An exploratory comparison of disasters, riots and terrorist acts

One question that emerged following the 11 September attacks was how to categorise and classify the event within existing disaster and conflict-event research frameworks. A decade ago, Quarantelli (1993) compared findings on the similarities and differences between consensus- and conflict-type events by illustrating a conceptual distinction between the two. In this paper, this discussion is expanded to include terrorist attacks by offering comparisons from research findings following 11 September. We provide analyses of individual, organisational, and community-level behaviour in crisis situations and suggest how 11 September is both similar to, and differs from, consensus- and conflict-type events as they were previously considered. Applications for emergency management are also suggested.     

浅谈环境影响评价中的公众参与

环评中实行公众参与不仅是环评本身的需要，同时也是现阶段我国民主制度的体现。对环评中公众参与的产生、发展、与可持续发展的关系、国内外公众参与的现状、国内环评中公众参与存在的问题进行了探讨，并对环评中实行公众参与提出了几点建议。     

学习实施环境影响评价法

讨论了环评法涉及的环评主管部门、规划建设单位和环评机构三个主要对象之间的关系，规划环评、跟踪评价、后评价、公众参与，以及环境评价与环境工程等内容。     

The International Environmental Expert Panel for Major Dam/Reservoir Projects: The Yellow River, China

The experience of the International Expert Panel on Environment for the Xiaolangdi dam/reservoir project in China (XEP) showed that the Panel meetings resulted in a marked improvement in project environmental performance by all parties participating in project implementation, with no parties exempt from the Panel's evaluations. Unfortunately the Loan Agreement authorizes use of the Panel only through the project stages of final design and construction, hence the 12th Panel meeting, which matched project construction completion, ended this series. The Panel has recommended that some meetings of the Panel be held during the project's operations stage in order to maintain continuing attention to environmental needs. The XEP experience showed that the XEP, in addition to monitoring project environmental performance, was very valuable for (i) training of Chinese staff involved in project implementation, and (ii) serving in the role as expert consultant for guiding the work of the Chinese participants. The XEP experience also showed the need for making a clear separation between evaluation, the overall resettlement program per se, and the environmental effects of the program. The Panel recommended that the Ministry of Water Resources and World Bank cooperate in sponsoring a book on The Environmental History of the Xiaolangdi Project, including both dam construction as well as resettlement problems, which would serve as a very valuable reference for guiding environmental planning for future dam projects in China (Ludwig, H.F. 1994–2000).     

突发公共事件与个体防护装备

作者论述了个体防护装备的作用、种类和发展 ;从军事斗争、劳动防护和社会公众防护等方面论述了个体防护装备的重要性 ,指出突发公共事件正在呼唤个体防护装备 ;对我国个体防护装备的发展和应用提出了意见和建议     

小水电站环境影响评价中的公众参与

本文分析了小水电站建设对环境影响的特殊性，阐述对其环境影响评价中的公众参与的特殊内容，提出了公众参与的三种方式：公众个人问卷调查、基层组织调查、县(市)政府公共管理部门调查。     

我国公共场所卫生监督监测中存在的主要问题与对策分析

公共场所的卫生状况自非典型性肺炎的爆发以来，受到人们的普遍关注。而提高公共场所的卫生质量还应依赖于对公共场所的卫生监督。该文通过文献复习与现场定性调查对我国公共场所卫生监督监测存在的主要问题作综合分析，并提出对策建议。以期使公共场所的卫生监督工作更有成效。     

Whom to Trust? Public Concerns, Late Modern Risks, and Expert Trustworthiness

This article discusses the conditions under which the use of expert knowledge may provide an adequate response to public concerns about high-tech, late modern risks. Scientific risk estimation has more than once led to expert controversies. When these controversies occur, the public at large – as a media audience – faces a paradoxical situation: on the one hand it must rely on the expertise of scientists as represented in the mass media, but on the other it is confused by competing expert claims in the absence of any clear-cut standard to judge these claims. The question then arises, what expertise can the public trust? I argue that expert controversies cannot be settled by appealing to neutral, impartial expertise, because each use of expert knowledge in applied contexts is inextricably bound up with normative and evaluative assumptions. This value-laden nature of expert contributions, however, does not necessarily force us to adopt a relativist conception of expert knowledge. Nor does it imply active involvement of ordinary citizens in scientific risk estimation – as some authors seem to suggest. The value-laden, or partisan, nature of expert statements rather requires an unbiased process of expert dispute in which experts and counter-experts can participate. Moreover, instead of being a reason for discrediting expert contributions, experts' commitment may enhance public trustworthiness because it enlarges the scope of perspectives taken into account, to include public concerns. Experts who share the same worries as (some of) the public could be expected to voice these worries at the level of expert dispute. Thus, a broadly shaped expert dispute, that is accessible to both proponents and opponents, is a prerequisite for public trust.     

Risk management in the Federal Republic of Germany

Spectacular industrial accidents, such as the ones in Bhopal, Mexico City, and Basle, have in recent times made the risks associated with the modern chemicals industry unmistakably evident. It has been seen that effective emergency plans for the people living in the vicinity of a hazardous installation become particularly important. The situation of hazardous installations in the Federal Republic of Germany is reviewed and the three-stage safety system, which is established within the German Regulation on Major Industrial Accidents (Störfallverordnung), is described. The evaluation of the current practice shows a couple of problems, especially connected with off-site safety precautions. The disaster control teams are often ill-equipped and inadequately trained. There is a need for further establishment of detailed and specific emergency plans, especially in rural areas. It is expected that the updating of the Regulation on Major Industrial Accidents, which is at present being undertaken in the Federal Republic of Germany and the compilation of instructions for the competent authorities will contribute to better emergency plans for the protection of areas in the vicinity of hazardous industrial installations.     

EVALUATION OF CONSUMER NOTIFICATION UNDER THE SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT1

ABSTRACT: The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 as amended in 1986 requires that consumers be notified when maximum contaminant levels are exceeded in their community water supply and when prescribed testing and treatment procedures are not met. A review of communication theory indicates that for the message to be effective (1) it must be received by the intended audience, (2) it must be attended to by that audience, (3) it must be understood, and (4) it must be accepted and acted upon. A review and analysis of existing research evaluating notification programs administered under the Safe Drinking Water Act indicates (1) that receipt rates have been highly, variable, (2) that attention to the message has usually not been directly assessed, (3) that levels of understanding, while variable, have usually been minimal, and (4) that acceptance, though not often directly measured, seemed higher than expected. These results, while critical of past notification programs, indicate that understanding and acceptance can be increased if receipt and attention rates are increased. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations for improving receipt and attention rates, for increasing understanding, and, most importantly, for increasing acceptance and community action for upgrading local water treatment and quality.