THE DISASTER RESEARCH LANDSCAPE: ROLE OBSTACLES TO EFFECTIVE SCIENTIST/PRACTITIONER RELATIONS

Effective application of scientific findings for practice requires effective communication between scientists and practitioners. But fundamental differences in scientist and practitioner roles constrain effective communication and research applications to create disaster resilient communities. These differences are distinguished. They include: different ways of knowing, variance in reward systems, alternative interaction approaches, differential approaches to knowledge transfer, and differences in job stability, power, presentation of self, time frame, and outreach approach. Pathways to enhance scientist/practitioner communication are discussed in the context of example case histories where these obstacles have been overcome.