Communicating Environmental Risk in Multiethnic Communities

Ronald W. Perry earned the Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of Washington in 1975. He specializes in emergency management and disaster research and worked for a National Laboratory (Battelle Institute) prior to his 1983 appointment as Professor of Public Affairs at Arizona State University. He has published twenty books on different aspects of emergency preparedness and comprehensive emergency management and more than 125 referred journal articles.Dr. Perry’s public service includes appointment to three National Academy of Sciences Committees (United States Emergency Preparedness, Technology in Emergency Management and Natural Disasters). He was a pro bono consultant to the President’s Commission on the Reactor Accident at Three Mile Island. In Arizona, he was an original appointee to the Governor’s Terrorism Task Force and still serves on the Arizona Council for Earthquake Safety. Locally, Dr. Perry serves on the Steering Committees for the Phoenix Urban Area Security Initiative, the Phoenix Metropolitan Medical Response System, the Phoenix Fire Department Community Emergency Response Team, the Phoenix Fire Department Hazardous Incident Response Team and the Arizona Task Force I: Urban Search and Rescue Team.He holds the “Award for Excellence in Emergency Management” from the Arizona Emergency Services Association and the “Award for Outstanding Environmental Achievement” from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The Phoenix Fire Department selected him in 2003 to receive the Pearce Memorial Award for Contributions to the Hazardous Incident Response Team.

"The authors have extensive practical and research experience in catastrophic event management of both natural and technological hazards, and cite their research findings throughout the book. This is both a guidance document for practitioners and a research compilation. . . . The book includes an extensive list of well-chosen references."

• 1. Risk Communication, Culture, and EthnicityRisk Communication in Environmental Hazard ManagementRisk Communication, Ethnicity, and Culture2. Theoretical Bases of Risk CommunicationSocial InfluenceTheories of Behavioral Evaluation and ChoiceTheories That Integrate Social and Cognitive ProcessesThe Protective Action Decision Model3. Disaster Warnings as Risk CommunicationProtective Action DecisionsSituational Influences on Disaster ResponseWarning Compliance and Spontaneous ResponseWarning Multiethnic Communities4. Hazard Awareness as Risk CommunicationHousehold Hazard Adjustment DecisionsSitutational Influences on Hazard Adjustment5. Approaches to Influencing Hazard Adjustment AdoptionThe Context of Evnironmental Risk CommunicationRisk Communication During the Continuing Hazard PhaseRisk Communication During an Escalating Crisis or Emergency ResponseReferencesIndexAbout the Authors