Applying selected concepts of organizational theory to the Mayaguez incident of 1975 leads to a more comprehensive understanding of events and more accurate lessons learned. Application of organizational theory to the Mayaguez incident demonstrates the decision processes at the executive level left the military operation vulnerable to failure. Henry Mintzberg's structural contingency model and Lee Bowman and Terrence Deal's frames model are used and are applied to executive-level decisions. The rationale behind focusing on the executive level is twofold: first, it is where final critical decisions are made and second, military operations cannot take place without an executive-level authorization. The Mayaguez crisis was rife with potential pitfalls and, though President Ford was equipped with an organization of intelligent, competent personnel, the result was unnecessary loss of life. Publicly, the operation was a success and President Ford the savior of the Mayaguez crew. To the military, the operation was an embarrassment because of failures in the organizational structure and decision making. Application of organizational theory provides an avenue for analysis of the military operation within the Mayaguez rescue.

Humankind conflicts reached a point where the use of terrorism continues to be viewed as an acceptable and valuable instrument to pursue political goals. Because of the fact that the Romanian forces have encountered little action in the terrorism arena, one can say that the Romanian counter-terrorism and antiterrorism arrangements within the law enforcement and military are immature. This paper attempts to shed light upon the current crisis management procedures and how that arrangement can affect the effectiveness of the state response in hostage situation crises both in country and abroad. The paper analyzes five hostage rescue operations, conducted by German, British, Peruvian, and Russian forces, and focuses on three critical procedures that lead to hostage deaths: security measures, negotiations, and handling the media. The analysis exposes that the effectiveness of these procedures will minimize the civilian casualties and will act as prerequisites for successful hostage rescue operations. In the light of the case studies results, a general-based model provides the Romanian authorities with critical tasks faced by either military or law enforcements assets that are required in order to accomplish rescue operations. The project concludes with a number of suggestions for immediate and long-term alleviation of current development problems faced by Romanian Special Operations Forces.

CHDS State/Local / After mainland United States suffered a violent attack upon its citizenry, Homeland Security professionals recognized the need to protect a growing number of critical infrastructure locations. Millions of dollars earmarked for emergency management programs were funneled into technologies that enabled public safety to â do more with less." Closed circuit television surveillance systems rocketed to the forefront as the must-have technology. Citizens of the United States became subject to video surveillance during their normal daily routines. This thesis examines the management of CCTV systems used by municipal police departments and analyzes the policies created to control the technology and prevent abuse. Using U.S. Census Bureau data, the police departments responsible for protecting the 50 largest cities were contacted and surveyed. The initial step determined what jurisdictions utilized surveillance cameras to monitor public domains. The follow-up steps gathered information about the systems being used; the management decisions regarding where to place the cameras; the training for its operators; supervision standards; the written policies regulating the department's program; analyzing those directives; and finally, presenting step-by-step recommendations for implementing CCTV surveillance systems for Homeland Security use. / Captain, Philadelphia Police Department

This thesis is a narrative inquiry of 10 international students from Nigeria studying in selected UK universities. The thesis draws from emerging discourse on international student’s overseas experiences and extends this knowledge by analysing these experiences from the framework of trauma, individuation, spiritual emergency and the African initiation process, in an attempt to gain an in depth knowledge of Nigerian students’ experiences of studying abroad in the current period. The previous understanding of international students’ experiences from culture shock framework does not account for how their difficult experiences affect their psychological, emotional, physical, social and spiritual wellbeing, so this thesis have reconceptualised these problems and explained them in more depth using the trauma framework and contributed to knowledge in this area. It is an exploratory qualitative study and data for the study was gathered through narrative interviewing. The narrative or story telling method applied in this study enabled the researcher to capture how the participants construct meaning to their lived experiences. The narrative inquiry is chosen because it gives voice to silenced group of people like the Nigerian students whose experiences are not heard. Narratives gathered were textually analysed to evidence the narrators’ unique individual experiences. Findings revealed that the participants had experiences that coincided with trauma experiences such as feeling of helplessness, disorganization, confusion, depression, sleeplessness and disorientation, lack of concentration and supressed emotion as they lived and studied in UK. The thesis concluded from the findings of the study that there is resemblance of trauma experiences in the participants’ stories. The study recommends that support was necessary when they are in UK, while adequate information should be provided before the students sojourn to the UK since most of their difficulties were as a result of failed expectations from their preconceptions about studying in the UK before they arrived.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Master of Science in Emergency Medicine in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Witwatersrand , July 2013 / Background Deliberate self-poisoning (DSP) remains a common method employed for suicide worldwide. Despite its frequent occurrence and the high cost required in its management, only few studies have been carried out on this subject in South Africa. Inadequate research into DSP in South Africa is a great concern as this may inadvertently result in an inadequate knowledge of health professionals on the general approach to victims presenting at emergency departments. This may consequently result in a poor clinical outcome of these cases. This study was aimed at determining the demographics of DSP cases presenting to the emergency department (ED) of Pelonomi hospital and also to enquire into the drugs/agents commonly used, reasons for DSP and the clinical outcome of these cases. Method This was a retrospective, descriptive study which was carried out by going through the hospital clinical records covering a period of eighteen months (1st January 2010 – 30th June 2011). The demographics and deliberate self-poisoning-related information were then collected, using a data collection form. The data was thereafter analysed by using descriptive statistics, calculated for continuous data. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for categorical data. Results Of the 212 DSP cases reviewed, 66% were female. Most patients (86.8%) were single and 65.6% were unemployed. DSP occurred more in the age-group of 20-39 years (68.8%). Majority of the DSP cases (84.4%) occurred in areas associated with poor socio-economic status.Paracetamol was the drug used by majority of these patients (21.7%) for DSP. Other common agents/drugs used were antidepressants (9.4%), antiretrovirals (ARVs) (9.9%) and household chemicals (19.3%). 85 patients (40.1%) took more than one drug/agent. Out of the 81 patients who had the reason for their poisoning stated, 40 patients had relationship disharmony (32 unmarried, 8 married). 15 patients had family issues which mainly resulted from conflicts with parents and grandparents. The medical reasons found amongst 5 patients were HIV infection, cancer and dental problems. Unemployment and post traumatic stress disorder following rape were the other reasons for DSP. The psychosocial problems of 10 patients were not specified. Majority of the patients (59.9%) were discharged in stable conditions. Low GCS (≤8) and hypothermia were common clinical features occurring amongst patients that got admitted. Conclusion DSP is still a common phenomenon, majorly amongst females in the age-group of 20-39 years, with poor quality of life. Relationship disharmony is the most common reason for poisoning. Drug/agents used can only be curtailed to a minimal extent. Prevention through early detection of vulnerable patients and early psychological management should be our goal.

This study seeks to serve as a baseline survey of the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of surgical registrars concerning hospital disaster preparedness across 3 tertiary hospitals in Gauteng. This is owing to the fact that a perusal of the relevant literature reveals that while considerable research exists for the assessment of hospital disaster preparedness within an international context, there was a lack of information pertaining to the South African setting. A stratified random sampling process was applied to 30 surgical registrars who were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. Thus the study design was a cross sectional descriptive study of the surgical registrars working across 3 tertiary hospitals in Gauteng. A response rate of 83% was achieved. The study concluded that while 80% of surgical registrars surveyed had an excellent level of knowledge about hospital disaster preparedness, only 52% of the respondents have positive attitudes towards hospital disaster preparedness. An overwhelming majority of the surgical registrars (84%) reported poor practices concerning hospital disaster preparedness. The findings of this study has lead to the following key recommendations being made: a) the need for a dedicated national hospital disaster preparedness fund, b) the provision of regular in-service training on hospital disaster preparedness with special attention being given to registrars with greater than 11 years of clinical experience c) need for hospital disaster preparedness training to adhere to some form of quality control d) setting up of a task team to conduct regular audits on the practices of hospitals in terms of disaster preparedness.

Orientador: José Eduardo Corrente / Coorientador: Silvia Cristina Mangini Bocchi / Banca: Magda Cristina Queiroz Dell'Accqua / Banca: Ana Maria Pimenta Carvalho / Resumo: Estudo epidemiológico retrospectivo, descritivo, com o objetivo de caracterizar o perfil dos atendimentos por transtornos psiquiátricos realizados pelas equipes do Serviço de Atendimento Móvel de Urgência - SAMU-192 -, no período de junho a dezembro de 2010, na cidade de Bauru. Utilizaram-se como fontes de dados os registros de informações do Sistema SR SAMU, Versão 3.2, assim como do Serviço Social do Pronto-Socorro Municipal Central (PSMC). Foram avaliadas 18.246 fichas de atendimentos, sendo 2.106 (12%) categorizadas como transtornos psiquiátricos. Preponderaram os episódios convulsivos (39,2%), seguidos pelo abuso de álcool (14,6%) e de drogas (6,7%). Houve 269 internações psiquiátricas em hospitais referenciados. Realizaram-se comparações entre os episódios avaliados considerando-se o sexo e a faixa etária, por meio de testes de diferença de proporções, com a adoção de um nível de significância de 5% ou do p-valor correspondente. Em relação ao sexo, ocorreu diferença significativa (p<0,0001) no atendimento de homens por abuso de álcool (78,3%) e outros tipos de drogas (78,7%), assim como para episódios convulsivos (75,1%) e agitação psicomotora (63,6%), enquanto para as mulheres isso ocorreu em relação à crise conversiva (85,7%) e de ansiedade (77,4%). Os homens (66,0%) superaram as mulheres (34%) na demanda pelos atendimentos do SAMU por abusarem três vezes mais do álcool e de drogas quando comparados a elas. Houve significância (p<0,0001) entre faixas etárias e demandas por atendimentos relacionadas a: abuso de álcool, abuso de drogas, agitação psicomotora, ansiedade, crise conversiva, depressão, surto psicótico, tentativa de suicídio, intoxicação exógena, convulsão e outros problemas psiquiátricos. Verificou-se que as faixas etárias de 20 a 29 (23,5%), 30 a 39 (25,6%)... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This is an epidemiological, retrospective, descriptive study aiming at characterizing the profile of care provision due to psychiatric disorders by the teams of the Mobile Urgent Care Service - SAMU-192 from June to December 2010 in the city of Bauru. The records of information from the SR SAMU System, Version 3.2, and from the Social Service of the Central Municipal Emergency Hospital (PSMC) were used as data sources. Eighteen thousand, two hundred and forty-six care provision forms were evaluated. Of these, 2,106 (12%) were categorized as psychiatric disorders. Convulsive episodes (39.2%) predominated, followed by alcohol (14.6%) and drug (6.7%) abuse. There were 269 psychiatric hospitalizations in referral hospitals. Comparisons were made between the evaluated episodes by taking into account gender and age range by means of difference in proportions tests and by adopting a level of significant of 5% or the corresponding p-value. As regards gender, a significant difference was observed (p<0.0001) for care provision to males due to abuse of alcohol (78,3%) and other drugs (78.7%) as well as to convulsive episodes (75.1%) and psychomotor agitation (63.6%), whereas for females, it was due to conversion disorders (85.7%) and anxiety (77.4%) crises. Males (66.0%) surpassed females (34%) in the demand for SAMU care as a result of threefold alcohol and drug abuse when compared to the latter. Significance was observed (p<0.0001) between the age ranges and demand for care related to: alcohol abuse, drug abuse, psychomotor agitation, anxiety, conversion disorder, depression, psychotic outbreaks, suicide attempts, exogenous intoxication, convulsion and other psychiatric problems. It was observed that the age ranges from 20 to 29 (23.5%), 30 to 39 (25.6%) and 40 to 49 (18.9%) years accounted... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Submitted by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2016-03-03T20:37:25Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Alessandra Nogueira de Sousa Santos - 2015.pdf: 912725 bytes, checksum: bdbd00162d2c8005c538a1728cfd0dfa (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Erika Demachki (erikademachki@gmail.com) on 2016-03-03T20:38:40Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Alessandra Nogueira de Sousa Santos - 2015.pdf: 912725 bytes, checksum: bdbd00162d2c8005c538a1728cfd0dfa (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-03T20:38:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Alessandra Nogueira de Sousa Santos - 2015.pdf: 912725 bytes, checksum: bdbd00162d2c8005c538a1728cfd0dfa (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-07-30 / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás - FAPEG / Patient safety in health services is a priority issue at the World Health Organization. Understanding the importance of this approach, this study aimed to analyze the risks in the health care of patients seen in non-hospital units of emergency and urgency. It is a descriptive research with a qualitative approach. Fieldwork was carried out with the nursing team through semi-structured individual interviews and opted for the content analysis. Respondents reported several factors that endanger the patients like human resources, material and physical assistance and operational processes. On human resources, the nursing team mentioned: unpreparedness of the medical and nursing team in responding to emergencies and emergencies related to insufficient training and lack of Continuing Education in services; shortage of doctors, and nursing staff and work overload. They reported the need for team downsizing and continuing education, to minimize risks related to work overload and lack of technical and scientific preparation. The material and physical resources were considered inadequate and insufficient in all units. However, half of the units assessed showed better working conditions in relation to physical resources. As for the operational processes, it stands out the scarce filing within the emergency block; improper operation of Material and Sterilization Center and how to identify patients were listed as insufficient for safe care. They reported errors and incidents with patients in the labor process, with emphasis on: medication administration errors, damage without incident (falls) and the occurrence of adverse events such as death, aspiration, member of mutilation and traumatic brain injury. It was found that these are related to insufficient and inadequate human, material and physical and interaction between the entire systems. The results pointed to the need for risk management in the units, according to the current legislation, with a view to patient safety. / A segurança dos pacientes em serviços de saúde é questão prioritária na Organização Mundial de Saúde. Entendendo a importância desta abordagem, este estudo objetivou analisar os riscos no cuidado à saúde de pacientes atendidos nas Unidades Não Hospitalares de Atendimento às Urgências e Emergências. Trata-se de pesquisa descritiva com abordagem qualitativa. O trabalho de campo foi realizado com a equipe de enfermagem por meio de entrevistas individuais semiestruturadas e optou-se pela análise de conteúdo. Os entrevistados relataram vários fatores que colocam em risco os pacientes, estando relacionados aos recursos humanos, materiais e físicos e aos processos operacionais assistenciais. Sobre os recursos humanos, a equipe de enfermagem mencionou: despreparo da equipe médica e de enfermagem no atendimento às urgências e emergências, relacionado à insuficiência na formação e ausência da Educação Permanente nos serviços; déficit de médicos e da equipe de enfermagem e sobrecarga de trabalho. Relataram a necessidade de redimensionamento de pessoal e da educação permanente, para minimização de riscos relacionados à sobrecarga de trabalho e a falta de preparo técnico-científico. Os recursos materiais e físicos foram considerados inadequados e insuficientes em todas as unidades. Entretanto, a metade das unidades avaliadas apresentaram melhores condições de trabalho no que se refere aos recursos físicos. Quanto aos processos operacionais, destaca-se a escassa protocolização dentro do bloco de urgência; o inadequado funcionamento do Centro de Material e esterilização e a forma de identificação dos pacientes foram mencionados como insuficientes para o cuidado seguro. Relataram erros e incidentes com pacientes no processo de trabalho, com destaque aos: erros de administração de medicamentos, incidentes sem danos (quedas) e a ocorrência de eventos adversos como óbito, broncoaspiração, mutilação de membro e trauma crânio-encefálico. Verificou-se que estes se relacionam à insuficiência e inadequação dos recursos humanos, materiais e físicos e na interação entre todo o sistema. Os resultados apontaram para a necessidade de gerenciamento de riscos nas unidades, conforme a legislação vigente, com vistas à segurança dos pacientes.

Thesis (MCur (Nursing Science))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MCur (Nursing Science))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Summary in English. Includes bibliographical references.