Course: Disaster Recovery and Mitigation

 

COURSE & SECTION: FES 4804 CREDIT HOURS: 3

SESSION: Spring 2018

 

* * ON-LINE

** THERE WILL BE TIMES SCHEDULED FOR ON-LINE MEETINGS.

 

INSTRUCTOR: James D. Weed Sr., MS.

 

Office Rinker School of Construction Management

                                                 jamesdweed@ufl.edu

443-812-8612

 

          Bio for James D. Weed Sr. MS.

 

 

 

Professor Weed is currently the Emergency Preparedness Manager for Prince George’s Community College. He oversees emergency management planning and policy, training and exercise, public preparedness and education and special events management and also oversees the Logistics Management and Resource Support program, Critical Infrastructure Protection and Key resources, and serves on a number of regional and state working groups. The total student population of the college is 40,000 and has 6 different campuses.

 

Prior to his service in Pasco Prince George’s Community College Professor Weed held the position of Emergency Management Coordinator for Pasco County Florida and Carroll County’s Office of Public Safety Support Services, Maryland where he serves as one of the advisors to the Carroll County Commissioner’s and the Public Safety Support Services Administrator on matters of emergency management and homeland security. Professor Weed began his tenure with the county in 2010 where he oversees emergency management planning and policy, training and exercise, public preparedness and education and special events management. Professor Weed is continuing to focus on building public and private partnerships and developing programs that connect the knowledge and energy of the county’s citizens with the public safety community. This has resulted in a growing and comprehensive emergency preparedness program for Carroll County.

 

Prior to his service for Carroll County, Professor Weed held the position of Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Programs for the National League of Cities where he managed a combined staff of Homeland Security and Emergency Management analyst and curriculum designers that provide crisis management evaluation and training for over 1,500 member Towns and Cities that make up the National League of Cities (NLC) organization. He conducted studies for member cities and towns in the areas of, identifying local leadership strategies, tools and resources for disaster and emergency response and management. He managed the development and implementation of local and regional training programs that focus on building the necessary skills of local elected and appointed officials/leaders to effectively address the four missions of emergency/crisis management and training programs that are designed to educate the community leadership about their roles in emergency/crisis management.

 

Professor Weed also served as the Director of Emergency Management for Anne Arundel County, Maryland where he served as one of the chief advisors to the Anne Arundel County Executive and the Chief Administrative Officer on matters of emergency management and homeland security. Mr. Weed began his tenure with the county in 2003 where he oversees emergency management planning and policy, training and exercise, public preparedness and education and special events management. He was responsible for the development of the Anne Arundel County Mobile Command and Communications Unit, which provides complete communications interoperability to first responders from all sectors of government.

 

 He has served as the Director of Local Government Studies for TriData Corporation where he consulted on fire department and emergency management studies for jurisdictions such as Houston, Texas; Seattle, Washington and Broward County, Florida among others. He has been an investigator for major fire and emergency management incidents for the U.S. Fire Administration and worked on special research projects in these areas.

 

Professor Weed served as the State Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Director, where he developed and implemented a Statewide Hazardous Materials Emergency Response Division for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  He managed the day-to-day operations of the regional response teams consisting of 385 employees and he designed and implemented a unified command system by creating partnerships with federal and state agencies, as well as private industries, for a multi-agency response program.  In his capacity as director, he directed the design and implementation of a statewide management information system utilizing multiple communications devices to transmit receive and download data worldwide for all emergency response activities.

 

Professor Weed is a graduate of the University of Maryland where he earned a B.S. in Fire Administration and Management Studies and a graduate of the Grand Canyon University where he earned a Master of Science degree in Public Safety Executive Leadership. He is an Associate Professor of Emergency Management and Homeland Security for the University of Maryland and the University of Florida where he teaches between one and four undergraduate degree courses per semester delivered online and face-to-face in emergency management, homeland security and fire science. Course include emergency planning and management, disaster mental health, communications, international emergency management, leadership and strategic planning, fire administration, hazard and risk management, homeland security policy and management, disaster resiliency and vulnerable populations management, statistics, research methods, and thesis and project management. His non-teaching duties include curriculum and program development, advisement, professional development activities and grant writing within the emergency management and homeland security areas.

 

 He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Maryland and Florida Emergency Management Association and the International Association of Emergency Managers.

 

 

 

OFFICE HOURS:              I   am in the office M on -Fri hours vary depending on travel and meetings; however, I am usually available 8 am -5 pm. You can email me any time.

**COURSE WEBSITE: http://lss.at.ufl.edu

 

 

 

** COURSE COMMUNICATIONS: There is a General Discussion tab that can be used, or send me an email through the course email. Urgent messages can be sent to my james.weed@ufl.edu email.

 

 

REQUIRED TEXT: The Disaster Recovery Handbook Wallace, M. & Webber, L.; {2011)

AMACOM Publishing ISBN 9780814416136

 

**ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Use resources on the course site under the Resource tab

 

 

 

**COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course provides students an opportunity to understand real world disaster response efforts through academic study and interactive applied activities. Topics include the Incident Command System (ICS), Emergency Operations Center (EOC) management, Resource Management (RM) and Command­ Communications-Coordination   (C3).

 

 

**PREREQUISITE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS: None

 

 

 

PURPOSE OF COURSE: This course provides a basis for the process of disaster recovery.

COURSE GOALS AND/OR OBJECTIVES: By the end of this course, students will:

 

1. Identify the possible threats that could disrupt a community and the

 

2. Select a recovery strategy for quickly restoring vital business

 

3. Write a disaster recovery

 

4. Discuss how to safeguard valuable

 

** HOW THIS COURSE RELATES TO THE STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES IN THE FIRE

EMERGENCY SERVICES PROGRAM: Identify and evaluate organizational problems associated with fire and emergency services.

 

 

**TEACHING PHILOSOPHY: I am looking for students to demonstrate a working knowledge of the subject. You need to be creative when you complete your assignments but maintain a professional appearance of your work. Your work needs to be complete and in such a manner that someone can pick up your document and understand what you are trying to convey. And most of all your work needs to be supported with research and cited in proper y in APA format.

 

 

**INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS: The course is designed for individual and group interactivity. It is important to post and respond to discussion questions in the course within the timeframe allotted. This provides a learning environment by networking with other students in the course. The assignments are individual base to give you the opportunity to do a variety of activities, in many cases, similar to what you will be doing in role as a leader in the emergency services profession.

 

 

 

COURSE POLICIES:

 

ATTENDANCE POLICY: The course is designed in module format. You should check the site at least once a week. You are required to complete the assignments including discussion questions within the time period designated on the module. There will be meetings set up throughout the course. Requirements for class attendance and make-up exams, assignments, and other work in this course are consistent with university policies that can be found in the online catalog at:

https://cataloq.uf/.edu/uqrad/current/regulations/info/attendance.aspx.

 

**QUIZ/EXAM POLICY: There is a final project for this course. There are no exams or quizzes.

 

MAKE-UP POLICY: You must contact me if you are going to be late on any assignment to receive credit.

**ASSIGNMENT POLICY: All assignments have a due date. Please be sure to check the date and time it is due in each module.

 

**COURSE TECHNOLOGY: Class meetings will require a web camera and mic/audio. If you are not able to use a web camera you will need to at least provide audio/mic, you can call in on a phone also.

 

 UF'S HONESTY POLICY:

 

UF students are bound by The Honor Pledge which states, "We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honor and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code.  On all work submitted   for credit by students at the University of Florida, the following pledge is either required or implied: "On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid in doing this assignment." The Honor Code (http://www.dso.utl .edu/sccr/process/student-conduct­ honor-code O specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of this code and the possible sanctions. Furthermore, you are obliged to report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to appropriate personnel. If you have any question s or concerns,

pl ease consult  with the instructor of in this cl ass.

 

 

 

 

 

UF PO LICIES :

 

UNIVERSITY POLICY ON ACCOMMODA TING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: Students

Requesting accommodation for disabilities must first register with the Dean of Students Office (http://www.dso.ufl.edu/drc/). The Dean of Students Office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation. You must submit this documentation prior to submitting assignments or taking the quizzes or exams. Accommodations are not retroactive, therefore, student s should contact the office as soon as possible in the term for which they are seeking accommodation s.

 

UNIVERSITY POLICY ON ACADEM IC MISCONDUCT: Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the University community. Students should be sure that they understand the UF Student Honor Code at http://www.dso.ufl.edu/students.php.

 

NETIQUElTE: COMMUNICATION COURTESY: All members of the class are expected to follow rules of common courtesy in all email messages, threaded discussions and chats. [Describe what is expected and what will occur as a result of improper behavior] http://teach.ufl.edu/docs/NetiquetteGuideforOnlineCourses.pdf

 

i' '         .           '

GETTING HELP:

 

For issues with technical difficulties for E-learning in Sakai, please contact the UF Help Desk at:

 

• Learning-support@ufl.edu

 

• (352) 392-HELP - select option 2

 

• https://lss.at.ufl.edu/help.shtml

 

** Any requests for make-ups due to technical issues MUST be accompanied by the ticket number received from LSS when the problem was reported to them. The ticket

number will document the time and date of the problem. You MUST e-mail your instructor within 24 hours of the technical difficulty if you wish to request a  make-up.

 

Other resources are available at http://www.distance.ufl.edu/getting-help for:

 

• Counseling and Wellness resources

 

• Disability resources

 

• Resources for handling student concerns and complaints

 

• Library Help Desk support

 

Should you have any complaints with your experience in this course please visit http://www.distance.ufl.edu/student-complaints to submit a complaint.

 

 

 

 COURSE SCHEDULE:

 

Week 1   1/08/2018	Introduction - online post Read Syllabus and review course content Getting Started Assign Module One - Discussion and Assignment Assign Final Project
Week 2 1/15/2018	Module one Discussion and Assignment  due
Week 3 1/22/2018	Disaster Management and Theories of Disaster Management

 

	Assignment Module Two - Discussion and Assignment
Week 4   1/29/2018	Building the Business Case Evaluating Risk Selecting a Strategy Module Two discussion and assignment  due
Week 5 2/05/2018	Build an interim Plan Writing the Plan Assign Module Three discussion  and assignment
Week 6   2/12/2018	Administrative  Plan Crisis Management Plan Module Three discussion and assignment  due
Week 7   2/19/2018	Technical Recovery Plan Work Area  recovery Plan   Assign Module Four discussion and  assignment
Week 8   2/26/2018	Emergency  Operations Center Pandemic Plan Module Four discussion and assignment  due
Week 9   3/05/2018	Electrical Service Testing your Plan Assign Module Five discussion and  assignment
Week 10   3/12/2018	Vital Records Recovery Telecommunications and Networking Module Five discussion and assignment due
Week 11   3/19/2018	Workstations Data Assign Module Six discussion and assignment
Week 12 3/26/2018	Suppliers Customers

 

	Module Six discussion and assignment  due
Week 13   4/02/2018	Human Resources Fire Assign Module Seven discussion and assignment
Week 14   4/09/2018	Terrorism Health and Safety Module Seven discussion and assignment  due
Week 15 4/16/2018	Final Project due

 

 

 

Grading Policy:

 

The grade is based on a point system. You divide the total number of earned points into the total amount of points available to determine your grade. A grading rubric for the final project is under the Resource Tab on the course.

 

 

 

 

Assignment	Points or percentage
Grading Discussion Participation - 15 points each discussion	105 points
Homework Assignments - points each assignment	105 points
Final Project - comprehensive and applied	100 points
Total Grade	310 points

 

 

 

GRADING SCALE

A  = 93.0 to 100%   C  = 73.0 to 76.9

A- = 90.0 to 92.9      C- = 70.0 to 72.9

 

8+ = 87.0 to 89.9       D+ = 67.0 to 69.9

8  = 83.0 to 86.9         D  = 63.0 to 66.9

8- = 80.0 to 82.9         D- = 60.0 to 62.9

C+ = 77.0 to 79.9        F   = below 60

 

See https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/regulations/info/grades.aspx regarding current UF grading policies.

 

Evaluation Process:

 

Students are expected to provide feedback on the quality of instruction in this course based on 10 criteria. These evaluations are conducted online at https://evaluations.ufl.edu. Evaluations are typically open during the last two or three Weeks of the semester, but students will be given specific times when they are open. Summary results of these assessments are available to students at https://evaluations.ufl.edu.