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Biographical Summary:
Rachel Dowty is a multidisciplinary scholar with expertise in biological and social sciences. She helped develop bioremediation and phytoremediation methods for responding to oil spill crises in Louisiana marshlands. Dowty also developed theory and methods to study culture at different societal levels (international, organizational, behavioral). She continues to apply these approaches to issues of stress and crisis mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. She has conducted ethnographic research on stress and decision-making amongst neuroscientists in Britain and the United States. Her post-doc work [National Science Foundation, Human and Social Dynamics (HSD) initiative] focused on how interacting organizational cultures during response to Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana affected groups' ability to collaborate and communicate effectively. Her current research includes developing ways to assess and mitigate the effects of stress and trauma among caregivers and first responders during disasters. She actively continues her research and publications about how culture, politics, and history shape decision making in science, technology, and disaster management. Dowty uses and develops theory and methods to study culture at different societal levels (international, organizational, behavioral), and applies these approaches to issues of stress and crisis mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. She actively continues her research and writing about how culture, politics, and history shape decision making in science, technology, and disaster management.
Education:
Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 2008
M.S., Southeastern Louisiana University, 1998
B.S., Southeastern Louisiana University, 1996
Interests:
Organizations and Cultures
Wetland Biology
Human Ecology
Decision-Making under Stress
Classes Taught:
Fundamental of Emergency Management (DSM 2010)
Disaster Science & Management Internship (DSM 3900)
Hazards Seminar (DSM 3910)
Disaster Science & Management Practicum (DSM 4000)
Directed Readings in Disaster Science & Management (DSM 4996)
Disaster Science & Management Seminar (DSM 7910)
Research:
- Assessing Early Responders' Needs during Disaster Response
- Online Course Development as part of the DHS Center of Excellence for Natural Hazards (DIEM)
- Assessing Socio-economic Impacts of DFIRMs on Coastal Louisiana Parishes
Selected Publications:
Dowty, Rachel A. and Barbara L. Allen (eds.) Dynamics of Disaster: Lessons on Risk, Response and Recovery London: Earthscan Press, forthcoming.
''Implications of organizational culture for supply chain disruption and restoration.'' International Journal of Production Economics. December 2009. with William A. Wallace.
''The cultural dynamics of organizational response: managing novelty in extreme events.'' SDMI Policy Research Brief, 09-01, January 2009: 1-47. with Colin E. Beech, William A. Wallace, and Peter J. May.
''Phytoremediation of small-scale oil spills in fresh marsh environments: a mesocosm simulation.'' Marine Environmental Research, 52, 3, 2001: 195-211. with G.P. Shaffer, M.W. Hester, G.W. Childers, F.M. Campo, and M.C. Greene.
''Establishing a protocol for bioremediation of small-scale oil spills in Louisiana.'' OSRADP Technical Report Series 96-007, 1996: 1-55. with G.W. Childers, G.P. Shaffer.
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