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I teach anthropology and environmental studies at Haveford College, just outside of Philly. Currently, I'm holed up in a cabin in the Adirondacks in upstate New York with several family members, including my spouse and 4 year old daughter and 3 dogs. I started working on disasters by accident, when one day in 2001 I was walking to class at NYU and saw the World Trade Center buildings on flames. I have known Kim for a few year and I contacted her to connect with folks around Covid-19 and its imacts.

I'm particularly intersted in issues of communal grief, mourning, and bereavement. Also, I'm interested in the religious response to Covid-19.

The extensive bibliography suggests that the article was produced with extensive research into the history of humanitarian aid for sexual violence and the political aspects of humanitarianism. The article and bibliography show that this article was produced on existing data rather than through field research.

The article referenced many other papers that focus on the modern health threats due to scientific advancement, the spread of disease in modern society, and on the current approach to health prevention and the response to epidemics. This suggests that the paper was a culmination of ideas that did not include new research or data.

The main argument is supported through the existing research, which is minimal, as well as expert interviews, focus groups, and information from the Aid Worker Security Database.

“the demands placed on an investigation have as much, or more, to do with defining the dominant investigator and quickly addressing the fears and anger of the press, government, and an outraged public than they do with discovering the definitive technical truths of a catastrophic event.” (Knowles 11)

“The Hague Street inquest featured many experts, none with the authority to effect real change. The result was a blanket of blame that covered everyone” (Knowles 19)

“With the exception of federal oversight, Iroqouis set the tone for investigations of modern disasters from the Baltimore Conflagration (1904) to the world Trade Center collapse.” (Knowles 24)

The article provides statistics of approved applications based on the medical reason for the application and the department the application was processed at based on location, to show how different acceptance rates are. The article also provides many stories of applications, invoking an emotional response that allows the reader to sympathize with the personal challenge that faces medical officers and government officials making the discussions that may dramatically affect the health and wellbeing of individuals.

This system would definitely be difficult to use directly in the field as it does require steady internet connection to allow for collaboration between users. Another likely problem would be collaboration between users who speak a different language, although the publishing aspect of the app, and adaptable software downloads allow for multiple languages. Integrating numerical data between users who’s primary languages differ creates technical challenges that could range from complete field incompatibility to something as simple as interpreting a comma as thousands rather than a decimal point.

The Stafford Act was significantly criticized by the public, primarily for the fact that while the act set up legal systems allowing the government to provide housing and medical services to displaced citizens it did not require the government to do so. There was also concern that the policy created too many restrictions and limitations for FEMA which would slow the response time to an emergency.

The organization is fully funded by the government, which is funded itself by taxes. This in part effects their work as it creates a responsibility to be careful with funding and ensure that the care goes directly to those in need. It also requires the organization to be held accountable to the citizens who are funding their efforts.

The article was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, a well regarded journal dedicated to publishing reliable studies concerning ecological damage and effects, as well as the medical effects due to ecological factors of both natural and human creation.