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stone Ecosystem. Through this research, the investigator
<br />aims to provide an early warning system for assessing the
<br />effects of climate change with the understanding that
<br />documenting changes in montane meadows will assist in
<br />understanding how climate change may affect more highly
<br />managed areas of the globe.
<br />Tsunami Hazards: Social Cognitive Modeling of Pre-
<br />paredness and Effectiveness of Warnings. Funding Insti-
<br />tution: National Science Foundation, three years. Principal
<br />Investigators: Bruce Houghton (Duane Gill), Department
<br />of Geology and Geophysics, University of Hawaii at Ma-
<br />noa, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822; (808) 956-
<br />2561; e -mail: bhoacght @soest.hawaii.edu.
<br />This project will create a tsunami preparedness model
<br />to be used as a decision - making tool by scientists and
<br />emergency managers who disseminate risk information.
<br />The model will assist intervention planning and assess the
<br />effectiveness of outreach programs in preparing at -risk
<br />communities in the United States for tsunamis. By exam-
<br />ining the basic mental and organizational processes under-
<br />lying the public's evaluation of risk information and their
<br />decision making in the face of change, the research will
<br />create a capability to predict the factors that aid and hin-
<br />der the adoption of protective measures for tsunamis and
<br />help guide future education initiatives aimed at strengthen-
<br />ing community resilience to tsunami effects.
<br />Building an Interdisciplinary Study of Resilience. Fund-
<br />ing Institution: National Science Foundation, two years.
<br />Principal Investigators: Patricia Longstaff (Shia -Kai Chin,
<br />Susan Older), Syracuse University, 215 University Place,
<br />Syracuse, NY 13244, (315) 443 -3854; e -mail: phlongst@
<br />syr.edu.
<br />Resilience, the ability of a system to bounce back
<br />from a "surprise," is a concept fundamental to a variety
<br />of disciplines and fields. Scholars from five of these dis-
<br />ciplines— ecology, human immunology, human develop-
<br />ment, computer science, and law /policy —who are inter-
<br />ested and experienced in the study of resilience will
<br />participate in a collaboration to identify common themes.
<br />As a result of this project, new insights in the understand-
<br />ing of resilience will be obtained. Long -term outcomes of
<br />this effort will be applicable to critical national goals such
<br />as preparing our nation and local communities for terrorist
<br />attacks and natural disasters. This project is the beginning
<br />of a long -term collaborative effort in resilience with a goal
<br />of developing multidisciplinary education on how systems
<br />can be managed to improve their ability to bounce back.
<br />"Bio- Safety" or "Bio- Hazard "? Organizational Pursuit
<br />and Community Response to a Safety and Prepared-
<br />ness Initiative. Funding Institution: National Science
<br />Foundation, two years, $200,000. Principal Investigator:
<br />Thomas D. Beamish, University of California- Davis, De-
<br />partment of Sociology, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA
<br />95616; (530) 754- 6897; email: tdbeamish@ucdavis. edu.
<br />This study will investigate community response to the
<br />proposed installation of federally funded National Biocon-
<br />tainment Laboratories (NBL) in three U.S. communities.
<br />In each case, reputable universities with mature medical
<br />Natural Hazards Observer November 2005 30
<br />facilities and strong reputations in related fields of study
<br />responded to a National Institutes of Health request for
<br />proposal to sponsor and manage an NBL for the federal
<br />government. Yet, a remarkable range of reactions — strong
<br />opposition, growing opposition, and no significant opposi-
<br />tion— highlights the importance of understanding variable
<br />response to programs ostensibly intended to minimize risk
<br />and increase public security and preparedness. The project
<br />will rely on a multimethod approach involving in -depth
<br />interviews, field study, media analysis, and archival re-
<br />cords to draw conclusions.
<br />Exploratory Research on Sensor Based Infrastructure
<br />for Early Tsunami Detection. Funding Institution: Na-
<br />tional Science Foundation, one year. Principal Investiga-
<br />tor(s): Daniel Mosse (Taieb Znati, Louise K. Comfort),
<br />Department of Computer Science, University of Pitts-
<br />burgh, 6423 Sennott Square, Pittsburgh, PA 15260,• (412)
<br />624 -8923; e -mail: mosse @cs.pitt.edu.
<br />This project brings together experts from the informa-
<br />tion technology and disaster management communities to
<br />focus on the early and accurate detection of potential tsu-
<br />nami threats. It will identify and examine issues related to
<br />the development of a fully integrated sociotechnical solu-
<br />tion for early detection of tsunamis and related threats in
<br />South Asia. The primary outcome will be a research de-
<br />sign for a feasible, low -cost system for early detection
<br />with corroborating information from seismic movement in
<br />land -based infrastructure systems.
<br />Intergovernmental Challenges of Homeland Security:
<br />Explaining Local Government Preparedness Efforts.
<br />Funding Institution: National Science Foundation, two
<br />years. Principal Investigator: Brian J. Gerber, Texas
<br />Tech University, MS1015, Lubbock, TX 79409; (806) 742-
<br />3121; e -mail: brian.gerber @ttu.edu.
<br />This project will examine local governments' prepar-
<br />edness efforts in implementing homeland security policies.
<br />It will address what factors determine effective hazards
<br />management policy in a federal system where, very often,
<br />the policy making incentives facing national, state, and
<br />local governments diverge. The expectation for this pro-
<br />ject is that it will identify a specific set of causal factors
<br />that explain hazard management preparedness at the local
<br />government level generally, and homeland security activi-
<br />ties specifically.
<br />Coupling Human and Natural Influences on Coastline
<br />Evolution as Climate Changes. Funding Institution: Na-
<br />tional Science Foundation, five years. Principal Investiga-
<br />tors: Brad Murray (Thomas Crowley, Michael Orbach,
<br />Joseph Ramus, Martin Smith), Duke University, Box
<br />90230, Durham, NC 27708 -0230; (919) 681 -5069; e -mail:
<br />abmtirray@duke.edu.
<br />Sandy coastlines, such as the U.S. Southeast and Gulf
<br />coasts, are constantly shifted and reshaped as waves move
<br />sand from one location to another. Research into how
<br />such coastlines evolve over spatial scales of kilometers to
<br />hundreds of kilometers and over time scales of decades
<br />and longer has just begun. Human efforts to stabilize
<br />shorelines, localized manipulations that likely affect entire
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