Describes a week-long "Mapping Natural Disasters" workshop offered to K-12 teachers to promote inquiry-based teaching approaches. The workshop modeled the integration of hands-on activities, internet-based data, and the use of geographic information systems (GIS) software. (Author/MM)

Asserts that how people respond to risk is determined by how they perceive risk. Four-hundred and seven secondary school students answered questions concerning different dimensions of natural hazards (most likely to occur, loss of life, and others). Although the students possessed a high level of awareness much of their information was inaccurate.…

Examines the impact of Hurricane Andrew on the Miami-Dade Public Library System (MDPLS). Topics discussed include the community's response to the sudden lack of library services; the use of library branches as emergency relief centers and communications centers; library disaster policies; and visions for MDPLS under a new director. (LRW)

The 27 institutions damaged by hurricanes Katrina or Rita--there were 14 in Mississippi, 12 in Louisiana and one in Alabama--estimate their combined physical damages at $1.4 billion. But rather than providing aid, the Louisiana Legislature was forced to call for $77 million in cuts in November, leading to a wrenching gut-check on many campuses.…

Dr. Keith Amos' undying support for his undergrad alma mater, Xavier University of Louisiana, took an unusual turn last year in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Amos, who graduated from Harvard Medical School after earning his bachelor's from Xavier, also served as a mentor and advisor for Xavier students whose plans for applying to medical…

This chapter presents a hypothetical situation related to students who are displaced by Hurricane Katrina. It focuses on transition issues for the students as they are relocated to a new college for an undetermined length of time.

Nine months after Hurricane Katrina crippled the New Orleans school district, two distinct systems of public schools are slowly emerging in the city. The highly unusual arrangement is fraught with questions, from the small--What should we call it?--to the large--Will it work? Where there once was a traditionally governed district, there now is a…

If the nation's economy over the past 10 years can be described as a roller coaster, North Carolina was riding in the first car. The 1990s offered the promise of North Carolina's moving to the forefront of the nation's prosperity, since it outranked most states on many positive indices and outranked other southern states on most of them. North…

It's a hot day in July. The author finds herself in a university classroom in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, listening as an Achenese elementary school teacher narrates a children's story. As the teacher breaks into song in the middle of the story, the 20 other teachers in the classroom join in. The author is awed by their talents and thinks about how…

State licensure laws in speech-language pathology and audiology vary from state to state. Natural disaster displacements as well as trends in job mobility have increased the need for licensees to be able to have more fluidity in practicing from 1 state to another. Additionally, literature reviews on the history of professional licensure…

In this article the author expresses her views concerning the pre- and post-Hurricane Katrina public educational trend in New Orleans. She observes that the segregation that existed before Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, due in part to migration to the suburbs and in part to the proliferation of private and parochial schools, has divided…

This article reports how Louisiana officials take hits amid strain to start schools. A year after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on New Orleans, the state of Louisiana finds itself in the highly unusual position of essentially starting from scratch--and directly operating--a batch of public schools in the city. While much attention has focused on…

This article describes how librarians stepped up to the plate to rescue materials and meet the needs of thousands of uprooted evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, employing their unique skills and resources to put forth a humane and herculean effort. In Houston and Austin, Texas; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Memphis; Fayetteville, Arkansas; and…

The changes in the New Orleans public school system are proceeding at break neck speed. There is currently a bill in the Louisiana State Senate which would allow the state to sell, lease, or give New Orleans school buildings to any institution that has operated schools for 25 years. This would be done with a no-bid process. The money would not go…

The second volume of the English-language The China Educational Development Yearbook offers international scholars a glimpse into key issues in Chinese education today from the perspective of Chinese academics, practitioners, and applied researchers. An edited translation of the 2009 volume of the Chinese-language "Blue Book of…