Dr. Rick Sylves

Office 459 Smith Hall

Office Hours: 3:30-5:30 pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays,

and, by appointment.

Phone: 831-1943 (accepts voicemail)

Fax: 831-4452 (Be sure "Sylves" appears on sent cover sheets)

Email sylves@udel.edu

Fax (302) 831-4452 (please email Prof. Sylves via course WebCT emailing
only)

POSC 656, Fall 2007

Politics and Disaster

(Graduates Only)

Go to [www.udel.edu/webct/](http://www.udel.edu/webct/) and login in to
get to web page for this course

1\. Overview

On August 28, 2005, a Category 5 hurricane named Katrina bore down on
the Louisiana-Mississippi Gulf Coast and ultimately brought catastrophe
for New Orleans and the region. We are at the second anniversary of this
disaster. We will examine this disaster and many others. American
homeland security encompasses disasters of all types, not just
terrorism.

![](media/image1.png){width="4.166666666666667in"
height="2.7604166666666665in"}

The terror attacks of September 11, 2001 changed the world, especially
for the United States. While there have been terror attacks on the U.S.
in the past, 9/11 surpasses by far the scale of devastation of any
attack on the U.S. "homeland" since Pearl Harbor in 1941.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="4.469444444444444in"
height="3.3534722222222224in"}

Some have called 9/11 the most devastating terrorism attack ever, but it
may be safer to call this the most devastating terrorism attack ever on
the U.S. The 9/11 attacks required application of domestic emergency
management because the events of that day involved "terrorism
consequence management," in official parlance. This course will examine
"terrorism consequence management" as well as U.S. disaster management
and policy more broadly. This course will also take up issues
surrounding "Homeland Security." The image below is from an ad for
Oliver Stone's World Trade Center movie.

![](media/image3.jpeg){width="5.123611111111111in" height="2.8375in"}

I can avoid disappointing you if I define the scope of this course at
the outset. This course concerns United States experience (domestically
and internationally) with disasters over the last 50 years but thanks to
the Coppola book, we will also examine international disaster issues as
well. Public policy, public management, global governance, and politics
are central to understanding how we will take up the subject. This
course is about NATURAL AND HUMAN-CAUSED DISASTERS THE U.S. NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT HAS COME TO ADDRESS IN LAW AND POLICY. The course also
considers that the concept of disaster is in many ways politically and
socially constructed. This will be explained over the semester.

Acts of terrorism hold the potential to be disasters and so are included
in this course. However, TERRORISM IS NOT THE EXCLUSIVE SUBJECT OF THIS
COURSE. This course does NOT duplicate courses the Political Science and
International Relations department offers on comparative politics,
political culture, international relations, migration and political
terrorism. Professor Kaufman teaches POSC 415, Force and World Politics
and that course may interest those who want an international focus
exclusively. Likewise, Professor Khan offers POSC 377, Arab-Israeli
Relations and that course may be of interest to you as well. Prof.
Miller is a renowned expert on immigration policy and he has made the
study of terrorism part of his field of expertise. This course addresses
in limited ways disasters outside America, but the focus of the course
is on U.S. disaster policy, politics, emergency management, and homeland
security.

America has a long history of disaster. This course examines modern
laws, programs, agencies, and institutions involved in U.S. disaster
policy and emergency management. The president is a key player and
Congress has major responsibilities in this realm as well. State and
local governments are also important, as are a variety of private and
non-profit organizations that are stakeholders in this realm. The vast
majority of American disasters stem from "natural sources," and so the
course has to address hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, major fires,
tornadoes and a variety of other natural disaster agents. However, this
course includes "human-caused" disasters, including terror disasters.
America experienced terrorism before 9/11.

This is a course Prof. Sylves designed himself in 1988. He has been the
only instructor of this course since that time. "Disaster and Politics"
became a permanent course offering at UD in 1991. Since 1988, Prof.
Sylves has taught the course twelve times and he last taught this course
in fall 2006.

Prof. Sylves changes books and articles each time he teaches the course.
Prof. Sylves has published three books, two of them on Disaster Policy
and he has a fourth under contract with CQ Press and a fifth under
contract with Elsevier. Many classes involve reading assignments from
Sylves' own publications and draft research work (provided to you free
as photocopies or WebCT Postings you can print out).

From 1996-2000, Sylves did work on two higher education projects under
grants from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency. He tailored
his work as a training instrument and but he is not going to directly
use this work. Sylves' major project for FEMA was called the Political
and Policy Basis of Emergency Management. His second FEMA project grant
addressed the Economic Dimensions of Disaster. Sylves also produced a
300-page research report for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's Sea Grant program in the late 1990s about presidential
disaster declarations. From January 2002 to August 2005, Dr. Sylves has
served as an appointed member of the National Academy of Science
Disaster Roundtable, a group that sponsors three workshops a year in
Washington, D.C. on disaster related subjects (Disaster Roundtable at
[www.nationalacademies.org/dr](http://www.nationalacademies.org/dr) )

Sylves's forthcoming book is entitled DISASTER POLICY AND POLITICS. He
is interested in soliciting your opinions and constructive criticism of
this book because the book is aimed at students exactly like you. He
suspects that you can learn a great deal about current disaster policy
and politics from the draft chapter work he will share with you.
However, the bulk of the readings in this course were written by others.

![](media/image4.png){width="4.166666666666667in"
height="2.7597222222222224in"}

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="4.125in" height="3.020138888888889in"}

2\. Books

Most books listed below are available at the University Bookstore. If
any sell out let me know immediately.

Required:

Birkland, Thomas A. *Lessons of Disaster: Policy Change After
Catastrophic Events*. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2007.

Coppola, Damon P. *Introduction to International Disaster Management*.
Boston, MA: Elsevier, Butterworth-Heinemann, 2007.

Haddow, George D. and Bullock, Jane A. *Introduction to Emergency
Management*. 2^nd^ Edition. New York: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2006.

Kettl, Donald F. *System under Stress: Homeland Security and American
Politics*. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2007.

Miskel, James F. *Disaster Response and Homeland Security: What Works,
What Doesn't*. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International, 2006.

Optional:

Badey, Thomas J. Ed. *Violence and Terrorism: Annual Editions*. Dubuque,
IA: McGraw-Hill Contemporary Learning Series, 2007.

Watch for items posted on the course web page as there will be many over
the course of the semester. These are intended to bring you up to date
on what is going on in this field.

3\. Why a Course on Disaster and Politics?

You might ask yourself, why disaster and politics? Is the phenomenon we
call "disaster" a social constructed one? What is emergency management?
What is important about disaster policy? What defines a \"disaster\"?
Can I get a job if I know this stuff? Doing what? Why does government
care about disaster? Which levels of government prepare for and respond
to disaster and how do they do it? How is disaster policy similar to (or
different from) housing policy, energy policy, environmental policy,
transportation policy, etc.? What is homeland security policy and how
does it relate to disaster policy and politics? Are there good academic
studies of disasters, if so by whom and what did they demonstrate? Can
governments avert disasters or make them less destructive? Who pays for
disaster response and recovery? Why should the nation care about a
disaster that only affects a tiny fraction of the land area of the
country? Why do government leaders care about disasters that occur
outside the United States? Are major disasters increasing or decreasing
in frequency? How is the international community organizing to address
disasters?

More topically, how and why did disaster policy and management fail in
the days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the central Gulf Coast and
after the levees surrounding New Orleans failed? Does disaster
management have political implications? What does disaster relief and
rebuilding say about the United States as a nation and as a political
culture?

![](media/image6.png){width="3.373611111111111in"
height="2.2493055555555554in"}

\"Lotsa\" questions!

I will, helped by you, answer most if not all these questions in this
course. For most of you this course must seem like an alien subject. You
should know that you are not \"warped\" for having an interest in this
field. Disaster is a subject of increasing domestic and international
interest: Katrina and 9/11/ certainly underscore this claim. There are
several possible reasons for this.

First, since 1989 the United States has experienced a sizable increase
in the number and expense of its natural disasters. Until 9/11 and
Katrina, Hurricane Andrew in 1993 and the Northridge California
earthquake of 1994 were the nation\'s most expensive "concentrated"
disasters in the last half-century. Add to this the EXXON Valdez oil
spill in 1989, the Murrah Federal Office Building bombing in Oklahoma
City in 1995, New York\'s first Twin Towers disaster in 1993, and a host
of other calamities, like the 1993 Great Midwestern floods, and finally
9/11/01 & Katrina and you are going to get people\'s attention. Even
forgettable Hurricane Charley, which impacted a wide swath of Florida in
August 2004, caused many billions in damage*.* *Hurricane Katrina may
well end up being the nation's most expensive natural disaster.*

Below is the Exxon Valdez oil tanker which released a mammoth oil slick
in Alaska's Prince William Sound in March 1989.

![](media/image7.jpeg){width="5.25in" height="3.5in"}

Below is a photo of the Murrah Federal Office Building in Oklahoma City,
destroyed by Timothy McVeigh and associates, in the spring of 1995, with
187 fatalities.

![](media/image8.jpeg){width="3.6444444444444444in"
height="3.0208333333333335in"}

Below is a photo of a so-called staging area for emergency responders
seeking to get to people trapped at the Super Dome and Convention
Centers in New Orleans.

![](media/image9.png){width="4.166666666666667in"
height="2.7604166666666665in"}

Hurricane disaster losses alone are now so immense that any hurricane
that makes landfall in the U.S. is expected to produce at minimum a
billion in losses. Billion dollar disasters before 1990 were extremely
rare. Billion dollar disasters since 1990 now occur two or three times a
year, or more. Clinton era disaster managers alleged that disaster
losses to the full American economy were running at \$1 billion a week.

Second, since the end of the half-century long Cold War between the U.S.
and the U.S.S.R., many governments, treaty organizations (previously
based on defense), and the United Nations have come to attach more
importance to the humanitarian role of the international community in
addressing people\'s needs in the aftermath of disaster. Sometimes
disasters stem from nation-to-nation wars, civil wars, or \"domestic
strife (Darfur).\" Today Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Darfur region of the
Sudan and previously Bosnia, Kosovo, Haiti, Somalia, Rwanda, Burundi,
Ethiopia, and other countries all have suffered, or are suffering, forms
of disaster. Indonesia and Ceylon suffered catastrophic coastal damage
from the tsunami of Dec. 26, 2004 and upwards of 250,000 lives were
lost. Bangladesh seems to suffer recurring flood and monsoon disasters
that kill tens of thousands of people.

Below is an eerie photo of the aftermath of the South East Asia tsunami
disaster, an event that killed an estimated 300,000 people and which
occurred Dec. 26, 2005.

![](media/image10.jpeg){width="4.634722222222222in"
height="3.0416666666666665in"}

As an example of variation in quake devastation consider that the
\"World Series Earthquake\" which took place just before the start of a
World Series game in San Francisco in 1989 killed about 65 people; not
long after this a quake of comparable magnitude in Soviet Armenia killed
25,000 people. The last truly catastrophic earthquake in China killed
over 200,000 people. Japan\'s Kobe earthquake not long ago demonstrated
that even developed, economically wealthy countries suffer disasters and
often need outside help. Some 5000 people perished in the Kobe quake,
many burned to death under rubble. In January 2004, the City of Bam
earthquake (photo below) in southeastern Iran killed an estimated
40,000. Emergency management and disaster policy are assuming higher
profiles on the world stage.

![](media/image11.jpeg){width="4.259722222222222in"
height="2.801388888888889in"}

The photo below depicts earthquake damage in the city of Kobe, Japan in
the mid-1990s. About 5000 perished in this disaster.

![](media/image12.jpeg){width="4.547916666666667in"
height="5.321527777777778in"}

Third, emergency management and disaster policy have emerged as a new
domain of public policy. Presidents care about disasters and they
regularly make key decisions on the subject (especially in issuing
presidential declarations of major disaster and emergency). Congress has
legislated heavily on the subject. Lawmakers are also stakeholders in
the disaster realm. Government agencies like FEMA, and since March 2003
the Department of Homeland Security, have assumed much higher political
profiles.

Interest groups have emerged around the subject. Organizations have
formed that represent disaster victims and survivors. Corporations have
moved into this realm in a major way. Insurance companies are a key
special interest group in the disaster field. Altruistic organizations
or volunteer organizations have mushroomed in size and number, all
centrally pre-occupied with disaster. I have long said that "disaster
policy" is about 10 years behind "environmental policy." I think that
today this gap has closed to within perhaps two or three years.

Our first few classes will offer answers to the questions posed in the
opening. Disasters are immensely newsworthy and seemingly ideal objects
of television news coverage. Disasters pose political and administrative
challenges for government leaders. The media and politics intertwine
many aspects of disaster management.

Disasters and emergencies involve many questions.

Why and how did the disaster or emergency occur?

Were government officials adequately prepared?

Was the public satisfactorily forewarned?

How did authorities respond before, during, and after the disaster
event?

Could loss of life and property have been better averted?

Whose fault is it legally if various forms of disaster loss and damage
might have been averted beforehand, but were not?

Is it possible to prevent a recurrence?

Is it possible to mitigate (reduce or alleviate) the scale of loss in
the next comparable disaster?

Who pays for restoration and repair after a disaster?

How do federal, state, and local governments organize to address and
prevent disasters and emergencies?

What laws apply to disaster preparedness and recovery?

What are the political ramifications of disasters?

How is disaster policy made? What are the politics of disaster?

What theories and concepts help explain disaster as a political and
public management phenomenon?

Which agencies handle disasters \[inside the U.S.\]? Which agencies
address disasters \[outside the U.S.\]?

What role does U.S. domestic emergency management and disaster policy
play in U.S. foreign policy?

What special interest groups are involved in disaster policymaking and
emergency management?

How do disasters affect the private sector?

Should government disaster activity chiefly address losses sustained by
individuals, by private industry and its workforce, or by other state
and local governments?

Many of these questions may not seem to be very academic, but I will
show you that they very much are. There is an emerging body of
scholarship on disasters and emergency management. In this very class,
there may be people who will embark on careers as emergency managers.
The entire profession of emergency management is growing. Why, because
it is very much needed. People want to know how organizations, public
and private, function under the stress that disaster and emergencies
pose.

Insurance companies want to help minimize their payout of claims by
helping and encouraging their policyholders (private corporations,
homeowners, and municipal/special district governments) to minimize
disaster risks. Many new federal, state, and local laws require
corporations, utilities, and homeowners to take specific precautions
against disaster threat. Liability and negligence law and cases, as well
as huge court settlements, have made public and private authorities
aware of the need to prepare for and avert, if possible, disasters and
emergencies. After 9/11, the federal government, encouraged by President
George W. Bush, established federally supported terrorism insurance,
something many banks insist their business customers buy and maintain.

Some of my colleagues in disaster sociology remind me that how people
define disaster is subject to change over time. In the 1800s and first
half of the 1900s, people and government did not consider a heavily
damaging tornado or hurricane as more than a misfortune certain
communities might experience. The general assumption was that disaster
ravaged areas were expected to recover on their own or with charitable
help. Gradually since about 1950, damaging tornados and other disasters
have become events that increasingly require state and federal help.
Losing a utility service was rarely classified as a disaster fifty years
ago, but today when thousands lose a utility service for three hours or
more, the incident ratchets toward presidential disaster declaration
status.

More than this, disasters and major emergencies require a governmental
response. Public warning, search & rescue, evacuation, sheltering,
in-kind or cash relief assistance, emergency public works restoration,
disaster loans for reconstruction of private facilities or home repair,
unemployment assistance, medical aid, and extraordinary
interorganizational cooperation are a few essentials of post-disaster
aid.

This course will draw on \"highly readable\" texts, several chapters the
professor is working on for his books, and on case studies. The
instructor will try to avoid lecturing and instead pose leading
questions derived from the readings and he will ask about your views and
observations. There is a general core of testable facts and conceptual
information in this course, but it will be re-enforced through our
review and discussion. Students will be expected to memorize certain
terms, laws, dates, etc. provided on posted review sheets. Also, in some
sessions each student will be assigned various readings and will be
expected to answer specific questions devised by the instructor.

4\. Credit Value of Tests, Papers, and Other Requirements

FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS, there are two papers, the first should be at
least 15 pages and an outline submission is required. The second paper
should be about 25 pages and an outline submission is required. Please
note that in portions of some sessions graduate students will run the
class and make formal presentations. I would like to encourage you to
submit one or both papers to a journal for possible publication (this is
NOT a course requirement and you are free to act on this as you choose.)

\% OF GRADE ITEM RELEVANT DATE COVERS ASSIGNMENTS

Graduates only:

15% PAPER 1 15pgs+ DUE OCT. 12 (Friday by email) (5 pm)

5% OUTLINE DUE SEPT 20 (Thurs. at class)

35% PAPER 2 25pgs+ DUE DEC 6 (Thurs by email) (5 pm)

5% OUTLINE DUE NOV. 8 (Thurs. at class)

20% YOUR PERFORMANCE IN EACH CLASS BASED ON YOUR

ANSWER TO MY PRE-ASSIGNED QUESTIONS (about 2 pts per class)

> 20% YOUR PERFORMANCE IN PRESENTATIONS (may require you to prepare
> visuals, a PowerPoint presentation, written WebCT Postings, summaries,
> etc.)

100% TOTAL GRADUATE STUDENTS ONLY

\*Each quiz will contain short answer questions and perhaps a short
essay question.

\*\*Here is the numeric and alphabetic grading scale used for
computation of final grade in the course. A=100-93, A-=92-90, B+=89-87,
B=86-83, B-=82-80, C+=79-77, C=76-73, C-=72-70, D+=69-68, D=67-66,
D-=65, F=64 or less.

5\. Instructor Policies - Research Papers

To clarify some of the above and to be more explicit about grading
policy, note the following.

For undergraduates, one research paper is required. For graduate and
undergraduate students, I will work with you to assign you a specific
research topic for each paper and I will provide you with the format I
need you to strictly follow when you write each of your papers. No two
students in the course will write on exactly the same topic. I will
prepare a research question for you based on what you tell me about
yourself and your interests in the opening day survey.

For graduates, I am asking you to write two major papers, the first due
to me by email on Oct. 12, the second due to me by email Dec. 6.

For graduates, I will work out with each of you what your paper topic
will be on. We will develop a researchable question for each paper based
on the subject you tell me you would like to address. No two students
may have the exact same research paper topic. We need to agree on a
topic by Sept 13 and I need your paper #1 outline by Sept. 20 (Thurs.),
otherwise I will make up a question for you. We need to work out topic
of your second paper by Oct. 12, I need an outline of your second paper
by Nov. 8 (Thurs. at class) so that you are able to get your paper
researched, outlined, written, proofread and turned in by December 6
(Thursday) at 5 pm. Please note that you need to give me a researched,
organized, well written and edited, proofread and polished version of
your paper with footnotes/endnotes and a reference page or bibliography
of your major sources. No two students in the course can write on
exactly the same topic. Also, the topic of your first paper needs to be
very different than the topic of your second paper.

You are welcome to show me draft copies, outlines, research notes, etc.
before you turn them in. I only grade the finished paper, and my advice
on your preliminary work may help you do a better paper. I will have a
WebCT Posting (or WebCT emailed notice) advising you on paper
preparation, organization, footnoting, etc.

6\. Instructor Policies - Student Presentations

You will be asked to make several in-class presentations, sometimes as a
member of a group, at some time in the semester. The survey you
completed the first day will help me make assignments. The point of this
is to give you a chance to present the major points of a particular
disaster article or chapter.

When you make presentations, you are free to use laptops (mine if you
wish), overhead transparencies, the blackboard, charts, figures, WebCT
Postings, and no more than 10 minutes of videotape when you make in
class presentations. You can ask the instructor or the class questions
and we can ask you questions too during your presentation. Some of our
work may involve simulations or role playing exercises.

7\. Instructor Policies - Missing a Quiz (for undergraduates only)

Graduate students will NOT have to take the in class quizzes that
undergraduates do. All quizzes will take place in the last hour of class
and graduate students need not be present for those. Quizzes for
undergrads take place Sept. 20, Oct. 18, Nov. 8, and Nov. 29.

8\. Instructor Policies -- Participation, Attendance, Classroom Behavior

I would appreciate it if you could attend all classes, but I understand
that there may be reasons why you miss one or at most two sessions.
Please note that a portion of your grade stems from your answer to the
formal questions I pose to you in or before each class. So you can
expect to lose about two points for each class you miss. Of course, if
you are an undergraduate and you are absent on the day of a quiz you
must comply with the policies under "Missing a Quiz." Anyone who misses
four sessions risks failing the course. Leaving class early constitutes
a full class absence. Late comers to class are recorded as absent, with
exception of first late arrival.

*Laptop policy: You are welcome to bring and use a laptop in class on
specific presentation days but not on others. I will post much of my in
class presentation work on the course webCT site, so it is not necessary
that you use laptops in every class session.*

*Cell phone policy: please turn off your cell phone when you come to
class. If you answer cell calls during class or send out text messages
on your cell phone during class, I will ask you to leave and you get no
attendance credit for that session. Absolutely no cell phones allowed
during tests, if I see one in plain sight during the test I take your
phone and your test is finished at that point.*

This is a modest sized class. I would like to handle the course as a
seminar. I will be calling the roll until I know you. I may even take
your photograph. This is a WebCT assisted course and so I will regularly
post a list of questions and names. When you see your name on the list
you will be expected to answer the question I have assigned you in the
next class. You may only have a day or so to prepare, so get in the
habit of checking WebCT student email.

I want you to know that I appreciate your class participation. The
better prepared you are for each session, the more interesting the
course will be for all of us. Participation credit also comes in
presentation work you are expected to do. A portion of your course grade
is earned from your presentation efforts over the semester.

9\. Instructor Policies - Instruction Methods and WebCT

I will be posting on the WebCT site for this course some selected
reading assignments and I will WebCT Posting some in class a week in
advance. Many of these reading materials I have produced myself.
Sometimes, I will forward outlines of what I am to cover in each class,
before each class meets, again using WebCT. Please note that this course
syllabus is subject to change during the semester. I do this based on
what you tell me your interests are and based on what I think is the
best arrangement of readings I can provide.

Each UD student should have an email account from the University. I
suspect you all have one now. You must have a current email account and
you must be linked to the University computing system to receive email I
send the class. If you have an off-campus email account (like AOL etc.)
it is possible to get help from the Help \# (831-6000) so you can
connect to the UD system \[best hours to phone them are between 8:30 am
and 3:30; no humans man the phones after 4 pm weekdays and no one
answers the phones Saturdays or Sundays\].

The Registrar uses only your campus email address and this connects you
to and places you inside the WebCT site of this course. If your
off-campus email address is not connected to your on-campus email
address you will not get my WebCT email, nor will you be able to access
the WebCT site for this course. One more time, if you think your
on-campus email address in not linked to your off-campus email address,
go to work on getting them connected immediately.

I place a great many course materials on the WebCT site for this course.
You should get in the habit of checking the WebCT homepage of this
course for announcements and new postings every day or so over the
spring semester. If you do not see the question I have assigned you
before a class, this will put you at a disadvantage in class and
potentially result in your loss of credit. I try to key you into what I
have added to the course web page in the paragraph under the banner
title of the course.

In this course, you will sometimes have to take class notes. If I go too
fast, please ask me to slow down. There will be about 8 sessions in
which we will view videos relevant to the disaster subjects we are
examining at the time. However, these videos will never run for the full
class (usually an hour maximum) and we may interrupt many of them to
discuss various things. I am immensely grateful to any of you able to
help me with the audio-visual mechanics of using PowerPoint, running
videos, and linking to the web from the classroom podium. Since this is
an evening class, Gore Hall audio-visual helpers may not be available
when we need them.

In addition, you are welcome to visit me at my office \[459 Smith\] if
you have problems or questions. Please note from the cover page that my
hours are Tues 3:30-5 p.m. and Wed. 3:30-5 p.m. at 459 Smith (phone
there is 831-1943). It is always better to phone to let me know you are
coming even if you are stopping by during office hours (I have a great
many meetings sprung on me with little or no warning and they sometimes
conflict with office hours). If you try to see me outside office hours,
and I am in, I'll probably be happy to talk with you. However, because I
teach other classes and have other obligations on and off campus, it
will be difficult to find me at 459 Smith outside office hours.

You can leave messages by calling 831-1943 or email me through WebCT.
You can email to my personal email address <sylves@udel.edu> but I
prefer you email inside WebCT because outside WebCT I may erase your
message assuming it is spam.

I will never lecture for a 3 hour session. We engage in a dialogue, I
ask you either pre-assigned questions or I ask you questions
extemporaneously. We will have some presentations by you and some by the
graduate students. Certain nights will feature video that complements
course work. We do not always talk about every assigned reading but you
are expected to come to class prepared to discuss the readings of that
night.

10\. Academic Honesty and Integrity

The University asks that each professor state his or her policies on
academic honesty and dishonesty.

I expect you to do your own work in the course on the research papers. I
expect you to be able to document and show me the sources and notes of
your research papers. You may consult Internet sources but always
furnish me attribution of the full web address in the footnotes or
endnotes. However, over-use of Internet sources uncited, or downloading
of work done by others and turned in as if it is your own, is forbidden
and you will lose the full credit of the work you submit -- you have the
right to appeal to the judicial system. I use an essay verification
system which checks every paper for plagiarism. If your paper is
plagiarized (20% or more) you fail the course.

In fall 2002, two students in this course at that time submitted papers
they had obviously purchased from on-line paper mills. As I said, I use
an essay verification search engine, so don't even think about buying or
copying someone else's work. You can protect yourself from allegations
of cheating by properly citing passages you use from other sources,
including Internet on-line sources, and by following the instructions I
give you for research paper work. Also, I will expect you to write your
paper on the basis of a format we agree to in advance and I expect your
paper to draw from books and other readings assigned in the course, as
well as from other sources. Also, if you are unable to explain to me the
content of your paper and if you have no notes or materials to show me
what you used in preparing successive drafts of your paper, we will have
problems (likely course failure).

I ask you to cooperate with your classmates on teams and in preparing
for your presentations.

Do's and don'ts in this class (this is more for undergraduates than
graduates, as you know what is expected of you as a graduate student).

 Please come to class on time. If attendance has been taken before you
arrive you will be considered absent for the class. Frequent late
arrival is rude to the instructor and your fellow students.

 Please let the professor know before class begins if you have to leave
class early. Failing to do so may result in loss of participation
credit. I deeply appreciate people who let me know at the start of class
that they have to leave early.

 Picture yourself giving a talk to an audience or performing on a
stage. You read audience body language to determine if they seem to be
grasping what you are presenting or responding positively to your
performance. You're nervous, you want to do a good job, and you always
want to make a good impression with all of those present. Now imagine
that various people in the audience for no apparent reason seem to get
up and leave the room during your talk. They sometimes (but not always)
return later. You cannot help but conclude that they do not think much
of you or your talk. They don't care what affect their leaving the room
has on the audience. Trust me, students getting up and down during class
to leave and return to the room drives your professors "nuts" and I'm
just like the rest of them. Unless you're 80 year's old and you have an
incontinence problem, please "no in and out during class." However, you
should feel free to ask me for a short full class break during class if
you need one. I can relate to your need for a break once and a while,
plus I'll also appreciate that you are a considerate person.

 Please do not bring food to class and no eating food in class. Coffee,
sodas, or water are okay but be warned you may be moved around in some
sessions and you need to avoid spills. If you arrive late with a big
frappachino, the professor gets to drink half.

 Please turn off all cell phones in class. During a test, if you bring
a cell phone you will have to deposit it on the instructor's table and
you can retrieve it when the test is over. No text messaging in class,
please.

 Please no laptops in class unless the instructor asks people to bring
their laptops for a certain session. Laptops are often a distraction as
too many people are not using them for course work.

 Okay, you're worried about how to take notes in the course without a
laptop. Feel free to write on a pad of paper. For many classes the
instructor will provide handouts of what is covered via PowerPoint.
Sometimes the PowerPoint and other notes will be made available through
WebCT usually after, but sometimes before, class.

11\. Advice and help from the professor

Any student having difficulty with the course requirements or materials
should discuss his or her problems with the instructor. The instructor
is available during regular office hours and by appointment. He can also
be reached by phone in the office or at home and by email.

Dr. Rick Sylves

Office 459 Smith Hall

Phone: 831-1943 (accepts voicemail)

Fax: 831-4452 (Be sure "Sylves" appears on sent cover sheets)

Email sylves@udel.edu

Fax (302) 831-4452

Office Hours: 3:30-5:30 pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and, by appointment.

12\. READING ASSIGNMENTS

Please be aware that there will be additions and deletions of items from
the reading list during this course. Make sure you use the latest
version, which can always be found on the course WebCT site under
"Course Outline." Also note that the Professor has written extracts of
some of the optional readings and he has made them available on the
course WebCT homepage.

AUG 30 #1: Introduction, course objectives and requirements.

(Thurs.)

A get acquainted session with brief lecture and discussion. I will ask
you to complete a survey of your interests. I provide a presentation and
preview.

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SEPT 6 #2 Remembering 9/11 Open Discussion and Intro to Disaster
Management

(Thurs.)

READ

Haddow, George D. and Bullock, Jane A. 2nd Ed. Ch. 1 "The Historical
Context of Emergency Management," pp. 1-18.

Kettl, Preface and Ch. 1, "Stress Test," pp. 1-17 and Ch. 2, "The
Coordination of Dilemmas," pp. 18-36.

(WebCT Posting) Read Sylves, Ch. 9, "The 9/11 Victim's Compensation
Fund: Master Model vs. Conventional Disaster Relief Model." (In our in
class debate an undergraduate group will debate a graduate group, and a
three judge panel (2 undergraduates and 1 graduate student, will serve
as judges and decide the outcome). The graduate team will argue in favor
of the master model and the undergraduate team will argue in favor of
the conventional model.

OPTIONAL READING

The 9/11 Commission Report, Ch. 9, "Heroism and Horror," pp. 278-324.

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SEPT 13 #3 Fundamentals of U.S. Emergency Management and Preparedness

(Thurs.)

READ

WebCT posting: Sylves, Ch. 1, "Disaster Management in the U.S.A.: Some
Fundamentals."

Haddow, George D. and Bullock, Jane A. 2nd Ed. Ch. 2, "Natural and
Technological Disasters and Risk Assessment," pp. 19-56 and Ch. 6, "The
Disciplines of Emergency Management: Preparedness," pp. 157-194.

Kettl, Ch. 3, "The Reshaping the Bureaucracy," pp. 37-60.

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SEPT 20 #4 Disaster Response; Human Caused Disaster,

(Thurs.)

*QUIZ #1 will be given in last hour of class for undergraduates*

*Graduate Students: Paper 1 OUTLINE DUE SEPT 20 (Thurs. at class)*

*.*

READ

(WebCT Posting) Sylves, Ch. 2, "Disaster Managers and Theories of Policy
Implementation."

Haddow, George D. and Bullock, Jane A. 2^nd^ Ed. Ch. 4, "The Disciplines
of Emergency Management: Response," pp. 77-130.

Kettl, Ch. 4, "The Federalism Jumble," pp. 61-80.

(graduate students only)

Birkland, Ch. 1, "Theories and Models of Policy Change and Learning,"
pp. 1-30 and Ch. 2, "September 11, Learning and Policy Change," pp.
31-60.

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SEPT 27 #5 Presidential Disaster Declarations over 50 Years

(Thurs.)

READ

(WebCT Posting) Sylves, Ch. 3, "Historical Trends in Disaster
Management," and

Ch. 4, "Understanding Disaster Policy through Presidential Disaster
Declarations."

Miskel, Ch. 2, "When the System Fails," pp. 23-38.

Group #1: Miskel, Ch. 4, "Hurricane Agnes, Three Mile Island, and the
Establishment of FEMA," pp. 57-76.

Group #2: Miskel, Ch 5, "Hurricane Hugo and Andrew," pp. 75-90.

Group #3: Miskel, Ch. 6, "Hurricane Katrina," pp. 91-108.

Group #4: Miskel, Ch. 7, "Two Other Models," pp. 109-122.

Group #5: Miskel, Ch. 8, "Conclusions and Recommendations," pp. 123-142.

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OCT 4 #6 Managing Disasters and Disaster Recovery,

(Thurs.)

READ

Haddow, George D. and Bullock, Jane A. 2^nd^ Ed. Ch. 5, "The Disciplines
of Emergency Management: Recovery," pp. 131-156.

Kettl, Ch. 5, "The Political Costs of Managing Risk," pp. 82-101.

Coppola, Ch. 1, "The Management of Disasters," pp. 1-30 and Ch. 7,
"Recovery," pp. 299-336.

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OCT 11 #7 Disaster Mitigation and Preparedness, Vulnerability
Assessment, Risk Management

(Thurs.)

READ

(WebCT Posting) Sylves, Ch. 5, "The Role of Scientists and Engineers."

Haddow, George D. and Bullock, Jane A. 2^nd^ Ed. Ch. 3, "The Disciplines
of Emergency Management: Mitigation," pp. 57-76.

Birkland, Ch. 4, "Learning from Earthquakes and Hurricanes," pp.
103-156.

Coppola, Ch. 4, "Mitigation," pp. 175-208.

(graduate students only)

Birkland, Ch. 3, "Learning from Aviation Security," pp. 61-102.

RESEARCH PAPER 1 (graduate students only) DUE BEFORE 5 PM by email to
professor Friday Oct. 12. Send to <sylves@udel.edu> or through webCT
email (be sure you press attachment button once you have uploaded your
paper as an attachment)

\-\-\-\-\-\-\--

OCT 18 #8 Civil Security Issues (graduate student presentations on)

(Thurs.) *QUIZ #2 will be given in class.*

READ

(WebCT Posting) Sylves, Ch. 7, "Civil Military Relations and National
Security."

Miskel, Ch. 3, "Disaster Relief and the Military," pp. 39-56.

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OCT 25 #9 Special Issues, U.S and International

(Thurs.)

READ

(WebCT Posting) Sylves, Ch. 6, "Intergovernmental Relations in Disaster
Policy."

Haddow, George D. and Bullock, Jane A. 2^nd^ ed. Ch. 7 "The Disciplines
of Emergency Management: Communications," pp. 195-218.

Groups #1, #2: Coppola, Ch. 2, "Hazards," pp. 31-112.

Groups #3, #4: Coppola, Ch. 3, "Risk and Vulnerability," pp. 113-174.

(graduate students only)

Birkland, Ch. 5, "Disasters, Learning, and the Possibility of Change,"
pp. 157-196.

\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\--

NOV 1 #10 International Perspective and the Globalization of Disasters

(Thurs.)

READ

(WebCT Posting) Sylves, Ch. 8, "Globalization of Disasters."

Group #1: Coppola, Ch. 5, "Preparedness," pp. 209-250.

Group #2: Coppola, Ch. 6, "Response," pp. 251-298.

Group #3: Coppola, Ch. 8, "Participants, Governmental Disaster
Management Agencies," pp. 337-386.

\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\--

NOV 8 #11 / Foreign Disaster Management and the Linkage to U.S. Disaster
Policy/Foreign Policy Link to Homeland Security.

(Thurs.) *QUIZ #3 will be given in class.*

READ

Haddow, George D. and Bullock, Jane A. 2^nd^ Ed. Ch. 8, "International
Disaster Management, Case Study," 219-254.

(WebCT Posting) Chapter 8: Foreign Disasters and the Globalization of
U.S. Disaster Policy and Management

Graduate Students: Paper 2 OUTLINE DUE NOV. 8 (Thurs. at class)

\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\--

NOV 15 #12 Homeland Security as the New Civil Defense/International
Disaster

(Thurs.)

READ

Haddow, George D. and Bullock, Jane A. 2^nd^ ed. Ch. 9, "Emergency
Management and the New Terrorist Threat, pp. 255-325.

Kettl, Ch. 6, "Balancing Liberty with Protection," pp. 101-122.

Group #1, #2: Coppola, Ch. 9, "Participants: Nongovernmental Orgs," pp.
387-450.

Group #3, #4: Coppola, Ch. 10, "Participants: Multilateral Orgs and Int
Financial Institutions," pp. 451-524.

Group #5: Coppola, Ch. 11, "Special Considerations," pp. 525-538.

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Nov 22, no class meeting due to Thanksgiving Break

\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\--

Nov 29 #13 Future of Emergency Management. Course evaluations, and last
meeting day. *QUIZ #4 will be given in class.*

(Thurs.)

READ

Haddow, George D. and Bullock, Jane A. 2^nd^ ed. Ch. 10, "The Future of
Emergency Management," pp. 327-336.

Kettl, Ch. 7, "Gauging the Stress Test," pp. 123-143.

(WebCT Posting)

(Dec 6 Thurs.) No class session. RESEARCH PAPER DUE BEFORE 5 PM via
email.

*Undergraduates are sending me their completed Major Research Paper.*

*Graduates are sending me their second research paper.*

*Send to <sylves@udel.edu> or through webCT email (be sure you press
attachment button once you have uploaded your paper as an attachment)*

\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\--

Thank you for taking this course. It was not possible for us to cover
every topic you may have founding interesting, but I hope the research
papers and readings gave you a chance to read beyond our required
assignments. Let me know if I can be of help to you in your career. Best
wishes, Dr. Sylves