The trends students find depends on the type of hazard, the data sources they consult, and the changes over time that have in fact occurred with any given hazard. Similarly, their explanations are limited by these same data issues.

One example that illustrates both wealth and difficulties with data can be found on the following Emerging Infectious Disease Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol2no1/ and subsequent volumes and issues (the material is not reproduced here for lack of space and because of copyright restrictions). This particular Web site describes and discusses the emergence of Dengue Fever and other infectious diseases, includes maps of Dengue Fever distribution, and a table of Dengue Fever virus serotypes isolated between 1982 and 1995. Students can find additional information at the World Health Organization’s Web site where they can search for Dengue Fever (the EID site is connected to the WHO homepage through a hot link).

 
 

Activity 2.2  How Vulnerable is Your Community?

The answers to this activity depend entirely on the community and hazard that is chosen for this activity. To assess students’ work, however, consider the following issues:

• familiarity with the concept of vulnerability
• ability to list a range of factors that contribute to vulnerability
• acquisition of a range of data from various sources
• good synthesis and reporting of findings to the class
• ability to make connections to other groups (integrate their knowledge with that of others)
• critical understanding of the importance of vulnerability for hazard management

Below are the questions posed to students in the activity and some of the generalities that could be made.

• How many stories related to hazards and global change did I hear today (itemize them)?

The number of reports reflects seasonality of hazards (e.g., in the summer you are more likely to hear about hurricane, tropical storm, drought, tornado, hailstorm, and heat hazards), the magnitude ("objective" measure) and intensity ("subjective," human-felt experience) of the event (the bigger the event, the more often it will be in the news), geographic proximity to the event (as indicative of the likelihood to be affected), and the reporting source’s mission and its editors’ political interest in the event.
 
 
• What happened in each event according to the news I focused on (short summary for yourself)? Were initial reports changed significantly later on?

It is likely that big events that remain in the news for several days or longer and social hazard events (acts of war, sabotage, terrorism, interpersonal violence etc.) are followed closely and change in content over time. The higher the degree of initial confusion, the larger the secrecy surrounding the event; the more difficult to obtain accurate information, the greater the likelihood that the reporting will change significantly over time.
 
 

• Where and when did the event occur?

Students will notice the "home-bias," i.e., the large majority of reports on local, regional, and national events depending on the scale of the news medium they focus on. Local papers will highlight local hazards, national news will emphasize nationally significant issues. It is likely that students will find very little information in US news sources on far-away, pervasive, and long-term issues (e.g., droughts, famines, or sudden-onset events like earthquakes in Third World countries).
 
 

• How much space was allocated to each report (columns/lines or time on the radio/TV)? How did the space allocation change over time? Did several events "compete" for space?

The amount of space allocated to the reports is influenced by the same factors as how much is reported: magnitude, intensity, likelihood of being affected, home-bias, and editorial issues like mission of information source, political bias, perceived interest in the issue, competition with other news items, etc. Students will notice a steep decline in reporting frequency and space allocation if the event stays in the news over several days at all. Items quickly drop from being of national interest to being a regional or local issue. This change in "news-worthiness" is also very much influenced by competing items. Interest in a major hurricane and its aftermath, for example, drops quickly if only three days later an airplane crashes that leaves hundreds dead.
 
 

• Did the report include any maps, graphics, photographs, live reports, interviews with victims or witnesses? What did these items highlight about the events?

If the event is horrific enough in the eyes of the news editors, it is likely that reporters are sent to the site of the event to gather first-hand information, make live reports, gather interviews, and take photographs. Maps are common for major events in remote locations, for hazards involving conflicting parties (e.g., war) -- refer to the vast literature on how maps express bias in reporting, or in combination with animation to reconstruct the hazard event.
 
 

• Who reported (author, press source, speakers...)?

It is unlikely that students will follow up on who-is-who, i.e., the background of reporting sources, or that they will -- in just two weeks -- get a sense for who reports on what. You may want to point out to them, however, that reporters, certain individuals, or citizen groups commonly have their "specialties," i.e., which issues they watch out for and report on.
 

• Was any connection made to global change? Do you feel it was correct, insufficient, or misleading in any way?

This will be one of the most interesting things for students to consider. Weather-related hazards may be increasingly connected to global climate change. Other hazards may not be linked to global changes in both society and the environment. Given the generally insufficient understanding of global change issues in the US population at large, it is likely that reports are oversimplified, undifferentiated as to the range of contributing causes and complex interactions among societal, environmental, and technological issues, and thus not very educational.
 
 

• If the hazard was a "technological" hazard, were there any indications of blame or assigning responsibility?

There is a tendency to assign responsibility for an environmental event. It is part of the need to find explanations for the pain people experience and to re-establish mental order in a significantly upset world. Rarely are people ready to take on their share of responsibility for the losses incurred at the time of the event; thus blame of others is common. Also particularly with some environmental disasters, the opportunity presents itself to those affected to vent long-standing frustrations.
 
 

• What was the explanation for why the hazard occurred or for why the damage was what it was?

This will be an opportunity for students to show that they understood the complex nature of hazards as resulting from the interactions of society, technology, and the environment. Look for their critique of the rather mono-causal or simplified explanations often offered in the news.
 
 

• Any recommendations to improve reporting?

Students’ answers here will show how well they are able to draw conclusions from their critical analysis. Students may gear their answers to the roles that news media play in society: watchdog, gatekeeper, informer, educator, and also connector among various communities (within and between local communities across the globe). They may summarize from their analysis how well the media perform these roles and what they would need to do to perform better. Again, the specifics depend on the type of media they focus on.

The conclusions that students reach in their role play will depend on the students’ values, their interpretation of the provided material, and the group’s ability to find a consensus. You may help students get beyond some of the impasses or dilemmas they are likely to encounter, but it is not necessary to force them to adopt a particular view on the role of the insurance industry in global change issues. It is more important for them to see the crucial importance of insurance in determining impacts of hazards and -- possibly -- global change, and to see the insurance position from various perspectives. Students should also come away with an appreciation of the economic power that the insurance industry has in the global economy.

The activity is a nice way to end this unit and lead into Unit 3 which goes into mitigation measures in greater detail. As is pointed out in Unit 3, insurance can help to share the losses incurred by disasters. In addition, Supporting Material 2.4 points to the mitigative, if not preventive, role the insurance industry could play if it so chooses.