Analyze

C-Urge project is a doctoral network set up to research and better understand the complexity of climate and enviromental change, that is happening on global, as well as on a local scale. 

Through various research approaches set in various countries, we aim to highlight the notion of urgency and need to enrich the debate around the topic of environemtal change, that is both fast, and subtle and poses a serious challenge for the future.   

The US Department of Veteran Affairs is constantly adjusting to new medical research to provide the most effective care possible. This shows a differing approach to emergency response which is only possible due to the long term nature of this organization, most emergency response groups focus on quick response to disasters which does not allow for the same amount of research and adaptation as the Department of Veteran Affairs.

• Chernobyl was an unexpected disaster, however several more nuclear disasters have occurred since then. I looked into the safeguards that were changed after Chernobyl and if those had any part in mitigating other nuclear meltdowns. After the explosions several countries and international groups developed nuclear policies that attempted to prevent critical system failures as occurred during the test that caused the reactor to overheat, but many countries refused to adopt additional safeguards that may prevent future disasters.
• The article described the various zones put into place to keep people away from the most radioactive areas around Chernobyl, I looked into the zones used and the determining factors in determining the sizes of each zone. The initial response determined a zone of 30km around the site, however as scientific understanding of radiation improved the zone was extended to 2600km. This shows the importance of an informed response to prevent further damage after a disaster.

Finally, I researched the effects of low dose radiation poisoning to better understand the medical care needed by those affected. Even low exposure doses can cause lasting damage to organs, or cause cancer and blood related illnesses through the effect of radiation on bone marrow. Those exposed would need frequent medical exams and treatment for the entirety of their lives.

The bibliography suggests this article was produced through analysis of historical events and other works without any new experimentation or data collection.

• Throughout the article it became apparent that the individuals being interviewed were rarely prescribed medication and in some cases did not take their medication. I researched the effectiveness of epilepsy medication and severity of not treating seizures in order to better understand that specific illness.
• The article was written using data collected in 1988. Since medical knowledge has changed dramatically since then I decided to look into the current medical situation in Turkey. Although it is challenging to find unbiased opinions it appears that even with advances in medical science, cultural traditions remain an integral part in dealing with illness in many places and needs to be understood when dealing with patients who have those beliefs.
• A majority of the patients interviewed attribute their seizures to a traumatic moment in their past, as I was unaware that epilepsy could be triggered in such a way I looked into the causes of epilepsy. In many cases the cause cannot be identified, however there is significant evidence for epileptic fits being caused by post-traumatic stress as well as neurological trauma and even cardiac issues.

The article has primarily been referenced in later works by Paul E. Farmer who has written several other papers and articles on both the medical state of Haiti and Rwanda as well as structural violence in many capacities. The article was initially published in 2006 and has since been published in journals, books, as well as open online collections for use by the sts community.

Emergency response is addressed in terms of post-incident humanitarian aid, dealing with how to identify and help victims of sexual violence without politicizing their situations to the point of forcing them to relive their trauma or making them feel separated from other people receiving aid.

The article primarily discuss the motivations behind emergency response, and how that effects the actions taken by emergency response organizations. The authors claim that emergency response is motivated primarily by nationalism or self-preservation due to the global threat posed by epidemics and other health crisis. The idea of an emergency modality is presented, where rapid response to emerging issues is used as a preventative measure to avoid the spread of a crisis across national borders. The authors claim that emergency modality is the usual protocol for global health organizations due to the funds and resources available after an emergency due to public attention that are difficult to obtain for long term health problems.

There are seven authors on this project, all of whom are connected to research institutes or universities. The project was primarily written by individuals associated with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which has a good reputation.