Unigroup's March 2010 Meeting Announcement


Topic:
Behavior-Based Emergency Preparedness and Response

Speaker:
Steven M. Crimando,
Managing Director,
XBRM - Extreme Behavioral Risk Management

Date:
Thursday, 18-MAR-2010      (** 3rd Thursday **)

Location:
The Cooper Union
School of Engineering   (*** NEW BUILDING ***)
41 Cooper Square    (3rd Avenue @ 7th Street, between 6th & 7th Streets)
East Village, Manhattan
New York City
Meeting Room: 504CS   (Note: Room Changes Month-to-Month)
** Please RSVP **

Time:
6:15 - 6:30 PM Registration
6:30 - 6:45 PM Ask the Wizard - Questions, Answers and Current Events
6:45 - 7:00 PM Unigroup Business
7:00 - 9:30 PM Main Presentation

Cost:
Please see the Fee Schedule below.


MEETING INTRODUCTION

Unigroup's March 2010 meeting will be about Emergency Preparedness and Response, based on a Human-Factors or Psychological approach. Our speaker is an expert in this field (see his bio below, which speaks for itself). (This meeting has been discussed at recent Unigroup meetings.)

Given the recent wide-spread computer security attacks, and wild/dangerous weather causing transit outages, blackouts, telco outages and floods, being prepared for and dealing with emergencies is certainly a timely and important topic of discussion.

Also, we hope to have a couple of guest speakers drop by this meeting, to brief Unigroup members on the following:


   SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:
   ---------------------

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   Please RSVP as soon as possible, preferably at least 2-3 days
   prior to the meeting date, so we can plan the food order.
   RSVP deadline is usually the night before the meeting day.

   Note: RSVP is requested for this location to make sure the guard
         will let you into the building.  RSVP also helps us to
         properly plan the meeting (food, drinks, handouts,
         seating, etc.) and speed up your sign-in at the meeting.
         If you forget to RSVP prior to the meeting day, you may
         still be able to show up and attend our meeting, however,
         we cannot guarantee what building security will do if
         you are "not on the list".


DIRECTIONS

   Location:
      The Cooper Union  (http://www.cooper.edu)
      School of Engineering  (*** New Building ***)
      41 Cooper Square (3rd Avenue @ 7th Street, between 6th & 7th Streets)
      East Village, Manhattan
      New York City
      Meeting Room: 504CS

   Located on the East side of Cooper Square.  Look for the
   new building with the non-traditional appearance.
   Entrance is at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 7th Street.

   Building lobby sign-in is required at the guard's desk.
   Enter the building, check in with the guard at the lobby for
     directions to the Unigroup Meeting Room.

   Nearest mass transit stations are:
     '6'           to Astor Place (stops right at The Cooper Union),
                   then walk 1 block East and 1 block South.
     'R'           to 8th Street, then walk about 2 blocks East
                   then 1 block South.
     '4/5/6/R/N/Q' to Union Square, then walk South and East.
     'B/D/F/V'     to Broadway-Lafayette, then walk North and East.

   Free street parking in the area becomes available at 6pm.

   There are also parking lots on Broadway, at (or just south of)
     Astor Place (8th Street).


PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Topic: Behavior-Based Emergency Preparedness and Response

Program Description:

To be effective, emergency and disaster policies, plans and exercises must be based on what people are most likely to do in a real time incident. An incomplete or inaccurate understanding of human behavior in disasters can lead to responses that are ineffective, inappropriate and in some instances, potentially dangerous. Leaders and decision-makers, emergency managers and business continuity planners all have a responsibility to understand and stay current with disaster behavioral research that can make a critical different in response and recovery operations. This program introduces must-know information to help decision-makers form accurate behavioral assumptions to guide their planning efforts. Participants will learn:

Program Outline:

References & Web Resources:


  1. Becker, Steven. (2001). "Psychosocial Effects of Radiation Accidents." Medical Management of Radiation Accidents. 2nd ed. Boca Raton, FL. CRC Press.
  2. Crimando, S.M., "Managing the Psychological Consequences of Chemical, Biological, Nuclear and Radiological Terrorism", (2004). New Jersey Journal of Medicine. Vol. 101, No. 9.
  3. Kawana, N., S. Ishimatsu, and K. Kanda. (2001). Psycho-Physiological Effects of the Terrorist Sarin Attack on the Tokyo Subway System. Military Medicine 166:23-6.
  4. Leon, Gloria R. "Overview of the Psychosocial Impact of Disasters." (2004). Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 4-9.
  5. Lessons Learned Information Shared: Radiological Incident Response: Post-Release Psychological Management. (2006). https://www.llis.dhs.gov/docdetails/details.do?contentID=15822
  6. McEntire, David A., "Pathways to Disaster Response and Recovery, 3rd Ed.", (2009). Wiley, New York, NY.
  7. National Institute of Mental Health. Mental Health and Mass Violence: Evidence-Based Early Psychological Intervention for Victims/Survivors of Mass Violence. (2002). Washington, DC: NIH Publication No. 02-5138.
  8. Warwick, Marion C. (2001) "Psychological Effects of Weapons of Mass Destruction." The Beacon 3. No.7, pp. 1-3.
  9. Ripley, Amanda. (2008). "The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why", New York: Random House.
  10. Leach, John. "Survival Psychology". (1994). New York: New York University Press.
  11. Gershon, Robyn, et al. (2004). "World Trade Center Evacuation Study". New York: Columbia University.
  12. Rodriguez, H., Quarantelli, E.L., and Dynes, R. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of Disaster Research. New York: Springer.


SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY

Steven M. Crimando, MA, BCETS, CHS-III, is an internationally known consultant and educator specialized in the human factors/behavioral sciences aspects of crisis management, homeland security and disaster response and recovery. He is the Managing Director of Extreme Behavioral Risk Management (XBRM), a division of ALLSector Technology Group, Inc., a New York City-based consulting practice dedicated to the human factor in business continuity planning. With more than 20-years of front line disaster response experience, Steve served as a Disaster Field Operations Supervisor for the FEMA's mental health response to the 9/11 WTC attacks and coordinated onsite psychological services at New Jersey's anthrax screening center. He helped coordinate crisis response efforts at such incidents as the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Hurricane Floyd, and TWA Flight 800 crash. He serves as a consultant and trainer for numerous government agencies, NGO's and multinational corporations, and is the author of many published articles and book chapters. He has been featured for his work in behavioral crisis prevention and response in the New York Times and many newspapers and magazines and frequently appears on both network and cable news and talk shows, as well as in the courts, as a subject matter expert addressing public and private sector crisis management.


COMPANY BIOGRAPHY

XBRM is a unique crisis management consulting practice dedicated to human factors/behavioral sciences applications in emergency management, disaster recovery, and homeland security. XBRM helps prepare decision-makers and incident responders by providing training, consulting and technology to effectively address the emotional and behavioral challenges associated with the full spectrum of hazards and the various phases of management. XBRM is home to some of the world's foremost experts in disaster and crisis-related human factors and offers a compressive portfolio of products and services addressing this important facet of crisis management.


GIVEAWAYS

We have some OpenSolaris Books and CD-ROMs from our friends at the local NYC Sun Microsystems Office.


FEE SCHEDULE

Unigroup is a Professional Technical Organization and User Group, and its members pay a yearly membership fee. For Unigroup members, there is usually no additional charges (ie. no meeting fees) during their membership year. Non-members who wish to attend Unigroup meetings are usually required to pay a "Single Meeting Fee".

         Yearly Membership (includes all meetings):      $ 50.00
         Student Yearly Membership (with current! ID):   $ 25.00
         Non-Member Single Meeting:                      $ 20.00
         Non-Member Student Single Meeting (with! ID):   $  5.00

       * Payment Methods: Cash, Check, American Express.

       ! Students: We are looking for proof that you are
         currently enrolled in classes (rather than working
         full-time), and as such, your Student ID should show
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         containing NO dates whatsoever, and in the
         current environment, perpetual/non-expiring access
         to university facilities just does not feel right.
         If your ID contains no date, please bring
         additional proof of current enrollment.  Thanks.

NOTE: Simply receiving Unigroup Email Announcements does NOT indicate membership in Unigroup.

Members: Remember to bring your membership card with you to the meeting, to confirm your yearly renewal date!


FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS

Complimentary Food and Refreshments will be served. This includes "wraps" such as turkey, roast beef, chicken, tuna and grilled vegetables as well as assorted salads (potato, tossed, pasta, etc), cookies, brownies, bottled water and assorted beverages.

Unigroup is pleased to announce that XBRM will be sponsoring the food service for this meeting. Thanks XBRM!


Please join us for this meeting, you won't want to miss it!

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