Department of Security & Crime Science 1 Lucy Burton 2/26 Searching for Patterns There are parallels between the dynamics of certain man-made complex systems and those that occur naturally One characteristic of complex systems is that the frequency and magnitude of outcomes can be described by a mathematical relationship called a “power law” Albatross Flight Internet Connections US Flight Paths Earthquakes 3/26 Searching for Patterns Wave run up heights 4/26 Research Interests Multidisciplinary research in the fields of economics, ecology and mathematics: •Investigating how patterns found in animal foraging may be linked to patterns in the location of offences and the journey of criminals •Developing novel quantitative approaches for the study of conflict and rebellion groups •Looking at how complexity science and network approaches may be utilised in the analysis of war 5/26 Amin Amiri 6/26 Search and Rescue Missions Earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones -- disasters like these make a normally natural environment hard to navigate and dangerous for human search and rescue teams. Emerging technologies : •Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (e.g. Rotary UAVs) •Mobile Remote Sensing Systems Advantages: •Time and Resource efficient •High Accuracy •Cost-effective 7/26 Search and Rescue Missions SkyEye Quadrocopter UAV UCL - Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering 8/26 Challenges and Research Interests Challenges: •Compact (Light weight) •Utilising the technology (Multi-sensor integration) •Are we ready to operate UAVs in our cities ? (Ethics) Research interests: •Design of novel radar systems on UAVs (e.g. smart antennas) •3D Scanning and Mapping (Detecting, Locating, Imaging) • Investigating the use of these systems in security and defence (e.g. Landmine detection, border control) 9/26 Changwang Zhang 10/26 Communication Network Support Communication is essential to report the disaster and carry out the rescue plan. We aim to make efforts to reinforce the communication network before and after the disaster. Before the disaster The security, robustness and resilience of the network system After the disaster Find critical points to re-connect the network Prioritise the emergency communication. 11/26 Communication Network Support How to achieve the following objectives? • Security, robustness and resilience of the network • Find critical failure points swiftly and prioritise the emergency communication Self-healing System By proposing intelligence network protocols • Network protocols – the software infrastructure of Immunisation System communications system • Anti-attack and self-healing network protocols Existing work RRED protocol – performs 3 times better than existing protocols for networks under attack. 12/26 Research Interests • • Network Security and its related fields Anti-attack and resilient network protocols Multidisciplinary Research • • • Law Psychology Global Health 13/26 Stavros-Ioannis Tsompanidis 14/26 The epidemiology of PTSD after natural disasters Part 1: Survivors • The definition of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its impact in psychological well being • Natural disasters as opposed to other human-made and technological disasters • Understanding personal resilience and cultural factors Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be classified as the most frequent disorder after traumatic events and disasters (Norris, Friedman, Watson et al., 2002) 15/26 The epidemiology of PTSD after natural disasters Part 2: Rescue Groups • What is vicarious trauma? • Development of PTSD in rescue groups’ members and the burn out phase • Idiosyncratic factors, group membership and resilience • Expanding research to other critical occupations Empirical evidence suggests that the prevalence of PTSD among direct victims of disasters is 30-40%, among rescue group workers is approximately 10-20% and the prevalence in the general population is 5-10% (Galea, Nandi and Vlahov, 2005) 16/26 Research Interests •Strategies for conflict resolution •Identity formation •Eyewitnesses and the fallibility of memory •Currently looking at juries’ decision making processes regarding forensic evidence presented in the court 17/26 Hugo Soto Ojeda 18/26 Consequences of natural disasters on crime The sudden disruption of the normal human activities in form of the disaster gives rise to both pro-social and anti-social behaviour: • Social order often breaks down and people resort to crime in desperation • For some, disaster is an opportunity to take advantage of others misfortune and increased vulnerability • Displacement of crime: rapid immigration caused by displacement from natural disaster could destabilise established social controls in adjoining areas 19/26 Consequences… Practical questions 20/26 Challenges and Research Interests To answer those questions we need to know: •Patterns of typical crimes in areas affected by tsunami •What are the “normal” situational conditions that facilitate the commission of these crimes after tsunami •International experience on successful measures of blocking opportunities for these particular crimes Research Interests •Evaluation and design of crime prevention policies •New crime patterns in Latin-America •Modernisation, social changes and crime involvement in Chile and LatinAmerica 21/26 Janina Beiser 22/26 Consequences on political stability Increase in the likelihood of conflict? 23/26 Consequences on political stability Statistical tests give insights about: Whether the likelihood of conflict has increased accounts Which (combination of) explanation(s) for it Which factors help prevent the outbreak and diffusion of conflict 24/26 Research Interests Geographical, social and economic interdependence between countries and regions: Outcomes for countries (in particular conflict and other forms of political violence but also state characteristics in general) Diffusion of such outcomes 25/26 Conclusion • A tsunami has short as well as long term negative consequences on different levels - on individuals - physical as well as psychological, on technology and infrastructure, on societies as a whole and on entire regions • In order to prevent and reverse those negative consequences, a multidisciplinary effort is necessary 26/26