Earthquake Survival Kits

8 Comments

1. ACE
   Posted October 4, 2010 at 11:47 am | Permalink

   Are we prepared for nuclear disaster?
   Are we prepared for the world pandemic?
   Why are we not taught at school to prepare for natural disasters?
   Are we prepared for another disaster caused by impact of meteorites?
   What do we know about disaster preparedness?

   What are some examples of sustainable environmental development?
   What are the possible careers in the field of environmental development?
   How much money is the government putting into environmental develpment projects?
   What price would the country have to pay if the government decides to cut back support in environmental development research?
   What are the latest hot topics in environmental development?

   Why is education considered the foundation of the country?
   Why is education the key to rid the country of racial discrimination?
   How much should the government spend in providing free education to its citizen?
   Why is education the key to bring a country out of poverty?
   When will education create a threat to the government?

   Have fun discussing these in class

   Ace

2. Ashley
   Posted October 7, 2010 at 6:56 am | Permalink

   I am in the process of reading your book. I have to tell you I absolutely love what I have read so far and cannot wait to finish it! I recently wrote a post on my own website about the book and pet disaster preparedness tips. Here is the link to check it out. Thanks so much for your wonderful book!

3. lraftree
   Posted October 27, 2010 at 3:06 am | Permalink

   I think that it would be possible to consider crowdsourcing as one more piece of information *as well as* to have trusted sources on the ground. In fact, that’s a bit how I always envisioned the organization where I work using crowdsourced information. We have strong connections with local communities and have about 98% local staff in all countries where we work, many of whom live in or near to the communities that we support and work with.Why not set up a network whereby you are crowdsourcing and also whereby people that organizations know and trust already can participate in verification of crowdsourced information? If this step were taken during disaster preparedness training, I think it might be workable. I have to say that I find the lines in the sand to be quite artificial. Not all NGOs and INGOs work in ivory towers. Many of us do work with, support and employ ‘local’ people, and have a huge amount of respect for local culture, local people, local processes and local innovations. Many of us also do have a majority of ‘local’ staff working on the ground and also in high level management positions. ‘Aid’ is conceived of and implemented in many many ways, under many different principles and methodologies, and not all of the large organizations are evil. Frustrating, slow and careful a lot of the time, yes, but I really think you risk putting people off if you approach it in a divisive way and put words/meanings into people’s mouths. It becomes an either / or conversation rather than a joint effort.Organizations have their reasons for being wary. So rather than draw lines in the sand, how can crowdsourcing/crowdfeeding be *adapted* to allay any fears of working with bad data or mis-information? (INGOs would be the first to be slammed if they did something wrong, made bad decisions, caused additional loss of life due to mis-information, considering lately it seems like the media think they can’t do anything right at all).I’ve personally tried to interest the organization where I work in some new technologies and sometimes it’s not the ex-pats who resist – it’s local staff who are tired of being bombarded with ideas coming at them from the outside. It’s going to take time and tweaking of the system to arrive at a way that everyone feels comfortable with, and just like in any design process, the users need to be involved, no matter who they are.

4. EnergyBreeze
   Posted October 27, 2010 at 5:25 pm | Permalink

5. lraftree
   Posted November 7, 2010 at 1:39 pm | Permalink

   I think that it would be possible to consider crowdsourcing as one more piece of information *as well as* to have trusted sources on the ground. In fact, that’s a bit how I always envisioned the organization where I work using crowdsourced information. We have strong connections with local communities and have about 98% local staff in all countries where we work, many of whom live in or near to the communities that we support and work with.Why not set up a network whereby you are crowdsourcing and also whereby people that organizations know and trust already can participate in verification of crowdsourced information? If this step were taken during disaster preparedness training, I think it might be workable. I have to say that I find the lines in the sand to be quite artificial. Not all NGOs and INGOs work in ivory towers. Many of us do work with, support and employ ‘local’ people, and have a huge amount of respect for local culture, local people, local processes and local innovations. Many of us also do have a majority of ‘local’ staff working on the ground and also in high level management positions. ‘Aid’ is conceived of and implemented in many many ways, under many different principles and methodologies, and not all of the large organizations are evil. Frustrating, slow and careful a lot of the time, yes, but I really think you risk putting people off if you approach it in a divisive way and put words/meanings into people’s mouths. It becomes an either / or conversation rather than a joint effort.Organizations have their reasons for being wary. So rather than draw lines in the sand, how can crowdsourcing/crowdfeeding be *adapted* to allay any fears of working with bad data or mis-information? (INGOs would be the first to be slammed if they did something wrong, made bad decisions, caused additional loss of life due to mis-information, considering lately it seems like the media think they can’t do anything right at all).I’ve personally tried to interest the organization where I work in some new technologies and sometimes it’s not the ex-pats who resist – it’s local staff who are tired of being bombarded with ideas coming at them from the outside. It’s going to take time and tweaking of the system to arrive at a way that everyone feels comfortable with, and just like in any design process, the users need to be involved, no matter who they are.

6. bdharchive
   Posted January 18, 2011 at 4:51 pm | Permalink

   Yes, today was a discussion about the reality of working in an archives—-dealing with real-life situations such as hanging plastic in your repository to prevent damage. We are fortunate at Penn State Harrisburg to have our archives not in a BASEMENT but on the top floor of the building. (It is classic that archives are relegated to a dark, dingy, damp basement.) Unfortunately, even though we are in an elevated location, there is no escape from risk and preservation management issues like leaky roofs and Mother Nature. Ben and I also discussed the importance of choosing the right materials and supplies for your disaster preparedness kit. We had to use whatever plastic the library had on hand to keep any water leaks from affecting the collections. The plastic we were given was an unknown type (PVC-based, polyetheleyne?). Also one small but important correction to your blog: Not all documents are records. But, all records ARE documents.

7. 
   Posted September 27, 2011 at 2:14 am | Permalink

   http://www.ready.govwill be a very good idea also. (this website has a link for disabled persons.)]]>

8. InterstateRest
   Posted February 27, 2012 at 4:32 pm | Permalink

   Why form a #disaster preparedness plan: active #severe #weather season forecast for 2012 with above-normal #tornadoes.