MUST BE ORIGINAL WORK AND CHECK FOR PLAGIARISM. Due in your Assignment folder by 11:59 p.m. EASTERN TIME USA on Thursday night April 20 2017
Select and respond to five of the following ten questions one from each session:
Session/Week 7: Response (Select and respond to one question for Session 7)
1.)Should the president have flexibility or discretion for making emergency or major disaster declarations using exceptional procedures or criteria in extraordinary circumstances or should the president be restricted to following standard procedures and criteria provided in the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistant Act in order to ensure fairness and consistency regarding federal disaster aid? Should the federal government adopt a more forward leaning approach to declaring emergencies or disasters with FEMA intervening in potentially catastrophic incidents more quickly than the traditional approach perhaps even mobilizing before formal requests for assistance from local and state governments?
2.) Describe the ideal or theoretical relationship and interaction between the EOC and Incident Command or Unified Incident Command in a major disaster and their respective roles and responsibilities. Then find an example of an actual disaster and assess or evaluate the interaction between those entities in practice during that event. Was that interaction effective and successful? If not what should have been done differently?
Session/Week 8: Emergency Support Functions and Hazard-Specific Incidents (Select and respond to one question for Session 8)
3.) Find an example of an emergency or major disaster of any type (i.e. weather-related or natural disasters such as hurricanes ice storms floods wildfires earthquakes or tornadoes; biological incidents or infectious diseases; transportation accidents; radiological or chemical incidents; terrorist attacks; technological or cyber incidents; etc.) in the United States in the past 20 years other than the 9/11 attacks or Hurricane Katrina that involved the activation of one or more ESFs. Describe the assistance that was requested and received and evaluate its effectiveness or success. What if anything should have been done differently to improve that ESF activation?
4.) Looking at the local state and federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 what were the major ethical issues obligations and challenges involved? Which type of ethical reasoning (utilitarian normative or casuistry) seemed to predominate at each level of government? What is your evaluation of how ethical obligations were met or not?
Session/Week 9: Communications (Select and respond to one question for Session 9)
5.) What is your assessment of the National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) rolled out in 2011? What are its pros and cons as compared to the former color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System (HSAS)? Will the recent (as of 2015) updates to the NTAS make any difference? Should DHS develop a similar crisis communications or alert system developed for other hazards and disasters in addition to terrorism? 6.)Assume that you are the emergency management director or coordinator for a state or local political subdivision (i.e. county or city) or for a major volunteer or healthcare organization involved in disaster response (e.g. American Red Cross or a hospital). What are the major challenges you would confront in terms of crisis and risk communications in response to a disaster involving the mass or mainstream media (e.g. TV newspapers radio) and social media (e.g. Facebook Instagram Twitter Snapchat etc.)? Are there positive roles for these respective media? What would be your overall strategy for managing or at least working productively with mainstream and social media?
Session/Week 10: Recovery (Select and respond to one question for Session 10)
7.) Find an example of a disaster (may or may not involve a presidential Stafford Act declaration) of any type that affected a state region local jurisdiction tribal nation or community in the United States in the past twenty years other than the 9/11 attacks or Hurricane Katrina. Describe the challenges or issues involved in the recovery phase. What is your overall assessment or evaluation of the recovery process and assistance provided and what more or what different could or should have been done?
8.) Find an example of a major corporation nonprofit nongovernmental or volunteer organization of any type that experienced a major disaster or disruption in the past twenty years. What is your evaluation or assessment of their planning preparedness mitigation resilience and business continuity recovery or resumption efforts? What were the impacts or effects of their resilience (or lack thereof) in terms of the local community economy or critical infrastructure sector?
Session/Week 11: Program Reviews and Improvement Planning (Select and respond to one question for Session 11)
9.) Select an organization agency or jurisdiction that you are familiar with. What is your assessment of their effectiveness in terms of after-action reviews and improvement planning following any type of disaster disruption or critical incident? What changes events or circumstances in the external environment or within the organization agency or jurisdiction would trigger or drive updates to AARs and improvement planning? How well are improvements implemented and communicated?
10.)Find arelativelyrecent news story (e.g. 2010 or later) about a major incident; for example an infrastructure disruption; a cyber attack; a natural disaster (tornado earthquake etc.); an outbreak causing disease or affecting health (e.g. food contamination); or an industrial accidentdifferent than the example you used for the Week 11 discussion forum. Present an after-action review of the incident answering questions such as these:
Due in your Assignment folder by 11:59 p.m. EASTERN TIME USA on Thursday night April 20 2017