For Immediate Release:

Sunday, November 23, 2014

lt;headgt;lt;meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /gt;lt;titlegt;Latest blog entries - Crisis Management | Firestorm | The Crisis Management Companylt;/titlegt;lt;link /gt;lt;titlegt;What Was the Biggest Crisis of 2014?lt;/titlegt;lt;link /gt;lt;titlegt;Your First Response to a Crisis Might Be Your Next Crisis - The Takata Airbag Recalllt;/titlegt;lt;link /gt;lt;titlegt;IPv6, a Revolution for Your Network?lt;/titlegt;lt;link /gt;lt;titlegt;Understanding Avian Flu - Key Factslt;/titlegt;lt;link /gt;lt;titlegt;Keys to Creating a Culture of Preparednesslt;/titlegt;lt;link /gt;lt;titlegt;Pessimism is Important in Your Business Crisis Planlt;/titlegt;lt;link /gt;lt;titlegt;Frigid Air and Business - 6 Areas for Preparednesslt;/titlegt;lt;link /gt;lt;titlegt;ICRC 2015 Call for Speakerslt;/titlegt;lt;link /gt;lt;titlegt;Behavioral Risk Threat Assessment - Learning to Identify At-Risk Behaviorslt;/titlegt;lt;link /gt;lt;titlegt;By the Numbers, Do You Have Ebola or the Flu?lt;/titlegt;lt;link /gt;lt;/headgt;lt;body id="readabilityBody" readability="834.73816793893"gt; lt;pgt;http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/Latest.html Sun, 23 Nov 2014 14:39:26 -0500 en-gb http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/what-was-the-biggest-crisis-of-2014.html http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/what-was-the-biggest-crisis-of-2014.html lt;img alt="2014 biggest crisis" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/2014_biggest_crisis.JPG" /gt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Instead of writing a blog about what lt;emgt;welt;/emgt; thought were the biggest crises of 2014, we want to hear what you think. Please use the comment section below and let us know what crisis of 2014 stands out for you. Crises might include massive product recalls, natural disasters, data security breaches, workplace violence, communication debacles and others.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;From your responses, we will compile a list of the biggest disasters over the last 365 days, what we learned from them, create an infographic and cite you as a source.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;We value your input and look forward to reading your contributions!lt;/pgt;]]gt; disasterduediligence@firestorm.com (Firestorm Team) Crisis Communication Wed, 19 Nov 2014 12:17:59 -0500 http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/your-first-response-to-a-crisis-might-be-your-next-crisis-the-takata-airbag-recall.html http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/your-first-response-to-a-crisis-might-be-your-next-crisis-the-takata-airbag-recall.html lt;img alt="Takata2" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/Takata2.JPG" /gt;Recently, several automobile manufacturers have issued recalls for potentially defective airbags. These recalls are certainly crises for the automobile companies, but those recalls are not the most potentially devastating crises unfolding. lt;pgt;As a lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/07/business/airbag-maker-takata-is-said-to-have-conducted-secret-tests.html?_r=0"gt;New York Times articlelt;/agt; describes, the airbag manufacturer, lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.takata.com/index.html"gt;Takatalt;/agt;, apparently knew, based on actual airbag testing ten years ago, that their airbags posed significant dangers to crash victims. Takata's response to that knowledge was, allegedly, to hide the test results and leave the problem uncorrected.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;That decision - that response to a crisis (delivery of dangerously defective products - the correction of which would have had a major negative financial impact on the company), ten years ago has resulted on a set of cascading crises involving ten major auto companies and the recall of as many as 16 to 17 million cars.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The magnitude of the crisis for those ten companies and for Takata is far greater than it would have been ten years ago. It's unlikely that the recall will force any of the auto manufacturers into bankruptcy, but Takata faces a much greater risk. Takata could face not only the cost of replacing all 17 million of those airbags, but they could also face reimbursement of the costs of the ten manufacturers. The magnitude of the financial costs to Takata could well be insurmountable. Even if Takata survives the financial crisis, their reputation has been damaged for the foreseeable future - damage that can, and likely will, impact their bottom line.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;If Takata had made the hard decision ten years ago, they could have burnished rather than tarnished their reputation and avoided today's financial threat. While no one can recreate the decision process that the Takata executives relied on ten years ago, it is likely that they made the decision under significant time pressure. Time pressure is a serious threat because it can preclude a thorough and rigorous exploration of alternative action paths.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;If Takata had an implemented lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.firestorm.com//about/how-we-do-it/predict-crisis/crisis-planning/firestorm-business-crisis-risk.html"gt;business crisis-risklt;/agt; plan, it almost certainly would have included as obvious a risk as a massive product recall. With that risk included, the company would have thought through the alternatives and been able to deliberately and thoroughly develop contingency plans and decision alternatives and options. With those options available to the executives, time pressure would have been relieved and a more considered decision made - a decision that likely would have averted their crisis today.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Takata is not alone in making poor decisions under time pressure - decisions that created a subsequent crisis. lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/wal-mart-up-against-the-wall-analysis-by-guy-higgins.html"gt;WalMart's executive decision to cover up unethical behaviorlt;/agt; by their Mexican executives, General Motors failure to correct ignition switch design flaws, Enron's decision to bury financial risk - all, and many more, are examples of decisions made, most likely, under time pressure and without a business crisis-risk plan. These decisions all resulted in much more significant crises downstream.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;img alt="AirBag" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/AirBag.jpg" height="255" /gt;Developing a business crisis-risk plan in the deliberate environment outside of an actual crisis enables organizations to think through their actions rigorously and thoroughly. Such actions and decisions - explored in depth - will be better than decisions that are "hip shot" under the extreme pressure of a looming crisis. The P9 Rule applies (Proper Prior Prediction, Planning and Practice Prevents Pathetically Poor Performance).lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;emgt;Guy Higgins is a Firestorm Principal in Colorado. An engineer by education, a technologist by avocation and a problem-solving leader, Guy is widely recognized for his ability to quickly see to the crux of an issue and to focus on a solution. Guy has solved problems in stable operations, in times of crisis, and for the long term. "The primary focus has to be on a viable solution - before technology, or processes or tools are considered. It's all about solving the problem - as quickly as possible, while keeping a long range perspective."lt;/emgt; lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.firestorm.com//about/firestorm-colorado.html"gt;Contact Guy Higginslt;/agt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Related:lt;/pgt; ]]gt; guy@willowsmarsh.com (Guy Higgins) Business Continuity Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:29:00 -0500 http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/ipv6-a-revolution-for-your-network.html http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/ipv6-a-revolution-for-your-network.html lt;emgt;lt;img alt="121122 bh 04 truelove brenda" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/121122_bh_04_truelove_brenda.jpg" /gt;This article originally appeared on the lt;a target="_blank" href="http://bamaatwork.com/2014/10/28/ipv6-a-revolution-for-your-network/"gt;BAMA at Work websitelt;/agt;, and is reprinted here by permission of the Author, Brenda Truelove.lt;/emgt; lt;h5gt;lt;stronggt;What do the WWII Allied invasion on the beaches of Normandy and IPv6 have in common?lt;/stronggt;lt;/h5gt; lt;pgt;Answer: On June 6, we remember both the launch of the WWII Allied forces D-Day invasion, and the launch of the new 128-bit hexadecimal number protocol, IPV6. The former happened in 1944 on the beaches of Normandy, and the latter in 2012 on networks worldwide. IPv6 is an updated way to assign IP addresses, which are unique numbers for internet-connected devices. These two events, while entirely dissimilar and generations apart, were both necessary to combat a problem that, if not addressed, would lead to world-wide calamity.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Of course, the evil systematic extermination of innocent people in Europe by Adolf Hitler understandably deserves precedence over any technology issues. However, if the world population of an estimated 7 billion people continues on current growth trends, the world's need for internet connectivity on all of our devices will outpace the current IPv4 pipeline at an alarming rate.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;img alt="IPv6BaW" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/IPv6BaW.JPG" /gt;So, what would happen if the Internet ran out of IP addresses? It's already happening according to lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Uwjt32NvVA"gt;Vint Cerflt;/agt;, a "Founding Father of the Internet" who has served as vice president and chief Internet evangelist at Google since 2005.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;He stated that just as telephones utilize a system of unique numbers in order to place calls, internet-enabled devices also use a system of unique numbers to connect to the global online network. The current IP address system, known as IPv4, is problematic in that it only has room for about 4 billion unique addresses. That is not nearly enough for the world's population, let alone the growing number of devices. Many devices already share IP addresses through the use of routers and proxies. As IPv4 runs out of free addresses, IP address sharing will become increasingly important. That is why a group that cooperatively manages the Internet was needed to agree on a solution and begin its implementation.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;That's exactly what happened June 6, 2012. The group studied the problem and implemented the protocol for IPv6 - which is known as World IPv6 Launch - that marked the start of a coordinated rollout by major websites, Internet services and equipment providers to address the problem. The group determined that in order to keep up with population growth and the world's seemingly insatiable appetite for device use, more IP addresses are needed. How many more, exactly? A conservative estimate from Google sources is about 340 trillion trillion trillion, written in numerical notation as:lt;/pgt; lt;h4gt;lt;spangt;lt;stronggt;340,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.lt;/stronggt;lt;/spangt;lt;/h4gt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://internethalloffame.org/inductees/vint-cerf"gt;Cerf lt;/agt;says that's a number big enough to give everyone on Earth their own list of billions of IP addresses. Hopefully, it's big enough to last into the foreseeable future.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Most regular Internet users don't need to do anything to prepare. There's no need for IPv6 panic, similar to the fears many of us recall surrounding Y2K at the turn of the millennium.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The University of Alabama is offering a one-day seminar for IT professionals who need to "demystify" this latest technological challenge and learn practical tools to assist with their organization's IPv6 roll-out. Please visit our lt;a target="_blank" href="http://bamaatwork.ua.edu/ipv6/"gt;website  lt;/agt;for more information about this course. You can also follow us on lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.facebook.com/KeepGoingUA"gt;Facebooklt;/agt;, lt;a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/KeepGoingUA"gt;Twitterlt;/agt;, lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.pinterest.com/bamaatwork/"gt;Pinterestlt;/agt;, lt;a target="_blank" href="https://plus.google.com/b/103757332116018174870/103757332116018174870/posts"gt;Google lt;/agt;, lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/bama-at-work"gt;LinkedIn lt;/agt;for more info and news about Professional Development, Certificate Programs and how to improve your professional profile.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://bamaatwork.com/2014/10/28/ipv6-a-revolution-for-your-network/"gt;Article by Brenda H. Truelovelt;/agt;, M.A, program manager at Bama At Work. Her training and development training portfolio with the College of Continuing Studies includes the manufacturing and technology sectors with special emphasis on Maintenance and Supply Chain Management for industries and service professionals.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://bamaatwork.com/"gt;lt;img alt="Bamaatwork" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/Bamaatwork.JPG" height="141" /gt;lt;/agt;lt;/pgt;]]gt; disasterduediligence@firestorm.com (Firestorm Team) Data Security Tue, 18 Nov 2014 16:21:26 -0500 http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/understanding-avian-flu.html http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/understanding-avian-flu.html lt;emgt;The lt;a target="_blank" href="http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/diseases/controlmeasures/avian/index_en.htm"gt;European Commissionlt;/agt; has recently adopted protective measures to try to contain a bird flu outbreak after new cases were reported in the UK and the Netherlands. The measures include killing animals in infected areas and banning sales of poultry products from those areas. The Dutch government has reported the "highly contagious" H5N8 strain at a poultry farm there, and the UK reported a case at a duck farm in East Yorkshire, of which the Commission said was "probably identical".lt;/emgt; lt;p class="bodytext_black"gt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications/_layouts/forms/Publication_DispForm.aspx?List=4f55ad51-4aed-4d32-b960-af70113dbb90amp;ID=1202"gt;lt;img alt="Avian Flu Germany PDF" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/Avian_Flu_Germany_PDF.JPG" height="418" /gt;lt;/agt;On 17 November 2014 the Commission adopted interim protective measures for the lt;a href="http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/diseases/controlmeasures/avian/docs/annex_1_hpai_0192014_netherands_en.pdf"gt;Netherlandslt;/agt; and for the lt;a href="http://ec.europa.eu/food/animal/diseases/controlmeasures/avian/docs/annex_1_hpai_0202014_uk_en.pdf"gt;United Kingdomlt;/agt; which will be published on 19 November 2014 in the lt;a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en" target="_blank"gt;Official Journal of the European Unionlt;/agt;lt;/pgt; lt;p class="bodytext_black"gt;The lt;a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-14-1888_en.htm" target="_blank"gt;press releaselt;/agt; issued on 17 November gives more details on the events:lt;/pgt; lt;p class="bodytext_black"gt;As regards the HPAI H5N8 outbreak detected in Germany on 5 November first interim EU measures were adopted on 6 November and published on 8 November as Commission Implementing lt;a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.L_.2014.325.01.0026.01.ENG" target="_blank"gt;Decision 2014/778/EUlt;/agt;. The measures have already been reviewed and confirmed at the meeting of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed on 13 November 2014.lt;/pgt; lt;p class="bodytext_black"gt;Epidemiological investigations are ongoing to identify the possible source of virus. The fact that the three recent outbreaks in Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom have occurred in proximity of humid areas with wild birds and the absence of any other epidemiological link between them, point towards wild migratory birds as the likely source of virus. Member States concerned are evaluating their wild bird surveillance data and are enhancing monitoring. Consequently, the Commission has asked all EU Member States to increase biosecurity on poultry farms.lt;/pgt; lt;ulgt;lt;ligt;Avian influenza (AI), commonly called bird flu, is an infectious viral disease of birds.lt;/ligt; lt;ligt;Most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans; however some, such as A(H5N1) and A(H7N9), have caused serious infections in people.lt;/ligt; lt;ligt;Outbreaks of AI in poultry may raise global public health concerns due to their effect on poultry populations, their potential to cause serious disease in people, and their pandemic potential.lt;/ligt; lt;ligt;Reports of highly pathogenic AI epidemics in poultry, such as A(H5N1), can seriously impact local and global economies and international trade.lt;/ligt; lt;ligt;The majority of human cases of A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) infection have been associated with direct or indirect contact with infected live or dead poultry. There is no evidence that the disease can be spread to people through properly cooked food.lt;/ligt; lt;ligt;Controlling the disease in animals is the first step in decreasing risks to humans.lt;/ligt; lt;/ulgt;lt;pgt;lt;stronggt;Related:lt;/stronggt;lt;/pgt; lt;h4gt;lt;spangt; lt;span size="3px"gt;lt;a href="http://www.firestorm.com/about/communicable-illness-pandemic-planning-toolkit.html"gt;lt;spangt;Communicable Illness/Pandemic Planning ToolKitlt;/spangt;lt;/agt;lt;/spangt; lt;/spangt;lt;/h4gt; lt;h4gt;lt;span size="3px"gt;lt;a href="http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/monitoring-h7n9-avian-influenza-and-middle-east-respiratory-symptom-coronavirus-mers-cov.html"gt;lt;spangt;Monitoring H7N9 lt;span class="acesearch_highlight"gt;Avianlt;/spangt; Inlt;span class="acesearch_highlight"gt;flult;/spangt;enza and Middle East Respiratorylt;/spangt; lt;/agt;lt;/spangt;lt;/h4gt; lt;pgt;lt;stronggt;Influenza at the Human-Animal Interfacelt;/stronggt;lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;Influenza viruses circulating in animals pose threats to human health. Humans can be exposed to these viruses, such as avian influenza virus subtypes H5N1 and H9N2 and swine influenza virus subtypes H1N1 and H3N2, in many ways, such as:lt;/pgt; lt;ulgt;lt;ligt;when people's work brings them in contact with infected animals.lt;/ligt; lt;ligt;when people contact infected animals during their everyday lives, such as when visiting live animal markets or when these animals are kept as part of the household.lt;/ligt; lt;ligt;when people handle or slaughter infected animals, or work with raw meat and by-products from infected animals.lt;/ligt; lt;ligt;when people contact things around them, such as animal housing areas and equipment, ponds and other water sources, feces, and feathers, if these things are contaminated with influenza viruses.lt;/ligt; lt;/ulgt;lt;pgt;In some cases these zoonotic infections (infections in humans acquired from an animal source) result in severe disease or even death in humans, but often these infections result in only a mild illness or appear to cause no illness at all. All human infections with animal influenza viruses are of concern, not only because of the cases of disease and deaths in individual people, but also because if these viruses become able to spread from human to human they could spark a pandemic. All of the past four lt;stronggt;pandemiclt;/stronggt; influenza viruses have contained gene components originating in animals.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;stronggt;Related:lt;/stronggt;lt;/pgt; lt;h4gt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.firestorm.com/images/easyblog_images/69/Key-Facts-on-Avian-Flu---Firestorm.pdf"gt;lt;stronggt;Key-Facts-on-Avian-Flu---Firestorm.pdflt;/stronggt;lt;/agt;lt;/h4gt; lt;pgt;The actual public health risks posed by influenza viruses circulating in bird, swine, and other animal populations are not completely understood. Recent findings suggest that influenza viruses in animals and humans increasingly behave like a pool of genes circulating among multiple hosts, and that the potential exists for novel influenza viruses to be generated in swine and other animals. This situation reinforces the need for close monitoring and close collaboration between public health and veterinary authorities.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Avian influenza (AI) is an infectious viral disease of birds (especially wild water fowl such as ducks and geese), often causing no apparent signs of illness. AI viruses can sometimes spread to domestic poultry and cause large-scale outbreaks of serious disease. Some of these AI viruses have also been reported to cross the species barrier and cause disease or subclinical infections in humans and other mammals.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.firestorm.com/images/easyblog_images/69/Key-Facts-on-Avian-Flu---Firestorm.pdf"gt;lt;img alt="KeyFactsPDF" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/KeyFactsPDF.JPG" height="354" /gt;lt;/agt;AI viruses are divided into 2 groups based on their ability to cause disease in poultry: high pathogenicity or low pathogenicity. Highly pathogenic viruses result in high death rates (up to 100% mortality within 48 hours) in some poultry species. Low pathogenicity viruses also cause outbreaks in poultry but are not generally associated with severe disease.lt;br /gt;Avian influenza A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) backgroundlt;/pgt;lt;pgt;The A(H5N1) virus subtype, a highly pathogenic AI virus, first infected humans in 1997 during a poultry outbreak in Hong Kong SAR, China. Since its widespread re-emergence in 2003 and 2004, this avian virus has spread from Asia to Europe and Africa and has become entrenched in poultry in some countries, resulting in millions of poultry infections, several hundred human cases, and many human deaths. Outbreaks in poultry have seriously impacted livelihoods, the economy and international trade in affected countries.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;The A(H7N9) virus subtype, a low pathogenic AI virus, first infected 3 humans - 2 residents of the city of Shanghai and 1 resident of Anhui province - in March 2013. No cases of A(H7N9) outside of China have been reported. Containment measures, including the closure of live bird markets for several months, have impacted the agriculture sectors of affected countries and international trade. Continued surveillance for A(H7N9) will be necessary to detect and control the spread of the virus.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;Ongoing circulation of A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) viruses in poultry, especially where endemic, continues to pose threats to public health, as these viruses have both the potential to cause serious disease in people and may have the potential to change into a form that is more transmissible among humans. Other influenza virus subtypes also circulate in poultry and other animals, and may also pose potential threats to public health.lt;br /gt;Avian influenza A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) infections and clinical features in humanslt;/pgt;lt;pgt;The case fatality rate for A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) virus infections in people is much higher compared to that of seasonal influenza infections. The A(H7N9) virus particularly affects people with underlying medical conditions.lt;br /gt;Clinical featureslt;/pgt;lt;pgt;In many patients, the disease caused by the A(H5N1) virus follows an unusually aggressive clinical course, with rapid deterioration and high fatality. Like most emerging disease, A(H5N1) influenza in humans is not well understood.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;The incubation period for A(H5N1) avian influenza may be longer than that for normal seasonal influenza, which is around 2 to 3 days. Current data for A(H5N1) infection indicate an incubation period ranging from 2 to 8 days and possibly as long as 17 days. Current data for A(H7N9) infection indicate an incubation period ranging from 2 to 8 days, with an average of five days.1 WHO currently recommends that an incubation period of 7 days be used for field investigations and the monitoring of patient contacts.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;Initial symptoms include high fever, usually with a temperature higher than 38°C, and other influenza-like symptoms (cough or sore throat). Diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, chest pain, and bleeding from the nose and gums have also been reported as early symptoms in some patients.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;One feature seen in many patients is the development of lower respiratory tract early in the illness. Respiratory distress, a hoarse voice, and a crackling sound when inhaling are commonly seen. Sputum production is variable and sometimes bloody.2 Complications of A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) infection include hypoxemia, multiple organ dysfunction, and secondary bacterial and fungal infections.3lt;br /gt;Antiviral treatmentlt;/pgt;lt;pgt;Evidence suggests that some antiviral drugs, notably oseltamivir, can reduce the duration of viral replication and improve prospects of survival.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;In suspected cases, oseltamivir should be prescribed as soon as possible (ideally, within 48 hours following symptom onset) to maximize its therapeutic benefits. However, given the significant mortality currently associated with A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) infection and evidence of prolonged viral replication in this disease, administration of the drug should also be considered in patients presenting later in the course of illness. The use of corticosteroids is not recommended.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;In cases of severe infection with the A(H5N1) or A(H7N9) virus, clinicians may need to consider increasing the recommended daily dose or/and the duration of treatment.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;In severely ill A(H5N1) or A(H7N9) patients or in patients with severe gastrointestinal symptoms, drug absorption may be impaired. This possibility should be considered when managing these patients.4 Moreover, most A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) viruses are predicated to be resistant to adamantine antiviral drugs, which are therefore not recommended for use.lt;br /gt;Risk factors for human infectionlt;/pgt;lt;pgt;The primary risk factor for human infection appears to be direct or indirect exposure to infected live or dead poultry or contaminated environments, such as live bird markets. Controlling circulation of the A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) viruses in poultry is essential to reducing the risk of human infection. Given the persistence of the A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) viruses in some poultry populations, control will require long-term commitments from countries and strong coordination between animal and public health authorities.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;There is no evidence to suggest that the A(H5N1)and A(H7N9) viruses can be transmitted to humans through properly prepared poultry or eggs. A few A(H5N1) human cases have been linked to consumption of dishes made of raw, contaminated poultry blood. However, slaughter, defeathering, handling carcasses of infected poultry, and preparing poultry for consumption, especially in household settings, are likely to be risk factors.lt;br /gt;Human pandemic potentiallt;/pgt;lt;pgt;Influenza pandemics (outbreaks that affect a large proportion of the world due to a novel virus) are unpredictable but recurring events that can have health, economic and social consequences worldwide. An influenza pandemic occurs when key factors converge: an influenza virus emerges with the ability to cause sustained human-to-human transmission, and the human population has little to no immunity against the virus. With the growth of global trade and travel, a localized epidemic can transform into a pandemic rapidly, with little time to prepare a public health response.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;The A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) AI viruses remain two of the influenza viruses with pandemic potential, because they continue to circulate widely in some poultry populations, most humans likely have no immunity to them, and they can cause severe disease and death in humans.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;However, whether the influenza A(H7N9) virus could actually cause a pandemic is unknown. Experience has shown that some animal influenza viruses that have been found to occasionally infect people have not gone on to cause a pandemic while others have done so. Surveillance and the investigations now underway will provide some of the information needed to make this determination.lt;/pgt;lt;pgt;In addition to A(H5N1) and A(H7N9), other animal influenza virus subtypes reported to have infected people include avian H9, and swine H1 and H3 viruses. H2 viruses may also pose a pandemic threat. Therefore, pandemic planning should consider risks of emergence of a variety of influenza subtypes from a variety of sources.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Sources:  World Health Organization, EUROPA, European Centre for Disease Controllt;/pgt; lt;div data-mce-bogus="1" class="mcePaste" id="_mcePaste"gt;lt;!--[if gte mso 9]gt;lt;xmlgt; lt;o:OfficeDocumentSettingsgt; lt;o:AllowPNGgt;lt;/o:AllowPNGgt; lt;/o:OfficeDocumentSettingsgt; lt;/xmlgt;lt;![endif]--gt; lt;ul type="disc"gt;lt;li class="MsoNormal"gt;lt;spangt;Avian influenza (AI), commonly called bird flu, is an infectious viral disease of birds.lt;/spangt;lt;/ligt; lt;li class="MsoNormal"gt;lt;spangt;Most avian influenza viruses do not infect humans; however some, such as A(H5N1) and A(H7N9), have caused serious infections in people.lt;/spangt;lt;/ligt; lt;li class="MsoNormal"gt;lt;spangt;Outbreaks of AI in poultry may raise global public health concerns due to their effect on poultry populations, their potential to cause serious disease in people, and their pandemic potential.lt;/spangt;lt;/ligt; lt;li class="MsoNormal"gt;lt;spangt;Reports of highly pathogenic AI epidemics in poultry, such as A(H5N1), can seriously impact local and global economies and international trade.lt;/spangt;lt;/ligt; lt;li class="MsoNormal"gt;lt;spangt;The majority of human cases of A(H5N1) and A(H7N9) infection have been associated with direct or indirect contact with infected live or dead poultry. There is no evidence that the disease can be spread to people through properly cooked food.lt;/spangt;lt;/ligt; lt;li class="MsoNormal"gt;lt;spangt;Controlling the disease in animals is the first step in decreasing risks to humans.lt;/spangt;lt;/ligt; lt;/ulgt;lt;!--[if gte mso 9]gt;lt;xmlgt; lt;w:WordDocumentgt; lt;w:Viewgt;Normallt;/w:Viewgt; lt;w:Zoomgt;0lt;/w:Zoomgt; lt;w:TrackMovesgt;lt;/w:TrackMovesgt; lt;w:TrackFormattinggt;lt;/w:TrackFormattinggt; lt;w:PunctuationKerninggt;lt;/w:PunctuationKerninggt; lt;w:ValidateAgainstSchemasgt;lt;/w:ValidateAgainstSchemasgt; lt;w:SaveIfXMLInvalidgt;falselt;/w:SaveIfXMLInvalidgt; lt;w:IgnoreMixedContentgt;falselt;/w:IgnoreMixedContentgt; lt;w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderTextgt;falselt;/w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderTextgt; lt;w:DoNotPromoteQFgt;lt;/w:DoNotPromoteQFgt; lt;w:LidThemeOthergt;EN-USlt;/w:LidThemeOthergt; lt;w:LidThemeAsiangt;X-NONElt;/w:LidThemeAsiangt; lt;w:LidThemeComplexScriptgt;X-NONElt;/w:LidThemeComplexScriptgt; lt;w:Compatibilitygt; lt;w:BreakWrappedTablesgt;lt;/w:BreakWrappedTablesgt; 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lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"gt;lt;/w:LsdExceptiongt; lt;w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"gt;lt;/w:LsdExceptiongt; lt;/w:LatentStylesgt; lt;/xmlgt;lt;![endif]--gt;lt;!--[if gte mso 10]gt; lt;style data-mce-type="text/css" data-mce-type="text/css" data-mce-type="text/css" data-mce-type="text/css"gt; /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} lt;/stylegt; lt;![endif]--gt;lt;/divgt;]]gt; jsatterfield@firestorm.com (Jim Satterfield) Communicable Illness Tue, 18 Nov 2014 10:57:12 -0500 http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/keys-to-creating-a-culture-of-preparedness.html http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/keys-to-creating-a-culture-of-preparedness.html   lt;pgt;lt;img alt="Culture of Preparedness" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/Culture_of_Preparedness.JPG" height="139" /gt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt; lt;emgt;This paper is based on the webinar, lt;spangt;Keys to Creating a Culture of Preparednesslt;/spangt;, presented by Ann Pickren, MBTI, crisis communication expert and COO at MIR3; Jim Satterfield, President, COO, Firestorm; and Joe Miner, Global Internal Audit IT Supervisor, Pamp;Glt;/emgt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt; Whether you call it business continuity, disaster recovery or risk management, it all leads towards the same thing-a culture of preparedness. A culture of preparedness is when every person at every level of the organization is aware of the potential for a business disruption and knows what their role should be in both preventing and reacting to such an event. The concept is a good one, but to achieve such a culture you may need to approach your business continuity program in ways that are not well defined in the traditional best practices and methodologies.lt;/pgt; lt;h4gt;lt;spangt;lt;stronggt;The traditional path gives you a traditional programlt;a target="_blank" href="http://vimeo.com/109254820"gt;lt;img alt="youtube image" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/youtube_image.png" /gt;lt;/agt;lt;/stronggt;lt;/spangt;lt;/h4gt; lt;pgt;In time-honored fashion, when you first begin defining and creating a business continuity program, it's usual to start by assembling your tools. These may be as simple as the basic Microsoft Office tools (Word, Excel, etc.); or you may opt for a software application for building and storing your plans, conducting a business impact analysis or managing an incident. After performing risk and business impact analyses and building plans, you commence tabletop exercises and other practices, initiating fire drills and doing recovery tests along the way. And as we all know, it's important to communicate, communicate and communicate even more, so that everyone understands the program.lt;/pgt; lt;h4gt;lt;spangt;lt;stronggt;The pitfalls of traditionlt;/stronggt;lt;/spangt;lt;/h4gt; lt;pgt;A traditional process like this is good in that it makes it easy for your plan to align with established standards and other business continuity plans. If you follow the process, you will indeed come up with a comprehensive and impressive plan. But that can be part of the problem.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Many times your plan is so big and so comprehensive that it overwhelms. Your audience expresses frustration that the plan is unwieldy, executives and staff don't totally support it, and you end up with a program that doesn't fit the culture of your company or its management. This is not good, as the sustainability of a program is directly related to the passion that everyone across the organization shares for preparedness.lt;/pgt; lt;h4gt;lt;stronggt;lt;spangt;Start by considering your ultimate goallt;/spangt;lt;/stronggt;lt;/h4gt; lt;pgt;How can you prevent these pitfalls and ultimately grow a passion for preparedness across all the organization? Start by confirming the goal or endpoint you want to achieve, which, ultimately, is agreement from everyone about the importance of being prepared. Your goal is to come up...lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.firestorm.com/about/how-we-do-it/plan-for-crisis/download-keys-to-preparedness.html"gt;download and read the full brief here.lt;/agt;lt;/pgt; ]]gt; disasterduediligence@firestorm.com (Firestorm Team) Disaster Planning Wed, 12 Nov 2014 09:11:20 -0500 http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/pessimism-is-important-in-your-business-crisis-plan.html http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/pessimism-is-important-in-your-business-crisis-plan.html Business Continuity (BC) plans are frequently developed by teams (and if they aren't, they should be - two people are almost always smarter than one person). When you're assembling your BC team, you should intentionally find a solid, team-player pessimist. lt;pgt;No one ever has any trouble including optimists on teams - they're out there, bright and sunny, always seeing the bright side of things and explaining how your business continuity plan is going to work and cover all the problems.lt;img alt="Plan for disaster" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/Plan_for_disaster.jpg" height="356" /gt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;At the same time, no one ever likes having a pessimist on the team because they are always looking at the down side and saying things like, "You know, the location we just chose for the backup data center is only six blocks away. (While the optimist is saying, "No problem, the risk of a flood/tornado/fire/earthquake/etc is low.")lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;In any BC plan, two of the most important areas, areas that must be addressed in detail in order to succeed, are:lt;/pgt; lt;ulgt;lt;ligt;Identifying and planning to overcome the barriers to success. These are, generally, internal things that are "stacked against" the project, like disaster denial or a paucity of funding to test the IT Recovery Planlt;/ligt; lt;ligt;Identifying and planning for the "things that keep you up at night." These are the things that can go wrong, like the failure of a critical supplier to make schedule or concern about preparedness to respond to hostile workplace issues.lt;/ligt; lt;/ulgt;lt;pgt;It is far too easy, without a knowledgeable and vocal pessimist, to be seduced into the optimistic perspective and fail to allocate resources and develop plans to overcome the barriers or respond to the "things that keep you up at night." The pessimist brings these to the fore and insists on going beyond the easy, "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it" or "that's just not going to happen." Too often, optimists hope while pessimists plan.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.tsowell.com/"gt;Thomas Sowelllt;/agt; (Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institute at Stanford University and a respected economist) has observed that an enormous number of failures in plans developed for any number of different efforts are the result of not thinking beyond the top level of effects. He calls that level 1 thinking. Dr. Sowell says that level 1 thinking ignores the effects of:lt;/pgt; lt;ulgt;lt;ligt;The ways people will actually behave that can (and will) alter the way that plans or programs are implemented. In an emergency or crisis, the inherent human tendency is to freeze up, run away or physically attack the threat (freeze, flee or fight). The only way to cut that response short is through a well developed, understood and rehearsed plan - the kind of a plan that a pessimist will compel the team to develop.lt;/ligt; lt;ligt;The ways in which the dynamics of the real world that can (and will) introduce disruptive factors into implementation of the program. Emergencies and crises don't evolve in accordance with the plan (exhaustive studies have confirmed that emergencies and crises don't read your BC plans). While it's not practical or even possible to cover all contingencies, a pessimist is going to point out the weak spots in a plan and enable the team to infuse the plan with alternative responses and the flexibility in execution necessary to effectively react to unanticipated events.lt;/ligt; lt;/ulgt;lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="https://www.princeton.edu/~kahneman/"gt;Daniel Kahnemanlt;/agt; (Nobel Laureate and the developer of lt;a target="_blank" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospect_theory"gt;Prospect Theorylt;/agt;) discusses System 1 thinking (intuitive; simple, easy and based on personal stories) and System 2 thinking (cognitive; complicated, effort-requiring and based on facts/knowledge). Dr. Kahneman has observed that people prefer to rely on System 1 thinking and that System 1 thinking often leads to incorrect decisions because the decision doesn't address numerous and important factors - it just sounds good. Only well developed, exercised and implemented planning can avoid the pitfalls of System 1 thinking in an emergency or crisis.  lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The pessimist is the antidote for the risks that Drs. Sowell and Kahneman raise.  lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;BC planners need to be able to leverage their pessimists to create rigorous plans that are comprehensive and flexible enough to enable effective response across the risk spectrum faced by your organization. That takes more effort than leveraging the energy and enthusiasm of the optimist, but is just as important.lt;/pgt; ]]gt; guy@willowsmarsh.com (Guy Higgins) Business Continuity Tue, 11 Nov 2014 11:08:13 -0500 http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/polar-vortex-and-business-6-tips-for-preparedness.html http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/polar-vortex-and-business-6-tips-for-preparedness.html Last year, the frigid weather that blanketed big swaths of the U.S. with snow was in part an explanation of why earnings rose at the slowest pace in almost two years. lt;pgt;Freezing temperatures and mountains of snow in the first three months of 2014 kept shoppers indoors, grounded flights and made it harder for shippers to fill product orders. As a result, Macy's Inc. shut 244 stores for at least part of January, Union Pacific Corp.'s trains ran 9 percent slower and Delta Air Lines Inc. canceled 8,000 flights in January and February.lt;/pgt; lt;h4gt;lt;spangt;Arctic Blastlt;br /gt;lt;/spangt;lt;/h4gt; lt;pgt;lt;img alt="Extreme weather" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/Extreme_weather.JPG" height="329" /gt;Arctic air associated with the polar vortex will lunge into the North Central United States early next week and will expand southward and eastward to affect about 200 million people as the week progresses.  According to lt;stronggt;lt;a rel="author" href="http://www.accuweather.com/en/personalities/alex-sosnowski"gt;Alex Sosnowskilt;/agt;lt;/stronggt;, Expert Senior Meteorologist with AccuWeather, heating demands will jump with the worst of the cold felt from Fargo, North Dakota, and Minneapolis to Chicago and St. Louis.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;According to AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams, "The arctic blast will have the greatest shock over the Central states."lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;People over parts of the Plains may experience a temperature plunge of 40 degrees or more following high temperatures this weekend.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;December-like cold will be felt farther along in the South and along the Atlantic Seaboard. The cold will rush into the South Central states by the middle of next week, but will not reach the Atlantic coast until later next week and into next weekend.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Weather.com reports that the cold this time will last longer and will be more widespread than other cold surges we have seen so far this season.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The cold front begins its plunge in Montana and the Dakotas late Sunday, then into the Plains Monday, bringing much colder temperatures. will go from a high near 60 degrees on Sunday to a high in the 20s on Monday.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Highs 10-30 degrees below average will plunge into Plains, western Great Lakes, Upper and mid-Mississippi Valleys on Monday and Tuesday. and  may see their first sub-freezing high temperature of the season by midweek. In fact, highs may struggle to top the freezing mark in the Twin Cities for several days. The last time Chicago had a daytime high that didn't rise above freezing was March 25.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The cold front is expected to reach the Northeast by Wednesday, with the brunt of the cold first being felt Thursday. High temperatures won't likely top 50 degrees Thursday in The last time that happened was on March 26. may see its first freeze sometime late next week. may also drop to 32 degrees, which last occurred on April 18.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The cold will plunge into parts of the South. will see highs only in the 40s starting Thursday, and daytime highs in  may struggle to reach 50 degrees for several days late in the week.  will see high temperatures only in the 40s for several days next week. The last time Dallas did not reach 50 degrees was back on March 3.lt;/pgt; lt;h4gt;lt;spangt;IMPACTS TO BUSINESSlt;/spangt;lt;/h4gt; lt;pgt;1: EMPLOYEE ABSENCES: Employers should be prepared for increased employee absences, which may disrupt normal business operations and fulfillment. School closings and delays will disrupt schedules, and transportation systems may be slowed. During the worst of the cold snap, some small businesses may  experience a massive lag in productivity due to grounded flights and absent employees.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;2: RETAIL SALES: Auto Sales were deeply effected last year, and hundreds of retailers closed shop temporarily due to weather.  Last year, many U.S. retailers said the weather took a toll on business as shoppers hibernated at home. Gap Inc., the biggest U.S. apparel-focused retailer, closed more than 450 stores for at least one day in February of 2014, and sales at stores open at least a year were down 7 percent in that month.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;3: FROZEN HOUSING STARTS: Cold weather, especially in the Midwestern states, delayed the construction of many homes. Housing starts fell by over 30 percent in the Midwest last winter from 2013's pace, in sharp contrast to the rest of the country where starts were up by 5.6 percent. Construction companies coped with delays and waited longer to hire many of their seasonal workers.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;4: LOGISTICS AND TRAVEL DISRUPTIONS: The logistics and travel industries experienced severe disruptions last winter. Airlines cancelled 6.5 percent of ?ights in January, up from 1.5 percent in January of 2013, losing an estimated $75 million to $150 million. The economic losses from delayed travelers was far greater.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Rail traffic also slowed signi?cantly. One of the industry leaders, Union Pacific, reported that its trains ran 9 percent slower this past March compared to the year prior. Businesses saw delays in deliveries, and some of the largest logistics companies reported that the winter interrupted their delivery systems. FedEx estimated operations costs were $70 million greater this year compared to a typical winter, and UPS reported similar winter expenses.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;5: FOOD PRICES SPIKE: While most of the country was colder and snowier than normal, California continued to su?er from a three-year drought. The drought especially hurt the agricultural sector. About 800,000 acres, or over 10 percent of the acreage of California, was expected to be idle as a result of the drought, causing $3.6 billion in crop losses. California grows 99 percent of the nation's almonds, over 90 percent of the broccoli, 80 percent of the lettuce, and 90 percent of tomatoes. Prices for these products rose by double digits, and food prices continued to rise through the summer.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;6: UTILITY COSTS: Natural gas prices for commercial and industrial businesses were over 20 percent higher in March of 2014 compared to the same month in 2013. Businesses and households used more energy for heating, which not only led to larger bills but also to higher prices. Weather-related disruptions to the delivery networks of natural gas, particularly in North Dakota's Bakken region, also increased energy costs.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.weather.com/sports-rec/below-zero/arctic-outbreak-coldest-season-20141105"gt;lt;img alt="windchill" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/windchill.JPG" height="290" /gt;lt;/agt;lt;/pgt; lt;h4gt;lt;spangt;NEXT STEPSlt;/spangt;lt;/h4gt; lt;pgt;In preparation, assign someone as your company's point person for communication during a weather related crisis.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Assure someone on your senior management team has the authority to make sweeping decisions such as the ability to close offices in times of emergency, and assure continuity of communicating those decisions to everyone affected.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Make sure everyone on your staff knows who that person is (and who their delegate is, if they're unable to fulfill their role).lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Create Message Maps beforehand, and clearly define your communications protocol so you're not scrambling to inform key stakeholders such as employees, customers, suppliers, vendors, your Board, and the community of your contingency plans.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Determine whether you're set up to allow your employees to work remotely in an effective manner. This isn't about a telecommuting policy; it's about having the technical setup that your employees need in order to work from home in unusual situations.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Last, call us if you need help - 770.643.1114.  You may also wish to download our most recent brief - lt;stronggt;lt;a href="http://www.firestorm.com//about/how-we-do-it/plan-for-crisis/download-keys-to-preparedness.html"gt;Keys to Creating a Culture of Preparedness.lt;/agt;lt;/stronggt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;emgt;Whether you call it business continuity, disaster recovery or risk management, it all leads towards the same thing-a culture of preparedness.lt;/emgt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;emgt;This paper is based on the webinar, Keys to Creating a Culture of Preparedness, presented by Ann Pickren, MBTI, crisis communication expert and COO at MIR3; Jim Satterfield, President, COO, Firestorm; and Joe Miner, Global Internal Audit IT Supervisor, Pamp;G. Download lt;/emgt;lt;stronggt;lt;a href="http://www.firestorm.com//about/how-we-do-it/plan-for-crisis/download-keys-to-preparedness.html"gt;Keys to Creating a Culture of Preparedness.lt;/agt;lt;/stronggt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Sources:lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-01/polar-vortex-chilled-u-s-profits-in-first-quarter.html"gt;Bloomberglt;/agt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/219842230/Business-Impact-of-Extreme-Weather-in-the-2013-2014-WInter"gt;Business Forward 2013-2014 Surveylt;/agt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.weather.com/sports-rec/below-zero/arctic-outbreak-coldest-season-20141105"gt;Weather.comlt;/agt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/polar-vortex-to-vist-central-u/36890008"gt;AccuWeatherlt;/agt;lt;/pgt;]]gt; disasterduediligence@firestorm.com (Firestorm Team) Emergency Communication Fri, 07 Nov 2014 12:03:11 -0500 http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/icrc-2015-call-for-speakers.html http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/icrc-2015-call-for-speakers.html lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://communication.cos.ucf.edu/icrc/become-a-speaker/"gt;lt;img alt="ICRC2015" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/ICRC2015.JPG" /gt;lt;/agt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Firestorm is pleased to once again present both a pre-conference workshop and during conference sessions at the 2015 ICRC.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;We'd love for you to join us, and share your expertise.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The lt;stronggt;2015 International Crisis and Risk Communication (ICRC) Conferencelt;/stronggt; calls for speaker submissions of case-study oriented presentations, with content to include firsthand-experiential reports, original academic research and exploration, lessons learned and best-practice recommendations related to crisis and risk communication, especially directed to the theme: lt;stronggt;Accountability, Metrics and Critiquelt;/stronggt;.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://communication.cos.ucf.edu/icrc/become-a-speaker/"gt;lt;stronggt;Call for Presentations - Speaker Submission Deadline: Dec. 1, 2014lt;/stronggt;lt;/agt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;stronggt;The 2015 ICRC Conference Theme: Accountability, Metrics and Critiquelt;/stronggt;lt;br /gt;Crisis communication readiness entails the awareness, planning, accountability, skills and resources necessary to navigate through a crisis. This increasingly entails the ability to identify, record, assess, understand and communicate the effectiveness of such measures. In the planning stages, specific facts, figures and outcome projections are necessary to justify the allocation of resources. In training efforts, effective critique and evaluation are needed for awareness, education and preparation. And, after crises, the ability to ascertain fulfillment of due diligence is vital.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Some core questions arise: By what standards do we judge such communication efforts, and how should we benchmark performance? Which measurements must be central on the communication dashboard? How do value systems (external and internal) figure in? For example, is a particular crisis communication practice fully ethical and honest, sustainable and transparent, and compliant to all necessary rules? Who decides, and how? How is health and safety preservation assessed with relationship to risk warnings and emergency communication? How might communication choices affect the human condition in the context of a crisis?lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;In business, effectiveness metrics may be used to show return on investment (ROI) and return on effort (ROE) as to crisis communication planning, management and execution. Post-crisis image-reputation, shareholder value and litigation costs are examples of important variables to be measured. Other areas might include: the impact of product recalls, post-scandal bounce-back, the effects of social media chatter, and impact on business outcomes and profitability. Using this data, how can we ascertain what works and what doesn't and the reasons why?lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;stronggt;Please join this conversation. Presentation themes might include:lt;/stronggt;lt;br /gt;• Assessing what constitutes effective crisis and risk communicationlt;br /gt;• Testing normative versus improved prescriptions for crisis and risk communicationlt;br /gt;• Validating academic models, frameworks and theories; applying to real-world case studieslt;br /gt;• Identifying appropriate evaluation metrics and relevant criteria (meeting/exceeding audience expectations, etc.)lt;br /gt;• Discussing both intended and unintended crisis communication consequenceslt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The conference welcomes submissions reflecting a diverse range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. lt;stronggt;For More Information:lt;/stronggt; Please contact Eileen Doherty, conference coordinator at lt;a href="mailto:icrc@ucf.edu"gt;icrc@ucf.edult;/agt; or call 001 (407) 823-2833.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;emgt;Acceptance of submission requires author commitment to register and present at the conference. Please plan to attend and participate in the fifth annual ICRC Conference hosted by the Nicholson School of Communication, UCF - Orlando, Florida, USA.lt;/emgt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://communication.cos.ucf.edu/icrc/become-a-speaker/"gt;lt;emgt;CLICK HERE TO BECOME A SPEAKERlt;br data-mce-bogus="1" /gt;lt;/emgt;lt;/agt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;For information on registration fees, please view our lt;a title="Registration Pricing" href="http://communication.cos.ucf.edu/icrc/about/registration-pricing/"gt;conference pricinglt;/agt;.lt;br /gt;Read about the previous speakers and their sessions on each of their lt;a href="http://communication.cos.ucf.edu/icrc/?speaker_cat=2014-speakers" target="_blank"gt;speaker profileslt;/agt;.lt;/pgt; ]]gt; km@willowsmarsh.com (Karen Masullo) Crisis Communication Thu, 06 Nov 2014 10:21:08 -0500 http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/behavioral-threat-risk-assessment-learning-to-identify-at-risk-behaviors.html http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/behavioral-threat-risk-assessment-learning-to-identify-at-risk-behaviors.html A foiled school shooting plot lands a 16-year-old in the Baltimore County Police Department. On November 1, 2014, police officers responded to a string of car burglaries just north of Baltimore. The crimes were linked to a sophomore high school student. While questioning the suspect, officers began to uncover the teen's calculated plot. According to a news release, lt;emgt;"officers learned that he had plans to go to Baltimore County Public Schools' George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology with two explosives and a gun, and that he wanted to kill people."lt;/emgt; lt;img alt="UfoL threat" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/UfoL_threat.jpg" height="320" /gt;lt;pgt;The teen had in his possession explosive devices and a handgun.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Officers found materials that could have been used to make additional explosives. Quickly after, he was sent for emergency evaluation. He was charged with handgun possession, three counts of theft, possession of a destructive device and possession of a dangerous weapon on school property.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Less than two weeks prior, a University of Louisville student was taken into custody after making threats via the social media website lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.4chan.org/"gt;4chanlt;/agt;. Freshman Charles Robb posted lt;emgt;"I'm going to shoot up University of Louisville's Miller hall tomorrow at 10AM. I'm tired of the staffs [sic] disrespect and their abuse."lt;/emgt;lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Authorities quickly identified Robb as the source. Provost Shirley Willihnganz sent an email to the U of L community describing the response to the threat.lt;emgt; "This was a significant disruption for U of L and a reminder to all of us that words and postings do have consequences,"lt;/emgt; stated Willihnganz.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;After school shootings, copycat activity is always of concern. Over the years, lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/police-release-video-wouldbe-columbine-copycat-article-1.1204626"gt;various attemptslt;/agt; to recreate a Columbine-like tragedy have been thwarted. An incident earlier this year in Waseca, Minnesota proved no different. lt;img class="s5_lazyload" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/Call_to_Action_Icons/Gun_image.jpg" alt="Gun image" /gt;John David LaDue, 17, created a detailed plan to recreate the 1999 massacre in his own school. The teen had been storing homemade bombs and materials in a storage locker when residents in the neighboring apartment noticed his odd behavior. One resident dialed 911 after her instincts told her something was wrong.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Police officers arrived at LaDue's storage locker to find the teen, an assortment of gunpowder, pyrotechnic chemicals, ball bearings and a pressure cooker. During a voluntary police interview after the search, LaDue explained his elaborate plan to kill his family before heading to the Waseca Junior/Senior High School. The plot included setting a fire to distract emergency personnel, setting off "numerous bombs" during the lunch hour and killing the school resource officer.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;After obtaining a search warrant for the teen's home, police found finished bombs, "numerous guns" and ammunition and LaDule's plan detailed on paper.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Efforts to stop the school shooting may have proved futile had Easter landed on a different day. LaDule intended to carry out his plan on April 15, 2014, the 15 anniversary of Columbine. The day, however, landed on a holiday weekend while school was closed.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Since the Columbine High School shootings, and the many subsequent acts of violence that have occurred, most schools and business have implemented emergency response plans that address protocols to use for an active shooter or armed actor incident. They have set up crisis teams to respond when an event has occurred. Although a robust emergency response plan requires these tactics, they do not address the real problem- "how do we end the madness?"lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;The answer to keeping our children and employees safe lies in prevention. It is the job of every school administrator and board member to try and prevent lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.firestorm.com/engage/dd-right-and-responsibility-social-media-monitoring.html"gt;lt;img alt="GunToSchool112014" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/GunToSchool112014.JPG" height="168" /gt;lt;/agt;acts of violence. Firestorm® works with schools and organizations to implement a program that will prevent such acts in the first instance -- a program that will identify at risk students and employees, long before they progress down a path of violence or ever want to cause harm to  begin with.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;Such a program fosters an environment of enhanced safety, and give students and employees the ability to perform more optimally from an academic, social and emotional perspective.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;A part of this includes monitoring of the web - including social mentions - for keywords related to planned violence.  You can lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.firestorm.com/engage/dd-right-and-responsibility-social-media-monitoring.html"gt;read our brief on monitoring herelt;/agt;.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;It is critical that schools and organizations do all they can to identify those students and employees who need help, and intervene with trained resources that will provide the counseling and case management the individual needs. This raises the likelihood that the gun never comes to school, the sexual assault never occurs or the bullying is stopped before it becomes a problem.lt;/pgt; lt;pgt;lt;a target="_blank" href="http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Police-UAlbany-student-arrested-in-bomb-threat-5874368.php"gt;lt;img alt="BombThreat" src="http://www.firestorm.com/images/BombThreat.JPG" /gt;lt;/agt;Firestorm has created the BeRThA Program - Behavioral Risk Threat Assessment - to assist schools and organizations in identifying, assessing, managing and responding to individuals or groups who may pose threats of violence. There are some guiding principles of the BeRThA program:lt;/pgt; lt;ulgt;lt;ligt;Threat assessment must be part of an overall strategy to reduce school violence. Threat assessment by itself, absent an environment of respect, positive role models, communication between adults and students, conflict management and mediation, peer education, teachers and administrators paying attention to students' social and emotional needs, as well as their academic needs, is unlikely to have a lasting effect on the problem of targeted school violence.lt;/ligt; lt;ligt;No single person has all the skills required to conduct a behavioral threat assessment and no single person should have the sole responsibility to assess the potential risk of a student or employee. The BeRThA program starts with the Board of Education and engages the whole school community. It is designed using best practices and input from hands-on crisis management experience obtained by Firestorm principals and Expert Council Members, as well as the US Secret Service, FBI, Department of Education and other thought leaders on the topic of school and workplace violence.lt;/ligt; lt;ligt;BeRThA provides school personnel with a wealth of information about behavioral threats as well as the availability of responding resources. For example, a student who turns out to be expressing a low level of threat may still be one with a high level of need for intervention, supervision and mental health services.  In the light of prevention, identifying a similar student and empower support services that may help address/resolve his or her problems, should be seen as a positive outcome for all involved.lt;/ligt; lt;/ulgt;lt;pgt;Please call Firestorm at 770-643-1114 or reach out via our lt;a href="http://www.firestorm.com/engage/contact-question.html" target="_blank"gt;CONTACT formlt;/agt; and let us answer any questions you may have to assure your school or organization is doing everything possible to keep students, employees and your community safe.lt;/pgt; ]]gt; jsatterfield@firestorm.com (Jim Satterfield) School Violence Tue, 04 Nov 2014 14:56:25 -0500 http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/by-the-numbers-do-you-have-ebola-or-the-flu.html http://www.firestorm.com/Blog/by-the-numbers-do-you-have-ebola-or-the-flu.html lt;/bodygt;