Volume 3, Issue 2

Emergency managers, urban planners and building designers have embraced antiterrorism measures to create a human environment that is difficult to attack, resilient to the consequences of terrorist attack, and protective of its populations and assets. However, quick to adopt a "guns, guards and gates" posture following 911, it has become apparent that many antiterrorism measures may actually intensify and reinforce public perceptions of vulnerability and fear. Two studies conducted by the University of Florida in 2004-05 evaluated public perceptions of security measures within the contexts of traditional crime and terrorism. When presented with images of interior and exterior building spaces, respondents felt 3-6 times less vulnerable to theft, battery and sexual assault in areas having a visible security presence. Only a minority of respondents considered areas with a highly visible security presence to be unfriendly (6%), uninviting (12%) or uncomfortable (13%). In the context of terrorism however, respondents viewed many of the same visible security measures with suspiciousness, tenseness and fear. Such responses may be caused by a comparative lack of understanding of the nature and predictability of terrorism and a reluctance to accept measures that serve to reinforce feelings of vulnerability or danger.

The so-called new institutional economics (NIE) has generated important insights in a range of fields including transactions cost economics, property rights law, and economic development. However, the majority of the literature in this field has focused on microeconomic institutions and their impact on economic decision making. Very little of it has attempted to apply the lessons of NIE to broader macroeconomic contexts or to international relations generally. The purpose of this article is to try and apply some of the insights of the NIE to recent events in North American economic integration, and suggest how the NIE could be employed to better understand the impact institutional changes to security since September 11, 2001 are having on economic decision-makers and patterns of North American integration.

This paper describes a six-step model to improve the capacity of public health agencies responding to any hazardous event. Developed through a partnership with an academic center and a local public health agency, the model incorporates lessons learned in the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) Public Health Ready (PHR) pilot study conducted in 2003. The proposed model integrates aspects of two existing approaches with concepts from the field of emergency management, and emphasizes the importance of timely evaluation. The evaluation of the model includes both individuals workers and larger work groups. It addresses both general goals and the agency's local plan. The model also stresses the need to work with all levels of the agency to develop the local plan. In the model, evaluation is accomplished using self-assessment, measures of objective knowledge, ratings of individual performance, and ratings of team performance. Though based on a pilot study, the model may have application for other agencies working to increase their capacity to respond to hazardous events.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of expedient sheltering in place in commercial buildings for protection against airborne hazards, as described in U.S. Government guidance to the public. Expedient sheltering measures (plastic sheeting and duct tape) were applied to four different rooms inside commercial buildings. In two rooms, additional tests were performed with ceilings covered, and one room was tested with persons entering and exiting the shelter. Measured air exchange rates for the shelter rooms and literature values for air exchange rates for large buildings were used to determine protection factors for various scenarios. Protection factors were compared for leaky, typical, and tight buildings and shelters under various occupancy times and plume pass-over times for hazardous airborne contaminants. Protection factors ranged from 1.0 to 3960, depending on the conditions. Results reinforced the importance of timing for effective sheltering in place. Sheltering in place can be most beneficial if people enter shelters before the arrival of a hazardous plume and people exit shelters as soon as the plume passes over. However, sheltering in place can be detrimental if people enter or exit shelters too late. CO2 and O2 concentrations were calculated for a tight shelter with maximum recommended occupancy.

In the United States, preparation for a potential influenza pandemic is receiving heightened media coverage and scrutiny. Scientific attention is focused on the potential for the current Southeastern Asian avian flu virus, influenza A (H5N1), to become a pandemic threat through genetic mutation and viral reassortment. It is imperative that we act now, as we face an evolving and advancing disease state with insufficient national preparation. Existing preparedness plans address laboratory and disease surveillance, community containment and border protection, and mass dispensing and vaccination strategies. However, little attention has been directed to identifying and managing psychological and social factors likely to influence human behavior during a pandemic. All of our health and medical strategies require people to behave in prescribed ways to avoid exposure, prevent infection, or halt disease transmission. This article provides timely expert panel recommendations for pandemic influenza response and recovery by addressing human behavior and adaptation.

Testimony submitted by Professors Herman B. Leonard and Arnold M. Howitt of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, regarding ways to improve federal and state/local disaster preparedness and response. Presented on March 8, 2006 to the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

The purpose of the Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) (formerly titled Military Assistance to Civil Authorities, or MACA) process is to provide local and State civil authorities with access to federal military assets in response to major terrorist attacks or natural disasters. Local civilian emergency managers (EMs) play an important role in effective DSCA processes.This paper reports the results of an exploratory study of local EMs' views of the education they have received on the DSCA process and their suggestions on how the process can be improved. The survey and interviews indicate that a majority of EMs do not believe that they have received effective DSCA education and that interpersonal methods (course/training involving federal or civil authorities) were most positively related to having received effective DSCA education. It was recommended that future education on DSCA should be provided in a more clear and concise manner and focuses on topics such as the organizations and process involved in DSCA, types of assistance and time required by the military in their response, and how EMs can better articulate their needs in DSCA requests. A number of recommendations on future research directions on DSCA are also provided.

Has your region struggled with the development of a regional unified medical command that is recognized by local EOCs, EMS providers, and healthcare facilities, and meets the HRSA grant requirements for regional planning?Does your VA Medical Center have Pitocin and know how to deliver babies? Can your pediatric hospital provide care for an obese congestive heart failure patient? Can your freestanding surgical hospitals accept and care for isolated trauma? Can your specialty hospitals without emergency rooms, accept 911-ambulance patients? Do you know your hospital helicopter landing coordinates?During a disaster, a unified approach to medical command provides rapid facilitation of patient triage and placement in appropriate facilities, coordinates with local, regional, state and federal initiatives, and helps ensure a stable medical infrastructure.During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Houston, Texas was placed in unique situations with the influx of evacuated populations from the Gulf Coast region, as well as evacuation of the Texas Gulf Coast and regions of East Texas. The leaders of the Disaster Unified Medical Command for the Houston region would like to share their experiences and lessons learned from these natural disasters. By doing so, the authors hope to encourage other areas of the nation to adopt this program for emergency responses.

The Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) is a non profit organization developed to accredit government emergency management programs in the 56 U.S. states and territories. This accreditation model is based on the NFPA 1600 Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity Programs. In 2003, the Federal Emergency Management Agency funded EMAP to conduct baseline assessments of each U.S. state and territory to assess their emergency management capabilities. Between January 2003 and December 2004, EMAP conducted baseline assessments of 35 U.S. state and territory emergency management programs. This study was designed to analyze the results of those assessments, and suggests most state-level emergency management programs focus more resources on the response phase of emergency management and fewer resources on the recovery and mitigation phases.

Increased global terrorism has given rise to unique medical requirements that may be described as terror medicine. Using Israeli experience as a reference base, this paper notes four broad areas of terror medicine: preparedness, incident management, mechanisms of injuries and responses, and psychological consequences. Whether terror medicine is treated as a stand-alone discipline or part of disaster medicine, or of a larger enterprise like public health, its parameters should be understood and taught. Efforts to discourage and prevent terrorist attacks should be among a society's highest priorities. No less important are the requirements to prepare for, respond to, and recover from these events. The more that individuals and institutions become familiar with the essentials of terror medicine, the greater the protection they can provide to the public.

The book Homeland Security Law and Policy presents exhaustive information about the development of Homeland Security as a field and the authorities of the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, one of its components. It cogently raises policy issues such as the balance between security and civil liberties and the effectiveness of a large and complex organization.

A Legal Guide to Homeland Security and Emergency Management for State and Local Governments is a compendium of articles by attorneys experienced in what is a rapidly expanding new field of law. These articles range from a personal account of the 2004 Florida hurricane outbreak to mutual aid considerations.

A well respected author has created an excellent overview of the threat of bioterrorism - yesterday, today and in the not so distant future. The text not only provides a succinct analysis of the threat but also presents issues of concern such as the imbalance between funding for bioterrorism and funding for all-hazard public health readiness. He includes several Appendices that are useful to planners and researchers alike. He leaves the reader with several prioritized agendas for action and the feeling that dark times are coming upon the world either from bioterrorists, unregulated research, or natural causes initiated by accidents. Overall the book serves as a good augmentation reference for university courses in natural and technological hazards.