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Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of a presentation by Associate Professor John Vargo during the fifth plenary of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. Vargo is a senior researcher and co-leader of the Resilient Organisations Research Programme at the University of Canterbury. The presentation is titled, "Organisational Resilience is more than just Business Continuity".The abstract for this presentation reads as follows: Business Continuity Management is well-established process in many larger organisations and a key element in their emergency planning. Research carried out by resilient organisations follow the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury Earthquakes show that most small organisations did not have a business continuity plan (BCP), yet many of these organisations did survive the massive disruptions following the earthquakes. They were resilient to these catastrophic events, but in the absence of a BCP. This research also found that many of the organisations with BCP's, struggled to use them effectively when facing real events that did not align with the BCP. Although the BCPs did a good job of preparing organisations to deal with technology and operational disruptions, there was virtually no coverage for the continuity of people. Issues surrounding staff welfare and engagement were amongst the most crucial issues faced by Canterbury organisations, yet impacts of societal and personal disruption did not feature in BCPs. Resilience is a systematic way of looking at how an organization can survive a crisis and thrive in an uncertain world. Business continuity is an important aspect for surviving the crisis, but it is only part of the bigger picture addressed by organisational resilience. This presentation will show how organizational experiences in the Canterbury earthquakes support the need to move to a 'Business Continuity' for the '21st Century', one that incorporates more aspects of resilience, especially the 'people' areas of leadership, culture, staff welfare, and engagement.

Videos, UC QuakeStudies

A video of the keynote presentation by Alexander C. McFarlane during the third plenary of the 2016 People in Disasters Conference. McFarlane is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Adelaide and the Heady of the Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies. The presentation is titled, "Holding onto the Lessons Disasters Teach".The abstract for this presentation reads as follows: Disasters are sentinel points in the life of the communities affected. They bring an unusual focus to community mental health. In so doing, they provide unique opportunities for better understanding and caring for communities. However, one of the difficulties in the disaster field is that many of the lessons from previous disasters are frequently lost. If anything, Norris (in 2006) identified that the quality of disaster research had declined over the previous 25 years. What is critical is that a longitudinal perspective is taken of representative cohorts. Equally, the impact of a disaster should always be judged against the background mental health of the communities affected, including emergency service personnel. Understandably, many of those who are particularly distressed in the aftermath of a disaster are people who have previously experienced a psychiatric disorder. It is important that disaster services are framed against knowledge of this background morbidity and have a broad range of expertise to deal with the emerging symptoms. Equally, it is critical that a long-term perspective is considered rather than short-term support that attempts to ameliorate distress. Future improvement of disaster management depends upon sustaining a body of expertise dealing with the consequences of other forms of traumatic stress such as accidents. This expertise can be redirected to co-ordinate and manage the impact of larger scale events when disasters strike communities. This presentation will highlight the relevance of these issues to the disaster planning in a country such as New Zealand that is prone to earthquakes.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph contributed by Jennifer, a participant in the Understanding Place research project. The photograph has the description "The ground is covered in little mushrooms when you start looking, but it's hard to tell which are edible". Please note that Jennifer's Red Zone Story was a test-pilot for the Understanding Place project.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

Photograph captioned by BeckerFraserPhotos, "Manikin against sculpture in Cathedral Square. This began as light relief for the crews working within the cordon in the weeks after the February earthquake where the manikins were strategically positioned around the red zone at night".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a temporary installation titled Influx, which was created by students from Unitec, in partnership with RAD Bikes. Influx was part of CityUps - a 'city of the future for one night only', and the main event of FESTA 2014.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of Gimme Shelter, a cardboard-box city-building workshop for children aged 10 and older. The workshop was led by Wellington-based artist Simon Gray. Gimme Shelter was held at The Commons and was part of FESTA 2014.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of Gimme Shelter, a cardboard-box city-building workshop for children aged 10 and older. The workshop was led by Wellington-based artist Simon Gray. Gimme Shelter was held at The Commons and was part of FESTA 2014.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of Gimme Shelter, a cardboard-box city-building workshop for children aged 10 and older. The workshop was led by Wellington-based artist Simon Gray. Gimme Shelter was held at The Commons and was part of FESTA 2014.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of emergency personnel in Cowles Stadium on Pages Road. The stadium was set up by Civil Defence as temporary accommodation for citizens displaced by the 4 September 2010 earthquake. In the foreground, the registration table has a Civil Defence sign reading, "Please register here".

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of Mayor Bob Parker speaking on a phone in the restaurant and bar in the Christchurch Art Gallery. The Art Gallery served as the headquarters for the Civil Defence after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office sitting on a skip full of mattresses outside Cowles Stadium. The stadium was set up by Civil Defence as temporary accommodation for citizens displaced by the 4 September 2010 earthquake.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of a volunteer from the Wellington Emergency Management Office sitting on a bed in a campervan. The campervan served as temporary accommodation for emergency management personnel who travelled to Christchurch after the 22 February 2011 earthquake.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office brushing dirt off mattresses in a skip outside Cowles Stadium. The stadium was set up by Civil Defence as temporary accommodation for citizens displaced by the 4 September 2010 earthquake.

Images, UC QuakeStudies

A photograph of volunteers from the Wellington Emergency Management Office putting a mattress into a skip outside Cowles Stadium. The stadium was set up by Civil Defence as temporary accommodation for citizens displaced by the 4 September 2010 earthquake.