Katelin Wright EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In the year 2020, climate change has proven itself a threat multiplier, amplifying risks to U.S. security today, and well into the future. Warming global temperatures affect not only the environment but also the foundation of human society by exacerbating pre-existing economic, environmental, and political instabilities.1 In terms of human displacement,…
CHDS Theses: Executive Summaries
Lone Actor Terrorists: The Performance of Hegemonic Masculinity through Acts of Violence
Beth Windisch EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Pulse nightclub. Mandalay Bay. Fort Hood. Emmanuel AME Church. Each time a terrorist attack occurs, the media interview those who knew the attacker, trying to identify a red flag or a warning sign that could have prevented another tragedy. Understanding the motives of a lone actor terrorist, a perpetrator who is…
Modeling for Success: Strengthening Homeland Security through Vocational-Based Offender Programming
BrENTly Travelbee EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The United States incarcerates more people than any other country in the world, with a prison population of more than two million. The majority of offenders are released back into the communities after serving their time, but unfortunately, an average of over 40 percent of offenders will return to confinement.[1] The…
Prepare to Fight: Is the National Active Shooter Response Model Due for an Upgrade?
Suzanne TAnnenbaum EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A rise in active shooter events over the last few decades has necessitated emergency training to save lives, and the national Run, Hide, Fight model has become the standard training for active shooter events in schools and companies. Studies of human behavior—particularly during previous active shooter situations—contributed to the development of…
Disasters, Finances, Nutrients, and Climate Change: A Case for Waterless Sanitation Systems
Ryan Smith EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Wastewater systems have arguably improved quality of life by protecting public health and the environment. They provide a method of sanitation that uses water to manage human excreta. However, extending the current wastewater paradigm is becoming problematic due to water’s increasing scarcity, mounting costs, contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, and deleterious…
There Are No Monsters in the Closet: Why Fire Departments Are Not Implementing Best Concepts for Active Assailant Incidents
David Sabat EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Fire departments are encouraged to implement best concepts to rapidly access casualties during active assailant events.[1] Despite these recommendations, fire services across the country are not consistently developing and implementing policies that reflect best practices. Further, the best concepts offered in the extant literature indicate that rapid access to victims requires the…
Statewide Access Programs: A Key Component to Eliminating the Post-Disaster Access Challenge
George RentEria Executive summary This thesis explores the topic of access management and its relationship to U.S. incident management policies and practices. Specifically, it examines how the implementation of statewide access programs might better integrate private sector response capabilities into state and local disaster management efforts. The United States has a well-defined incident management doctrine…
An Effective Funding Strategy for Washington State Emergency Management Programs
Amy Gillespie EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Emergency management programs in Washington State are vulnerable because they do not have a sustainable and stable funding source. In 2004, the Washington State Emergency Management Council assessed its emergency management system. The resulting report stated, “Reliance on funding sources that are sometimes insufficient, inaccessible, or restricted is increasing the administrative…
Fast Knowledge: Innovating in Homeland Security by Learning in Near Real-Time for High-Threat Events
Michael Marino EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Knowledge is a limited currency that requires cultivation for the advancement of any organization.[1] However, homeland security as an enterprise is slow to learn, no matter the kind of learning: lessons-learned documents and after-action reports are inadequate for the homeland security enterprise to efficiently learn from high-threat events, especially in a…
How Can Architecture Make Communities and Urban Environments More Resilient to Disease?
Jeffrey Garofalo EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Today, a gathering storm of forces are building that will increase the frequency and intensity of infectious disease outbreaks. According to disease ecologist Peter Daszak, “Pandemics are like terrorist attacks: we know roughly where they originate and what’s responsible for them, but we don’t know exactly when the next one will…