image: Xiaochen (Angela) Zhang, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of public relations for the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communications. view more
Credit: Photo provided by the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma assistant professor Xiaochen (Angela) Zhang, Ph.D., has received a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development Award, known as a CAREER award, from the National Science Foundation to study how relationships among non-profits, community groups and local government agencies can improve disaster resilience, resource allocation, and emergency management by enabling organizational interactions, rather than top-down responses.
Zhang, who is an assistant professor of public relations for the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication at OU, will receive $520,000 from the National Science Foundation for the five-year project that combines two existing academic theories – social network theory and transactive memory system theory – to develop a complement to standard disaster planning that aims to improve community resilience.
Working with the emergency managers for Cleveland County, Oklahoma, as well as community organizations and stakeholders, Zhang will conduct in-depth interviews, workshops and surveys to measure the communities’ social and communication networks and determine the communities’ resource needs, gaps for resources, or areas in which collaboration can be strengthened.
FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, provides emergency managers with comprehensive guides and plans for preparing for and responding to a wide range of emergency events. However, the FEMA structure emphasizes a top-down approach.
“The traditional FEMA structure is that you start with the emergency manager of the city, or the county, or the area, and then they will set up a chain of command for better management of the situation, but also for communication,” Zhang said. “That’s a really good management method, but from a communication perspective, it can obstruct the information flow, especially in disasters where each organization might have limited resources. Communicating laterally can improve the sharing of resources.”
Zhang’s project could complement the FEMA command structure by working with local organizations and intrapersonal connections at the community or neighborhood level to build a knowledge network of the resources and support systems available to a community when responding to or recovering from a disaster.
“Cleveland County is particularly well-suited for this sort of project,” said Zhang, “because of the strength of the Community Needs Network, a unique partnership of OU, the United Way of Norman, the City of Norman, and other regional non-profits.”
“A lot of emergency managers have a social network of this kind. My project is to strengthen and broaden the impact and include more community-level organizations,” she added. “Community organizations, like non-profits and community leaders, have strong social networks and resources of their own that people could use, so it’s an idea to establish communication and build the knowledge network of what each organization can do and resources they could provide during an emergency.”
On April 20, 2023, a tornado touched down in Shawnee, Oklahoma, causing two Shawnee nursing homes to transfer residents to facilities around the state overnight to maintain patient care.
“They needed transportation devices, and they were able to get that resource from school buses provided by the local school board,” Zhang said. “That’s the kind of resource connection my project could help provide. By expanding that knowledge network, more organizations will know how to access the resources they need when they need them.”
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About the Project
The project, “Transactive Resilience: Uncovering the Effects of Social Network and Communal Capacity on Disaster Community Resilience,” is funded by an expected $520,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Award No. 2235583. The project begins on Sept. 1, 2023 and is expected to conclude in 2028.
About the University of Oklahoma Office of the Vice President for Research and Partnerships
The University of Oklahoma is a leading research university classified by the Carnegie Foundation in the nation’s highest tier of research universities. Faculty, staff and students at OU are tackling global challenges and accelerating the delivery of practical solutions that impact society in direct and tangible ways through research and creative activities. OU researchers expand foundational knowledge while moving beyond traditional academic boundaries, collaborating across disciplines and globally with other research institutions as well as decision makers and practitioners from industry, government and civil society to create and apply solutions for a better world. Find out more at ou.edu/research
About the University of Oklahoma
Founded in 1890, the University of Oklahoma is a public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. OU serves the state, region and nation’s educational, cultural, economic and health care needs. For more information visit www.ou.edu.