Author Identifier
Richard Kathage: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7685-1141
Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
School
School of Science
First Supervisor
Michael Coole
Second Supervisor
Warren Doudle
Third Supervisor
Dave Brooks
Abstract
Risks within the built environment from fire hazards and security threats are managed through the practices of fire safety and physical security. While distinct disciplines, both require balancing and integration within the built environment, to address risks and avoid conflict. To manage this balance, a complex decision-making process is required. Through the framework of Governmentality, using a mixed methods approach, the study explored the decision-making process which fire safety engineers and security practitioners undertake to manage this balance. The study revealed the structure of the decision-making that practitioners undertake to balance fire safety and security within the built environment. This was achieved by uncovering practitioners’ knowledge basis and cognitive processes. The decision-making process can be described as a dichotomy between physical security and fire safety, with the design process and the assessment of risk as central. Within this structure, decisions in balancing both physical security and fire safety are primarily made through the pragmatic mechanism of the design process. Where the design process fails, risk assessment can be used to make decisions; however, this is seldom done due to impracticalities. Practitioners within this decision-making process are strongly influenced by fire safety, particularly the need to meet the codified, prescriptive fire safety requirements set out by building regulations. The context setting, including knowledge, functionality and threat within the built environment, will also impact this decision-making process. Using the findings from the study, a conceptual model was constructed to explain the decision-making process applied by practitioners. Applying the lens of governmentality, the conceptual model provided a description of the governance structures within which physical security and fire safety professionals operate as part of their decision-making process. Additionally, the study produced a model for describing a utopian ideal for how decisions should be made, in consideration of the identified challenges.
Access Note
Access to this thesis is embargoed until 31st October 2027
DOI
10.25958/cja9-1a63
Recommended Citation
Kathage, R. (2025). Social risk decision-making: Balancing fire safety hazards against security threats within the modern built environment. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/cja9-1a63