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American Red Cross doesn't claim to have or offer new or unique techniques to attending to disaster. Yet in my opinion, The American Red Cross is one of the greatest organizations in terms of disaster response and it is truly made up of people who want to help others. We are lucky to have such a large scale magnitude of volunteers gathered through one organization to answer to both small needs in their community, be it a blood drive or house fire, to large disaster relief efforts after Katrina or 9/11. The American Red Cross has single handedly offered aid to so many families in America and saved more lives than any other single independent organization run by a majority of volunteers. The American Red Cross offers a wide range of coverage in terms of disaster types they respond to and frequency, so in my opinion, they are a very, very unique organization and offer something that I have not seen any other organization offer the way they do.

This policy applies to American law and patients who are in need of emergency medical treatment and is to be followed by all emergency departments and personnel alike. 

I think that adding more evidentiary support such as data analysis r statistics would have enhanced this video's educational value. It would have shown the physical evidence and the magnitude of the disaster. I also believe that citing more government officials and getting statements from more hospital workers, doctors and first responders would have given this film a more well rounded and accurate depiction of all sides of the outbreak. 

This article was published in Public Health Reports, this is the official journal of the US public Health Service and Surgeon General of the United States. Topics and issues of public health law, public health practice and research as well as schools and teaching are published in this journal. Overall, this journal is highly regarded. It is peer reviewed and publishes original work. Being the official journal of US departments reflects its validity. 

"In any number of disaster over the past two centuries, the "disaster investigation," far from proving itself the dispassionate, scientific verdict on causality and blame, actually emerges as hard-fought honest is to define the moment in politics and society, in technology and culture."

"history shows that, with time, a given community of engineers and scientists has generally proven able to explain the technical particulars of a structural collapse."

"By reviewing the history of disaster investigations in the US, we therefore gain a broader context for understanding the early pitfalls and the future prospects for the World Trade Center investigation,"

I would say that a situation where this site would be difficult to work with would be in an urgent, or time sensitive situation. Let's say during a situation where quick medical care is needed, this site would be difficult to work with and not a good source of information during that time. Yet in most situations and settings this would prove to be a good source of data. 

The DRLA works to provide resilience to communities that have been impacted by a disaster according to their mission statement. They do so through leadership, humanitarianism, education and research. They work to increase leadership in these areas and help identify any weaknesses and vulnerabilities like social inequality and poverty. This program prides itself on its unique focus on leadership and providing programs in increasing resilience and leadership development in areas that have been effected. 

I further researched governmental policies on natural disasters as well as the agencies that were frequently discussed in the article such as FEMA. I also researched the general current state of New Orleans today in comparison to pre Hurricane and post Hurricane (within the first few years) conditions and then compared it with today. I also researched any forms of direct emergency response that occurred during the hurricane and after out of interest on the topic. 

The bibliography shows that there was an extensive amount of research done and that this article truly doesn't encompass most of the findings on this topic. There are studies dated back to the 40s as well as published by world renown experts on the study of disaster and its effects on mental health. There is also a great array of different types of publication types as well. The bibliography clearly shows an intense amount of work that went into putting this research article together. 

A main focus of this article was the emergency response to nuclear power plant disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, or in better words, the lack there of. Points and arguments made include the fact that this won't be the last the world sees of nuclear mishap and risk and also the severe need to not only depend on accident prevention, but focus must be shifted onto being prepared during emergencies. During the essay the author point blank states that, the essay is to raise awareness on the need for the creation of an  "international nuclear response team." The essay then focuses on what we can learn from the nuclear accident in Japan in order to establish better post emergency protocols and responses. 

Overall, Schmid outlines the fact that changes need to be made on a global level. She illustrates where there are shortcomings in current protocols and the desperate need to establish a team that is equipped and trained to response to nuclear mishaps, such as the one seen in Japan. She also accentuates the need for this response team to be established should be fast and that we can no longer drag our feet, citing dangers seen at Fukushima, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.