Date of Award
Fall 12-2021
Degree Type
Masters Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Chair
Dr. David Cochran
Committee Chair School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 2
Dr. Joslyn Zale
Committee Member 2 School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 3
Dr. George Raber
Committee Member 3 School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Abstract
Given the exposure of university campuses to hazards, disaster mitigation is a critical element of higher education policy. Although U.S. higher education institutions are leaders in the global education market, emergency warning systems give little consideration to how international students perceive risk, prepare for hazards, or access warning technologies available to them. This poses several questions regarding the suitability of hazards mitigation practices and the welfare of international students.
This thesis investigates the relationship between USM international students and natural hazards. Responses from online surveys and semi-structured interviews data were analyzed through qualitative and quantitative methods to document the extent to which being an international student influences the way one deals with natural hazards and risk communication.
Results show that most international students perceive their exposure to hazards but almost half of them do not know appropriate responses. Likewise, the majority do not have emergency plans. Despite these shortcomings, the overwhelming majority of international students support the idea of the university providing hazards mitigation training to them. Statistical analysis identified that variations in gender, academic degree, previous experience, age, world region and length of residency all play significant roles in how international students relate to hazards. These corroborate a recent study by Abukhalaf and von Meding (2020), who recommended that university communication plans must accommodate the diversity of student populations and should be able to account for differences in the behavior of subgroups before, during, and after disasters.
ORCID ID
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8500-6724
Copyright
Elida L. S. Rocha, 2021
Recommended Citation
Lopes Souza Rocha, Elida, "RISK PERCEPTION AND RESPONSE AMONG INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI" (2021). Master's Theses. 857.
https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/857
Included in
Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Human Geography Commons, International and Intercultural Communication Commons, Nature and Society Relations Commons, Physical and Environmental Geography Commons, Place and Environment Commons