Disaster Research 253

March 31, 1998

Table of Contents

  1. Seeking Information/Ideas/Documents Concerning the "Aesthetics" of Catastrophes
  2. Seeking Information on the Impact of ENSO on Natural Disasters and the Use of ENSO Forecasts for Disaster Mitigation
  3. Seeking Hazard Mitigation Guide
  4. Seeking Information on Coping Behaviours During Disasters
  5. Tennessee Announces Emergency Management Higher Education Initiative
  6. NCCEM Becomes IAEM
  7. A Call For Articles . . .
  8. A Conference on Information Services and Disasters

Not our usual sort of request . . .

Seeking Information/Ideas/Documents Concerning the "Aesthetics" of Catastrophes

I am an architect working and living in Paris. I am currently preparing two theses for my post-graduate study. The subject of both is "Aesthetics of Catastrophe." One is for the School of Architecture Paris-Villemin - "Theories and Aesthetics of Architecture" - and the other is for the Sorbonne-Pantheon - "Philosophy of Art." I would appreciate any articles, texts, images, photography, information, opinions, or just idea-support on this topic.

I am looking at catastrophe as something not necessarily dark. I am looking for some results "par hasards" with aesthetic value. This can be some new order in the post-catastrophic period, some new solution given by the catastrophes. So, every image or text or site or idea illustrating such a "new order" in environment, landscape, urban spaces, or in human or animal society would be very welcome! Such results of catastrophes are what I call "Aesthetics of Catastrophe."

Thanks for your ideas,
Mlle Puric Olivera, arch.
42, Rue du Fbg St Martin
75010 Paris France
Tel: +33-0146360366
Fax: +33-0142402519
E-mail: olivera.cyb@vdp.fr

Seeking Information on the Impact of ENSO on Natural Disasters and the Use of ENSO Forecasts for Disaster Mitigation

Researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are conducting a review of information on ENSO, natural disasters, and human health on behalf of Medecins sans Frontieres. The researchers are particularly interested in anyone using ENSO forecasts for disaster mitigation. Any information on how ENSO effects human health would also be of interest.

Please send information to Sari Kovats, Research Fellow, Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel St., London WC1E 7HT, U.K.; fax: +44 (0)171 580 6897, e-mail: skovats@lshtm.ac.uk

Seeking Hazard Mitigation Guide

In 1995 FEMA's National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program published "How To Design and Implement an Outreach Program for Small Businesses." In 50 or so loose-leaf pages it touches on implementing a public awareness campaign (including campaign materials), organizing a task force, developing an outreach strategy, etc.

I am looking for a similar guide that is of a more general nature - on hazard mitigation outreach in general and targeted toward strategies for local communities.

Any suggestions?

Robert H.Bacon
Program Leader
SC Sea Grant Extension
287 Meeting St.
Charleston, SC 29401
(803) 727-2075
Fax: (803) 727-2080
E-mail: baconrh@musc.edu

Seeking Information on Coping Behaviours During Disasters

I am commencing my psychology honours research and am studying the coping behaviours of adolescents - specifically during and following a personal disaster.

I will be working with over 300 adolescents who have experienced major trauma as a consequence of their small town - Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia - being completely flooded/inundated 26 January 1998. Two-thirds of the students will have lost most of their belongings and would have had to seek shelter away from their homes for over three weeks.

I would appreciate any references to material relating to coping skills/strategies of people during and following similar disasters.

Thank you

Monika Sherwood

Doug McGufficke and Monika Sherwood
Win-Win Networks (Psychology/Mediation)
SnailMail: GPO Box 3001, Darwin, NT 0801, Australia
Tel: 61 8 89480426; fax: 61 8 89483076
E-mail: mondoug@topend.com.au

Tennessee Announces Emergency Management Higher Education Initiative

Governor Don Sunquist recently announced that the University of Tennessee of Chattanooga (UTC) and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) are developing a Higher Education Initiative in Emergency Management. The program will be implemented in phases, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Services Management with a concentration in Emergency Systems Management to begin in August 1998. The program will offer Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for courses offered by TEMA. The joint initiative will seek university approval for a bachelor's degree program in Emergency Systems Management by the year 2000. For more information, contact Marvin Ernst, School of Social and Community Services, UTC; fax: (423) 785-2228; e-mail: Marvin-Ernst@utc.edu; or TEMA's Training Division; (800) 262-3402.

NCCEM Becomes IAEM

[Taken from the Emergency Information and Infrastructure Partnership (EIIP) Newsletter - http://www.emforum.org/eiip/vo02no08.htm]

The National Coordinating Council on Emergency Management (NCCEM) is now officially the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). At the its mid-year meeting the organization's articles of incorporation were officially revised, changing the name to IAEM.

A Call For Articles . . .

The "Red Feather Journal of Graduate Sociology" is a new electronic journal that publishes work by graduate students in the areas of feminism, Marxism, critical theory, and affirmative postmodern scholarship. The winter 1998 issue will look at disasters using these perspectives. Graduate students who would like to submit their work should send an abstract to Phyllis Flott, University of North Texas, e-mail: pfl661@airmail.net. Complete papers should be submitted by September 1. Details about submission are available from the above address; interested persons can also consult the journal's Web site: http://www.tryoung.com/journals/journalindex/journalndex.html.

A Conference on Information Services and Disasters

Disaster and After: An International Conference on the Practicalities of Information Service in Times of War and Other Catastrophes. Bristol, U.K.: September 4-6, 1998. Contact: Philip Thomas, 25 Bromford Gardens, Westfield Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, U.K.; tel: +44 (0)121 454 0935; fax: +44 (0)121 454 7330; e-mail: pzdt@btinternet.com; WWW: http://www.la-hq.org.uk/conf.htm.

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