The presence of naturally occurring and man-made public health threats necessitate the design and implementation of mitigation strategies, such that adequate response is provided in a timely manner. Since multiple variables, such as geographic properties, resource constraints, and government mandated time-frames must be accounted for, computational methods provide the necessary tools to develop contingency response plans while respecting underlying data and assumptions. A typical response scenario involves the placement of points of dispensing (PODs) in the affected geographic region to supply vaccines or medications to the general public. Computational tools aid in the analysis of such response plans, as well as in the strategic placement of PODs, such that feasible response scenarios can be developed. Due to the sensitivity of bio-emergency response plans, geographic information, such as POD locations, must be kept confidential. The generation of synthetic geographic regions allows for the development of emergency response plans on non-sensitive data, as well as for the study of the effects of single geographic parameters. Further, synthetic representations of geographic regions allow for results to be published and evaluated by the scientific community. This dissertation presents methodology for the analysis of bio-emergency response plans, methods for plan optimization, as well as methodology for the generation of synthetic geographic regions.

Outbreaks of novel influenza viruses are continually occurring on many places on our planet, with the ultimate and most extreme consequence being a full-scale pandemic. Modern communication technology is widely used for risk communication regarding recommended change in behavior patterns and other precautions in order to mitigate the transmission. However, the assumption and bias that modern communication technology constitutes the norm causes vulnerable groups to be at possible risk of systematic exclusion to correct and updated information. Through conducting a literature- and case analysis, the aim of this study is to identify insufficient or inadequate risk communication efforts in South Korea and Vietnam during influenza outbreaks, especially with concern of vulnerable groups. Further, to analyze how national influenza preparedness plans observe or ignore these insufficiencies. Results show that vulnerable groups are explicitly recognized in the preparedness plan of Vietnam. However, the South Korean preparedness plan show a more homogenous approach. Both South Korea and Vietnam showed a broad variety of channels used in their risk communication strategies which could be positive in terms of a broad outreach to a heterogenous population, including vulnerable groups. Four key factors that moderate the outcomes of risk communication were identified: Channels, Messages, Transparency and Trust.

The purpose of this study was to analyze critical elements for crisis planning at seven private four-year residential colleges and universities in Northern California. The researcher reviewed each campus's written crisis plans and interviewed campus officials in charge of leading their respective institution's crisis planning efforts. The data revealed that the threat of natural disasters was a common impetus for formal crisis planning. Institutions borrowed information from other campuses and public and private organizations to develop institutional crisis plans. Outside agencies both contributed to and gained from collaboration with these institutions, although all institutions sought a degree of self-sufficiency for food and water supplies. Emergency Operations Centers were designed to focus staffing and resources in a single, in some cases moveable, location in the event of a crisis. Campuses in this study invested considerable resources in systems of communication with students, faculty, and staff, including sirens, digital displays, and Connect-ED, but individual subscription remained a barrier to the smooth functioning of Connect-ED. Multi-layered communication systems enhance a campus's ability to communicate with all stakeholders. Philosophies varied on specificity versus flexibility as the framework for crisis planning. Campuses used threat assessment teams as proactive intervention to identify students who pose a threat to themselves or others. The State of California Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS), which became a template for the Federal National Incident Management System (NIMS), has become the unifying factor for crisis planning among these institutions. SEMS/NIMS, while not a mandate, emerged as a driving force for planning, because compliance with SEMS/NIMS is a requirement for receiving federal disaster emergency reimbursement for property damage. Practicing the plan, through tabletop and functional simulation exercises, allowed campus officials and civic safety agencies to develop a shared vocabulary and procedures. Crisis planning is a means to help a campus prepare for and respond to an incident in an effective manner, thus reducing harm to people and property damage. Although crisis planning cannot completely prevent incidents from occurring, appropriate and advanced planning and preparation can allow campus leaders to contain both the duration of and the damage caused by major crises.

Published Article / Radiographers need to know how to react appropriately when a patient has a medical emergency; this is not only essential but lifesaving. This reaction stems from a theoretical framework that guides an automotive sense of knowing what to do and how to assist. Having the correct equipment completes this circle. The objectives of this study was to evaluate the responses of Bloemfontein radiographers in emergency situations based on the awareness of their role in emergency procedures and their role in the application of pharmaceuticals and equipment on the emergency trolley. A checklist compiled from literature was used to evaluate the state of emergency trolleys at four hospitals in Bloemfontein through impromptu visits. A questionnaire was used to determine the preparedness of radiographers for common medical emergencies. The currency of their first aid training was also established. The study results showed that 50% of the emergency trolleys' content conformed to guidelines in literature; the other trolleys contained expired medicine. Forty-five percent of the radiographers in the sample did not know how to assist effectively when using an emergency trolley. Of the participants 73.5% would respond according to protocol in emergency situations. Fifty-three percent of the radiographers in the study did not have valid first aid certificates. This study showed that though most participating radiographers would respond to emergency situations according to protocol, certain aspects of their response have shortcomings. Additionally the availability of equipment and medication is cause for concern.

Σκοπός της παρούσας έρευνας ήταν να μελετηθεί η ετοιμότητα μελλοντικών δασκάλων να ανταποκριθούν κατάλληλα και αποτελεσματικά στις απαιτήσεις μιας συμμετοχικής τάξης όπου μαθητές με ειδικές ανάγκες εκπαιδεύονται παράλληλα με μαθητές χωρίς ειδικές ανάγκες στο πλαίσιο της συμμετοχικής εκπαίδευσης. Τα ερωτήματα που τέθηκαν ήταν: (α) πώς διαμορφώνονται οι στάσεις, τα συναισθήματα και οι ανησυχίες των μελλοντικών δασκάλων για τη συμμετοχική εκπαίδευση των παιδιών με ειδικές ανάγκες; (β) πώς αποτιμούν οι μελλοντικοί δάσκαλοι το βαθμό της αποτελεσματικότητάς τους στη συμμετοχική πρακτική; Το δείγμα της μελέτης μας αποτέλεσαν 148 μελλοντικοί δάσκαλοι από δύο προγράμματα προετοιμασίας δασκάλων σε δύο χώρες της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης: του Παιδαγωγικού Δημοτικής Εκπαίδευσης του Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών της Ελλάδας και του Τμήματος Πρωτοβάθμιας Εκπαίδευσης του Πανεπιστημίου Palacký της Τσεχίας. Η αποτίμηση της ετοιμότητας των μελλοντικών εκπαιδευτικών μετρήθηκε με τις κλίμακες SACIE-R και ΤΕΙΡ των Forlin, Earle, Loreman & Sharma (2011, 2012) οι οποίες μεταφράστηκαν και χρησιμοποιήθηκαν κατάλληλα για τις ανάγκες της διερεύνησής μας. Τα αποτελέσματα έδειξαν ότι υπάρχουν σημαντικές διαφορές μεταξύ των δύο χωρών. Δευτερευόντως, δείχθηκε πως διαφορετικά δημογραφικά χαρακτηριστικά των συμμετεχόντων του δείγματος (όπως: (α) η επαφή με άτομα με ειδικές ανάγκες, (β) η σχετική κατάρτιση στην ειδική αγωγή, (γ) η πρακτική διδασκαλία παιδιών με ΕΑ στη διάρκεια των σπουδών και (δ) ο χρόνος και η διάρκεια της φοίτησης στο πρόγραμμα) επηρεάζουν τις επιδόσεις των εκπαιδευτικών τόσο στη διαμόρφωση των στάσεων, των συναισθημάτων και των ανησυχιών τους για τη συμμετοχική εκπαίδευση όσο και στην αποτίμηση της αποτελεσματικότητας τους για συμμετοχική πρακτική. Τα αποτελέσματα της συγκεκριμένης έρευνας μπορεί να αποτελέσουν σημαντική ευκαιρία για ευρύτερη περαιτέρω επισκόπηση και αξιολόγηση των προγραμμάτων προετοιμασίας δασκάλων για τη συμμετοχική εκπαίδευση στις δύο χώρες. / The purpose of the preset study was the examination of the preparedness of future teachers to work in an appropriate way and effectively in an inclusive classroom where students with special needs are educated with students without special needs in the context of inclusion. Our questions were: (a) what are the attitudes, the sentiments and concerns of future teachers about inclusive education of students with special needs? (b) In which degree do future teachers consider they are prepared and effective at the implementation of inclusive practices? Our participants in the study were 148 future teachers from two departments of education in two countries of European Union: the Department of Primary Education at University of Patras (Greece) and the Department of Primary Education at Palacký University of Olomouc (Czech Republic). We used scales SACIE-R and TEIP (that were developed by Forlin, Earle, Loreman & Sharma, (2011, 2012)) to measure the readiness of future teachers. We translated and modified the scales for the necessities of our study. Results indicated that there are important differences between two countries. Secondly, it was approved that different demographic variables (like: (a) interactions with people with special needs, (b) training and knowledge in special education, (c) practice of teaching students with special needs during the program and (d) study period) impact on the performance of our future teachers in the variables of SACIE-R and TEIP scales. Implications of the study may be a good chance of further review and evaluation of programs that prepare teachers for inclusive education in both countries.

Water is one of the most precious but least valued common property resource. Efficient ways of water resources management are vital to socio-economic development and the overall feat of societal stability. However, water conflicts have further exacerbated the access to water especially in low-income developing countries. Most notably, little attention has been given to studying water conflicts at the local level when compared to international water conflicts. As a result, there is insufficient information and theory on the exponentially increasing number of local water conflicts. In the Middle East, water was a tool for military purposes; in Asia disputes over water occur due to development-related activities, whilst in Africa, control over water resources has been the root cause of many conflicts affecting millions of vulnerable communities. This research investigates the nature, causes and dimensions of local water conflicts in the context of low-income developing countries based on the Afar region, which is located in the Awash Trans-regional River Basin of Ethiopia. The research suggests a new multidimensional approach for pre-identification, early warning services and local water conflict neutralization. This approach also introduces preparedness techniques, which play a significant role in reducing potential risks and tensions that trigger local water conflicts between communities sharing the same water resources. The study further proposes a policy guideline matrix that would serve as a technique for reducing local water conflicts by providing new ways of thinking about the links between sustainable developments, local water conflict management and strategic partnerships. The research is implemented through the process of designing a framework based on essential theoretical and practical findings supported by survey data of 134 household representatives of local communities and 26 institutions, together with 22 interviews. The introduced multipurpose framework is based on five fundamental parameters, namely: contribution to Sustainable Development, Information, Preparedness, Tolerance Capacity and Interaction (DIPTI). The research proposes the Sparkling Effects of Conflict , a new approach in understanding and predicting the coverage of the effects of conflicts other than the primary conflicting parties and conflict location. In addition, two pillars of the conceptual frameworks emerged from the findings. First, the WEC (Water, Early Warning and Conflict) information pyramid, a framework designed to indicate the core components of local WEC-related information identification and management. Second, the Pillars of Conflict Pyramid, the simplest conceptual framework, easily helps to pre-identify the effects of local water conflicts with certain limitations. Besides, the study addressed six additional conflict neutralization and resolution inputs that incorporate the significance of the participation of women and other vulnerable members of communities. These findings also highlight the advantage of co-existence between useful traditional and modern practices in neutralizing conflicts. Overall, the study will assist local people, policy and decision makers and institutions in low-income developing countries with a similar context to that of the study area.

A survey of Texas public schools was conducted to determine the state of their emergency preparedness programs with particular interest in hazard analysis, disaster experience, chain of command of responsibility, personnel training, and inter-agency cooperation. A model emergency management plan was proposed. A stratified random sample of all Texas public school districts was drawn from the twenty education service center regions and university interscholastic league district size classifications. Of the 275 districts sampled, 214 questionnaires were completed for a 78% return. The strong return justified a generalization to the entire population.

This thesis introduces a topic of current educational reform in Finland. The main goal is to describe a process of implementation of current curricula reform in Finland and evaluate a preparedness of teachers, students of teacher education and management of curricula to curricula reform. In theoretical part, we define "curriculum" and "curriculum reform", then we briefly introduce change management, reasons for successful or unsuccessful reform and specifics of finnish education system. The research part analyses the Finnish National Core Curriculum from 2004 and 2014 in detail. It also analyses interview with teachers, students of teacher education and management of reform. Based on research part of the thesis, we can say that teachers and students have been prepared in a field of knowledge, however they have not been prepared for implementing the ideas of reform into their everyday teaching. The management of reform has been prepared for implementation. Management includes teacher and other stakeholders into creating of the new curricula, the reform is communicated and finances for the reform are secured. Conclusion of the thesis summerize answers for research questions and brings recommendations for a further research.

Every day, the people can encounter a danger, which represents for them unexpected situations, such as various catastrophes, natural disasters, traffic accidents, or disasters accompanied by hazardous substances leakage. The emergence of crisis situations is mostly fast, unexpected, and in most cases these situations can't be averted before they hit. To alleviate the aftermaths of extraordinary events or crisis situations, the population preparedness is essential, mostly for them to know how to behave in such situations and help themselves and their close ones. The aim of the thesis was to find out the level of the preparedness of the residents of České Budějovice to survive a crisis situation and then compare the individual age categories. The level of preparedness was found out by a questionnaires and the results were then evaluated by the means of descriptive and mathematical statistics. The questionnaire consisted of 25 questions, 16 of those questions were subjects to a statistical inquiry. The research set was formed of 466 residents of České Budějovice, who were then divided into individual age categories. The evaluation of the stated hypotheses was achieved mainly by the means of descriptive and mathematical statistics. The first hypothesis, claiming that the residents of České Budějovice are prepared for surviving a crisis situation, couldn't be accepted, because from the results of the statistical inquiry is apparent, that the preparedness of the residents is on a low level. However, the least prepared are residents aged 35 years and less, so the second hypothesis could be accepted. This master thesis can serve as a study material, which could be useful for further research in the field of preparedness of the residents of České Budějovice for an extraordinary event or crisis situation.

Risk- och sårbarhetsanalys (RSA) är ett verktyg som kommuner och landsting enligt lag skall göra. Dessa RSA ska sedan ligga till grund för en utbildnings- och övningsplan. På så sätt kommer de övningar som genomförs på kommunal och länsnivå fokuseras på omhändertagande av dess risker och sårbarheter.Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap, MSB, gjorde 2018 en utvärdering och fann att inte alla övar på sina risker och sårbarheter men att det var oklart hur många de var. Denna studie ger en bild av vad kommuner väljer att öva på i sina årliga krisberedskapsövningar om de inte övar på att hantera sina risker och sårbarheter. För att svara på frågan har juridiska dokument analyserats samt intervjuer genomförts med representanter för Myndigheten för samhällsskydd och beredskap samt säkerhetscheferna vid två kommuner.Studiens slutsats är att kommunerna dels tar krisberedskapsarbetet på stort allvar, men att brister i spårbarhet mellan RSA och utbildnings- och övningsplan medför att man inte övar på sina risker och sårbarheter. Studiens resultat är fem hypoteser som skulle kunna användas vid efterkommande forskning. / Risk and Vulnerability Analysis (RSA) is a tool that municipalities and county councils must do according to law. The RSA will then form the basis of a training and exercise plan. In this way, the exercises that are carried out at municipal and county level will be focused on dealing with these risks and vulnerabilities.The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency, the MSB, made an evaluation in 2018 and found that not all were practising risks and vulnerabilities, but it was unclear how many they were. This study gives a picture of what municipalities choose to practice in their annual emergency preparedness exercises if they do not practice managing risks and vulnerabilities. In order to answer the question, legal documents have been analyzed and interviews have been conducted with representatives of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and the security managers at two municipalities.The study's conclusion is that the municipalities take the emergency preparedness work very seriously, but that deficiencies in traceability between the RSA and the education and training plan mean that they do not practice risks and vulnerabilities. The study's results are five hypotheses that could be used in subsequent research.