COURSE SYLLABUS
Emergency Administration and Management
School of Community Education and Professional Development

COURSE NUMBER:     EAM 2023

COURSE TITLE:           Principles and Practice of Disaster Response Operations and Management.

INSTRUCTOR:              Brian E. Ellis
Office Hours: By appointment
                                          Phone: 501-833-6126
                                          Email: brian_e_ellis@hotmail.com

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The purpose of this course is to uncover the principles that promote effective disaster response operations and management. To achieve these goals, the course will examine the nature of disasters, the context of response operations in the United States, and the roles and responsibilities of various emergency management related actors. The course will review the popular myths and realities of human behavior in catastrophic events as well as the divergent approaches to disaster response operations (e.g. command and control vs. networking/problem solving). The importance of providing an effective response for the affected population will be discussed, and will include a variety of important generic functions (e.g. implementing the emergency operations plan, warning, evacuation, search and rescue, emergency medical care/mass casualties, mass fatalities, sheltering and mass care, donations management, damage assessment, the disaster declaration process, media relations/public information, individual and public assistance, and critical incident stress debriefing). The course will also examine specific functions relating to flood, hazardous materials and terrorist incidents. Various problems associated with response operations will be identified (e.g. inadequate preparedness measures, safety and site security, politics, communications, coordination and record keeping). In exploring the means to improve emergency management after disaster occurs, the incident command system and its interaction with the emergency operations center will be emphasized. The role of technology and mutual aid agreements in effective post-disaster responses will also be discussed. Each student will be expected to gain a solid comprehension of common post-disaster problems and how first responders and the emergency manager may overcome those challenges.

TEXT REQUIRED FOR COURSE:
Facing the Unexpected: Disaster Preparedness and Response in the United States Kathleen J. Tierney Ronald W. Perry Michael K. Lindell
ISBN: 0309069998
Publisher: Joseph Henry Press
Pub. Date: November 2001

COURSE POLICIES:
Attendance is required.
Arriving late is discouraged.
Participation is encouraged.
Reading assignments is expected.
Showing respect to other students is mandatory.
Make ups will be limited to special circumstances (and with prior notification only).
There will be no extra credit.
Incompletes will be given according to department policy.
Plagiarism and other forms of cheating will automatically result in a failing grade.

GRADING:
Students will earn points through attendance, participation, a presentation, and tests. Please note the following breakdown:

Attendance/participation    50
Midterm                                100
Groups Exercise                  100
Presentation                         50
Final Exam                           200
TOTAL POINTS                   500

A standard scale will be used for grading (e.g. 90% - 100% = A; 80% - 89% = B; 70% - 79% = C; 60% - 69% = D; 59% and below = F).

ATTENDANCE:
Roll will be taken at least once each class session and attendance will amount to 5% of the student's grade. While attendance directly affects only a minor portion of the grade, the student should be aware that a significant number of absences will make it difficult to do well in the course. This is because information from the lectures (in addition to the readings) will be covered in tests to evaluate the student's performance.

PARTICIPATION:
Asking questions and making comments about relevant course material is conducive for learning. Therefore, listening and participation will amount to .5% of your grade. If the class is actively involved in the discussion, each student should receive the full allotment of points in this area. If the class appears to be detached from the subject matter at hand, points will be awarded to those who make relevant and insightful comments. Students who miss class will not receive points for that day as they are not present to participate in the discussion.

MID-TERM / FINAL EXAMS:
Approximately 60% of your grade will be determined by tests. These will consist of true/false, matching, multiple choice, fill in the blank and short essay questions. The instructor will advise the student of the structure of the test in advance. Students who miss tests without giving prior notification and obtaining necessary approval will be given different questions or will have 10% deducted from their final score. Make ups for the mid-term and final exams will be limited to very special circumstances only.

PRESENTATIONS:
Roughly 10% of your grade will be based student presentations. Students will be required to discuss class reading assignments and briefly elucidate the problems and the implications (or lessons) it has for emergency managers. Please do your best to bring out new problems and solutions (e.g. issues that have not been addressed in class but deserve to be included).

GROUP EXERCISE:
The remaining portion of your grade (about 20%) will be based on evaluation and group participation in a disaster operations and response exercise. Each group will be required to complete emergency response checklists and provide a brief synopsis and justification of response actions taken.

COURSE OUTLINE:

UNIT 1 Course Introduction, March 18, 2002
        Review Course Syllabus.
        Emergency Response to Terrorism: Basic Concepts
        Mid-term Examination
        Tierney, Perry, and Lindell- Chapter 1-3

UNIT 2 Domestic Preparedness, March 19, 2002
        Domestic Preparedness: Hazardous Material Technician
        Tierney, Perry, and Lindell- Chapter 4-6

UNIT 3 Incident Command Exercise, March 20, 2002
        Domestic Preparedness: Incident Command
        Disaster Response and Operation Management exercise
        Tierney, Perry, and Lindell- Chapter 7

UNIT 4 Disaster Preparedness and Response, March 21, 2002
        Group Presentations 1-7
        Conceptualizing Disasters and their Impacts
        Research on Disaster Preparedness
        Individual and Group Behaviors in Disasters
        Organizational and Governmental Response in Disasters
        Factors Influencing Disaster Preparedness and Response
        Social Factors Influencing Emergency Management Policy
        Improving What We Know About Disasters

UNIT 5 Terrorist Threats, March 22, 2002
        Domestic Terrorism: Specific Threats
        International Terrorism: Specific Threats
        Final Examination