This study sought to measure risk perception and behavioral intention in rural and urban communities in Mississippi and Alabama when severe weather strikes. We developed an experiment testing how visual cues and media messages surrounding an impending hurricane could influence an individual's decision-making in the situation. Respondents were…

Language educators were unprepared for emergency remote language teaching (ERLT) due to lack of training in online pedagogy and negative perceptions of online instruction, and the rural community of language educators have been challenged in unique ways. Using the intersections of content (language teaching), space (rurality), and context…

Stakeholders in Mississippi perceived that Extension could lead volunteer management and donations management after a natural disaster. In response, Mississippi State University Extension professionals developed a training on volunteer management and donations management to supplement the existing Incident Management System/Incident Command System…

Hurricane Katrina reshaped college workforce development programs as thoroughly as it did the coastline--but in this case, the changes were for the good of students, employers and the community. This article discusses the effects and changes made by 4 community colleges who were effected by Hurricane Katrina: (1) Louisiana Community and Technical…

Hurricane Katrina slammed into 80 miles of Mississippi shoreline on August 29, 2005. It was the nation's worst natural disaster, a perfect storm. One hundred sixty miles-per-hour winds sent 55-foot-tall waves and a 30-foot wall of water across the shore and miles inland. It displaced 400,000 residents along the coast of the Mississippi, and…

As influenza activity throughout the United States continues its gradual rise, H1N1 in particular has been the risk-management topic of the season for most colleges and universities. Among the questions being asked: Can one continue operations in the event of a campus closure? What if a faculty member is too sick to teach? What if students refuse…

The 27 institutions damaged by hurricanes Katrina or Rita--there were 14 in Mississippi, 12 in Louisiana and one in Alabama--estimate their combined physical damages at $1.4 billion. But rather than providing aid, the Louisiana Legislature was forced to call for $77 million in cuts in November, leading to a wrenching gut-check on many campuses.…

Context: To ensure equitable access to prehospital care, as recommended by the Rural and Frontier Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agenda for the Future, policymakers will need a uniform measure of EMS infrastructure. Purpose and Methods: This paper proposes a county-level indicator of EMS resource availability that takes into consideration…