Citation
Wilson, H.C. (1999), "Editorial", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 8 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/dpm.1999.07308daa.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited
Editorial
In this edition of the Journal we are introducing two new sections entitled "Organisations" and "Disaster response reports" in which we will publish items submitted by you, the subscriber. These sections continue the theme of increasing the level of information in the Journal which has a practitioner bias.
There is a plethora of organisations working within the field of disaster response and recovery which is evidenced by the number that keep appearing in "On the Web". Subscribers to the Journal would, I am sure, appreciate knowing what others are doing, what methods they use and the results they obtain from their training and emergency response activities.
As with other sections and papers that we publish, we will assist you to ensure that the material is in the correct format, so please do not be hesitant about your ability to write in a publishable format, just submit your manuscript and we will do the rest. The same method is used for those who wish to publish but feel that their command of the English language is not up to the standard that would be required.
Subscribers would also like to know how you coped with your recent fire, flood, earthquake etc. Dissemination of such information is vital to them so that they can learn from your experiences. Information is knowledge and being prepared to cope with a crisis event requires as much practical information and knowledge as is possible to acquire prior to the event, and this information is, at present, locked away in the records of those organisations that assisted in the crisis response. So, unlock your records, put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboards), and start the sharing process. Through the sharing of information and experiences it may be possible to save someone's life; to make a response more effective; to help in the recovery process, etc. but if the information remains locked away, these outcomes will not happen.
Do not think that that your story is not important, or what you did will not be of interest to others, it will. That small piece of information, that small shared experience, could be the piece of the jigsaw that could save someone's life. Please share that information with others through these two new sections. They can only be as effective as you make them.
H.C. Wilson