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pece_annotation_1481640058

michael.lee

The authors primarily rely on anecdotal evidence provided through interviews and testimonies presented by disaster survivors. They supplement this anecdotal evidence with data from analysis of the socioeconomic conditions following a disaster and from analysis of the mental health disorders suffered by patients who were affected by the disaster. 

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michael.lee

The author primarily discusses the disaster investigation surrounding the aftermath of the 9/11 World Trade Center disaster. Dr. Knowles presents the investigation as having been marred by jurisdictional conflicts, clashes of authority among powerful institutions, competition among experts, and political pressure from both the public and the government. He argues that this phenomenon is not unique to the World Trade Center collapse but has occurred throughout every major disaster investigation in the United States, including the burning of the US Capitol Building in 1814, the Hague Street boiler explosion and building collapse in New York in 1850, and the Iroquois Theater Fire in Chicago in 1903. He argues that disaster investigation is not the "dispassionate, scientific verdict of causality and blame" but is instead a "hard-fought contest to define the moment in politics and society, in technology and culture."

pece_annotation_1481632136

michael.lee

The author explores the impact of healthcare and immigration laws in France that impact the well-being and health of immigrants. Specifically referencing French legislation from 1997, the author discusses how protocols have developed and been adapted over the past decade to dictate that those immigrants who are suffering from illnesses should be provided care, treatment, and housing, rather than being deported or forced to fend for themselves. 

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michael.lee
  • "During our interviews in Turkey, many of the conversations we had--with those suffering seizures, with family members, persons in the community, and health care providers--were made up largely of stories. We were told stories of the sudden and shocking onset of seizures or fainting, of particularly dramatic episodes of seizures or extended loss of consciousness, of years of efforts in which families and individuals engaged in a quest to find a cure, of especially memorable interactions with physicians and with religious healers, and of experiences at work, with friends, and, for example, in marriage negotiations that were influenced by the illness."
  • "As a result, however, the stories were often quite ambiguous as to the nature of the illness, and it was often unclear whether the stories were 'reports of experience' or were largely governed by a typical cultural form or narrative structure."
  • "Much of what we know about illness we know through stories--stories told by the sick about their experiences, by family members, doctors, healers, and others in the society. This is a simple fact. 'An illness' has a narrative structure, although it is not a closed text, and it is composed as a corpus of stories."

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michael.lee

The Bedford-Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps is a non-profit organization that is certified by the State of New York as a Basic Life Support ambulance and emergency medical service provider. The BSVAC provides EMS service to the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn in New York City, NY.