Whether natural or human-caused, disasters can be defined as life-threatening events that affect a large number of people within a relatively brief period of time, bringing sudden and great misfortune. The risk of death from disasters can be minimized when communities take precautionary measures to lessen their impact.
The aftermath of a disaster entails both meeting the immediate needs of survivors and providing adequate postvention support to emergency workers who are exposed to the tragedy of human suffering.
Community standards of morality and justice play major roles in determining how an act of killing is assessed by a society and its judicial system. The killer's motivation and intent, along with the relationship between killer and victim, are among the factors considered in assessing whether a homicide is lawful or unlawful and, if unlawful, whether it constitutes murder.
Capital punishment has a twofold purpose; namely, to punish the offender and deter potential offenders. Whether the death penalty serves this purpose is a matter of debate; many people believe that it is inconsistent for a society to try to prevent murder by itself engaging in killing.
Because medical technology has advanced to the point that machines can now sustain bodily functions, the definition of death has become more complex and new methods of determining death have been instituted.
Legislation defining death has evolved with the expansion of sophisticated medical technologies.
Organ donation is voluntary; however, because there is a shortage of transplantable organs, most states have enacted "required request" laws that obligate hospitals to institute policies encouraging organ and tissue donations.
Organ transplantation involves issues of rationing that require medical personnel to act as gatekeepers in determining prospective recipients.
Death notification involves strategies for delivering bad news that can ease the traumatic impact of a death on survivors.
Death certification, along with autopsies conducted at the direction of coroners and medical examiners, involves a legal process for reporting the cause and mode of death.
As a network of people, places, and times, as well as objects and symbols, the death system affects our collective and personal relationships to mortality in many ways.
