Volume 13, Issue 2

The ideation and execution of American homeland security has substantially evolved over the past fifteen years from a vague statement of principles to a very concrete, professional, and institutionalized field, with a cabinet-level department associated with various aspects of its practice. However, homeland security in the United States – defined as the protection of citizens, property, and interests beginning at international borders and expanding inward – is not yet fully developed or even secure in its own roles. As the evolution of both the theory and the practice continues, an important principle – analogous to one in the field of national security – must be sufficiently addressed and acted upon: the physical act of protecting sovereign territory.

Nine days after the transformational 9/11 attacks, President G.W. Bush proclaimed that the nation is fighting a Global War on Terror (GWOT), an attention-grabbing phrase designed as a rallying cry for America to win the battle against al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations threatening our homeland as well as our allies and interests abroad. Eight years later, President Obama inherited what had become an even more dangerous situation, which led to the unexpected and courage attack that felled bin Laden and splintered al Qaeda. However, this success was short-lived when the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) suddenly emerged as our primary terrorist adversary – a new and brutal threat that President Obama vowed to “degrade and ultimately destroy” by doing what it takes to win the war against this and other terrorist organizations. While there has been some progress in halting and reversing ISIS territorial gains with the US providing support to newly trained Iraqi forces, this terrorist organization is not fully contained and far from being destroyed.

Social media (SM) are socio-technical systems that have the potential to provide real-time information during crises and thus to help protect lives and property. Yet, US emergency management (EM) agencies do not extensively use them. This mixed-methods study describes the ways SM is used by county-level US emergency managers, barriers to effective SM use, and recommendations to improve use. Exploratory interviews were conducted with US public sector emergency managers to elicit attitudes about SM. This was followed by a survey of over 200 US county level emergency managers. Results show that only about half of agencies use SM at all. About one quarter of agencies with formal policies actually forbid the use of SM. For both disseminating (sending out) and collecting information lack of sufficient staff is the most important barrier. However, lack of guidance/policy documents is the second highest rated barrier to dissemination via SM. Lack of skills and of the training that could improve these skills is also important. For collecting data, trustworthiness and information overload issues are the second and third most important barriers, which points to the need for appropriate software support to deal with these system-related issues. There are few differences associated with agency characteristics. By understanding important barriers, technologists can better meet the needs of emergency managers when designing SM technologies.

Foreign animal diseases (FADs) are recognized as a threat to agriculture, with potential devastating effects on our nation’s livestock and poultry industries. As weapons of bioterrorism, FADs also represent a threat to our nation’s homeland security. Veterinarians play a vital role in protecting our nation’s agricultural resources through their ability to identify and promptly respond to FADs, some of which are of public health concern. Veterinarians working in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were surveyed to assess their awareness of FADs and their preparedness to recognize and respond to potential cases. Two hundred thirty-seven veterinary practitioners completed an online questionnaire which included demographic and practice characteristics, federal accreditation status, awareness of FAD history in the United States, awareness of current FAD threats, training, and professional experiences with FADs. In the analysis, we identified topics respondents were most familiar, and those which they feel pose the greatest disease threat. We also assessed respondents’ interest in receiving supplemental training on FADs. Results of this survey indicate that most participating Pennsylvania veterinarians are familiar with FADs and have had educational exposure to FADs either during their formal veterinary education or through the United States Department of Agriculture veterinary accreditation program. However, the majority feels unprepared to recognize FADs. Most survey respondents expressed an interest in receiving supplemental training on FADs, and were willing to travel to receive the training.