Public Safety Signals

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced the 2011 FEMA Individual and Community Preparedness Awards. According to FEMA, “They recognize the innovative practices and achievements of organizations and individuals that work to make our communities safer, stronger, and better prepared to manage any emergency situation”. (http://www.citizencorps.gov/councils/awards/2011/awardwinners2011.shtm).

Do average Americans and disaster management professionals differ in their views about the threats facing the country and from where the threats might come? Is there agreement among emergency management professionals on how the public views the government’s ability to deal with national disasters (http://www.emergencymgmt.com/)?

“FEMA (2011), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will conduct the first nationwide Emergency Alert System (EAS) Test on November 9, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.”
Learn more about the test at http://www.fema.gov/emergency/ipaws/eas_info.shtm

To assess our preparedness for another disaster, Capella University partnered with leading national public service and public safety organizations, including the American Public Health Association, the American Society for Public Administration, the Comprehensive Emergency Management Research Foundation, and the FBI National Academy Associates to conduct a nationwide survey of more than 1,000 public service and [...]

In an article published on September 30, 2011 in the Gazette.Net, titled Emergency management and security are booming fields in Maryland, nationally, online staff writer Kevin James Shay points to the current growth and future prospects in the fields of emergency management and homeland security.
Please see the article at: http://www.gazette.net/article/20110930/NEWS/709309699/1007/emergency-management-and-security-are-booming-fields-in-maryland&template=gazette

As I shared in a recent post, Capella University partnered with several leading public service organizations on a major survey research project. Our partners included the International Association of Emergency Managers, the American Public Health Association, the American Society for Public Administration, the Comprehensive Emergency Management Research Foundation and the FBI National Academy Associates.

In recognition of the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Capella has co-sponsored a major survey research project of first responders, emergency managers, public health officials and others on the front lines of emergency preparedness and response to ask the basic question: How prepared are we for another major terrorist attack or national disaster?

Best wishes for recovery to Congresswoman Giffords and to the other victims of yesterday’s shooting in Arizona.
Condelences go out to all of those families who lost loved ones during this attack.
One of those killed was a 9 year old girl, who was born on 9/11/01. There are no words for me that can describe [...]

           Another terrible anniversary looms, one that we all wish had never happened. In September of 2001, the way we did our public safety jobs changed forever. We watched as planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. The day soon was dubbed “9/11”. This is a date [...]

Hello everyone, I intended to mention in my last post that development of Capella’s public safety degree portfolio continues. Yesterday saw the announcement of a new BS degree in Homeland Security and a new BS degree in Security Management.
The field of Homeland Security is evolving and is a source of national attention. Just earlier [...]