Susan Cutter is a distinguished professor of geography at the University of South Carolina where she directs the Hazards and Vulnerability Research Institute. Cutter researches what makes people and the places where they live vulnerable to extreme events such as hurricanes or tornadoes, and how vulnerability and resilience are measured, monitored, and assessed. She has…

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View webcast (Time: 48 minutes) American families have changed dramatically in recent years. More children are living with single parents and more mothers are working. As a result, stay-at-home mothers, once the norm, have become increasingly rare. These changes have profound implications for the role of work-family policies in promoting child well-being. As part of PRB’s…

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Increasing disaster threats not only reflect the onset of events such as earthquakes or floods, but also the changing demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the population. A large, violent tornado, for instance, passing through an open field presents little danger. On the other hand, a relatively weak tornado can pose significant risks to human life and can result in…

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Mortality remains one of the major outcomes related to natural disasters, and a recent study on which types of disasters are the deadliest has yielded interesting results. University of South Carolina researchers Kevin Borden and Susan Cutter found that, surprisingly, heat or drought to be the deadliest natural hazard during the time period from 1970 to…

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The 2004 hurricane season was the worst in Florida’s history. Four hurricanes caused $45 billion in damages and widespread population displacement. About 1.6 million people evacuated their homes—and many had to more than once in the year. Based on sample surveys with 11,000 residents in heavily hit areas, Stanley Smith has found new results on…

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View webcast (Time: 1 hour, 12 minutes) What are the most promising recent new developments in contraceptive research and implementation? What are current priorities in the research and development of new contraceptives? What are some of the new contraceptive technologies currently in the field? Which technologies are being developed for future testing and implementation? And…

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