Thesis (M.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2004. / Title from title page of source document (viewed on April 23, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-113).

Social media plays an important role during multiple phases of a disaster. While it is widely known that citizens turn to social media during disasters to gain information and send help requests, there is a significant gap in our knowledge of how, or if, first responders use social media to conduct disaster response operations. To help address this gap this study employed qualitative, semi-structured interviews with a sample of first responders (N = 20) who were deployed to Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The interviews sought to gain a better understanding of how social media was used to conduct response operations and identify both limitations and advantages of social media as perceived by first responders. Through a systematic coding process the analysis identified four themes related to social media usage among first responders to disasters: (1) more than just Twitter; (2) rumor has it; (3) one size does not fit all; and (4) timing is everything. The findings of this research highlight the importance of social media for both organizations and individuals involved in responding to disasters.

The researchers in this project studied the prevalence and impact of burnout among first responders, after which they produced CRISP (Creative Resilience Initiatives for Service Providers), a groundbreaking art therapy-based program published in an electronic book format aimed at addressing burnout and fostering resilience among first responders. Our program aims to foster resilience by integrating art therapy's Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC) model with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and anti-racism strategies. The ETC model aligns with inclusive and diverse practices as it emphasizes a system-focused approach in using creativity, self-reflection, and cultivation of effective body-mind empathy. The CRISP eBook features 18 arts-based activities, each accompanied by relevant psychoeducation and self-reflective questions. These activities engage first responders in kinesthetic, sensorial, perceptual, affective, cognitive, and symbolic components of information processing in the ETC, utilizing multifaceted creativity as a powerful tool for building resilience and countering burnout signs that can lead to depersonalized and biased practices in their work. Future studies are warranted to assess the efficacy of art interventions, such as those explored in the CRISP eBook, in addressing the unique stressors faced by first responders.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to burden a significant number of 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) first responders years after the tragedy. Research suggests that physical activity is negatively related to PTSD symptoms in diverse samples, but most of this work has relied on self-report rather than more objective actigraphy, has not had long follow-ups (e.g., > 1 year), and has rarely assessed this relationship among WTC responders, a unique first responder population. To redress gaps, the present study examined the relationship between physical activity measured through actigraphy and PTSD symptoms in a sample of WTC first responders (N = 461), who participated in four yearly waves of data collection. The relationship between physical activity and PTSD (total and individual symptoms) was assessed concurrently via ecological momentary assessment (EMA), from one day to the next, and across years. Analyses found that total physical activity and number of daily steps were significantly associated with reduced PTSD symptoms from one year to the next, while short-term and symptom cluster-level effects were less clear. Significant effects disappeared after controlling for depression, further supporting the presence of a general distress factor in PTSD. No support was found for the role of intensity or time of day of physical activity. Findings from this study highlight the clinical utility of physical activity, which is generally accessible and flexible, as an adjunctive treatment for PTSD, particularly in the long term.

Spurred by change in government regulations and to leverage lower-cost technology and services, many land mobile radio (LMR) operators have begun transitioning from circuit-switched to packet-switched backbone networks to handle their future communication needs. Due to the unique demands of packet-switched backbone networks for LMR, it may not be wise to carry over the previously implemented security methods used with circuit-switch systems or to treat an LMR backbone as a regular packet-switched network. This thesis investigates security in packet-switched LMR backbone networks to identify security issues in packet-switched LMR networks and provide possible solutions for them. Security solutions that are examined include different types of virtual private networks (VPNs), various encryption and keying procedures for safe communication, and logic behind how and where to implement security functions within the network. Specific schemes examined include IP Security (IPSec), OpenVPN, Virtual Tunnel (VTun), and Zebedee. I also present a quantitative analysis of the effects that the solutions have on packet-switched networks, in terms of link utilization, and on voice traffic, in terms of delay and delay jitter. In addition, I evaluate, in general terms, the additional cost or complexity that is introduced by the different security solutions. Simulation with OPNET Modeler was used to evaluate how the various security schemes affect voice communication and network performance as a whole. Since OPNET Modeler does not provide models of security functions, the source code of the transceiver system models was modified to introduce additional overhead that is representative of the various security solutions. Through experimentation, simulation, and analysis of the security schemes considered, it was found that the most effective security scheme overall for a packet-switched LMR backbone network would either be IPSec or OpenVPN implemented at the base stations and end-hosts. Both security schemes provide strong encryption, flexibility, and are actively supported. However, if bandwidth is scarce and flexibility is less important, then a security solution with less overhead, such as VTun, should be considered. Thus, one has to balance performance with security to choose the most effective security solution for a particular application. / Master of Science

CHDS State/Local / Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / This thesis argues that first preventers are not limited to law enforcement and/or intelligence personnel. Private security officers are our true first preventers because they control access to the myriad of facilities we enter and exit every day. They are the individuals with their boots on the ground in our efforts to recognize abnormal or unusual activity. Based on the observation by President George W. Bush in the National Strategy for Homeland Security that 85% of the nation's critical infrastructure is owned by private agencies and organizations, one conclusion is incontrovertible: No one is in a better position to be a first preventer than the private security officer in America. In New York State, a professionally trained and licensed security officer's primary directive is defined as detecting, deterring and reporting on conditions which might harm life or property. It is incumbent upon government public security officials, and private security executives themselves, to cultivate and exploit this undervalued segment of our efforts to combat terrorism on a national basis. In order to do so, and to assure the public of the competency of the private security workforce, it is imperative that private security officers be mandated to meet minimum standards. Therefore, this thesis makes the argument that advocating nationwide, state controlled licensing and training of private security officers is essential to the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security to employ 'First Responder' and 'First Preventer' strategies in the war on terrorism. / Civilian, Chief of Staff, New York City Police Pension Fund

This dissertation used a person-environment fit theoretical framework to examine the influence of person-job misfit as an organizational stressor on strain and well-being outcomes for emergency responders. Independent variables consisted of job attributes such as skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and job-based feedback. These job characteristics are often used in work redesign efforts as they are amendable to organizational change initiatives. Dependent variables included strain outcomes relevant to those working in emergency services: physical symptoms, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress. Also, to include a positive aspect of emergency services work, the well-being outcome of compassion satisfaction was examined. Data were collected from 358 emergency responders across the United States via online survey, including law enforcement, firefighters, police/fire/medical dispatch, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics. Methodology utilized polynomial regression analysis in which joint linear and curvilinear effects from two predictors upon one outcome correspond to a three-dimensional response surface reflecting the fit-outcome relationship. This approach allowed a detailed examination of the nature of fit and the nature of misfit for each job attribute in relation to strain and well-being. Maximum likelihood with bootstrapping was used to estimate model parameters and test response surface features. Findings identified several influential fit-outcome relationships including skill variety fit-compassion satisfaction (a1 = 0.366), task identity fit-burnout (a2 = -0.083), task significance fit-burnout (a1 = -0.241) task significance fit-compassion satisfaction (a1 = 0.496,), job-based feedback fit-physical symptoms (a1 = -3.807), job-based feedback fit-burnout (a1 = -0.323), and job-based feedback fit-compassion satisfaction (a1 = 0.391). In terms of misfit, task identity misfit was related to secondary traumatic stress (a3 = -0.209) and job-based feedback misfit was related to burnout (a3 = -0.234). Conclusions regarding identified fit-outcome relationships suggested a potential to reduce frequency of physical symptoms, burnout, and secondary traumatic stress and increase employees’ experience of compassion satisfaction by considering employees’ preference for these job characteristics. On the basis of these findings, opportunities for Emergency Services Management agencies to facilitate wellness for personnel, as well as future research directions are discussed.

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During an incident, which is critical in nature, sense-making by the individuals involved are essential in ensuring an optimal response to the incident. The incident management systems employed to manage the allocation of resources to an incident allow for the visualisation of the incident and its constituents, and this visualisation supports sense-making by improving knowledge transfer. Knowledge visualisation contains pitfalls that can be avoided by implementing knowledge visualisation criteria. The purpose of this study is to identify the knowledge visualisation criteria that optimise the knowledge transfer by visual artifacts in incident management systems like emergency medical or fire-response systems. This study used the design science research (DSR) methodology and was conducted in the context of critical incident response management. A review of the existing literature was done to identify an initial set of knowledge visualisation criteria. The initial set was evaluated by content experts (using questionnaire driven interviews) and usability experts (using questionnaire driven interviews, usability testing with eye tracking and a survey) in the context of an emergency incident management system. The main contribution of this study is a validated set of knowledge visualisation criteria to guide knowledge transfer in incident management systems. / School of Computing / M. Sc. Computing

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