I am currently most interested in policy learning. In particular, following Lee Clarke's idea that disaster plans are often fantasy documents, I believe that many post-disaster "lessons learned" documents are fantasy documents because no lessons are demonstrably learned. My goal in this research is to bridge my prior research on agenda setting with work on policy change, learning, failure, and implementation.
Disaster Research
Disaster Research and Social Network Analysis: Examples of the Scientific Understanding of Human Dynamics at the National Science Foundation (with Larry Suter and Raima Larter), Population Research and Policy Review (2009)
How can knowledge about human behavior be accumulated effectively? How does the funding agency best...
Disasters, Catastrophes, and Policy Failure in the Homeland Security Era., Review of Policy Research (2009)
The September 11 attacks triggered federal policy changes designed to influence emergency management in the...
Disasters, Lessons Learned, and Fantasy Documents, Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management (2009)
This article develops a general theory of why post-disaster ‘lessons learned’ documents are often ‘fantasy...
Media Framing and Policy Change after Columbine (with Regina G. Lawrence), American Behavioral Scientist (2009)
The 1999 Columbine school shooting incident in Colorado gained far more media attention across a...
Is Federalism the Reason for Policy Failure in Hurricane Katrina? (with Sarah Waterman), Publius (2008)
Governmental responses to Hurricane Katrina are generally cited as policy failures. Media and popular analyses...
Public Policy/SocietalIssues
Review of The Storm by Ivor van Heerden, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (2009)
A review of The Storm by Ivor van Heerden and Mike Bryan. New York, Viking,...
Is Federalism the Reason for Policy Failure in Hurricane Katrina? (with Sarah Waterman), Publius (2008)
Governmental responses to Hurricane Katrina are generally cited as policy failures. Media and popular analyses...
Homeland Security
Review of Meeting the Challenge of 9/11: Blueprints for More Effective Government, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (2009)
Book Review of Meeting the Challenge of 9/11: Blueprints for More Effective Government, by Thomas...
Disasters, Catastrophes, and Policy Failure in the Homeland Security Era., Review of Policy Research (2009)
The September 11 attacks triggered federal policy changes designed to influence emergency management in the...
Emergency Management
Review of Disaster Policy and Politics: Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (2009)
Disasters, Catastrophes, and Policy Failure in the Homeland Security Era., Review of Policy Research (2009)
The September 11 attacks triggered federal policy changes designed to influence emergency management in the...
Media Framing and Policy Change after Columbine (with Regina G. Lawrence), American Behavioral Scientist (2009)
The 1999 Columbine school shooting incident in Colorado gained far more media attention across a...
Is Federalism the Reason for Policy Failure in Hurricane Katrina? (with Sarah Waterman), Publius (2008)
Governmental responses to Hurricane Katrina are generally cited as policy failures. Media and popular analyses...
School Security
Media Framing and Policy Change after Columbine (with Regina G. Lawrence), American Behavioral Scientist (2009)
The 1999 Columbine school shooting incident in Colorado gained far more media attention across a...
Social Networks
Disaster Research and Social Network Analysis: Examples of the Scientific Understanding of Human Dynamics at the National Science Foundation (with Larry Suter and Raima Larter), Population Research and Policy Review (2009)
How can knowledge about human behavior be accumulated effectively? How does the funding agency best...
Federalism
Is Federalism the Reason for Policy Failure in Hurricane Katrina? (with Sarah Waterman), Publius (2008)
Governmental responses to Hurricane Katrina are generally cited as policy failures. Media and popular analyses...