Crowded Places and Public Safety Management MSc 2020/21 entry

Overview

Modules

• Emergency Planning for Public Safety and Security:

  The aim of this module is to provide you with a critical understanding of the concepts, issues, processes and structures relevant to the development of effective strategies required in preparation for responding to and recovering from emergencies and disasters. The module will also highlight how to apply them specifically to work for public safety in crowded places.

  You will explore the concepts of integration as they apply to the processes of the creation of plans for the management of emergencies, and in particular examine the role of the private sector in supporting the duty of integration.

  Following this, you will engage with the approaches used to construct, implement, test and evaluate a range of emergency and disaster preparedness arrangements across a broad scope of hazards, focussing on those that present the most relevant risks to public safety in crowded places.

  The module will focus on the composition and structure of emergency and disaster plans, policies and practices. This includes consideration and evaluation of the various organisational, institutional and legal frameworks that influence emergency preparedness, and consideration of wider social and technological factors that can affect emergency and disaster planning at the local, sub-national, national and international levels, in both the private and public sector.
  (15 Credits)

• Managing Crowded Places:

  This module will facilitate a detailed understanding of crowded places and the influences upon their formation, design and management, considering them as socio-technical, psychological, geographical and temporal phenomena, complex in nature and vulnerable to emerging properties.

  Taking a risk-based approach, the module will provide particular insight into the impacts of complexity on crowded places, examining theoretical approaches to complexity, and applying them to the understanding of, and subsequent planning for and management of, crowded places. In doing so, it will consider the application of tools such as planning, crowd science, command and control, coordination and communication, and information and technology systems.

  Further to this the module will take a closer look at issues for technology in the crowded places sector, examining its development and implementation, and equipping crowd managers with the necessary tools to interrogate the breadth of technological solutions in the marketplace.

  Finally, the module takes a deep dive into the latest developments in crowd dynamics, focussing on the most up-to-date research in the field and particularly reimagining issues for egress, challenging received wisdom and exploring novel solutions for complex environments.
  (15 Credits)

• Public Safety and Security:

  Strategic approaches to public safety and security requires an understanding of the underpinning frameworks for governance and best practice in the realms of health and safety, workplace safety and security management.

  This module will help you to undertake structured threat assessments to appraise the challenges facing the management of public safety and security within both organisations and the wider environment. It will then show you how to use analytical tools which are necessary to diagnose the underlying causation of such problems - be they organisational or malicious.

  Finally, it will offer you the opportunity to develop critical capabilities to assess the approaches and tools available to address public safety and security issues, enabling a resolution that is sensitive and appropriate to the operating environment.
  (15 Credits)

• Risk, Incident and Leadership

  This module aims to develop an in-depth understanding of a range of risk interpretations, and explore non-technical skills, minimisation techniques and leadership models that can be applied during incidents and crises. It will use models, theories and simulations to critically evaluate the challenges for leadership and decision making within the constraints of some command and control practices. Incidents are recognised as vital opportunities for learning lessons, but there are usually challenges to facilitating and leading the implementation of change; you will investigate ways in which these barriers and challenges can be overcome.
  (15 Credits)

• Training and Exercise Design and Delivery:

  This module will facilitate your competence to plan, design and manage an exercise in the context of disaster, crisis and emergency management. The module will place exercises in the wider context of preparedness and organisational resilience, examining theories and approaches to training and exercising. In addition, the module will aim to help you critically assess and evaluate generic principles of training and apply them to training needs for disaster, crisis and emergency management. Approaches to the evaluation of exercises and associated learning will be developed, and the project management requirements for managing and organising exercises are also examined.
  (15 Credits)

• Resilience, Security and Emerging Technologies:

  This module aims to investigate today’s complex technology-dependant society and organisations, and the factors that influence security and resilience in complex and integrated systems. The module investigates vulnerabilities, risk and security challenges at an organisational, national and transnational level, going beyond the traditional cyber security approach to look at the demands in wider interconnected systems across critical infrastructure and city resilience, existential threats and global risks. The module evaluates the potential opportunities and risks associated with emerging technological advancements and considers them as part of a horizon-scanning approach.
  (15 Credits)

• Research Perspectives and Practice:

  This module is designed to equip you with the required skills in systematic critical evaluation, research design and data collection relevant to assessing practice and policy in disciplines aligned to emergencies and crises. The module content will review processes and principles for conducting research. You will explore intensive and extensive research designs, and be introduced to the principal methods of conducting extensive research, including social surveys, documentary, archival and census evidence, and quantitative analysis. The module also explores more intensive forms of investigation, including interviewing, ethnography and other forms of qualitative analysis. Issues of research dissemination and research ethics will also be considered.
  (15 Credits)

• Business continuity and Crisis Management:

  This module will aim to provide you with the necessary evaluative skills to assess internal and external risk contexts and apply appropriate approaches for managing risks within organisations. The impacts of incidents can quickly become a serious threat to both the internal and external operating environment for organisations.

  Traditionally, business continuity and crisis management techniques have been applied in order to manage these risks. Increasingly risks are unknown, complex and dynamic, requiring more adaptive management practices and responsive governance systems. Critical incidents can spill over into political, economic, social, technical, legal and environmental domains requiring effective assessment, communications and media management so as to limit impacts and losses.

• Global Professional Development - Consultancy

  The aim of this module is for students to critically evaluate and develop solutions to complex, inter-related, multi-faceted issues that can be found in a variety of organisations and professional contexts. The module will normally involve students working together, across disciplines and or from a range of workplace settings, to facilitate an appreciation of how different sectors solve internal issues and how different sectors can learn and adopt or adapt solutions from other fields.

  International, cultural and ethical issues will underpin the practical and theoretical developments in the module coupled with the principles of consultancy and the theories and practices found in leadership. The module will engage the students in wide-ranging debates and problem-solving exercises using examples from real-life issues.
  (15 Credits)

• Supporting Transition to Postgraduate Study

  The module aims to assist and prepare you in the transition to postgraduate education, by developing your academic skills in order to improve and enhance your personal effectiveness as a learner. It is particularly useful if you are new to Higher Education or have been away from study for some time. The module will look at areas such as critical reading, academic writing and referencing skills. Throughout the module, you are encouraged to reflect on your learning in order to deepen your understanding and effectiveness as a quality, independent learner. The module will set out clearly what we expect of students at postgraduate level and equip you with the resources to be able to meet expectations in this environment. This academic skill set is transferable and will be valuable not only in the immediate context, but also for continuing professional development. There is no assessment for this module.

• Preparing to Research

  This module is designed to introduce you to postgraduate research, and will provide additional support for the final research project. It provides a mechanism to support the scoping of the research and will reinforce knowledge of research design and methods while aiming to ensure their effective application to your area of interest. It aligns with the content of the module Researching Perspectives and Practice. There is no assessment for this module.

• Professional working paper

  The aim of this module is to support you in defining a need or critical issue within the crowded places sector and exploring potential solutions for that problem through the practical application of theoretical approaches. Working with a supervisor, you will develop an industry-facing paper that researches and evaluates the evidence, and makes recommendations for change and overcoming expected barriers to that change at team, institutional, national level as appropriate.
  (50 credits)

  All modules on this course are mandatory.