Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education

Advisor

Indiana Robinson

Committee Member

Marcia O'Neil

Keywords

9/11 attacks World Trade Center, archival interviews, content analysis, disaster response preparedness, heuristics research methodology, military history, military studies, New York State military forces

Abstract

The problem identified in this study concerned the impact of disaster response preparedness (DRP) from the past, present, and future perspectives. The study explored the experiences of four survivors from the 1993 WTC bombing, the effectiveness of seven New York State Military Forces (NYSMF) deployed to Ground Zero (GZ), and perspectives of five Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals on DRP operations going forward from 9/11.

Following an explorative heuristic research approach, the study utilized a qualitative and content analysis methodology (both qualitative and quantitative aspects) to investigate the problem using published archival interviews from the informants. Minimally, hypothesis testing, and descriptive and inferential statistics formed part of the data analysis.

The results showed that the survivors of 1993 attack on the WTC experienced no interaction with first responders and were without DRP guidance. The NYSMF informants responded within 24 hours of the 9/11 WTC attacks, but were instructed to play a determinate role, as military force was deemed not appropriate to the situation on the ground. NYSMF augmented the roles of the New York Police Department (NYPD) and other first responders by conducting perimeter security at GZ. The EMS informants developed and implemented contingency plans to study DRP, and trained organizations and municipalities in the preparation for future disasters.

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