Computers are becoming smaller and more mobile, as they do they are becoming relied upon more and more for critical applications. These applications require an always on high bandwidth connection from the field to the internet. It is this reason that techniques must be developed. In a system where a mobile router chooses amongst several differing types of networks, the router must be given as much information as possible so that it can make the best choice as to who it should connect to when it leaves its home network. This paper proposes that the mobile router be given a metric, called dynamic preference level, based upon the conditions of each possible next hop so that when the router needs to handoff from one access point to another it makes the best, informed, decision it can. This metric will use the amount of free bandwidth available in addition to other factors such as path loss.

This dissertation introduces Inverse Synthetic Array Reconciliation Tomography (ISART), an algorithm that exploits the short-time accuracy of inertial navigation systems (INS) and the time-stability of radio frequency (RF) positioning algorithms to achieve a high level of positioning accuracy. Novel array processing and data fusion techniques are employed to acheive performance far greater than RF and INS algorithms previously developed. This research is directed toward addressing the need for a viable tracking solution for firefighters and other first responders in urban and indoor environments. The approaches in this work are fundamentally different from other RF-INS fusion approaches, in the way we combine INS data with RF data. Rather than simply fusing the measurements from two systems that are estimating position (or states directly related to position) we use the inertial navigation data to improve the accuracy of our RF estimates at the signal level, before integrating them into an overall fusion system through the use of an extended Kalman filter (EKF). This work outlines the theoretical basis for ISART, and shows the results of simulations that support the claimed accuracy improvement of the ISART algorithm over existing methods. The viability of ISART in real world settings is then examined through the results of three field tests what were conducted in support of this research.

Detecting heart and respiratory rates is an essential means of providing emergency medical care. Current methods of detecting such signals include the widely used electrocardiography (ECG) method. Other more manual methods of heart and respiratory rate estimation require a practitioner to constantly observe the patient. These methods are time consuming and detract valuable time from emergency medical care. This thesis presents a novel, hands off, heart and respiratory monitor (HARMONI). It uses pressure transducers and medical tubing placed on a person's chest. The tubing is plugged off at one end, and then attached to a pressure transducer at the other end. The transducer sees spikes in voltage whenever the pressure inside the tubing changes. Heart and respiratory rates both cause expansion in the chest, increasing the pressure in the tubing, and causing the transducer to see a change in voltage. The method was first validated, and then tested in a simulated environment. Finally, the device was transformed in to a full system prototype. Human tests were conducted to correlate the signal with that of an industry standard ECG device. This thesis explains how heart and respiratory rates can be derived using signal processing techniques and a simple non-invasive sensor. This device is a rapidly deployable tool that has the potential to save lives specifically in mass casualty situations. It would be a force multiplier, allowing a single responder to monitor multiple casualties, saving time and lives. / Master of Science

Är införande och nyttjande av förstainsatsperson (FIP) samhällsekonomiskt lönsamt? En FIP är, i normalfallet, en deltidsbrandman som inte behöver inställa sig vid brandstationen när en olycka har inträffat då denne har ett eget utryckningsfordon och kan på så sätt fortare komma fram till olycksplats. Den här uppsatsen gör en utvärdering av fyra stationsområden i Jönköpings kommun som för FIP-verksamhet. Tidigare studier framställer att FIP har kortare responstid än nästkommande räddningsenhet. Om så är fallet är följden att räddningsarbetet kan påbörjas i ett tidigare skede och således kan det slutliga räddade värdet i en olyckssituation vara av större omfattning än vad som annars vore möjligt. Enligt teorin bör det finnas ett sätt att värdera denna effekt, vilket sedan kan ställas i förhållande till merkostnaden av införande av FIP. Är fördelarna av FIP-verksamhet av större magnitud än nackdelarna är projektet samhällsekonomiskt lönsamt. Metoden använd för att utvärdera FIP i Jönköpings kommun är kostnadsnyttoanalys (CBA), vari analysunderlaget består av 1150 insatser där FIP-rapport ifyllts. Resultatet visar att den årliga nyttan per FIP-enhet, det vill säga per stationsområde, är mellan 242,8 och 652,0 TSEK (ej extrapolerat värde). Den årliga kostnaden är cirka 76,5 TSEK och nettonuvärdet uppgår därför till mellan 166,2 och 509,1 TSEK. Nyttokostnadskvoten är mellan 3,17 och 8,52. Slutsatsen är att införande och nyttjande av FIP är samhällsekonomiskt lönsamt. / Is introduction of first responder economically beneficial to society? A first responder is, most commonly, a part-time firefighter who can directly head for the scene of an accident since he has his own emergency vehicle. This means that the first responder does not have to first go by the fire department, like other part-time firefighters, and thus will be able to help people, or other, in an early stage of the situation. This thesis evaluates four fire departments (areas) in the municipality of Jönköping, which have adopted the concept of first responders into their organizations. Previous studies have shown that first responders have, on average, a shorter response time than the next emergency unit called to a rescue scene. If this is a fact, the rescue work can begin at an earlier stage and thus the final value saved during a rescue operation will be of greater scope than otherwise would be possible. In theory there should be a way to evaluate this effect, which then can be compared with the additional cost of introducing first responders. If the benefits of first responders are of greater magnitude than the disadvantages, the project is economically beneficial to society. The method used to evaluate the project of first responders in the municipality of Jönköping is a cost-benefit analysis (CBA), where the analytical framework consists of 1150 emergency rescues where a first-responder report has been completed. The results show that the annual benefits per first-responder unit, i.e. per station area, is between SEK 242.8 thousand and SEK 652.0 thousand (with no extrapolation). The annual cost is approximately SEK 76.5 thousand. The net present value therefore is between SEK 166.2 thousand and SEK 509.1 thousand. The cost-benefit ratio is between 3.17 and 8.52. The con-clusion is that introduction and use of first responders in the municipality of Jönköping is economic-ally beneficial to society. / Effektsamband i samhället

CHDS State/Local / Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / As the United States improves its collective awareness and emergency preparedness in the face of increased terrorist activity, more efforts are being made to create and enhance community readiness for catastrophic events. There have been substantial efforts to improve the nation's bioterrorism preparedness. Better planning, equipment, training, surveillance, and pharmaceutical caches have elevated the nation's readiness for biological attacks. In order to effectively meet the challenges created by a bioterrorism attack, its first lines of defense, the first responders, must be rapidly prophylaxed to allow the continuance of their mission. Many states and localities have tackled the gigantic undertaking of mass prophylaxis plans to provide chemoprophylaxis to civilians should the need arise. Many cities have developed and tested their plans to provide general public mass prophylaxis. It is assumed, or briefly mentioned, that the mass prophylaxis of first responders will occur, but few plans have been developed. The primary objective of this research is to develop, test, and make recommendations for a straightforward, adaptable mass prophylaxis plan to meet the prophylactic requirements of local first responders in the event of a biological attack. / Paramedic and Disaster Coordinator, Anaheim Memorial Medical Center, CA

One of the most common sources of stress is one's job and the struggle to balance the demands of one's job with those of one's family and/or romantic relationship. Prolonged exposure to stress can lead to burnout, and it can affect various aspects of one's life and one's emotional and cognitive well-being. Firefighters, police officers, and corrections officers are susceptible to burnout. If their well-being is compromised, it can impact their job performance, which can negatively impact society. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between work-family conflict (time-based, strain-based, behavior-based), job burnout (exhaustion, depersonalization, accomplishment), and couple burnout in high-stress occupations, using the work-family conflict model. Using standard multiple regressions, strain-based work-family conflict and behavior-based work-family conflict were significant predictors of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and couple burnout. Work-family conflict scores predicted levels of personal accomplishment. In addition, emotional exhaustion was a significant predictor of couple burnout. This study provided insight into the aspects of work-family conflict and job burnout and how they predict couple burnout. Future research may include females, spouses, and other variables that may also predict burnout. Increasing education on which aspects of work-family conflict and job burnout predict couple burnout can help to increase awareness and well-being for individuals working in high-stress occupations. It can also lead to social change by encouraging changes in hiring, training, and support services, which can increase occupational retainment and allow employees to deliver the highest level of service to the populations in which they serve.

Army first responders, specifically Combat Medics and Combat Lifesavers, provide medical intervention while in the field. Didactic as well as hands-on training helps to prepare these first responders, and one module they receive involves bleeding control. First responders are taught to use the Combat Application Tourniquet® (CAT® ) to stop bleeding from limbs subjected to severe injury such as amputation, gunshot, or severe lacerations. A training aid like the Multiple Amputee Trauma Trainer™ (MATT™) simulator provides tourniquet training using a lifelike bilateral lower limb amputee. In addition, MATT™ combines movement and resistance while the first responder applies the tourniquet, mimicking conditions one would see in a real situation. This research describes tourniquet history, appropriate usage, field tourniquet review, surgical tourniquet, CAT® bleeding intervention procedures, bleeding physiology and complications, prehospital tourniquet use in recent conflicts, medical simulation fidelity, and a review of the value of animatronic movement during tourniquet simulation-based training. I then evaluate the effectiveness of animatronic movement during tourniquet training using the Advanced MATT in an experiment using Army first responders. The control group experienced no movement while the experimental group experienced movement when applying a tourniquet during the lab-training. Each group then alternately experienced Advanced MATT movement during an immersive scenario along with fog, strobe lights, and battle sounds. It was hypothesized that 1) In the immersive scenario, the experimental groups (i.e., those who were trained on a moving simulator) would have a faster reaction time as compared to those participants who did not receive training on the moving Advanced MATT simulator; 2) In the iv lab-based training, the experimental groups would have a slower reaction time; 3) In the immersive scenario, the experimental groups would have a faster tourniquet application time when subjected to movement while in the lab-based training, but the experimental groups would also have a slower tourniquet application time when initially subjected to movement in the laboratory-based training; finally, 4, 5, and 6) Participants who completed lab-based tourniquet training on the Advanced MATT simulation with animatronic movement would report higher perceived realism scores than participants who complete the training on a static version of the Advanced MATT and participants who completed a tourniquet training immersive scenario on the Advanced MATT simulation with movement would report higher perceived realism, presence, and self-efficacy scores than participants who complete the training on a static version of the Advanced MATT. The empirical results show a significant overall training effect of the Advanced MATT simulator (with or without movement). For reaction time and tourniquet application time, involving simulator movement was significant over varying scenarios. A small reduction in reaction and tourniquet application time on the battlefield may be extremely beneficial on the battlefield. Participants who received movement generally gave more positive reactions than those who did not received movement, although these results failed to reach statistical significance. Participants who received movement, followed by a scenario without movement rated the subjective ratings the lowest, suggestive of the lack of movement. Furthermore, despite the order movement was received, no large drops in performance occurred in any condition, indicating that negative training was avoided

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 22-25, 2001 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / A systems engineering development for acquisition, transmission, processing, dissemination and display of information vital to combat casualty care and related first responder activities is presented. It utilizes a synergistic combination of two existing state-of-the-art Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency/Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego (DARPA/SSCSD) technologies (Sensate-Liner and ENCOMPASS) coupled via the Enhanced Position Location Reporting System (EPLRS), an existing wireless military tactical communication data system. Transmission Security and Communication Security (TRANSEC/COMMSEC) of environmental and biomedical data is thus accomplished from the battlefield via selected data links and Ethernet. System functionality and appropriate candidate interfacing technologies will be discussed.

The foundation of modern-day emergency medical service (EMS) systems began in 1966, based on hospital medical care. Demand for evidence to support prehospital practices that have been in existence for the past half-century has continued to grow; yet, researchers have not adequately explored the relationship between the medical certification level of emergency first responders and the amount of time an ambulance spends on the scene. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine and compare ambulance scene times for emergency responses when basic life support (BLS) certified first responders or advanced life support (ALS) first responders are first on the scene, and whether the level of first responder training reduces the time spent on the scene by a paramedic ambulance. A final research question dealt with whether there is a relationship between how long the first responder is on the scene and the amount of time an ambulance spends at the scene of an emergency. The publicly available archival data used for the study were from a community that had BLS and ALS first responders. Data analysis involved t-tests of the hypotheses for the first 2 research questions and a linear regression analysis of the hypotheses for the third research question. The findings showed that there is a clear difference in ambulance scene times based on the certification level of the first responders. Advanced life support first responders significantly reduced the scene time of ambulances when they arrived at the scene prior to the ambulance. Positive social change could result from this study if understanding the impact that ALS first responders have on ambulance scene times leads EMS planning managers to deploy resources more strategically, thus improving the efficiency of the public safety system and saving lives.

School shootings and emergencies have created the need for educators to be proficient in emergency response procedures; yet they do not always receive the requisite training. The lack of an established delineated training program for New Jersey, kindergarten to Grade 12 institutions has created a situation where educator preparedness varies immensely at schools. Numerous national events of targeted school violence have exemplified the need for quick and proper responses by educators to mitigate the tragic results until first responders arrive. The purpose and goal of this study was to assess educators’ perceptions and to determine the best practices in creating a comprehensive safety and security training program to prepare educators for school crises in order to offer a model for stakeholders to follow or gain ideas to improve their institution’s specific school safety and security emergency plans. Guided by the U.S. Department of Education’s best practices in developing high-quality school safety plans, this study analyzed the perceptions of 60 educators in one New Jersey kindergarten to Grade 12 school on the effectiveness of training. A mixed-methods approach, using a survey questionnaire and interviews, measured changes in the perceptions of these educators after the 15-week program. Data results included a revelation of the implementation of a comprehensive school safety and security plan with related training program resulted in a statistically significant increase in the perceptions of educators’ knowledge and abilities to respond effectively to school targeted violence and emergencies. These findings support the concept that best practices in the field of school safety and security management include appropriate and comprehensive school safety and security plans and training for educators to combat and mitigate school targeted violence and emergent events.