CHDS State/Local / Since 9/11 much progress has been made by Federal, State and local authorities to prepare for future Catastrophic Incidents. The March 1, 2004 release of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) mandated the use of Unified Command and Incident Management Teams (IMTs) for multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional incidents. These teams have strong potential for improving complex incident management. However, the potential for interagency conflict threatens effectual IMT functioning in the absence of team skills instruction as part of a national training curriculum. The current curriculum teaches technical skills and ICS role responsibilities, and omits skills needed to build healthy team dynamics. Training for IMTs needs to include more than technical skills ("What to do"), and that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should expand the curriculum to include team dynamics ("How to do it"). Further, DHS need not "re-invent the wheel" when looking for sources of team dynamic theory, but need only look to and adapt the experience of business and academia. Over the past 20-25 years a variety of inter-organizational networks and Work Teams have been studied and field tested. This thesis examines literature lessons on the problems shared by Work Teams and IMTs, with particular emphasis on effectiveness and managing conflict. / Division Chief, Austin Fire Department

CHDS State/Local / The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) was formed to provide a cadre of trained medical volunteers to support and strengthen the public health infrastructure and improve its' emergency preparedness level. Training policies and standards are left to the discretion of the local MRC coordinator so the program maintains its flexibility to meet community needs. Training varies from unit to unit, and there are no protocols in place to measure or evaluate the effectiveness of that training. According to recent studies and surveys, disaster operations are an unfamiliar role for most MRC volunteers and the public health workforce in general. Evidence also suggests that few medical and public health workers receive this important preparedness training. In 2005, MRC working group members developed a list of core competency recommendations to provide training guidance, but specific educational content to satisfy those competencies were not defined. This thesis offers specific training content guidelines and strategies for achieving competency. The MRC must be able to integrate into the disaster environment while working safely, effectively and efficiently. Standards will set the mark for success, enabling the MRC to respond in a coordinated manner and at a consistently higher level to any public health emergency. / Captain, Texas State Guard-Medical Rangers

CHDS State/Local / National and state homeland security strategies call for continuity of operations plan development. The 2006 Nationwide Plan Review Phase II Report identifies continuity of operations plan development as a state and local goal with a federal goal of providing continuity of operations plan development support. Most local governments do not have a continuity of operation plan or it needs to be updated. Continuity of operations plan guidance is provided by a variety of international, federal, state and local documents. Common, unique and best practice elements are identified and should be contained in a continuity of operations plan. An identified compilation of continuity of operation elements is presented. Planning templates are good for COOP document structure and should contain the compilation of COOP elements, a recommended template is offered. Local government continuity of operations plan developers must independently develop and "own" their continuity of operations plan based on the compilation COOP elements. An after action-report is a necessary component for continuity of operations plan maintenance and can be used for continuity of operations plan research. Academia must pursue continuity of operations plan research to qualitatively and quantitatively identify effective continuity of operations plans and their respective elements. With the advent of homeland security as an academic pursuit, research opportunity exists and should be supported by the federal government because of the critical nature of an effective COOP for local government in ensuring the continuity of essential functions during and after an event. / Chief of Police, Norwalk Police Department

This study design was to identify and examine how disaster experience, self-efficacy, and demographic factors influence disaster preparedness in community-dwelling older adults. Current data indicates the United States is rapidly aging. Parallel to this significant increase among the elderly population, natural disasters are more prevalent. Consequently, older adults are affected adversely by these disasters and exposure to social vulnerabilities during the disaster cycle. For the purpose of this study, non-identifiable secondary data were analyzed. Sources of the data were the 2007 and 2008 National Center for Disaster Preparedness surveys. The sample focus of this study was adults 50 and older. Regression analyses identified important predictors of disaster preparedness in the survey respondents. Sample adults with previous disaster experience are two times more likely to be in a higher category for having an emergency plan than those respondents with no observable effects of self-efficacy and no previous disaster experience. The frequency of natural disasters in the United States has generated a renewed interest in disaster management, in particular, disaster preparedness. Nevertheless, the focal point of disaster preparedness is no longer the rudimentary stockpile of water, a first aid kit, and a battery operated radio. To advance the field of disaster management it is vital for gerontologist to approach disaster preparedness by differentiating between stockpiling supplies and social cognitive interventions that fundamentally alters preparedness behavior.

This thesis evaluates whether or not information data sharing is effectively used between federal, state, and local government agencies and non-governmental agencies in a metropolitan area during and immediately after a major natural disaster. Also, whether vulnerable populations were identified and considered during emergency management. The chosen study area is the City of Richmond, VA, and the disaster response is based on flooding episodes that occurred in the city over the last decade following hurricanes and tropical depressions. Questionnaires were administered to representatives of federal, state, and local agencies and NGOs. The questionnaires consisted of a Likert-style series of 10 questions and a group of more broadly based and open ended questions that were administered in person or by phone and included four questions designed to identify progress made since the last disaster. The self-administered Likert-style of questions consisted of identifying agency planning and operational activity, interaction with other agencies, means for data collection, use of FEMA’s Partnership Guides, and communication with the public. These questions were also designed to identify the agency activity in each of the four major areas of emergency management, namely mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. In general there appears to be good lines of communication, co-operation, and interaction between agencies based on the concept that disaster management is a local issue and only involves the state and federal governments in cases of very severe disasters. Consistent with this was the fact that there was essentially no use of the FEMA Partnership Guide by state and local agencies. GIS capacity is generally good, as is data sharing via a number of methods, including regular meetings. A variety of methods are used to inform the general public, including reverse 911, radio, television and social networks although vulnerable populations may have difficult accessing some of these.

This thesis explores the expectation gap and how it relates to the field of emergency management. As disasters become more commonplace, many citizens have high expectations of their governments, which results in a lack of individual disaster preparation. This thesis analyzed the current state of community education and engagement programs, use of best practices by governments and inter-agency cooperation and partnerships. The research consisted of fifteen interviews with emergency management professionals representing local, state, and federal government as well as the private sector. The results show limited public participation, as well as issues with crisis communications systems. Over 80% of research participants noted lack of disaster education programs as a serious issue. The results also show differences between expectation levels across demographic groups, limited educational program accessibility for minority populations and a difference in expectations between urban and rural residents.

During an emergency, information availability is critical to preserving life and minimizing damages. During the emergency response, however, information may not be available to those who need it. A community response grid (CRG) can help ameliorate this lack of availability by allowing people to document and distribute emergency information to professional emergency responders (PERs). A CRG combines mobile communications services, Internet technologies, e-government applications, and social network concepts with traditional emergency response systems. The problem that this case study investigated was how to construct a CRG for the City of Dublin, Ohio, Division of Police that works in conjunction with an in-place emergency management system (EMS). The goal was to create a process that is replicable by similarly sized cities that wished to implement a CRG. In this investigation, the author examined CRG design and implementation issues such as message origin, training needs, policy design, security issues, and funding. The results of this investigation were organized in terms of Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC) phases. Throughout these phases, the author identified information that can aid PERs in to better implement a CRG. Based on the results, the author developed a paradigm for constructing a CRG that meets the requirements of residents of the City of Dublin, Ohio, Division of Police and of similarly sized municipalities.

Video summarizing a Ph.D. dissertation for a non-specialist audience. / Emergency Management / Emergency Management / College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

This dissertation explores how local government policies affect pre-and postdisaster business resilience, in the context of institutional and neo-institutional frameworks. The study builds on past research on business vulnerability and resilience to examine government policies in the pre-disaster and response and recovery periods, and explore how government responses of varying types can contribute to different outcomes for local small businesses in the recovery period following hurricane disasters. The project examines two cases surrounding events in 2005 and their impact on business resilience: Hurricane Katrina and its effects on the New Orleans metropolitan area; and Palm Beach County's experience with Hurricane Wilma. The dissertation involves a mixed-method approach to the subject matter. The statistical analysis portion uses multiple regression analysis of surveys of government-registered business owners in the affected areas. Business resilience is examined in light of the p redictive power of the size of the disaster; the influence of the institutional policies in public procurement, and vii economic development through small business programs; the role of institutional culture; and finally business vulnerability. The interview portion involves interviews with public officials, and coding and analysis of the field texts of these discussions, for additional information about the role that institutions play in the resilience of businesses before and after disaster. The statistical results suggest that institutional culture; size of disaster, institutional policies (particularly in procurement practices), and vulnerability can play a role in determining the resilience of a local business community. / The statistical analysis is supported by interview data, which suggest that public institutions can create a culture of resilience in the business communities they serve, through support of proactive measures that make businesses less vulnerable, and creation and maintenance of supportive networks in the business community through public-private channels. Such approaches, combined with forward-thinking policy toward economic development as a general imperative, can create business communities that are more resilient in the face of disaster. / by Christopher L. Atkinson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Catastrophic events in the past revealed the need for more research in the field of emergency evacuation. During such a procedure, different problems such as congestion at the related traffic networks because of the large number of the evacuating vehicles can occur. Current best practices, in order to deal with such problems, suggest the further involvement of buses in evacuation operations. On the first part of this study after the accurate development of the related simulation model, the optimization of a selected bus system characteristics focusing on the vehicle routing parameter will follow through the development and the application of a non-linear cost minimization problem. On the second part, the potential use of the regular-everyday bus routes in a no-notice emergency evacuation in order to save time comparing to the time needed so as to assign the actual evacuation routes to the evacuation bus vehicles will be analyzed. / by Ioannis Psarros. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2012. Mode of access: World Wide Web.