My research explores nation building, religious conflict and Christian democratization in Post-earthquake Haiti. Christians I spoke with blamed Vodou for the destructive quake. In Haiti, Vodouisants now require UN protection to practice their faith. The thick religious tension in Haiti post-earthquake could portend deep political riffs and dangerous religious persecution. What is more, the quake has effectively shut down government, leaving in its wake essentially an NGO Republic. Moreover, some sectors of the population, particularly the very poor in the black majority, have been converting to evangelical Christianity at very high rates. About the conversions Vodouisants say, "Kay koule twompe soley soley men li pa twompe lapil." A leaky house can fool the sun, but it can't fool the rain. I took this notion of a leaky house from the discussion with a Vodouisant research participant who often compared the massive conversions to an incomplete and quick cover for the inner turmoils of the Haitian subject. I expanded this phrase to work as analogy for the significant evangelical/NGO infrastructure in Haiti. Can this leaky house last as the pseudo-governmental body of Haiti? Problem: A devastating 7.0 Earthquake rocked Haiti on January 12th, 2010. By January 24th, at least 52 aftershocks measuring 4.5 or greater had been recorded (CBS News 2010). Cite’ De Soleil has turned into a devastating battleground-- Vodouisants against Christians. Christian evangelicals have a carte blanche to intervene into the lives of devastated Haitians, also into the Haitian government. Struggling with insufficient capacity in the face of overwhelming poverty and environmental disasters, the Haitian government has capsized in what many are calling a religious coup d’état. At least 10,000 religious non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are operating in Haiti. Against this background, the actual hypothesis to be tested in this research is that the conversion from Vodou to most sectors of evangelical Christianity and the subsequent violence against Vodou practitioners is, in the case of some of my research participants, actually a modality for expatriation from, or incorporation into, the New Haitian body politic.

This dissertation examines the influence of paramilitary professional cultural attributes on the speed at which disaster response organizations (DROs) recognize, respond, organize, and take action in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Three agencies are examined: the U.S. Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the U.S. military's Southern Command/Joint Task Force-Haiti. The 2010 Haiti earthquake is used as a case study to explore the influence of three independent variables: (1) paramilitarism; (2) career ladders (i.e., recruitment and professional development of staff); and (3) workforce autonomy. The purpose is to determine if paramilitary cultures help or hinder an agency's speed into action, thereby helping improve the disaster response organizations of the future. In the case of Haiti, it finds that the combination of thick paramilitary culture, insider career ladders, and high workforce autonomy best enabled responders' speed into action. / Ph. D.

Measurement is the foundation of epidemiologic thought and practice. The appropriate measurement of exposures and outcomes of interest is the underlying assumption to all causal investigations. Poor quality measurement, be it through inappropriate data collection methods or changing diagnostic criteria, which can result in erroneous estimates, has a deleterious impact on scientists, policy makers, and the public. Mental health disorders particularly suffer from a lack of diagnostic clarity as diagnosis is often based on self-report of overlapping symptoms with no clear measureable biomarkers. The release of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) in May of 2013 is the most recent attempt to codify existing diagnostic criteria for psychiatric disorders. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnostic criteria shifted from a three-cluster approach of avoidance, hyper-arousal, and re- experiencing to a four-cluster approach of avoidance, arousal, negative cognitions and mood, and re- experiencing. The very existence of multiple diagnostic frameworks for the same psychiatric disorder is proof that accurate diagnosis is a complex and unresolved issue that warrants investigation. This complexity in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom presentation, limits our ability to develop appropriate responses. In this dissertation I conducted four independent but related studies to explore the construct validity of PTSD. In Chapter 1 I systematically reviewed the extant empiric literature from PubMed and PsychINFO on PTSD symptom structure to identify a universal PTSD factor structure. I found 40 (3%) of 1,302 citations published between 1980-2014 provided empiric PTSD factor structure estimates forming the basis of my review. While consensus exists with respect to the general multifactorial make-up of PTSD, a universal understanding of the specific operationalization of this structure, supported by the empiric literature, is absent. In Chapter 2, I used population-based, cross-sectional data from adult survivors of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, to assesses model fit of six theoretical factor structures of PTSD: one-factor Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-IV; three-factor DSM-IV-TR (arousal, avoidance, and intrusion); three-main factor (arousal, avoidance, and intrusion) and one-hierarchical factor DSM-IV-TR; four-factor King 1998 (avoidance, hypervigilance, emotional numbing, re-experiencing); four-factor Simms 2002 (avoidance, dysphoria, hyperarousal, intrusion); and four-factor DSM-5 (arousal, avoidance, intrusion, negative mood and cognition) models through confirmatory factor analyses (CFA). While all models adequately fit the data, the three-factor DSM-IV-TR (arousal, avoidance, and intrusion) model best fit the sample (χ2=593.257, 116 degrees of freedom; RMSEA=0.056; CFI=0.927; TLI=0.915, WRMR=1.769; AIC=24,760.459; and BIC=24,952.178). Again drawing on the cross-sectional, population data from Haitian earthquake survivors, in Chapter 3 I used multiple linear regressions to model pre-, peri-, and post-earthquake factor associations with mean PTSD symptom cluster (arousal, intrusion, and avoidance, validated in Chapter 2) endorsement. I found that mean PTSD symptom factor endorsement is heterogeneously associated with pre-, peri-, and post- earthquake factors, consistent with dimensional theoretical foundations: arousal endorsement more likely to be associated with pre-earthquake factors, intrusion endorsement more likely to be associated with factors across the temporal field, and avoidance endorsement more likely to be associated with post- earthquake factors. In Chapter 4, I used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to assess the factor stability of the DSM-IV-TR (arousal, intrusion, avoidance) defined PTSD structure when major depressive disorder (MDD) items are introduced, in the same Haitian post-earthquake population-based study. A six-factor, 25-item model was estimated and fit the data (χ2=253.427, 165 degrees of freedom, p<0.001; RMSEA=0.021, 90% CI:0.016, 0.026; CFI=0.987; TLI=0.976) better than the PTSD-only model specified in Chapter 2. PTSD-specific items did not load on the original PTSD factors or with the original factor items (new factors included items from 0-3 different original PTSD factors), in the presence of MDD items. PTSD dimensionality was not stable in the presence of MDD items, thus challenging the discriminant validity of PTSD. This exploration into PTSD construct validity found that while consensus exists with respect to the general multifactorial make-up of PTSD, a universal understanding of the specific operationalization of this structure, supported by the empiric literature, is absent. The tight range in model fit statistics documented in the CFA provides additional evidence of this, suggesting that empirical-based model selection is insufficient to universally characterize PTSD. Given the overall consensus of general factors, the significant and heterogeneous pre-, peri-, and post-earthquake factor associations with the unique PTSD symptom clusters provides additional evidence of the multidimensional theoretical mechanisms behind PTSD psychopathology. PTSD model stability, an indication of discriminant validity, failed to hold when challenged by MDD items, further challenging PTSD construct validity. There are several important implications of this work. First, based on the systematic review and CFA findings, adjudication of PTSD model selection based on empiric findings is insufficient and should be theoretically driven. Future investigations should always include the most commonly supported models as they develop and refine additional models, thus enabling rigorous cross-context, cross-potentially traumatic event, and cross-study comparisons that are currently not possible. Second, the multidimensional modeling of PTSD factors provided valuable insight into the psychopathology of PTSD without additional data collection burden and should be widely adopted. Researchers should look to model PTSD both as a dichotomous variable and on a continuous scale, both as a complete construct and by each dimensional component. Third, while the exploration into discriminant validity builds on another study that found PTSD factor structure unstable in the presence of MDD item challenges, more research is needed here to understand the theoretic and empiric utility of the specified six-factor model across settings and diagnostic criteria. Fourth, while endeavoring to explore construct validity, exploratory qualitative methods with populations beyond the highly studied U.S. military populations are needed to propose additional items that could, provide valuable missing empiric evidence for PTSD factor dimensionality.

This dissertation explains the role that Haiti's leading mainstream and alternative news outlets have played in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake that devastated the island nation of Haiti. The role of the media as a civic institution that acts on behalf of and in alliance with civil society in times of crisis is the central theme of this dissertation. Prior research has demonstrated that Haiti's media has been at the heart of such a role in civic society throughout the country's two hundred plus years of independent existence. This dissertation argues that this media tradition has been revitalized, strengthened and put to the test by the current crisis the country faces in physical reconstruction from natural disaster, political reconstruction from fragile early attempts at democracy, and social reconstruction from decades of economic stagnation that have exacerbated poverty and living conditions of the average Haitian. This project uses a mixed methodological approach of qualitative methods and basic quantitative methods to analyze how Haitian journalists have covered the aftermath of the disaster. This research addressed three key elements: (1) the impact of the disaster on the fractions that existed within the leading news media outlets during the nation's ongoing experiment with democracy (2) the impact of the disaster on how journalists view and practice their profession (3) the impact of the disaster on the quality of news being produced in Haiti. Findings indicate that there was an initial solidarity reborn among key Haitian news outlets that has sustained itself four years into the crisis. The solidarity born out of this most recent crisis has resulted in changes in how journalists approach their civic duty, despite commercial strains, and how they cooperate through sharing of news content and resources. These changes are seen across all media platforms. Additionally, Haitian media outlets have taken joint stances on developments in the country since the 2010 disaster that has resulted in news content that is more critical of those who hold power, and more concerned with advocacy on behalf of the Haitian people in general. At a time when the Haitian people are searching for a path forward, Haiti's media is providing a powerful platform to debate the course of the country's future. / acase@tulane.edu

When natural disasters such as earthquakes happen, there is a need for an efficient method to support humanitarian aid organizations in the decision making process. One such decision is placement of Foreign Field Hospitals to assist with medical help.To support such a decision lots of different information and data needs to be gathered and combined. The main objectives of this thesis are to collect existing data published shortly after the earthquake in Haiti 2010 as well as data published up to two months after the earthquake. The data is then to be evaluated according to adequacy for analysis and the result of the analysis to be compared to the actual placements of the field hospitals after the 2010 earthquake.The method used in this analysis is Multi Criteria Evaluation (MCE). Data regarding population, elevation, roads, land use, damage, climate, water, health facility locations and airport location are collected and weighted relative with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with weights retrieved from a questionnaire sent out to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and countries involved in the disaster relief. The result obtained from the MCE is a final suitability map depicting areas that are suitable according to the different factors.The data availability for the thesis project is an issue, due to lack of data published shortly after the earthquake. Some of the data used in the analysis do not have the sufficient detail level. Still, an analysis can be performed where suitable areas are obtained.The suitable locations found in the analysis agree well in most cases with where the actual FFHs are placed, however a few locations are not in proximity to where the suitable areas lie. A few of the locations were located in areas exposed to frequently floods. Even though the data availability and quality leaves things to desire, the analysis method shows promising results for future research. The approach could help aggregating information from different sources and provide support in pre-dispatch organization, already having a set of suitable locations to arrive to.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experience of suffering through the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The experiences of 13 individuals who lived suffering through the 2010 earthquake in Haiti were elicited. Heideggerian hermeneutical phenomenology served as both the guiding philosophy and methodology for this research study, while Eriksson’s (1981) theory of caritative caring provided the caring science lens. Diekelmann, Allen, and Tanner’s (1989) seven-stage method of hermeneutical analysis provided the structure for data analysis. The relational themes that were interpreted were: Experiencing the Unimaginable, Awakening to a Changed Reality, Agonizing for Others, Compounding Losses, Finding a Way Forward, and Being Transformed. These six relational themes are illuminated and aesthetically re-presented in six watercolor paintings. The constitutive pattern Suffering With and For Others expressed the meaning of suffering for participants through the 2010 earthquake in Haiti as a lived experience. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Technology: Emergency Medical Care, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / Earthquakes are the most frequently occurring natural disaster around the world and it is associated with a large outpouring of humanitarian assistance from the world. Existing models for humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGO) focus on a variety of preparation and response decisions for aid distribution, but tend not to discuss medical rescue teams responding to international disasters and where they would fit into. Aim The aim of this study was to explore the preparedness of South African Non-Governmental Organisation relief teams for international earthquake response. The ultimate aim was to develop a framework for SA NGO teams responding to international earthquake disasters. Methods This qualitative study made use of a range of data collection tools including documentary sources and interviews, so that it could illuminate the study from all sides and to ensure all relevant data from people and organisations that span the globe could be collected. Conclusion and recommendations The result of the study was a conceptual map of the study recommendations which can be used in the development of a framework for improving South African NGO relief teams‟ response efficiency and effectiveness to international earthquake disasters. The research concludes with a series of recommendations which include: assigning the teams under a leading international academic and operational body and to identify qualified, well prepared and professional personnel on a database for rapid deployment. / Research and Post Graduate Development and Support.

Previous research has shown a post-disaster increase of Gender Based Violence [GBV], suggesting a need for further investigation of the phenomena and its causes. This research draws together a wide-ranging collection of secondary data sets concerning disasters and gender based violence. It analyses the social environment in post-disaster settings that breeds an increase in GBV with focus on Sexual Gender Based Violence[SGBV] and Intra Personal Violence [IPV]. Through a comparison of two case studies: (a) post-earthquake Haiti and (b) post-hurricane Katrina. The cases are analysed through an analytical framework constructed out of three theories, Eco-feminism, Hyper-masculinity and Situational Theory, which together could give a trustworthy explanation of the phenomena. The findings show that similar factors were prevalent in both cases, and in turn provides insights for the abductively derived framework that relates the causal mechanisms behind the phenomena of post-disaster gender-based violence, building on the commonalities between social environments and structures in the cases. In particular, it was found that a patriarchal root structure and high rates of frustration both provided explanatory causal mechanisms for increased GBV. Though changes in environments can affect the prevalence of GBV as it can provide easier access of victims and lower the risk of penalties in relation to the crimes. In order to address GBV associated with future disasters, post-disaster plans need to adapt a gender mainstreamed approach with focus on safe housing and rapid rebuilding processes for the grass root level.

隨著全球氣候變遷，天然災害發生頻率越來越高，人道救援的重要性、多元性、緊急性及複雜性更加凸顯，國際人道援助已然成為當代普世價值，因此聯合國與歐盟在1990年代重新改組人道援助機構，統一人道援助事務的事與權，使得國際人道援助機制更臻完善。 首先，海地2010年發生世紀強震，國際社會發動近年來最大動員進行救援與救災，本文透過檢視跨國合作人道援助海地震災，瞭解國際人道援助機制之執行成果，共有包括美國等30餘個國家、聯合國等14個國際組織、紅十字國際委員會等37個非政府組織共同合作協助海地救災與重建工作。 其次，經檢視此次國際救災與重建工作之成果，除所號召的67支搜救隊就出的134生還者是近年來最多成功救援生還者最多的案例，直到2012年2月，原來震災後暫棲避難所的150萬災民也大幅減少至49萬人，預計修復與重建的房舍進度也達成50％，由上述成效觀之，各行為者之間並未出現疊床架屋之困境，反而出現團隊合作的情形，這要歸功於聯合國多年來進行救災累積的經驗。 此次主要由聯合國統一指揮，有效避免救災資源重疊及浪費的情形，並把握救災黃金時間提升人道援助的成效與成果。救災過程中雖因美國撤僑，派軍控制海地國際機場，導致各國救災行動一時受阻，引起撻伐，嗣經聯合國副秘書長John Holmes介入後及時解決此問題，應可作為日後聯合國與國際社會進行人道援助之借鏡，雖救災初期略為紊亂，整個人道救援過程仍稱順利，可謂「瑕不掩瑜」。 最後，中華民國的人道援助經費與聯合國、歐盟、美國及國際重要非政府組織動輒10幾億美元之經費相較之下微不足道，但中華民國此次人道援助策略秉持以自身的優勢及傳統援助強項為基本戰略，並以「小而美」、「小而巧」、「小而強」的原則規劃執行相關計畫，由中華民國執行重建計畫的執行效率，再與聯合國、歐盟及美國透過非政府組織所執行的計畫相較之下，中華民國的策略似乎較為奏效且真正符合受災國人民的迫切需求，這也將成為日後中華民國日後制訂人道援助政策的最佳參考模式。 / With global climate change, natural disasters occur more frequently; therefore, the importance, diversity, urgency and complexity of humanitarian assistance not only become more and more prominent, but also become contemporary universal value. In the 1990s, the United Nations and the European Union reshuffled their humanitarian aid agencies, by unifying Humanitarian Aid Office’s authority, the mechanism of the international humanitarian assistance becomes more complete. Firstly, in January 2010 Haiti was hit by a catastrophic-magnitude earthquake, causing great damages and losses. The international community launched in recent years the largest mobilization for rescue and disaster relief. The essay reviews cross-border cooperation in humanitarian aid for the Haiti earthquake and analyzes the implementation of international humanitarian assistance. A total of more than 30 countries including the United States, United Nations and other 14 international organizations, 37 non-governmental organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, work together to assist the Haitian relief and reconstruction work. Secondly, 134 survivors were rescued by 67 search and rescue teams, also claimed to be the most successful rescue case in past decades. Until February 2012, refuges that lived in the temporary camps are significantly reduced from 1.5 million to 490,000 and the percentage of the progress of the repair and reconstruction of the damaged houses has reached 50%. Instead of the overlap and waste of resources, all the international actors work together to make a great success, thanks to disaster relief experience accumulated in the United Nations over the years. The unified command of the United Nations effectively avoids duplication of relief resources and waste and takes advantage of the prime time in enhancing effectiveness and outcomes of the humanitarian aid. Although the evacuation of the United States’citizens in Haiti and the incident that the U.S. troops were sent to control Haiti International Airport in the relief process result in temporary drawback in the international disaster relief efforts, thus causing international discontent, the intervention of the UN Under-Secretary-General John Holmes helped resolve the issue. This could serve as a good example for United Nations and the international community to carry out humanitarian assistance on disaster relief in the future. Despite the early slight disorder, the whole humanitarian process proceeds with stability in the end. Finally, the humanitarian aid funds of the Republic of China（Taiwan） to the Haiti earthquake, compare with that of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and other important international non-governmental organizations, are trivial, yet the Republic of China（Taiwan） makes the best use of its advantages and traditional strengths and followed the principles of “small but beautiful”, “small but clever” and “small but good”. The strategy of the implementation of the reconstruction plan of Taiwan, compares with that of the United Nations, the European Union and the United States, seems more effective and truly meets the urgent needs of the victims, which will also serve as the best reference model for Taiwan in the stipulation of its humanitarian aid policy in the future.