Workplace violence, building security, and bombings will be among the topics discussed at UNLV in August as part of the fourth annual New Avenues in Crisis Management conference.

The two-day conference, which attracts business people, government workers, and university professors from around the world, is scheduled for Aug. 10 and 11. It is sponsored by the Nevada Small Business Development Center at UNLV.

"As a result of the bombing in Oklahoma City, more corporations and government agencies are seriously looking at the need for crisis planning," said Larry Barton, a crisis management expert and former UNLV professor who is serving as conference chair.

"The number of incidents of violence in the workplace -- stemming both from employees and former employees as well as from outsiders -- is on the rise," Barton said. "Corporations are realizing they need to have plans in place to minimize the threat and to deal with a crisis should one occur.

A new feature at this year's conference will be a simulation involving a disturbed employee coming onto company premises and posing a threat. Conference participants will be divided into groups and given a chance to see how they would react in such a situation, said Barton, who now is director of issues management for Motorola Inc.

Among the nearly two dozen presentations will be "The World's Biggest Party: Crisis Preparations for the 1996 Super Bowl," "Earthquake! What We Now Know About the Next Big One," "Preventing Environmental Disasters," "Reintegrating the Traumatized Worker," "The Challenger Accident: Crisis Communication," and "The CEO Was Missing In Every Single One of These Disasters."

Open to anyone interested in crisis management, the conference should be of particular interest to human resource workers, public relations specialists, executives, and risk and security managers. The cost of registration is $195 through July 31. Late registration costs $295.

For additional information, contact Kaye Schwer at 895-0852.