EDMG 320
Natural Disaster Management
3 Credit Hours
8 Week Course
Prerequisite(s): None
Table of Contents
Instructor Information / Evaluation Procedures
Course Description / Course Outline
Course Scope / Academic Services
Course Objectives / Selected Bibliography
Course Delivery Method
Course Materials
Instructor Information
Instructor: William A. Salmon
Email:
Phone: (970)-633-0769 (If you need to contact me for an emergency use this number)
Skype: wsalmon345
Office Hours: Email is the primary method of contact; meetings by appointment.
Course Description (Catalog)EDMG 320 Natural Disaster Management (3 hours)
This course covers basic principles of natural disaster management. This course highlights several hazard types as topical investigations, as well as the processes and considerations of management options for preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. This will include but not be limited to understanding basic natural hazard mechanisms, the range of physical and human impacts, linkages to demographic and environmental transitions, and both structural and non-structural mitigation techniques. All management techniques are framed within existing U.S. Federal guidelines however; management techniques covered in this course may be applied widely.
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Course ScopeThe course is eight weeks long and is appropriate for upper levels of undergraduate work. The course materials, assignments, learning outcomes, and expectations in this upper level undergraduate course assume that the student has completed all lower level general education and career planning coursework necessary to develop research, writing, and critical thinking skills. College-level competency in research and writing skills are a “must”. Exams will consist of a variety of questions, to include multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay. A course project will have students integrate learned material into an effective, accurate presentation. Students who have not fulfilled all general education requirements through courses or awarded transfer credit should strongly consider completing these requirements prior to registering for this course.
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Course ObjectivesThe successful student will fulfill the following learning objectives:
CO-1 Evaluate potential causes of natural disasters and frameworks for analysis.
CO-2 Summarize physical mechanisms creating natural hazards and explain spatial distributions of hazard occurrence.
CO-3 Demonstrate knowledge of factors impacting individual and community responses to natural events.
CO-4 Distinguish the roles and responsibilities of various agencies for natural events and evaluate various programs for natural disaster mitigation and management.
CO-5 Examine sources of disaster losses, application of economic programs and economic evaluation of adjustment to hazards.
CO-6 Identify processes of risk analysis and vulnerability assessment.
CO-7 Evaluate the environmental impact of extreme natural events.
CO-8 Illustrate application and comprehension of management techniques to current case studies.
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Course Delivery MethodThis course will offer the student a highly interactive, asynchronous virtual classroom. Each week’s lesson will have a course announcement, assigned readings, a project, homework, or exam and other guidance provided by the instructor. The student is expected to fully participate in discussions and interact with the instructor and other students, reading assignments and assigned projects should be completed in a timely manner.
“Asynchronous” is not the same as “independent study” – all students are to participate in the weekly assignments and topics together, it is within that week where each individual has flexibility on completing the week’s tasks. NOTE: All assignments must be completed by the due dates for credit unless prior approval has been provided by the instructor.
The nature of an online course requires a significant amount of discipline and independent work. The student is responsible for managing time, completing assignments and notifying the Professor immediately of any difficulties. All assignments will have a week or more to complete therefore, extensions are not anticipated.
Each week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, and all posted times are Eastern Time. TAKE NOTE IF YOU ARE IN A DIFFERENT TIME ZONE AS YOU WILL GET LOCKED OUT OF EXAMS IF LATE. Students are encouraged to carefully check due dates and times on exams so as not to miss a submission.
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Course MaterialsTextbook: Graham A. Tobin and Burrell E. Montz. 1997. Natural Hazards: Explanation and Integration. New York: The Guilford Press. ISBN 1-57230-062-0.
Additional Readings: Weekly case study readings will be assigned in class and will change to remain current for illustrative purposes. Please refer to “Course Announcements” for listings.
Software:
· Microsoft Office (MS Word)
· Adobe Acrobat Reader (Free download from http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html)
Evaluation ProceduresDiscussion Forums:
Participation is mandatory and will count towards the course grade. You are expected to provide a substantial comment of several well-written paragraphs in each session and a similar comment or reflection in reply to at least two other students’ contribution. Statements such as “I agree” or “good post” will not count as a reply. You will be marked down for this type of response.
Initial posting is due on Thrusday of the assigned week. The responses are due by Sunday midnight.
Weekly Assignments:
There are five weekly assignments that will vary in format. These assignments are crafted to provide the student with challenging applications of information while testing the student’s learning that week. Each assignment must be completed on time for full credit. Late assignments will be accepted at the discretion of the instructor. Projects will vary by class, so exact assignments will be found in the online classroom.
These should be uploaded to your Student Folder, unless otherwise instructed. Be sure to cite your references correctly.
Exams:
The exams are on-line, open-book, and timed. They may include any combination of multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short essay type questions. An announcement will be posted when they are available to be taken. All “make-up” exams will be essay format and are provided at the discretion of the instructor.
Course Project:
This exercise is designed to have each student conduct a small research project, assess their research and present it in the format specified in the assignment directions. Goals include encouraging development of research skills, application of specific topical knowledge, and practice in communicating research to an “audience.” Projects change by class, so the exact topic will be provided in the online classroom.
NOTE: The Project location is due Week 2.
The grading scale for each evaluation is provided below:
Grade Instruments / PointsWeek 1 Assignment / 100
Week 2 Assignment / 100
Week 3 Assignment / 100
Week 4 Assignment / 100
Week 5 Assignment / 100
Mid Term Exam / 100
Final Exam / 100
Discussion Post 1 / 100
Discussion Post 2 / 100
Discussion Post 3 / 100
Discussion Post 4 / 100
Discussion Post 5 / 100
Discussion Post 6 / 100
Course Project / 100
TOTAL / 1400
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Course OutlineWeek / Topic(s) / Learning Objective(s) / Reading(s) / Assignment(s)
1 / The Range of Extreme Natural Events / CO-1
Evaluate potential causes of natural disasters and frameworks for analysis. / Chapter 1: Natural Hazards and Disasters: When Potential Becomes Reality
QR193 The Groundhog Day Florida Tornadoes: A Case Study of High-Vulnerability Tornadoes, by Kevin M. Simmons and Daniel Sutter. 2007.
In “Course Materials,” Additional Weekly Required Readings. Week #1 / Discussion Forum #1
Weekly Assignment #1
2 / Geophysical and Spatial Considerations of Natural Hazards / CO-2
Summarize physical mechanisms creating natural hazards and explain spatial distributions of hazard occurrence. / Chapter 2: Physical Dimensions of Natural Hazards
Elsner, James B., A. Anastasios, Thomas Jagger, James B. Elsner.2006. High-Frequency variability in hurricane power dissipation and its relationship to global temperature. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 87(6): 763-768.
In “Course Materials,” Additional Weekly Required Readings. Week #2 / Discussion Forum #2
Weekly Assignment #2
Course Project location due – email it to me. (see Course Project assignment for more information.)
3 / Hazard Perception, Attitudes and Adjustments / CO-3 Demonstrate knowledge of factors impacting individual and community responses to natural events. / Chapter 3: Perception Studies: The Individual in Natural Hazards.
Chapter 4: Behavioral Studies: Community Attitudes and Adjustments / Discussion Forum #3
Weekly Assignment #3
4 / Public Policy and Planning / CO-4
Distinguish the roles and responsibilities of various agencies for natural events and evaluate various programs for natural disaster mitigation and management. / Chapter 5: Public Policy and Natural Hazards
Godschalk, David R., Samuel Brody, Raymond Burby. 2003. Public Participation in Natural Hazard Mitigation Policy Formation: Challenges for Comprehensive Planning. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management. 46(5): 733-754.
In “Course Materials,” Additional Weekly Required Readings. Week #4 / Mid-term
5 / Losses, Relief and Cost-Benefit Analysis: Economic Considerations of Disaster / CO-5
Examine sources of disaster losses, application of economic programs and economic evaluation of adjustment to hazards. / Chapter 6: The Economic Impacts of Hazards and Disasters
Rose, Adam. 2007. Economic resilience to natural and man-made disasters: Multidisciplinary origins and contextual dimensions. Environmental Hazards 7(4): 383-398.
In “Course Materials,” Additional Weekly Required Readings. Week #5 / Discussion Forum #4
Weekly Assignment #4
6 / Risk Assessment / CO-6
Identify processes of risk analysis and vulnerability assessment. / Chapter 7: Risk Assessment
Taubenbock, H., J. Post, A. Roth, K. Zosseder, G. Strunz, S. Dech. 2008. A conceptual vulnerability and risk framework as outlined to identify capabilities of remote sensing. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 8: 409-420.
In “Course Resources area,” Additional Weekly Required Readings. Week #6 / Discussion Forum #5
Weekly Assignment #5
7 / Environmental Change / CO-7
Evaluate the environmental impact of extreme natural events. / Topical Investigations of
Current Case Studies
Alison Ashlin, Richard J. Ladle. 2007. `Natural disasters' and newspapers: Post-tsunami environmental discourse. Environmental Hazards 7(4): 330-341.
In “Course Materials,” Additional Weekly Required Readings. Week #7 / Discussion Forum #6
Project due
8 / Integration and Synthesis / CO-8
Illustrate application and comprehension of management techniques to current case studies. / Chapter 8: An Integrated Approach to Natural Hazards
Review:
National Response Framework www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nrf/nrf-core.pdf
In “Course Materials,” Additional Weekly Required Readings. Week #8 / Final Exam
Course Summary Discussion Forum (ungraded)
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Academic ServicesONLINE LIBRARY & LEARNING RESOURCES
The Online Library is available to enrolled students and faculty from inside the electronic campus. This is your starting point for access to online books, subscription periodicals, and Web resources that are designed to support your classes and generally not available through search engines on the open Web. In addition, the Library provides access to special learning resources, which the University has contracted to assist with your studies. Questions can be directed to .
· Charles Town Library and Inter Library Loan: The University maintains a special library with a limited number of supporting volumes, collection of our professors’ publication, and services to search and borrow research books and articles from other libraries.
· Electronic Books: You can use the online library to uncover and download over 50,000 titles, which have been scanned and made available in electronic format.
· Electronic Journals: The University provides access to over 12,000 journals, which are available in electronic form and only through limited subscription services.
· Turnitin.com: Turnitin.com is a tool to improve student research skills that also detect plagiarism. Turnitin.com provides resources on developing topics and assignments that encourage and guide students in producing papers that are intellectually honest, original in thought, and clear in expression. This tool helps ensure a culture of adherence to the University's standards for intellectual honesty. Turnitin.com also reviews students' papers for matches with Internet materials and with thousands of student papers in its database, and returns an Originality Report to instructors and/or students.
APUS Policies
For policies and procedures related to grades, plagiarism, extensions, etc please refer to the related link within the classroom. All APUS policies in the student handbook and classroom links are applicable to this course.
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Selected BibliographyThe following suggested references are a small sampling of the literature on and related to natural hazards and disasters. This list includes some “classics”, textbooks, topic areas of interest, websites, and other sources that may be of use in this class, in future studies and in emergency management employment. This is not a comprehensive list, so be sure to research and study above and beyond what is found here!
Books and Articles:
Adeola, Francis O. 2003. “Flood hazard vulnerability: A study of Tropical Storm Allison (TSA) flood impacts and adaptation modes in Louisiana. Quick Response Report #162. Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, University of Colorado: Boulder, CO.
Alexander, David. 2002. Principles of Emergency Planning and Management. New York: Oxford University Press.
Alison Ashlin, Richard J. Ladle. 2007. `Natural disasters' and newspapers: Post-tsunami environmental discourse. Environmental Hazards 7(4): 330-341.
Bateman, Julie M. and Bob Edwards. 2002. “Gender and evacuation: A closer look at why women are more likely to evacuate for hurricanes. Natural Hazards Review 3(3):107-117.
Birkland, Thomas A. 1996. “Natural disasters as focusing events: Policy communities and political response”. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 14(2):221-243.
Blaikie, Piers, Terry Cannon, Ian Davis, Ben Wisner. 1994. At Risk: Natural Hazards, People’s Vulnerability, and Disasters. New York: Routledge.
Burby, Raymond J., ed. 1998. Cooperating with Nature: Confronting Natural Hazards with Land-Use Planning for Sustainable Communities. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
Burton, Ian, Robert W. Kates, and Gilbert F. White. 2004. The Environment as Hazard.New York: The Guilford Press.
Canton, Lucien G. 2007. Emergency Management: Concepts and Strategies for Effective Programs. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Cuny, Frederick C. with Richard B. Hill. 1999. Famine, Conflict and Response: A Basic Guide. West Hartford, CT: Kumarian Press.
Cutter, Susan L. 1993. Living with Risk. New York: Edward Arnold.
Cutter, Susan L., ed. 1994. Environmental Risks and Hazards. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
_____. 2001. American Hazardscapes: The Regionalization of Hazards and Disasters. Washington, D.C.: Joseph Henry Press.