Search

I'm interested in better understanding the ongoing geological processes that shape St. Louis and the Mississippi Valley region. So far, I've been looking into the history of seismicity in the region, focusing on the fascinating but little known history of the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 -- the most devastating earthquakes to have hit the US east of the Rockies. I've also been exploring how St. Louis and surrounding areas are dealing with the possibility of another earthquake occurring in the future. According to one article I read, one of the biggest uncertainties is what would happen to the heavily engineered Mississippi River in the case of another major tremblor. The shaking could break the levees, flooding wide areas along the river and creating cascading effects. The flow of the river might also reverse completely, as occurred during the New Madrid earthquakes.

On these possibilities and the lack of scientific consensus surrounding intraplate seismicity in this zone, see this article in The Atlantic.

On current efforts to create earthquake hazard maps in St. Louis, see this overview on the US Geological Survey site.

For a deeper dive into the history of the New Madrid earthquakes, see this book by historian of science Conevery Bolton Valencius. 

• "it is not surprising that gender-based violence should become an issue; having been categorised as a human rights violation, one which garnered significant attention, it could not be easily ignored or brushed aside as a ‘private’ matter. Still, approaching gender-based violence as a humanitarian issue required some translation. Humanitarians are primarily concerned with saving lives and relieving suffering; humanitarianism of the sort practised by MSF is most significantly focused on health, and the lives and wellbeing of populations."
• "I argue that the shift to gender-based violence as the exemplary humanitarian problem could not have happened without the prior move to medicalise gender-based violence, and render it a medical condition like all others."
• "Approaching gender-based violence as a medical or health issue alters how violence is both approached and understood; that is, rather than understanding gender violence in the context of gendered relations of power, or as part of larger histories and expressions of inequality which are inseparable from histories of class or race or colonialism, this type of medicalisation transforms gender-based violence into an emergency illness, requiring immediate intervention."

This article was created by Dr. Scott Gabriel Knowles, PhD, an associate professor and department head of the Department of History, Center for Science, Technoloy, and Society at Drexel University. Dr. Knowles earned both his Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Philosophy and his Master of Arts degree in History from The University of Texas at Austin. He later earned his Doctorate degree in History of Science, Medicine, and Technology from Johns Hopkins University. 

His research is focused primarily on risk and disaster with interests in modern cities, technology, and policies. He has authored several publications. He also currently serves as a faculty research fellow of the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware and is a member of the Fukushima Forum collaborative research community. 

The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) was enacted by Congress to ensure that patients are granted and provided access to appropriate emergency services and medical care regardless of their ability to pay for the cost of said services and care.

The authors present a psychological, physiological, and physical condition known as "Chronic Disaster Syndrome" which, they argue, is a more appropriate diagnosis of those who have suffered through major disasters or catastrophes instead of the traditional Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. The authors present the characteristics and symptoms of this condition and make the case that they are exacerbated and perpetuated by government and private sector failures to sufficiently aid in the recovery to normal conditions by those affected by the disaster. Furthermore, they argue that this condition disproportionately affects the lower class.

The IPPNW is a non-partisan federation of various national medical groups from over 63 countries. The organization represents physicians, medical students, healthcare professionals, and other concerned stakeholders.

The authors relied principally on data procured through two research workshops conducted and on anecdotal evidence gathered.

The aforementioned research article was created by Andrew Lakoff of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and Stephen Collier of The New School in New York City. Mr. Lakoff has a background in social theory, medical anthropology, and cultural anthropology. Mr. Collier holds a doctorate degree in philosophy from the University of California Berkeley and was a former chair and associate professor in the Department of International Affairs at The New School. The two authors have collaborated previously on several research articles pertaining to global health, security, and biopolitics.

The article does not focus on the immediate emergency response (law, fire, rescue, EMS), and instead focuses on the follow-up investigative response to major disasters, though this does often include fire investigation teams.