations, we find television most frequently used for both daily news and wildfire information and that most people intend to seek information from the same sources in future fires. Wildfire knowledge, experience and past preparedness actions influence the number of sources from which respondents report seeking information. We note significant geographic differences in information sources used before and during wildfire, with higher percentages of residents in more rural areas relying on television, radio, Reverse 911, and friends and family for information during a wildfire. Findings support previous research results indicating sources considered trustworthy are not always considered the most up-to-date. Our findings support other empirical research recommending a multimedia, two-way communication model for event-based and readiness information supplemented with one-way sources like television.

Public Service Motivation and Institutional-Occupational Motivations among Undergraduate Students and ROTC Cadets

Given the current fiscal climate, budgetary pressures may have important implications for recruitment and retention of military personnel. In response to this issue, we join two literatures to study motivational differences in undergraduate college students and Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets: Moskos’ Institutional and Occupational (I-O) enlistment motivation model and Kim et al.’s revised Public Service Motivation (PSM) scale. We survey ROTC cadets and undergraduates at a mid-size public university and find that PSM is higher for ROTC cadets than regular undergraduates. We also find that for ROTC cadets, the institutional motivators for enlistment correlate positively with the rational, normative, and affective dimensions of PSM. In addition, we find increases in the Occupational motivator and the compassion PSM dimension reduce the likelihood of being an ROTC cadet whereas the Institutional motivator and the self-sacrifice PSM dimension are positively related with being an ROTC cadet.

The Structure of Effective Governance of Disaster Response Networks: Insights From the Field:

There is significant debate about the appropriate governance structure in a disaster response. Complex disasters exhibit both networked and hierarchical characteristics. One challenge in the field of disaster management is how to structure a response that reconciles the need for centralized coordination among varied responders while retaining flexibility to mutually adjust operations to quickly changing conditions. A key question with both practical and theoretical relevance is, “are there patterns of relationships that are more robust, efficient and effective?” Missing from the current literature is empirical evidence and theory building concerning what actual network structures and characteristics might be associated with effective incident response to complex disasters. In this article, we collected network cognition data from 25 elite, Type 1 Incident Commanders to construct an ideal-type theoretical social network of an effective incident response network. We then analyzed this model to identify a set of propositions concerning the network structure and governance of effective incident response relative to four key network capabilities: (a) rapid adaptation in response to changing conditions, (b) management of distributed information, (c) bilateral coordination, and (d) emergent collective action. Our data suggest that the structure is neither highly integrated nor rigidly centralized. Rather, it is best characterized as a moderate core–periphery structure. Greater theoretical clarity concerning the capabilities associated with this structure is critical for advancing both research and practice in network governance of complex disasters.

Patterns of preference and practice: bridging actors in wildfire response networks in the American Northwest

The roles of bridging actors in emergency response networks can be important to disaster response outcomes. This paper is based on an evaluation of wildfire preparedness and response networks in 21 large-scale wildfire events in the wildland-urban interface near national forests in the American Northwest. The study investigated how key individuals in responder networks anticipated seeking out specific people in perceived bridging roles prior to the occurrence of wildfires, and then captured who in fact assumed these roles during actual large-scale events. It examines two plausible, but contradictory, bodies of theory-similarity and dissimilarity-that suggest who people might seek out as bridgers and who they would really go to during a disaster. Roughly one-half of all pre-fire nominations were consistent with similarity. Yet, while similarity is a reliable indicator of how people expect to organise, it does not hold up for how they organise during the real incident.

Perspective Matters: The Challenges of Performance Measurement in Wildfire Response Networks

Abstract While the field of evaluation and measurement performance is well established, evaluating network performance in the context of disaster response is rare. The complexity and scope of disaster incident response necessitates a focus beyond the performance of single organizations or agencies. Research suggests that multilevel and multiperspective approaches are necessary to truly understand networks and how they perform. In this study, we employ the concept of “pluralism” to conceptualize and measure network performance in large-scale wildfire events. We use multilevel modeling to examine the variation in network performance measures within and between 21 complex wildfire incidents in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Findings suggest responders within the same incident varied significantly in their perceptions of how well the network performed. Given the degree of pluralism that was evident, it is clear that we need to better understand the factors that help to explain differences in evaluations between responders.