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CHDS Theses: Executive Summaries

CHDS Master's students summarize their research and the impacts of that work on agency practices and the nation's security.

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CHDS Theses: Executive Summaries

Enhancing National Preparedness: A SWOT Analysis of Public Health Preparedness and Emergency Management Systems

By Jacob Anson – Executive Summary – The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted critical weaknesses in the coordination between public health preparedness (PHP) and emergency management (EM) in the United States. While both play essential roles in disaster response, PHP, led by

Enhancing National Preparedness: A SWOT Analysis of Public Health Preparedness and Emergency Management Systems

Mental Operating Environment: Supporting the Disaster Response Workforce

By Melissa Guinan – Executive Summary – Disaster response operations expose incident support responder personnel to psychosocial hazards, including mental fatigue, stress, and sleep deprivation, which can impair both responder well-being and operational performance. This thesis adopts a readiness-oriented approach

Mental Operating Environment: Supporting the Disaster Response Workforce

Need for Cognitive Closure and Uncertainty-Identity Theory: Psychological Mechanisms for Evaluating Extremism

By Martin McMahon – Executive Summary – This thesis investigates the psychological mechanisms underlying ideological extremism in the United States, focusing on how the need for cognitive closure (NFCC) and uncertainty-identity theory (UIT) function as explanatory lenses for the attraction

Need for Cognitive Closure and Uncertainty-Identity Theory: Psychological Mechanisms for Evaluating Extremism

Behavioral Economics and Insider Threats: A Critical Review of Comprehensive Mitigation and the Case for a New Framework

By David Siegmund – Executive Summary – The escalating challenge of insider threats, referred to herein as adversarial insider personnel (AIP) within critical infrastructure, where trusted personnel might exploit their legitimate access to cause harm, remains significant to critical infrastructure

Behavioral Economics and Insider Threats: A Critical Review of Comprehensive Mitigation and the Case for a New Framework

Divided We Fall: Preventing Mass Violence Through Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Teams

By Shelby Sears – Executive Summary – Mass violence is a part of the American experience and one of the most significant homeland security issues. Despite the crime control and prevention mandates of most police agencies, U.S. law enforcement primarily

Divided We Fall: Preventing Mass Violence Through Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Teams

FEMA’s Contested Logistics: Towards Crisis Standards for Resource Prioritization When Nature is Your Enemy

By Emily Williams – Executive Summary – In the initial chaos of a national-level crisis, who gets lifesaving federal resources first? The stakes are high, and the decisions can mean the difference between life and death. A robust volume of

FEMA’s Contested Logistics: Towards Crisis Standards for Resource Prioritization When Nature is Your Enemy

Protecting the Protectors: The Impact of the American Diet on Law Enforcement Mental Health and Stress Resilience

By Michaelann Andrusiak – Executive Summary – Law enforcement officers face a stark reality: their average life expectancy is just 66 years, with many living fewer than eight years beyond retirement.[1] This sobering statistic highlights the immense physical and mental

Protecting the Protectors: The Impact of the American Diet on Law Enforcement Mental Health and Stress Resilience

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