Communication has been identified as a critical component in the outcome of emergency response. Post-mortems of “what went wrong” in disaster responses often point toward breakdown in communication between first responders, those directing rescue efforts, and the general population as one of the primary impediments to rendering timely aid and communicating adequate safety and weather information. Due to the high resilience, relatively low costs, and advanced features of modern hand-held communication devices, these devices are in a position to drastically improve communication flow during emergency management situations. Due to the lack of official implementation of these devices and the lack of the establishment of standard guidelines for device selection, the use of hand-held communication devices in emergency management is yet to be optimized. Island nations such as the Bahamas, which face unique challenges in regard to emergency management due to geographical, infrastructural, political, and cultural hurdles which are found in the region, can especially benefit from the optimized implementation of hand-held communication devices in emergency management. This study examined current emergency response procedures in The Bahamas, created a baseline for the current use of hand-held communication devices by Bahamian emergency management officials and civilians, identified the communication needs of Bahamian emergency management officials and civilians, and proposed a model for the selection of handheld communication devices based upon human factors principals and focusing on user priorities. This study began with a focus group interview which included 14 Bahamian emergency management officials in order to gain an understanding of current Bahamian emergency response iv procedures and the communication challenges faced by emergency management officials during high consequence emergencies. A paper based survey was conducted, in which 31 Bahamian emergency management officials answered demographic, skill level, and functionality questions related to the use of hand-held communication devices to support emergency related activities including those directed toward preparation, mitigation, and response. These emergency management officials provided invaluable input based upon their practical experience in high consequence emergency situations. 155 Bahamian civilians participated in a similar survey which was a reduced version of the survey used for emergency management officials. Both surveys included questions in regard to the background information of the participants, previous handheld communication experience, device performance, and what other communication devices were being utilized. The surveys were analyzed using statistical methods of categorical data analysis and correlations were identified. Several communication needs which were categorized as infrastructure, organizational, and equipment needs as well as a hierarchy of device selection factors in regard to the use of hand-held communication devices during emergency management situations were identified. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used in order to determine the priorities of each of the identified device selection factors and a model for the selection of hand-held communication devices used to support communication flow in high consequence emergency management was proposed.

This study was concerned with the following problem: What plan or procedures should the Lodi Elementary and Lodi Union High School Districts develop for civil defense and disaster preparedness in coordination with city, county, and state agencies? The specific purposes of this study were as follows: (1) To determine the need for a civil defense plan for the Lodi school districts.; (2) To determine the scope of civil defense plans for the Lodi school districts.; (3) To analyze various civil defense and disaster plans of other school districts.; (4) To investigate what civil defense and disaster plans have been formulated as the national and state levels.; (5) To develop a proposed plan for Lodi schools which will be in harmony with all other civil defense and disaster agencies, especially those within San Joaquin County.; and (6) To formulate a long range civil defense and disaster plan which can be adopted by the Lodi school districts.

Emergency response is highly time-critical and information dependent: every moment counts and organizations need to access various information that supports their decision making and informs them about the scale and location of the emergency, the damages, and the availability of human and physical resources. This kind information can originate from many different places and the situation can be stressful as there is a need to communicate quickly, reliably and accurately within their own organization, but also inter-organizationally. ICTs make it possible to access and spread information with speed and efficiency, but other factors, such as different professional cultures, can still hinder information sharing. There is a growing need in emergency organizations to develop understanding for how communications between emergency responders can be secured. It seems important to consider how emergency responders respond to security objectives, since the assumptions for secure communications may not only be developed on the premise of ICT, but also how the emergency actors appreciate the emergency environments in terms of secure communications.The aim of this research is to develop understanding of information security and secure communications in a context where it has not been well researched. The research looks at secure emergency communications from a socio-technical viewpoint and concentrates on the communication inside and between the emergency organizations of police, the paramedics, and the rescue department in the municipality of Kemi, and more specifically on the communications of operative emergency actors while they are working in the preparedness and response phases of emergency management. Two persons from each organization were interviewed using semi-structured interviews, and the empirical data was used for writing the appended papers that are the basis of this thesis work.The research started by doing an extensive literature review and analysis on the field of secure emergency communications. The results show that while technical developments on the field aim at effective and secure technologies, organizational aspects of emergency communications seem to involve not only emergency actors, but also how these actors more and more utilize information technology. The landscape for emergency management is becoming very diverse, which challenges the way that secure emergency communications can be understood. The developers of future emergency communications structures not only need to ensure the technical aspects of confidentiality, availability and integrity of information, but they also need to take into account the social rules, norms and structures that guide the emergency communication. Next, this research sought out to re-conceptualize the role of information security in emergency response. A conceptual basis encompassing technical, cognitive and organizational information security layers as a relationship between association and connectivity was developed by synthesizing Actor Network Theory and Theory of Organizational Routines. The approach of combining two theoretical accounts details the enactment of information security in emergency response so as to understand how cognition ties technical security features with organizational security issues. Without the cognitive layer, the technical and organizational aspects of information security remain static or disconnected to the actions performed during emergency response. Theoretically the approach contributes constructively to describe an alternative approach to information security research to address the gap between formal and informal criteria of information security.Lastly, the research sought out to explore the current situation of the case organizations in detail concerning their level of information security, communication challenges faced, and training offered. It was learned that different aspects of information security are valued depending on whether emergency responders work in preparation periods or if they are responding to an emergency: 1) When working in their own respective organizations the most important aspect was information confidentiality 2) When responding to emergency the most important aspects were information availability and integrity. Most communication challenges present in emergency communications can be seen to arise when responding to emergencies. This is not something currently being taken into account in the case organizations. The basic training of emergency actors and the training and guidelines of each organization largely concentrate on confidentiality issues, and tools and communications training that would be needed to ensure information availability and integrity when responding to an emergency is not prioritized. To overcome the communication challenges present in emergency communications and to ensure confidentiality, availability and integrity of emergency information, those responsible for information security in emergency organizations must therefore provide up to date information security training and awareness building, but also tools and communications training that supports inter-organizational communication.

Mitigation response plans must be created to protect affected populations during biological emergencies resulting from the release of harmful biochemical substances. Medical countermeasures have been stockpiled by the federal government for such emergencies. However, it is the responsibility of local governments to maintain solid, functional plans to apply these countermeasures to the entire target population within short, mandated time frames. Further, vulnerabilities in the population may serve as barriers preventing certain individuals from participating in mitigation activities. Therefore, functional response plans must be capable of reaching vulnerable populations.Transportation vulnerability results from lack of access to transportation. Transportation vulnerable populations located too far from mitigation resources are at-risk of not being able to participate in mitigation activities. Quantification of these populations requires the development of computational methods to integrate spatial demographic data and transportation resource data from disparate sources into the context of planned mitigation efforts. Research described in this dissertation focuses on quantifying transportation vulnerable populations and maximizing participation in response efforts. Algorithms developed as part of this research are integrated into a computational framework to promote a transition from research and development to deployment and use by biological emergency planners.

The terrorist attacks on New York City on September 11, 2001 heightened awareness about the need to plan for emergency evacuation measures. As a result, three-Dimensional (3D) city and building models have become an important part of GIS analysis. The technology can be used to plan evacuations in complex indoor environments. This thesis had two main objectives. The first goal was to conduct a 3D network analysis of a building for emergency management, which was based on a 3D model of a building in the city of Gävle, Sweden. This 3D model identifies the shortest path from any room to the defined exit. The second objective was to test the predicted evacuation times with a simulation experiment. The 3D model was built by Google Sketch Pro 8 and the 3D network analysis was mainly conducted in the ESRI’s ArcGIS software. The simulation experiment involved 18 volunteers at the organization Future Position X. The 3D network analysis was based on distance measurements instead of GNSS coordinates. The simulation experiment was conducted in four different situations. Crowding was found to be a critical problem during evacuation. Evacuation speeds varied from normal walking to running. However, crowding always increased the evacuation time and thus would affect the survival rate. Evacuation routes should be distributed differently to reduce this problem. The thesis also identifies other factors to be considered when planning emergency routes and challenges posed by the software at this time.

No description available.

<p>REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS FOR A CONTEXT-AWARE MULTI-AGENCY EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM</p> / <p>Society faces many natural and man-made disasters which can have a large impact in terms of deaths, injuries, monetary losses, psychological distress, and economic effects. Society needs to find ways to prevent or reduce the negative impact of these disasters as much as possible. Information systems have been used to assist emergency response to a certain degree in some cases. However, there is still a lack of understanding on how to build an effective emergence response system. To identify the basic requirements of such systems, a grounded theory research method is used for data collection and analysis. Data from firsthand interviews and observations was combined with literature and analyzed to discover several emergent issues and concepts regarding disaster response. The issues and concepts were organized into four categories: i) context-awareness; ii) multi-party relationships; iii) task-based coordination; and iv) information technology support, which together identified the needs of disaster response coordination. Using evidence from the data, these factors were related to one another to develop a framework for context-aware multi-party coordination systems (CAMPCS). This study contributes to the field of emergency management as the framework represents a comprehensive theory for disaster response coordination that can guide future research on emergency management coordination.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In this thesis, we explore three critical emergency logistics problems faced by healthcare and humanitarian relief service providers for short-term post-disaster management. In the first manuscript, we investigate various integration mechanisms (fully integrated horizontal-vertical, horizontal, and vertical resource sharing mechanisms) following a natural disaster for a multi-type whole blood-derived platelets, multi-patient logistics network. The goal is to reduce the amount of shortage and wastage of multi-blood-group of platelets in the response phase of relief logistics operations. To solve the logistics model for a large scale problem, we develop a hybrid exact solution approach involving an augmented epsilon-constraint and Lagrangian relaxation algorithms and demonstrate the model's applicability for a case study of an earthquake. Due to uncertainty in the number of injuries needing multi-type blood-derived platelets, we apply a robust optimization version of the proposed model which captures the expected performance of the system. The results show that the performance of the platelets logistics network under coordinated and integrated mechanisms better control the level of shortage and wastage compared with that of a non-integrated network. In the second manuscript, we propose a two-stage casualty evacuation model that involves routing of patients with different injury levels during wildfires. The first stage deals with field hospital selection and the second stage determines the number of patients that can be transferred to the selected hospitals or shelters via different routes of the evacuation network. The goal of this model is to reduce the evacuation response time, which ultimately increase the number of evacuated people from evacuation assembly points under limited time windows. To solve the model for large-scale problems, we develop a two-step meta-heuristic algorithm. To consider multiple sources of uncertainty, a flexible robust approach considering the worst-case and expected performance of the system simultaneously is applied to handle any realization of the uncertain parameters. The results show that the fully coordinated evacuation model in which the vehicles can freely pick up and off-board the patients at different locations and are allowed to start their next operations without being forced to return to the departure point (evacuation assembly points) outperforms the non-coordinated and non-integrated evacuation models in terms of number of evacuated patients. In the third manuscript, we propose an integrated transportation and hospital capacity model to optimize the assignment of relevant medical resources to multi-level-injury patients in the time of a MCI. We develop a finite-horizon MDP to efficiently allocate resources and hospital capacities to injured people in a dynamic fashion under limited time horizon. We solve this model using the linear programming approach to ADP, and by developing a two-phase heuristics based on column generation algorithm. The results show better policies can be derived for allocating limited resources (i.e., vehicles) and hospital capacities to the injured people compared with the benchmark. Each paper makes a worthwhile contribution to the humanitarian relief operations literature and can help relief and healthcare providers optimize resource and service logistics by applying the proposed integration and coordination mechanisms.

This dissertation contributes to the disaster resilience policy literature by examining the diffusion of hazard mitigation policy in the U.S. Using the three-paper model, it investigates the adoption of local hazard mitigation plans (LHMPs) from an intergovernmental perspective. The first paper focuses on horizontal diffusion in hazard mitigation planning among local communities. Special attention is paid to the potential factors affecting the adoption of FEMA-approved LHMPs, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) projects and Pre-Disaster Program (PDM) projects at the county level. The Event History Analysis (EHA) Logit Model and Spatial Autocorrelation Models test the hypotheses corresponding to external factors such as the neighboring effects and internal factors, including disaster risks, neighborhood disadvantage and affluence, government capacity, local disaster resilience advocacy groups, and political support. The empirical results confirmed the significant influence of neighboring effects, indicating that counties are more likely to implement the same mitigation strategies if neighboring counties have done so. The results also revealed that disaster experience, government capacity, and strong democratic support significantly impact the likelihood of adopting LHMP and HMGP. Additionally, the results suggested that disadvantaged communities were more likely to adopt mitigation policies, while affluent communities were less likely to adopt such policies. The second paper evaluates the effectiveness of the FEMA's Program Administration by State Pilot (PAS). By integrating the Propensity Score Matching (PSM) technique with the Difference-in-Differences (DID) analysis, the empirical evidence demonstrated a significant reduction in the approval times for both LHMP and HMGP in pilot states compared to non-pilot states, with an average reduction nearing 30%. This suggests that the PAS program has effectively streamlined administrative processes, thereby enhancing efficiency in disaster management within pilot states. The analysis also indicated that the impact of PAS on the actual funding received through HMGP was insignificant, suggesting that while administrative processes were expedited, the allocation of financial resources remained unaffected. The third paper attempts to understand how local governments respond to top-down policy pressures in vertical diffusion by analyzing the text similarities of hazard mitigation strategies between state hazard mitigation plans and county LHMPs in Ohio using the word embedding technologies. The study employs the Word2Vec algorithm to assess the policy similarity between the hazard mitigation goals outlined in LHMPs and SHMPs. Building on this initial analysis, this research further uses the Beta Regression model to examine the textual similarities within LHMPs in Ohio, focusing on how the type of author - government versus private consultants, and the nature of the goals, whether action-based or hazard-based, affect these alignments. The regression analysis shows that LHMPs authored by government entities tend to exhibit higher textual similarity, reflecting the influence of standardized approaches driven by state and federal guidelines. This suggests a compliance-driven alignment in government-written plans. Conversely, LHMPs authored by private consultants display greater variability, suggesting that these plans are customized to the specific needs and risk assessments of local communities. Additionally, the regression results indicate that action-based and mixed-goal LHMPs are associated with higher textual similarity across counties. To carry out the empirical analysis mentioned above, this dissertation builds a panel dataset for all counties from 2000 to 2020, which contains data on LHMPs, HMA projects, disaster risks, socioeconomic characteristics, regional economic and political indicators, etc. / Doctor of Philosophy / Hazard mitigation in the United States is a critical issue, especially as the frequency and cost of disasters continue to rise. This dissertation investigates the dynamics of hazard mitigation planning within a multi-level governmental framework, focusing on the adoption of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved Local Hazard Mitigation Plans (LHMPs), Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) projects, and Pre-Disaster Program (PDM) projects. across U.S. counties and the influence of federal and state policies on these local initiatives. The first paper examines the horizontal diffusion of LHMPs among local communities, revealing the significant influence of neighboring counties. This "neighboring effect" shows that counties are more likely to adopt similar mitigation strategies if their neighbors have done so, emphasizing the role of regional collaboration in spreading effective disaster resilience practices. Additionally, the study found that counties with more disaster experience and greater governmental capacity are more likely to implement LHMPs, highlighting the importance of preparedness and resources in driving policy adoption. Furthermore, this research finds counties with higher socioeconomic disadvantages are more proactive in adopting mitigation policies, which could be attributed to the higher perceived risks and available federal funding targeted at these communities. The second paper evaluates the impact of FEMA's Program Administration by State (PAS) pilot program on the administrative efficiency of LHMP and HMGP approvals. The findings indicate a significant reduction in approval times in pilot states, suggesting that the PAS program has successfully streamlined administrative processes. However, this expedited process did not lead to increased funding or broader adoption, pointing to the need for further policy enhancements to ensure that administrative improvements translate into real-world benefits for disaster preparedness. The third paper explores the vertical diffusion of policy from state to local governments, using Ohio as a case study. It employs advanced text analysis to measure the similarity between state and local hazard mitigation plans. The results show that government-authored LHMPs tend to closely follow state guidelines, indicating a top-down influence that ensures compliance with federal and state objectives. In contrast, LHMPs authored by private consultants were more varied and aligned to the specific needs and risks of local communities. This suggests that a balance is needed between standardized policies and local customization to effectively address the unique challenges of different regions. By integrating these findings, this dissertation provides a comprehensive overview of how hazard mitigation policies are adopted and implemented across various governmental levels. The research concludes with policy recommendations that advocate for sustained reforms in hazard mitigation funding, emphasizing the need for equitable resource distribution among disadvantaged communities. It also offers critical insights into improving intergovernmental cooperation and policy effectiveness, ensuring that all communities, regardless of their socio-economic status, can enhance their resilience and better prepare for future disasters. This research ultimately serves as a guide for policymakers to refine strategies that foster robust, community-centered resilience practices, enhancing the nation's overall disaster preparedness and response capabilities.

Crises are spontaneous and highly variable events that lead to life threatening and urgent situations. As such, crisis and emergency notification systems need to be both flexible and highly optimized to quickly communicate to users. Implementing the fastest methods, however, is only half of the battle. The use of geospatial location is missing from alert systems utilized at university campuses across the United States. Our research included the design and implementation of a mobile application addition to our campus notification system. This addition is complete with optimizations including an increase in the speed of delivery, message differentiation to enhance message relevance to the user, and usability studies to enhance user trust and understanding. Another advantage is that our application performs all location data computations on the user device with no external storage to protect user location privacy. However, ensuring the adoption of a mobile application that requests location data permissions and relating privacy measures to users is not a trivial matter. We conducted a campus-wide survey and interviews to understand mobile device usage patterns and obtain opinions of a representative portion of the campus population. These findings guided the development of this mobile application and can provide valuable insights which may be helpful for future application releases. Our addition of a mobile application with geospatial location awareness will send users relevant alerts at speeds faster than those of the current campus notification system while still guarding user location privacy, increasing message relevance, and enhancing the probability of adoption and use. / Master of Science