In the small town of Sitka, Alaska, frequent and often catastrophic landslides threaten residents. One challenge associated with disaster preparedness is access to timely and reliable risk information. As with many small but diverse towns, who or what is a trustworthy source of information is often contested. To help improve landslide…

The study of earthquakes can help students build connections between theoretical analysis and real-world applications. However, units on earthquakes typically struggle to bridge that gap between theory and application. Traditional class activities focus on measuring earthquakes, such as triangulating epicenters by analyzing P and S wave arrival…

Activities using volunteered geographic information (VGI), geospatial data generated by nonprofessionals, provide an instructional approach that allows participants to work with big data--large, complex data sets--in a noncompetitive, cooperative environment. Research suggests that humanitarian mapping activities offer an effective means of…

Many disastrous events have taken place in Turkey, most of which have been of natural origin. When the loss of life and property caused by these disasters is analyzed, the increase in recent years is striking. "Disaster education", given in order to prevent and the negative consequences of such disasters, is of great importance. Within…

The project "3D and 4D Simulations for Landscape Reconstruction and Damage Scenarios: GIS Pilot Applications" has been devised with the intention to deal with the demand for research, innovation and applicative methodology on the part of the international programme, requiring concrete results to increase the capacity to know, anticipate…

We report on the implementation experience of carrying out data collection and other activities for a public health evaluation study on whether U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) investment improved utilization of health services and health system strengthening in Uganda. The retrospective study period focused on the PEPFAR…

A central issue in the use of rapid evaluation and assessment methods (REAM) is achieving a balance between speed and trustworthiness. In this article, the authors review the key differences and common features of this family of methods and present a case example that illustrates how evaluators can use rapid evaluation techniques in their own…

Gathers comprehensive information about accidents and near misses occurring in outdoor programs. Includes checklists for types of injury/illness, program activity, and contributing factors. Asks for analysis and recommendations, comments by the program director, and a narrative description of how the accident happened, treatment given, and…

The article presents an approach to emergency response training that combines simulation of hazardous environmental factors with extensive registration of the activities in a training scenario. Simulation enhances realism by exposing the trainees to representations of hazards without putting them at risk. Registration generates data that describe…