{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/51245"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/51245","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Speeding into Action: The Influence of Paramilitary Culture on Disaster Response Organizations in the 2010 Haiti Earthquake","abstract":"This dissertation examines the influence of paramilitary professional cultural attributes on the speed at which disaster response organizations (DROs) recognize, respond, organize, and take action in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Three agencies are examined: the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. military's Southern Command/Joint Task Force-Haiti. The 2010 Haiti earthquake is used as a case study to explore the influence of three independent variables: (1) paramilitarism; (2) career ladders (i.e., recruitment and professional development of staff); and (3) workforce autonomy. The purpose is to determine if paramilitary cultures help or hinder an agency's speed into action, thereby helping improve the disaster response organizations of the future. In the case of Haiti, it finds that the combination of thick paramilitary culture, insider career ladders, and high workforce autonomy best enabled responders' speed into action.","abstract_html":"This dissertation examines the influence of paramilitary professional cultural attributes on the speed at which disaster response organizations (DROs) recognize, respond, organize, and take action in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Three agencies are examined: the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. military&#x27;s Southern Command/Joint Task Force-Haiti. The 2010 Haiti earthquake is used as a case study to explore the influence of three independent variables: (1) paramilitarism; (2) career ladders (i.e., recruitment and professional development of staff); and (3) workforce autonomy. The purpose is to determine if paramilitary cultures help or hinder an agency&#x27;s speed into action, thereby helping improve the disaster response organizations of the future. In the case of Haiti, it finds that the combination of thick paramilitary culture, insider career ladders, and high workforce autonomy best enabled responders&#x27; speed into action.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Stern, Jeffrey Daniel"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Ph. D.","degree_level":"doctoral","degree_discipline":"Public Administration and Public Affairs","degree_department":"School of Public and International Affairs","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Roberts, Patrick S."],"committee_members":["Dull, Matthew M.","Wolf, James F.","Khademian, Anne M."],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-02-02","date_published":"2015-02-02","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:39Z","subjects":["Haiti earthquake","disaster response","paramilitary","FEMA","Coast Guard","SOUTHCOM"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:4121"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:4121","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/51245","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Roberts, Patrick S."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Dull, Matthew M.","Wolf, James F.","Khademian, Anne M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["School of Public and International Affairs"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Stern, Jeffrey Daniel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2015-02-03T09:00:19Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-02-03T09:00:19Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2015-02-02"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Public Administration and Public Affairs"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["doctoral"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph. D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Haiti earthquake","disaster response","paramilitary","FEMA","Coast Guard","SOUTHCOM"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:4121"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/51245"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This dissertation examines the influence of paramilitary professional cultural attributes on the speed at which disaster response organizations (DROs) recognize, respond, organize, and take action in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Three agencies are examined: the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. military's Southern Command/Joint Task Force-Haiti. The 2010 Haiti earthquake is used as a case study to explore the influence of three independent variables: (1) paramilitarism; (2) career ladders (i.e., recruitment and professional development of staff); and (3) workforce autonomy. The purpose is to determine if paramilitary cultures help or hinder an agency's speed into action, thereby helping improve the disaster response organizations of the future. In the case of Haiti, it finds that the combination of thick paramilitary culture, insider career ladders, and high workforce autonomy best enabled responders' speed into action."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Ph. D."]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Speeding into Action: The Influence of Paramilitary Culture on Disaster Response Organizations in the 2010 Haiti Earthquake"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Roberts, Patrick S."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Dull, Matthew M.","Wolf, James F.","Khademian, Anne M."],"dc:contributor.department":["School of Public and International Affairs"],"dc:creator":["Stern, Jeffrey Daniel"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2015-02-03T09:00:19Z"],"dc:date.available":["2015-02-03T09:00:19Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2015-02-02"],"dc:description.abstract":["This dissertation examines the influence of paramilitary professional cultural attributes on the speed at which disaster response organizations (DROs) recognize, respond, organize, and take action in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Three agencies are examined: the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. military's Southern Command/Joint Task Force-Haiti. The 2010 Haiti earthquake is used as a case study to explore the influence of three independent variables: (1) paramilitarism; (2) career ladders (i.e., recruitment and professional development of staff); and (3) workforce autonomy. The purpose is to determine if paramilitary cultures help or hinder an agency's speed into action, thereby helping improve the disaster response organizations of the future. In the case of Haiti, it finds that the combination of thick paramilitary culture, insider career ladders, and high workforce autonomy best enabled responders' speed into action."],"dc:description.degree":["Ph. D."],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:4121"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/51245"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["Haiti earthquake","disaster response","paramilitary","FEMA","Coast Guard","SOUTHCOM"],"dc:title":["Speeding into Action: The Influence of Paramilitary Culture on Disaster Response Organizations in the 2010 Haiti Earthquake"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Public Administration and Public Affairs"],"thesis:degree_level":["doctoral"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph. D."],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:39Z"}