Thesis (M.C.R.P.)--University of Oregon, 2008. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-78). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Texas at Dallas, 2008. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 74-75)

Thesis (Masters Diploma(Technology)--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 1988 / The project entails designing and installing an emergency fire telephone system (EFTS) for the 23 storey Cape Town Administrative Civic Centre. The original system, with its mostly analogue circuitry, has no documentation available, is difficult to maintain and has become unreliable. After considering alternative systems the most economical option was to expand the original system by adding more extension telephones and to redesign the control section. The new EFTS briefly operates as follows: The status of ninety six extension telephones, installed at the emergency exits on each floor, are displayed on a mimic status display which both operators can monitor. Any emergency call can be identified by a green flashing LED and a distinctive bleep. The LED indicates the exact position and number of the telephone in the building, Each operator has a keypad and a two digit numeric display fitted his telephone. The operator can immediately answer incoming calls by pressing the queue button. Calls queue on a first in first out basis. The number of the extension telephone will be displayed on a numeric display. The operator can also select the extension he wishes to contact, by dialling the extension number on the keypad. The EFTS consists of nine printed circuit boards. A rack mounted Microcomputer board, made up of a Motorola MC6809 microprocessor, six 6821 PlAs, 2 kilobyte RAM, up to 16 kilobyte ROM and a watchdog timer controls the EFTS.Two Telephone Controller boards process voice signals and generate logic control signals for the CMOS voice switching circuitry on the Multiplexer Monitor boards. Six Multiplexer Monitor boards switch the two operators to any of the ninety six extension telephones and continuously monitor the extension telephone lines for faults and handset statuses. Noise and over voltage line protection is provided. The multiplexing of the 192 LEDs on the Mimic Status Display is controlled by the Microcomputer board. An unusual principle used in this design is the combination of low frequency AM and audio to affect communication. Two uninterruptable power supplies provide user independence from mains. Software used for the EFTS is written in 6809 Assembly Language. A Real time interrupt controls the Mimic Status Display. Operator actions are interfaced with the program logic by means of hardware interrupts.

Several alternate systems for use in implementing the 911 emergency system in Orange County, Florida were investigated. The proposed systems were compared with the already existing systems on the basis of reliability, response time, and cost. System reliability was the prime consideration of the study. Flow charts of each system were formulated in order to determine the functions required of equipment and humans. The reliability was then determined by examining the difficulty of the tasks that each was required to perform. Reliability models of the present and proposed systems were constructed. By examining these models and comparing the reliabilities, response times, and costs, the most advantageous system configurations were determined. Two systems, Emergency Operator Call Transfer and Emergency Operator Call Relay, were selected as the most desirable; there were no appreciable differences in their reliability, response time, and cost.

The State of Florida has mandated that a statewide 911 system be implemented, and the Department of General Services, Division of Communications, has performed a study of possible 911 system configurations for Orange County based on the findings of a study performed by the Stanford Research Institute for the whole of the State of Florida. The Orange County study determined operator manning levels of the primary law enforcement agencies involved in the system and response times to citizen calls for each of the configurations proposed. This research generated computer simulation models of the two most likely to be implemented configurations for handling citizen calls. The models were run sing the input parameters defined in the Orange County study, and the results compared favorably. Additional runs were made with varying resource assignments to evaluate call service with respect to the level of performance and response time. The models were designed in modular form, such that they can easily be structured to conform to other operational configurations. This will allow evaluation of prosed systems prior to actual start up and analysis of resource requirements based on population predictions.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2007. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Little is known about the role of public health public information officers (PIOs) during public health emergencies. This study uses interpretative methods to learn about the organizational structures that facilitate and constrain emergency risk communication efforts during public health emergencies. Interpretive thematic comparative analysis of PIOs experiences and reflections about their involvement in the 2009-2010 H1N1 response will be used to illustrate how social interactions between and among PIOs, public health staff, and representatives from other agencies create implicit and explicit structures that facilitate and constrain emergency risk communication. The application of three specific concepts from structuration theory, namely, agent, duality of structure and institutionalized processes will be key in the exploration of the role of the PIO within the context of emergency planning and response. Participants in this study were individuals from Kentucky, North Dakota, New Jersey and California who served as a PIO during the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic influenza response. The study’s findings suggest that social interactions between organizational members, in addition to the organization of public health systems in each state, contribute to the similarities and differences in the enactment of the PIO role. Further, this study also suggests that the permeability of emergency response plans, another type of organizational structure, facilitate and constrain PIOs’ emergency risk communication efforts. Finally, this study also suggests that the involvement of PIOs in emergency planning and exercises impacts the types of relationships that are created and maintained before and during emergency responses.

Thesis (M.Info.Sys.)--University of Wollongong, 2005. / Typescript. Bibliography: leaf 204-220.

Thesis (M.A.)--Carleton University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 125-131). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.