Copyright 1999 by Walter G. Green III. All rights reserved.
PROFESSOR:
Walter G. Green III, Ph.D., CEM, Assistant Professor of Emergency Services Management
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Students may contact the professor in any of the following ways:
office phone: (804) 371-3500 ext 3518
home phone: supplied by E-mail
home fax: supplied by E-mail
voice mail: (804) 287-1246 at the University
by e-mail: Richmond_ESM@tripod.net
Appointments can be made to visit the professor's office between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm Monday through Friday or after hours at the School of Continuing Studies.
COURSE SCHEDULE:
The attached Course Schedule (see the Course Links below) provides a general flow of the sessions and assignments for the course. In general you should plan to complete one session per week. It is very important that you keep up with the rest of your classmates, because this course depends heavily on interaction between all of you. You will also notice that two Saturday sessions have been scheduled on the campus. These let us work together on projects, discuss major issues, and participate in simulations that would not be practical over the Internet.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: On completion of this course, you will be able to:
(1) Apply analytical tools to identify, characterize, and resolve management problems in the emergency services.
(2) Identify and describe common issues that impact the management of all types of public and private emergency services and propose solutions to the resulting problems.
(3) Develop integrative strategies to best use emergency services resources effectively to meet public and private sector needs.
INSTRUCTIONAL PHILOSOPHY:
Introduction to Emergency Services Management sets the stage for the other courses in the program, whether you plan to complete a Minor, Certificate, or the Major as part of an Associates or Bachelors degree. This course focuses on giving you a broad understanding of the incredible variety of things, needs, issues, etc., that make up the emergency services. This is an integrative course, like all the courses in the program. We define "emergency services" in the broad context of fire, emergency medical, law enforcement, emergency management, business continuity, and voluntary services. This includes anyone or any agency with a role of responding to emergencies to preserve life, property, the environment, and the functioning of society.
Each of you bring unique perspectives and expertise to this course and our program. I expect that a significant part of your learning will come from interaction with your fellow students, in sharing your knowledge and in learning what their roles and expertise are. So do not hesitate to contribute your thoughts, comment on others' ideas, and argue constructively to develop shared understanding of the problems that face all of us.
REQUIRED READING:
The primary course textbook is:
Harry R. Carter and Erwin Rausch, MANAGEMENT IN THE FIRE SERVICE, published in 1989 by the National Fire Protection Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269.
You can order this book from NFPA (phone 1-800-344-3555) or through a local bookstore (tell the bookseller that the ISBN is 0-87765-357-7) or purchase a copy at the University of Richmond bookstore.
I chose Carter and Rausch because their book is the best general management book written for any of the emergency services. It provides the widest scope of coverage of issues of any of the standard fire, emergency medical services, law enforcement, or emergency management texts. If you are not in the fire service read it carefully with an eye to how the material applies to what you do.
You will also receive a Federal Emergency Management Agency independent study course, IS-1 THE EMERGENCY PROGRAM MANAGER, by mail. This is at no charge to you, and provides some useful material on managing an emergency service as part of local government. The material on how to coordinate with other agencies and develop an overall community approach to emergency response is important.
I will mail you, as readings, parts of a draft textbook for this course. This material covers areas not addressed in either of the other books. Please give me feedback on your reaction to these drafts.
SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL SOURCES:
I have attached a list of other source books (see the Course Links below) that may be of value to you. You do not have to purchase or borrow these books to complete this class. However, they are basic professional references you might want to consider obtaining for your personal professional library.
HOW THE COURSE WORKS:
This course consists of 15 sessions delivered on-line and two on campus weekend workdays. Each on-line session will consist of a reading assignment and questions for discussion. First read the material carefully - there will be a lot to cover. Then compose an E-mail that addresses the first question you choose to answer. Post that E-mail to our listserve (you will receive the address for this site by E-mail). The listserve is an automated message delivery system that will send your mail to all of the other students. Your response to questions should be short and to the point, from 150 to 250 words. After you have answered the assigned questions, you will receive E-mail messages from the other students in the course with their comments. Select at least two and post a comment back. There is no limit to how much commentary you do, and commentary that explores new directions or relates your experiences to the materials is particularly encouraged.
The September Saturday session will provide a chance to meet your fellow classmates, and will focus on the analytical tools we will read about in the first sessions's materials, several practical exercises, and on the case study method. The Saturday session at the end of the course will include more practical exercises, including a full floortop community emergency simulation, and presentation of your cases studies.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Course Requirements are posted separately (see the Course Links section below). Please read these very carefully, and E-mail me if you have any questions about what is expected.
ACADEMIC STANDARDS:
Academic Standards are posted separately (see the Course Links section below). Please read this material very carefully, as it explains how I grade, issues of confidentiality, and our honor system. If you have any questions, please E-mail me as soon as possible.
The Emergency Services Management degree program has made a commitment to service learning, the integration of academic work with the needs of the community to make learning more relevant and to increase the value of the University beyond the campus. The ways in which service learning will be included in courses are still evolving. However, during this course, if there is a way for a course assignment to be made more useful by meeting a need of your emergency services agency, please do not hesitate to contact the professor to suggest such a modification. If you do not have previous emergency services experience or are not affiliated with an agency, but are interested in gaining experience, there are a number of available options for volunteer service. Check with the professor. And if you would be interested in undertaking an assignment in a format that would make it useful as training materials for agencies that lack such materials, please contact the professor for further guidance.
The bottom line is that a paper that ends up in a faculty member's file drawer, and then the trash can, helps no one except you. A paper or a project that others can apply helps the emergency servcies in general and gives you publication credit or experience that can be translated into future job advancement.
Richmond_ESM@tripod.net
P. O. Box 799
Glen Allen, VA 23060-0799
United States