**December 21, 2005 FEMA Emergency Management Higher Education Project
Activity Report**

\(1\) DISASTER/CATASTROPHE PREPAREDNESS:

Bliss, Mark. \"Emerson Wants Multi-State Earthquake Coordination.\"

Southeast Missourian, December 21, 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://www.semissourian.com/story/1132235.html]{.underline}](http://www.semissourian.com/story/1132235.html)

\(2\) DISCIPLINES, DISASTERS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT \-- BOOK
DEVELOPMENT

PROJECT:

December 21, 2005 \-- Received for review from lead book developer, Dr.

David McEntire of the University of North Texas, a 3rd draft of chapter
on \"Meteorology and Emergency Management\" by Dr. Kent McGregor,
Department of Geography, University of North Texas.

\(3\) EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT:

December 21, 2005 \-- Received the following vacancy announcement today
from an activity report reader and have pasted it in below in that it
is, I think, instructive or relevant to those who seek, at the
college/university levels, to create a new generation of emergency
managers and provide professional development for practitioners:

\"Fairfax County (Virginia) Office of Emergency Management Job #05-9055;
\$41,996 to \$55,994 DOQ Four positions available. This position will
work a 12-hour shift schedule and may be called to report for duty on a
rotating schedule for the entire duration of an emergency. On a
rotational basis, Office of Emergency Management Watch Officers function
as the principal county point of contact to receive, coordinate and
disseminate emergency information pertaining to potential and actual
risks and threats to the county locality and operations. Ensures that
the county maintains a high state of preparedness through vigilance,
awareness, coordination and operational readiness. Operates computerized
databases to collect and disseminate emergency information. Writes
technical reports and operational procedures. Serves as emergency
service personnel, which means that the appointee must report to work
during times of inclement weather or other emergencies.

Minimum Qualifications: Any combination of education, experience and
training equivalent to graduation from accredited four-year college or
university with a degree in public safety, information systems or
related field; plus five years of experience in public safety, emergency
communications, military and/or emergency management.

Preferred Qualifications: Experience using computer databases and
Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Experience in technical report
writing, and collection and dissemination of emergency information. Some
Information Technology (IT) experience. Familiarity with the National
Incident Management System (NIMS) and National Response Plan (NRP).

Experience using Microsoft Office Suite computer software.

TO APPLY: Apply online at
[[www.fairfaxcounty.gov/jobs]{.underline}](../www.fairfaxcounty.gov/jobs)
Please note the Job \# (05-9055) for this announcement before you visit
our Web site to apply. EEO/Reasonable Accommodation. TTY (703)
222-7314.\"

\(4\) FEMA AND DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY:

Arnone, Michael. \"Chertoff: FEMA Improvements Due Soon.\" Federal
Computer Week. December 20, 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://www.fcw.com/article91778-12-20-05-Web]{.underline}](http://www.fcw.com/article91778-12-20-05-Web)

Klinenberg, Eric, and Thomas Frank. \"Looting Homeland Security.\"

Rolling Stone Magazine, December 15, 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/\_/id/8952492/print?rnd=113520]{.underline}](http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/_/id/8952492/print?rnd=113520)

0661899&has-player=false

Losey, Stephen. \"FEMA Chief Vows A Better, Faster Disaster Response
Under Restructuring.\" Federal Times, December 20, 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://www.federaltimes.com/index2.php?S=1424188]{.underline}](http://www.federaltimes.com/index2.php?S=1424188)

Margasak, Larry, and Lara Jakes Jordon. \"Chertoff: FEMA Changes Could
be Radical.\" Associated Press, December 21, 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5493670,00.html]{.underline}](http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5493670,00.html)

Strohm, Chris. \"DHS Chief: Major Changes To FEMA Coming Soon.\"

Government Executive Magazine, December 20, 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=33051&printerfriendlyVer]{.underline}](http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=33051&printerfriendlyVer)

s=1&

\(5\) HOMELAND SECURITY AFFAIRS, VOLUME I, ISSUE 2, 2005 \--
ELECTRONICALLY AVAILABLE:

December 21, 2005 \-- Received note from editors of \"Homeland Security
Affairs\" on release of latest edition:

To view this latest issue, please go to
[[www.hsaj.org]{.underline}](../www.hsaj.org). There you will find the
following just-published articles:

\-- \"Potholes and Detours in the Road to Critical Infrastructure
Protection Policy,\" by Ted Lewis and Rudy Darken

\[Abstract: \"The national strategy for the protection of critical
infrastructure and key assets is not working due to a number of failed
strategies, which this article examines in detail: federalism
(separation of state and federal governmental controls) advocates that
the first line of defense is local first responders; two years after the
creation of the Department of Homeland security, and the consequent
requirement that states perform vulnerability and risk analysis on their
critical infrastructures, DHS has yet to define basic terminology needed
for states to perform meaningful analysis (\"vulnerability\" \"risk\"),
or precisely state the objectives of such analysis; private ownership of
the majority of infrastructure assets has been used as an excuse to do
nothing - a major myth that is not only wasteful of effort, but
dangerous to the security of the nation; and finally, the notion that
critical infrastructure sectors are so large and complex that only the
highest-consequence, lowest-probability events can be prevented has led
to further missteps in the road to critical infrastructure protection
policy. This article ends with recommendations for policy changes that
address these issues.\"\]

\[Note: Recommend looking at the discussion on the need to come to
consensus on how to measure and define the terms \"risk\" and
\"vulnerability,\" and the examples of and problems with differing
approaches \-- found at pages 4-5. Will incorporate this discussion into
my \"Select Emergency Management Terms and Definitions\" document found
on the EM Hi Ed Project website \-- as an appendix to the working draft
\"Hazards, Disasters and Emergency Management Introduction\" course \--
Free College Courses section \-- Courses Under Development subsection.\]

\-- \"Homeland Security Capabilities-Based Planning: Lessons from the
Defense Community,\" by Sharon Caudle

\[Abstract: \"Beginning in 2004, the Department of Homeland Security

(DHS) began to define and implement a national domestic all-hazards
preparedness goal, intended to improve the nation\'s preparedness for
national catastrophes, including terrorist attacks. DHS\'s approach was
capabilities-based planning (CBP), adopted from the Department of
Defense (DoD). This article illustrates several components important for
CBP implementation to contrast with DHS\'s approach. These components
range from setting out the business case for CBP adoption to necessary
organizational and cultural enablers. The article concludes with CBP
implementation challenges because of differences between homeland
security and the defense community.\"\]

\-- \"Maritime Critical Infrastructure Protection: Multi-Agency Command
and Control in an Asymmetric Environment,\" by Robert Watts

\[Abstract: \"As a maritime nation, the United States is economically
and strategically reliant on its ports, a fact well known to our
potential enemies in the Global War on Terror. A successful attack
against maritime critical infrastructure in our ports has the potential
to cause major economic disruption and create mass casualties and
conflagration.

The United States has faced military threats in its littoral before, and
lessons from the past offer value in determining how to defend ports in
the modern era. But these lessons must be considered in light of the new
asymmetric terrorist threat. By examining lessons from the past and
considering current maritime multi-agency capabilities, a logical
command and control solution can be devised to effectively fuse agency
efforts in tactical defense of maritime critical infrastructure.\"

FEATURED THEME ARTICLES:

\-- \"Using Organizations: The Case of FEMA,\" by Charles Perrow

\[Abstract: \"FEMA was used once before, under President Reagan, for
counter-terrorism and as a result, natural disaster response and
mitigation suffered. It was repaired under President Clinton, but again,
counter-terrorism has eaten up FEMA\'s natural disaster budget and
skills.\"\]

\[BWB Note: Think this one needs a bit more work \-- uses several
questionable sources and, as a result, makes some mistakes \-- Oliver
North, for example never worked for FEMA \-- was an National Security
Council staffer whose account including the FEMA Continuity of
Government program (met him during a national exercise).\]

\-- \"Changing Homeland Security: An Opportunity for Competence,\" by
Christopher Bellavita

\[Abstract: \"Hurricane Katrina shattered belief that the nation\'s
homeland security system was ready for a major terrorist attack. Public
administrators staff that system. Katrina provides an opportunity to
review the central normative premise of public administration:

competence. This article briefly reviews the changing competence
frameworks that have guided public administration since the 1880s. Over
the last one hundred years, administrators have been seen as artisans,
scientists, social reformers, and managers. The ineptness of the public
sector\'s response to Katrina reminds us - however briefly - that for
the last 30 years, government has been seen as the enemy, the problem to
be solved - not the partner in finding solutions. The result is a
demoralized and dysfunctional public workforce. The American homeland
can never be secure until the public workforce recreates the spirit of
competent service so glaringly absent in the wake of Katrina.\"\]

\-- \"Unified Command and State-Federal Response to Katrina in
Mississippi,\" by William L. Carwile III

\[Abstract: \"Unified Command, as a part of the National Incident
Management System (NIMS), was successfully used in the state-federal
response to the catastrophic disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina in
Mississippi in 2005. Four elements to determine the members of a Unified
Command include: authority, co-location, parity and common
understanding. Modifications made to ICS in the Mississippi response
include extending the unified command concept down the chain to
facilitate joint decision-making at all levels. Unresolved issues
include the role of the Federal Coordinating Officer and Principal
Federal Official, federal management of multi-state disasters, and the
inclusion of components of the Department of Defense in a Unified
Command.\"\]

\-- \"Hurricane Katrina as a Predictable Surprise,\" by Larry Irons

\[Abstract: \"The concept of predictable surprises, i.e. failures to
take preventative action in the face of known threats, was outlined by
Max Bazerman and Michael Watkins in their book by the same name. This
paper discusses predictable surprises as primarily organizational events
that result from failure of organizational processes to support
surprise-avoidance rather than surprise-conducive actions by individual
members. The analysis contends that learning organizations are
characterized by processes that support surprise-avoidance. The
affective heuristic is useful to prevention studies since it points to
aspects of social cognition that are central to envisioning consequences
for low probability events. Surprise-avoidance organizational processes
are central to using the affective heuristic to bolster rational
decision-making. The paper asks whether the preparation and response of
federal agencies in New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina was a predictable
surprise. The discussion examines the role of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers in preparing the levee protection system, asking whether its
organizational processes supported surprise-avoidance, or were
surprise-conducive. FEMA\'s Katrina response is also reviewed with the
same concerns. The actions of each agency are considered along four
characteristic traits of predictable surprises. The study offers several
policy proposals, some presented by the Secretary of Homeland Security
and others stemming from insights developed in the current analysis.\"\]

\(6\) HOMELAND SECURITY RELATED:

National Association of Development Organizations. \"Regional Approaches
to Homeland Security Planning & Preparedness.\" Washington, DC: NADO, 8
pages, August 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://www.nado.org/legaffair/hssurvey.pdf]{.underline}](http://www.nado.org/legaffair/hssurvey.pdf)

National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. \"State
Strategies for Fully Integrating Public Health into Homeland Security.\"

Washington, DC: NGA, November 23, 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://preview.nga.org/Files/pdf/FULLYPUBLICHEALTH.pdf]{.underline}](http://preview.nga.org/Files/pdf/FULLYPUBLICHEALTH.pdf)

\(7\) KATRINA RELATED:

American Planning Association, Louisiana Chapter. \"Planning for

Prosperity: Opportunities in Post-Katrina Louisiana\" Conference
Proceedings, Shreveport, LA, October 7-8, 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://www.louisiana-apa.org/]{.underline}](http://www.louisiana-apa.org/)

Pain, John. \"Experts Say Katrina Hit As A Weaker Storm.\" Associated
Press, December 21, 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/printer2/index.asp?ploc=t&refer=http://sea]{.underline}](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/printer2/index.asp?ploc=t&refer=http://sea)

ttlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Hurricane_Katrina_Strength.html

\(8\) NATIONAL ACADEMIES DISASTERS ROUNDTABLE REPORT ON LESSONS LEARNED
BETWEEN HURRICANES:

Kershaw, Patricia Jones, and Byron Mason. Summary of the March 8, 2005
Workshop of the Disasters Roundtable \-- Lessons Learned Between

Hurricanes: From Hugo to Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne.

Washington, DC: National Research Council of the National Academies,
National Academies Press, 28 pages, 2005. Accessed at:

[[http://nap.edu/catalog/11528.html]{.underline}](http://nap.edu/catalog/11528.html)

\(9\) WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY \-- SEEKING ADJUNCT FACULTY \--
PSYCHOLOGICAL DISASTER IMPACTS:

December 21, 2005 \-- Received request from Ariel Cleasby-Heaven at
Western Washington to post following solicitation:

\"Western Washington University is seeking an adjunct faculty member to
teach an online course on the psychological impacts of disaster as part
of its emergency management certificate program. Applicants must hold a
Master\'s degree in psychology or a closely related field, with a Ph.D.

being preferred. Additional information can be obtained by contacting
Ariel Cleasby-Heaven at Ariel.Cleasby-Heaven@wwu.edu or you may reach
her by phone at 360-650-3717.\"

B.Wayne Blanchard, Ph.D., CEM

Higher Education Project Manager

Emergency Management Institute

National Emergency Training Center

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Department of Homeland Security

16825 S. Seton, N-430

Emmitsburg, MD 21727

\(301\) 447-1262, voice

\(301\) 447-1598, fax

wayne.blanchard@dhs.gov

[[http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu]{.underline}](http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/edu)

"Please note: Some of the Web sites linked to in this document are not
federal government Web sites, and may not necessarily operate under the
same laws, regulations, and policies as federal Web sites."