فصلنامه دانش پیشگیری و مدیریت بحران
سال سیزدهم شماره 3 (پیاپی 49، پاییز 1402)

COVID-19, as the most challenging global concern in recent years, forced countries in the world to adopt strategies to manage and deal with its consequences. The experiences of countries in this field can be used to plan for future pandemics. This study aims to identify strategies for managing and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and find the necessary facilities for their implementation.

This is a systematic review. The data were collected by searching for related studies in Web of Science, Scopus and google scholar and were finally analyzed to identify the strategies and facilities using the MAXQDA software, version 2020.

Three main categories of strategies were extracted including elimination strategies, suppression strategies, and mitigation strategies. There were 29 subcategories including complete lockdown, closure of borders, economic support for businesses, providing correct and timely information, research and development of vaccines, and vaccinations. A strong economy, proper organizational culture and structure, software/hardware infrastructure, and financial flexibility were identified as facilities needed for the implementation of strategies. 

To cope with critical situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, governments should adopt and implement proper strategies before the occurrence of a crisis to have the best performance and cause less damage to people.

Today, Iran is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change due to its geographical and climatic features. One of the most important negative effects of climate change is the increase in temperature, which can increase the risk of wildfires. Wildfires are an environmental challenge and one of the threats to a large part of the forests in the world, including Iran. This study aims to investigate the effect of global warming on the increase in the risk of wildfires in Iran by using remote sensing technology and spatial analysis. 

The temperature data of the synoptic stations (Mehrabad, Yazd, Bam, Shiraz, Isfahan and Bushehr) in a 32-year period from 1988 to 2020 were first prepared from the Meteorological Organization. Then, Excel macros and XLSTAT plugin were used to check the temperature trend. To identify the vegetation cover, the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was used from the Landsat 8 satellite with a spatial resolution of 27.84 meters, whose source of data was the Google Earth Engine. Then, the parameters of elevation, slope, aspect, and amount of solar radiation were used to calculate the topography. To identify the spatial distribution of fire occurrence, the kernel density estimation (KDN) was used by classification of areas into low-risk and high-risk areas based on NASA’s MODIS C6 satellite images (2000-2023).

The results of examining the temperature trend in all stations in the 32-year period showed an increasing and significant trend at 95 and 99% confidence intervals. This could be due the increase of greenhouse gases in urban centers, which is logical. The results of the NDVI showed that areas with high vegetation density were more susceptible to wildfires. Investigation of the solar radiation area showed that the northern highlands of Tehran, the banks of the Caspian Sea and northern areas of Iran, northwestern Iran (Ardebil and Tabriz cities), and central Iran (Kerman, Isfahan, Yazd and Shiraz cities) had a high pixel value, indicating that the amount of solar radiation was higher in these regions than in other regions of Iran. Finally, the spatial distribution map and the KDN showed that the provinces of Kohgiluyeh & Boyer-Ahmad and Khuzestan were more prone to a wildfires.

Iran has faced climate change caused by global warming. Considering the new climate of Iran, which will be hotter and dryer, it will be more prone to wildfires. Therefore, comprehensive planning to reduce the effect of climate change is needed in the field of crisis management in Iran, which can help reduce the vulnerability and increase resilience.

For efficient flood risk management, the participation of local people is needed. The present study aims to identify the factors affecting the participation of people in flood risk management in the flood-prone rural areas of Golestan Province, Iran. 

This is a descriptive survey study. The study population includes all heads of households living in villages flooded in 2019 in Golestan Province. Of these, 395 were randomly selected from 22 villages, proportional to the population of each village. A research-made questionnaire was used to collect data, whose validity was confirmed based on the opinions of three experts and had acceptable reliability (Cronbach’s α=0.79). The collected data were analyzed using multivariate regression analysis in SPSS software, version, 26. 

Participants had more participation in measures such as safety control of energy networks, collection of weather information, and protection of valuable furniture. The results of the regression analysis showed that the variables of literacy, annual income, distance of the house from the nearest river, perception of the accuracy of flood warnings, familiarity with the principles and methods of dealing with floods, belief in the possibility of flood control and management, and receiving flood warnings had a significant role in predicting the public participation in flood risk management.

Knowledge of flood risk management is very important for the participation of local people in flood risk management. Therefore, increasing knowledge and awareness of flood preparedness, sharing knowledge of flood management among local residents, and increasing awareness about how to obtain and use meteorological data should be included in educational courses provided by regional and local organizations.

Nowadays, due to the ever-increasing growth of the population and the development of urbanization, the number of people living and working in the central areas of cities has increased. With this increase, disasters such as earthquakes and wildfires will create more challenges for residents, especially in safe emergency evacuation. At the same time, it is very necessary to provide innovative and optimal solutions to save human lives. Therefore, in this study, considering the future crises and the necessity of preparation of people, cities, and managers, we aim to introduce the factors affecting safe emergency evacuation and to identify safe spaces and buildings for emergency evacuations in Tabriz (District 8), Iran.

In this comparative survey study using the geographical information system (GIS) and index-overlay method and a questionnaire, 35 experts in urban planning were selected to verify the model and score of each variable. By examining the concepts of crisis, crisis management, and emergency evacuation, the related factors were identified, and the conceptual framework was presented to be tested in a case study.

Based on the study’s conceptual model, there were two main criteria for emergency evacuation: Safe space and safe building. The safe space had two components: Space and characteristics of the site. In total, there were 11 factors for identifying safe spaces and safe buildings for emergency evacuation, including religious buildings, educational buildings, sports buildings, terminals, parking lots, green spaces, open spaces, distance from hazardous facilities, proximity to fire stations, distance from ravines, and distance from faults.

District 8 of Tabriz City has a high vulnerability to disasters due to characteristics such as old fabric. The buildings such as the Arch of Alishah and Mosalla Mosque, the existing parks and green spaces, public spaces such as the Kohan Square (Mohagheghi Square), fire stations, and educational and religious centers in Tabriz can be used for emergency evacuation. Equipping these spaces with basic facilities is important and requires the attention of urban planners and managers.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on the lives of growing startups. Considering the important role of these businesses in developing countries, the present study aims to provide a model for increasing the resilience of startups in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic by using the thematic analysis method.

This is a descriptive survey study using qualitative and quantitative methods. In the first stage, by studying the literature, the factors shaping organizational resilience were identified. Then, by conducting unstructured interviews with experts in the field of startups and the university professors, the final factors affecting organizational resilience were summarized, and the initial study model was designed using the thematic analysis method. In the next stage, a researcher-made questionnaire of organizational resilience was designed and distributed among the employees of startups in Guilan Province, who were selected using a convenience sampling method. After collecting the questionnaires, the data from 238 complete questionnaires were analyzed using structural equation modeling in SmartPLS3 software. 

The findings show that according to the intensity of the coefficients of the research model, the characteristics of the organization (0.526), ​​the characteristics of the leader (0.433), the characteristics of the team (0.298) and the characteristics of the employees (0.244), are the most important Factors affecting the resilience of startups. These results help stakeholders and researchers to gain a more appropriate understanding of the resilience of startups.

The results of this study can help stakeholders and researchers in Iran gain a more appropriate understanding of the resilience of startups.

Urban resilience is the most important debate in urban development. A resilient city is a city with ability to evaluate, plan and prepare for future natural or human-made disasters. This issue becomes more important when there is a variety of fabrics in a city, because special measures should be taken in terms of resilience according to the characteristics of each fabric. Also, there is a need to consider the opinions of residents in making the cities resilient. The present study aims to examine the differences in urban resilience of new, moderate and old fabrics in Qazvin, Iran and assess the relationship between reality (current situation) and perceptions (residents’ satisfaction) regarding the resilience of Qazvin City in Iran.

This is a descriptive-analytical study. To examine the difference in urban resilience of new, moderate and old fabrics, Kruskal-Wallis test was used. To measure the relationship between reality and perceptions, Pearson’s correlation test was used

In institutional, spatial, social and economic dimensions, except for some indicators, the new fabric had better conditions than moderate and old fabrics. There was a significant relationship between residents’ perceptions and reality regarding the resilience of Qazvin City.

There is a significant difference in resilience of new, moderate and old fabrics of Qazvin City. Also, there is a significant relationship between perceptions and reality regarding the resilience of Qazvin City. The results of this study can be used by the municipality and other institutions in Qazvin related to crisis management.

Urbanization and the expansion of the city limits had led to high voltage power transmission systems being placed in the vicinity of residential areas. Depending on the intensity of the electromagnetic fields caused by these systems and according to the duration of radiation and the distance from these systems, the effect of this exposure on human health varies. A higher voltage can definitely create stronger magnetic fields, which have a negative impact on humans and even the environment. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the severity of these damages and negative consequences in residential areas where exposure to electromagnetic fields is high so that it can help formulate the necessary policies and plans for the mitigation of damages.

In this applied study, the library method, interviews with stakeholders, testing of electromagnetic fields, and field visits were used to collect data. The interviews were used to survey the attitudes and perceptions. Laboratory results of electromagnetic fields were used for analysis and making conclusions.

According to the reports, the lack of production of specialized content by the country’s health planners, the lack of development of criteria and indicators for possible consequences of the manifestations of modernity and, as a result, the impossibility of risk assessment against other threats have caused the inattention and negligence of people and rulers in Iran about the risk of exposure to electric and magnetic fields. On the other hand, the results of assessments showed that the electromagnetic field values in urban closed spaces were lower (due to the presence of walls and buildings that act as shields) and in open spaces were higher than the recommendations of international standards (ICNIRP and IEEE). Therefore, the management of damages caused by high-voltage power transmission lines requires the adoption of various approaches and procedures, which include policy-making, social capacity building, and technical solutions.

Considering that there is no law related to the negative impact of electromagnetic fields on health in Iran, we recommend a bill entitled “reduction of damages caused by electromagnetic fields” to be submitted to the Islamic Council of Iran and be implemented in the upstream laws.