April 1, 2007, 9:17 PM CT

Effective Responses After Terrorism Incidents

A multi-disciplinary panel of blast-related injury experts from eight countries that have recently experienced terrorist attacks examined and discussed their emergency medical response to blast events and identified common issues that could be used by others to enhance preparedness. The represented countries included: Colombia, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, United Kingdom, United States, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through the National Association of Emergency Medical Service Physicians.

According to lead author, E. Brooke Lerner, Ph.D., assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Medical College, "Learning from nations that have experienced conventional weapon attacks on their civilian population is critical to improving preparedness worldwide. Our study found that there were a number of commonalities among these terrorist events, even though they occurred in different countries under vastly different circumstances. These commonalities can be used by all nations in their preparedness efforts".

The disaster paradigmDetection; Incident Command; Scene Security & Safety; Assess Hazards; Support; Triage & Treatment; Evacuation; and Recoverywhich can be applied to all types of mass casualty events, was selected as a framework to study responses in these different countries. In each area similarities were found. For example, it was determined that detecting an attack has occurred, such as the Madrid bombings in 2004, was not difficult but frequently the initial reports to the 9-1-1 system were misleading in terms of the scope and location of the event. This could lead to insufficient resources responding to the scene or to providers not taking the appropriate precautions against a secondary device. In discussing incident command and triage, it was found that regions that had a pre-defined command structure and triage guidelines that their providers practiced regularly were able to successfully and quickly respond to events. For example, in London they practice "Triage Tuesdays," where every Tuesday responders triage every patient as if they were involved in a mass casualty event......... Posted by: Ethen      Read more         Source

March 29, 2007, 10:19 PM CT

Improvements in population data needed

Every year, millions of people worldwide are displaced because of natural or industrial disasters or social upheaval. Reliable data on the numbers, characteristics, and locations of these displaced populations can bolster humanitarian relief efforts and subsequent recovery programs. Conversely, the absence of such information can hinder the prompt delivery of aid and impact the survival and recovery of affected groups. Using sound methods for creating these data sets is important in both industrialized and developing nations, but resource-poor countries especially face large challenges in collecting and using their own national, regional, and local population data to respond to calamities or plan development initiatives.

Solid data help policymakers and others determine how much and what type of aid is needed and where to direct it. However, without a strong organizational and political desire to maintain and use the information, or adequate training, many population data sets will go unused or be outdated when they are needed most. National governments and relief organizations around the world should value this kind of information and train relevant practitioners in their own countries to successfully apply it in times of crisis and in any development planning, says a new report from the National Research Council......... Posted by: Ethen      Read more         Source

March 27, 2007, 8:44 PM CT

Does BlackBerry equal 'CrackBerry'

One might expect a doctoral student conducting research on BlackBerry usage to own one or more of the handheld devices. But Melissa Mazmanian, a fourth-year MIT Sloan doctoral student, doesn't own one, and she prefers it this way.

Mazmanian's study of how people use the BlackBerry in their everyday lives has already drawn attention in the Wall Street Journal and The Independent and on National Public Radio. Her research won an Academy of Management award in its division last summer.

When Mazmanian first began her research, which has been funded by the National Science Foundation, she decided it was best not to have preconceived notions, and thus she never purchased a BlackBerry.

"My goal is to try to figure out the personal and social challenges that go into negotiating norms. I've found that people struggle with when and where is it okay to use their BlackBerry," Mazmanian said.

"I'm lucky because people want to talk about their BlackBerry use. It's an easy project to describe and it hits enough of a nerve with people that they're eager to share. They light up when talking about how it affects their lives," she said, adding, "I've heard of people who wake up in the middle of the night to check their e-mail, others who set their alarms on the BlackBerry and check their messages first thing in the morning"......... Posted by: Ethen      Read more         Source

March 27, 2007, 8:31 PM CT

Family Ties and Traditional Activities Of Arctic Communities

A newly released survey of indigenous Arctic people indicates that an overwhelming majority of the region's native people think traditional pursuits such as hunting, boat-building and manufacturing crafts are important to their identity. Unique because it measured quality of life and involved them in data gathering, the survey also says a substantial portion engages in traditional activities in addition to working in the cash economy.

"Four decades ago, as wage work rapidly became more common in the north, scientists and policymakers assumed that indigenous people would take advantage of opportunities to participate in the cash economy, abandoning harvest and traditional food processing activities," report notes.

The survey results indicate that despite lifestyle changes that have swept into northern communities as non-natives move to remote areas, traditional values still are important to native peoples, and they are willing to use their earnings in the cash economy to support those ways of life. Despite historical efforts by national governments to assimilate native peoples and encourage them to give up native traditions in favor of wage labor, nine out of 10 Inuit continue to think traditional activities are important to their identity.

The findings come from the "Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic (SLiCA)," which was produced through a partnership of indigenous peoples and researchers from the United States, Canada, Greenland, Russia, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Researchers hope the study results will provide Native organizations and local governments across the Arctic with information to help make policy decisions. As a major step toward that goal, the team is hosting an international meeting with indigenous policy makers March 22 in Anchorage, Alaska......... Posted by: Ethen      Read more         Source

March 25, 2007, 9:26 PM CT

Makeovers Mask Ugly Truths

From drooping eyelids and sagging breasts to cleft palates and stained teeth, the makeover experts on the ABC reality show Extreme Makeover have never met a physical imperfection they couldnt correct. But philosophy professor Cressida Heyes argues that, for all the beautification that takes place on the show, there are some ugly truths at its core.

The cosmetic surgery makeover show is relatively new to the TV landscape. Heyes, a University of Alberta professor who has published an analysis of Extreme Makeover in Feminist Media Studies, says viewers should be attuned to the values being promoted by these shows. Radical makeover programs like Extreme Makeover, The Swan and Ten Years Younger sell the idea that cosmetic surgery is not about vanity but about uncovering your authentic self. Heyes argues that they are actually working hard to enforce conformity to societys ideals regarding gender, age, class and race......... Posted by: Ethen      Read more         Source

March 22, 2007, 7:23 PM CT

Coming soon to the iDump

All hail the arrival of the iPhone! Finally, the convergence of the most popular throwaway mp3 player with the most throwaway portable electronic! This iPhone round up doesn't answer the most important question: does it come prebroken?

That would be a timesaver for the go-getters who want the cachet of the iPhone but don't want to have it break down at a critical moment: with 11 months left on your commitment to Cingular......... Posted by: Carrie McLaren      Read more         Source

March 22, 2007, 7:21 PM CT

Recycling in New York

At a Super Bowl party yesterday, a highly unscientific poll of attendants revealed that the vast majority of these New Yorkers worked in offices or lived in apartment buildings where recycling was essentially a ruse. That is, offices would have clearly marked bins for paper, plastic, metal, and trash, but at the end of the day the cleaning staff would come and mix everything together. A similar thing was recorded in large apartment buildings. When those polled inquired why carefully sorted materials were ultimately piled in together as trash, they were told one of two things: (a) we can't recycle here; (b) trash collectors re-sort the stuff we just un-sorted.

This poll was prompted by a lawyer friend of ours who works for the City and who said he was fairly certain that the City doesn't actually recycle -- that it's all a charade, including the (very real) fines people receive for NOT recycling.

I don't believe in such a massive conspiracy (NYC's recycling website has video and everything!), but the overwhelming number of people saying the same thing about their workplaces and apartments is strange. Businesses in New York have to use private companies for waste disposal and are mandatory by law to recycle. So what gives? Do private collectors pretend to recycle? Does ratting out offending businesses work? Or is our sample skewed? Is this all an urban myth?........ Posted by: Carrie McLaren      Read more         Source

Wed, 21 Mar 2007 03:06:39 GMT

Should Facebook Sell?

CollegiateTimes.com -- Feb 26 -- "Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the highly popular Facebook.com social networking site, is receiving pressure to cash in on his website before it decreases in popularity. According to the Associated Press, Facebook is expected to bring in revenue totaling more than $100 million this year. The website shows the site moving from 7.5 million users last July, to almost 18 million users FULL ARTICLE

I think he's doing the right thing by not selling just yet. I also think that sometime in the next few years he is going to want to sell. Now that he's changed his model and opened Facebook up to the public it will become just another social networking site, nothing special.

Facebook used to be one of the elite specialized networks geared only to students. No more. Now anyone can join and it's just another fish in the pond. It may be doing well for now but once people start floating more toward the specialized social networking sites you are going to see Facebook's popularity drop.

If they want to keep their popularity going they need to find something special about them that no one else has and flaunt it.

What do you think about this? Should Facebook build or sell?
Posted by: Linda Roeder      Read more     Source

March 19, 2007, 9:36 PM CT

Biosand filter reduces diarrheal disease

A simple, affordable household filtration device can reduce the incidence of diarrhea, one of the leading causes of disease and death in developing countries, by up to 40 percent, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown.

"This technology has the potential to bring safe drinking water to many people in developing countries around the world who don't have access to it now," said Mark Sobsey, Ph.D., professor of environmental sciences and engineering at UNC's School of Public Health. "We can tremendously improve people's health and quality of life if we can help them get a reliable source of clean drinking water. Our study shows that simple biosand filters actually do improve water quality and consequently improve the health of everyone in the home".

Sobsey and researchers in UNC's School of Public Health compared rates of diarrhea and the condition of drinking water in homes in two villages near Bonao, Dominican Republic. They monitored about 150 households without filters for four months, assessing the rate of illness. Then, about half the houses were given biosand filters - concrete containers that hold gravel and sand. All households were monitored for another six months. The team's initial analysis showed the filter reduced diarrheal disease among household members by an estimated 30 percent to 40 percent, including in highly vulnerable young children less than 5 years old. At the end of the study, filters were given to all participating homes......... Posted by: Ethen      Read more         Source

March 14, 2007, 10:24 PM CT

Does God answer prayer?

Does God or some other type of transcendent entity answer prayer?

The answer, according to a new Arizona State University study published in the March journal Research on Social Work Practice, is yes.

David R. Hodge, an assistant professor of social work in the College of Human Services at Arizona State University, conducted a comprehensive analysis of 17 major studies on the effects of intercessory prayer or prayer that is offered for the benefit of another person among people with psychological or medical problems. He found a positive effect.

There have been a number of studies on intercessory prayer, or prayer offered for the benefit of another person, said Hodge, a leading expert on spirituality and religion. Some have found positive results for prayer. Others have found no effect. Conducting a meta-analysis takes into account the entire body of empirical research on intercessory prayer. Using this procedure, we find that prayer offered on behalf of another yields positive results.

Hodges work is featured in the March, 2007, issue of Research on Social Work Practice, a disciplinary journal devoted to the publication of empirical research on practice outcomes. It is widely recognized as one of the most prestigious journals in the field of social work......... Posted by: Ethen      Read more         Source