Context
This diagram shows the 'Circle of Vulnerability' regarding this incident.- We will focus on Singapore's context, in particular, the NTU context.
- Recognise NTU as an organization in attempt to reconcile and intervene in the crisis.
- We also consider the role played by the President of NTU, the involved schools, people in relation to David Widjaja, people in relation to Prof. Chan etc.
- This concept assume that everybody is vulnerable to psychological stress in an emergency or crisis.
- Circle of Vulnerability indicates that degress of vulnerability which depends on their proximity to the event and not how people are actually affected by it.
PRIMARY Circle of Vulnerability
The people included in the primary circle of vulnerability are most heavily impacted by the incident. This includes the direct family members of those involved such as the families of David as well as Professor Chan. These people have close direct relationships and blood ties with the victims and are emotional and/or psychologically affected by the incident. This also includes eye witness to the event as they have first hand contact with the incident and may be tramautised or disturbed by the incident.
SECONDARY Circle of Vulnerability
The people included in the secondary circle of vulnerability are not as heavily impacted by the incident. This includes those with any relationship ties to David and Professor Chan such as their friends, relatives as well as members in the same faculty. These people know the victims personally and are affected by the incident (e.g. loss of a friend, disruption of class). This also includes police and paramedics as they have first hand contact with the scene of the incident and interact with the victims soon after the incident.
TERTIARY Circle of Vulnerability
The people included in the tertiary circle of vulnerability are least impacted by the incident. This includes people with remote ties to the victimes or are able to relate to the victims even though they do not know them personally. This includes other students/professors, parents of students and the general public. This also includes people who may have "participated in the event" in the capacity of their job but may not actually having a personal interest in the incident such as the hospital staff who treated the victims as well reporters who reported on the event.
Everyone is vulnerable to psychological stress in an emergency or disaster. Everyone who either directly or indirectly affected by the crisis is more likely to experience crisis or extreme stress. However, we should not forsaken individuals who are indirectly impacted by the event through extensive media coverage especially in the globalized world now.
