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The boundary organization concept has been used to establish that collaborative arrangements and outputs across science and policy domain boundaries need to be credible, relevant, and legitimate in order to be to be effective. Although widely accepted in other issue-driven fields, this concept does not have equivalent currency in the natural hazard and disaster risk reduction context. This paper uses the development of the New Zealand Natural Hazards Research Platform during a recent earthquake disaster to assess the utility of the concept in this topic area. Lessons are also identified concerning the use of larger consortium organizations to increase policy and other end-user involvement in the management and coordination of research funding, and the impact of a major disaster on this research-funding initiative. Mapping the Platform’s collaborative arrangements in relation to boundary tensions over time makes it possible to distinguish disaster effects from preexisting and ongoing structural effects and incentive regimes. Largely based in the research domain, this organization was well placed to resist the negative pressure of postdisaster time compression on research quality. The lack of balancing policy input at all levels made it difficult to resist the effect of this pressure on the networking required to integrate disciplinary, organizational, and higher-level science/policy domains, and thus build the legitimacy of the larger collaboration. The utility of the boundary organization concept stemmed from the emphasis on balance across domains and scales. The focus on effects, trends, and patterns serves as a counterweight to the blame attribution common after high-profile disasters

The boundary organization concept has been used to establish that collaborative arrangements and outputs across science and policy domain boundaries need to be credible, relevant, and legitimate in order to be to be effective. Although widely accepted in other issue-driven fields, this concept does not have equivalent currency in the natural hazard and disaster risk reduction context. This paper uses the development of the New Zealand Natural Hazards Research Platform during a recent earthquake disaster to assess the utility of the concept in this topic area. Lessons are also identified concerning the use of larger consortium organizations to increase policy and other end-user involvement in the management and coordination of research funding, and the impact of a major disaster on this research-funding initiative. Mapping the Platform’s collaborative arrangements in relation to boundary tensions over time makes it possible to distinguish disaster effects from preexisting and ongoing structural effects and incentive regimes. Largely based in the research domain, this organization was well placed to resist the negative pressure of postdisaster time compression on research quality. The lack of balancing policy input at all levels made it difficult to resist the effect of this pressure on the networking required to integrate disciplinary, organizational, and higher-level science/policy domains, and thus build the legitimacy of the larger collaboration. The utility of the boundary organization concept stemmed from the emphasis on balance across domains and scales. The focus on effects, trends, and patterns serves as a counterweight to the blame attribution common after high-profile disasters

This article argues that active coordination of research engagement after disasters has the potential to maximize research opportunities, improve research quality, increase end-user engagement, and manage escalating research activity to mitigate the ethical risks posed to impacted populations. We focus on the coordination of research activity after the 22 February 2011 Mw6.2 Christchurch earthquake by the then newly formed national research consortium, the Natural Hazards Research Platform, which included a social science research moratorium during the declared state of national emergency. Decisions defining this organization's functional and structural parameters are analyzed to identify lessons concerning the need for systematic approaches to the management of post-disaster research, in collaboration with the response effort. Other lessons include the importance of involving an existing, broadly based research consortium, ensuring that this consortium's coordination role is fully integrated into emergency management structures, and ensuring that all aspects of decision-making processes are transparent and easily accessed.

This article argues that active coordination of research engagement after disasters has the potential to maximize research opportunities, improve research quality, increase end-user engagement, and manage escalating research activity to mitigate the ethical risks posed to impacted populations. We focus on the coordination of research activity after the 22 February 2011 Mw6.2 Christchurch earthquake by the then newly formed national research consortium, the Natural Hazards Research Platform, which included a social science research moratorium during the declared state of national emergency. Decisions defining this organization's functional and structural parameters are analyzed to identify lessons concerning the need for systematic approaches to the management of post-disaster research, in collaboration with the response effort. Other lessons include the importance of involving an existing, broadly based research consortium, ensuring that this consortium's coordination role is fully integrated into emergency management structures, and ensuring that all aspects of decision-making processes are transparent and easily accessed.

The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) defines disaster as the “serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society involving widespread human, material economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources” (UNISDR 2014)...

An online survey of 3,571 University of Canterbury tertiary students was undertaken four to six weeks after the Mw 7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake impacted Christchurch, New Zealand. The aim was to identify factors indicating increased psychological risk after the event, and so gauge the well-being of the student population, while gathering feedback on the University’s post-earthquake communication strategy. The majority of students reported diminished stress during aftershocks since the event, and 93% reported ‘feeling OK again’ at the time of survey completion. More than 95% reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the University’s communication strategy, and would recommend the University to other students. Students also reported concern about the potential impact of the earthquake on their academic performance. Heightened risk was associated largely with aspects of impact exposure. Established risk factors, such as damage to residences, were confirmed in these findings. Short absences from the city after the event were also associated with increased risk. Identifying significant risk factors, and indicating the importance of rapid and regular post-disaster communication, these findings are particularly relevant for those involved in tertiary institutional planning for future disaster events.

The United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) defines disaster as the “serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society involving widespread human, material economic or environmental losses and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources” (UNISDR 2014). The idea of learning, from earthquake disasters, to reduce the risks associated with future earthquakes is widely held around the world and across a range of sectors. The United Nations defines disaster risk reduction as the “concept and practice of reducing disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyse and manage the causal factors of disasters, including through reduced exposure to hazards, lessened vulnerability of people and property, wise management of land...

An online survey of 3,571 University of Canterbury tertiary students was undertaken four to six weeks after the Mw 7.1 Darfield (Canterbury) earthquake impacted Christchurch, New Zealand. The aim was to identify factors indicating increased psychological risk after the event, and so gauge the well-being of the student population, while gathering feedback on the University’s post-earthquake communication strategy. The majority of students reported diminished stress during aftershocks since the event, and 93% reported ‘feeling OK again’ at the time of survey completion. More than 95% reported being satisfied or very satisfied with the University’s communication strategy, and would recommend the University to other students. Students also reported concern about the potential impact of the earthquake on their academic performance. Heightened risk was associated largely with aspects of impact exposure. Established risk factors, such as damage to residences, were confirmed in these findings. Short absences from the city after the event were also associated with increased risk. Identifying significant risk factors, and indicating the importance of rapid and regular post-disaster communication, these findings are particularly relevant for those involved in tertiary institutional planning for future disaster events.

Radar backscatter measurements from sea ice during the fall freeze-up were performed from aboard the United States Coast Guard Icebreaker Polar Star as a part of the International Arctic Ocean Expedition (IAOE'91) in August-September, 1991. The US portion of the experiment took place on board the Polar Star and has been referred to TRAPOLEX'91 (Transpolar expedition) by some investigators. Before prematurely aborting its mission because of mechanical failure of her port shaft the Polar Star reached 84 degrees 57' N. latitude at 35 degrees E. longitude. The ship was in the ice (>50% coverage) from 14 August until 3 September and was operational for all but 6 days due to two instances of mechanical problems with the port shaft. The second was fatal to the ship's participation in the expedition., Prepared in cooperation with Ohio State University, Columbus, OH.

Radar backscatter measurements were performed on artificially grown sea ice on an outdoor pond at the US. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) during the 1990 winter season. Measurements of microwave backscatter from simulated sea ice demonstrate that the dominant backscatter mechanism is the surface scatter. Both the co-polarized and cross-polarized measurements compare favorably with the predictions of surface scattering models at two frequencies. The surface parameters used in the models were measured directly from photographs of cross sections of the saline ice. Therefore, since two frequencies of backscatter measurements were predicted accurately by surface scatter models, the predominate backscatter must be from the surface., Prepared in cooperation with Ohio State Univ, Byrd Polar Research Center, Columbus, Ohio.