UH West Oʻahu professor publishes international homeland security article

Posted: May 3, 2011

UH West Oʻahu Professor Dr. Ross Prizzia recently published an article in the spring 2011 issue of the peer-reviewed journal, International Homeland Security. The article titled “Disaster Management in the Asia-Pacific Region: The Role of Hawai‘i,” focuses on the strategic role of Hawai‘i-based government agencies in disaster preparedness and emergency management in the Asia Pacific region.

 

According to Prizzia, Hawai‘i plays a key role in the prevention of, preparation for, and response to disasters in the Asia Pacific region as is demonstrated through the operations of Hawai‘i-based institutions such as the Pearl Harbor Naval Base, U.S. Army Pacific, U.S. Pacific Command, Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS), East-West Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, Pacific Disaster Center, and other related disaster-management support organizations located throughout the state of Hawai‘i. Prizzia states from his research that Hawai‘i, as the only island state in the Pacific Ocean and as the base of U.S. operations, is strategic in any U.S. response to a wide range of natural and man-made disasters as well as the threat of terrorism. Moreover, the extensive Hawai‘i-based network of coordination, cooperation, and collaboration among emergency and disaster management government and civilian agencies at the local, national and international levels is essential to maintaining security in the Asia Pacific region. Prizzia concludes that, although some of this network of cooperation may be unique to Hawai‘i and the Asia Pacific region, most is not and can provide useful “best practices” for other practitioners and jurisdictions.

 

Prizzia is chair of the Division of Professional Studies, coordinator of disaster preparedness and emergency management programs and professor of public administration at UH West O‘ahu. He is the author of numerous journal articles, book chapters and four books, and also serves as senior editor for the journal Risk, Hazards and Crisis in Public Policy and peer reviewer for the Journal of Environmental Economics, International Journal of Disaster Resilience in the Built Environment, and the American Review of Public Administration.

 

 

UH West O‘ahu became a four-year, regional comprehensive university when it served its first class of freshmen in fall 2007. The University offers quality education, small classes and personalized attention at convenient locations. Construction began in August 2010 on the first phase of a new, state-of-the-art UH West O‘ahu campus in the City of Kapolei. It is expected to serve approximately 2,000 students for fall 2012 classes. For more information, visit uhwo.hawaii.edu, twitter.com/uhwestoahu, facebook.com/uhwestoahu or call 454-4700 or toll-free (866) 299-8656.