Emergency Alert System
Roger Herring

The last statewide Required Monthly Test was on October 9, 2001.  The next statewide Required Monthly Test will be on November 6, 2001 at 11:15 a.m.

If you are interested in a form for logging your EAS tests, email me at rherring@ktul.com

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Bio on our Speaker
by the Editor

Nandhu Nandhakumar is currently Vice President of Engineering and Chief Technology Officer at Triveni Digital, where he manages engineering teams that develop, manufacture, integrate and support broadcast products for data enhanced digital television. His team develops infrastructure products for cable, terrestrial and satellite broadcasters which enable new revenue streams via data and meta-data enhancement of the broadcast stream.

He is also responsible for establishing strategic relationships with customers and partners and defining product and technology directions for the company.

 Nandhu Nandhakumar has a bachelor's degree is Communications Engineering, a Masters degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a PhD degree from the University of Texas at Austin in electrical and computer engineering. He served on the faculties of  UT Austin and the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, where he conducted research in video and image processing, funded by industry and government agencies. In addition to developing and deploying advanced software and sensor products and technologies, he published more than 80 publications including book chapters and refereed papers.  Later, as director of the image and video processing group at LG Electronics Research Center, he led advanced technology development related to networked multimedia appliances, and MPEG standards activities.

 He is a senior member of the IEEE's Broadcast Technology Society.

You’ve heard of absenteeism, right?  How about presenteeism?

From the Editor, Mark Bell.
An article from Rene Guzman of the New York Times News Service caught my eye the day before my birthday a little over a month ago. I’m at an age where birthdays seem to be more recognized and appreciated by those around me. I just kind of show up, become "present" at whatever is going on. I make it through the day as easily as possible while not revealing my true feelings. When the concept of this article was created, I didn’t know we’d be at war when it would be published. Nobody did. But the fact we are plays into it’s concept. 

"The lights are on but nobody’s home" you may have said, or heard a coworker state about another. The person referred to is being made fun of because their level of awareness and comprehension in particular areas is less then it is thought it could be.

That coworker who "just doesn’t get it" may be moving a bit slower because of depression. Depression is a contributor to operating at less than capacity. In fact, one quarter of the population will have depression at one time or another. People may take a few days off because a flu may slow them down a bit, but few feel it’s valid to do the same when mentally fatigued or depressed. They may feel that if they try to take time off, it may be viewed as a negative aspect of their job performance.

One has to simply understand some of the above and how it may apply to coworkers or the general public.

It’s a given that work is a sustaining force in many people’s lives. If there are family issues, personal tensions, or loss, it’s hard to predict what stimulus during the day will create a response, typical of the type which would make others feel the person isn’t "all there." They may not react properly under all circumstances, perhaps not properly avoiding typical hazards of the job, working with less efficiency, or maybe not practicing common courtesies.

If you’re out on the street you deal with a very large population who may be showing up for their jobs as a distraction from the misery in their lives, too. Their recovery "therapy" is working in your outside environment.

The TV business has been subject to a lot of instability. If a person is thinking of that, or exposed to emotionally disturbing news day after day, they may be affected by the emotional aspect of their work.

This brings up the memory of a conversation with an insurance company representative about trauma. He was asked what would happen if an insurance company colleague witnessed the tragedy of a murder, and the shocked, emotional relatives and friends of the victim.

"He/She would probably be given the day, week, or more off, depending on his or her reaction," he said.

The typical response from TV people was that they may be given a break to get themselves back together, but would be expected to quickly return to work. It’s the nature of the business. There’s an expectation that TV people will shield themselves from the trauma they wit-ness, for reasons which aren’t very clear.

What’s being discovered more and more, however, is that few can hide from such trauma.

Now we’re at war. We think and feel a bit different about things in our lives, such as survival. We were at-tacked. We have fears that we may not survive for reasons of which we’re unaware. There is nothing stronger than those fears. Will the sight of people of a certain nationality create a reaction within you or others? Will a loud boom create fear? Are you looking at tall buildings and planes in flight different than before September 11, 2001? Most likely you are, because you’re human, and you’re emotionally distracted. With your fears and anger you show up for work to try and get back into a routine and keep on going, just like the person next to you.

Within most of us, and looking at the next guy, all the lights may appear to be on, but everybody’s not home.

For more information, specific to PTSD and broadcasters, go to www.DigitalTelevision.com and read: Media Personnel And The Psychological Effects Of Disaster By Dorothy C. Hayden, CSW, or go to Nat’l Center For PTSD www.ncptsd.org or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Alliance www.ptsdalliance.org.

Contact information,
ENG Safety Memo:
Toll-free: 1-87-SAFE-6090
Phone: 781-383-6090
Fax: 781-394-0762
e-mail: safety@engsafety.com
www.engsafety.com