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1. Transboundary Impacts of the 2010 Haiti Earthquake Disaster: Focus on Legal Dilemmas in South Florida

   Sapat, A.; Esnard, A-M. (January 2013, Oñati socio-legal series)

   Catastrophic disasters affect not just the areas/regions and countries where they strike, but also have transboundary effects and repercussions on neighboring countries, which often serve as receiving areas for displaced survivors. South Florida, for example, served as a receiving area for earthquake survivors after the 2010 Haiti earthquake. To understand the transboundary sociolegal impacts on host communities, we draw theoretical insights from research on transboundary crises and interviewed key members of school districts, city and county governments, non-profit organizations, relief task forces, the Haitian-American diaspora, and local government agencies. We also looked at relevant plans/policies modified by governmental and non-governmental institutions in response to the legal issues that arose. The findings highlight the manner in which street-level workers in state and non-state organizations deal with legal complexities and ramifications, along with the role played by the Haitian-American diaspora actors and their networks. 

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2. Challenges to mobilising resources for disaster recovery and reconstruction: perspectives of the Haitian diaspora

   https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12318  

   Sewordor, Emefa; Esnard, Ann-Margaret; Sapat, Alka; Schwartz, Lorena (January 2019, Disasters)

   Diasporas and diaspora non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are increasingly important as resource lifelines to their home countries, yet the resources that they mobilise, the types of challenges that they face, and their coping mechanisms are not well explored or understood in the context of disaster recovery. To fill this knowledge gap, this study employed an inductive qualitative methodological approach, using interviews to comprehend the role played by Haitian diaspora NGOs after the catastrophic earthquake in 2010. It found that resources take four common forms: event fundraisers; financial and material donations from supporters; remittances; and volunteer labour. Challenges include an overreliance on diaspora donors, competition among NGOs, and what is perceived as inequitable funding practices towards diaspora NGOs. The findings provide insights centred on better coordination among diaspora NGOs, as well as between diaspora NGOs and other local and international NGOs and local governments and international institutions, to ensure more efficient delivery of services to survivors. 

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3. The Generational Gap: Children, Adults, and Protective Actions in Response to Earthquakes

   Adams, Rachel M.; Tobin, Jennifer; Peek, Lori; Breeden, Jolie; McBride, Sara; de Groot, Robert (January 2022, Australasian journal of disaster and trauma studies)

   In addition to academic curricula, schools offer regular drills to train young people and adult staff on what to do in an emergency or disaster. Earthquake drills in the United States currently recommend the protective action “drop, cover, and hold on” in the event of shaking. Yet, little is known about whether this guidance is followed in schools and homes by children and adults. To fill this gap, this research examined protective actions taken by children and adults during the 2018 Anchorage, Alaska earthquake and the 2019 Ridgecrest, California earthquake sequence. Our research team conducted indepth interviews with kindergarten to secondary school administrators, teachers, and students, as well with parents, emergency managers, building officials, and engineers (N = 118) in earthquake-affected communities. Our findings indicate that the most common action among children across the study locations was to drop, cover, and hold on. Adults, however, did not always follow current recommended guidance and exhibited more variability in the actions they took in response to shaking, such as trying to protect others, getting in doorways, freezing in place, or rapidly exiting buildings. This research suggests that a generational gap exists that could compromise the safety of young people as well as the adults who care for them. We recommend that earthquake training in schools be strengthened to better prepare both child and adult populations for the threat of earthquakes. Moreover, the emergence of new technologies, like ShakeAlert – the earthquake early warning system for the West Coast of the United States – can create new opportunities for disseminating alert and warning information and preparing populations for impending hazards. Recognising how children and adults may react in an earthquake can improve drills and messaging, refine risk communication strategies, and reduce injury and loss of life. 

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4. Ethnic Organizations and Adaptation: A Case Study of Indian Immigrant Engineers in the US

   https://doi.org/10.1163/15691497-12341598  

   Sabharwal, Meghna; Varma, Roli; Noor, Zeeshan (November 2021, Perspectives on Global Development and Technology)

   Abstract The United States has witnessed waves of immigration throughout its history, with the current immigration policies regulated by the reforms enacted under President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. Immigrants now come from all over the world, with China and India supplying the largest numbers in science and engineering (S&E) fields. Although the US is seen as coping rather successfully with immigration from Europe, that is not the case with Asian immigration. Assimilation theorists have long argued that Asian immigrants face problems in adapting to the American culture and lifestyles; in contrast, multicultural theorists have hailed cultural diversity brought by Asian immigrants. Ethnic organizations can play an integral role in Asian immigrants’ adaptation and integration in the United States. Utilizing 40 in-depth interviews of Indian immigrant engineers working in the US technology companies, the present study examines if they belong to ethnic associations. If yes, why do they feel a need to belong to these associations? If no, why not? It further sheds light on their need to belong to such associations. The findings show that the need to belong to Indian associations varied with the stage of their lives, which can be depicted as a U-shaped curve. 

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5. Herbarium Specimens Provide Evidence for the Early Introduction of Erysiphe quercicola Into the United States and Document New Hosts

   https://doi.org/10.1111/efp.70072  

   Bradshaw, Michael; Paul, Andrew; Rennie, Elizabeth; Gilbert, Gregory S; Robeson, Senna; Donnelly, Ryan; Crouch, Uma; Mitchell, James; Braun, Uwe (April 2026, Forest Pathology)

   ABSTRACT The powdery mildew fungusErysiphe quercicola(Erysiphaceae) has a complex taxonomic history that has long complicated assessments of its geographic distribution and host associations. Although knowledge of the global host range of this species has expanded substantially over the past two decades, sequencing‐confirmed records from North America remain scarce, and despite its recognition as an introduced pathogen, the timing of introduction and the geographic extent and host range ofE. quercicolain the United States are poorly understood. In this study, herbarium specimens ofE. quercicolafrom North America, spanning both historical and contemporary collections, were examined using molecular phylogenetic approaches. Specimens collected from multipleQuercusspecies across several regions of the United States, as well as from related hosts within theFagaceae, were evaluated. Sequence data confirm the presence ofE. quercicolain North America onQuercusspecies based on herbarium specimens collected as early as 1944, as well as on mango (Mangifera indica;Anacardiaceae) in Florida from material collected in 1935. These records raise the possibility of historical introduction pathways associated with cultivated hosts, potentially from the horticulturally important mango tree (M. indica); however, additional multilocus phylogenetic analyses and host range inoculation experiments will be required to determine whether powdery mildew populations infecting mango andQuercusin North America represent the same lineage. Additional sequencing‐confirmed records document the species on multiple native oak species representing different sections ofQuercusincludingQ. bicolor,Q. gambelii,Q. garryana,Q. geminata,Q. kelloggii,Quercus × jolonensisandQ. macrocarpaas well as onNotholithocarpus densiflorus. Together, these findings clarify the long‐term presence ofE. quercicolain the United States, expand knowledge of its North American host range, and demonstrate the value of herbaria for reconstructing the invasion history of forest pathogens. 

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