SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
CMNS 456-4

Gordon Gow	Spring 2001
604-291-3687	Burnaby Day
Email: gagow@sfu.ca

COMMUNICATION TO MITIGATE DISASTERS

Prerequisites:

One of CMNS 230, 253 or 353. Admission is by wait list kept by Lucie in CMNS (291-3520; menkveld@sfu.ca).

The recently concluded United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) has drawn attention to the importance of disaster mitigation as part of wider efforts toward sustainable development in Canada and across the planet. Today, disasters have come to be regarded as complex socio-ecological events intimately bound to cultural, economic, political, technological, and historical factors. As such, efforts to prevent or reduce the effects of disasters are tied to numerous other social issues that must ultimately be resolved with long-term challenges of social welfare and eco-sensitive planning.

The IDNDR also called attention to the vital role that communication plays in all phases of disaster planning––from mitigation through to preparedness, response, and recovery. Over the course of the Decade (1990-1999), tremendous changes to the global communication infrastructure were taking place, including the popular uptake of the Internet, the staggering growth and plummeting costs of mobile telecommunications, and the implementation of advanced space-based remote sensing and satellite communication systems. These new technologies have begun to transform the field of disaster management with an ambitious, if not vague, promise of enhancing planning and reducing loss of life and property through improved communications.

In effect, two major developments have taken place within the last decade: a conceptual shift in disaster management toward more holistic and long-term strategies, and a communication revolution that has increased dramatically both the accessibility of information and the functionality of communication technology for disaster management.

While these shifts hold great promise for significantly reducing the impact of disasters, many issues remain to be addressed or resolved. These include risk assessment and community development, and emergency telecommunications policy. Drawing on some of these pressing issues, this course will introduce students to the widely interdisciplinary field of disaster management with an emphasis on the multiple roles that communication serves. Particular focus will be placed on disaster management in the Canadian context and the changing role of telecommunications in emergency preparedness. Students will also spend time looking at the international disaster management community, and will be introduced to the historical roots of disaster research in the social sciences.

Readings:

No required textbooks. A list of course readings will be distributed in class. Readings will be sold at the Bookstore.

Requirements:

Website Reviews 25%
Research Presentation 25%
Final Assignment 40%
Participation 10%

Lecture Topics:

1. Introduction to Natural Hazards in Canada
2. Community Planning and Preparedness
3. Historical Roots of Disaster Research in the Social Sciences
4. What is a Disaster?
5. Canadian Policy and Legislation
6. Local Policy and Legislation (BC)
7. International Context
8. Advances in Communication Technology
9. International Emergency Telecommunications
10. Domestic Emergency Telecommunications
11. Risk Assessment and Mitigation
12. Conclusion and Review

The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades. In addition, the School will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to “Intellectual Honesty,” and “Academic Discipline” (see the current Calendar, General Regulations Section).