Analyze

I am an environmental engineer with a profound interest on providing urban sustainability through the use of biotechnology. I currently research about air pollution in public health and its environmental factors related. My interest is focused on how to adopt greenery as air pollution mitigation strategy in developing cities of south America.
While making this briefly research about NOLA, I observed how air pollution has been historically related to a environmental injustice issue. An example of this is a 1960s study documenting asthma incidence among black communities due its near location to dumps, where subterranean burning happened commonly. This depicts the “southern pattern” in New Orleans, where African American were forced to reside in undesired areas subjected to frequent flooding, unhealthy air and noise levels, as well as unsanitary water and sewerage conditions. Morse (2008) describes Katrina as a turn point, where America’s attention on the enduring legacy of racial segregation and poverty were refocused. Local government remarked the necessity of green restoration in flooding areas, where most of segregated population lived in. Communities and foundations are also working together to sustain the urban landscape mainly for flood control. Therefore, I got interest on know how urban reforestation in NOLA was adopted as a tool for climate change adaptation but also in knowing how it acts as a pathway to reach environmental justice.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion in 1986 led to a ten day reactor fire that resulted in a large and unknown amount of radiation spilling into the surrounding areas in Ukraine. This caused the contamination of the environments and those around the reactor. Hundreds of thousands of people had to evacuate and to this day it remains to be an issue. Due to this controversy that still surrounds this disaster, the IAEA, FAO, UNDP, UNEP, OCHA, UNSCEAR and WHO created the Chernobyl Forum. They generate "authoritative consensual statements" on the environmental consequences due to the radiation exposure. Ultimately they and this event in Chernobyl are what called for this report. 

Reading this article caused me to do a further, in depth research on Fukushima and what actions led to what happened as well as what transpired during and after the disaster. I also looked into what the emergency response standards are today which led me to look at the IEAE website. I also looked at some of the author's other works that she wrote as well as explored and researched the WANO site. I read into their operating experiences and read about their pledge to "Prevent events by learning from others." I found out they have implemented "significant operating experience reports" as well as "significant event reports" and numerous other safe guards. 

This article mainly notes on the influences of culture on patients and their depiction of their medical history. The way a patient describes a narrative of their illness depends on their beliefs, set of morals, culture and customs in which they are used to and identify with. There is a correlation with the physicality of an illness and how it is perceived by their culture along with the way they depict it to professionals and pursue alleviating the issue. The importance of doctors recognizing this cultural influence and perhaps raising of stigmas is also reported since it can deeply impact the way a patient is taken care of and treated. 

I researched the statistics and numbers of HIV and and information about demographics as well as prevalence in areas such as Rwanda and Haiti. I also researched the PIH and its efforts globally while browsing their website and read about their Priority Programs, as well as countries they assist. I also researched the authors and took a look at the main author's other articles that he cited this paper in. 

I further researched the history of sexual violence and its role in times of war, since its use as a weapon was mentioned. I also researched the background of sexual violence and stigmas that are associated with them in the countries mentioned in the article, in order to better understand underlying meanings and cultural struggles aside from the obvious atrocities of the violent act. Also since Medecins Sans Frontieres kept being cited, I did further research on them since much of the study was based off their findings, this lead me to further study Doctors Without Borders, which is what it is commonly known as in the US.

I found the testimony of those effected in Liberia to be the most compelling. The personal statements and recountings of the situations that they underwent is what really reinforced the main purpose of the documentary. Seeing footage of people crying in the streets as well as the lack of food and resources, paired with the bodies and caskets is really the most persuasive aspect, in my opinion. It communicated the true devastation that occurred in Liberia during this outbreak. 

The bibliography of this article is quite extensive and thorough. This shows that a lot of research and effort was put into this article. The sources cited are all from very reputable labs, organizations, and researchers. This reflects the validity and expertise in this article. 

The author is Scott Gabriel Knowles and he works in the department of History and Politics at Drexel University. He focuses on disaster risks in cities, modern areas and public policy. He got his BA and MA in history at the University of Texas. He also got his PhD at John Hopkins University. He has written a book,  "The Disaster Experts: Mastering Risk in Modern America" (UPenn Press, 2011) as well as edited  "Critical Studies in Risk and Disaster" (UPenn Press, launch 2014).  He also is a member of Fukushima Forum collaborative research community and is currently co-writing a volume on the Fukushima disasters.

There are many websites and papers that cite this website due to the extensive amounts of data that are collected from this site. The website provides a lot of information and data based off health afflictions as a result of 9/11. Since this registry is the largest of its kind, data from it is pulled for numerous studies on 9/11 and its health effects.