Dynes, Russell R.Quarantelli, E. L.2005-02-272005-02-271975http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/382"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of Wisdom, it was the age of Foolishness. It was the Spring of Hope, it was the Winter of Despair." This, of course, is the famous opening passage from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities (1946: 1) that deals with the French Revolution. The balancing phrases capture well the dual theme that both literary writers and scholars assert characterizes personal and group behavior at times of great social stress.844648 bytesapplication/pdfen-UScommunity conflictsocial stressexternal threatdisaster agentOther