Research Paper on:
Do Chicago’s Workplaces Have Efficient Plans for Emergency Evacuations?

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
The September 11 terrorist attacks of course shocked the entire world, and one of the immediate reactions to it was for facility managers and municipal regulators  in large cities to examine conditions as they existed in their own buildings and cities. The World Trade Center had been attacked by extremists nearly a decade before, and  the need for increased security had been evident even before then. The need for an effective evacuation plan is not so readily apparent, however. A glance at posted  evacuation routes in many buildings across the country reveals clearly marked paths to the elevators closest to the specific point of reference, and those who may need physical assistance in  an evacuation situation often are not accounted for in evacuation plans. Chicago is particularly vulnerable to subsequent attacks on the order of those  carried out in New York and at the Pentagon, as is any large city in which skyscrapers define the city skyline. The purpose of the current study is to  determine whether Chicagos office workers are protected by adequate evacuation plans in the case of emergency need. Research Questions There are two questions  that this study is designed to address: 1. Chicago city requirements for emergency evacuation are more effective now than before the New York and Pentagon terrorist attacks. 2. There is  greater awareness of the need for emergency evacuation plans now, including a greater awareness among office workers. Philosophical Assumptions This research effort begins  under the assumption that a lasting effect of the New York and Pentagon terrorist attacks has been to give greater attention to the specific needs that increase with building size.