Why do we react the way we do in a crisis situation? That's the subject of a new book, The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why, by senior Time Magazine staffer Amanda Ripley. In the book, Ripley interviews survivors from 9/11, floods, hostage situations and other traumatic events as well as experts on psychological and emotional responses to these kinds of situations. The big message of her book coincides with that of the Security Seminars -- be prepared! Participate in drills!
Ripley was one of the speakers at the Private Sector Security Overseas Seminar (PSOS) at the Foreign Service Institute on September 11-12th, 2008. The Foreign Service Institute's Transition Center, in collaboration with the Overseas Security Advisory Council, reaches out twice a year to the private sector on a limited basis to share its security strategies and information on topics such as current threat trends, surveillance and bomb recognition, environmental threats, and the human side of crisis management. Those wishing to register for PSOS must be Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) constituents. However, there is no fee for becoming a constituent. Information on becoming an OSAC constituent along with the registration form and information can be found on OSAC's website.
Listen to the PODCAST of Amanda Ripley's September presentation or read the transcript.
View the Dip Note blog regarding this event at: http://blogs.state.gov/index.php/entries/overseas_security_seminar/
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