The use of multidimensional scaling method for the analysis of disaster management exercise assessor's impression

Abstract

Disaster Management exercises create a good opportunity to prepare for real-life emergencies. The success of such drills is measured against the pre-defined goal of preparation. The final phase is the global evaluation of the exercise. Although the final assessment is based on a set of objective criteria, and is done after the analysis of the level achievement of each pre-defined goal, the expert assessor's subjective judgment and opinion cannot be fully excluded. Exercises have so far been assessed in terms of the performance of the organizers, the preparation team, participants and the control and command staff. Assessment has never looked at how the expert assessors fulfilled their role. The author aims at employing statistical methods to analyse the role and subjective judgment of the assessors of disaster management exercises, and their impact on the global objective evaluation of the exercise.