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CRJ 14:4 - Out now 

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This illustration neatly encapsulates a number of trends we will be covering, not least how many parts of the world are yearning for transparent, honest leadership in these unsettling times. Is there a global legitimacy crisis?

It's not easy being a leader – especially in a crisis – but our authors will be providing excellent advice.

And with constant moitoring, sensors and surveillance developing into seeming omnipotence in our smart cities concepts, how best do we put the wellbeing of people at the centre of such high tech conurbations? What about their security? Continuing with the theme of ever watchful eyes, we also report on an oversight project developed for the Dutch police and the importance of overall good governance in disaster risk reduction and management. 

Finally, still on the cover theme, do you know who is watching you through your social media? Could you be vulnerable to blackmail? We examine how to protect yourself and your organisation.

Read on for a full list of what's coming up...

The professionalisation of emergency management – a chicken and egg conundrum

Research by Hugh Deeming has revealed an underlying frustration with the current state of the resilience sector in the UK. The time has come, he says, for leaders in the UK emergency management sector to develop the peer leadership and guidance structures that Chartered Institution status provides for so many other professions

Our global legitimacy crisis

Maha Hosain Aziz explores how we are at a global crossroads – geopolitically, politically, economically and socially. We are faced with a unique set of risks that has been, or will be, shaped by technology, she explains

The ten megatrends of our turbulent times: A situational blueprint for leaders

Andrea Bonime-Blanc examines the ten megatrends that leaders of every type – business, society, government – should factor into their organisational strategy to guide their entities through the largely uncharted, choppy or turbulent waters of today’s Scylla and Charybdis

Thai cave rescue: A volunteer’s perspective

Thai cave

The world watched aghast as reports emerged of a junior football team and its coach becoming trapped deep underground in a flooded cave system in Thailand last year. International rescuers and volunteers joined the Thai authorities in an extraordinary and lengthy rescue attempt – here, Emily Hough speaks to one of the specialist cave diver volunteers for his personal perspective on the incident

A year after Greece’s wildfire disaster

Greece experienced the second deadliest fire in the 21st century in 2018 – with 102 fatalities, 150 injuries and extensive damage. The Government appointed an independent committee of wildland fire experts to look at what went so badly wrong, and prevent the repetition of such a tragedy. Here, the committee summarises its findings for CRJ readers

A Balkans gem – SAR training in Kosovo

Mention the Balkans and the image generally conjured is one of war and bloodshed, writes John Doone. Yet there are been many stories of triumph over adversity. Kosovo, a land-locked country of less than two million people, is one such example and its Search and Rescue Training Centre (SARTC) is a shining beacon of what can be achieved

Energy resilience: Blackouts and worse

Although blackouts are considered low probability events, this year has seen a number of high profile widespread electricity cuts in various parts of the world, according to Lina Kolesnikova. And these incidents highlight worrying vulnerabilities – not least mindsets and the operators of critical infrastructure needing to think beyond their own organisations

Real-time insights and response 

Whether building infrastructure such as a telecommunications network or hydroelectric dam, or helping to rebuild in the aftermath of a natural disaster, companies operating in risky overseas environments need access to the latest information regarding local conditions, contends CRJ’s Key Network Partner, Dataminr.

Long term disaster recovery: A broken landscape

When a disaster recedes, life safety is stabilised, and press conferences with high ranking officials making promises of support and recovery are done, local officials are often left facing a long and arduous process of long-term recovery. But it is these leaders at ground zero who must pick up the pieces and find a way forward to rebuild the community, when the fabric of what they had once known as home is gone and changed forever. Judge Mills and William R Whitson elaborate on some possible solution

Building cultures of preparedness: A forward-looking approach to community resilience

A new report published by FEMA’s Higher Education Programme in the US suggests that a culture-based approach to community and household level preparedness goals can promote greatly improved outcomes. Its findings and recommendations are equally applicable to the European context and the vast diversity that its nations and peoples represent, say the report’s authors, Katherine Browne and Laura Olsen

Breaking the waves: Leadership during crisis

Anger, confusion, fear, mistrust. Pressure in many forms beating down on you from every direction – time is against you, your board of directors and shareholders may or may not remain with you. Every move you make, every mistake you make, every false step or misspoken word can result in failure or even loss of life. Welcome to leadership during a crisis, says Stephen Grossman

A blueprint for crisis leadership

Leadership in any setting is about influence. It isn’t a skill that you’re born with, but something that can be strengthened and developed over time. It takes practise, commitment and huge amounts of resilience. None more so than in the sphere of crisis leadership, according to Scott Walker of CRJ Key Network Partner, NYA

Look back: You might learn something!

Jelte Verhoeff and Paul Minnebo describe a ten-step procedure developed for the Dutch police that lays the ground for producing complete, honest, fair and effective evaluations, helping organisations to learn from experience and improve their performance

Investigating to an absolute conclusion

Humans refuse to embrace chaos, says David P Perrodin. We want today to be like yesterday and tomorrow to be like today. But these biases mean we ignore the conditions that permit tragedies – whether school shootings or large-scale fires such as the blaze that consumed Notre Dame Cathedral in France – and fail to investigate fully ways of preventing their reoccurrence

What have the Romans ever done for us?

Cities are evolving faster than at any point in our history, putting them on the cusp of major transformation which, if managed well, could lead to unprecedented economic growth and prosperity for all, but if managed in an uncoordinated manner, could drive social, economic and environmental decline, explains Laurence Marzell

Disaster risk governance under scrutiny

Investment without governance is dead, contends Advisory Panel Member Denise Thompson in her new book. And if disaster risk governance is neglected, this has undermined all efforts, whether time, money or resources, invested to reduce disaster risk in developing countries since the late 1970s

Putting humans the centre of smart cities

Both the promise and the peril in smart city technologies require a set of principles to guide the appropriate applications of technology for everyday and emergency uses, says Vincent Mosco. The goal of smart city technology applications is first and foremost to improve the quality of life and the capabilities of those who live in cities, not to expand the profit and power of businesses or the control of government over its citizens

School security: Back to the ABCs

Active shooter call boxes. Gunshot detection systems. Bullet proof whiteboards. Inflatable escape slides. What do these have in common? Many schools have either installed or will procure these items in 2019. What else do they have in common? They do absolutely nothing to prevent an attack, contends Jenni Hesterman

Business preparation for active assault

Traditional attack scenarios have changed for companies, staff and individuals. Many different types of weapons are now being used, from firearms and knives to vehicles, while the random and violent nature of these attacks has spread alarm across the world, writes Giles Greenfield of CRJ’s Key Network Partner, Markham Special Risks

Securing aid worker safety through effective budgeting

This summer, the European Interagency Security Forum (EISF) has been lobbying aid and donor organisations around the world. Aimed at improving the budgeting processes for aid worker safety and security, the ‘At What Cost?’ movement has gained traction across the sector, according to Aisling Sweeney

Playing the long game 

In the third part of this ongoing CRJ series about propaganda, influence operations and fake news, Advisory Panel Member Ørjan Nordhus Karlsson discusses how to build cognitive resilience within the public in order to counter this malign influence

Private organisations and social media in terrorist incidents

How does the private sector use social media to communicate internally and externally during terrorist attacks when their businesses – or employees – are caught up in terrorist incidents? Gianluca Riglietti wants to find out

Communication challenges after a mass casualty events

Where do we meet? What do we say? What is the situation? Who should be giving interviews? Those are some of the questions the author – Kjell Brataas – and his colleagues grappled with in the hours and days following the July 2011 terror attacks in Oslo and on Utøya island in Norway

Beware the hidden dangers of oversharing

In a world of ever evolving cyber-threat there has never been a more significant time to consider your online footprint, or those of your employees. David Eames explains why

Hospitals and extreme weather events

Does the climate affect hospitals? If you ask the person in the street, the answer would most likely be no, of course not. Surely, it’s what happens within the building that matters, not the environment surrounding it? Ruth Wozencroft of Q-bital, one of CRJ’s Key Network Partners, explores why that’s not the case

Health-related surge impact of thunderstorm asthma

Emergency communications centres are prone to surge activity. It’s the nature of emergency services work, says Amee Morgans. However, most demand is predictable such as heat waves, public events and weather-related surge. Here she looks at the lessons learned after the largest recorded global epidemic of thunderstorm asthma occurred in Victoria, Australia

IPCC report on climate: An overview

The IPCC Special Report on Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security, and Greenhouse Gas was published on August 7 2019, reports Roger Gomm for CRJ

Not waiting for rain – adapting to climate change in Cambodia

Anastasia Kyriacou of Aidex speaks to Diana Njeru and Gemma Hayman about projects across East Africa and Cambodia, which focus on improving the way climate change is communicated in Cambodia

Raising standards in K9 search and rescue

The applications for using canine teams in crisis response situations are manifold, according to Jim Vernon. But the lack of standards, auditing, research and training in this field are of genuine concern. How do we fix this?

Putting animals on the global disaster agenda

Notwithstanding the pain and misery that animals suffer in the aftermath of disasters, they are often the lynchpin of households, whether a loved pet or the main source of income, discovers Claire Sanders when talking to Eugenia Morales of World Animal Protection

Horses supporting PTSD recovery

Equine assisted therapy is fast gaining global recognition for its therapeutic benefits for many clinical conditions, particularly PTSD, anxiety and depression, explains Brenda Tanner. It allows a qualified therapist to use the interaction between a client and horse as part of the therapeutic process

How technology could help avert water conflict

Claire Sanders speaks to Susanne Schmeier – overall co-ordinator for the Water Peace and Security partnership – to find out how machine learning, forecasting models and data could help with early identification of global hotspots, allowing the identification of conflicts over water before they turn violent

International Disaster Response Expo and the Crisis Response Journal Conference

Exciting news! We are helping to organise the content for the IDR Summit and are launching our first Crisis Response Journal Conference! Click here for more details and free registration – come along and join us!

Fighting plastic on a global level

Over the last 12 years, Emily Penn, skipper and ocean advocate, has been determined to raise the profile of ocean plastic pollution. Her endeavours have taken her all over the world as she facilitates science at sea and outreach and the implementation of solutions on land. In July last year, CRJ featured a blog about Emily Penn and her work on plastics in the ocean and toxic ocean pollution. Here, Claire Sanders speaks to Emily to find out more

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