Ebook: Disaster policy and its practice in the United States : a brief history and analysis

Emergency management and the study of disasters is a relatively young industry, beginning in its current form only after the World Wars of the previous century. Yet with the ever-increasing complexity of society in the Digital Age, the management and recovery from disasters in recent years have received more attention than ever. In a field traditionally belonging to the military and social sciences, the authors of this book review existing policy and standard practices within emergency management from an industrial and systems engineering perspective. The book explores both the contextual history of managing disasters in the United States, both at the national and local level, and describes how these events influenced federal policy development in the latter half of the 20th century. Compliance with this policy, and existing challenges with 21st century technology, is further explored, along with recommendations for future policy directions. Practitioners of emergency management, and academic researchers who ask the question "is our policy working?" should find the text relevant to their endeavors.  Read more...