DISASTER RESEARCH 483 /Natural Hazards Center /U Colorado

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DISASTER RESEARCH 483 /Natural Hazards Center /U Colorado

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The Latest News from Disaster Research -- August 9, 2007


DISASTER RESEARCH 483
TABLE OF CONTENTS


1) Natural Hazards Center Seeks a Program Manager
2) One-Third of Coastal Residents Will Refuse Hurricane Evacuation Orders
3) Participants Needed for a Study of Disaster Managers
4) FEMA Announces $110 Million Available for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency (SAFER) Grants
5) Call for Papers: Journal of Environment and Development
6) Call for Papers: Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication for Pandemic Influenza
7) Some New Web Resources
8) Conferences, Training, and Events
9) Jobs, Jobs, Jobs


DISASTER RESEARCH (DR) is a moderated newsletter for creators and users of information regarding hazards and disasters.
Reproduction - with acknowledgment - is permitted and encouraged.

If you prefer to read the DR on the Web, visit http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/dr/currentdr.html.

Note: If any of the Internet links below wrap from one line to the next, you may need to cut and paste the links into your Web browser.
1)----------
Natural Hazards Center Seeks a Program Manager

The Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado seeks applications for the position of Center Program Manager. Since 1976, the Natural Hazards Center has served as the nation's clearinghouse for knowledge on the societal aspects of hazards, disasters, and risk.
The Program Manager will report to the Center director, and in cooperation with the director, will oversee the development and operations of Center programs. In particular, the Program Manager will perform the following duties:
-Providing assistance to the director with respect to writing
grant proposals and engaging in other fundraising activities
-Planning and coordinating the Center's annual July workshop
Communicating and coordinating with the Center's national
advisory committee, funding agencies, and the broader hazards
loss-reduction community
-Managing the Center's budget
-Supervising staff activities in various areas, including (but not
limited to) the Center's publications, Web site, library and
information services, and Quick Response Research program
-Coordinating with professional staff who oversee the Center's
research activities
-Managing day-to-day Center operations
-Representing the Center at meetings, conferences, and other
events

Required Qualifications:
-A minimum of a Master's degree in a discipline related to hazards
research and applications
-Knowledge of and experience with hazard-related policies,
programs, research, and knowledge transfer activities
-Experience in project and budget management
-Experience in staff supervision
-Willingness to travel
-Demonstrated success in proposal writing and fundraising is
highly desirable

For more information about the Natural Hazards Center, go to www.colorado.edu/hazards/.

Please send a letter of application for the position, a CV or resume, a sample of written work, and the names and contact information for three references to Kathleen Tierney, Natural Hazards Center Director, at tierneyk@colorado.edu. Review of candidates will begin on September 10, 2007, and will continue until a successful candidate has been identified.

Salary for this position is commensurate with experience.

The University of Colorado at Boulder is committed to diversity and equality in education and employment.

2)----------
One-Third of Coastal Residents Will Refuse Hurricane Evacuation Orders

A Harvard School of Public Health survey released last week found that nearly one-third (31 percent) of residents in high-risk hurricane areas would not leave if government officials issued an evacuation order due to the threat of a major hurricane.

Survey respondents gave the following reasons for choosing not to
evacuate:

-75 percent said their home is well built and would be safe
-56 percent said the roads would be too crowded
-36 percent feel that evacuation would be dangerous
-33 percent said they worried their possessions would be stolen or
damaged
-27 percent said they would not leave their pets

Titled "Project on the Public and Biological Security," the study was conducted in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. In addition to noting the reasons for not evacuating, the study also looked at respondents' feelings related to evacuation shelters, household hurricane preparedness, problems facing minorities and low-income residents, and problems during past hurricanes.

The complete study is available here, www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press- releases/2007-releases/press07242007.html.

3)----------
Participants Needed for a Study of Disaster Managers

The National Center on the Psychology of Terrorism is conducting a pilot study of disaster managers' perspectives about their training and approaches to dealing with resource scarcity during an actual disaster event.

In particular, the research group is interested in finding out how professional disaster managers view the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and the Incident Command System (ICS), and how the principles of ICS are applied in real-world contexts. In addition, they are interested in learning more about how disaster managers deal with scarcity of resources in the rapidly changing, complex task environment of disasters. This research effort is funded by the National Science Foundation.

If you are willing to participate, the survey is available on the web at the following address: www.terrorismpsychology.net. A more detailed description of the effort is also available on the Web site.

4)----------
FEMA Announces $110 Million Available for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency (SAFER) Grants

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has announced the availability of approximately $110 million in grants through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program, which helps fire departments throughout the nation increase their cadre of firefighters.
Fiscal Year 2007 SAFER awards support projects in two categories:
-Hiring Firefighters: SAFER hiring grants are five-year grants
that pay a portion of the salary and benefits for newly hired
fighters. Grants will be awarded directly to volunteer, career,
and combination career/volunteer fire departments to help them
increase their number of frontline firefighters. These grants
require the grantee to match an increasing portion of the salary
over a four-year period; in the fifth year of the grant,
departments that receive SAFER grants must fund the entire cost
of the hired positions.
-Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters: SAFER
recruitment and retention grants may be awarded for as long as
four years to fund activities to enhance a fire department's
ability to recruit new firefighters or to retain their existing
firefighters.

Applicants should apply for SAFER funds through the www.grants.gov website, the www.firegrantsupport.com website, or https://portal.fema.gov no later than 5:00 P.M. EDT on August 31, 2007.

For more information, visit
www.fema.gov/news/newsrelease.fema?id=38240.

5)----------
Call for Papers: Journal of Environment and Development

The Journal of Environment and Development (JED) is looking for original research contributions and policy analyses for its 2008 and
2009 issues.

The journal publishes quantitative and qualitative empirical research findings, theoretical pieces, and policy analyses on a wide range of subjects related to environment and development.

Journal editors are particularly interested in receiving manuscripts that deal with some of the following subjects, although other submissions will continue to receive full consideration:
-National climate and energy policies
-Recent experience with carbon markets, Clean Development Mechanism,
and emissions trading
-Implementing sustainable development strategies, Rio-Agenda 21, and
Millennium Development Objectives
-Conservation policy and natural resources management
-Waste management
-Environmental policy reform in developed and developing economies
-International environmental negotiations and governance,
institutions, rules and processes--UNEP, GEF, World Bank, CSD,
WTO, etc.
-Analysis of recent international environmental conferences such as
CITES, POP Convention, Montreal Protocol, Convention on
Biodiversity, and Kyoto Protocol
-Green party politics and environmental movements nationally and
globally
-Environmental sociology and economics, social theory, and global
culture
Submission guidelines are available here, http://irps2.ucsd.edu/jed/guidelines.php.
For more information, visit http://irps2.ucsd.edu/jed/ or e-mail envdev@ucsd.edu.
6)----------
Call for Papers: Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication for Pandemic Influenza

Health Promotion Practice, an official journal of the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), announces a call for original manuscripts for a theme issue on crisis and emergency risk communication and pandemic influenza.

Crisis and emergency risk communication is a relatively new field that draws on crisis communication, risk communication, public relations, and health education. Literature is just emerging that examines past events, explores theoretical foundations, and reports early research.

This theme issue provides an opportunity to examine current efforts and prepare health educators to address future needs in crisis and emergency risk communication. Manuscripts can be either research or descriptive in format (noting the journal's mission of focusing on implications for practice), including policy analyses, intervention descriptions and evaluations, case studies, ethical issues, historical perspectives, point-counterpoint dialogues, or interviews with policy and community experts. Important themes of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
-Promising strategies for crisis and emergency risk communication
in the context of pandemic influenza or other emergencies
-Commentaries or descriptions of meeting the communication needs
of special populations such as minorities, the elderly,
immigrants, hearing/vision impaired people, persons with low
literacy, schools/daycare settings, and others that address
concerns such as stigmatization, self efficacy, and resilience
-Theoretical frameworks that may be applicable to communication in
a pandemic
-Consideration of the role of health educators in crisis and
emergency risk communication, especially as it relates to
community mitigation measures, community hardiness, and
social/behavioral impacts

Authors should follow the "Instructions to Authors" found here, www.sophe.org/public/docs/Guidelines3.rtf. Manuscripts should not exceed 30 typed pages, including figures and references.

Deadline for all manuscripts is October 1, 2007.

7)----------
Some New Web Resources

Disaster Mental Health Primer: Key Principles, Issues and Questions www.bt.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/pdf/primer.pdf
This brief document from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presents a primer on disaster mental health information that may be useful in a disaster. In only four pages, this resource presents basic information on the impact pyramid, guiding principles of disaster mental health, the psychological phases of disasters, stressors seen during disaster, and a list of Web resources.

Corporate Crisis Response Officers Association www.ccroa.org The mission of Corporate Crisis Response Officers Association (CCROA) is to create local networks of trained private and community sector individuals, called Crisis Response Officers, that link to and augment the local public sector response networks by leveraging best practices and local resources and volunteers during the critical first 72 hours of crisis. The CCROA site presents a calendar of events, a resource library, news stories of interest, and much more.

2007 National Conference on Community Preparedness www.iaem.com/NCCP2007Presentations.htm
The 2007 National Conference on Community Preparedness was hosted jointly by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA). The event was open to all who are interested in making their communities safer, stronger, and better prepared for all types of hazards. A long list of presentations, handouts, and reference materials from the conference are available here.

OneStorm
www.onestorm.org
OneStorm is a site created as a one-stop shop for resources on what to do to prepare for a hurricane. The site allows users to create a customized hurricane plan in about 20 minutes and incorporates recommendations from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Red Cross, and state and local emergency management agencies. Users are provided with a useful disaster plan, a list of the nearest evacuation locations, and e-mail reminders to purchase supplies for their emergency kits.

Environmental Hazards Kill Four Million Kids a Year: WHO
http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceN ... 5020070727
This Reuters article explores a study from the World Health Organization (WHO) released last week that concluded that four million children under the age of five die every year from environmental hazards. Polluted air or water and exposure to chemicals are to blame for this, and poisoning, acute respiratory illness, diarrhea diseases, and malaria account for most of the deaths.

Bottom Line: Helping People Get Ready and Know What to do for Disaster http://www.homesafetycouncil.org/expert ... _w001.aspx
As more studies show that the majority of Americans are not prepared for disaster, this resource from the Home Safety Council gives tips for "engaging the disengaged" and helping people become ready for a catastrophic event. Tips include avoiding the "all-hazards" approach and asking people to prepare only for events that can happen where they live, presenting information in simple terms, using images to show people the best practices, and clearly explaining what to do and why. A list of resources is also available.

Precautionary Behavior in Response to Perceived Threat of Pandemic Influenza www.cdc.gov/eid/content/13/9/pdfs/07-0372.pdf
This survey of Europeans and Asians shows that, when faced with an influenza pandemic, most would avoid mass transit and limit shopping to essentials, and many would avoid other public places, including restaurants, theaters, and the workplace. The study was published in Emerging Infectious Diseases and includes a survey of about 3,500 people.

Parks for the New New Orleans
http://www.tpl.org/tier3_cd.cfm?content ... er_id=3368
This article from the Trust for Public Land asks if restoring parks and building new ones can help bring a city back from disaster and explores plans for urban land development in New Orleans. Positing that parks contribute to improved physical and mental health of residents, this author takes a close look at city parks in New Orleans and the plans for more and better parks in the city.

8)----------
Conferences, Training, and Events

Continental Divide Mental Health Disaster Conference-Colorado Springs,
Colorado: August 6-7, 2007. Organizers: Colorado Department of Human Services, Division of Mental Health, Disaster Behavioral Health Team, and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Trauma, Health, and Hazards Center. The objective for the Continental Divide Disaster Behavioral Health Conference is to help bridge the divide between practitioners and scientists in the field of disaster behavioral health in order to increase the effectiveness of the care provided to those affected by catastrophic events. This conference will bring together professionals involved in providing assistance following a disaster and scientists who are researching issues related to disaster planning and prevention, response, mitigation, and recovery. For more information, visit www.uccs.edu/codivide.

FEMA Flood Maps: Accuracy Assessment and Cost-Effective Improvements- Wilmington, North Carolina: August 20-21, 2007. Convened by the National Academies Division on Earth and Life Studies, this meeting will include demonstrations of flood map accuracy, a discussion of digital maps, an introduction to HAZUS, and much more surrounding Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood maps. Much of the meeting is open to the public. Visit www8.nationalacademies.org/cp/ProjectView.aspx?key=BESR-U-06-06-A for more information.

Dam Safety '07-Austin, Texas: September 9-13, 2007. Organizer:
Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO). This conference is dedicated to dam safety engineering and technology transfer. State, local, and federal officials; engineers; geologists; hydrologists; dam owners; industry representatives; and others involved with dam safety are invited to share their experiences in all aspects of the field.
Presentations will be designed to heighten awareness, share experiences and case studies, advance technology transfer, improve communication, and demonstrate state-of-the-art practices.
Visit www.damsafety.org.

4th European Conference on Severe Storms-Trieste, Italy: September 10- 14, 2007. This conference is devoted to all aspects of convective severe weather phenomena. Researchers, forecasters, and risk managers are invited to apply. According to the global relevance of the conference themes, scientists from all over the world are encouraged to participate; those from developing countries are especially welcome. Registration is free-of-charge. See www.essl.org/ECSS/2007/.

Symposium on Emerging Developments in Multi-Hazard Engineering-New York, New York: September 18, 2007. This symposium, organized jointly by the Architectural Engineering Institute of ASCE (AEI) and the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (MCEER), is intended to highlight recent engineering advances in the new field of multi-hazards engineering. Nationally recognized researchers and practitioners will discuss a variety of solutions and applications, including adapting technologies that have been developed for a specific hazard to solve multi-hazard problems, and developing new technologies to mitigate a variety of threats. Different fields of engineering, such as risk, reliability, design, analysis, cost- benefit, life-cycle costs, and structural health monitoring will be addressed from a multi-hazard point of view. Specific hazards that impact the performance of the civil infrastructure, such as blast, earthquake, wind, flood, and wave surge will be integrated into the discussions. More information is available at http://mceer.buffalo.edu/meetings/AEI/default.asp.

NEMA 2007 Annual Conference-Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: September 27- October 2, 2007. Organizer: National Emergency Management Association.
This conference provides an opportunity for emergency managers to meet and discuss the many challenges that face the community today, share solutions, grow professionally, and network with peers. Attendees will hear from those involved in shaping the future of homeland security and emergency management, strengthen relationships with partner organizations, and discuss NEMA's views on all-hazards emergency preparedness with the leadership in Washington. Visit www.nemaweb.org.


9)----------
Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Useful Job Sites:

International Association of Emergency Managers http://www.iaem.com/resources/Career/Jo ... dcboard.pl

National Emergency Management Association http://nemaweb.org/jobs/

DisasterManagementJobs.com
www.disastermanagementjobs.com

USAJOBS
www.usajobs.gov

The Chronicle of Higher Education
http://chronicle.com/search/jobs/

PublicServiceCareers.org
http://publicservicecareers.org

Indeed.com
www.indeed.com

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DISASTER RESEARCH (DR) is a moderated newsletter issued by the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder for creators and users of information regarding hazards and disasters. Questions for the readership and contributions to this e-newsletter are encouraged. Questions and messages should be indicated as such and sent to hazctr@colorado.edu.

Publication of the DR is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). However, the information presented here does not necessarily reflect the views of NSF. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed here are those of the indicated author(s) or the Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado.

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send messages to listproc@lists.colorado.edu.

To SUBSCRIBE: Send this one-line command in the body of your e-mail message (do not include <>): SUBSCRIBE HAZARDS <Your Name> To UNSUBSCRIBE: Send this one-line command in the body of your e-mail message (do not include your name): UNSUBSCRIBE HAZARDS

The Natural Hazards Center maintains a Web site containing back issues of DR, its extensive publications list, links to many other hazards/disaster information sources, full-text papers, and more. The Center's Web site is http://www.colorado.edu/hazards.

The Natural Hazards Center also publishes a bimonthly printed newsletter, the "Natural Hazards Observer," which is free to subscribers within the United States and for download on the Center's Web site; international subscriptions are $24.00/year.
To order the "Observer," contact the Center:

Natural Hazards Center
Institute of Behavioral Science
University of Colorado
482 UCB
Boulder, Colorado 80309-0482 USA
Telephone: (303) 492-6818
Fax: (303) 492-2151
E-mail: hazctr@colorado.edu
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