Emergency and Disaster Management Commons^™

Competition, Compromises, And Complicity: An Analysis Of The Humanitarian Aid Sector, Fiona Bare

CMC Senior Theses

This paper analyzes humanitarian assistance to complex humanitarian emergencies to understand why suboptimal outcomes result even when humanitarians have ethical principles and good intentions. It focuses on the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations, and Médecins Sans Frontières to understand their core principles before looking at how these principles operationalize during emergencies. Challenges arise due to complex relationships with donors, local actors, and recipients, along with issues of marketization and competition. This paper’s case studies of the post-genocide Rwandan refugee crisis and post-9/11 Afghanistan explore how humanitarian principles clash with such dilemmas. In the end, humanitarian organizations …

A Refuge For Refugees: The Historical Context And Socioeconomic Impact Of Palestinian Refugees In Jordan, Amelia Marie Dal Pra

Global Tides

Today more than 41 percent of the Jordanian population is comprised of Palestinian refugees. Some argue that Jordan has become the new Palestinian state in place of their former land pre-1948. This paper presents the complications of this claim by focusing on the Jordanian government’s constitutional provisions on refugee citizenship, Palestinian support programs and the role the Palestinian identity has played in the integration, or lack thereof, of Palestinian refugees into the social, political, and economic spheres of Jordanian society.

Assessment Of Tattoo And Silicone Wounds In Terms Of Time Of Treatment And Perceived Treatment Quality, M Pettitt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

At the point of injury, critical medical tasks include locating and identifying an injury as well as applying the appropriate initial care. Over the past decade, to increase the fidelity of wound representation and ultimately the quality of medical care, a considerable amount of research and development has occurred to improve simulated wounds during training, primarily at the point of injury. As material and techniques mature and as more relevant data is collected on tissue properties, examining what fidelity is required for training at the point of injury is crucial. The main objective of this effort was to assess a …

Election, News Cycles, And Attention To Disasters, Candace Forbes Bright, Braden Bagley

Faculty Publications

Objective: The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether 60 mins of intermittent pneumatic compression therapy (IPC) could acutely increase leg blood flow-induced shear stress and enhance vascular endothelial function in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Pretest with multiple posttests, within subject randomized control design.

Setting: University of Southern Mississippi, Spinal Cord Injury Research Program within the School of Kinesiology, recruiting from the local community in Hattiesburg, Jackson, and Gulfport, MS.

Participants: Eight adults with SCa

Purpose: Political elections, especially presidential elections, have a tendency to overshadow other events, including disasters. …

Transitions Between Risk Management Regimes In Cities, William Solecki, Mark Pelling, Matthias Garschagen

Publications and Research

Ongoing climate change is encouraging cities to reevaluate their risk management strategies. Urban communities increasingly are being forced to respond to climate shifts with actions that promote resistance, resilience, or even larger scale transformations. Our objective is to present a conceptual framework that facilitates examination of how the transition from one type of risk management strategy or regime to another takes place. The research framework is built around a set of assumptions regarding the process of transition between risk management regimes. The framework includes five basic conceptual elements: (1) risk management regimes, (2) development pathways, (3) activity spheres, (4) activity …

Federal Preparedness Grants: An Investigation Of The Impacts To Local And State Emergency Management Programs, Brian Alan Barnes

Online Theses and Dissertations

Disasters begin and end locally, but anecdotal evidence suggests that national disaster policies significantly influence state and local approaches. The federal government influences local and state emergency management through national emergency management doctrine as well as providing considerable grant programs to local and state governments who adopt the federal policies. The study attempts to explore some effects of this policy dichotomy.

A survey along with selective interviews were conducted of local and state emergency management officials in North Carolina to examine the impacts of select federal preparedness grants. From 70 surveys and 6 interviews, the following findings were identified. There …

College Campus Emergency Preparedness: Is Avoidance A Reason For Concern?, Thomas G. Barnowski

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative and quantitative research study was to explore the factors and outcomes associated with the lack of emergency preparedness activities related to college campuses. Within the context of pertinent literature was the confirmation of existing campus emergency action plans but the stated behavioral expectations contained in those plans raised questions related to effective functional performance. Additionally, the apparent refusal of college campus populations to actively participate in the preparedness process while offing a myriad of justifications for their avoidance has raised a number of concerns related to the achievement of desired positive outcomes. Discussion of attitudes …

Small Open Economy Dsge Model With Natural Disaster And Foreign Aid, Dickson A. Lim

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The study has found that an exchange rate intervention by the central bank should be the monetary response to a natural calamity. The rationale is that an exchange rate intervention policy insulates the economy from any Dutch disease effects thereby stabilizing the economy faster than the common inflation targeting rule commonly practiced by central banks. Although the study concludes that an inflation-targeting policy does stabilize inflationary pressure of natural calamities faster, its slow response to a real exchange rate appreciation causes fluctuations in the trade balance and, therefore, to the economy’s final output. In addition, the study found that monetary …

The Socio-Political And Economic Causes Of Natural Disasters, Nicole Southard

CMC Senior Theses

To effectively prevent and mitigate the outbreak of natural disasters is a more pressing issue in the twenty-first century than ever before. The frequency and cost of natural disasters is rising globally, most especially in developing countries where the most severe effects of climate change are felt. However, while climate change is indeed a strong force impacting the severity of contemporary catastrophes, it is not directly responsible for the exorbitant cost of the damage and suffering incurred from natural disasters -- both financially and in terms of human life. Rather, the true root causes of natural disasters lie within the …

Assessing The Implementation Of Campus Safety Policies In Virginia Community Colleges: An Analysis Of The Forces At Play In Higher Education Institutional-Level Policymaking, Steven T. Keener

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to assess the extent to which community colleges have implemented major post-Virginia Tech campus safety recommendations. In addition to gaining a comprehensive overview of the safety policies and practices in place, this study assessed if campus safety policy implementation levels at the community colleges correlated with institutional characteristics, and the internal and external forces that helped drive the implementation of these policies. Focusing specifically upon the Virginia Community College System, data on the policies and practices in place at each of the 23 Virginia community colleges were collected from institutional websites and through follow-up …

The Influence Of Historical Processes Of Haiti And Japan On The Effects Of The Earthquakes, Shoko Nakamura

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Looking at the societies of Haiti and Japan after the earthquakes, the effects of the disasters to each society are not the same. This research paper discusses that the effects of a disaster on society are the result of social conditions. Utilizing the theories of world-system perspective and risk society, this paper tries to understand how historical process contributes to contemporary social structure and how a holistic approach is important to the discussion of different experiences of the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan. As a method, comparative historical method is utilized with the focus of within-case method, and major sources …

Making An Inherently Dangerous Profession Safer: New Ambulance Designs, Amanda George

All Capstone Projects

Current ambulance patient compartment designs have proven dangerous to paramedics during patient transport. Currently, there are no set safety standards for patient compartments of ambulances. This study focused on three fire protection districts: Coal City, Wilmington, and Elwood; each identified that the current ambulance design is very dangerous for paramedics in a crash, particularly concerning usage of seat belts and dangers of the side-facing CPR seat and bench seat. Each fire district addressed these issues with new ambulance designs. The mixed methods research began with observations recorded from riding with paramedics on actual calls on both the old and new …

Evaluation Of A Group-Based Resilience Intervention For Typhoon Haiyan Survivors, Ma. Regina Hechanova, Pia Anna P. Ramos, Lynn Waelde

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

This study evaluated the impact of Katatagan, a culturally adapted, group-based, and mindfulness-informed resilience intervention developed for disaster survivors in the Philippines. The intervention aimed to teach six adaptive coping skills: harnessing strengths, managing physical reactions, managing thoughts and emotions, seeking solutions and support, identifying positive activities, and planning for the future. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted with 163 Typhoon Haiyan survivors. Six-month follow-up assessments were obtained for 37 participants. Pre- and post-results showed improvements in participants’ self-efficacy on all six coping skills. The 6-month follow-up revealed significant improvements in four of the six coping skills. Focus group discussions …

Local Christian Churches And Disaster Preparedness: Are They Prepared?, Andrew J. Smith

Theses and Dissertations from 2016

Many religious institutions respond to global crises. These faith-based organizations may be small, independent institutions or belong to a larger corporate body. Local mainline Christian churches from mainline denominations including Lutheran, Presbyterian, Catholic, and United Methodist follow the latter model. As members of the larger corporate faith organization, these local churches have access to well-organized and established disaster response functional units. At the corporate level, these religious institutions have come together as collaborative partners in disaster response and recovery as members of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (NVOAD). While disaster planning, preparedness, response and recovery activities may be …

Responding To Train Derailments Of Crude Oil Cargos And The Use Of Nims/Ice, Laura Hartline Weems

Theses and Dissertations from 2016

Derailments of freight trains carrying bulk cargo are not a new phenomenon in the United States; they have occurred since the 19th century when the first shipment made its way across the nation. However, despite sweeping changes in the past decade to the structure of emergency management in the United States, how the railroads have responded to derailments has not changed. The railroad culture is to operate lean, meaning few people are needed to transport large quantities of cargos and commodities. When a derailment occurs, the culture does not change, and railroads respond with typically few of their own personnel …

Measuring The Financial Shocks Of Natural Disasters: A Panel Study Of U.S. States, Qing Miao, Yilin Hou, Michael Abrigo

Center for Policy Research

This paper employs panel vector autoregression to examine the dynamic fiscal response to disaster shocks. With 50-state, 1970-2013 panel data of state government finance and disaster damage, we estimate disaster impacts on revenue, expenditure, debt issuance, and intergovernmental transfers. We find that following a disaster, states increase program expenditure, but receive more federal transfers. Disasters have limited impact on total tax revenues but amplify fluctuations in sales, income, and property tax revenues. Our findings suggest that disaster-induced additional spending is largely financed through federal transfers, which include not only disaster relief funds but also non-disaster-related public welfare aids.

The Capacity-Building Support Activities Of The Integrated Support Center For Nuclear Nonproliferation And Nuclear Security Of The Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Yosuke Naoi, Kalman A. Robertson, Naoko Noro

International Journal of Nuclear Security

International cooperation is essential to support states in building the human resources necessary for maintaining and strengthening nuclear security. As the nation’s only comprehensive nuclear research and development institute, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has long-standing experience developing and operating nuclear technology in all steps of the fuel cycle. The Integrated Support Center for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Nuclear Security (ISCN) was established within the JAEA in December 2010 as Japan’s Center of Excellence for nuclear security. The ISCN provides assistance with capacity building to states throughout Asia and some other regions. The objective of this article is to describe …

The Economics Of Adaptation To Climate Change In Coasts And Oceans: Literature Review, Policy Implications And Research Agenda, Charles S. Colgan

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Sea level rise and other effects of climate change on oceans and coasts around the world are major reasons to halt the emissions of greenhouse gases to the maximum extent. But historical emissions and sea level rise have already begun so steps to adapt to a world where shorelines, coastal populations, and economies could be dramatically altered are now essential. This presents significant economic challenges in four areas. (1) Large expenditures for adaptation steps may be required but the extent of sea level rise and thus the expenditures are unknowable at this point. Traditional methods for comparing benefits and costs …

Gendered Vulnerabilities To Small Arms In South Central Somalia, Abigail Jones, Nicola Sandhu, Lucas Musetti

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Somalia is a very young nation demographically; estimates place half the population under the age of 14 and less than five percent over the age of 60. A large portion of the population grew up during incredible civil instability and violence, making exposure to armed violence an ever-present prospect. Further, the presence of more than one million displaced persons and refugees exacerbates the difficulties of protecting vulnerable groups from violence.

The Journal Of Conventional Weapons Destruction Issue 20.3 (2016), Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Feature: SA/LW and CWD | Spotlight: Libya | Special Report: Solomon Islands’ Explosive Legacy | Plus: Editorial, Field Notes, Research and Development