Advanced search Help
Publisher is Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Clear all search criteria
Only 2/3! You are seeing results from the Public Collection, not the complete Full Collection. Sign in to search everything (see eligibility).
-
Risk Unbound: Threat, Catastrophe and the End of Homeland Security
From the thesis abstract: "Threat and catastrophe highlight the impossibility of providing perfect security, and demonstrate the limitations of risk-based security practices. This thesis presents an argument in three parts. First, the dangers homeland security agencies confront are increasingly beyond the reach of measures for control. The character of security risks is complex and volatile, while worst-case possibilities--not merely probable accidents and disasters--are particularly relevant to domestic security agencies and organizations. Second, the security response to such unbounded risks has been the creation of unconscionable maps--tools and concepts that presume a greater degree of knowledge, uniformity, and control than is available. Finally, there is a body of knowledge and capability better suited to security uncertainties, and homeland security agencies must find ways to cultivate these capacities. Contrary to current security practices, national adaptability is more desirable than perfect knowledge, control of crisis, or national uniformity."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Anderson, Jacob S.
2015-09
-
Serious Games in FEMA Regional Response Coordination Center Training and Exercises
From the thesis abstract: "This thesis describes how the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] could use a serious game to improve performance, feedback, and engagement in Regional Response Coordination Center training and exercises. Despite the publicly acknowledged deficiencies of FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, more than half the positions FEMA identified for Hurricane Sandy in 2012 were filled by unqualified personnel. While training and exercises are but elements of the problem, they are essential to the solution. In particular, one weakness of traditional training and exercises is they do not sufficiently stress decision makers. An ever-increasing body of research exists demonstrating how serious games provide positive skill transfer and evoke similar reactions as real-world disasters. This paper presents a game design document and prototype for a Regional Response Coordination Center serious game called 72-Hours. The game is intended to stress individual players and teams as they attempt to stabilize a disaster within the 72-hour goal set by the Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Brawley, Randy S.
2015-09
-
Additive Manufacturing: Preparing for the Reality of Science Fiction
From the thesis abstract: "Historically, policymakers have had difficulty addressing issues raised by emerging technologies. Whether it is inadequate legislation due to a general lack of awareness, or overregulation from a perceived threat, emerging technologies seem to repeatedly confuse those responsible for ensuring their safe incorporation into society. Despite decades of experience with similar issues, this trend continues to this day. What lessons can be drawn from different approaches to policy development for other emerging technologies to help policymakers avoid these failures for additive manufacturing technologies? A structured focus comparison of three emerging technologies, unmanned aerial systems, autonomous vehicles, and additive manufacturing, revealed characteristics of emerging technologies--such as a low price point for market entry and rapid evolution--that tend to surprise policymakers. This thesis recommends organizations make a concerted effort to engage early and often in the policy development process, and that they carefully consider each stakeholder's level of involvement. It is also recommended that the Department of Homeland Security leverage existing mechanisms, such as the Centers of Excellence partnerships and the Strategic Foresight Initiative, to engage nontraditional partners in addressing issues raised by additive manufacturing technologies"
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Windle, William A.
2015-09
-
Intra-Operational Area Coordination: The Zone EOC Concept
From the thesis abstract: "This thesis highlights the limitations of the existing one-to-one intra-operational area (OA) emergency operations center (EOC) coordination model during catastrophic disasters. In addition, it establishes a clear need for a more effective alternate model and offers an alternative, multilateral collaborative model solution--the zone EOC concept. Designed to enable manageable span of control and address shortages in available trained EOC personnel, the zone EOC concept involves establishing consolidated EOCs to represent geographic zones that encompass multiple cities, townships, and special districts within an OA. When activated, the zone EOCs would coordinate with an OA EOC on behalf of their constituent jurisdictions within each zone. The thesis provides a detailed outline and analysis of the zone EOC concept and its various elements in the context of the San Mateo County OA and notes key aspects for successful adoption and implementation. The portability and applicability of the zone EOC concept in other OAs in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond is also considered and further exploration is recommended."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Kearnan, Jeffrey C.
2015-09
-
Protecting DHS Component Pre-9/11 Functions: Improving Visibility in Budget Exhibits
From the thesis abstract: "When the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was formed in 2003, 22 distinct agencies and directorates were consolidated into one organization. The Homeland Security Act of 2002, which mandated DHS' creation, also required that functions performed by other agencies within the Department--those not related directly to securing the homeland--not be diminished or neglected. DHS has been challenged to produce annual budgets that clearly delineate homeland security and non-homeland security functions, making it difficult to assess whether legacy functions have been diminished. This thesis utilized a policy analysis research method to review budget exhibits from fiscal years 2004--2013 in order to analyze funding levels for DHS components' specific legacy functions. Findings revealed that some functions have received decreased funding without a commensurate reduction in demand for that service. The need to unequivocally define which DHS activities are considered homeland security-related emerged as a recurring theme in the research as well. Using a multi-goal policy approach, the study assessed potential courses of action and ultimately makes two recommendations: to pursue a pilot test of modified budget submission requirements for a limited number of DHS components, and to benchmark business processes followed by the Departments of Interior and Commerce."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Dietrich, Serena J.
2015-09
-
Role of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in Military Cyber Attack Warning
From the thesis abstract: "For more than fifty years, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has been responsible for conducting aerospace warning and control missions for the defense of North America. In accomplishing those operations, Commander NORAD is responsible for making the official warning to both the president of the United States and the prime minister of Canada if North America is suddenly under aerospace attack. Now, with the dramatic increase in worldwide cyberspace events, NORAD has begun examining its own potential role within this new domain. Would involving NORAD in the military cyber attack warning process, leveraging its unique and proven binational structure, provide any advantages to both nations? To analyze this question, this thesis briefly traces NORAD's warning mission history, discusses the basic concepts involved with cyber attacks, identifies key U.S. and Canadian military cyber organizations, and examines significant U.S. and Canadian cyberspace government policies. It then proposes three potential new courses of action for NORAD, identifying advantages, disadvantages, and proposed solutions to implementation. The thesis ends by recommending NORAD advocate for unrestricted cyberspace national event conference participation. This would be a realistic, achievable first step offering significant improvement in both NORAD's cyber attack situational awareness, as well as improving overall operational responsiveness."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
DeGering, Randall R.
2015-09
-
Solving Homeland Security's Wicked Problems: A Design Thinking Approach
From the thesis abstract: "The Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T) requires a consistent yet flexible approach to address wicked problems. A design-thinking methodology holds promise, as its tenets align with the diversity and complexity inherent within the homeland security environment. Design thinking emphasizes a human-centered and multidisciplinary approach to solution development. The research examined how design thinking is used to solve problems, S&T's current approach to solving problems, and how other public organizations are using a design-thinking methodology. Denmark's MindLab and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) informed a framework for how DHS S&T could adopt a design-thinking approach. The analysis and framework were organized around Galbraith's Star Model. The conclusion is that a design-thinking approach requires a significant shift in how S&T executes research and development (R&D). This shift can strengthen the dialogue necessary between S&T, homeland security practitioners, and nontraditional DHS partners to spur solutions. This thesis provides a framework for how S&T can incorporate design-thinking principles that are working well in other domains to tackle homeland security's complex problems."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Wyckoff, Kristin L.
2015-09
-
How Critical is Critical Infrastructure
From the thesis abstract: "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) holds the statutory mission to protect the nation's critical infrastructure, which is the systems and assets that are nationally significant, and whose losses would result in debilitating consequences to the safety and security of the United States. Based on a meta-analysis of government policies, the current critical infrastructure protection (IP) efforts may be misdirected even though it is the cornerstone mission of the department to prevent terrorism and enhance security. It is likely that the facilities DHS works to protect from terrorism are not the most likely targets for attacks. The manner in which facilities are designated as critical infrastructure may have stemmed from shared experience of many in senior leadership as military strategists rather than from identifying the targets of extremists. Even when a facility is destroyed, the consequences may be more complex than the mission of protecting a single facility against all threats and hazards. These findings can justify reducing the scope of the current IP mission and refining the focus through a risk-based methodology for evaluating only the infrastructure that would cause debilitating impacts on the safety and security of the nation."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Riedman, David A.
2015-09
-
Ultra-Marathoners of Human Smuggling: Defending Forward Against Dark Networks That Can Transport Terrorists Across American Land Borders
From the thesis abstract: "National legislation requires America's homeland security agencies to disrupt transnational human smuggling organizations capable of transporting terrorist travelers to all U.S. borders. Federal agencies have responded with programs targeting extreme-distance human smuggling networks that transport higher-risk immigrants known as special interest aliens (SIAs) from some 35 'countries of interest' in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia where terrorist organizations operate. Yet ineffectiveness and episodic targeting are indicated, in part by continued migration from those countries to the U.S. southwestern border since 9/11. Should an attack linked to SIA smuggling networks occur, homeland security leaders likely will be required to improve counter-SIA interdiction or may choose to do so preemptively. This thesis asks how SIA smuggling networks function as systems and, based on this analysis, if their most vulnerable fail points can be identified for better intervention targeting. Using NVivo qualitative analysis software, the study examined 19 U.S. court prosecutions of SIA smugglers and other data to produce 20 overarching conclusions demonstrating how SIA smuggling functions. From these 20 conclusions, seven leverage points were extracted and identified for likely law enforcement intervention success. Fifteen disruption strategies, tailored to the seven leverage points, are recommended."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Bensman, Todd
2015-09
-
Ultra-Marathoners of Human Smuggling: Defending Forward Against Dark Networks that Can Transport Terrorists Across American Land Borders [Supplemental]
This document is the supplemental to the thesis "Ultra-Marathoners of Human Smuggling: Defending Forward Against Dark Networks that Can Transport Terrorists Across American Land Borders" by Todd Bensman. "Five pre-2004 court cases analyzed for this research were not entirely available on PACER: United States v. Ashraf Ahmed Abdallah, United States v. Mehrzad Arbane, United States v. Mohammad Assadi, United States v. Mehar Jarad, and United States v.
Nancy Zaia. Court documents related to these cases were acquired directly from U.S. Attorney's offices in 2007, during related research." The associated thesis can be found at the following link [https://www.hsdl.org/?abstract&did=788177].
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Bensman, Todd
2015-09
-
CHDS News Digest - August 31 [2015]
This brief newsletter, provided by the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS), highlights some of the notable news stories regarding the CHDS, its current students, staff, and alumni for the week of August 31, 2015.
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
2015-08-31
-
Radicalization Puzzle [video]
"This 20 minute lecture, by Dr. Mohammad Hafez of the Naval Postgraduate School examines the driving factors behind the process of radicalization, turning seemingly ordinary men and women into potential terrorists." From the abstract, "Why and how do individuals residing in relatively peaceful and affluent Western 10 societies come to embrace extremist ideologies that emanate from distant places? We summarize the most recent empirical literature on the causes and dynamics of radicalization, and evaluate the state of the art in the study of Islamist homegrown extremism in the West. We propose a theoretical synthesis based on four factors that come together to produce violent radicalization: personal and collective grievances, 15 networks and interpersonal ties, political and religious ideologies, and enabling environments and support structures. We propose adopting a 'puzzle' metaphor that represents a multifactor and contextualized approach to understanding how ordinary individuals transform into violent extremists. We concluded with three recommendations to strengthen the empirical foundations of radicalization studies."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Hafez, Mohammed M., 1970-
2015-08-21
-
CHDS News Digest - August 10 [2015]
This brief newsletter, provided by the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS), highlights some of the notable news stories regarding the CHDS, its current students, staff, and alumni for August 10, 2015.
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
2015-08-10
-
Viewpoints in Homeland Defense and Security: Pathways to Peace Parts 1 and 2 [video]
From the Video Description: "In this two-part series, Byron Bland, Associate Director for the Stanford Center on International Conflict & Negotiation outlines the fundamental building blocks of the peace making process, giving examples from his experiences in Belfast and Northern Ireland." The duration of the Part 1 video is 19 minutes and 11 seconds; the duration of the Part 2 video is 14 minutes and 47 seconds.
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Bland, Byron
2015-07-01?
-
Viewpoints in Homeland Defense and Security: Providing Educational and Fellowship Opportunities to the INA Workforce [video]
From the Video Description: "In this interview Nicholas Stark, Academic Program Lead for the Intelligence & Analysis Directorate, talks about his program's role in expanding INA [Immigration and Nationality Act] employees' educational opportunities." The duration of this video is 13 minutes and 53 seconds.
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
2015-06-08
-
CHDS News Digest - June 5 [2015]
This brief newsletter, provided by the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS), highlights some of the notable news stories regarding the CHDS, its current students, staff, and alumni for June 5, 2015.
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
2015-06-05
-
To Save Lives and Property: High Threat Response
From the abstract: "The emergency services community must recognize that the world is constantly changing and adjust accordingly. It will have to be more nimble and proactive with its capabilities if it wants to prepare effectively for future threats and respond to atypical emergencies. Over the past several years, fire, law enforcement and emergency medical services communities have not adapted their missions or capabilities to prepare, train, and respond effectively in a joint capacity to perhaps the two most imminent, nonconforming threats facing communities across America -- the active shooter and fire as a weapon. These are incidents that necessitate an integrated response; traditional single agency 'stove piped' responses will not be effective in saving lives and property. If we do not integrate Fire/EMS and law enforcement capabilities for these imminent threats, not only will civilian lives be lost, but those of first responders will be as well."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Delaney, John; Atwater, Paul A.; Marino, Michael . . .
2015-06
-
UAS on Main Street: Policy and Enforcement at the Local Level
From the abstract: "Due to increasing system sophistication and affordability, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are becoming more popular among hobbyists and businesses. UAS also pose a threat to homeland security as they could be used for nefarious activity such as preoperational surveillance or as weapons. Consequently, law enforcement officers and fusion centers have experienced an increase in suspicious activity reporting related to UAS. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not yet finalized a policy for integrating UAS into the national airspace, leaving law enforcement officers without a clear protocol for contact with UAS operators. This paper first examines UAS policy at the federal, state, and local levels. A discussion of recent incidents is provided to demonstrate the threat of UAS and the enforcement action taken. To bridge the gap between current policy and enforcement tools, this paper proposes a solution of creating local ordinances restricting UAS operations to protect critical infrastructure and preserve public safety."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Yakabe, Alison
2015-06
-
Personal Preparedness in America: The Needle is Broken
From the thesis abstract: "For decades emergency managers have strived to educate the American public on how to prepare for disasters. Yet many Americans are still not prepared, at least as preparedness is defined by our nation's emergency management community. If the standard approach that the emergency management community has used for the last several decades is flawed, then the needle might not simply be stuck. It may, along with the entire system, be broken. Perhaps the problem is not just with the needle, which is simply measuring action or inaction, but with the actions themselves and the messages used to promote them. This thesis explores whether the actions individuals are asked to take are reasonable based on identified risk, and practical and sustainable based on barriers such as income and life-style. In addition, are the crafters of the message cognizant of the importance of sense-making on how an individual may choose to act based on the way he or she senses and responds to an incident, as well as the personal perception of self? Recent Federal Emergency Management Agency preparedness surveys and public education campaigns ad-dress the need for long-term resiliency over simple actions but may not go far enough to affect lasting change in behavior."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Dragani, Nancy J.
2015-06
-
Continued Relevance of the November, 2008 Mumbai Terrorist Attack: Countering New Attacks With Old Lessons
From the abstract: "The 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai was characterized by a sense of public confusion and frustration. Throughout the event, the attackers were able to avoid an operationally superior counterterrorism force and for four consecutive days managed to spread terror in India's most populous city. One of the main contributing factors in the LeT and JuD's success was their innovative use of lean everyday technology. Not only did technology give the attackers detailed information about their targets before the attack, but the information they received during the attack gave the terrorists a sustained tactical edge. After the attacks two primary questions remain. How did this happen? What, if anything, can be done to disrupt and prevent this style of terrorist attack? This essay will review the background of the pre-attack phase, provide an analysis of the attack itself, and finally conclude with a set of actionable items and lessons learned for practitioners."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Rizvi, Shahrzad; Kelly, Joshua L.
2015-06
-
Building a Collaborative Governance System: A Comparative Case Analysis
From the thesis abstract: "Governance processes in the public sector establish policies and institutionalize procedures for how organizations work together. Developing and sustaining these governance processes may be difficult. Efforts to develop a regional wireless interoperable communications network in the Phoenix metropolitan area resulted in a series of successes and failures. This thesis uses a classic case study framework to examine the governance development process from 1999 to 2015 among the City of Phoenix, City of Mesa and additional parties. Three distinct phases in the governance development process were identified and used to conduct a comparative analysis. Seven executives involved in the process were interviewed to provide insight and experience related to the governance development process across the three phases. The comparative case analysis illustrates factors that contributed to the success and failure of the network's governance. Recommendations are provided that other agencies may employ in their own governance development to accelerate the process or avoid potential pitfalls and achieve successful outcomes more quickly. While the case study focuses on the establishment of an interoperable communications system, the principles and examples may apply to other technology or homeland security efforts to establish formal cross-jurisdictional governance structures."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Cooper, Jesse W.
2015-06
-
Lessons from Fukushima: Relocation and Recovery from Nuclear Catastrophe
From the thesis abstract: "The Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown offers an unusual opportunity to examine and learn from Japan's experience managing the forced, extended relocation of over 100,000 people. The objective of this study was to assess lessons the United States can incorporate into its disaster management plans from Japan's experience managing the relocation of communities due to the widespread contamination from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Four years after the catastrophe, Fukushima Prefecture estimates 119,000 residents are still living in temporary accommodations while remediation work continues in 11 municipalities. This comparative analysis of the Fukushima case approached the challenge of planning for recovery after a nuclear/radiological disaster from the perspective of managers with limited radiation management expertise. It examined the progress of recovery in the first four years and the management practices related to the relocation and resettlement of the most contaminated Fukushima communities. The primary recommendation is that states and communities require guidance and tools to use both to prepare for major radiological incidents and as post-incident job aids for managing disaster recovery. Leaders and planners will be able to apply the study's detailed recommendations to enhance efforts to prepare for the intermediate and late-phase recovery from radiological disasters."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Bennett, Gerilee Wohlschlegel
2015-06
-
Policy Options Analysis and the National Fire Operations Reporting System
From the thesis abstract: "Effectively managing a fire department requires leaders to understand that allocation adjustment to resources will impact the outcome of structure fire incidents. It is important that fire service leaders and politicians understand how resources deployed impact firefighter and civilian injuries, death, and property loss. Additionally, fire service leaders must have reliable data to understand the complexities and apply the correct resources. The National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) is a voluntary system and only describes the cause of a fire, its origin, and how a fire spreads within a structure. Information submitted into the NFIRS database does not provide real-time information. Despite recent advances in technology, fire departments do not have a method to determine the availability of resources able and ready to respond or the capability of those resources to manage the event. This thesis will identify those specific definitions and describe the operational effectiveness of fire department resources deployed to a structure fire incident. Operational effectiveness states the match between the resources deployed to the incident type and management of the events. Explaining these terms empowers the leader to allocate the correct resources-- reducing firefighter and civilian injury, death, and property loss."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
McAdams, Michael A.
2015-06
-
Unauthorized Disclosure - Can Behavioral Indicators Help Predict Who Will Commit Unauthorized Disclosure of Classified National Security Information
From the thesis abstract: "Federal government security-cleared personnel have been disclosing federal government classified national security information, whether to a foreign government or the United States media, at an increasing rate since the 1980s. Can common personal or psychological characteristics or motivations be identified from historical cases that could indicate the likelihood of a current or potential federal employee to disclose national security information without authorization? Reasons for unauthorized disclosure range from financial, to 'whistle-blowing,' to a desire to change international policy, to sympathy and strong ties with a foreign government. The focus of this research is on the behavioral characteristics that are similar or different between known, studied historical cases of personnel associated with the federal government who have disclosed classified information without authorization. Upon review of existing data, the prevalent behavioral characteristic of the cases is one of a disgruntled employee (ideology/ disillusionment/loyalty). A disgruntled employee becomes the largest concern as an insider threat, one who is willing to compromise his or her feelings of loyalty to the organization and the nation for a myriad of reasons."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Sims, Karen Elizabeth
2015-06
-
Recommendation for a National Standard for Tactical Emergency Casualty Care and Israeli Hospital Trauma Protocols in the United States
From the thesis abstract: "This research asks the following question: Why are tactical emergency casualty care (TECC) rescue task force (RTF) and Israeli hospital trauma programs the best approaches to addressing the current gaps and weaknesses in trauma management in the United States in the context of terrorist attacks and/or active shooter incidents? The purpose of this thesis is to ascertain why existing tactical emergency medical service protocols in most public safety jurisdictions are deficient and to analyze which types of resources jurisdictions need in order to ensure that they have optimal programs in place for mass casualty incident response. Active shooter and terrorist attacks have been on the rise since the 1990s. This thesis found that most public safety organizations in the United States are unprepared to provide emergency medical services during these incidents. Provision of tactical emergency medical services in hostile environments require that emergency medical services personnel train and deploy using TECC RTF guidelines and the Israeli hospital paradigm. This thesis recommends the implementation of a national standard to ensure that these programs are instituted in jurisdictions across the United States."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Kierstead, Robert L.
2015-06
-
Case Study in the Identification of Critical Factors Leading to Successful Implementation of the Hospital Incident Command System
From the thesis abstract: "The Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) is widely used by the nation's hospitals, yet there is a paucity of research and a lack of developed models to examine HICS implementation. A study of HICS implementation may benefit hospitals, provide insight for future revisions, and add to the body of knowledge about HICS. This case study examined the critical factors that lead to the successful implementation of HICS based upon Stanford Medicine's Response to the Asiana plane crash of July 6, 2013. Four commonalities identified from the literature review formed a hypothesis for successful HICS implementation that was tested and supported. In addition to the lessons learned that supported the tested hypothesis, the documentation reviewed described highly competent individuals and cohesive teamwork. It was not possible to separate individual and team competence from the tested hypothesis. As a result of this study, six critical factors were identified from the supported hypothesis that form an HICS implementation model for future evaluation."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Schoenthal, Lisa
2015-06
-
Entropy and Self-organization- An Open System Approach to the Origins of Homeland Security Threats
From the thesis abstract: "This thesis addresses the problem that there is no coherent, unifying paradigm for understanding the origins of homeland security threats. In addition, the thesis asks if the concept of disorder as understood in the dynamics of open, dissipative systems can provide a way of understanding real-world homeland security threats. Ideas from approaches to complex systems based on the idea of dissipative systems were synthesized to create a scalable model of a living social system that imports and exports disorder (entropy) via the transfer of matter, energy, and information. Then, the idea of a dissipative system that exports disorder to its surroundings as it self-organizes was meta-theoretically applied to the processes of self-organization occurring in the world, such as technological advance, population growth, economic growth, and globalization, and can be causally linked to real-world homeland security threats. One conclusion is that, on a descriptive level, the causes of homeland security threats can be modeled as a complex, dissipative system. Another conclusion is that causes of homeland security threats and the means to counter them often lie in complex social, economic, and environmental processes that are well outside the jurisdiction of Department of Homeland Security and the homeland security enterprise, meaning that we should reconsider our approach to homeland security."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Dobson, Thomas Kirwan
2015-06
-
Homeland Security: What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Local Homeland Security Organizational Structures?
From the thesis abstract: "After the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the creation of the federal Department of Homeland Security in 2002, many local agencies formed their own homeland security entity. Since that time, significant economic downturns have resulted in reductions in the amount of homeland security funding available to local jurisdictions. Another issue involves the lack of a common definition of homeland security and what it entails and how daily operations are conducted to forward the mission. A jurisdiction wishing to continue to support a homeland security entity needs to make sound decisions as it pertains to these issues in an effort to provide the greatest service to its communities. This thesis analyzed three homeland security organizational structures located within the Metro Atlanta, GA, area to find their advantages and disadvantages using a case study method. The analysis for these structures was based on the mission of each structure, as evaluated based on the 2014 Quadrennial Homeland Security Report, or the mission of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or both if applicable, their operational functions as they pertain to the mission, and an inspection of each jurisdiction's financial records relating to the overall department budget, homeland security budget, and grant monies. Advantages were noted for all structures along with recommendations that included the addition of mission-specific experts, the improvement of information sharing, jurisdictional relationships, cyber protection, and the proper development of a mission statement."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Fitzpatrick, William Mark
2015-06
-
Viewpoints in Homeland Defense and Security: Countering the Cyber-Attack, A Case Study [video]
From the Video Description: "A cyber-criminal organization electronically diverts funds, a hacking group uses their prowess to try to influence politics, these are examples of the evolving world of cyber crime. Keith Squires, Commissioner of Public Safety and Homeland Security Advisor for the State of Utah talks about his experience in building a cyber security program to counter such cyber criminals." The duration of this video is 12 minutes and 46 seconds.
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Squires, Keith D.
2015-05-22
-
CHDS News Digest - May 11 [2015]
This brief newsletter, provided by the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security (CHDS), highlights some of the notable news stories regarding the CHDS, its current students, staff, and alumni for May 11, 2015.
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
2015-05-11
