RAPID: Organizational Development in Response to Crisis

一些大灾难的一个显著影响是，人们可能会自愿将自己组织成一个小组来应对灾难。其中一个名为“卡津海军”的组织是在2005年卡特里娜飓风过后出现的，并在2016年路易斯安那州的洪水中重新出现。卡津海军再次动员起来帮助救援，以应对飓风哈维的洪水；本研究旨在研究这种动员和活动。这项研究承诺了两个重要的影响。首先，它将提供有价值的信息，这些信息是在记忆鲜活和参与者可获得的情况下收集的，以了解这些非官方组织如何在紧急情况下出现和运作。这可能对那些参与应急管理和规划的人有用。其次，卡津海军因应哈维的发展是一个组织从紧急阶段向扩张阶段转变的一个例子。这项研究将增加对这种转变如何发生的理解。为了描述卡津海军的动员和活动，本研究将收集三种数据。一种是公开可用的数据，如纸质和网络报道、社交媒体和政府文件。第二种是对卡军海军成员的半结构化采访。第三是对应急经理和急救人员的采访。这些多重视角将有助于研究准确地描述卡津海军的活动和集团的变化。特别是对访谈数据的分析，将有助于调查有关组织发展的理论问题，如社交网络和社交媒体等技术的影响。

A striking effect of some large disasters is that people may organize themselves voluntarily into a group to respond to the disasters. One such group, the "Cajun Navy," emerged in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and re-emerged in response to the 2016 Louisiana floods. The Cajun Navy mobilized again to help with rescues in response to the flooding from Hurricane Harvey; this study seeks to study that mobilization and activity. This research promises two important impacts. First, it will provide valuable information, collected while memories are fresh and participants are available, into how such unofficial organizations can emerge and operate in emergency situations. This is likely to be useful to those involved in emergency management and planning. Second, the development of the Cajun Navy in response to Harvey is an example of the shift of an organization from an emergent phase to an expanding phase. This research will increase understanding of how such transitions can occur.To describe the mobilization and activity of the Cajun Navy, this study will collect three kinds of data. One is publicly available data, such as print and web stories, social media, and government documents. The second is semi-structured interviews with members of the Cajun Navy. The third is interviews with emergency managers and first responders. These multiple perspectives will help the study describe accurately both the activity of the Cajun Navy and the changes in the group. Analysis of the interview data, in particular, will allow investigation of theoretical questions concerning organizational development, such as the effects of social networks and of technology such as social media.