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Implications of International Events on Homeland Security: A Case Study of the Arab Spring
"The Arab Spring, with its associated political and social upheaval, is a noteworthy example of an international event with significant homeland security implications. Using the Arab Spring as a case study, the Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute (the Institute) explored the implications of international events from the perspective of the department's Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) mission areas. Drawing on background information on the Arab Spring, examination of DHS [Department of Homeland Security] international engagement initiatives, and interviews with DHS personnel and other subject matter experts, the research sought to highlight relevant issues as DHS plans for, assesses, and responds to future international events. In general, the Arab Spring has had a greater impact on the terrorism, border security, and immigration mission areas than cybersecurity and emergency management. Key insights include the following: 1. The Arab Spring presented challenges and opportunities for DHS international engagement in the Middle East region. […] 2. Social media emerged as a critical platform for initiating socioeconomic and political change and disseminating information. […] 3. The Arab Spring illuminated interagency coordination challenges between DHS and U.S. government. […] 4. Cultural awareness and an understanding of the operating environment are critical. […] 5. The physical security of DHS personnel and their ability to carry out international-engagement activities restricted engagement. […] We have developed an initial template with preliminary list of questions [...] for DHS to consider when planning for, assessing, and responding to future international events. These questions have been developed using the insights gained in the Arab Spring case study."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Science and Technology Directorate
2012-06
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Killing Barney Fife: Law Enforcement's Socially Constructed Perception of Violence and Its Influence on Police Militarization
From the thesis abstract: "Police militarization is a complex subject with significant homeland security implications. Efforts to implement militarization reform without a clear understanding of the issue could negatively impact law enforcement's ability to respond to emerging threats from terrorism, homegrown violent extremism, and armed criminals. Conversely, unfettered militarization of domestic policing could result in abuse of authority and loss of public confidence. This thesis proposes a nuanced definition of police militarization based on existing literature. The research then examines the correlation between violence and police militarization. A statistical analysis of crime data found an inverse relationship between levels of reported violence and militarization. However, the research discovered a strong nexus between perceptions of violence by the police and efforts to militarize. Social identity theory was used to explain why isolated acts of violence against police officers are perceived as attacks on the law enforcement community and lead to deep social divisions between the police and the public. This socially constructed reality of violence, which is reinforced by the media and training, has a powerful effect on police attitudes and behavior. The conclusion is that police militarization has been influenced by violence, and appropriate levels of militarized capabilities are needed to protect both the police and the public."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Hanley, Matthew D.
2015-09
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Serial No. 112-62: Jihadist Use of Social Media--How to Prevent Terrorism and Preserve Innovation, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence of the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, First Session, December 6, 2011
From the opening statement of Patrick Meehan: "I want to welcome today's Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence hearing on the 'Jihadist Use of Social Media.' I would like to thank you all for joining us today, and I especially want to thank our panel of witnesses for testifying on this issue. Over the past year, the subcommittee has been examining threats to the United States homeland from around the world. We began to look at al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, and an al- Qaeda affiliate in Yemen with a sophisticated media wing led by Anwar al-Awlaki, which included 'Inspire' magazine. We then turned our attention to the tumultuous events in the broader Middle East, and considered how al-Qaeda and other terrorist networks would use the upheaval to their advantage. Later we held hearings on the threat from the terror networks in Pakistan, from Hezbollah's operations in the Western Hemisphere and then last week on the emerging threat from Nigeria's Boko Haram. One common theme throughout all of these hearings was that terrorist networks are spreading their message, recruiting sympathizers, and are connecting operationally on-line." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Patrick Meehan, Jackie Speier, William F. McCants, Andrew Aaron Weisburd, Brian Michael Jenkins, Evan F. Kohlmann, Josh Lefkowitz, and Laith Alkhouri.
United States. Government Printing Office
2012
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Integrated Public Alert and Warning System: Wireless Emergency Alerts - Understand and Respond to Public Sentiment
"The Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) service has been in use since April 2012, and there is a
growing base of commercial mobile service subscribers who receive WEA messages. Therefore,
it is an opportune time to assess to the public's sentiment towards WEA and improve the
communication of information related to the alert. Public sentiment towards WEA messages can
be assessed by analyzing user discussions in online (e.g., news, blogs) and social media (e.g.,
Twitter, Facebook) platforms.
To gauge public sentiment towards WEA messages, the Homeland Security Systems
Engineering and Development Institute (HSSEDI) used commercial tools to search online media
sources for user comments and feedback. MITRE-developed research tools then analyzed this
information to gain an understanding of the public sentiment related to WEA messages."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Science and Technology Directorate
2014-11-30
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When 9-1-1 is Not Enough: Transitioning the 9-1-1 Center into a Multi-Channel Emergency Communications Center
From the Thesis Abstract: "Disasters, terrorist attacks, and network outages have demonstrated the limitations of the 9-1-1 system. Emergency communications centers that remain focused on 9-1-1 as the singular emergency reporting channel fall short of providing a comprehensive emergency response solution in their communities. A change is required to adapt to the modern means of communications, such as text and picture messaging, livestream video, crowdsourcing, apps, sensors, and social media. This thesis reports on the actions taken to transition an emergency communications center into a multi-channel environment capable of building resiliency, and provides supplemental reporting channels, creates situational awareness, and builds more efficient workflows. Using business model generation and lean strategy methodology, this thesis provides a model for implementation strategies and proposes a bottom-up approach to meet individual community needs. This thesis recommends a pathway to shift the culture and strategy in carrying out the mission of emergency communications and responding to requests for emergency services."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Potts, Michelle R.
2019-06
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Risk Communicator [Issue 3, March 2010]
This publication also discusses social media and networking in relation to emergency management. "The Risk Communicator (RC) is produced by CDC [Center for Disease Control]'s Emergency Risk Communication Branch (ERCB). This publication is designed to provide evidence-based, practical guidance for emergency risk communication strategy and operations. The ERCB will provide newsletters or other updates quarterly. [...] In this electronic newsletter, you'll find summaries of research, theories, and practice that apply to public health emergency communication strategy and operations. Specifically, 'The RC' will include practical tools and techniques, guest interviews with risk communication researchers and practitioners, and feature stories exploring issues related to applying emergency communications principles. We hope 'The RC' becomes a valuable source of practical information that you will use frequently and share with others." This issue of the RC includes articles such as "Emergency and Risk Communication on the Web"; "The Anthrax Scare and the Web"; "Pan Flu Preparedness"; and "YouTube Is Your Friend."
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.)
2010-03
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Improving Emergency Management by Modeling Ant Colonies
From the thesis abstract: "The focus of this thesis is to identify whether emergency management can be modeled after ant colonies, perfectly emergent organizations, in order to better manage an autonomous response. An ant colony uses a dense and resilient communications system that incorporates a positive feedback loop, which allows the organization to be adaptable. Currently, emergency management organizations are experimenting with social media to establish a communications system similar to the positive feedback loop used by ant colonies. This thesis advocates that following a disaster, an emergency management organization gather information from the public through an Internet survey. The survey would be quickly processed and provide critically needed information."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
McFadden, Ryan K.
2015-03
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S. Hrg. 112-354: Review of the Status of Emergency Management in the United States, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on the Department of Homeland Security of the Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate, One Hundred Twelfth Congress, First Session, June 8, 2011
This is from the June 8, 2011 hearing: "Review of the Status of Emergency Management in the United States" before the U.S. Senate, Committee on Appropriations. From the opening statement of Craig Fugate: "In my testimony today, I will share with you some of the major ways in which emergency management -- from a federal perspective -- has shifted during my time as the FEMA Administrator. First, we acknowledge the importance of planning for disasters in a realistic manner, and we conduct our preparedness, response and recovery operations accordingly. Second, we have adopted a 'Whole Community' approach to emergency management, leveraging the expertise and resources of our stakeholders at all levels, both governmental and non-governmental. And third, we have overhauled and improved the way we communicate in a disaster environment, using cutting-edge technology and availing ourselves of tools like cell phones and social media in order to more effectively engage with the public." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Craig Fugate, David W. Vice, Eddie Hicks, Mark Riley, Rand Beers, and Ron Lane.
United States. Government Printing Office
2012
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Incorporating Sextortion into School Emergency Operations Planning
From the Document: "Advances in technology such as the growth of the Internet, increased use of mobile devices, and the popularization of mobile applications, have given rise to new types of Internet-based crimes, including child pornography, identity theft, illegal access to data, and libel. As the largest group of Internet users and the segment of the population most likely to use social media (Perrin, 2015), youth are among the vulnerable populations at risk of being victimized by cyber-related crimes. Sextortion, which has been used to define crimes that occur 'when someone threatens to distribute your private and sensitive material if you don't provide them images of a sexual nature, sexual favors, or money,' (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2015) is just one of these emerging crimes. [...] The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have worked in collaboration with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to investigate how sextortion impacts youth and to promote awareness about this emerging issue."
Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center (U.S.); United States. Department of Education
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Cyber Defense Review (Summer 2017)
This Summer 2017 issue of the Cyber Defense Review contains the following articles: "The Cyber Data Science Process" by John W. Baker and Steve Henderson; "Demonstrating Value and Use of Language -- Normalizing Cyber as a Warfighting Domain" by Rob Schrier; "Winning the Cyberspace Long Game -- Applying Collaboration and Education to Deepen the U.S. Bench" by Nancy Blacker; "The Emergence and Implications of Unconventional Security Controls" by Jim Routh; "Social Media -- From Social Exchange to Battlefield" by Beata Bialy; "Operationalizing Cybersecurity -- Framing Efforts to Secure U.S. Information Systems" by Dawn Dunkerley Goss; and "Direct commission for Cyberspace Specialties" by Andrew O. Hall and Brian M. Schultz.
Army Cyber Institute, West Point
2017
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Far-Right Leverages COVID-19 Pandemic to Gain Influence and Encourage Violence
From the Document: "The raging COVID-19 ('Corona[virus disease 2019]') pandemic has been leveraged by various elements to promote their agendas. One of the most active of those are far-right activists who preach white supremacy ideology, xenophobia, nationalism, anti-pluralism, anti-globalization and more. The most extreme faction of the above which includes, inter alia, neo-Nazis, calls itself 'Acceleration' and believes that the western governments are corrupt and humanity, or at least that part that follows values such globalization, openness and pluralism is destined to extinct, mainly through destabilization of the current order and use of violence. In its stead, a new and pure society will emerge. These ideas have been quoted in manifestos posted by attackers who have perpetrated mass casualties' attacks,such as the New Zealand attacker. These days millions of people are required to practice social distancing which in many cases requires them to stay indoors, sometimes alone; flooded with negative emotions such as loneliness, anxiety, confusion, sometimes even anger. The currently reigning chaos and confusion provide a platform for far-right activist to disseminate their message. The latter are being disseminated on multiple social media networks from YouTube through Twitter, Facebook, Telegram and even on the dark net. It seems that they treat the Corona pandemic as a gift and an opportunity to capitalize on for the creation of a new world order, per their ideology. An analysis of far-right processes and messages points to several trends."
International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism (Israel)
Koblentz-Stenzler, Liram
2020-04
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RELIEF Quick Look Report: 12-1 Experimentation: 2-4 November 2011
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: "Social Media Emergency Management: Microtasking Transition to Local Teams"; "Airborne Situational Awareness Platform"; "Collaborative & Platform Agnostic User Defined Operational Picture"; "Disaster Area Assessment using Small UAS [unmanned aircraft system] with Geo-referencing"; "Emergency Operations Center"; "International First Response Collaboration"; "Lightweight Cellular Networks"; "Mobile Device Realtime Annotation & Collaboration During Response"; "QuickNets"; and "TethrBox".
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
2011-11-04
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New Technologies and Emerging Threats: Personnel Security Adjudicative Guidelines in the Age of Social Networking
From the thesis abstract: "Publicized incidents involving espionage or violence by government employees with security clearances have raised concern for the personnel security community. The guidelines used to adjudicate security clearances were last updated in 2005; since that time, significant technological developments, especially in social media and communications, have emerged. This thesis developed a comprehensive list of current Internet behaviors, and used the list to examine Internet behavior in cases of cleared government employees who have been charged with espionage or terrorism-related crimes since 2008. Cases showed a trend of increasing variety of behaviors in these cases with time. In contrast, data from the Defense Office of Hearings and Appeals (DOHA) pertaining to proposed security clearance denials related to the Use of Information Technology Systems guideline showed a slight decrease. Incorporation of cybervetting into the background investigation process is proposed as a measure to enhance mitigation of questionable Internet behaviors, and may result in an increase in security clearance denials. Examination of the list of Internet behaviors against the current adjudicative guidelines resulted in recommended improvements for the Foreign Influence, Financial Considerations, Personal Conduct, Handling Protected Information, and Use of Information Technology Systems guidelines. Operations Security is proposed as a completely new adjudicative guideline."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security; Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Festa, James P.
2012-12
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Technology in Conflict: How COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps can Exacerbate Violent Conflicts
From the Document: "By now, it is widely accepted by companies and civil society alike that the promise of technology to support human rights and human security has a dark inverse--it has become a powerful weapon for fomenting violence, conflict, and abuse. Social media has been used to further large-scale human rights abuses, armed conflict, and mass killings in places like Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, and elsewhere. It is used to coordinate and direct hate-based violence in the United States and was used to promote a terrorist attack in New Zealand. Advances in AI technology are being exploited as tactics in asymmetric warfare, and facial recognition is being used to repress and surveil on a mass scale. And contact tracing tools developed to stop the spread of COVID-19 [coronavirus disease 2019] are no exception--they pose significant risks to human security. Emerging research shows that these risks are much more acute in markets that have a history of conflict or mass human rights abuses. In those contexts, the scope and scale of potential harms are significant."
LSE IDEAS (Research Center)
Easterday, Jennifer S.
2020-08
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Strategic Foresight Initiative: Universal Access to and Use of Information
"In the last decade, technological advances in both computer hardware and software have greatly enhanced people's access to and use of information, particularly via the internet and mobile devices. Based on this capability and access, the following trends and drivers have the potential to impact emergency management activities: 1) Internet access expansion 2) People as both producers and consumers of information 3) Spontaneous reporting 4) Crowdsourcing 5) Increased emergency management use of the internet and social media."
United States. Federal Emergency Management Agency
2011-05
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EMR-ISAC: InfoGram 39-10 [September 30, 2010]
The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center's (EMR-ISAC) InfoGram is a weekly publication of information concerning the protection of critical infrastructures relevant to members of the Emergency Services Sector. This issue includes the following articles: "Dissemination of For Official Use Only (FOUO) Documents"; "A Primer on Situational Awareness"; and "10 Ways to Use Social Media Safely."
Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (U.S.)
2010-09-30
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Evaluating Data for the Purpose of Wildland Fire Evacuation Planning
"Clark County Fire District 3 (CCFD3) instituted Fire Risk surveys to identify hazards for homeowners living in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI). This survey helped the homeowner identify problems associated with living in the WUI but CCFD3 didn't know how to utilize these scores for wildfire evacuation planning. This research was conducted to help identify what CCFD3 needs to look at in regards to evacuation plans. As well as Fire Risk data collected for the past five years, fuel types from the Yacolt Burn of 1902 were compared with current types to establish a correlation to the Fire Risk data. An analysis of evacuation notification systems and who has the authority to order mandatory evacuations was also done. The data shows 86% of homes surveyed rated in the low or moderate risk category with the largest percentage of the score represented by road access. This revealed the majority of the homes in the WUI have good evacuation routes from their property. The two fuel types, those from 1902, and those of today, are very similar. With only 10% of the Fire Risk score composing the fuel category, using this as a trigger point in evacuation would prove difficult. Mandatory evacuations were shown not to be legal in the state of Washington and the notification systems primarily used are EAS [Emergency Alert System], Reverse 911 and social media. Recommendations for CCFD3 include: (a) recording scores of each of the ten categories of the Fire Risk survey, (b) adjusting scoring in the survey to give more weight to fuel categories, (c) adding a section to the survey that allows for assessment of the public roads leading from the WUI, (d) working with the local emergency management office in updating evacuation orders and notification systems. Finally, begin the process of developing a Community Wildfire Protection Plan."
National Fire Academy
O' Brien, David W.
2011-03?
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Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies and Independent Regulatory Agencies
"Federal departments and agencies must comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) when they seek to collect information from the public. The PRA sets out processes designed to ensure that both the value of collecting the information and the public burden of providing that information are considered carefully. At the same time, the PRA is not a one-size-fits-all statute. Over the years, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) has clarified and streamlined the required PRA processes in order to adapt to emerging technologies and new approaches to engaging with the public. Agencies, however, have varied in their use of the flexibilities that the PRA allows. This Memorandum provides an overview of the administrative flexibilities available to assist agencies in complying with their statutory obligations under the PRA. The discussion that follows is intended to help Federal agencies understand where and how they can use more streamlined processes to satisfy their public notice requirements through an initial plan for future information collections; how they can make certain minor changes to information collections without lengthy review; and how they can receive expedited clearance for information collections in certain situations. The discussion also addresses how agencies can identify instances in which the PRA does not apply to certain uses of social media or other web based technologies. In identifying these different flexibilities that are permissible under the PRA, OIRA has sought to balance Federal agencies' obligations to fulfill their missions with the public's interest in having an opportunity to engage with Federal agencies prior to agency action."
United States. Office of Management and Budget
2016-07-22
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Review of Public Response to Short Message Alerts Under Imminent Threat
From the abstract: "This study is designed to develop evidence-based guidance for communities on the creation and provision of public alerts, including both alerts provided by outdoor siren (warning) systems and 'short messages' sent by social media or other short message service (SMS) platforms. It is the hope that this guidance can eventually be used as input for standardization, through codes and standards, of the procedures and practices for outdoor siren systems and short message alerts used by communities across the United States. Standardization of emergency communication policies and procedures could occur at multiple levels, including among multiple jurisdictions, state-wide, regionally, or even nationally. This document focuses on short message alerts, specifically presenting a review of platforms, usage and public response. First, an overview is provided on the current status of short message alerts in the United States, i.e., the current short message technology available and the ways in which this technology is used in communities across the United States. Second, a review of the literature is presented on the ways in which people respond to short message alerts and the current limitations of these systems in light of these findings. This document concludes with a discussion on the key findings and recommendations from the literature on the ways in which to improve current short message alerts, based on the methods by which people receive and process these types of alerts. Following this work, a document will be developed to provide the overall evidence-based guidance for communities on the creation and provision of public alerts."
National Institute of Standards and Technology (U.S.); United States. Department of Commerce
Kuligowski, Erica D.; Doermann, Jessica
2018-01
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Deterrence Impact Modeling Environment (DIME) Proof-Of-Concept Test Evaluations and Findings
"The exploding use of social media and digital monitoring presents the Coast Guard with a crucial new domain for mission operations. At the very least, the digital domain is a source of situational awareness for maritime operations. Over time andwith creative engagement, the digital domain offers the Coast Guard potentially powerful tools to intelligently inform policy, strategy and planning decision making across most - even all - mission sets. The study explores the Data Driven Decision Making Cycle metaphorical concepts of a Digital Ocean and a pilot project as means to contextually define the exploding data streams associated with the emergence of the socio-technological domain and a means for engaging this domain. The study shows how a pilot project institutionalizes a Coast Guard capability to build tools (mobile applications) that: identify data escapes where digital pheromones are being produced; capture them; identify trends and patterns; and produce a mechanism that allows decision makers to visualize and decide where, when and how to intervene, as well as visualize the results of that intervention. The Data Driven Decision-Making cycle is developed to provide the pilot project with an information management framework that supports decision-making at all levels by: [1] Identifying emerging patterns of strategic importance; [2] Routing relevant information among tactical decision support tools; [3] Supporting continuous improvement of operational capabilities."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security; United States. Coast Guard; United States. Department of Homeland Security
Palin, Philip J.; Nieto-Gomez, Rodrigo; Day, Jamison . . .
2016-06
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EMR-ISAC: InfoGram, Volume 16 Issue 35 [September 01, 2016]
The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center's (EMR-ISAC) InfoGram is a weekly publication of information concerning the protection of critical infrastructures relevant to members of the Emergency Services Sector. This issue includes the following articles: "Healthcare Ready Helps Medical Supply Chain," "Next-Generation Incident Command System," "USAR Team Use of Social Media During Floods," "Managing the Dead in Disasters."
Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (U.S.)
2016-09-01
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EMR-ISAC: Infogram, Volume 17 Issue 37, September 14, 2017
The Emergency Management and Response Information Sharing and Analysis Center's (EMR-ISAC) InfoGram is a weekly publication of information concerning the protection of critical infrastructures relevant to members of the Emergency Services Sector.This issue includes the following articles: "Social media vs. 9-1-1: make sure you and your community are ready"; "Drone use reaches 'landmark level' in Harvey disaster response"; "The mechanics of national wildfire response"; and "Cybersecurity insurance: what you need to know".
Emergency Management and Response-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (U.S.)
2017-09-14
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Italian Army and Society: from 'Separation' to a Relationship of Trust Towards Men in Uniform, Strategic Value of Communication
From the abstract: "The relations between the Italian public and the Army were difficult and characterized by mutual distrust until the end of the 1980s. In the 1990s, very few would have bet on the efficiency of the Italian Army in the new peace missions, but the decision to send troops outside the national borders has improved the image of the Institution. Today it is perceived useful, gaining the attention of the mass media. The Italian Army has succeeded in deleting the negative image when compared to other more organized and efficient armies. Today, in fact, it has the image of a modern armed force, professionally well prepared, efficient and reflective of the best values of the nation. The journey that led our Army to enjoy the widest appreciation for its work was favored by the non intrusive approach of our soldiers and by their capability of positive interaction with the local populations. In this sense, the empathetic characteristic of the Italian spirit emerged on all occasions. The Italian servicemen revealed very special talents and characteristics, including the capability of socializing, of entering into relations with others, of integrating within the operations without being cumbersome. On the contrary, they were a precious support in the little and great difficulties suffered by people emerging from conflict or humanitarian disaster. This new image is also the outcome of fundamental changes in the way the institution approaches public affairs."
Army War College (U.S.)
Miglietta, Guglielmo L.
2005-03-18
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Summary of the 2018 Whole-Community Hurricane Information Flows Workshop
"Disasters and disaster responses are first and foremost local. Recognizing this, the Trump Administration is committed to help build a nationwide culture of preparedness wherein disaster response and recovery are 'federally supported, state managed, and locally executed.' In support of this objective, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) hosted a Workshop on Whole-Community Hurricane Information Flows on May 30, 2018. Roughly 100 participants attended the workshop. Approximately half were from state and local governments, NGOs [non-governmental organizations], the private sector, or were volunteers; half were from Federal agencies. Representatives of several consortiums dedicated to improving coordination, collaboration, and standardization of disaster information were included among the participants. In interactive panels and breakout groups, attendees discussed user information needs; ideas for how to make pertinent data and tools easier to find, understand, and use; as well as challenges presented by information shared on social media. Attendees noted that a wealth of disaster-relevant data is already available that, when properly combined with recent technological advances, can yield valuable perspective to support local response and recovery decisions. However, they also noted that the rich, dense, distributed ecosystem of disaster-relevant information is difficult for even the most experienced emergency managers to navigate. Most of the ideas for improvement they offered were more institutional and coordinative than technological: setting shared priorities and standards; establishing relationships and agreements ahead of disasters to facilitate faster sharing as disasters unfold; and reducing bureaucratic and legal barriers to sharing. There was significant agreement that addressing these largely non-technical elements is the key to improving the effectiveness of decision making for emergency preparedness, response, and recovery."
National Science and Technology Council (U.S.). Subcommittee on Natural Disaster Reduction
2018-05
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Opportunities, Options and Enhancements for the Wireless Emergency Alerting Service
From the Executive Summary: "Deployed for the first time in 2012, the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) service is part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), providing an additional dissemination path for alert and warning messages. Authorized officials can send 90-character alerts to the public on WEA-capable and enabled mobile devices via the Short Message Service Cell Broadcast (SMSCB) protocol, a one-to-many channel for sending short text messages. The alerts are geographically targeted and a single alert is sent to cell towers in the targeted area. The alert is then delivered to all mobile subscribers covered by those cell towers. This form of targeting is coarse and does not make provision for subscriber preference, subscriber history or anticipated future movements of subscribers. The inability to provide fine-grained targeting, combined with text-based short messages' limitations in delivering adequate information and/or actionable advice, is frequently cited among factors causing citizens to opt out of the WEA service or ignore alert messages, thereby reducing the service's effectiveness. The primary goals of this research are to gain insight into WEA adoption and acceptance issues, in particular with respect to perceived poor public response to alert messages, and to develop and test strategies for overcoming these issues within the framework of the current WEA service architecture. The methods used included interviews, surveys, social media analysis and controlled experiments."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Science and Technology Directorate
Erdogmus, Hakan; Griss, Martin; Iannucci, Robert A., 1955- . . .
2015-12
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Who Did You Call Following the Boston Marathon Bombing?
"Northeastern University in Boston has just launched a study of how mobile phones are used for communication around emergencies, with two surveys to examine phone use during Hurricane Sandy, and after the bombings at the Boston Marathon. Both surveys utilize special Android apps that, while preserving privacy, identify the contacts that participants spoke to and texted with most frequently during and after these events. The app then generates a survey that asks participants about how they were affected by events (e.g., Did they lose electricity during Sandy? How near the bombings were they?), their relationships to important contacts, as well as questions about their reliance on social and mainstream media."
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Science and Technology Directorate
Lazer, David
2013-05-21
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The Dialogue [Volume 5, Issue 3]
The Dialogue is "a quarterly technical assistance bulletin on disaster behavioral health" produced by the SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) Disaster Technical Assistance Center. The featured theme of this 2009 issue of "The Dialogue," is social media use in emergency situations. Articles include: "The Mercy Model: A Leadership Approach to Public Mental Health Systems and Population-Based Programs"; "Disaster Planning and Opioid Treatment Programs"; "Psychological First Aid Utilization by Health Systems" and "Psychology Beyond Borders." Links to further educational materials such as webcasts, webinars, conferences, and e-learning courses are included in the "Recommended Reading"; "Conference Highlights" and "Upcoming Meetings" sections.
United States. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
2009
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Information Operations, an Evolutionary Step for the Mexican Armed Forces
"This thesis will focus on the Mexican Armed Force's ability to deal with existing and future unconventional threats and insurgencies. The modern Mexican Armed Forces are the result of an enduring evolutionary process, which has made the necessary changes to deal with the emerging threats against the state. Mexico's criminal threat has evolved because of 9/11 and because of the U.S.-led crackdown on Colombian drug cartels. Mexico's modern adversary is well versed in waging mass media campaigns and uses terrorist tactics to instill fear in Mexico's population. Mexico's current threats consist of drug trafficking, which has resulted in increased levels of violence and rebel insurgencies that have also transitioned from revolutionary nationalists to violent criminals. Therefore, to positively counter the rise of social and political violence, Mexico's government needs to carefully plan its response to insurgencies. Mexico must develop alternate and unconventional remedies to preserve its national security. Current Mexican military strategies rely on the mass mobilization of ground and air troops for mainly search and destroy operations. Although, the evolving threat warrants an unorthodox military strategy, this thesis will only focus on the Mexican Navy's ability to take the lead in dealing with the nation's rising unconventional threats."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Bandala-Garza, Saul Hiram; Schulz, David Vargas
2007-12
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Data Management in Disasters and Public Health Emergencies [Presentation]
This is a presentation for the 42-minute webinar, where "the speaker from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) discusses the results of her project to identify open data sources and data-sharing policies used during disasters and public health emergencies. She presents a case study of sharing and collecting data around the ongoing Zika virus outbreak, and details her methodology and future research, which may include new data filters in Pub Med and Pub Med Central, and non-traditional data such as social media reports. Stacey Arnesen of DIMRC discusses Disaster Response Research (DR2) data collection tools, DIMRC resources, and future directions for NLM."
National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
Strayhorn, Nicole; Arnesen, Stacey J.
2018-08-09?
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Data Management in Disasters and Public Health Emergencies [video]
"In this 42-minute webinar, the speaker from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) discusses the results of her project to identify open data sources and data-sharing policies used during disasters and public health emergencies. She presents a case study of sharing and collecting data around the ongoing Zika virus outbreak, and details her methodology and future research, which may include new data filters in Pub Med and Pub Med Central, and non-traditional data such as social media reports. Stacey Arnesen of DIMRC discusses Disaster Response Research (DR2) data collection tools, DIMRC resources, and future directions for NLM."
National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
Strayhorn, Nicole; Arnesen, Stacey J.
2018-08-09
