Natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, tsunamis, and earthquakes frequently happen across the world. Many of these natural disasters bring destruction to homes, loss of loved ones, and emotional or physical trauma. For children who are still developing coping skills, these natural disasters can bring them emotional distress because they are unable to processes their experiences in a healthy way. In a review of literature on the topic of bibliotherapy and reflective writing to help children learn coping skills, I discovered a need for these processes to be introduced in normal settings, such as school and home, to help children who have experienced natural disasters develop coping skills. My goal in conducting this research was to create a resource that includes a variety of children's literature on the topic of a natural disaster and that demonstrates a coping skill for that trauma. Guiding questions and reflective writing prompts were also added to this resource for the users to guide children in identifying and learning the demonstrated, healthy coping skills. I selected twenty-one quality and award-winning books that address natural disaster for review. Nineteen of them demonstrated a healthy coping skill within the book. Using the information from the book, I created guiding questions and reflective writing prompts to help guide the children in connecting with and learning how to use the coping skill demonstrated. Future developments from my research may include a website with the resource information or a hard copy that can be sent to areas of high-need or high-risk for natural disaster. My goal is that my resource will foster healthy coping skills for children in the school setting, home, or alongside professional help.

Research on risk perception, disaster preparedness, and hurricane risk communication among Hispanic/Latino individuals with disabilities is growing. However, there is limited understanding of how cultural factors influence risk perceptions, hurricane preparedness, and how emergency managers communicate hurricane risks to Hispanic/Latino individuals with developmental disabilities in Central Florida. This qualitative case study aims to fill this gap by exploring the cultural influence on risk perception and hurricane preparedness, as well as how local emergency managers communicate risks associated with hurricanes to Hispanic/Latino individuals with developmental disabilities. The study seeks to understand how culture can shape this population's risk perception and natural disaster preparedness for disasters like hurricanes. The researcher uses an integrative theoretical framework that combines the Cultural Theory of Risk, Protective Motivation Theory, and Familism to guide the study. In-depth individual and group interviews were conducted with a diverse sample of Hispanic/Latino families living with individuals with developmental disabilities. Interviewees were selected based on location, age, and cultural background. Additionally, the researcher conducted a desk review of hurricane communication from each Central Florida county, followed by individual interviews with the emergency managers from Central Florida counties. Data from Hispanic/Latino families living with individuals with developmental disabilities were analyzed using inductive and deductive methods to identify themes related to the effect of culture on risk perception and natural disaster preparedness, specifically for hurricanes. The study revealed that culture can influence risk perception and natural disaster preparedness among Hispanic/Latino individuals living with developmental disabilities in many ways. Moreover, data from the desk review and interviews with emergency managers indicated a preference for relying heavily on the social networks of Hispanic/Latino individuals with developmental disabilities to communicate hurricane risks. Keywords: Risk perception, cultural influence, developmental disabilities, hurricane preparedness, Hispanic/Latino, risk communication.

The purpose of this thesis is to study how multiteam systems (MTS) are implicated in prescribed fire operations and enhance an interdisciplinary understanding of occupational demands in the industry to mitigate worsening environmental challenges. We study publicly accessible sources through a mixed-methods approach applying I/O psychology and discuss relevant literature. Land management plan documentation is reviewed to explore the structural and functional components of prescribed fire teams. We apply theory-driven coding to analyze prescribed fire incident documentation as we study MTS system processes and develop thematic findings. Lastly, industry job listing content and occupational demands are reviewed. Through this archival and qualitative approach, this study identifies and contextualizes professional capabilities pertinent to successful prescribed burn leadership along with the opportunities to address important gaps within organizational capabilities to deter further uncontrolled wildfires. We enhance the understanding of leadership functions, proactive MTS cohesion-building activities, and critical incident response systems in the industry through an interdisciplinary perspective to conceptualize, and support the application of, MTSs in prescribed fire.

This study seeks to understand how local and national newspaper articles and African American residents frame obstacles to returning to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. It explores how recovery planning processes and policy changes influenced the decision-making processes of African Americans displaced to Houston through a content analysis of the media and qualitative interviews with displaced and returned residents. The study shows the media and participants framed disaster recovery policies as creating opportunities and gaps in assistance that varied by location. Participants described how policy decisions that created gaps in assistance compounded the difficulty of returning for working- and middle-class African Americans. The findings suggest planners and policy makers need to consider how disaster recovery policy changes may intersect to create obstacles that impede residents' ability to return and rebuild after disasters. Contact Dr. Mosby at kmosby517@gmail.com.

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which community colleges have implemented major post-Virginia Tech campus safety recommendations. In addition to gaining a comprehensive overview of the safety policies and practices in place, this study assessed if campus safety policy implementation levels at the community colleges correlated with institutional characteristics, and the internal and external forces that helped drive the implementation of these policies. Focusing specifically upon the Virginia Community College System, data on the policies and practices in place at each of the 23 Virginia community colleges were collected from institutional websites and through follow-up telephone calls. Interviews were then conducted with a small group of administrators from various Virginia community colleges. Analysis of the data indicated that large variance exists across the community colleges, as some have implemented most of the major campus safety recommendations that currently exist, while other have only implemented far less. The results also revealed potential support for larger community colleges with more resources and more campuses implementing more campus safety recommendations. Interview data detailed that external mandates and internal college leadership are the most important forces driving campus safety policy change among the community colleges. A number of policy implications arose regarding where community colleges need to improve their campus safety and how to best drive campus safety policy changes in the future.

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This master’s thesis examines the relationship between emergency management planning and comprehensive land use planning. The incorporation of emergency management practices into the comprehensive planning process allows for a better understanding of the impact of development, zoning, building code, and economic development on the mitigation of hazards that face the community. Academic curricula may provide a brief introduction of the relationship between hazard mitigation and land use; however, a more detailed exploration of how emergency management planning and regional or urban planning are interrelated is needed. The impact of weather-related events, natural disasters, or other human-caused shock or disruption can dramatically impact the physical, social, and psychological structures of a community. This research provides regional planners with the history of emergency management planning in the United States. It examines how cross-sharing of information and process between both planning disciplines can contribute to more robust community development and disaster plans. A case study illustrates the impact of urban development on natural hazard mitigation and the subsequent risks to public safety, which resulted from the planning decisions. Place identity, place dependence, and public participation concerning hazard mitigation and disaster management are explored to provide planners and emergency managers with a context of the psychological influences which may impact a community member’s decisions when faced with significant disruption of place. Best practices that guide the integration of regional planning and emergency management planning are provided to increase the understanding of both planning processes to increase the capacity of a community to absorb and rebound from a natural disaster or sudden shock.

Employee job satisfaction of public sector professionals: The roles of public safety work and public service motivation

Intro: Public transit offers various advantages for both communities and individuals in terms of mobility and has the potential to serve as a practical alternative to private motorized transportation. Timely and convenient public transit becomes a lifeline for people who cannot access other types of transportation, especially when it comes to emergency care. Method: We built a private network analysis within ArcGIS Pro using coordinate data from hospitals and stand-alone emergency rooms as designated by the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) and public transit data from Orlando, FL. Establishing the accessible time as 30 minutes, we computed and visualized the accessible areas where individuals can get to a care facility within the time limit and via public transit. Then, we overlaid the map with demographic distribution and determined the relationship between populations' characteristics and access to care. Result: A total of 4178 active bus stops; among these, there are 1265 within a 5 to 10-minute walk to a care facility, and 68 bus routes, 249 actual care facilities, and 413 census tracts were found in the study area. Sixty-five census tracts showed less than 1% coverage, while 34 displayed complete 100% coverages, with the median service coverage across all tracts around 40%. The t-test series indicated a denser population and higher mobile homeownership in areas without level access. Conclusion: The investigation identified distinct spatial patterns in the distribution of care facilities, concentrated in the Central Business District, and created isolated areas between routes, potentially leaving unwell individuals in residential zones with limited access to timely care.

In response to climate change, economic instability, and rapid urbanization, the notion of urban resilience has gained prominence in city planning and governance. Urban resilience is the ability of a system to adapt to new baseline conditions developing as a result of disturbances. This study is focused on one of urban resilience’s sub-tenets, ecological resilience. Ecological resilience is the ability of a system to sustain ecosystem services following a disturbance (i.e. droughts, flooding, heat waves). The health of the environment prior to a disturbance informs post-disturbance ecological resilience. An already stressed and unbalanced system, or an ecosystem with degraded health, is predisposed to vulnerabilities and exposure to disturbances. Environmental injustice is a significant gauge of latent environmental harm, and subsequently degraded ecosystem functionality. This study explores the spatial distribution and correlation between socioeconomic and environmental burdens in the largest majority Black neighborhood in the City of Orlando, Parramore. Through a lens of environmental justice, identifying where environmental, social, and economic harm is amplified and who is affected provides greater contextual information for the focus of future resilience strategies, the process through which they are devised and implemented, and their connection to land use planning and policy.