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What expertise, capacities, and skills do you bring to the EcoGovLab?

wypark89

I am a (science) education researcher and look at most things in the world through the lens of education. On disaster (or anything else), the questions I ask are - e.g., why should we teach about it? What should we teach about it, and how? How can we support teachers to teach about disasters in their classrooms? My training in educational research has equipped me with the theories, tools and methods that can be utilised to approach these questions. I am hoping that these knowledge, experiences and skills can cross-fertilise with EcoGovLab's expertise in anthropology, SPS and environmental governance.

Fresno CEC Purpose & Mission

wypark89

Our Purpose

One of our greatest responsibilities is to prepare the next generation to meet the challenges they will face in the 21st Century, with a deep commitment to the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship. We have a unique opportunity for a community dialogue about the civic values, knowledge, and skills that K-12 students should learn and practice in our public school system. We will create strong community support for our schools to provide effective civic education for students to be successful in college, career and citizenship.

OUR MISSION

The mission of the Civic Education Center is to restore civility in America by creating opportunities for youth to learn and practice civic values and democratic skills.

About Us – Civic Ed Center

Civic Education Center | Fresno CA | Facebook

Fresno CEC Summer Institute for Secondary Teachers

wypark89

Goals

  • Teach the vision of the Founders and the triumphs and tragedies of our history.
  • Teach civil dialogue on controversial issues and democratic deliberation.
  • Integrate science, technology, literature, media, arts and math with civic projects.
  • To promote teacher understanding of connections with the State Seal of Civic Engagement, Social Emotional Learning, and Ethnic Studies.

Summer Institute – Civic Ed Center

CV YEA Mission Statement

wypark89

The Mission of CV YEA is "Our mission is to fight environmental injustices in the Central Valley through connecting like-minded individuals". 

CV YEA is based in Fresno, CA and led by Executive Director Kamryn Kubose (interview), who we met during our visit to Golden Charter Academy. CV YEA takes part in Clean Vehicle Empowerment Collaborative. The board consists of master's students and environmental activists based in California.

EiJ Hazards

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Digital collection focused on environmental injustice hazards. 

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erin_tuttle

The argument that health infrastructure was imperative in the prevention of outbreaks was very compelling. The first half of the film, while the virus was just beginning to spread emphasized that initially the hospitals were overwhelmed and forced to close because the resources and personnel needed were not available and no system was in place to deal with the number of cases. This supported the ending argument that Liberia needed more trained medical professionals, better infrastructure, and more health education.

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erin_tuttle

I looked into Underwriter Laboratories, as the work that they do is both interesting and important in mitigating future disasters.

The article did not give a definitive answer as to the decided cause of the towers collapse, so I researched the prominent theories. There still exists some controversy on the subject but it is largely believed that a combination of the direction the plane faced upon impact, which allowed the keel beam to destroy several support columns of the building, and the heat form the fire causing thermal expansion of the remaining steel reinforcements, overtaxed the supports which led to a systematic failure of supports on each lower floor.

Finally, I looked at the legal changes after 9/11 to see if there were any laws put into place defining the responsibility and authority of government agencies in the aftermath of a disaster. The laws passed directly in response to 9/11 however only seem to be relating to search, seizure, and detention of suspected terrorists.

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erin_tuttle
Annotation of

The system was built to serve organizations and individuals with humanitarian goals. The system gathers data from report, reviews, and users and compiles it into comprehensible information to help inform decision-making for humanitarian concerns. Portions of the app also focus on education and technical support for field researchers looking to collect large quantities of data.

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erin_tuttle

The article uses historical statistics to support the claims of physical displacement and the psychological feelings of displacement, as well as accounts of the government programs that were put in place and the public’s lack of faith in the ability of these programs.