Dr. Brittany D Brand example

Associate Professor and HCRI Director
Department of Geosciences

Office Phone: 208-426-4154
E-mail: brittanybrand@boisestate.edu
Office: Environmental Research Building 5163

Link to personal web page(s)

Geosciences Faculty Profile
BSU Volcanology Facebook Page

Research Areas

Volcanology
Effective hazard and risk communication strategies
Risk Perception
Preparedness Behavior

My research in volcanology focuses on understanding the dynamics, run-out distance, and hazard potential of volcanic flows.

My research in natural hazard communication strategies and preparedness behavior explores the influence of cultural variables, perceptions, and adequacy of earthquake hazard information on household emergency preparedness in the Portland Metropolitan Area.

The research objectives include:

Assessing the influence of media attention to the Cascadia earthquake hazard on household earthquake emergency preparedness.
Assessing the degree to which different types of hazard maps are accessible and useful to local residents.
Examining the relative effectiveness of active and passive communication strategies in promoting earthquake risk perception and household emergency preparedness.
Exploring cultural differences that may influence earthquake preparedness behavior.

The research is based in the Protective Action Decision Model, which integrates approaches in social influence, persuasion, behavioral decision making, and attitude-behavior relationships to demonstrate the phases though which an individual must typically pass before taking preparedness actions. Project Co-PIs are behavioral psychologist Dr. Michael Lindell (University of Washington) and Cultural Anthropologist Dr. Alexa Dietrich (Wagner College).

This project contributes to FEMA’s National Preparedness Mitigation Mission by providing quantitative and qualitative data to address aspects of community resilience, long-term vulnerability reduction, and risk and disaster resilience assessment within the proposed study area. The approach also provides a strategy for breaking down the common disconnect between academic research and practical applications at the emergency management level by working directly with local stakeholders throughout all phases of the project.

Collaboration

I am interested in collaborating on interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research and outreach efforts that assess the best practices for communicating natural hazard and risk information to the public in a way that promotes preparedness behavior.

Students

Carson MacPherson-Krutsky (Ph.D.)
Nicholas Pollock (Ph.D.)
Aaron Marshall (Ph.D.)
Gabriel Garcia (M.S.)
Patrick Zrelak (B.S.)
Alex Schweitzer (B.S.)

Teaching

HONORS 392a: Volcanoes and Society
HONORS 392b: Natural Hazards, Vulnerability, and Risk
GEOS 242: Communication in the Earth Sciences
GEOS 460/560: Volcanology
GEOS 597: Advanced Physical Volcanology
GEOS 593: Advanced Field Methods in Volcanology
GEOS 300-level: Natural Hazards, Vulnerability, and Risk (to be offered in the near future)