The document outlines a challenge to design a game about relief operations during the 2010 Haiti earthquake. It provides background on the actual humanitarian response, noting the involvement of international organizations, NGOs, and foreign militaries. Key considerations for the game design include accurately representing different actors, operational priorities, coordination challenges, and emphasizing the role of local populations in disaster response. Participants will work in teams to develop game concepts addressing relief efforts in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.
See: Alexander, D.E. 2013. Social media in disaster risk reduction and crisis management. Science and Engineering Ethics (published on line 4 December 2013).
Lecture Notes related to Chapter 1 (Society and Technology) of Engineering Professional Practice, prepared by Prof. Dr. Hari Krishna Shrestha, Nepal Engineering College.
See: Alexander, D.E. 2013. Social media in disaster risk reduction and crisis management. Science and Engineering Ethics (published on line 4 December 2013).
Lecture Notes related to Chapter 1 (Society and Technology) of Engineering Professional Practice, prepared by Prof. Dr. Hari Krishna Shrestha, Nepal Engineering College.
ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN DISASTER MANAGEMENTRajesh Mandal
This is divided into five parts: (1) Social Media as a tool in disaster management; (2) How Social Media can be used in disasters; (3) Limitations and weaknesses of Social Media; (4) Case studies of Social Media use during disasters; and (5) Conclusion.
Bridging Anti-corruption and Social Accountability – The role of Civil Socie...UNDP Policy Centre
Opening session of the Rio+20 side event on "Civil Society and Knowledge Community: Dialogues around Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development". Presentation delivered by Ms. Leisa Perch, IPC-IG's Policy Specialist and Team Leader - Rural and Sustainable Development.
Matt Hoge, a KU graduate student in Latin American Studies, gave a comprehensive overview of his experiences, observations and some conclusions about the usage of microfinance in Paraguay to participants in the 2009 Annual meeting of the Kansas Paraguay Partners. Matt was selected for the 2008-2009 KPP Scholarship and worked as an intern with Fundación Paraguaya, studying microfinance as a strategy for economic development in Paraguay.
Mismanagement of Natural Resources: States, businesses and communitiesEric Kumeh Mensah
This presentation highlights the concepts of mismanagement, public trust and tragedy of the commons. It uses three clear examples to describe natural resources mismanagement at state, business and community levels. Root causes of NR mismanagement are then explored as well as solutions to the key issues raised. I completes by highlighting the role Natural Resource and Environmental Governance student can play in sustainable NRM.
Effective Public Health Communication in an Interconnected World: Enhancing R...The Rockefeller Foundation
The public health communication community has more tools and mechanisms at its disposal than ever before, but we are also facing increasingly complex public health challenges ushered in by globalization, urbanization, conflict, and connective technologies. We are connected in unprecedented ways, but despite this fact there remains a lack of consistent and coherent communication among responders, within health systems and across the public domain.
In light of this persistent problem, KYNE and News Deeply, supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, convened a meeting on Effective Public Health Communication in an Interconnected World: Enhancing Resilience to Health Crises, held at the Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy, in October 2015. At the convening, 18 experts in communication, public health, and emergency response came together to detail areas of alignment and gaps.
This report seeks to distill those lessons learned and contribute to the research base on public health communication in times of crisis, by detailing key takeaways from the convening. News Deeply also conducted interviews with participants, as well as external reviews with community organizations and leaders, to inform the body of the report. In addition, we have synthesized case studies from three participants across different regional contexts: the 2013–15 Ebola crisis in West Africa, the SARS epidemic of 2003 in Singapore, and the 2015 Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City.
Urban Climate Change Resilience in Action: Lessons from Projects in 10 ACCCRN...The Rockefeller Foundation
This paper presents key insights emerging from an analysis of the 36 intervention projects,totaling approximately $15.5 million, which have been funded and are beingimplemented under the Rockefeller Foundation Asian Cities Climate Change ResilienceNetwork (ACCCRN) in ten initial cities1. As a pioneering effort to advance on-the-groundactions aimed at building urban climate change resilience (UCCR), this portfolio ofprojects2 provides a ‘first generation’ view of how a set of cities have interpreted UCCRchallenges and translated their understanding into targeted priorities and actions. Oneof the intentions of the ACCCRN initiative was to advance the still young field of UCCRwith practical actions that substantiate the growing number of theoretical frameworks.
Slideshows about nonviolence and nonviolent resolution of conflicts, economic alternatives, ecology, social change, spirituality : www.irnc.org , Slideshows in english
The bad state of our planet
The reasons to believe
In an increasingly fast-changing and interconnected world, fostering resilience to withstand unexpected shocks is becoming more important. Bringing together leading figures from governments, businesses, and resilience experts, The Urban Resilience Summit served as a platform for dialogue on how to build robust and resilient cities.
ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN DISASTER MANAGEMENTRajesh Mandal
This is divided into five parts: (1) Social Media as a tool in disaster management; (2) How Social Media can be used in disasters; (3) Limitations and weaknesses of Social Media; (4) Case studies of Social Media use during disasters; and (5) Conclusion.
Bridging Anti-corruption and Social Accountability – The role of Civil Socie...UNDP Policy Centre
Opening session of the Rio+20 side event on "Civil Society and Knowledge Community: Dialogues around Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development". Presentation delivered by Ms. Leisa Perch, IPC-IG's Policy Specialist and Team Leader - Rural and Sustainable Development.
Matt Hoge, a KU graduate student in Latin American Studies, gave a comprehensive overview of his experiences, observations and some conclusions about the usage of microfinance in Paraguay to participants in the 2009 Annual meeting of the Kansas Paraguay Partners. Matt was selected for the 2008-2009 KPP Scholarship and worked as an intern with Fundación Paraguaya, studying microfinance as a strategy for economic development in Paraguay.
Mismanagement of Natural Resources: States, businesses and communitiesEric Kumeh Mensah
This presentation highlights the concepts of mismanagement, public trust and tragedy of the commons. It uses three clear examples to describe natural resources mismanagement at state, business and community levels. Root causes of NR mismanagement are then explored as well as solutions to the key issues raised. I completes by highlighting the role Natural Resource and Environmental Governance student can play in sustainable NRM.
Effective Public Health Communication in an Interconnected World: Enhancing R...The Rockefeller Foundation
The public health communication community has more tools and mechanisms at its disposal than ever before, but we are also facing increasingly complex public health challenges ushered in by globalization, urbanization, conflict, and connective technologies. We are connected in unprecedented ways, but despite this fact there remains a lack of consistent and coherent communication among responders, within health systems and across the public domain.
In light of this persistent problem, KYNE and News Deeply, supported by The Rockefeller Foundation, convened a meeting on Effective Public Health Communication in an Interconnected World: Enhancing Resilience to Health Crises, held at the Bellagio Center in Bellagio, Italy, in October 2015. At the convening, 18 experts in communication, public health, and emergency response came together to detail areas of alignment and gaps.
This report seeks to distill those lessons learned and contribute to the research base on public health communication in times of crisis, by detailing key takeaways from the convening. News Deeply also conducted interviews with participants, as well as external reviews with community organizations and leaders, to inform the body of the report. In addition, we have synthesized case studies from three participants across different regional contexts: the 2013–15 Ebola crisis in West Africa, the SARS epidemic of 2003 in Singapore, and the 2015 Legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City.
Urban Climate Change Resilience in Action: Lessons from Projects in 10 ACCCRN...The Rockefeller Foundation
This paper presents key insights emerging from an analysis of the 36 intervention projects,totaling approximately $15.5 million, which have been funded and are beingimplemented under the Rockefeller Foundation Asian Cities Climate Change ResilienceNetwork (ACCCRN) in ten initial cities1. As a pioneering effort to advance on-the-groundactions aimed at building urban climate change resilience (UCCR), this portfolio ofprojects2 provides a ‘first generation’ view of how a set of cities have interpreted UCCRchallenges and translated their understanding into targeted priorities and actions. Oneof the intentions of the ACCCRN initiative was to advance the still young field of UCCRwith practical actions that substantiate the growing number of theoretical frameworks.
Slideshows about nonviolence and nonviolent resolution of conflicts, economic alternatives, ecology, social change, spirituality : www.irnc.org , Slideshows in english
The bad state of our planet
The reasons to believe
In an increasingly fast-changing and interconnected world, fostering resilience to withstand unexpected shocks is becoming more important. Bringing together leading figures from governments, businesses, and resilience experts, The Urban Resilience Summit served as a platform for dialogue on how to build robust and resilient cities.
A very detailed PowerPoint on the 2010 disaster: Haiti Earthquake. The PPT includes:
The background info of the quake
Maps showing the location of Haiti and the epicentre
The reason why the earthquake occurred
The immediate damage
The aftermath
Foreign aid info (including an ITN news video of a UK firefighter rescue)
Continuing problems
Long term recovery
Pictures of the devastation/rescue efforts
In July 2011, Second Line of Defense sat down with Col. Mark Desens to discuss the recent deployment of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Earlier we had discussed, with Col. “Ozzie” Osborn, the 15th MEU, the evolution of the ARG as a very flexible combat structure and set of assets.
http://www.sldinfo.com/the-amphibious-ready-group-a-core-national-capability/
Col. Desens led 26th MEU through two deployments; the first in Sept. 2008 – April 2009 and most recently Aug. 2010 – May 2011. His deployments included exercises throughout the Central and Africa Commands, and operations in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Libya.
Indeed, one might refer to the Agile Response Group rather than to the Amphibious Ready Group. We crafted a slideshow, which shows the flexibility of the ARG during a deployment. The 26th MEU is shown during its multi-month deployment, which included Operation Odyssey Dawn.
http://www.sldinfo.com/the-agile-response-group-or-the-arg-reconsidered/
We noted: “it is clear that the range of operations capable of being executed concurrently is not widely grasped in the strategic community.”
Tu Mu, Chinese military commentator, said, “If I wish to take advantage of the enemy I must perceive not just the advantage in doing so but must first consider the ways he can harm me if I do.” A key part of waging war and offensive strategies in the proposal world is to war game in a Black Hat review where we create potential war scenarios by aligning ourselves and our allies against a set of opponents. Each team assumes the competitor mindset and prepares as if they are the competition. Each team collects intelligence and develops their battle plans and using rules created to closely simulate battle (proposal evaluation) conditions, play out the war game in front of the evaluators. Only one team is victorious, we gain valuable insight into the strategies of our competition, and gather lessons learned. In this session, we explore the Black Hat process, how to define the competitive information you need upfront, develop high producing teams, optimize the teams’ products and leverage them in your proposal.
This presentation explains what foresight consist of, how it contributes to face change, and the different steps to face changes from identifying the forces of change to defining real strategies.
Check out "Empowering local organisations through foresight" by Robin Bourgeois, Senior Foresight Advisor, GFAR Secretariat at: http://bit.ly/17GoTt4
Accessible Video Captioning: Regis University Case Study3Play Media
Accessing Higher Ground - November 7, 2013
Accessibility Data:
- More than 1 billion people have a disability
- 56.7 million report a disability in the U.S.
- 48 million (20%) in the U.S. have some hearing loss
- 11% of postsecondary students report having a disability
- 45% of 1.6 million veterans seek disability
- 177,000+ veterans claimed hearing loss
Captions are text that is time-sychronized with the media. They convey all spoken content as well as relevant sound effects. Captions originated in the early 1980s from an FCC mandate for broadcast TV.
The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act requires all Internet programming that previously aired on television with captions to have captions online, as well.
The values of captioning include:
- Accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing
- Accessibility for ESL viewers
- Flexibility to view anywhere, such as noisy environments or offices
- Search
- Reusability
- Navigation, better UX
- SEO/discoverability
- Used as source for translation
Regis University has 475 courses online, and roughly 60% include video. They feel they have a duty to caption all video content for accessibility. All multimedia files have synchronized captions and/or provide transcripts for media.
Their original captioning process was a nightmare. With Kaltura and 3Play Media, the captioning process is fully integrated and automated. They simply tag their videos for captioning with 3Play Media, and within 2 days the professional quality captions appear in their videos.
Presenters:
Nicole Croy
eLearning Technologist
Regis University
Tole Khesin
VP of Marketing
3Play Media
This a presentation of a training I did at Fort Bragg for an SF unit about to deploy in West Africa. The training was part of Development Transformations work in Stability Ops
Module 7 OverviewInternational Disaster ManagementPeople of al.docxmoirarandell
Module 7 Overview
International Disaster Management
People of all nations face risks associated with natural and technological hazards, and almost all eventually become victim to disaster. The response capacity of individual nations has been linked to several factors, including propensity for disaster, local and regional economic resources, government structure, and availability of technological, academic, and human resources. In this module, you will understand how developing nations are affected by disasters. You will learn why and how national, international, and non-governmental organizations assist countries that are affected by major disasters. Several of the important issues that influence how international disasters are managed will be outlined. The mechanism through which the United Nations offices and entities respond to disasters will be discussed.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this module, you should be able to:
7K
Characterize the non-governmental agency response to international disasters.
8F
Discuss the mechanism through which the United Nation’s offices and entities respond to disasters.
8G
Explain how the United States provides disaster assistance to other nations affected by disasters.
8H
Discuss how the International Financial Institutions, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, participate in the disaster response, relief, and reconstruction efforts.
9A
Understand how developing nations are affected by disasters.
9B
Explain why and how national, international, and nongovernmental organizations assist countries that are affected by major disasters.
9C
Outline several of the important issues that influence how international disasters are managed.
Module 7 Reading Assignment
Haddow, G., Bullock, J., & Coppola, D. (2011). Introduction to emergency management. Burlington: Elsevier. Chapter 8.
International Disaster Management
People of all nations face risks associated with natural and technological hazards, and almost all eventually become victim to disaster. The response capacity of individual nations can been linked to several factors, including propensity for disaster, local and regional economic resources, government structure, and availability of technological, academic and human resources. It is becoming increasingly common that the response capabilities of individual nations falls short in the face of large-scale disasters, and outside assistance is required. Furthermore, there appears to be an increase in the number of disasters that affect entire regions, which calls upon a global response structure that is still in its infancy. The developing nations suffer the greatest impact of nature’s fury, and it is these same nations that are also most often subject to the internal civil conflict that leads to Complex Humanitarian Emergencies (CHEs). Furthermore, the greatest incidence of natural disasters occurs within developing countries, with 90% of disaster-related injuries ...
This report provides a synopsis of the global Internet forum on International Leadership for the MDGs and Leveraging Technology for Human Rights and Peace
Separate each question with references add website to find referen.docxklinda1
Separate each question with references **add website to find references**.
1. Americans are a giving, compassionate people. They willingly support any number of domestic and international causes that bring relief and hope to those in need. Is there a limit to this generosity? Some analysts point to what they call “Donor Fatigue.” This describes a situation where people no longer give to causes that they supported in the past. What is “donor fatigue? Critics point to the National Flood Insurance Program as an example. Everyone feels compassion for those who have lost their homes and possessions due to flooding, right? Maybe not. Many insurance companies refuse to underwrite flood insurance in certain locations because the potential liability exceeds the premiums they can charge. Critics assert that taxpayers should not be required to subsidize those who choose to build in known floodplains – they know the risk, they should accept the risk. Is this “donor fatigue?” What do you think? Explain your position.
2. The Disaster Response and Contingency Planning guide is a basic foundation for responding to a disaster or crisis by organizational entities ranging from businesses, schools, and government levels from local to regional to national. One of the functional annexes typically included in such plans is one for pets and animals. The Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006 (PL 109-308), informally known as the PETS Act, provides that certain state-designated shelters are required by statute to provide co-located shelter facilities for pets. Is this a best use of scarce resources? What should the government’s responsibility be for pets?
3. In your opinion, of which of these seven major issues that can have a significant impact on homeland security represents the greatest threat to the United States? Why?
Weapons of Mass Destruction
Economic Disparity and Social Fragmentation
Water Security, Food Security, and Energy Security
Decreased National and Multinational Solidarity
Unrest Across the Globe
Demographic Change
Cyberthreats
4. The recovery phase of any disaster event creates a huge requirement for manpower for cleanup, repair, and restoration. Traditionally, a sizable segment of the manpower pool is provided by volunteers from NGOs, churches, community organizations, schools, etc. What are the advantages to using volunteers? What are the disadvantages?
.
Natural disasters can have a devastating effect on any community. Recovery can take years, even decades. This presentation outlines the ways in which communities can be impacted by natural disaster and the recovery process, specifically using the example of Wadena, Minnesota.
How to Better Engage the Communites and Local Governments in DisastersBBGgov
The Broadcasting Board of Governors and Voice of America, in partnership with the Aid and Development Forum, held a pre-conference training on media response during disasters. Topics included:
Improving the interaction between media and response teams: how to communicate and develop relationships with humanitarian agencies and address challenges that humanitarian groups face when collaborating with media during a disaster.
Effective communication and new trends: applying social media in disaster relief, how to make the most of new technologies and social networks
How to collaborate with the private sector: using case studies, the session will focus on utilizing partnerships with the private sector companies to rebuild local communities
How to better engage communities and local governments: managing partnerships during a disaster
Lessons Learned: Haiti Four Years After the Earthquake Kara Lightburn
Presented by Kara Lightburn, Executive Director of Social Tap, Inc on April 21st 2014 for the Yale Alumni Association of New York (YAANY)
Highlights our humanitarian model which has been developed over the course of the past 4 years being immersed in the Haitian society and our recommendations as an International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) in order to ensure access to services for those most vulnerable and marganalized while building the capacity of communities and local organizations based on asset mapping and mobilization to build sustainability and decrease the dependency of AID in Haiti. Areas for volunteer and civil society involvement are also highlighted based on reciprocal long term relationships and knowledge sharing.
01062024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
03062024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
In a May 9, 2024 paper, Juri Opitz from the University of Zurich, along with Shira Wein and Nathan Schneider form Georgetown University, discussed the importance of linguistic expertise in natural language processing (NLP) in an era dominated by large language models (LLMs).
The authors explained that while machine translation (MT) previously relied heavily on linguists, the landscape has shifted. “Linguistics is no longer front and center in the way we build NLP systems,” they said. With the emergence of LLMs, which can generate fluent text without the need for specialized modules to handle grammar or semantic coherence, the need for linguistic expertise in NLP is being questioned.
31052024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
Find Latest India News and Breaking News these days from India on Politics, Business, Entertainment, Technology, Sports, Lifestyle and Coronavirus News in India and the world over that you can't miss. For real time update Visit our social media handle. Read First India NewsPaper in your morning replace. Visit First India.
CLICK:- https://firstindia.co.in/
#First_India_NewsPaper
हम आग्रह करते हैं कि जो भी सत्ता में आए, वह संविधान का पालन करे, उसकी रक्षा करे और उसे बनाए रखे।" प्रस्ताव में कुल तीन प्रमुख हस्तक्षेप और उनके तंत्र भी प्रस्तुत किए गए। पहला हस्तक्षेप स्वतंत्र मीडिया को प्रोत्साहित करके, वास्तविकता पर आधारित काउंटर नैरेटिव का निर्माण करके और सत्तारूढ़ सरकार द्वारा नियोजित मनोवैज्ञानिक हेरफेर की रणनीति का मुकाबला करके लोगों द्वारा निर्धारित कथा को बनाए रखना और उस पर कार्यकरना था।
role of women and girls in various terror groupssadiakorobi2
Women have three distinct types of involvement: direct involvement in terrorist acts; enabling of others to commit such acts; and facilitating the disengagement of others from violent or extremist groups.
‘वोटर्स विल मस्ट प्रीवेल’ (मतदाताओं को जीतना होगा) अभियान द्वारा जारी हेल्पलाइन नंबर, 4 जून को सुबह 7 बजे से दोपहर 12 बजे तक मतगणना प्रक्रिया में कहीं भी किसी भी तरह के उल्लंघन की रिपोर्ट करने के लिए खुला रहेगा।
3. Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster
Relief
Many local and international NGOs already active in Haiti
Substantial UN presence, including 9,000 members of
MINUSTAH, plus multilateral agencies
Major international relief efforts:
Operation UNIFIED RESPONSE (16,000 US military personnel)
Operation HESTIA (2,000 Canadian military personnel)
relief supplies and rescue teams from dozens of countries,
NGOs, and UN agencies
Efforts of Haitian government, local communities, and
people
5. The Game Lab Challenge
Design a game of military and civilian relief operations
during the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
The game should cover approximately the first month or two
of relief operations. It should address the role of US and
Canadian military personnel, UN peacekeepers and
agencies, international NGOs, and the Haitians themselves.
The game should be intended for use in professional military
education classes dealing with disaster assistance and
humanitarian relief operations; for similar use by UN agencies
and non-governmental organizations; and in relevant
university courses. The game may, or may not, have a
commercial ―hobby‖ application.
6. The Game Lab Challenge
Conference participants will be divided into three teams,
and given about three hours for the task (Thursday 1620-
1900).
We don’t expect a prototype game. Rather, we would ask
each group to come up with the basics of a design concept
and approach.
The game may, or may not, have a commercial ―hobby‖
application.
Later, the Game Lab Working Group will meet (Wednesday
1410-1700) to prepare a brief-back that examines the various
design choices taken by the different groups.
The brief-back will be presented at the end of the conference
(Thursday 0910-1000)
7. The Game Lab Challenge
Key considerations:
Keep in mind the intended audiences and purposes of the
game.
Develop a game system that generates understanding of the
capabilities, constraints, and perspectives of each major set of
actors.
Highlight key operational priorities and pressing humanitarian
needs.
Encourage the development of assessment, coordination, and
planning skills that would be useful in future joint humanitarian
operations.
Assure that the player(s) do not lose sight of the fact most
disaster relief is undertaken by disaster-affected populations
themselves.
8. The Game Lab Challenge
Resources:
Subject-matter expertise
David Becker (US State Department, retired)
Maj Tyrell Mayfield (USAF)
CPT Joshua Riojas (US Army)
others
Reports, studies, briefings, and maps
Available online at the Wargaming Connection blog:
http://wargamingcommunity.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/co
nnections-game-lab-2012-haiti-earthquake-scenario/
No wifi in conference room (but some printed copies of the
material will be available)
9. The Game Lab Challenge
After the conference:
Volunteer group to work out a design, with the intention of
having a playable prototype ready for Connections 2013.
possible online collaboration via MMOWGLI
11. Key Issues
David Becker
Spent three years at the US Embassy in Haiti serving as Stabilization
Coordinator and Political Counselor to the US Ambassador, leading an
experimental interagency DOD-funded program to restore Haitian
government control to ungoverned violent urban slums by integrating
security and development programs.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, he served as the Political Advisor to
the commander of US military relief efforts in Haiti, encouraging and
shaping emergency relief efforts that would benefit Haiti over the long
term.
Spent 21 of the last 27 years overseas in some of the world's most under-
developed countries supporting security sector reform and local
development efforts, most particularly in Guatemala and Colombia.
Prior to Haiti, he served as the Political Advisor to the 4-star Commander
of US Transportation Command from 2004-2006 supporting US forces
deployed around the world, including military support for two other
major disasters.
12. Key Issues
The Decapitation Problem
Haiti was an extreme example, virtually unique... up to now.
Loss of government, loss of UN leadership, loss of
communications, electricity, water, roads closed, port and
airport closed, etc.
Led to greater than usual confusion, even for a big disaster.
Usually the local government is merely overwhelmed—not
buried.
This is almost a nuclear attack scenario, not the ―usual‖
natural disaster scenario.
13. Key Issues
Is there an adversary in this game? Perhaps it’s us.
Many different viewpoints on needs and priorities.
People are people. Some looting. Hoarding, resale and
waste are common.
Local officials may jostle to increase power or position
themselves for future elections.
Smaller NGOs may arrive to help without funding or
capacity, and needing publicity to generate resources.
Donors need to justify their funding, which leads to concern
with publicity and metrics.
Military has its own shortcomings.
14. Key Issues
Urban disasters are different.
Many responders had experience in other locations such as Sudan,
or Chad, or Congo.
Rural areas often have large camps, with entry controls and
registration, approved by host govt.
PAP: camps sprang up everywhere, vacant lots, blocked streets
Camp shopping : People registered early and often, spread
survivors out over several sites
NGO shopping: People would move to wherever an NGO was
offering better services (free school, solar lights, etc).
15. Key Issues
Becker’s Second Law of Disaster Dynamics: For every positive
action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Emergency response: First responders hire many locals to strengthen
their capacity and save lives
Hire skilled people to do the best job – thus undermined the local
health system, making it harder to rebuild the local system.
More than 30% of local doctors and medical administrators
moved to work for NGOs in the month after the quake.
SPHERE standards: Set minimums for refugee/displaced treatment –
meters of space, liters of water, etc.
Standards were often higher than what existed before the
quake. (Porta potty syndrome)
Encouraged people to move to camps, rather than fix houses
16. Key Issues
Those who get aid often need it least.
Women, children, elderly, disabled are often the least able
to show up at distribution points, or otherwise are not easy to
find.
Should you distribute quickly to those you can see, or
distribute slowly but more carefully?
17. Key Issues
Assistance potentially undermines stability and development
In PAP, some zones that suffered little destruction were the poorest –
they had little to lose, and a tin shack withstands an earthquake
better than a cement building. Yet the people there were already
desperate, and any disturbance in the economy affects them
quickly.
Yet those who had lost homes, family members and possessions feel
they have a claim on incoming resources that the others do not.
Once lower middle class, they are now impoverished.
This problem increases social tensions in an already tense and
unstable society . Misguided aid efforts can lead to a new explosion
18. Key Issues
Assistance potentially undermines stability and development
Many poor neighborhoods had local assistance organizations, or
resilience networks established long before the quake (school food
systems, local self help work parties, local NGOs, leaders with
contacts).
First responder NGOs often bypassed those networks
From ignorance
Unwilling to support local patronage systems,
NGO needed publicity (funding) that would not be available
by working with locals.
This undermined the networks that in some cases were crucial to
maintaining order and stability, as well as providing sustainable
social services.
19. Key Issues
Migration: a problem or a solution?
One US priority was to prevent Haitian boat departures
Population movement out of PAP was large – 500,000 left in
the first 2 weeks. The government and the donors wanted to
keep them out of PAP, but never delivered significant
support for them to the countryside. Focus was on capital.
People returned over time, when jobs and assistance began
to appear in PAP. Probably a lost opportunity.
20. Key Issues
Coordination
The cluster coordination system of the UN and HADR NGOs is
designed to be suboptimal. It is designed to ensure that even the
least NGO will have a seat at the table, regardless of efficiency or
effectiveness. In Haiti, it was so unwieldy that separate informal
coordination systems were designed to get around the cluster
system. Yet it is considered the best system that anyone can devise.
One positive aspect of the military presence was the number of
skilled staff officers that were able to contribute by simply being
available 24/7. Most NGO and organizations are not staffed to work
the 24/7 coordination issues that come UN up, yet the US military
was able (despite inexperience, lack of languages, etc) to staff
rotating schedules and distribute information regularly.
21. Key Issues
The CNN Effect
Live TV looked for and found problems
DC policymakers were watching from their desks
Haitians watch TV too
Generated a constant stream of requests for information,
demands and orders from DC, at highest levels.
Senior civilian staff in Haiti had to respond, rather than
focus on overall effort
Military did better, Pentagon did not micromanage
23. Design Considerations
What requirements and constraints are generated by the
game’s (educational) purpose?
content
time and complexity
varied, multiple users
Format
Manual? Digital? TERP?
Boardgame? Card game? RPG?
24. Design Considerations
Level of analysis.
National? PAP? variable depth?
How many players? Who are they?
What are they key objectives? Resources? Dilemmas and
Trade-offs?
What sectors to represent? (rescue, medical, food, WASH, shelter..
others?)
25. Design Considerations
Representing the synergies and the benefits of coordination—in
game terms.
How does one depict this? Spatially? Abstracted system?
Importance of logistics.
Political constraints.
Introducing uncertainty. Modeling confusion.
Immersion and engagement.
Editor's Notes
At 1653 on Tuesday, 12 January 2010 a devastating Magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the impoverished country of Haiti. Between 100,000 and 300,00 people died in the quake and its aftermath, a quarter of a million buildings were destroyed, and over 1 million were made homeless. that haiti was already a very poor country with weak government capacity only compounded the problem.
At 1653 on Tuesday, 12 January 2010 a devastating Magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the impoverished country of Haiti. Between 100,000 and 300,00 people died in the quake and its aftermath, a quarter of a million buildings were destroyed, and over 1 million were made homeless. that haiti was already a very poor country with weak government capacity only compounded the problem.
Scrounging is not the same as looting, although the press called it that. Very little looting. Very little crime, at first. Typical for disasters. But fear of breakdown in Haiti was very high. Some areas got lots of help, some got little. Cynics attributed it to location and profile of the zone. Attention driven. Unlike some NGOS, US military is able to support itself, but in doing so, takes up space on the runway or port that might be used for “real relief.” Some Latin foreign militaries discovered they could not support themselves. Never deployed outside of their country without UN support as UN peacekeeper troops.Military created certain expectations – “82 Airborne effect.” Lot of NGO and UN resistance at first, great suspicion at US takeover of disaster. Early on, “dueling org charts phenomenom.” Later, really just trying to chart what was already happening on the ground.
NGOs saw the disaster-affected count climbing unstoppably, reaching 2 million. Everyone knew that was too many, but no one could come up with a way to sort out the duplicates. (Visit camp at 5am, tear down the empty tents – was seen as too brutal.) Some camps shrank as people saw that NGOs were ignoring them. (Out of sight, poor access) Some moved to worse locations, but got attention at least. Issue of unequal services, goods, and even unequal pay was a problem in many ways. Some NGOs expect camp occupants to clean their own areas, others pay people to do it.
This was the first disaster where I had ever experienced this to this degree. Live TV coverage drove incessant requests for information from DC and other capitals, and required inordinate amounts of time to respond to whatever immediate problem appeared on the screens in the US. Journalists were constantly looking to find something that was not working well and expose it “so it could be fixed.” That is their job. However, it also meant that senior leadership (US Ambassador, etc) was constantly fielding a barrage of orders to “do something,” rather than being able to focus on the overall effort.