Social Sciences

The media, especially TV media, are clearly uncomfortable discussing issues of race or racism in its coverage of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina, according to Elayne Rapping, a media critic and pop-culture expert at the University at Buffalo.

A federal policy of urban neglect is partly to blame for the extensive damage done to New Orleans by Katrina and the disastrous conditions left in its wake, according to Mark Gottdiener, Ph.D., an expert on urban culture and policy.

While Louisiana and Mississippi residents struggle to evacuate, to relocate and -- above all else, to survive -- many of the youngest among them face years of recovery from a variety of traumas Hurricane Katrina has dispersed upon them.

The hundreds of thousands of Gulf coast residents left homeless by Hurricane Katrina have not only lost their homes, possessions and possibly loved ones, they also have lost their sense of security, says Hilary Weaver, associate professor of social work at the University at Buffalo.

The wisdom of attempting to resettle the Gulf region "is highly questionable," according to Alfred Price, associate professor and interim chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University at Buffalo.

Widespread devastation in the wake of Hurricane Katrina reminds Americans who are used to localized disasters being dealt with adequately that the U.S. is susceptible to catastrophes in which the ability to respond is itself severely damaged, says Ernest Sternberg, Ph.D., University at Buffalo professor of urban and regional planning.

A large percentage of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina and its catastrophic aftermath will suffer from Acute Stress Disorder, according to Nancy J. Smyth, Ph.D., LCSW, a University at Buffalo expert on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

"Nasty social behavior" is very common following the first 48 hours of a disaster, according to University at Buffalo professor Charles Ebert, Ph.D., who teaches the course, "Disasters: analysis of natural and human-induced hazards."

Reports of widespread looting in New Orleans following the tragic flooding of the historic city sound less like actual criminal activity than desperation, according to a forensic psychologist at the University at Buffalo.

If you log on to eBay or murderauction.com these days, you will find a variety of "murderabilia" on sale for anywhere from $5 to $10,000. This might seem ghoulishly commercial, but it is just one manifestation of America's century-long obsession with serial killers. This compulsive preoccupation and its use in American culture is the subject of a new book by UB's David Schmid.