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IBHS and ACSP are accepting applications for their annual award recognizing scholarship in the broad area of land use planning and natural hazards. One award of $1,000 will be presented in 2003. The winner will be chosen from individuals who present papers at the ACSP conference in July 2003, and only those with papers selected for presentation will be eligible. Papers should address some topic relevant to the relationship between natural hazards and land use planning, including, but not limited to: flooding, coastal erosion, land subsidence, earthquakes, or hazard impacts that can be mitigated through community, regional or state planning. Papers should not exceed 40 pages. Undergraduate, graduate, and joint faculty/student papers are eligible.
Abstracts are due by January 13, 2003. Abstracts must be sent to the ACSP-IHBS award committee with a cover memo. Send submissions to Robert Olshansky, ACSP-IHBS Committee, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 111 Temple Buell Hall, 611 Taft Drive, Champaign, IL 61820; e-mail: robo@uiuc.edu.
The Midwest Sociological Society has issued a call for papers for their annual conference to be held in Chicago, Illinois, April 16-19, 2003 (see conferences and training section below). William E. Lovekamp is sending out a call to those interested in participating in a special "sociology of disasters" session. Papers topics are not limited to specific areas, and both U.S. and cross-cultural research submissions are encouraged. Please submit disaster-related papers, abstracts, or paper proposals directly by mail, e-mail, or fax to the addresses below. The deadline for submission to the disaster sociology session is December 13, 2002.
For more information or to submit your abstract, contact William E. Lovekamp directly at Southern Illinois University, Department of Sociology, MC 4524, Carbondale, IL 62901-4524;(618) 453-2494; e-mail: blovekamp@hotmail.com.
General conference information is available from the Midwest Sociological Society web site: http://www.themss.org.
The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) announces the upcoming 2003 Corporate America Terrorism and Natural Disaster Awareness and Preparedness (CATNDAP) survey. The survey is scheduled to be undertaken from February through April 2003 and is expected to reach approximately 10,000 employees from 200 U.S. corporations.
CATNDAP is a large initiative coordinated by a group of private, not-for-profit, academic, and governmental organizations. The initiative aims to quantify and understand the immediate reactions of employees to potential incidents in the workplace environment (workplace violence, fire, hostage-taking, natural disasters, and terrorist attacks) based on individual awareness of such threats.
The final data will be distributed to local and state emergency management and first responder coordinating organizations to facilitate improved training. To receive more information about the survey, partnership opportunities, participation opportunities, or to obtain a complimentary copy of the final report summary, send an e-mail to the MassDefense Institute, one of the sponsors of the survey. For a quicker response, include your name, title, organization, contact information and nature of your interest in the CATNDAP survey at: 2003survey@massdefense.org. MassDefense Institute, Inc. can also be contacted directly at 1770 Massachusetts Ave. #628, Cambridge, MA 02140; http://www.massdefense.net.
A draft outline of the George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (NEES) Consortium has been posted at http://www.nees.org for public review and comment until December 31, 2002. This consortium will provide a leadership and coordination role for the operation of NEES during its planned decade of operation, which runs through 2014. NEES is a major new program of the Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Consortium of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering, CUREE, is conducting the NEES Consortium Development Project.
The active participation of all interested members of the earthquake engineering community is sought, both in this step of the initial structuring of the organization and in the near future as members of the NEES Consortium itself. It is anticipated that membership in the new consortium will be available in early February 2003.
For a more detailed description of NEES, and to review the document and enter your comments, go to http://www.nees.org and follow the on-line directions for submitting comments.
To accomplish this, NSF plans to invest in interdisciplinary research on human and social dynamics in FY 2004. Of special interest to DR readers is NSF's emphasis on decision making and risk research that focuses on decisions under both normal and crisis circumstances; the implications of distributed versus centralized decision making systems; risk assessment and management; decision making under uncertainty; and the development of databases, decision-support systems, and other tools and approaches to facilitate effective decision making and risk communication. Research on behavior in response to hazards and extreme events such as natural disasters and catastrophic terrorist attacks is extremely important to this new initiative.
Detailed information is available from Steven J. Breckler, NSF's point of contact for this program, National Science Foundation Social Psychology Program, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 995, Arlington, VA 22230, (703) 292-8728l; e-mail: sbreckle@nsf.gov; http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/bcs/socpsy/.
My name is Rebecca Claremont. I am in my third year at Anglia Polytechnic University in England, carrying out research for my dissertation on natural hazards and tourism. I am focusing on three natural hazards -- tornadoes, earthquakes, and volcanoes -- and I need some help on this subject.
The question of my dissertation is whether these three natural hazards are tourist attractions or tourist deterrents? What I am trying to find out is why some people go storm/tornado chasing or visit volcanoes and earthquake sites and others do not? What is the reasoning behind this? What is the attraction or deterrent?
If anybody knows of any research carried out in this area or has any opinions on this subject, could they please e-mail me at rclaremont2000@yahoo.co.uk. I would be very grateful for any help.
Thank you for your time,
Rebecca Claremont
For those interested in disaster safety who wish to provide feedback for a work in process, the American Red Cross (ARC) is currently developing a listing of standard disaster safety messages. A "message" communicates an action or behavior that someone should know or do. "Disaster safety" encompasses the entire scope of Community Disaster Education (CDE) messages in the Red Cross CDE program, as well as other disaster preparedness and mitigation messages. ARC has been meeting with colleagues from NOAA's National Weather Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Fire Administration, and the National Fire Protection Association to explore the disaster safety messages that national organizations, in cooperation with local affiliates, jointly provide.
The intent of the project is to provide a standard reference document that can be used by those providing disaster safety information to the public. Users include disaster and fire educators, public affairs folks, mitigation specialists, managers and officers, teachers, curriculum development specialists, etc.
The Red Cross and its partners would like your input. Comments are due by November 20, 2002. Visit http://www.fema.gov/rrr/pte1103.shtm and scroll down to find specific questions for comment, or contact Rocky Lopes; ARC; (703) 206-8805; e-mail: lopesr@usa.redcross.org.
"Intelligent Joint Evolution of Data and Information: An Integrated Framework for Drought Monitoring and Mitigation." Funding: National Science Foundation, $200,000, 24 months. Principal Investigators: Ashok K. Samal, Leen-Kiat Soh, Donald A. Wilhite, Kenneth G. Hubbard, and William J. Waltman, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588; e-mail: samal@cse.unl.edu.
"Shaping Science and Technology to Serve National Security." Funding: National Science Foundation, $50,000, 12 months. Principal Investigator: James J. Richardson, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, 901 North Stuart Avenue, Suite 200, Arlington, VA 22204-1821; (703) 525-0770.
"A High-Frequency Beam-Steered Electromagnetic Impulse Radar to Locate Human Targets Through Opaque Media." Funding: National Science Foundation, $500,000, 24 months. Principal Investigator: Scott R. Thompson, RealTronics, P.O. Box 228, Hermosa, SD 57744-0228; e-mail: scott@realtronics.com.
"Designing for Earthquakes." Funding: National Science Foundation, $100,000, 24 months. Principal Investigators: Susan Tubbesing, Christopher Arnold, and Christine Theodoropoulos, Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, 499 14th Street, Suite 320, Oakland, CA 94612-1928; e-mail: skt@eeri.org.
"Condition and Security Indicators for Interdependent Infrastructure Systems." Funding: National Science Foundation, $246,284, 36 months. Principal Investigators: Neil S. Grigg and Evan C. Vlachos, Department of Civil Engineering, A205G Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523; e-mail: neilg@engr.colostate.edu.
Identifying, evaluating, and responding to the environmental impacts of disasters is required for effective disaster relief and recovery operations. However, standard environmental impact assessment procedures are unsuited to relief operations. A project initiated by Benfield Greig Hazard Research Center and CARE International will use applied research and development to establish and field test a practical rapid environmental impact assessment (REA) methodology for use by field personnel and disaster victims during disasters. In addition, the organizations will develop a training syllabus to allow the adoption of REA as a best practice for relief operations.
The second field test of the REA methodology recently took place in Ethiopia. A detailed report is now available at http://www.bghrc.com (please click on disaster studies and look under projects). The web site also contains the draft REA guidelines (currently being updated), a report on the first field test in Afghanistan, and general information on the project.
Comments on the project and its outputs are very welcome and should be sent to the lead researcher, Charles Kelly, e-mail: 72734.2412@compuserve.com, through the Benfield Greig Hazard Research Centre, Department of Geological Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT.
[Below are a few recent job vacancies that are related to some of the myriad activities in which DR readers engage. Please contact the organizations directly for more information.]
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National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)Program Manager
The program manager will provide systems engineering and technical assistance to the Office of Law Enforcement Standards, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in Gaithersburg Maryland, and assistance to the Capital Wireless Integrated Network (CapWIN) Program located at the University of Maryland. This senior level program manager position will support the Office of Law Enforcement Standards public safety and communications standards program and the National Institute of Justice's (NIJ) communications interoperability and information sharing program. The position requires a seasoned professional able to deal comfortably with high-level managers, understand political and policy implications of programs, exhibit strong management skills; and posses a strong background in mobile data applications, information technology, and wireless communications. Desirable candidates should demonstrate a strong background in criminal justice and public safety communications standards and XML standards development and have a working knowledge of applicable standards pertaining to transportation applications.
Applications and questions may be addressed to Kathleen Higgins, Office of Law Enforcement Standards, 100 Bureau Drive, M/S 8100 Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8100;(301) 975-2757; e-mail: oles@nist.gov.
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University of Bristol Research Assistant
In association with the Southampton Oceanography Center, Sheffield and Durham Universities, and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, the University of Bristol is undertaking a project to develop methods for representing and analyzing uncertainties in integrated assessment of the impacts of climate change. The research involves the use of fuzzy sets and imprecise probabilities to deal with situations of linguistic uncertainty and severe information scarcity. The research assistant will help develop, test, and demonstrate new uncertainty handling methods. The research is a joint undertaking between the Department of Civil Engineering and the Department of Engineering Mathematics at Bristol and will involve a combination of theoretical and applied work.
Closing date is November 27, 2002. Complete information may be found at https://www.bris.ac.uk/boris/jobs/ads?ID=7225.
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State O' Maine Toxicologist
The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has a vacancy in the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management in Augusta, Maine. Responsibilities include the critical review of human health and ecological risk assessments, design of investigations, performance of risk assessments, and the establishment of clean-up guidelines and standards. The position involves risk communication to other professionals, DEP staff, and the general public. Requirements include a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry, Toxicology, or a directly related field, and four years experience in pharmacology, toxicology, analytical chemistry, or a directly related field. An advanced degree, direct experience with environmental remediation projects and experience with ecological risk assessment are highly desirable.
Interested parties must submit a completed a State of Maine Direct Hire Application, a current resume and a copy of post secondary transcripts by December 6, 2002 to: Debbe Clark, ACE Service Center 155 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333; (207) 287-4949; e-mail: debbe.a.clark@state.me.us.
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Emergency Management/Security Educational Outreach and Training
MassDefense, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, based private educational institution, is looking to fill both full- and part-time positions as seminar managers for training sessions with corporate and community clients. Responsibilities include reviewing and adapting training materials, coordinating session organization, managing consultants, and building client relationships. Ideal applicants have over five years experience in emergency management; excellent public speaking skills, current or past experience with government, law enforcement or emergency medical services; previous experience in education or training; and familiarity with computer-based presentation software. To apply, send your resume along with references to hr@massdefense.net; MassDefense Institute, 1770 Massachusetts Avenue, Office 628, Cambridge, MA 02140-2208; http://www.massdefense.net/recruit/index.php.
[Below are some new or updated Internet resources we've discovered. For an extensive list of useful Internet sites dealing with hazards, see http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/sites/sites.html]
http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/index.htm
This medical and public health law site, maintained by a professor at Louisiana State University, has recently included a section on terrorism and bioterrorism resources. This section includes a variety of links to articles and web sites dealing with state laws, government publications, and public health and safety.
http://muweb.millersville.edu/~cdr/
Contemporary Disaster Review -- an international journal reviewing books, films, web-based and multi-media materials -- is an official publication of the International Sociological Association's International Research Committee on Disaster. The inaugural edition is coming in February 2003. Submissions are currently being solicited; information is available on the web site.
http://www.partnershipforpublicwarning.org/ppw/newsletter/
The Partnership for Public Warning (PPW) announces the first edition of its new on-line newsletter. The newsletter provides current information about PPW activities and other items of interest to the public warning community. All feedback and comments are welcome!
http://www.disabilitypreparedness.com/
The National Center on Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities (NCEP) web site is focused on ensuring that all individuals are included in the development of and inclusion in plans for protection from both natural and human-made emergencies. In almost all cases, emergency planning has not taken into consideration the communication, transportation, and medical needs of persons with disabilities and other special populations. The site includes training resources and related links.
http://www.disabilityresources.org/DISASTER.html
The Disability Resources Monthly guide to resources on the Internet includes a section on disaster preparedness for people with disabilities that has a list of resources for disaster preparedness, emergency plans and procedures, fire safety, and other topics that impact those with disabilities during disasters.
http://www.emforum.org
The Emergency Information Infrastructure Project (EIIP) has posted an on-line edited transcript of its November 13, 2002, live chat session on the topic of Citizen Corps Councils.
[Below are some recent announcements received by the Natural Hazards Center. A comprehensive list of upcoming hazards-related meetings and training is available from our World Wide Web site: http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/conf.html]
Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery in the Wake of September 11th. Sponsor: Washington Management and Marketing Center. Washington D.C.: December 4, 2002. Although the majority of large companies have existing business continuity and disaster plans, for many reasons, organizations fail to properly communicate or revise plans with any frequency. Sound business continuity and disaster recovery plans are a complex undertaking, involving many disciplines and steps requiring much consideration regarding potential impacts and underlying risks. More details about this conference are available at the Policy Institute, 101 South Union Street, Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 299-6690; e-mail: mfc@washingtonmanagement.com; http://www.washingtonmanagement.com/FileCabinet.asp?IncludedPageID=4717.
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting. Denver, Colorado: February 13-18, 2003. This scientific meeting brings together a large breadth of science, engineering, and technology from many of the world's premier researchers. Select conference themes of interest to DR readers include challenging and changing nature, public health and public risk, and many others. Full details and registration information may be found at the AAAS Meetings Department, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 842-1065; http://www.aaas.org/meetings/index.html.
3rd International Symposium on Aviation Emergencies: Increasing Survivability. Sponsor: Emergency Disaster Management, Inc., Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Miami Beach, Florida: March 24-27, 2003. Sessions focus on public health, evacuation strategies, integrated incident command, airport/community planning, and emergency response. For registration information, contact Emergency and Disaster Management Inc., Airport Center, c/o 3rd International Symposium on Aviation Emergencies, 5959 West Century Boulevard, Suite 501, Los Angeles, CA 90045; (310) 649-0700; http://www.emergency-management.net/3rd_symposium/sym_home.html.
Protecting the Public in a Hazardous Materials Emergency. Sponsor: National Institute for Chemical Studies (NICS) and Marshall University Graduate College. Charleston, West Virginia: March 25, 2003. In a hazardous materials emergency, responders need to quickly make evacuation decisions. This workshop prepares emergency responders to make decisions that will best protect the public during chemical emergencies. More information may be found at NICS, 2300 MacCorkle Avenue S.E., Charleston, WV 25304; (304) 346-6264; http://www.nicsinfo.org/.
International Workshop on Integrated Water Resource Management. Sponsor: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Denver, Colorado: April 7-11, 2003. This workshop will review and analyze developments in integrated water resource management (IWRM). Speakers will provide an overview of theory, technique, policies, and practical management issues. Discussion will focus on competing demands on a limited resource and ways to promote efficient, multiple-use management. For details, contact Leanna Principe, International Affairs, D-1520, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 25007, Denver, CO 80255; (303) 445-2127; e-mail: lprincipe@do.usbr.gov.
Midwest Sociological Society 2003 Annual Meeting. Sponsor: Midwest Sociological Society (MSS). Chicago, Illinois: April 16-19, 2003. A special call for disaster-related papers has been issued; abstracts must be received by December 16, 2002 (see item 2 in this DR). General information about the conference is available at: http://www.themss.org/.
5th National Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Sponsor: Turkish Government Agencies. Istanbul, Turkey: May 26-30, 2003. The structural damage that has occurred due to recent earthquakes in Turkey and abroad has resulted in important advances in earthquake engineering. This conference will build a forum for discussion on the recent advances in earthquake engineering and on methods to minimize earthquake hazard. More information may be found by contacting the Turkish Chamber of Civil Engineers, Halaskargazi Cad. 35/1, 80230 Harbiye – Istanbul/Turkey, tel: 90 212 219 9962-63, e-mail: 5udmk@ins.itu.edu.tr; http://www.ins.itu.edu.tr/5udmk/0_en.htm.
13th World Conference on Disaster Management. Sponsor: Canadian Center for Emergency Preparedness (CBCP). Toronto, Canada: June 22-25, 2003. The conference emphasis is on "emerging trends in disaster management: new threats, new approaches," and is aimed at bringing professionals from a variety of emergency response, risk, information technology, and health fields together. Abstracts are due by December 16, 2002. Further submission and conference details are available from Adrian Gordon, CBCP, 1005 Skyview Drive, Suite 202, Burlington ON L7P 5B1 Canada; (905) 319 4034; e-mail: agordon@ccep.ca; http://www.wcdm.org/.
Safer Sustainable Communities: 2003 Australian Disasters Conference. Sponsor: Emergency Management Australia (EMA). Canberra, Australia: September 10-12, 2003. Abstracts are due by February 14, 2003, and must be submitted under the broad theme of "community safety is everyone's business," that includes sections on working with communities, understanding risk and uncertainty, consequence management, sustainability, critical infrastructure protection, and information and communication. For complete information, contact EMA, P.O. Box 1020, Dickson, Australian Capital Territory 2602, Australia; tel: 61 (0) 2 6232 4240; e-mail: enquiry@einsteinandedison.com.au; http://www.ema.gov.au/fs-call_for_abstracts.html.
3rd International Wildland Fire and Exhibition Conference. Sponsors: Erickson Air-Crane, North American Forest Commission Fire Management Working Group, and many others. Sydney, Australia: October 3-6, 2003. This conference will bring together the leading fire management professionals and practitioners from around the globe; present a range of contemporary and future fire management issues relevant to nations and organizations with fire management capacities; and enhance global and regional networks of fire management professionals, industry leaders, and policy makers. Abstracts are due by November 30, 2002. Complete conference information may be obtained from the conference and exhibition managers, GPO Box 128,Sydney NSW Australia 2001; tel: 61 2 9248 0800; e-mail: wildlandfire03@tourhosts.com.au; http://www.ausfire.com/.
The 32nd Session of the International Geological Congress. Sponsors: International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), and various member countries of the Mediterranean Consortium. Florence, Italy: August 20-28, 2004. The conference has been designed as a forum for a broad debate of the most significant advances in the geological sciences, as well as to promote discussion of the congress theme: "from the Mediterranean area toward a global geological renaissance -- geology, natural hazards and cultural heritage." For more details, contact Chiara Manetti, Borgo Albizi, 28, 50121 Firenze, Italy; tel: +39 055 2382146; e-mail: casaitalia@geo.unifi.it; http://www.32igc.org/default1.htm.
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