ProfNet Wire: Tsunami Aftermath for 1-5-05

ROUND-UP: TSUNAMI AFTERMATH (continued)

We've added the following to items posted previously at http://profnet.prnewswire.com/organik/orbital/thewire/lst_leads.jsp?iLRTopicID =7315

**1. JACK LULE, chair of the department of journalism at LEHIGH UNIVERSITY, has studied mainstream news coverage and identified enduring archetypes and mythical themes for his book, “Daily News, Eternal Stories”: “I see the coverage as yet another example of the power of myth in the news. The myth of the flood that wipes away a people resonates through the coverage, giving the stories much of their power." Lule can also address how technology is changing the coverage to include more graphic images and what’s overlooked in the massive mainstream media coverage.

**2. KEN HACKETT, president of CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES, focuses on aiding the poor and disenfranchised throughout the world: "This terrible disaster requires an immediate outpouring of help from around the world. We are moving quickly with our partners to ensure we are able to do what we possibly can to assist the survivors recover from the pain, the trauma and the devastation they have suffered." Hackett oversees operations in more than 90 countries and commands a global staff of over 4,000. While in this position, he oversaw the relief operation in Ethiopia -- the largest operation undertaken in the agency's history -- in the early 1980s.

**3. JAMES C. SIMMONS, CEO of SUNGARD AVAILABILITY SERVICES (SAS), a provider of disaster recovery and information availability services, can discuss the need for companies to adequately prepare their business critical information to be accessed in the face of any disaster -- from a hurricane to a terrorist attack: "Companies who rely on their information systems for their livelihood must plan for the unexpected -- a brief power outage could devastate a company's computer system as much as major natural disaster could."

**4. ALEX PATTAKOS, Ph.D., principal of THE INNOVATION GROUP, based in Santa Fe, N.M., and author of "Prisoners of Our Thoughts": "First, we need to do all that we can to shift our focus of attention to the 'positive' aspects of the situation in order to help out those who have survived. We can't be as helpful as possible if we are 'frozen' in our thoughts, which influence our actions. We have to show compassion, but we also have to offer people hope and inspiration for the future. Also, by extending beyond ourselves -- and our 'needs' -- we'll be in a better position to offer aid and comfort to those in need. This applies to all of us as individuals and as nations.”

**5. ELAINE HANSON, associate professor of psychology and academic director for International Center for Disaster Psychology at the UNIVERSITY OF DENVER, is available to speak on both the immediate and long-term mental health needs of the tsunami survivors. She says: “When something like this happens, people are paralyzed to even deal with the day-to-day. Impacted countries are likely to see increased suicide, alcoholism, child abuse and molestation." Hanson is currently working to obtain funding to travel to Jakarta to help with recovery efforts.

**6. ROBERT ROY BRITT, is the senior science writer for SPACE.COM and LIVESCIENCE.COM, where he has written hundreds of articles regarding science related events and phenomena. He researches and writes daily on various topics on the leading edge of scientific inquiry. Two weeks ago, Britt published a story on tsunamis prior to the one affecting South Asia. His article discussed how they occur, their potential impact, why we should be worrying about them presently and what we should expect to happen in the future. Britt has been a guest expert on "The News Hour with Jim Lehrer" on PBS and "The Flip Side" on CNNfn. His stories also appear regularly on MSNBC.com, CNN.com, USAToday.com and Yahoo! Web site: http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/041214_tsunami_mega.html (1/5/05)

**7. CHANDREYEE BANERJEE, South Asia regional representative for CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES, coordinates CRS’s response to emergencies in South Asia. Her responsibilities include promoting and protecting the strategic priorities of the region by advocating internally as well as externally for the initiatives taken on by the regional program: “This emergency is unlike anything we have seen before, and the amount of relief that is required is enormous. This will definitely be a long-term effort that Catholic Relief Services is committed to support.”

**8. SEAN CALLAHAN, vice president of overseas operations at CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES, oversees operations in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. He has experience working in India and has had a wide variety of experiences in South Asia, including representing CRS at the Asian Bishops Synod in 1998; working closely with Mother Teresa of the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta; responding to flood, drought, earthquake and man-made emergencies; experiencing a terrorist attack by the LTTE (Tamil Tigers) in the Sri Lankan airport; and facilitating programming in Afghanistan during and after the Taliban.

**9. DOMINIC MACSORLEY, operations director of CONCERN WORLDWIDE, is available to comment on Concern’s efforts in providing aid to the tsunami victims, the current state of relief efforts worldwide and the long-term humanitarian crisis that is still unfolding. MacSorley has overseen all aspects of humanitarian and development work in some of the world’s toughest places and does frequent media interviews. Concern Worldwide, an international relief and development organization, is responding to the unfolding tsunami disaster in Asia by rapidly increasing its emergency programs in the region.

**10. STEVEN SCHOENFELD, chief investment strategist for quantitative management at NORTHERN TRUST, is available for commentary on the economic impact of the tsunami disaster, as well as first-person reports from investment professionals in Asia. Schoenfeld's background includes global index strategies and portfolio management. He pioneered development of emerging market index products while at the International Finance Corporation/World Bank and co-authored "The Pacific Rim Futures and Options Markets" as well as his current volume on "Active Index Investing." He is a former Fulbright Scholar in economics and traded Japanese stock index futures as a member of the Singapore Exchange.

**11. BRYON EHRHART is the president of the division of AON RE SERVICES that provides actuarial, financial advisory, tax planning, catastrophe modeling and other services to clients of Aon Re, and is the CEO of Aon Capital Markets, a division of Aon Securities Corporation that specializes in risk transfer securitizations and contingent capital products. Ehrhart formerly worked at Coopers & Lybrand, where his audit and consulting client base included some of the more significant property and casualty insurance companies in the United States and several state insurance departments.

**12. ART TAYLOR, president of the BBB WISE GIVING ALLIANCE, in Arlington, Va., is an expert in the areas of charity accountability, finances, governance, fundraising and other non-profit sector issues. He can provide tips for donors to evaluate charity relief appeals in the wake of the tsunami disaster, advice on avoiding charity scams and suggestions for contributing to causes that will assist families and victims of the tsunami. Taylor serves on the boards of the Independent Sector and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. The Alliance produces reports on national charities, specifying if they meet the 20 BBB standards for charity accountability. Web site: http://www.give.org (1/5/05)

**13. BUIE SEAWELL, clinical professor of business ethics and legal studies at the UNIVERSITY OF DENVER's Daniels College of Business, can speak on the role corporations can, and should, play in recovery efforts. He points to Starbucks as a good example of corporate involvement -- profits from its Sumatran coffee will be used for relief efforts in Sumatra.

**14. PETER VAN ARSDALE, senior lecturer for the UNIVERSITY OF DENVER's Graduate School of International Studies, is a cultural and medical anthropologist who has conducted fieldwork in Indonesia. His areas of expertise include mental health, community development and human rights, as well as problems confronting refugees.

**15. HARRY JOL, associate professor of geography and anthropology at the UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE, conducted 15 years of research on earthquakes and tsunamis along the west coast of the United States. He also lived for a year in Indonesia working on international development projects and remains in touch with friends in the region.

**16. DR. CHARLES MERGUERIAN, professor of geology at HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY on Long Island, N.Y., can speak at length about this kind of natural disaster. He has lectured on and researched at length the fault lines in New York City and can discuss the possibility of an event of this nature on the East Coast. Merguerian collaborated on the book "Aftershock" with television news broadcaster Chuck Scarborough.

**17. MIKE WIEST, COO of CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES, served for 20 years in Africa and Asia as project manager in Senegal; country representative for Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Indonesia and Morocco; and regional director for the East Africa region.

**18. KENT SYVERSON, Ph.D., professor of geology at the UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE, teaches oceanography and follows tsunamis closely. He can address geological aspects of the recent earthquake and the generation of the tsunami.

**19. DOUGLAS BEREUTER, president of THE ASIA FOUNDATION, can comment on the economic impact of the tsunami and recovery and the long-term effects on Asia and U.S.-Asia relations.

**20. ROBERT VALDES, writer for HOWSTUFFWORKS, which provides explanations of how everything around us actually works, can provide a detailed and easily understandable explanation of how tsunamis occur, including the anatomy of a wave, what causes tsunamis, what happens when they hit land, and how they are predicted and monitored.