emergency response guide online

The leader in the field, Emergency Medical Responder, Ninth Edition, provides clear first responder-level training for fire service, emergency, law enforcement, military, civil, and industrial personnel. The new ninth edition retains many successful features from previous editions and includes new topics and concepts that have recently become part of most Emergency Medical Responder programs. The foundation of this text is the new National Emergency Medical Services Education Standards for Emergency Medical Responder, and it also includes the 2010 American Heart Association guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and First Aid.

Although recent global disasters have clearly demonstrated the power of social media to communicate critical information in real-time, its true potential has yet to be unleashed. Social Media, Crisis Communication, and Emergency Management: Leveraging Web 2.0 Technologies teaches emergency management professionals how to use social media to improve emergency planning, preparedness, and response capabilities. It provides a set of guidelines and safe practices for using social media effectively across a range of emergency management applications.

Explaining how emergency management agencies can take advantage of the extended reach these technologies offer, the book supplies cutting-edge methods for leveraging these technologies to manage information more efficiently, reduce information overload, inform the public, and ultimately save lives. Filled with real-world examples and case studies, it is an ideal self-study resource. Its easy-to-navigate structure and numerous exercises also make it suitable for courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  

From crowdsourcing and digital volunteers to mapping and collective intelligence, Social Media, Crisis Communication, and Emergency Management: Leveraging Web 2.0 Technologies facilitates a clear understanding of the essential principles of social media. Each chapter includes an example of a local-level practitioner, organization, or agency using social media that demonstrates the transformative power of social media in the real world. The book also includes numerous exercises that supply readers with models for building their own social media sites and groups—making it a must-read for anyone who wants to learn more about the communication and information structures supported by social media.

Bullock, Haddow, and Coppola have set the standard for homeland security textbooks, and they follow up best-selling third edition with this substantially improved version. As with its predecessor, the book clearly delineates the bedrock principles of preparing for, mitigating, managing, and recovering from emergencies and disasters. However, this new edition emphasizes their value with improved clarity and focus. What's more, it has been thoroughly revised to include changes that are based on transformations relevant to the political, budgetary, and legal aspects of homeland security that have changed since the 2008 Presidential election (and subsequent change in the administration). These include: new chapters on intelligence and counterterrorism, border security, transportation security, and cybersecurity; an expansion of material on the organization of the Department of Homeland Security; strategic and philosophical changes that are recommended and/or that have occurred as a result of the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review completed in 2010; updated budgetary information on both homeland security programs, and on the homeland security grants that have supported safety and security actions at the state and local levels, as well as in the private sector; and changes in the way the public perceives and receives information about security risk, including the elimination of the Homeland Security Advisory System.

* New chapter that focuses specifically on the border and transportation security missions * An increased focus on cyber security and infrastructure security, both of which are rapidly growing in importance in the homeland security field among officials at all levels * A companion website that includes a full online Instructor's Guide and PowerPoint Lecture Slides.

“[T]he best. . . .The book is extremely well organized for an undergraduate class in homeland security.”
—Homeland Security Affairs

“Homeland Security is much more than a textbook. It is an indispensable reference resource for those seeking to understand how terrorists operate and the structures and mechanisms that have been developed to respond to the magnitude of the terrorist threats confronting us.”
—The Washington Times

Homeland Security: A Complete Guide is the authoritative guide to the history, mission, and evolution of the national homeland security enterprise, including federal, state, local, and private sector efforts. Whether you’re a first responder, corporate executive, government official, or concerned citizen, this book provides a comprehensive understanding of U.S. homeland security and your own role in preparing for and responding to terrorism and disasters.

Since publication of the previous edition in 2005, the Department of Homeland Security, other government agencies, and the broader homeland security enterprise have grown to cover “all hazards” and respond to emerging threats and policies.

Documenting and analyzing these trends, this new edition of Homeland Security: A Complete Guide has been expanded and updated to include:

• New insights from the authors’ close contacts with high-level government and business officials
• Late-breaking academic research, government reports, and examples from the field
• Lessons learned from foiled terror plots, natural disasters, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq
• The use of emerging technologies by terrorists and responders alike
• Controversies surrounding civil liberties, airport security, immigration, and government funding

An ideal resource for academic and training classrooms, Homeland Security: A Complete Guide includes an overview, learning objectives, source documents, discussion topic, summary, and quiz for each chapter.

Updates to this edition cover

• Emerging threats
• Incident management
• Myths about weapons of mass destruction
• Hurricane Katrina’s effect on homeland security
• Border, maritime, and aviation security
• Business preparedness
• Cybersecurity
• The roles of state and local government
• National strategy assessment
• Technology
• Domestic counterterrorism
• Military support
• Responding to natural and human-made disasters
• The intelligence cycle
• State-sponsored terrorism
• Protecting critical infrastructure
• Foiled terror attacks
• Public awareness
• Islamist and domestic extremism
• Security trends from colonial days to 9/11

Close to 60,000 civil lawsuits are filed annually against criminal justice practitioners. This increasing litigation poses a significant problem for law enforcement and other personnel who must ensure they are performing their legal duties within the boundaries of case law. In brief, they not only need a working knowledge of criminal law but a firm grasp on the civil law process as well. Civil Liability in Criminal Justice provides valuable advice and protection to future officers and correctional system employees, introducing them to civil liability generally and the federal law specifically, while indicating steps that can be taken to minimize risks. The text clearly outlines the specific precedents to which both individual staff members and entire agencies must adhere and provides court decisions in common and high liability areas.

This text is now one of very few on the subject that combines applicable case law and related liability research, a valuable new feature for current and future policy makers and managers. It also provides an overview of current case law in high liability areas, enhancing student knowledge and practitioner job performance. What's more, newly equipped with a much enhanced ancillary package, Civil Liability in Criminal Justice now offers support to both students and their instructors as they work to master this complex topic. Exercises based on ethical dilemmas and evidence-based assessments of likely trouble spots in organizational training and policy prepare the reader to avoid costly legal action in the complex worlds of policing and corrections.

* Hundreds of cases are referenced throughout the text, including the latest US Supreme Court decisions in civil liability suits against police and corrections officers and their agencies * Provides richly documented research findings regarding recent trends in litigation and financial penalties * Includes current thinking on avoiding lawsuits through training and policy development