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pece_annotation_1477861953

Sara_Nesheiwat

The author utilizes data and a number analysis of symptoms experienced, as well as interviews with those effected and how it altered their lives in hundreds of ways. Along with primary source interviews and data analysis, expert analysis and opinion is also provided as well.

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wolmad

1. "Clashes over authority among powerful institutions both public and private, comptetition among rival experts for influence, inquiry into a disaster elevated to the status of a memorial for the dead: these are the base elements of the World Trade Center investigation. And yet, even a brief historical review shows us that these elements are not unique."

2. "In this article, I will show that conflicts over authority, expertise, memory, and finally the attribution of responsibility suffuse the history of disaster in the United States."

3. "Blame, memorial, and reconstruction tend to outpace technical consensus."

pece_annotation_1473006903

Sara_Nesheiwat

After the Fukushima disaster, thyroid examinations were performed on residents less than 18 years of age. The first three years post disaster are noted as the "Initial phase" and act as a control. Of those tested, 113 cases were suspected of or found to have thyroid malignancies, 99 of those underwent surgery. After this, the goal became to compare and observe prevalence of thyroid cancer in this initial screen program with historical controls based off if there was a nuclear disaster or not.

For this study, the observed/expected ratio was calculated for residents less than 20 years old. Observed prevalence of cancer was calculated using numbers found in the initial thyroid screening program mentioned above. Expected prevalence was then calculated by using a life-table method utilizing national estimates of thyroid cancer incidences before the disaster. The population of Fukushima was taken into account.  A 5 year cumulative risk of thyroid cancer incidences was calculated for the year of 2010.  This 5 year risk was then converted to a 1 year cumulative risk using a method called spline smoothing. Then the age-specific prevalence of thyroid cancer was estimated by multiplying the 0 year old population by the age specific risk in 2010. 

I have done research involving cancer rates and their correlation with power plants (in my case Indian Point.) Doing that research caused me to read hundreds of studies similar to this one where estimates are made using calculations based off cancer rates before the incident and then taking them and putting them into context of a post disaster area. I wouldn't quite say that this method is new or inventive but it follows similar methodology to other studies of this same caliber, yet there are aspects that make it more unique such as converting the 5 year to 1 year cumulative risk using a spline smoothing method. 

pece_annotation_1474989904

wolmad

The program is focused on educating students and researchers in various methods to further research on the criminal justice system and its associated sociological factors. As of this time, the Center is offering two main educational opportunities, one for summer research interns and one for researchers to participate in a 2 year study on HIV in prisons funded by  the National Institute on Drug Abuse

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Sara_Nesheiwat
Annotation of

The American Red Cross has volunteers in different sectors, some are blood drive volunteers, while others are disaster volunteers or digital advocates. Disaster volunteers form action teams and respond to single-family fires, or provide food and shelter, comfort, etc to areas of major disaster, a recent example would be the fires in California. Yet they also aid areas that recently have succumbed to hurricanes and tornados. They also act as disaster preparedness presenters and educate people on how to be prepared for disaster. The American Red Cross is always hosting blood drives, yet when there is a national disaster, they hold emergency drives and increase the amount of drives they have in order to get blood for those devastated by the disaster. American Red Cross doesn't just respond to disaster and act as an emergency response force but they actively hold seminars to educate people on being both prepared and preventative. 

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Sara_Nesheiwat

This article focuses on gender based violence and its ties with medical humanitarianism. The effects humanitarianism has on other violent acts versus ones effecting gender based acts such as rape and assault. A main point made in this article is the fact that special humanitarian attention to gender based violence in fact has a negative effect on the overall addressing of the issue in its entirety. The reason behind this being cited is the fact that it depoliticizes the issue when unprecedented attention is given to gender based violent acts. The article then notes that by paying attention to why this is failing, we can think of new ways of addressing this issues and violence, making it more equal.