Exploring the Impact of Crisis and Trauma on the Mental Health and Psychological Well-Being of University Students in Northern Haiti

In recent decades,Haiti has been subject to man-made and natural disasters that have left its citizens vulnerable to a range of shocks.With a weak state unable to protect its populace,Haitians are exposed to some of the highest levels of poverty and violence in the Western Hemisphere.In recent years,Haitians have experienced two crises that this study analyzes:the instability and political violence of“peyi lòk”as well as the global pandemic of COVID-19.This community-based assessment explores the impact of these two crises on the mental health and psychological well-being of 38 Haitian university students in the understudied northern part of the country.Results indicate that both crises had similarities related to their psychological effects on young people,most notably in terms of traumatic experiences related to threats or violence,forced confinement,and large increases in population-wide uncertainty.Additionally,the extreme violence of“peyi lòk”and the widespread unpredictability of COVID-19 and its effects in the early days of the pandemic resulted in high levels of stress and fear.Both crises also resulted in extreme economic hardship for students,with many reporting difficulties accessing basic needs such as food and water.This study highlights how converging population-level crises in“complex emergencies”can heighten trauma and compromise mental health.

Off-Grid Photovoltaic System Design for Haiti School Project

In this paper a Photovoltaic (PV) system was designed for the Port-Margot School Solar Project in Haiti. This off-grid system consists of PV panels, inverter, battery storage and other components such as fuses, dc/ac disconnects and transformers [1]. Sizing the PV to fit on the roof was determined. The battery storage and inverter were chosen to be installed in the school building. The expected energy production was compared with data file from NASA website. The KW PV system was chosen to be the most effective and demonstrating renewable technologies and reducing the electrical load of the school.

Assessment of Good Agricultural Practices on Cocoa and Coffee Farms in Northern Haiti

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and presents a unique scenario for the food and agriculture industry, because there is no food safety legislation. The application of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) leads to improvements of quality, safety and sustainability of agricultural products. The purpose of the study was to assess the status of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) in cocoa and coffee farms in Northern Haiti. A general survey captured information about the farmer and the farm, and an audit checklist was used to assess compliance to GAPs. A total of 11 farms (n = 11) were audited, of which 7 were cocoa farms (64%) and 4 were coffee farms (34%) in the regions of Dondon, Limonade and Milot. Average overall audit scores for coffee farms (73%) were higher than for cocoa farms (55%). Farms affiliated with a cooperative scored higher (78%) than those that were not part of a cooperative (55%). The sections of the survey on “Practices related to premises and production site”, and the “use of agricultural inputs and chemicals” received the lowest scores but were confined to the cocoa farms. “Record keeping” plus “distribution, transportation, and traceability” were cause for concern with both the cocoa and coffee farms. Critical non-conformances included the access of livestock animals and domestic pets to processing and storage areas, the lack of control in the application of agricultural chemicals, a lack of safeguards on equipment and elevated surfaces, and washing of fresh cocoa beans to remove the mucilage with water that had not been treated or tested for potability. The root cause of the non-conformances, regardless of the commodity, was either related to poor physical and organizational infrastructures, or to a lack of technical training.

Understanding The Restavek Phenomenon in Haiti Through Storytelling and Film

Known as the Pearl of the Antilles, Haiti was the first black republic to win its independence from the French in an uprising by slaves. Two hundred years after the revolt, Haiti＇s children, the most vulnerable population of the nation, endure modem day slavery. Extreme social, economic, and political instability have led the country to adopt and accept this practice. This qualitative study reveals audiences＇ narratives of their experiences as guardians of Restaveks and their reflections after watching the documentary film Blooming Hope （2010）. The documentary features Tata Dumasie, an artisan woman who narrates her life story growing up as a Restavek. This ethnographic research concludes that documentary films serve as tools for popular education. Furthermore, narrative discourse can reconstruct identities of former Restaveks and positively transform guardians＇ perceptions of the Restavek phenomenon.

ZTE Supports Aid Efforts into Haiti

ZTE Corporation, a leading global provider of telecommunications equipment and network solutions, announced on January 15, 2010 that it had delivered solar-powered handsets and its GoTa trunking system to the Haiti government to provide much needed communication equipment needed for aid efforts for the victims of the earthquake that hit Haiti on January 14. The first batch of 1,500 ZTE＇s GSM solar mobile phones were dispatched to Haiti from Jamaica in the morning of January 15. The Company has confirmed that its 11 employees stationed in Haiti are safe and in a healthy condition. ZTE has contacted the employees＇ families to keep them informed of the current situation.

Performance of the procedure for ultra-rapid extraction and loop-mediated isothermal amplifcation (PURE-LAMP) method to detect malaria in Haiti

Background Malaria continues to cause burden in various parts of the world.Haiti,a Caribbean country,is among those aiming to eliminate malaria within a few years.Two surveys were conducted in Haiti during which we aimed to evaluate the performance of the simple and rapid procedure for ultra-rapid extraction-loop-mediated isothermal amplifcation(PURE-LAMP)method with dried blood spots as an alternative diagnostic method for malaria in the context of low to very low rates of transmission.Methods Febrile and afebrile people were recruited from three administrative divisions within Haiti:Nippes,Sud and Grand’Anse,during the summers of 2017(early August to early September)and 2018(late July to late August).Their blood samples were tested by microscopy,rapid diagnostic tests(RDT),PURE-LAMP and nested PCR to detect Plasmodium infection.Sensitivity,specifcity,positive and negative predictive values and kappa statistics were estimated with the nested PCR results as the gold standard.Results Among 1074 samples analyzed,a positive rate of 8.3%was calculated based on the nested PCR results.Among febrile participants,the rates in 2017 and 2018 were 14.6%and 1.4%,respectively.Three positives were detected among 172 afebrile participants in 2018 by PURE-LAMP and nested PCR,and all three were from the same locality.There was no afebrile participants recruited in 2017.The PURE-LAMP,RDT and microscopy had respective sensitivities of 100%,85.4%and 49.4%.All of the testing methods had specifcities over 99%.Conclusions This study confrmed the high performance of the PURE-LAMP method to detect Plasmodium infection with dried blood spots and recommends its use in targeted mass screening and treatment activities in low endemic areas of malaria.

基于谷歌地球引擎和Sentinel-2时序数据的海地多云地区地震滑坡识别

受云雾影响,强震震后的高分辨率光学影像质量较低,限制了震后地震滑坡调查和评估工作的开展。本文以2021年8月14日海地尼普斯(Nippes)MW7.2地震附近区域为研究区,基于谷歌地球引擎(Google Earth Engine)云平台和Sentinel-2时间序列影像,提出了一种遥感序列影像去云和地震滑坡识别的方法。首先,利用Sentinel-2遥感影像及机器学习算法获取的Sentinel-2云概率数据产品,对长时间序列遥感影像进行去云处理,镶嵌融合得到无云的影像数据;然后对无云光学影像进行多尺度最优分割,利用遥感数据的光谱特征、植被指数、不同类别的空间邻近关系特征等,构建了面向对象的地震滑坡识别模型。结果显示,本文提出的去云和滑坡识别方法有益于多云地区强震震后滑坡空间分布的准确识别,能够为灾后应急调查和评估提供技术支撑。

Local Volunteerism and Resilience Following Large-Scale Disaster: Outcomes for Health Support Team Volunteers in Haiti

In-depth interviews with local Haitian volunteers trained in a psychological disaster recovery program called Health Support Team(HST) provide insight into the psychosocial outcomes resulting from their engagement with the program. Qualitative interviews were conducted with four male Haitian participants who had survived the January 2010 Haiti earthquake and had worked as HST volunteers for at least 6 months. Interviews were analyzed using narrative inquiry analysis, which allows individuals to discover and disclose a deeper meaning in their experience and enables the researchers to access more detailed data. Previous research supports the claim that volunteerism provides many important psychological benefits, and the results of the present study suggest that among survivors of large-scale disasters, volunteerism is beneficial as a means of increasing psychological resilience and facilitating personal recovery. Results and themes of our analysis included a reported increase in both hope and purpose for the respondents. Findings suggest that volunteerism on the part of members of the surviving community following large-scale disaster increases resilience among the volunteers and further contributes to their recovery.

两次海地7.3级地震应急救援对比分析

海地是一个长期经济相对落后的国家,严重的贫困状况导致了社会应对灾害的脆弱性,政府一方面无法提供大量的资金建设防震、抗震房屋,另一方面也未曾有效制订建筑标准,也无强制执行的建筑法规,导致房屋建设缺乏规划,建筑物普遍不设防、抗震性能差,震后损失重。2010和2021年海地分别发生7.3级地震,均造成大量人员伤亡。本文从地震造成的人员伤亡、海地政府应急响应及救灾效果、国际救援组织援助情况3个方面对两次地震的应急响应和救援能力进行对比分析。结果发现两次地震灾害均有国际救援力量参与,2010年的地震救援是一种无政府状态,以国际力量救援为主,海地政府为辅的救援活动;而2021年政府的应急响应速度有显著提升,在救灾中发挥了绝对主导作用。对国际救援案例和国际救援力量的分析和研究可为我国国际救援队伍派出、对外援助提供有效决策建议。

基于改进YOLOv4的2021年海地7.2级地震震后滑坡识别

以国产高分二号影像为数据源,利用改进的YOLOv4算法对2021年海地7.2级地震诱发的滑坡进行识别。为提升模型的识别效率,用MobileNetv3替换了YOLOv4的骨干网络CSPDarknet53,并用深度可分离卷积替代YOLOv4中的普通卷积,优化了模型参数和网络结构。结果表明:改进后的YOLOv4算法目标识别精度达到91.37%,比普通YOLOv4检测速度提高了6.19 f/s,精度提高了5.24%,模型参数大小减少了80%。改进后的方法对滑坡的检测精度高于原YOLOv4算法,得到的滑坡位置更为准确,具有轻量化和实时性更高的优势,可为应急救援和灾情评估提供更加可靠的数据。

基于航空影像和LiDAR数据的海地地震滑坡识别研究

快速、准确地判别滑坡灾害范围对灾情评估与救灾指挥至关重要。将高分辨率航空影像和机载LiDAR数据相结合,能充分利用滑坡体的光谱特征、几何形态与空间结构特征,提高滑坡识别的准确度。该文以海地地震诱发的滑坡识别为例,介绍了面向对象的滑坡识别思路及方法;针对海地滑坡灾害特点,选择了相应的灾害特征,并经反复试验设定了特征参数阈值;针对面向对象分类过程中特征组合与选择这一瓶颈问题,以河流沉积物和滑坡判别为例,通过特征组合试验与对比分析,发现基于NDVI与坡度特征组合的分类结果明显优于单一特征及其它组合模式的分类结果。与最大似然分类法相比,该方法的分类结果更为准确、精度更高。

从海地救援行动谈国家应急医疗救援队建设

以南京军区南京总医院为主抽组的中国医疗防疫救护队,闻令而动,科学抽组,圆满完成海地国际人道主义医疗救援任务。文中通过总结海地国际医疗救援经验,进一步验证了国家应急医疗救援队组建模式的科学性、创新性,并为国家应急医疗救援队下一步建设提供了参考,理清了思路。

赴海地执行医疗救护任务的实践

2010年1月12日,海地遭遇7.3级地震,伤亡惨重,全球关注。按照党中央、中央军委和胡锦涛主席命令,以南京军区南京总医院为主抽组的中国医疗防疫救护队,于2010年1月24日至2010年2月10日赴海地执行了国际救援任务。这是国家第一次派出军队出境执行人道主义救援,第一次到未建交国家执行卫勤保障,第一次以中国军人身份赴中美洲执行任务,因此,政治要求高、使命任务重、风险程度大、装备要素全、跨国行动快。在太子港的15 d,体验了境外执行医学救援的任务型、环境型和意外型风险的压力和处境;救护队在灾民集中区开设野战帐蓬救护站,现场救治突出了骨伤、感染、妇产和儿科力量,共接诊3921名伤病员,辅助检查276例共1520项,发放药品3900人次,对156名外伤患者进行了消毒清创和换药包扎,同时培训了3名当地的医护人员,向海地政府捐赠了价值约20余万元65类医疗物资。海地国际救援行动对执行任务人员有效履行使命是一次综合素质的全面考验,提高了卫勤指挥的联合能力,提升了快速部署与应变能力,增添了非战争险境的适应能力,强化了医疗与防疫的协同能力。

基于机载LiDAR和多光谱图像的建筑物震害自动识别方法

地震破坏的建筑物在遥感影像上和空间上表现出的特征各异,致使遥感定量化估计其破坏程度较困难。本文介绍了基于LiDAR和多光谱影像相结合的多源遥感影像进行倒塌建筑物的面向对象识别的方法、分析处理步骤和特征参数选择,并以2010年1月12日海地地震后的太子港局部LiDAR数据和高分辨率卫星影像为例,提取了倒塌和未倒塌建筑物,经与高分影像目视解译结果比较,面向对象分类结果具有较高的分类精度。

基于震后机载激光雷达点云的建筑物破坏特征分析

本文利用2010年海地MW7.0地震震后获取的机载激光雷达(LiDAR)三维点云数据,通过人机交互的方式选取受损程度不同的典型建筑物点云数据,比较分析倒塌建筑物与完好建筑物点云数据的高度、坡度和法向量等分布特征,提出了用建筑物点云高度均值偏离度、屋顶面坡度值以及法向量与天顶方向夹角等因子判定建筑物破坏程度.试验分析结果表明,高度均值偏离度因子对单个建筑物的破坏部分识别效果较好,屋顶面坡度值因子可以识别建筑物破坏部分的边缘,点云法向量与天顶方向夹角因子能够较好地识别大范围区域内的建筑物破坏情况,因此上述判定因子均能在一定情况下表征建筑物的破坏情况.

基于面向对象技术的建筑物震害识别方法研究

2010年1月12日海地发生7.3级大地震,造成首都太子港大量建筑物损毁。从震后甚高分辨率遥感影像中可以发现在倒塌和部分倒塌建筑物的周围存在很多瓦砾。因此,可以将瓦砾作为建筑物倒损的震害特征。分别采用基于像元的方法、面向对象的方法、综合地统计学纹理的面向对象方法自动提取建筑物瓦砾,并对3种方法的分类精度进行了评价,研究结果表明:单纯面向对象分类方法的总体分类精度低于基于像元的分类方法;当加入纹理特征后,总体Kappa系数和瓦砾的用户精度明显提高,然而瓦砾的生产者精度的改善并不明显。

境外执行灾难医学救援的特点与规律

以南京军区南京总医院为主抽组的中国医疗防疫救护队,2010年1月24日,赴海地执行国际人道主义医疗救援任务,2月10日圆满完成各项医疗救援任务返回祖国。本文总结此次救援,对执行境外灾害医学救援进行了前瞻性理论研究,深入探讨境外执行灾难医学救援的特点与规律。

IRIS台网地震仪资料出现2010年1月12日海地大地震“震前扰动现象”

2010年1月12日,加勒比岛国海地爆发了Mw7.0级大地震.震中附近的宽带地震仪记录在1月10 1月12日观测到了显著的"震前扰动"现象.扰动信号的周期为3～10秒.北美大陆的宽带地震仪也记录到了类似的扰动信号.海地大地震"震前扰动"发生期间,加勒比海域及周围海域没有发生任何海洋风暴.海地大地震的"震前扰动"是由某种非台风因素引发的.

DEMETER卫星监测到的海地地震前电离层扰动

本文利用法国DEMETER卫星观测到的电离层数据,对2010年1月12日加勒比海地区海地太子港附近发生的MS7.1地震震前电离层扰动进行了探索性研究。通过对电磁场频谱、等离子体数密度、温度等物理参量的分析,探讨了电离层变化与地震的关系。研究结果表明,海地地震前出现的异常电磁现象的空间效应是清楚的,震前几小时磁赤道峰存在剧烈扰动,震中附近电场分量E12低频谱密度有增强现象。临震前1天和临震前3天在震中+5°范围电子数密度(Ne)出现异常,震前8天氧离子(O+)数密度在震中上空出现了异常现象。震前震中区上空电磁场VLF在40 Hz和120 Hz等低频点出现清晰的电场异常扰动,震前出现的这种变化可能与地震有关。