No description available.

Thesis (M.P.A.)--Missouri State University, 2008. / "May 2008." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 159-163). Also available online.

Thesis (M.E.S.)--Evergreen State College, 2009. / "June 2009." Title from title screen (viewed 4/8/2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 62-68).

This study investigates the recovery efforts provided for low income and ethnic minority populations by organizations during the permanent housing phase of recovery in Watsonville, California, following the Loma Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989. The case study format is used to discover what activities were performed and why each organization chose to perform them. Dynes and Quarantelli's (1968) typology of organization is used to explain how and why established, expanding, extending and emergent organizations participated in the recovery efforts. The findings indicate that the type of organization dictated the kind of tasks each organization performed. Organizations maintained activities during recovery for which they had experience, expertise and proficiency.

CHDS State/Local / Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / This thesis proposes the development of a Massively Multiplayer On-Line Game (MMOG) to deliver Weapons of Mass Destruction Training to the nation's first responders and civilians. MMOG technology offers a cost effective alternative to existing training methodologies. Existing first responder WMD training often uses traditional in-residence classes. These current training methods are expensive, lack standardization, and do not have provable outcomes. Scaling up existing training to meet the needs of millions of responders would be cost prohibitive. Modern information technologies such as MMOGs offer a safe, efficient, effective and fun alternative mechanism to deliver training. MMOGs could scale to meet the volume of training need at a fraction of the cost of traditional methods. The DoD has proven the effectiveness of simulation games as a training tool, and the use of gaming and simulations is recognized in academia. / Captain, Seattle Fire Department

This research discusses developing a FLy-Away-Kit (FLAK) to support the forming of Hastily Formed Networks (HFNs) in remote areas in support of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HA/DR) operations. The initial focus will be on the requirements, situation, area of operations and mission. Different definitions and perspectives emerge when an individual mentions HFNs, HA/DR and Complex Humanitarian Disasters (CHDs). It is the author's intention to define and describe both a HFN and a CHD, in order to justify the need for the FLAK. This process will also define the requirements for the FLAK as well as facilitate processes for ensuring those requirements are met. The personnel responding to the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the December 26, 2004 Southeast Asia Tsunami suffered Command and Control (C2) and information challenges. Even more challenges are being currently addressed by Homeland Defense, Maritime Domain Awareness, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) abroad. From the top down, levels of administration are developing new plans, procedures, and organizations that will improve the security and communication processes of our nation. A global, broadband, rapidly deployable network node complete with Internet reachback, voice, data, and video capability is of the utmost importance to enable C2 and Network Centric Operations (NCO). Undoubtedly, commercial and military organizations, traditional or new, will greatly benefit from this capability. The U.S. DoD is particularly interested in improving interaction, coordination, communications, and operations when DoD and other entities respond simultaneously to natural or man-made CHD's.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / In the aftermath of a disaster, relief agencies rush to assist the affected population. However, lack of coordination between these agencies often results in poor resource management, which undermines efficacy and efficiency. This report facilitates inter-agency collaboration, particularly between military and non-military entities, by conducting a case study of one non-government organization involved in disaster relief. With the second-highest revenue among major non-government organizations in the United States, the Salvation Army in America—and, by extension, its international arm, the Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO)—is an ideal candidate for evaluation. This report evaluates SAWSO's disaster response capabilities by analyzing its organizational history, operational competencies, and financial resources. The results of this report offer a foundation for military and other humanitarian relief agencies to pursue collaborative efforts and increase the overall efficiency and efficacy of future disaster response operations. This report's findings indicate that SAWSO is a highly efficient organization from a financial standpoint, and that it offers a variety of relief capabilities that vary by region, with the provision of shelter, settlement, and non-food items among its strongest and most consistent competencies. / Outstanding Thesis / Captain, United States Marine Corps

Relief organizations and governments strive to provide safe drinking water to natural disaster survivors as quickly as possible. However, drinking water is typically provided either as bottled water or via mobile water treatment equipment, both of which can be difficult or expensive to transport rapidly into disaster zones. An alternative is the waterbag point-of-use treatment device developed at Cal Poly that allows survivors to produce safe drinking water from contaminated local sources. The waterbag is a 10-L bladder designed for use with Procter & Gamble Purifier of Water (PŪR®) sachets, which contain coagulant and chlorine compounds. Following treatment with PŪR®, treated water in the waterbag is flowed through an outlet port to a filter, primarily for parasitic cyst removal. Currently, the commercial version of the waterbag uses an effective but expensive hollow-fiber membrane microfilter (>$10 each). This cost will likely decrease the use of the waterbag by relief organizations responding to large disasters. The goal of the present thesis research was to develop a novel, low cost (~$5), effective, low-profile filter to be used with the waterbag in large-scale disaster relief. This new filter is referred to as an envelope filter due to its geometry and size. Various prototype envelope filters were constructed using layers of nonwoven polypropylene filter cloth. Two types of cloth were used: a nominally-rated 1-µm pore size cloth and an absolute-rated 1-µm cloth. The filters tested were both internal and external to the waterbag and of various geometries. Filters were attached to the waterbag and used to filter defined test water after it had been treated with a PŪR® sachet. Test water for design experiments consisted of tap water with addition of standard dust (to increase turbidity) and seasalts (to increase salinity). In addition to this basic test water, mock U.S. EPA Challenge Water #2 with added bacteria and cyst surrogates (fluorescent microspheres) was used to evaluate the filter prototype designs prior to testing according to U.S. EPA Guide Standard and Protocol for Testing Microbiological Water Purifiers in a commercial laboratory. The filter design and mock challenge experiment results indicated that a 2-ply filter with one nominal and one absolute layer was the optimal filter design. In the mock U.S. EPA challenge tests, a flowrate of 20 mL/min allowed this filter met the turbidity, bacteria, and microsphere removal requirements determined by the WHO and The Sphere Project for emergency drinking water treatment as well as the U.S. EPA Guide Standard and Protocol for Testing Microbiological Water Purifiers.. This filter design was further tested using the U.S. EPA Challenge Water #2 with triplicate waterbags at the U.S. EPA-certified BioVir Laboratories in Benicia, Calif. All three waterbags with envelope filters met the recommendations for turbidity (<5 >NTU) and for virus removal (>4-log removal). Two of the three waterbags met the bacteria and microsphere removal requirements (>6- and >3-log removal, respectively). The failure of one of the prototypes to meet the requirements could have been due to improper setting of valve that throttled the flowrate through the filter or due to a slightly leaking hose pinch valve. Future work should include incorporating more reliable valves and improving the envelope filter design and materials to achieve higher allowable flowrates.

Background: Nowadays, humanitarian relief organizations are more and more present in people’s lives due to the number of recorded natural disasters increasing over the last 30 years. Although there are several actors involved in humanitarian aid, the need to integrate logistics service providers into humanitarian relief operations has been recognized. Howev- er, the literature lacks particular attention concerning the coordination roles and objectives between humanitarian relief organizations and LSPs during disaster relief operations. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between UNICEF and its LSP(s) during disaster relief operations. More specifically, this study aims to understand the elements that drive, facilitate, constrain and affect the relationship UNICEF has with its LSPs. Method: A qualitative, exploratory research approach was used, using a real-context case study as the research design. The empirical data was collected through in-depth semi- structured interviews with four respondents representing both UNICEF and its LSPs. Conclusion: The researchers present a revised version of the conceptual framework used to conduct this research. One additional component was added to the list of compo- nents affecting the effectiveness of a relationship. In addition, some other influencers were discussed. This conceptual framework can be used to formulate an effective relationship between two humanitarian actors within disaster relief operations. Finally, forming a rela- tionship between UNICEF and its LSPs is nothing new. Recommendations for future re- search include investigating implementation efforts once a relationship is built, in order to improve disaster relief operations and save more lives.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Homeland Security and Defense))--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Ted Lewis, Rudy Darken. Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-113). Also available online.