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The Natural Hazards Center examines the uses of social media in disaster; the following papers will be presented at the 5th International ISCRAM Conference in Washington DC, May 4-7, 2008.
Sutton, J, L. and Palen, I. Shklovski (2008). Backchannels on the Front Lines: Emergent Uses of Social Media in the 2007 Southern California Wildfires.
Vieweg, S.E., L. Palen, S. Liu, A. L. Hughes, and J. Sutton. (2008). Collective Intelligence in Disaster: Examination of the Phenomenon in the Aftermath of the 2007 Virginia Tech Shooting.
Hughes, A. L., L. Palen, J. Sutton, S. Liu, and S.E. Vieweg. (2008). "Site-Seeing" in Disaster: An Examination of On-Line Social Convergence.
S.B. Liu, L. Palen, J. Sutton, A.L. Hughes, and S.E. Vieweg. (2008) In Search of the Bigger Picture: The Emergent Role of On-Line Photo Sharing in Times of Disaster.
RoseMarie Perez Foster, of Environment and Society and the Natural Hazards Center, was invited faculty and speaker at the United Nations Headquarters, Seventeenth International Conference on Health and Environment: Global Partners for Global Solutions, on April 24, 2008. She presented research with Chernobyl nuclear disaster survivors relocated to the US for program: Living with Radiation: Medical and Psychological Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident.
Jeannette Sutton and Christine Bevc gave the presentation "Collaboration across Boundaries: Research on Regional Preparedness Networks" at the 2008 Urban Area Security Initiative Conference in Charlotte, SC on April 21, 2008. This presentation drew upon data from more than 100 interviews on regional collaboration and emergency preparedness. Conclusions include the importance of distributed resources, the balance of decision-making power, and the liability of unconnectedness. This research was funded through the Hazards Center's START grant.
Hamilton Bean, doctoral candidate in the Communication Department and research assistant for the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) grant, administered through the Natural Hazards Center, has received a 2008/9 Dissertation Grant Award from the United States Department of Homeland Security. This highly competitive award is administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Hamilton’s proposed dissertation explores how organizational communication and culture mediate the conception, practice, and effects of “information sharing” within organizations possessing a homeland security mission. This project is significant for stakeholders across HS-STEM (homeland security related science, technology, engineering and mathematics) research areas, particularly those areas concerned with information sharing, i.e., Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, Human Factors, and Emergency Preparedness and Response. His START mentor is Lisa Keränen, Assistant Professor of Communication.
Hamilton Bean is currently assisting Professor Lisa Keränen in planning a 2008 conference on emergency pre-event communication with a grant from START that will unite emergency planners with communication and social science researchers to consider the dilemmas of communicating with diverse publics in anticipation of a terrorist emergency. Sponsored by the National Communication Association-Forum and START, the event will be held on Thursday, November 20, 2008, in downtown San Diego. Richard Kilberg, President and Executive Producer of the Fred Friendly Seminars (FFS) and Ruth Friendly, Vice President of FFS will be on hand to help the group work through case studies from their recent “City Under Siege” and “Bioattack” videos. For more information, contact Lisa Keränen (keranen@colorado.edu).
Lee Alston presented a seminar for the Princeton Program on Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy entitled "Land Reform, Land Conflict, and Land Use in Brazil", April 14, 2008.
Lee Alston presented the keynote address, entitled "Which Governance for Which Environment?", at the European Union Workshop in Cargese, Corsica, France, February 2008.
Barbara Farhar, visiting research scholar in the Environment and Society Program, had an article published in the January/February 2008 issue of Solar Today. "A comparative study reveals that with supportive policies, high-performance homes can be cost-competitive with other houses. Are zero-carbon homes ahead?" Here is a pdf of the article.
At the January, 2008 annual meeting of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (AERE), it was announced that Professor Chuck Howe (IBS and Emeritus from Economics) had been elected Fellow of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. AERE is the leading professional organization of economists in the sub-field of natural resource and environmental economics. Chuck was commended for his pioneering work in the economic analysis of water development and management, both in the U.S. and in developing countries. His books on natural resource economics and benefit-cost analysis were long the standard graduate texts in those fields. He directed the Water Resources Program at Resources for the Future (Washington, D.C. in the 1960's prior to coming to the Economics Department at UCB where he initiated new courses in the natural resources/environment area. He directed the Environment & Behavior Program in IBS from 1986 through 1997. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and holds the Icko Iben Award of the American Water Resources Association and the Warren Hall medal of the Universities' Council on Water Resources. Also elected as Fellows were Daniel Bromley at Wisconsin, Gardner Brown of the University of Washington, Kenneth McConnell of the University of Maryland, Kathleen Segerson of the University of Connecticut and David Zilberman of the University of California at Berkeley.
Christine Bevc presented "Across Town Ties: A Comparison of Regional Collaboration Networks" at the annual Sunbelt XXVIII International Sunbelt Social Network Conference in St. Petersburg, Florida, January 24. The presentation featured ongoing social networks research related to emergency preparedness with Kathleen Tierney, Jeannette Sutton, Alexandra Jordan, Ashly Barlau, and Erica Kuligowski.
Lori Hunter has taken on the role of Editor-in-Chief of the academic journal Population and Environment, published by Springer. The journal's mission statement: Population and Environment publishes articles, commentary and reviews related to the bi-directional links between population, natural resources, and the natural environment, with the purpose of deepening scientific and policy dialogue in this often complex area. The coverage is multidisciplinary, spanning a range of social, policy, life, and natural sciences. Work at all scales, local to global, is presented as are both theoretical and empirical contributions. Population and Environment reaches a wide readership of researchers working in academic and policy institutions in the fields of demography, economics, sociology, geography, environmental studies, public health, ecology and associated sub-disciplines.
Governor Bill Ritter held a reception at the NCAR Mesa Lab on Monday, November 26th, to honor the 20 Colorado scientists who had participated in the activities of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which had been a co- recipient with Al Gore of the Nobel Peace Prize. Scientists from the University of Colorado, NCAR and NOAA were in the honoree group. Chuck Howe of the E&S Program in IBS and Professor Emeritus of Economics was among those honored for his role as a lead author in the Third Assessment Report of five years ago.
An article about the scientists and the award appeared in the Rocky Mountain News, November 27. Here is a copy of the cover photo.
Environment and Society Water Activities ~ John Wiener made several presentations over the last year (2007), at the Colorado Water Congress, the US Department of Agriculture Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service (CSREES) National Water Program annual meeting, and the Climate Prediction Applications Science Workshop, and Universities Council on Water Resources. He also contributed to the Ditch and Reservoir Company Alliance Handbook (a guide to weather and climate information), confirming his taste for glamourous venues and associations. In ongoing work, John is pleased to serve as an advisor and participant in the Water Transfers Guidelines Committee of the new Arkansas Basin Roundtable, after serving on three of the Statewide Water Supply Initiative Technical Roundtables (reported out November 2007). The inquiries and presentations center on new water leasing instead of permanent sales and the various issues and opportunities presented by the changes, currently focusing on anticipation of problems in farm management, socio-economic impacts, and biological issues of change in the hybrid ecology. Funded research with NOAA support will include further cooperation with NCAR scientist Dr. David Yates in modeling the new forms of transfer, and continuing collaboration with Chuck Howe on water transfers. Work has also been proposed to the USDA and the State.
This fall, the Natural Hazards Center welcomed:
RoseMarie Perez Foster is a research and clinical psychologist who is a Visiting Scholar with Environment and Society and the Natural Hazards Center. Her previous appointments at the New York University School of Social Work and New York University (NYU) School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, focused on immigrant mental health and the interface between pre-migration traumatic exposures and host country adjustment. Her current investigation of Chernobyl disaster survivors from the former Soviet Union explores the impact of long-term post disaster psychological sequelae. RoseMarie received her PhD in psychology from St. John's University and post-doctoral training at NYU. She is on the international roster of Fulbright senior specialists in mental health and a recipient of the Frantz Fanon Award for contributions to the immigrant mental health and racial issues literature.
Brandi Gilbert is a PhD student in the department of sociology at the University of Colorado. She graduated from the University of Delaware with a bachelor's degree in elementary education and a minor in Spanish studies. She is currently working on the Bay Area Disaster Preparedness Initiative project at the Natural Hazards Center. Her research interests are the role of educational, community, and religious organizations in disaster preparedness and recovery initiatives.
Alexandra (Ali) Jordan is a graduate student in the department of sociology's PhD program. She earned her bachelor's degree in political science, with an emphasis on terrorism and genocide, at the University of Southern California. Before coming to the University of Colorado, Ali worked for the U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms Office of Security and Emergency Preparedness as a government contractor. She is currently working on the Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Response to Terrorism (START) project at the Natural Hazards Center. She is also interested in perceptions of risk, community resilience, terrorism, and using GIS as a tool for analysis in disaster research.
Liesel A. Ritchie holds joint appointments with the University of Colorado's Natural Hazards Center and the Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University. Her dissertation on social impacts of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill was the first study to examine the relationship between technological disasters and social capital. In 2005, she spearheaded efforts to establish an American Evaluation Association topical interest group on Disaster and Emergency Management Evaluation and is currently chair of that group. Liesel is currently studying tsunami awareness and preparedness in Alaska through a National Science Foundation grant. She recently led a study of three New Orleans communities hit by tornadoes in February 2007, and she has also been involved with evaluation of long-term recovery organization responses to disasters, as well as studies of social impacts of Hurricane Katrina. She will be working on the Bay Area Disaster Preparedness Initiative project at the Natural Hazards Center.
Leysia Palen, Sarah Vieweg, Jeannette Sutton, Amanda Hughes, and Sophia Liu. 2007. Crisis Informatics: Studying Disaster in a Networked World. Paper presented at the Third International Conference on E-Social Science, October 7-9, 2007, Ann Arbor, Michigan. www.ess.si.umich.edu
Abstract: Serious crises and disasters have micro and macro sociological arrangements that differ from routine situations, as the field of disaster studies has described over its 100-year history. With increasingly pervasive information and communications technology (ICT) and a changing political arena where terrorism is perceived as a major threat, the attention to crisis is high. Some of these new features of social life have created real change in the sociology of disaster that we are only beginning to understand. However, much of what might seem to be new is not; rather ICT makes some behaviors more visible, in particular first response and altruistic activities. Even so, with each new crisis event, the calls for technological solutions and policy change come fast and furious, often in absence of empirical research. Our lab is establishing an area of sociologically informed research and ICT development that we call crisis informatics. Here, we report on some of the challenges and findings when conducting empirical study where the subject of attention is disperse, emergent and increasingly expanding through on-line arenas. We specifically consider the challenge of studying citizen-side information generation and dissemination activities during the April 16, 2007 crisis at Virginia Tech, which we have investigated both on-site and on-line.
Jeannette Sutton is the research coordinator at the Hazards Center and Leysia Palen is a faculty affiliate.
On September 24, 2007, Christine Bevc presented a paper entitled "Working Together: A Social Network Comparison of Interactions Within Urban Area Security Initiative Regions" at Rutgers University as part of a workshop on Computational Methods for Dynamic Interaction Networks sponsored by the Center for Discrete Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science (DIMACS). This paper identifies similarities across multiple social networks to better understand local preparedness in urban areas around the country.
The Universities' Council on Water Resources (of which UCB is a member) awarded its "Friend of UCOWR" award to the memory of Gilbert White at the Council's annual meeting in Boise, Idaho, Wednesday, July 25th, 2007. A framed certificate was prepared for later presentation to Gilbert's family. The certificate was received by Chuck Howe for transfer to the family. A splendid 15 minute film on Gilbert's life that had been produced by Robert Hinshaw was shown at the ceremony. Robert Hinshaw was the author of Gilbert's biography, Living with Extremes: the Life of Gilbert Fowler White, and it had been hoped that he could introduce the film to the audience. Personal constraints prevented his presence.
Bill Travis' new book, "New Geographies of the American West: Land Use and the Changing Patterns of Place", has been published by Island Press, spring 2007. Bill is associate professor of geography and faculty affiliate of the Environment and Society Program; he wrote the book with support of a fellowship from the Orton Family Foundation. The book is highly praised by such luminaries as Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior, and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.
Tom Dickinson and Nancy Thorwardson of IBS Computing and Research Services provided technical help with creating maps and illustrations for the book.
Jeannette Sutton presented at the 2007 National Urban Area Security Initiative Conference, April 10, in Miami, FL. Her presentation "Regional Collaboration and Preparedness for Terrorism and Extreme Events" provided an overview of the Hazards Center's role in START, the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, one of the DHS Centers of Excellence, and research being conducted on regional collaboration.
Lori Hunter organized and presented a panel discussion in Washington DC at the Population Reference Bureau April 5, 2007. The discussion was titled, "HIV/AIDS and the Environment: Implications and Interventions". The panel also included Kathy Kurz of the International Center for Research on Women, Nancy Gelman of the Africa Biodiversity Collaborative Group, and Melissa Thaxton of the Population Reference Bureau.
This panel explored the environmental dimensions of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Presentations offered an overview of social science research on the ways in which environmental degradation lessens the ability of impacted households to cope with loss, and how high AIDS prevalence can lead to increased environmental degradation in the local context. Overviews of multi-faceted programs were provided dealing with conservation, food security and gender issues in a variety of settings including Uganda and Tanzania
Lori Hunter presented her poster, "‘Locusts Are Now Our Beef’: Adult Mortality and Household Dietary Use of Local Environmental Resources” (co-authored with Wayne Twine and Laura Patterson) at the Population Association of America annual meeting in New York, NY, March 2007.
Lori was also an Invited Discussant for the Population and Environment Session on "Migration, Land, and Environment" at the meeting.
Jeannette Sutton, research coordinator at the Natural Hazards Center, presented on "Preparing for Human Continuity is More Than Just Psychological First Aid" at the Disaster Recovery Journal Spring World Conference, March 25 in Orlando, FL.
Kathleen Tierney, professor of sociology and director of the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Center, has been chosen to serve on the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP) Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction. William Jeffrey, director of the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology, named Tierney one of 15 distinguished academic, industry and government experts to participate. Established by the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977, NEHRP is the federal government's program to reduce the risks to life and property from earthquakes.
The Natural Hazards Center is happy to welcome Laurie Schmidt, who joined the staff in early February as the Center's Editor. In that position, Laurie will compile and edit the Observer newsletter and assist with coordination of special projects and publications.
Laurie holds a M.S. degree in science communication and a B.A. in English. Before joining the Natural Hazards Center, she worked on the Phoenix Mars Lander mission in Tucson, Arizona, developing educational content for the mission's web site. Prior to that, she served as editor of NASA's DAAC Alliance Annual publication from 2001-2005, based at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder.
Her interests include communicating earth science concepts to lay audiences, particularly with regard to correcting public misconceptions about geologic processes and natural hazards.
Kathleen Tierney presented "Crossing Boundaries: The Value of Multidisciplinary and Interdisciplinary Research for Disaster Loss Reduction." Invited presentation, Frontiers of Human Dimensions Science Research Series, Institute for the Study of Society and the Environment, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder CO Jan 23, 2007.
The Natural Hazards Center is happy to welcome Corey Reynolds, who joined the staff at the beginning of the year as the Center's Program Associate. In that position, Corey will compile and edit the Disaster Research e-newsletter, manage the Center's Web site, coordinate special projects and publications, and manage the Center's Quick Response Research Program.
Corey holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and political science from the University of Colorado, where he worked in communications and outreach at the nation's largest student-run environmental center. Before joining the Natural Hazards Center, he was a reporter for newspapers in central and northern Colorado.
His interests include the role of the media before, during and after disaster; the effect of trauma reporting on media organizations and individuals; risk communication; and emergency management public policy.
Lori Hunter presented her research on how HIV/AIDS affects agriculture, nutrition, and land use at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Environmental Change and Security Program, Washington DC "HIV/AIDS, Agriculture, and Conservation: Impacts and Solutions," Wednesday, January 17 2007. The panel also included Richard Skolnik of the Population Reference Bureau presenting current and future trends of the wide-ranging impacts of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and Judy Oglethorpe of the World Wildlife Fund discussing how the disease influences conservation efforts and security issues.
Kathleen Tierney was interviewed extensively and appears on-screen in the full-length documentary film "The Water's Edge," produced in 2006 and currently airing on public television stations around the U. S.
Lee Alston is giving a presentation at the Political Institutions Economic Policy Working Group hosted by Harvard University on December 9, 2006.
Lori Hunter and Kathleen Tierney presented a poster, along with their NREL colleagues, at the Energy Initiative's Research Symposium on October 3, 2006 at the University Memorial Center on the Boulder Campus.
Lori Hunter's article, "HIV/AIDS and the Natural Environment", has been included on the Population Reference Bureau website, at: www.prb.org
Kathleen Tierney presented "Social Vulnerability: A New Paradigm for Disaster Research." Keynote presentation, annual conference of the Institute for Business and Home Safety, Orlando, FLA, Nov. 16. This presentation was also given at the National Center for Atmospheric Research Directors' Meeting, September 21, 2006; the University of British Columbia, October 9, 2006; and Washington State University, November 9, 2006.
Kathleen Tierney presented "From the Margins to the Mainstream? Disaster Research at the Crossroads." Invited public lecture, Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service, Washington State University, November 8, 2006.
Jeannette Sutton and Kathleen Tierney prepared a white paper, "Disaster Preparedness: Concepts, Guidance, and Research", for the "Assessing Disaster Preparedness" Conference, Sebastopol, CA, Nov. 3-4. The conference resulted in the development of a research proposal which is currently under review at the Hewlitt Foundation.
Sophia Liu is one of two current doctoral students to be transferred immediately into the interdisciplinary doctorate degree program in Technology, Media and Society, unanimously approved by the CU Board of Regents. Sophia is working as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Natural Hazards Center in the Environment and Society Program. Her current project is researching how people use technology such as cell phones to communicate in the midst of natural disasters.
The Natural Hazards Center welcomes 2 REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) students, Nick Passanante and Ashly Barlau. Nick is a sophomore in the Political Science department at CU. His major academic interests include the American Political system, with particular interest in how specific social aspects of society (ie- terrorism, natural disasters, cultural aspects of individual geographic areas) impact political legislation, political leaders and political "language" and vice versa. Ashly is a junior in the Anthropology department at CU. Her main focus is the physical aspect of her field, perhaps in forensic anthropology, but is also interested in the cultural aspects. The Center looks forward to working with these two talented undergraduate researchers!
Gilbert F. White remembered
With great sadness, we have to report that our dear friend, colleague, and mentor, Gilbert F. White, known worldwide as the "father of floodplain management" and one of the most distinguished and internationally recognized faculty members at the University of Colorado at Boulder, died on Oct. 5 at his home in Boulder. He was 94.
The world is a better place for having had Gilbert in its midst. Gilbert was that rare combination - a distinguished scientist and an outstanding humanitarian committed to translating scientific evidence into policy and programs to better people's lives. His was a life to celebrate.
Gilbert's family is planning a memorial on Saturday, November 11 at 1pm at the Spice of Life Event Center, 5706 Arapahoe Avenue, Boulder.
Memorial gifts can be made to the Gilbert F. White Graduate Research Fellowship in Natural Hazards Mitigation. Checks should be made payable to the University of Colorado Foundation and sent to the Natural Hazards Center, University of Colorado, 482 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309-0482.
Alternatively, contributions can also be made to the Gilbert White Fellowships, Resources for the Future, 1616 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.
New York Times | Washington Post | Rocky Mountain News | Boulder Daily Camera
Gilbert's obituary | Gilbert's website | University of Colorado News Release
Chuck Howe gave the opening plenary talk at the annual Illinois State Water Conference at the University of Illinois in Urbana on Oct 4th. The topic was "Sharing Western Water Lessons with the Midwest", emphasizing that the semi-arid regions have evolved institutions and agencies to deal with water scarce situations. The "riparian water law" of the eastern states that evolved in England when water was used to power mills and that has been adopted by states east of the Mississippi is not suited to water scarcity. In the light of climate change and the likelihood of more frequent, more intense droughts in the upper Midwest, consideration of adoption of versions of the western institutions is appropriate now, before Midwestern water systems come under stress. In particular, the use of water withdrawal permits (somewhat akin to western water rights) that are tradable and divisible would be a desirable and probably acceptable first step.
Lee Alston hosted the ISNIE (International Society of New Institutional Economics) 10th Annual Conference, “Institutions: Economic, Political and Social Behavior,” Sept 21-24, 2006 at the Millennium House Hotel in Boulder. The program included over 50 panel sessions and a keynote lecture by the 1993 Economics Nobel Laureate Douglass C. North. The program for the conference can be found on the ISNIE website: www.isnie.org.
In September, 2006, the Natural Hazards Center launched a new, updated and reorganized web site, at http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/
Kathleen Tierney is a member of the Committee on Disaster Research in the Social Sciences: Future Challenges and Opportunities, which was responsible for writing the following report, which was released in mid-August. Committee activities were funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation and the National Research Council.
Facing Hazards and Disasters: Understanding Human Dimensions. 2006. National Academies Press, Washington, DC. 408 pp. ISBN 0-309-10178-6. www.nap.edu/
The report provides over thirty recommendations regarding research needs in the field of hazards and disasters.
Sarah Stapleton participated in the Weather and Society * Integrated Studies (WAS*IS) workshop conducted by Eve Grunfest and Julie Demuth through the Societal Impacts Program at NCAR and the U.S. Weather Research Program on July 13-21. The goal of the workshop is to integrate social science and weather science to empower practioners, researchers, and stakeholders to better understand how weather information is perceived and to make weather information more accessable and useable by larger segments of the public. Workshop participants came from a variety of backgrounds including weather forecasters, anthropologists, media, and economists.
Chuck Howe gave a plenary talk entitled "Water As A Commodity" to the 31st Colorado Water Workshop at Western State College in Gunnison, July 26-28, 2006. Several points of view of the values associated with water were presented by several speakers, including values and cooperation in the old Hispanic acequia systems, the agrarian origins of current water law, water values eminating from forest lands, contemporary urban values, and ecosystem values. The session was chaired by Justice Greg Hobbs of the Colorado Supreme Court. A main point of Howe's paper was to debunk the frequently asserted dichotomy of "water as a public good versus water as a commodity". Water never has the properties of a true "public good" and no water market, wholesale or retail, operates without some social oversight. A second point was that the existing legal framework that militates against "speculation" (all irrigation farmers speculate in water) and overly protects existing water rights is increasingly inefficient and costly to all water users. Coasian bargaining cannot overcome these problems because of the large number of parties involved.
John Wiener gave a paper at the annual conference of the Universities' Council on Water Resources in Santa Fe, July 18-20, 2006, "Moving Towards More Efficient Water Markets: Institutional Barriers & Innovations", the result of work that he and Chuck Howe have carried out over the past three years under NOAA sponsorship. Water markets, under various forms of policy oversight, are playing an increasing role in the re-allocation of water in response to increased urban and environmental demands. The main questions were ,"What features of successful water markets can be incorporated in emerging, new water markets?" and "What are the barriers to this institutional transfer?" The main lessons from successful markets have been that transaction costs must be kept low and that it must be possible to complete transfers quickly. Current barriers include legal rulings that are overly protective of existing water (property) rights and increasingly costly both to the agricultural and urban sectors.
The Natural Hazards Center held the 31st Annual Hazards Workshop at the Millennium Hotel from July 9 - 12. The workshop brought together nearly 450 disaster researchers and practitioners from around the world to discuss and debate critical issues in disaster research, preparedness, response, and mitigation. The opening keynote address was provided by Margareta Wahlstroem, the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. The plenaries and concurrent sessions covered a range of topics, from recovery after Hurricane Katrina to the politics of international disasters and the role of journalism in reporting disasters. The final plenary focused on the state of federal emergency management in the United States and featured former-FEMA director Michael Brown as a disscusant. Summaries of the sessions and plenaries will soon be available on the Center's website.
The Natural Hazards Center Goes to Washington
In June, 2006, the Center partnered with the Congressional Hazards Caucus and the American Sociological Association to host a congressional seminar on critical social issues in hazards facing the United States. For a standing room only audience of Capitol Hill staffers, federal agency representatives, and others, a panel of experts spoke about pressing post-Katrina hazards issues and answered questions on a variety of topics. Following an introduction from Dennis Wenger of the Hazards Reduction and Recovery Center at Texas A&M University, Center director Kathleen Tierney discussed the social issues that arose in the storm's response. The other featured speakers were Howard Kunreuther from the Risk Management and Decision Processes Center at the Wharton School of Business, who presented the pros and cons of comprehensive disaster insurance, and William Anderson of the National Academies of Science Natural Hazards Roundtable, who spoke about a forthcoming report by the National Research Council: Facing Hazards and Disasters: Understanding Human Dimensions.
The seminar is the latest effort by the Center to expand its educational and outreach efforts to new constituencies. Members of Congress and their staff are important partners in hazards mitigation efforts both within their own districts and for the entire nation. Through efforts such as this, the Center introduces more people to hazards and disasters research and literature and provides solid scientific information to important decision makers.
John Wiener presented a review of potential biology issues related to water transfers and the lack of information on irrigation as hybrid ecology at the Society for Conservation Biology June 24-28, 2006.
Jeannette Sutton presented "Social Vulnerability and Natural Hazards" for Qwest Business Continuity Managers on June 21, 2006 in Denver, CO.
Jeannette Sutton presented "Convergence of the Faithful - Spiritual Care Response to Disaster and Mass Casualty Events" at the Society for Pastoral Theology Annual Conference, June 16, 2006 in Littleton, CO as part of an immersion experience related to the Columbine High School Shooting.
Jeannette Sutton and Kathleen Tierney presented "Disaster Research as a Specialized Field of Inquiry: History and Human Subjects Considerations" at the Office of Human Research Protocols national education conference "Special Populations/Special Research Situations" on June 1, 2006 in Denver.
Lee Alston was among twenty scholars who met in Chicago June 1-3, 2006 to discuss the future of the commons and the anticommons. The well-known tragedy of the commons story (which has the structure of a Prisoner's Dilemma) and its more recently developed counterpart, the tragedy of the anticommons, have provided influential focal points for thinking about property regimes and resource allocation. The discussants considered the continuing vitality of these conceptual templates in real property, natural resource, and intellectual property contexts, addressed possible refinements and theoretical extensions, and discussed potential avenues for further research. The conference was organized by the Law and Economics Program of the University of Illinois.
Thalia R. Goldstein is a visiting researcher at the Natural Hazards Center as a Department of Homeland Security graduate fellow. She is a doctoral student at Boston College in Psychology. She is interested in creativity and improvisation in the face of disaster and will also be working on the START project on regionalism and preparedness. Thalia holds a B.A. cum laude from Cornell University.
The Natural Hazards Center RESCUE team researchers, Jeannette Sutton, Sophia Liu, and Kathleen Tierney, coordinated and hosted an event on Earthquake Information Dissemination in Irvine, CA on May 26, 2006. This event brought together leading researchers, emergency managers, and policy experts within the natural, computer, and social sciences to discuss the feasibility and barriers to the dissemination of earthquake information to publics at risk.
Several faculty from IBS participated in the 4th Annual "Wits-Brown-Colorado-APHRC colloquium on Emerging Population Issues" held May 21-25 in Nairobi, Kenya. Funded by the Hewlett Foundation, the colloquium is designed to foster collaboration across participating institutions through the sharing of information on ongoing research, recent findings and plans for the future. The network also aims to strengthen advanced academic training in population studies within sub-Saharan Africa and a special session was held on the topic. This year's colloquium was hosted by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), and prior to the meeting, participants had the opportunity to learn about APHRC's research on population-health issues in sub-Saharan Africa, and also make field site visits to APHRC's demographic surveillance sites in 2 Nairobi slums. Participating in the colloquium were Jane Menken, Jason Boardman, Lori Hunter, Randall Kuhn, Richard Rogers, Enid Schatz, and Georges Reniers. Jill Williams and Steve Graham also served important roles on the organizing committee.
Jane Menken with APHRC director Alex Ezeh.
John Wiener presented a description of the alternative forms of water transfer that are under consideration in the Statewide Water Supply Initiative, at the Environment and Water Resources Congress of the American Society of Civil Engineers in May, 2006.
Kiara Christianson recently joined the Natural Hazards Center as the Publications Administrator/Assistant. She has a B.A. in Environmental Geography from the University of South Florida in St Petersburg, FL.
Lee Alston gave a keynote address to the European School of New Institutional Economics at Cargese Corsica on May 19, 2006.
Erica Kuligowski gave an invited lecture, "From Theory to Application: A Review of Human Behavior in Fire and the Current Approach of Evacuation Modeling," for the Fire Marshal's Association of Colorado in Golden, CO on May 19, 2006.
Lee Alston gave a seminar at Carlos III in Madrid on May 11, 2006.
Lee Alston gave a series a lectures in May 2006 based on his work in the New Institutional Economics at the Univeristy of Paris 1- The Sorbonne.
Gilbert F.White honored by CU
The Institute of Behavioral Science is proud to announce that our dear friend and internationally-renowned colleague Gilbert F. White has received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder. The award was presented to Gilbert by the Chancellor of the University, Dr. Phil DiStefano at a celebratory reception at the Koenig Alumni Center, May 17, 2006.
Kathleen Tierney gave a presentation entitled "Environmental Justice and Disasters" at the Environmental Studies Student Lecture Series on Environmental Justice, UC Boulder, April 3, 2006.
Kathleen Tierney gave an invited roundtable presentation entitled "Myths About Disaster Behavior and Their Relevance for Bioterrorism Preparedness" at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Public Administration, Denver, CO, April 2.
Christine A. Bevc presented a paper, co-authored with Kathleen Tierney, entitled "Disaster as War: Militarism and the Social Construction of Disaster in New Orleans" at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society (SSS) New Orleans, LA, March 23, 2006.
Kathleen Tierney presented a paper entitled "Hurricane Katrina: Catastrophic Impacts and Alarming Lessons" at the Berkeley Symposium on Real Estate, Catastrophic Risk, and Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley, March 23, 2006.
John Wiener gave a presentation on some progress and problems in pursuing climate information applications through improved water transferability at the Climate Prediction Applications Science Workshop March 21-24, 2006.
Lori Hunter attended the 2nd National Conference on Population, Health, and the Environment in Cebu City, Philippines, March 15-17. The conference brought together practitioners, policymakers, researchers, media representatives, community leaders and advocates to explore the links among population, health and environment for sustainable development. Hunter presented the research by herself and colleague Wayne Twine on HIV/AIDS, natural resources and food security in rural South Africa. www.pheconference.com
Professor Brigitte Desaigues, Professor of Economics at the Sorbonne, Universite Paris I, passed away on March 15th. Brigitte first came to the Environment and Behavior Program in the summer of 1989 to work on a book The Economics of the Natural Environment with her colleague, Patrick Point. That project was completed in the summer of 1992 and she has graced the E&B Program every summer since. Her research on environmental values convinced Electricite de France to change the way they operate their reservoirs better to preserve the shorelines for birds and wildlife. Her work with her husband, Dr. Ari Rabl (Ecole de Mines, Paris) on the environmental impacts of various energy cycles has been influential in shaping E.U. energy and waste management policies.
Brigitte was a vivacious, enthusiastic individual, always very committed to her research but always with time to appreciate her friends in Boulder. She was loved by all who knew her, and her departure leaves a great gap in our individual lives and in that of the Program.
Greg Guibert, program manager at the Natural Hazards Center, and Sarah Stapleton, a graduate student at the Center, participated in the Prototype Training Workshop for Educators on the Effects of Climate Change on Seasonality and Environmental Hazards in Bangkok, Thailand. The workshop was sponsored by the Center for Capacity Building at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the Asia-Pacific Network (APN). The workshop gathered educators from Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India, China, and the United States to create multidisciplinary curriculum covering how climate anomalies and climate change affect seasonality, human activities, and settlements. March 6-10, 2006.
C.U. TO HONOR GILBERT F.WHITE
At its meeting on March 2nd, the University of Colorado Board of Regents voted to award an Honorary Degree to Gilbert F. White during Commencement ceremonies at the end of Spring semester. This is an extraordinary recognition of the extraordinary achievements of our most senior--and most admired--colleague. Gilbert's contributions across the decades have been legion (see Gilbert F. White website: http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/gfw), and he has brought international distinction and renown not only to the University but to the Institute of Behavioral Science, as well. Director of IBS from 1970 to 1980, he established a climate of collaborative collegiality that has characterized its endeavors ever since, and his scholarly leadership has helped to shape the Institute's future. Gilbert was nominated for this award by the IBS Board of Directors, and the nomination was supported by many of the campus' most distinguished faculty and by the Department of Geography. Among his many other achievements, Gilbert was recognized for having reshaped the discipline of geography to encompass natural hazards, for developing a paradigm for flood plain management across the globe, and for establishing the Natural Hazards Center in IBS. We take pride in counting Gilbert a colleague and friend, and IBS congratulates him on this most appropriate and well-deserved award.
Kathleen Tierney gave an invited lecture entitled "Preparedness for Catastrophic and Near-Catastrophic Events: Issues and Challenges in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina" for the "Quake '06" Lecture Series, Standford University (February 28) and the University of California, Berkeley (March 1) 2006.
Sophia Liu, a graduate research assistant at the Natural Hazards Center and an Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society PhD student, has won a prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, awarded March 29, 2006. Ms. Liu's research, conducted in coordination with her advisor Professor Leysia Palen, is entitled "Public Expressions: Peer- to-Peer Communications in Response to Crises." Recent crisis events around the world have drawn new attention to the role information communication technology (ICT) can play in improving warning and response activities. ICTs are enabling emergency responders as well as members of the public to develop new ways in which to respond to a crisis. Ms. Liu's work will build an analytical framework for describing public communications following a disaster through remote and in-field ethnographic studies of real disaster events. Examining both low- and emerging high-tech forms of citizen communications, she will develop prototypes and implications for peer-to-peer, location- aware, and hybrid digital-physical technologies that support different forms of information seeking, provision and personal expression. She will consider how, as people acquire and synthesize information from multiple sources, the public’s role following disaster will continue to evolve.
Since Hurricane Katrina, Kathleen Tierney has been providing advice and guidance to the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina. She is quoted in the Committee's report, "A Failure of Initiative," which was officially released on February 15.
Meet the newcomers to the Natural Hazards Center! Let us introduce you to Anne Watts, Adam Morenberg, and Jon Sawicki. Anne Watts is new to the university system as a temporary employee at the Natural Hazards Center but hopes to be added on as a permanent staff member in the near future. She and her husband and two lovely dogs live in Broomfield. They both are passionate about trail racing. She just completed a 100 mile run in Huntsville, TX. Adam Morenberg is a graduate research assistant at the Natural Hazards Center and a doctoral student in the department of sociology here at CU. In addition to his work at the Hazards Center, Adam specializes in social psychology, ethnographic research methods and socio-cultural studies of gender, sexuality, health and illness. Jon Sawicki is a senior Geography major here at CU graduating in May 2006. His studies here at the University have been dominated by classes in political geography, international development, and physical sciences. He is particularly interested in how urban areas can prepare for and respond to disasters both natural and man-made.
Erica Kuligowski, a graduate research assistant at the Natural Hazards Center, is being recognized by the U.S. Department of Commerce with two prestigious awards: a bronze and a gold medal. The bronze medal recognizes the extraordinary support demonstrated by Erica and three of her colleagues at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Fire Research Division to ensure the accuracy and quality of the analysis, simulations, final report, and recommendations of the investigation of the Station Nightclub Fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island. Erica is also a member of a team of 37 individuals awarded a gold medal for scientific and engineering achievement and administrative and technical support in conducting the World Trade Center disaster investigation. Final reports documenting both of these projects are available on the NIST Web site at http://www.nist.gov/.
In February, Natural Hazards Center staff member Julie Baxter was recognized with the 2005 Student Achievement in Natural Hazard Risk Reduction award from the State of Oregon's Partners for Disaster Resistance & Resilience. Julie was the project manager of a graduate student team from the University of Oregon who received the award for their work on the Lane County Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The award is given for projects executed by a student or group of students in 2005 that has shown exceptional merit in the field of natural hazards risk reduction.
Presentation: Kathleen Tierney. 2005. "Social Science, Disasters, and Homeland Security." Invited seminar presented at the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, February 14.
Poster Presentation to the National Science Foundation's National Science Board
On February 10th, Kathleen Tierney and Christine Bevc presented a poster on the Natural Hazards Center to the NSF's National Science Board. The poster session was part of the Science Board's meeting highlighting NSF-funded work here at CU. The Natural Hazards Center was one of only 24 posters selected from the 515 NSF-funded projects across campus for this session.
Kathleen Tierney has had a number of contacts with the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee regarding its investigation of the Katrina disaster. She submitted written testimony to that committee in January, 2006.
Jeannette Sutton presented on social science research and disasters at the Boulder County Optimist Club on January 11, 2006. During the talk, Jeannette presented an overview of the Natural Hazards Center and focused on the Quick Response research related to Hurricane Katrina.
Poster Presented at RESCUE All-Hands Meeting in January
Christine Bevc, Carter T. Butts, Sophia Liu, Miruna Petrescu-Prahova, Remy Cross, Lorien Jasny, Ben Lind, Jeannette Sutton, and Kathleen Tierney. 2006. "Emergent Multiorganizational Networks following the World Trade Center attacks." Poster presented January 9-10, 2006 at the 2nd Annual All-Hands Meeting, Responding to Crises and Unexpected Events (RESCUE).
Kathleen Tierney (director), Christine Bevc (graduate research assistant), and Sophia Liu (graduate research assistant) traveled to San Diego for RESCUE's second annual All-Hands Meeting. During the meeting they presented a poster of their on-going collaborative work with researchers at the University of Califorina-Irvine. The poster illustrated the emergent multi-organizational networks (EMONs) following the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001.
Since Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast at the end of August, the Natural Hazards Center has had nearly a hundred requests for interviews from around the world. Kathleen Tierney, director of the Natural Hazards Research and Applications Information Center, has appeared on NPR's Face the Nation, The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, and radio and television shows from coast-to-coast. A partial list of the Center's public appearances is included here. Tierney is also cited in newspapers around the world on the Hurricane Katrina disaster:
"Anger that strong fled while weak perished," The Irish Times, September 14, 2005, World; Other World Stories; Pg. 11, 791 words, Denis Staunton
"Morale Among FEMA Workers, on the Decline for Years, Hits Nadir," The Washington Post, September 14, 2005 Wednesday, Final Edition, Metro; B02 , Federal Diary, Stephen Barr, 750 words, Stephen Barr
"Up for Grabs: Sociologists Question How Much Looting and Mayhem Really Took Place in New Orleans," The Boston Globe, September 11, 2005, Sunday, Third Edition, Pg. E1, 1244 words, By Christopher Shea
"Katrina resettling Gulf Coast," Christian Science Monitor (Boston, MA), September 6, 2005, Tuesday, USA; Pg. 01, 1284 words, By Sara B. Miller and Amanda Paulson Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor, Baton Rouge, LA.
"Plan to soften the blows of a natural disaster Disaster Management: Hurricane Katrina showed that most companies are woefully unprepared for natural hazards, concentrating instead on man-made threats. Morgen Witzel says creative thinking ahead can pay off," Financial Times (London, England), September 5, 2005 Monday, London Edition 1, Business Life Business Education; Pg. 12, 970 words, By Morgen Witzel
"Has Terror Hurt Disaster Relief? Some Say Bureaucracy Slows FEMA," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania), September 3, 2005 Saturday, Region Edition, Pg.A-1, 881 words, Karen MacPherson Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"When residents finally return, many face unemployment, debt," The Toronto Star, September 3, 2005 Saturday, National Report; Pg. F02, 858 words, Bill Taylor, Toronto Star
"In Katrina's Aftermath: Chaos and Survival; Survivors Wait as Disaster Builds; Officials say they're doing all they can. Experts had foretold numerous problems," Los Angeles Times, September 2, 2005 Friday, Home Edition, Main News; National Desk; Part A; Pg. 1, 1492 words, Nicole Gaouette and Richard Serrano, Times Staff Writers, Washington
Chuck Howe gave a talk, "A Look at Global Water Issues," at a public seminar sponsored by the Colorado River Water Conservation District September 30th in Grand Junction. Howe looked at the broader picture of water-related problems and prospects around the world, emphasizing similarities to Colorado issues. Points covered in the talk were safe drinking water and sanitation, problems of irrigated agriculture, conflict and cooperation in river basins shared among states and countries, and the potential for water markets to help solve these problems.
IBS and the Natural Hazards Center have established a new Gilbert F. White website: http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/gfw. The site is intended to document Gilbert's long and distinguished career, provide a brief portrait of him as a renaissance scholar and humanist, and serve as a source of information for friends, students, scholars, and others regarding his work.
Congratulations to Lori Hunter, faculty research associate, on her promotion to Associate Professor with tenure.
Alexandra Marks writes about the valuable role citizens have played in providing the initial, and often lifesaving, assistance during acts of terrorism in her article "The Real First Responders: Citizens?" that appeared in the July 14, 2005 issue of the Christian Science Monitor. In her article Marks notes the "upstart group of sociologists, physicians, and terrorism experts contends that the use of ordinary citizens during a large-scale emergency could save hundreds if not thousands of lives. And they are determined to ensure the public is properly prepared before the next catastrophic event." She quotes Kathleen Tierney regarding the need to "... readjust our thinking. If you look at the 9/11 commission report they talked about first responders versus what they called 'civilians,' as if all of the civilians did was just stand at the sidelines," ... "That is so radically at variance with what actually happened that day."
Kathleen Tierney was one of three researchers from the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) interviewed for the article, "Facing the Terrorist Threat" written by Michael Hill of the Baltimore Sun on July 10, 2005. The article addresses the reality of terrorism in our everyday lives, how it compares to and differs from other types of life threatening situations, the importance of unity, the need "to very systematically and very carefully assess risks, responsibilities, and plans;" the dangers of certain reactions; and "some simple things that can be done quite quickly."
Kathleen Tierney was interviewed for Kiplinger's Magazine August publication, In the article "Brace Yourself for the Hurricane Season," she notes that the big problem in the areas subject to hurricanes is that they are the fastest growing in population. Tierney then addresses how to determine risks, the most common mistakes made in emergencies, and the best way to prepare for disaster.
Workshop 2005
The Natural Hazards Center hosted its 30th Annual Natural Hazards Research and Applications Workshop July 10-13, 2005. This invitational meeting brings together representatives from academic and practitioner communities around the world who work to reduce disaster losses to foster face-to-face networking and discussion about current issues and trends that affect how society deals with hazards and disasters. The 30th anniversary presented an opportunity to reflect on how the hazards community has developed and evolved as well as what the future holds. This year it addressed the hazards issues of the day and used the past as a lens for anticipating future challenges. Sessions topics included the 2004 Asian Tsunami, megacities and disasters, the legal issues surrounding outbreaks and quarantine, innovations in earth observations, gender issues, and many others. The keynote address, "The Natural Hazards Center, a Leadership Platform for 30 years" was given by William Anderson, associate executive director of the Division on Earth and Life Sciences and director of the Disasters Roundtable at the National Academies. The final workshop program, session summaries, and abstracts are available online at http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/workshop/2005/.
As always, a number of people at IBS were instrumental in the success of the event, with a special thanks to John Wiener for recording a plenary session, "Climate Change and Unpredictability in Hazards Management", and Sugandha Brooks for preparing the invitations and participant lists.
In July, 2005, just in time for her first workshop, Julie Baxter joined the Natural Hazards Center staff as our communications specialist. Julie holds a master's degree in community and regional planning from the University of Oregon and a bachelor's degree in natural resources from the University of Michigan. Julie's interests include natural hazards mitigation, land use planning, and public participation strategies. Her master's thesis addressed public support for land use regulations in the wildland/urban interface. In addition to her academic interest in hazards, her experience preparing park stewardship plans for Colorado State Parks and developing a county wildfire protection plan as a project manager for the Oregon Natural Hazards Work-group make her a welcome addition to the Natural Hazards Center's staff. Julie will be responsible for compiling and editing the Disaster Research e-newsletter, implementing outreach activities, managing the Center's Web site, and coordinating special projects and publications.
