Disasters impose enormous misery on children, the most vulnerable members of the community. Records show that two million children have died as a direct consequence of armed conflict over the past decade. Globally, millions more have suffered death, disease, and dislocation as a result of such natural disasters as earthquakes, droughts, and floods. And even when emergency relief is available, permanent human damage remains; all too often, families fall apart, women are assaulted and degraded, and children are left to take care of themselves. In November 2008, the Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters at the University of Massachusetts Boston, USA, hosted an international conference to examine how to reconstruct sustainable communities that would be safe and secure for children and their families after disasters. This volume collects some of the papers that were presented at the conference. It is remarkable for the sheer assortment of topics covered. These include the role of gender equality in alleviating poverty and assisting children, their families and their communities after disasters; war and child soldiers; lessons from Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunami; the nature of psychosocial resilience and its significance for managing mass emergencies, disasters and terrorism; and, the promotion of human dignity in the creation of sustainable environments that empower families in the aftermath of disasters.

This volume focuses on the status of the elderly and the disabled after disasters globally as well as the challenges of post-earthquake rebuilding in Haiti. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has estimated that between 1987 and 2007, about 26 million older people were affected each year by natural disasters alone and that this figure could more than double by 2050 due to the rapidly changing demographics of ageing. People with disabilities (physical, medical, sensory or cognitive) are equally at risk of utter neglect during and after disasters. The Australian Agency for International Development estimates that 650 million people across the world have a disability and about 80 per cent of them live in developing countries. Similarly, before the January 2010 earthquake, Haiti was a “country with tremendous development needs and numerous impediments to development,” according to Congresswoman Maxine Waters when introducing a Resolution in the US House of Representatives to cancel Haiti’s debts in March 2007. These impediments included an overwhelming burden of international debt; lack of personal and community assets; and, very little or no internal and external capacities, all of which have been exacerbated by the aftermath of the earthquake. It was against this background that the Center for Rebuilding Sustainable Communities after Disasters at the University of Massachusetts Boston organized two international Conferences in 2010 – in April, on Rebuilding Sustainable Communities in Haiti in the wake of the January Earthquake; and, in July, on Rebuilding Sustainable Communities with the Elderly and Disabled People after Disasters. This edited book consists of selected papers that were presented at these academic events. The topics include Disaster Experiences of the Elderly and the Disabled in Nigeria; The Vulnerability of Elderly People in the Aftermath of Earthquakes in Iran; Methods for Assessing and Developing Understanding of Resiliency in Communities; The Tuareg’s traditional Shelter for Disaster Mitigation and Reconstruction in Libya; and, People with Disabilities in Haiti Before and After the 2010 Earthquake.

In the devastation that follows a major disaster, there is a need for multiple sectors to unite and devote new resources to support the rebuilding of infrastructure, the provision of health and social services, the restoration of care delivery systems, and other critical recovery needs. In some cases, billions of dollars from public, private and charitable sources are invested to help communities recover. National rhetoric often characterizes these efforts as a "return to normal." But for many American communities, pre-disaster conditions are far from optimal. Large segments of the U.S. population suffer from preventable health problems, experience inequitable access to services, and rely on overburdened health systems. A return to pre-event conditions in such cases may be short-sighted given the high costs - both economic and social - of poor health. Instead, it is important to understand that the disaster recovery process offers a series of unique and valuable opportunities to improve on the status quo. Capitalizing on these opportunities can advance the long-term health, resilience, and sustainability of communities - thereby better preparing them for future challenges. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters identifies and recommends recovery practices and novel programs most likely to impact overall community public health and contribute to resiliency for future incidents. This book makes the case that disaster recovery should be guided by a healthy community vision, where health considerations are integrated into all aspects of recovery planning before and after a disaster, and funding streams are leveraged in a coordinated manner and applied to health improvement priorities in order to meet human recovery needs and create healthy built and natural environments. The conceptual framework presented in Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters lays the groundwork to achieve this goal and provides operational guidance for multiple sectors involved in community planning and disaster recovery. Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters calls for actions at multiple levels to facilitate recovery strategies that optimize community health. With a shared healthy community vision, strategic planning that prioritizes health, and coordinated implementation, disaster recovery can result in a communities that are healthier, more livable places for current and future generations to grow and thrive - communities that are better prepared for future adversities.

June 18-19, 2018 Rome, Italy Key Topics : Social Sciences and Medical Sociology, Social Sciences and Community Studies, Social Sciences and Epidemiology, Social Sciences and Public Health, Social Science and Nursing, Social Sciences and Education, Social Sciences and Social Work, Social Sciences and Psychology, Social Sciences and Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences, Social Science and Anthropology, Social Sciences and Gender Studies, Social Sciences and Sociology, Social Sciences and Political Studies, Social Sciences and Criminal Justice, Social Sciences and Disaster Management, Social Sciences and Economics, Social Sciences and Communication Studies, Technology and Society, Social Work and NGO’s,

An award-winning author and transdisciplinary social scientist offers a must-read guide to paradigm change for creating a socially and ecologically sustainable future. Gender, Humiliation, and Global Security: Dignifying Relationships from Love, Sex, and Parenthood to World Affairs aims at outlining the kind of change that needs to be made if we wish to create a less crisis-prone world. This audacious work describes a vision for an alternative future, showing how new approaches to love can dignify gender relations, sex, parenthood, and leadership, and how they can guide us to a world where all citizens can live dignified lives. The book is organized in three parts. Part I, "Gender, Humiliation, and Lack of Security in Times of Transition," examines the nature of humiliation and how love and humiliation are influenced by large-scale, historical transitions such as globalization. Part II, "Gender, Humiliation, and Lack of Security in the World Today," looks at love, sex, parenthood, and leadership and how they can be dignified. Part III, "Global Security through Love and Humility in the Future," explores how love can be used to inspire psychological, social, cultural, and political strategies and to stimulate global, systemic change.

Deals with the topic of Community Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR). This book provides an overview of the subject and looks at the role of governments, NGOs, academics and corporate sectors in community based disaster risk reduction. It examines experiences from Asian and African countries.

A host of natural and man-made disasters have plagued the world in the twenty-first century, many with significant global impact. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the Indian Ocean tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina all affected broad regions with devastating results. The need for better emergency management policies, procedures, and cooperation among nations is evident. Bringing together contributions from a cadre of international experts, Comparative Emergency Management: Examining Global and Regional Responses to Disasters demonstrates ways to recognize and reduce regional infrastructure vulnerability by building secure networks of collaboration within different geographical areas of the world. Explores issues on all continents With discrete sections on the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Rim, the book presents the work of researchers and practitioners who examine ways different societies have responded to environmental threats using innovative methods to cope with their vulnerabilities to disaster. Topics discussed include: A game approach that has been used as an effective tool in the communication of disaster risk information in the Caribbean Efforts to rebuild tourism in New Orleans despite the challenges presented by media coverage of Hurricane Katrina Faith-based organization (FBO) humanitarian assistance in the Muslim world Nongovernmental and community-based responses to the Asian tsunami and the Sumatran earthquake The book presents a multifaceted study that aims to foster dialogue among policymakers to reduce social vulnerability and build local and regional capacities to withstand environmental assaults. Encouraging creative thinking, it offers ideas and solutions that have been successful in a range of environments worldwide. The authoritative scholarship presented combines interdisciplinary studies that will be valuable to a broad range of fields and professionals.