The aim of this study was to map out the internationally resettled Bosnian community’s current capacity to overcome a natural disaster and identify the strengths and limitations for future community capacity building to increase disaster resilience. Thirty-three Bosnian refugees were interviewed to identify its community’s capacity to respond to and recover from a natural disaster, including community social capital, institutional support, access to resources, economic development, and knowledge and coping. Data were analyzed thematically and theoretically. Four themes emerged: Bosnian community represents a home to its individuals, Bosnian community is a cohesive whole with empowered community outreach, Bosnian community is capable of responding to a natural disaster because of its individuals’ aggregated coping skills learned from the war, and environment change affects the Bosnian community’s capacity to respond to a natural disaster. The Bosnian community has a strong capacity for social networking, social cohesion, coping, and economic development needed in case of a natural disaster. Future endeavors should be focused on further strengthening the community’s current capacity, expanding community links to social capital, and developing volunteer capacity.
The management of volunteers – What can human resources do? A review and research agenda
There is an increasing interest from scholars and practitioners in understanding how non-profit organizations can design and implement human resources (HR) practices to enhance desirable volunteer attitudes and behaviors. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of existing studies on the relationship between HR practices and volunteering outcomes. We use the ability-motivation-opportunity model as a guiding…