Betty KirbyCentral Michigan University

April 10, 2011

Using a Model for Critical Incident Analysis to Understand Aftermath Dynamics of Hurricane Katrina in an Educational Context

The most serious disruption of highereducation in our nation’s history…

The PoliticalArena

The PoliticalArena

Bureaucracy & AdhocracyBureaucracy & Adhocracy

CONTEXTCONTEXT

Model for Critical Incident Analysis

New Orleans/Gulf Region

EVENT : Natural and Technological Disaster

Demands

Tactics

Context

Severity

Now 0-2 years

2-20 years

20+ years

Significance

Consequences

Impact

80,000 College Students348,000 K-12 StudentsOver 1.3 Million Displaced $150 Billion in Damages

Fall 2005 6 Colleges/Universities Closed 43 Colleges/Universities Postponed or DisruptedDisplaced Students Tracked to over 900 Public Institutions

The PoliticalArena

The PoliticalArena

Bureaucracy & AdhocracyBureaucracy & Adhocracy

CONTEXTCONTEXT

Model for Critical Incident Analysis

GovernmentGovernment

CONTEXTCONTEXT

GovernedGoverned

Trust

Communication

The PoliticalArena

The PoliticalArena

Bureaucracy & AdhocracyBureaucracy & Adhocracy

CONTEXTCONTEXT

Model for Critical Incident Analysis

Interveners

Management

Delegation

Policy

ContextTactics

Media

Convergence –> Emergence

Government Agencies – federal, state, local responders: Emergency workers, Mental Health Experts, Red Cross, Service Groups, Volunteers…

Media: local, state, national, international

Business, Non-Profit & Community Organizations

Faith-based Community Educators: researchers, need

for access Emergent Behavior –

altruistic; opportunistic, spectators

Internet/Websites - LifelinesUnified Response to Adversity by Higher

Education InstitutionsSloan Semester

Purposeful Community PartnershipsCollege and University Service Learning Projects:

horticulture, animal shelters, coastal restoration, advertising, survivor interviews/archives, emergency preparedness for elderly, interior design, Habitat for Humanity, children’s museum, farmer’s market, food bank, Jazz historical museum, website development and

maintenance, murals, gardens, and numerous other restoration projects as needs arise…

The PoliticalArena

The PoliticalArena

Bureaucracy & AdhocracyBureaucracy & Adhocracy

CONTEXTCONTEXT

Model for Critical Incident Analysis

Communication

StudiesCommunication

StudiesEmergency

ManagementEmergency

Management

1) Sensemaking Narratives2) Persuasion/Compliance

Strategies3) Stressful Communication

1) Sensemaking Narratives2) Persuasion/Compliance

Strategies3) Stressful Communication

Recovery and ResilienceMangum and Leary (2010) Report enrollment

is climbing back to pre-Katrina levels in Louisiana

Delgado Community College is only college/university to surpass enrollment level

Nunez Community College enrollment continues to climb

Record enrollments in 2010 for Texas and Mississippit community colleges

Recovery and Resilience in Physical and Social Systems

Traditional Approach:

Mitigation Preparedness Response Recovery

Reconceived Approach

Robustness Redundancy Resourcefulness Rapidity

Dimensions/DynamicsCausation; Appraisal of EventPsychological ImpactSubjective Experience Media PortrayalPhases of Response – Restoring

LifelinesWorld View/ Basic AssumptionsAdjusting to the ‘new normal’

In Closing…Improvisational Leadership

“There is no script for this. ThereIs no road map. We’re writing it as We go along.” - Tulane President Cowen, 2005

References

Contact Dr. Betty Kirby kirby2ea@cmich.edu

Kirby, E. (2010, October). A model for critical incident analysis. Journal of Critical Incident Analysis (JCIA). New York: John Jay College