John and members of the list,
Thanks for the link! I am currently using facebook and twitter to share videos. blogs etc that are being added to the social networking site for educators and teachers involved in disaster risk reduction at: http://edu4drr.ning.com This site has only 175 members, some of whom are very active on the site and many of whom are active in their field. The aim of the site is to share good practice and provide advice and support to those seeking to help others become prepared for and resilient to disasters! Despite the 500,000 or so members on facebook disaster relief site a recent survey of users found that many are not prepared themselves for a disaster - something that educators and researchers are seeking to understand and change. The link to the survey is:
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/survey-global-facebook-users-generous-texters-for-haiti-but-unprepared-themselves/
What is interesting is the generosity of many and the critical mass of people that donated and want to support others in times of crises, while their own 'concept of unique invulnerability' means that they don't do something for themselves in terms of preparedness. Of course this is only a simplified supposition and I am aware that there may be a range of complex reasons for lack of preparation, but understanding that simple cost effective actions can be taken by everyone is not complicated. If there is a will there is a way, as they say (see this video http://edu4drr.ning.com/video/whats-up-your-crutch?xg_source=activity ) - but creating the will is our biggest challenge!
Regards,
Justin
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