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Moderator George Rogers emphasized the value of the new professionals' research with the statement, "We need to know where we are going; not only where we have been."
Ilan Kelman examined the role of the technology applied, or perhaps not applied because of cultural barriers, during the pre-and post-volcanic disaster of Mount Pinatubo (1991) in the Philippines. His research focused on the problems that arose while managing the vulnerability of the affected population to a natural disaster. Although the evacuation of 200,000 people was deemed a success, their two-year duration in the evacuation camps resulted in terrible conditions and the deaths of approximately 700 children from malnutrition and measles. To the region's proud inhabitants, unaccustomed to the food and medicines supplied by developed countries, the acceptance of a child's death was oftentimes more endurable than accepting unfamiliar relief items. Even with the military in the Philippines, the technology transfer and communication with the locals were almost non-existent. Kelman concluded that the anticipation of cultural needs, the effective use of intellectual resources, and more cooperative problem-solving between the engineers and non-engineers may have ensured the appropriate use of technology.
Personal experiences from investigative research in Peru were provided by David McEntire in a presentation which covered the impact of umbrella organizations on disaster relief in a developing nation. The appearance of El Niņo every three to four years off the coast of Peru is a regular phenomena; however, some years are worse than others. During 1997-98, the effects were believed to have caused the flooding and mudslides in northern Peru, sea surges along the coast, and drought in the south. Although there were numerous humanitarian activities and response efforts, the coordination between these non-governmental organizations was weak and the relief was slow to come. Due to the inadequate infrastructure, poor communication, dishonest officials, and minuscule input from local governments, relief was not getting to the poverty-stricken victims. McEntire believes there should be a balanced approach to disasters which integrates relief and preventative measures into the development. His concept, "invulnerable development," will be the subject of his dissertation.
Loc Nguyen presented an overview of his findings from 1,830 interviews regarding the severity and demographics of injuries after the Northridge earthquake. He reported that the younger individuals, predominantly women, reported more injuries than older people during the 1.5 year study, and that earthquake-related data from hospital emergency-room logs were unreliable. The reasons for minor injuries were not identified and as injuries increased, records decreased. Future doctoral research in public health may include identifying building types with specific injuries.
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