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general views of each respondent. Second, according to Glaser
and Strauss’s (1967) method of constant comparison, and Miles
and Huberman’s (1994) suggestions for coding qualitative data,
lines and paragraphs in the respondent’s responses pertaining to
local governments’ motivations and activities for the three types
of collaboration proposed in this study were examined, and the
role of local emergency managers was determined and labeled.
Third, these labels were sorted and categorized according to the
theoretical framework. The similarities and differences between
theoretical perspectives and interview findings were reviewed
and discussed. The overall interview findings are showed and
discussed in the following sections.
VII. Florida-Based Local Emergency
Management Collaboration in the Vertical
and Horizontal Contexts
A. Activities and Rationales for Vertical
Collaboration
In Florida, the county government is basically the lowest
level of government when dealing with disasters, and serves as
the first and primary responder. County governments are
treated as regular liaisons to the state and can request needed
resources and assistance from the state. If the state does not have
the needed resources, the state can request assistance from other
states or the federal government. City governments need to go
through the county to the state if they are looking for a federal
declaration of disaster emergency. State government usually
plays a supporting role by providing training through
conferences or workshops in normal times, and offering
essential resources to the localities during disasters. State
governments also pass federal funding to local governments to
assist their mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery
activities. The Florida Division of Emergency Management