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The following is the result of a research study, which provides the reader with a methodological approach that espouses the precepts of the scientific method statistically validating the very existence of emergent citizen groups. This book provides an exhaustive overview of the challenges that organized emergency service providers face when presented with the presence of emergent citizen groups following the advent of a natural, technological, and/or man-made disaster. The associated research confirmed that benefits are created when emergent citizen groups are permitted to function, but corroborated that the incorporation of spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers into government agency preparedness plans is not yet holistically accessible.

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Dr. Robert D. Girard, MPA, CEM is a distinguished academic practitioner who is a well established professional disaster management consultant with high-level expertise in international risk analysis, localized hazard mitigation, and development of holistically viable preparedness paradigms within the public and private sectors.

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