Advanced search Help
Publisher is Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
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).
-
Regulating Hawala: Thwarting Terrorism or Jeopardizing Stability?
From the Thesis Abstract: "This thesis uses the case study method to investigate the unintended consequences that have resulted from the United States' efforts to deter criminal abuses of hawala. It explores the illegitimate and legitimate uses of hawala in Africa and the Middle East in the post-9/11 era. Despite extensive regulatory blocks, hawala has been a key financial node for the Taliban, Islamic State, and al-Shabaab. On the other hand, hawala serves as a lifeline for victims of terrorism in Africa and the Middle East. Any disruption in service jeopardizes their survival and protection. This study identifies how regulatory action has caused financial exclusion and is counterproductive to the United States' anti-money laundering efforts and campaigns against terrorism financing. Practices like de-risking encourage the growth of alternative money transfer systems. This assessment concludes with a recommendation to use mobile money platforms to reinvigorate the formal financial sector and promote financial inclusion. Mobile hawalas are already leveraging digital delivery channels and have gained rapid momentum. In lieu of further regulatory action, Western institutions can employ these emerging technologies to transform into more adaptive and advantageous competitors of hawala and avoid compromising the essential service it provides."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Mali, Monika
2019-12
-
Reforming U.S. Immigration Policy: A Case for Merit-Based Immigration?
From the Thesis Abstract: "The thesis investigates how U.S. national interests have been defined in the country's immigration policy, and whether the current policy, which prioritizes family-based immigration, supports those interests. The Donald J. Trump administration has looked to Canada's points-based system, which has brought highly skilled and educated immigrants into the country. Through a comparative analysis of Canada's and the United States' immigration policies, this research provides perspective on whether screening immigrants is an effective way to meet a country's national interests, particularly economic interests, and whether other factors must be considered for immigration policies. Ultimately, this thesis found that current U.S. immigration policies do not best serve national interests. This is not because the U.S. prioritizes family-based immigration but rather because the stagnant immigration policy does not respond to the changing needs of the country. Common-sense immigration reform requires more than looking to foreign partners for solutions; it requires us to review current practices and identify ways to enhance existing policies."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Garza, Daisy
2019-12
-
Plan Bee--Understanding Threats to the Honey Bee Population and Examining Strategies to Promote and Protect Pollinators
From the Thesis Abstract: "In the early 2000s, a series of pollinator colonies, including honey bee colonies, collapsed--an early warning of a serious threat to our nation's environmental, economic, and food security. Two national initiatives (the creation of the White House Pollinator Health Task Force in 2014 and the subsequent implementation of a national strategy to promote pollinator health in 2015) demonstrate that the government is serious about improving pollinator health. This thesis seeks to determine if pollinator health is a homeland security issue, and reviews policies in the United States and the European Union that protect the health of pollinators. These topics are explored through a comparative policy analysis centered on four considerations: a holistic focus on all pollinators, pesticide regulation, the inclusion of regional plans in national policy, and climate change. Research indicates that decisive governance in the quest for pollinator health is essential for national security. This thesis offers a limited scope that must be enhanced to attain a more robust and resilient national pollinator plan and to improve environmental, economic, and food security in the United States."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Pfrogner, Mildred G.
2019-12
-
International Police Cooperation on Countering Transnational Terrorism
From the thesis abstract: "Since the inception of modern police organizations, the police have been on the front lines of counter terrorism operations. The changing concept of terrorism into a more transnational nature has driven police organizations to devise new means to counter this challenge. International police cooperation on countering transnational terrorism is the product of this evolution. There have been several initiatives to build a competent and effective international police cooperation organization to fight against transnational terrorism, and new ones are steadily proposed by different stakeholders in the international arena. Without understanding what makes an international police cooperation organization effective in countering transnational terrorism, these initiatives will only yield to further duplication of efforts, waste of resources, and a steep decrease in the overall performance of those organizations. This project analyzes four international police cooperation organizations using the level of structural relations within the organization and geographic proximity as the independent variables. The cases are evaluated based on the performance of these organizations in achieving three organizational functions information exchange, ad hoc assistance and capacity building, and policy coordination and contracting."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Yapsan, Hikmet
2012-06
-
Utilizing Twitter to Locate or Track an Object of Interest
From the thesis abstract: "Data in online social networks can be used as a resource to locate persons of interest. The two key issues are the accuracy and the length of time to carry out the necessary categorization, correlation, and sifting. Literally millions of data items most unintentionally prepared to facilitate analysis are posted and made available through public data feeds. The lack of appropriate tools and schemas inhibit efficient identification and extraction of information. The broad applicability of locating persons of interest extends to humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief efforts, finding missing person(s), reconstructing movements of people, and prognosticating future movement of people. This research defines a method that was shown to be effective in utilizing social network data (Twitter) to locate and track a person of interest. A combination of C# programming language and structured query sequences was integrated with SQL [Structured Query Language] to correlate and sort hundreds of thousands of data items."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Nauta, Jeremy T.
2012-06
-
Southern Thai Insurgency and the Prospect for International Terrorist Group Involvement
From the thesis abstract: "This thesis explores the cause of the southern Thailand insurgency and the possibility that international terrorist groups have become involved in it. The insurgency began as an ethnic struggle by Malay Muslims for independence from predominantly Buddhist Thailand. But with the advent of the global war on terrorism, some scholars believe it has become an increasingly religious one. They fear that if the insurgency has become Islamist, it will attract support from international terrorist groups, which will bring funds, training, and ideology to the already violent conflict. This thesis investigates these possibilities. It finds that Islam has grown in importance, but the struggle remains driven primarily by ethnic separatist, not religious, aims. Since it remains ethnic in nature, international terrorists have not taken a significant role in the movement. The ideological gap between them and the insurgents remains too wide. Nevertheless, it is worth monitoring the situation as the danger of international terrorists becoming involved exists if the insurgency becomes a religious struggle."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Brannon, Bradford M., III
2012-06
-
Crime Trend Prediction Using Regression Models for Salinas, California
From the thesis abstract: "Salinas, California has been battling an above average crime rate for over 30 years. This is due primarily to two rival gangs in Salinas the Norteos and the Sureos. The city and the surrounding community have implemented many methods to mitigate the crime level, from community involvement to the inception of a gang task force. As of yet, none of the efforts have had long-lasting effects. In a 2009 thesis, Jason A. Clarke and Tracy L. Onufer postulated that various socio-economic variables are influential on the crime level in Salinas. They characterized crime as a summation of homicides, assaults and robberies reported. Their thesis determined that to lower overall violence levels, officials in Salinas should focus on reducing the unemployment rate, the number of vacant housing units, and the high school dropout rate, and increasing the high school graduation rate and average daily attendance. A deeper examination of the data could lead not only to assumptions about how to lower crime rates, but also to a means of predicting future crime rates by using various methods of multiple value regression."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Shingleton, Jarrod S.
2012-06
-
Technology Strategy Integration
From the thesis abstract: "Techno-strategic integration is the process through which militaries integrate technological advances into a strategy that maximizes their advantages. While sheer military might is a function of a variety of factors, technology has taken center stage in the past two centuries. The industrial revolution changed the way war was fought; and the changes had wide ranging effects. The calamity of the First World War was in some ways a failure to techno-strategically integrate industrial age technology. The history of military technology and strategy illustrates many obstacles to the integration of the two. This thesis shows that successful techno-strategic integration is often highly correlated with effective execution of war and improvement of national security. On the other hand, enduring organizational preferences, inter-service rivalry, and commercial self-interest have often undermined new techno-strategic possibilities. However, with the growth and increasing capability of information age technology, this research shows growing indications that the techno-strategic paradigm of the industrial age is shifting. The United States is positioned to capitalize on its lead in informational innovations, and integrating technologies into new concepts of operations. If managed successfully, the United States might emerge with a leaner, more agile force that can keep its strategic competitors at bay."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Carter, Keith L.
2012-06
-
United States Foreign Assistance Programs: The Requirement of Metrics for Security Assistance and Security Cooperation Programs
From the thesis abstract: "Foreign aid has been a signal component of United States foreign policy since the creation of the Marshall Plan. Since that time, as new requirements emerged, numerous foreign aid programs and initiatives were created and subsequently piecemealed together under various U.S. agencies. The confluence of programs, initiatives, and agencies has created a confusing and overly bureaucratized environment for expending funds in an effort to support the democratization and modernization of other countries. This study examines U.S. aid provided to Ukraine and Georgia to determine if they have progressed toward Westernized defense and military structures, in accordance with their stated national goals, within the realm of logistics. The question is whether U.S. security aid in these states has helped to achieve these goals. Addressing this question, this thesis proposes a hierarchal construct with differing assessment criteria based on how and where U.S. aid is applied. In the end, this analysis shows that U.S. aid and assistance programs and funds have assisted both Ukraine and Georgia with their modernization efforts. However, U.S. policy makers and policy implementers need to consideration alternative and new methods to accurately assess how well those funds are spent in-line with U.S. foreign policy goals."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Carl, Stephen J., Jr.
2012-06
-
Adaptive COIN in Sri Lanka: What Contributed to the Demise of the LTTE?
From the thesis abstract: "The Government of Sri Lanka declared victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in 2009, putting an end to a conflict of thirty years. The sudden demise of the LTTE, one of the most ruthless yet successful insurgent organizations, is worth understanding. This thesis attempts to do this by exploring the internal political dynamics, external influence on the conflict, and the Sri Lankan military's adaptations in order to determine what contributed to the demise of the LTTE. This thesis will argue that one of the most critical aspects of success for the government and its military was learning from adversity and the LTTE and adapting the political and military organizations of Sri Lanka. By becoming fast-adapting organizations, both the government as a whole and the military, in particular, managed to conduct a successful counterinsurgency [COIN] campaign that eventually ended the LTTE and eliminated its leadership."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Chandradas, Eranda Malaka
2012-06
-
Defeating the Active Shooter: Applying Facility Upgrades in Order to Mitigate the Effects of Active Shooters in High Occupancy Facilities
From the thesis abstract: "The average duration of Active Shooter incidents in Institutions of Higher Education within the United States is 12.5 minutes. In contrast, the average response time of campus and local law enforcement to these incidents is 18 minutes. In the majority of Active Shooter incidents affecting U.S. IHEs [Institution of Higher Education], the emergency response time greatly exceeds the incident duration and affords law enforcement authorities no opportunity to interdict the shooter or prevent further casualties. This stark contrast between response requirements and response capability produces a considerable delta of dead, injured or potential victims and provides the unfortunate motivation for this project. The primary focus of this project is aimed at reducing the Rate of Kill of Active Shooters in U.S. IHEs. This thesis contains 14 case studies that examine lethal Active Shooter incidents that occurred in U.S. IHEs, as well as the Oslo and Utoya Island Active Shooter event that occurred in Norway. Data analysis on each of these incidents revealed facility composition as a critical vulnerability common to all of these incidents. Accordingly, the recommendations included in this thesis suggest a practical implementation of facility upgrades capable of mitigating the deadly effects of Active Shooters."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Ergenbright, Charles E.; Hubbard, Sean K.
2012-06
-
Explaining Humanitarian Intervention in Libya and Non-Intervention in Syria
From the thesis abstract: "The emergence of the revolutionary movements of the 'Arab Spring' in early 2011 surprised the world. For the western democracies the often-violent reaction of the ruling regimes in the concerned countries caused political and moral challenges. Different approaches are discernible when for the Libyan case the west was willing to intervene against the regime but for the Syrian case no decisive action was taken. This thesis examines the importance and influence of humanitarian interventions in comparison to national geo-strategic interests and the influence of domestic politics. The thesis argues that the three examined western states U.S., Germany and France, acknowledge and stress the normative importance of humanitarian interventions but finally prefer geo-strategic interests and domestic politics. Next to own interests the parameters of the respective conflict are of highest importance as shown by the comparison of the political, social and military framework of Syria and Libya. The thesis concludes that normative arguments in international politics are overestimated and dominated by state interests and demands of governments. For western democracies normative reasons are of theoretical importance and part of their own self-awareness but in realpolitik their influence is minuscule."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Hasler, Stefan
2012-06
-
Swift Trust in Hastily Formed Networks
"Social, cultural and organizational differences between U.S. military forces (USMs), multinational forces (MNFs), other U.S. and foreign government agencies (OGAs) and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) make interactions between members of these organizations engaged in stability, security, transition and reconstruction operations (SSTR) less effective. There is a wide diversity of organizations and cultures among the community engaged in SSTR. The organizations typically include USMs, MNFs, other OGAs and NGOs. The events of 911, the Indonesian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina each revealed fundamental problems with communication, coordination and collaboration between first responders from different organizations, be they military units from different services, different levels of government, nonprofit aid organizations or other agencies. These problems are intensified during post combat SSTR operations conducted in the midst of insurgency, terrorism, and criminality. Although differences in national and organizational culture contribute to difficulties, cultural diversity is not the only problem. Increasingly, research is revealing the difficulties of communicating and collaborating across organizational boundaries. Differences in organizational missions, structures and processes, human resources policies, reward systems and cultures create problems that make communication, coordination, cooperation and ultimately collaboration less effective."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Zolin, Roxanne
2002
-
Why Failing Terrorist Groups Persist: The Case of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
From the thesis abstract: "Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) is less likely to reach its goal of establishing an Islamic state in Algeria than at any time since its earlier history as the Armed Islamic Group (GIA). Yet the group endures. The apparent resilience of AQIM relies less on its actual organization than the environmental factors that have allowed it to persist. By co-opting local anti-government groups, Algerian jihadists have long been allowed to live among and collaborate with Berber and Tuareg separatists. Turning to international notoriety to augment its local jihad the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) became AQIM even though an Al-Qaeda link had long since been established. Effective Algerian security measures have pushed portions of AQIM to ungoverned spaces where regional security pressure is less existent and illicit networks are numerous. Potential ends for AQIM rely heavily on Algeria to bear the weight of the effort, whereas Sahelian initiatives are peripheral to a complete end. U.S. strategy should subordinate the Sahel focus, as a Sahelian solution is not sufficient, while an Algerian solution is both necessary and sufficient to AQIMs demise. AQIM represents a lower priority challenge that, if not dealt with properly, can become a major priority or drag on indefinitely, like the FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia] in Colombia. The U.S. must strive to meet AQIM with the most appropriate solution with the least force possible to expedite its departure, so that U.S. CT [Counterterrorism] efforts can be engaged elsewhere against remaining Al-Qaeda affiliates."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Nessel, Richard A.
2012-06
-
Disrupting Emerging Networks: Analyzing and Evaluating Jamaat al-Muslimeen (JAM) and the Development of an Extremist Threat in the Caribbean
From the thesis abstract: "For the last decade, the primary U.S. and global focus has been on combating terrorism and extremist groups in the Middle East and Asia. Limited resources have been directed to the possibility of extremists groups existing in the Western Hemisphere or the threats that could emanate from this region. Knowing that terror organizations exist globally, a closer look at the possibility of a significant terror threat near U.S. borders is warranted. Recognizing this era of globalization, counter terror efforts must identify and address the reach of extremist organizations with traditional roots in the Middle East. This thesis evaluates and addresses the viability of a terror threat in the Caribbean through the examination of a known extremist organization, Jamaat al-Muslimeen (JAM). Examining this known organization allows for a better understanding of the actual overall threat that may or may not exist. After assessing JAM, the authors found that the threat presented by JAM as a terrorist organization has run its course. What began as a social movement with a political message, evolved into a terrorist entity, and has now dissolved with only its political affiliation and history to keep it on life support. The organization has been undermined by splinter groups and dissention. JAM has been unable to grow numerically and it has failed to expand its influence. Although dangerous as a criminal entity and slightly influential in Trinidad and Tobago as a facilitator of government corruption, Jamaat al-Muslimeen should no longer be considered a threat outside of its home country."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Oliveira, Brandon; Aviles, Darby
2012-06
-
Simulating the Spread of an Outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in California
From the thesis abstract: "Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed domestic and some wild animals. A hypothetical outbreak of FMD begun in California was recently estimated to have a national impact of up to $55 billion, mostly due to international trade restrictions (Carpenter, O'Brien, Hagerman, & McCarl, 2011). Therefore, preparedness for an outbreak is a high priority within the livestock industry, and state and federal government. We use simulation and a designed experiment to identify robust governmental and industrial surveillance response strategies to control the spread of FMD. A strategy is considered robust if it is effective across a number of outbreak scenarios and a variety of disease spread characteristics. The main contributions of this thesis are: (1) the development of FMD outbreak scenarios across California that can be used in conjunction with a state-of-the-art, animal disease simulation model, and (2) the development and analysis of an efficient experimental design that allows for the identification of key parameters affecting the spread and containment of an FMD outbreak. The analysis of over 400,000 simulations in the experimental design indicates two key areas for the control of FMD: (1) surveillance activities at dairy and dairy-like premises are a dominant factor in early identification of the disease and increased surveillance leads to lower impacts of an outbreak; and (2) fast initial response and capacity of depopulation resources are also key factors in controlling an FMD outbreak, even when no preemptive depopulation strategies are considered."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Axelsen, Brian S.
2012-06
-
Stopping Piracy: Refocusing on Land-based Governance
From the thesis abstract: "The rise in piracy throughout the world in recent years has forced the international community to invest heavily in measures to counter the threat. However, these efforts have had little effect. Lately, the trends in Southeast Asia seem to have turned. In order to counter piracy efficiently, it is critical to fully understand the background and root causes for the phenomenon. Piracy is blamed by some on poverty, relative deprivation, and the lack of local institutions. This paper investigates piracy in the Caribbean, the Strait of Malacca, and Somalia, and finds that piracy is directly linked to the level of land-based governance. Poverty, relative deprivation, and a lack of local institutions are merely factors exploitable by organized pirate networks in territories with a low level of governance. By exploring levels of landbased governance in territories close to main shipping routes, possible emerging safe havens for pirates may be found."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Borchgrevink, Fredrik
2012-06
-
Application of Systems Engineering to Understand and Replicate Interagency Coordination in Support of Combatant Commands
From the thesis abstract: "This thesis analyzes interagency coordination from a functional and physical architectural perspective utilizing the Systems Engineering process outlined by Dennis Buede in 'The Engineering Design of Systems: Models and Methods (2nd ed.)' (2009). The process of interagency coordination is not fully understood and has proven difficult for various U.S. government agencies to replicate. Two examples of successful interagency coordination are used in this analysis: the Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-South) and Special Operations Forces (SOF) high-value target teams. These two organizations are individually decomposed into their top-level functions and organized by their major physical components. The results of this analysis are applied in the creation of a notional functional and physical architecture for the U.S. European Command's new Joint Interagency Counter-Trafficking Center (JICTC)."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Bong, Warren H.
2012-06
-
Research & Experimentation for Local & International Emergency First Responders (RELIEF) Quick Look Report: RELIEF 12-4, 13-17 August 2012
This Research & Experimentation for Local & International Emergency & First-Responders (RELIEF) "Quick Look Report" examines a number of experiments performed between November 2-4, 2011. Experiments reviewed in this report include: "Small UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] Deployable Communications Relay"; "Deployable Interoperable Infrastructure"; "Deployable Airborne Cellular"; "Range Networks"; "Managing Large Scale Wifi Deployments in Disaster Zones"; "Mutualink"; "Portable Terminal with Exede Ka-Band Satellite Service"; "Tracker-enhanced GEOINT [geospatial intelligence] for Closed Loop Disaster Rescue Victim Targeting - Chaos Collaborative"; "Imagery Needs to Focus on Operational Risk Management (INFORM)"; "Cloud Based Solution for Situational Awareness and Analysis"; "Earthquake Emergency Response Exercise"; "EOC [Emergency Operations Center] in a Box"; "Sensor Island"; "Frontier FFT [Fast Fourier Transforms]"; "DART 20"; "Rapid, High Spatial Resolution Image Assessment of Post-Earthquake Damage"; "Direct Imagery Tasking and Dissemination"; "Accelerating Imagery Collection with Manned Aircraft"; "Open Source HA/DR [high availability disaster recovery] Software Security Evaluation"; "Humanitarian Emergency Response Operations (HERO) Virtual Logistics"; "Small Team Power in Support of Single Fuel Forward Initiative"; "Man Portable Flex Fuel Generator"; "Disaster Response Applications for Energy-Dense High-Power Li/CFx [lithium carbon monofluoride] Batteries"; "Mobile Renewable Water Source"; "Social Media Dashboard"; "Crowdsourcing Flood and Damage Polygons"; "Real-Time Streams for Criticality Analysis"; "Lightweight Compact Evacuation Litter"; "Medical Sensor Technology"; "First Responder m-Health and Digital Exam Kit Field Testing"; "Explosive Remnants of War Collection Points (ERW-CP)"; and "Infrastructure as a System".
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
2012-08-13
-
RELIEF [August 2012]
This edition of the RELIEF (Research & Experimentation for Local & International Emergency First Responders) newsletter includes the following sections: "Director's Corner"; "RELIEF 12-4 Experimentation Recap: Collecting Imagery that Matters"; "Integrated Earthquake Response"; "Exploring Logistics in Humanitarian Operations"; "Real-time Analytics of Social Media Streams"; "Drones for Peace"; "Social Media Dashboard"; and "Update on Returning Projects".
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
2012-08
-
Cruser News [August 2012]
This newsletter from the Naval Postgraduate School's (NPS) Consortium for Robotics and Unmanned Systems Education and Research (CRUSER) contains the following articles: "Robots Take the Field at Fort Benning, Georgia"; "UTC Aerospace Systems"; "US Naval Academy Competes at three AUVSI [Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems
International] Autonomous Competitions during Summer 2012"; "Clock Synchronization Through Time-Variant Underwater Acoustic Channels"; and "Student Corner".
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
2012-08
-
Cruser News [September 2012]
This newsletter from the Naval Postgraduate School's (NPS) Consortium for Robotics and Unmanned Systems Education and Research (CRUSER) contains the following articles: "Unmanned Technologies Enable Information Superiority in Multinational Maritime
Security and Humanitarian Assistance Exercise"; "Press Release: Discoverer II Maiden Flight"; "UAV [Unmanned Aerial Vehicle] Alternative Navigation"; and "Student Corner".
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
2012-09
-
Policies for Biodefense Revisited: The Prioritized Vaccination Process for Smallpox
"Handling bioterror events that involve contagious agents is a major concern in the war against terror, and is a cause for debate among policymakers about the best response policy. At the core of this debate stands the question which of the two post-event policies to adopt: mass vaccination-where maximum vaccination capacity is utilized to uniformly inoculate the entire population, or trace (also called ring or targeted) vaccination-where mass vaccination capabilities are traded off with tracing capabilities to selectively inoculate only contacts (or suspected contacts) of infective individuals. We present a dynamic epidemic-intervention model that expands previous models by capturing some additional key features of the situation and by generalizing some assumptions regarding the probability distributions of inter-temporal parameters. The model comprises a set of difference equations. The model is implemented to analyze alternative response policies. It is shown that a mixture of mass and trace vaccination policies-the prioritized vaccination policy-is more effective than either of the two aforementioned policies."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Kress, Moshe
2003-09
-
Emerging Infectious Disease Surveillance in Southeast Asia: Cambodia, Indonesia, NAMRU-2
"Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) pose international security threats because of their potential to inflict harm upon humans, crops, livestock, health infrastructure, and economies. The following questions stimulated the research described in this report: What infrastructure is necessary to enable EID surveillance in developing countries? What are the cultural, political, and economic challenges that are faced? And are there generalizations that may be made to inform engagement with developing countries and support EID surveillance infrastructure? Using the U.S. Naval Area Medical Research Unit No. 2 (NAMRU-2) as a common denominator, this paper compares barriers to EID surveillance in Cambodia and Indonesia and presents key factors-- uncovered through extensive interviews--that constrain disease surveillance systems.
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); United States. Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Ear, Sophal
2011-10
-
Inventory Management of Cholera Vaccinations in the Event of Complex Natural Disasters
From the thesis abstract: "This MBA [Master of Business Administration] Project explores the considerations and recommendations for mass vaccination campaigns in response to natural disasters and their secondary effects, specifically cholera epidemics and the vaccine stockpile necessary to effectively treat the disease. Cholera is a significant post disaster risk to an already affected population. As a first responder to these disasters, the Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) must consider an epidemic cholera outbreak as a threat to mitigate and be considered in the planning process for Humanitarian Aid/Disaster Relief (HA/DR) scenarios. This project considers these factors based on former HA/DR events as well as an inventory management model which determines optimized stock pile of vaccinations necessary in a given year in order to reduce the number of lives lost to cholera."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Gregory, Joshua A.; Taranto, Christine
2015-12
-
Model for the Ordering and Distribution of the Influenza Vaccine
"The system for the production and distribution of the United States supply of influenza vaccine has experienced disruptions during past influenza seasons. The identification of elements of the influenza vaccine is different each year and must be researched and identified each year prior to the influenza season. The manufacturing of the vaccine is a complicated process with many potential problems. This thesis identifies the requirements and constraints of the current manufacturing and distribution system including the annual demand and supply. This information is used to create an illustrative model based on operational research and operational management theory to develop a systematic approach to distribution of the influenza vaccine in a shortage situation. Two different policies are identified for use in a normal influenza season to determine how many companies are required to provide a sufficient amount of influenza vaccine with the understanding that some of the companies might have manufacturing difficulties. These two policies are the percentage distribution policy and the strict priority distribution policy. The model includes a determination of the number of companies that should be available for influenza vaccine production and the amount of vaccine that should be ordered from each company to minimize the total cost. The majority of the influenza seasons could be covered by purchasing fewer than 108 million doses, as in the percentage distribution policy, making sure that the vaccine dose orders are spread out evenly over four companies and distributed evenly by age group percentage, but could be reduced to as little as 24.5 million total vaccine doses if necessary with minimal cost and loss of life using a strict priority distribution policy."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Gurr, James R.
2006-06
-
Compliance with Community Mitigation and Interventions in Pandemic Influenza: A Community Policing Strategy
From the thesis abstract: "A number of response plans and strategies have been published concerning preparation for an oncoming Pandemic Influenza. The majority of federal guidance and state planning with respect to pandemic preparation focuses excessively on the availability and distribution of effective vaccine and antiviral remedies -- pharmaceutical solutions. Effective vaccines, presently unavailable, will not be in production and available for application for at least eight months after the onset of an identified pandemic. Community mitigations and interventions such as school closures, event cancellations, limited travel, quarantine and work at home plans are traditional responses to slowing the spread of a virus. In order to effectively implement these time-tested strategies, voluntary community compliance with interventions becomes exceedingly important. The recent global experience with SARS and current mathematical modeling of virus spread characteristics support community mitigation efforts. The community policing model, having evolved over the last twenty years, provides a pre-existing framework to engage the public in grassroots pandemic education, awareness, planning and problem solving partnerships. The Incident Command System provides a structure for a collaborative, multi-agency approach to successfully implement a community awareness and compliance initiative. Community mitigations will save lives."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security; Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Alben, Timothy P., Sr.
2007-09
-
Countering Violent Extremism Policy in the United States: Are CVE Programs in America Effectively Mitigating the Threat of Homegrown Violent Extremism?
From the thesis abstract: "Despite a continued threat of violent extremism, current efforts to develop and implement nationally led programming to counter violent extremism in the United States are ineffective. America's current countering violent extremism (CVE) strategy suffers from a lack of scale and foundational scientific support, and contains no system of metrics to evaluate its success. This thesis conducts a comparative policy analysis between the United States' and the United Kingdom's CVE strategies to identify their respective strengths and, in doing so, to determine which UK policies may be leveraged to improve the American CVE strategy. In furthering the discussion surrounding American CVE efforts, this thesis surveys several models from social science to demonstrate the value of incorporating scientifically supported research into future CVE policy discussions. Concluding the comparative analysis and discussion of scientific theory, the thesis closes with a series of policy recommendations and implementation plans for consideration. Based on the research presented, it is recommended that the United States adopt nationally led, locally implemented CVE policies like those found in the United Kingdom's 'Prevent' strategy, and that improved strategies are grounded in social science research."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Stewart, Craig M.
2017-12
-
Open Access Journal Resources for COVID-19
This record contains a listing of all journals offering free resources on COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus). This list will automatically update as new content is added.
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
-
HSDL COVID 19 Resources
This record contains a list of items related to COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus). Included are journals, government reports, websites, and other valuable resources on this topic. This list will be automatically updated as more items are entered.
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
