Societal Transformations And Resilience In Times Of Crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread across the world and left turmoil in every facet of society in its wake. As in-person activities came to an end for public safety, businesses closed, classrooms scrambled to transition online, and society was forever changed. As the pandemic comes to a close, it is essential that researchers take this opportunity to study the changes that have occurred so that society may revive what has been lost and promote resilience should another crisis arise. Societal Transformations and Resilience in Times of Crisis focuses on the revival of societal institutions after events such as natural disasters, pandemics, political turmoil, and global crises, and looks toward building more resilient structures. It contributes novel approaches and provides implications for countries to improve the social system through novel approaches. Covering topics such as employee psychological distress, democracy, and higher education institutions, this premier reference source is a dynamic resource for government officials, community leaders, non-governmental organizations, students and faculty of higher education, sociologists, business executives and managers, human resource managers, researchers, and academicians.

The accruement of crises over the last two decades, with their particular manifestations in the European context, has evoked the feeling of living in exceptional times, as captured in the recurrent claim that we live in the "age of anxiety." The main aim of this collection is to analyse, from a multidisciplinary perspective, the causes and consequences of the current dominance of the discourse of fear, anxiety, and crisis through the experience of distinct and often interdependent moral panics in twenty-first-century Europe. With its multidisciplinary approach, this volume sheds light on the need to view the interrelationship between different crises and their associated affects as crucial in attaining a more nuanced understanding of the aetiology and effects of the current "age of anxiety." This multidisciplinary scrutiny of the interrelationship of twenty-first-century fears, anxiety and crises signals an original engagement with these complex phenomena in order to make their emergence and profound effects on contemporary society more comprehensible. The timeliness of the thematic focus and the rigorous in-depth analyses make this collection relevant to students and academics within the fields of sociology, literary and cultural studies, political science and anthropology, as well as to those in European studies and global studies.

Nature is one of the best medicines for difficult times. An intimate awareness of the natural world, even within the city, can calm anxieties and help create healthy perspectives. This book will inspire and guide you as you deal with the current crisis, or any personal or worldly distress. Melanie Choukas-Bradley is a naturalist and certified forest therapy guide who leads nature and forest bathing walks for many organizations in Washington, D.C. and the American West. Learn from her the Japanese art of "forest bathing": how to tune in to the beauty and wonder around you with all your senses, even if your current sphere is a tree outside the window or a wild backyard. Discover how you can become a backyard naturalist, learning about the trees, wildflowers, birds and animals near your home. Nature immersion during stressful times can bring comfort and joy as well as opportunities for personal growth, expanded vision and transformation. The "Resilience Series" is the result of an intensive, collaborative effort of our authors in response to the 2020 coronavirus epidemic. Each volume offers expert advice for developing the practical, emotional and spiritual skills that you can master to become more resilient in a time of crisis.

Many of us have wondered how we would respond in the midst of a crisis. You hope that difficult times could bring out the best in you. Some become stronger, more resilient and more innovative under pressure. You hope that you will too. But you are afraid that crisis may bring out your anxiety, your fears and your weakest communication. No one knows when the crisis will pass and things will get better. That's out of your hands. But you can get better. All it takes is an understanding of how human beings function at their best, the willpower to make small changes in perception and behavior, and a vision of a future that is better than today. In the pages of this book, you will learn to create the conditions that allow your best self to show up and make a difference - for you and for others. The "Resilience Series" is the result of an intensive, collaborative effort of our authors in response to the 2020 coronavirus epidemic. Each volume offers expert advice for developing the practical, emotional and spiritual skills that you can master to become more resilient in a time of crisis.

This book provides a comparative analysis of how communities have developed people-based resilience in response to the global impact of COVID-19. The crisis of the capitalist economy due to border closure, downturn in business, loss of jobs and large-scale destruction of people’s well-being has worsened poverty, and inequality worsened the situation of the already marginalized. At the same time, it has provided the opportunity for indigenous and marginalized communities to innovatively strengthen their social and solidarity economies to respond the unprecedented calamity in a self-empowering and sustainable way. The book explores some of the ways in which local communities have mobilized their cultural resources to strengthen their social solidarity and mitigating mechanisms against the continuing global calamity. It looks at how different communities approach social protection as a way of sustaining their well-being outside the parameters of the ailing market economy and how some of these can provide valuable lessons for strengthening resilience for the future.

This book offers a cross-cultural and inter-religious understanding of the ways social transformation in Asia is related to Asian spiritualities. Bringing together scholars and practitioners from different cultures and fields of study, it collates cutting-edge research and applies it to the role of Asian spiritualities in social transformation. Spirituality has garnered increasing attention in recent years across diverse fields of research and practice, from psychology and healthcare, to anthropology, education, sociology, political sciences, social work, feminist studies, cultural studies, religious studies, theology, philosophy, and so on. However, the term means different things within these different disciplines. Spirituality can be understood to be private and personal, but also public and societal, not only as a force that brings about change but also one that helps maintain the status quo – not only as a core element in religion but also as something disconnected from it. This book poses that to gain a firm grasp of spirituality, one needs to traverse these different terrains. Disbarring the orientalist understanding of spirituality that is often found embedded in stereotypes of the East as mystical, esoteric, and spiritual, in contrast to the West as scientific and rational, this book deconstructs this binarism to enable a sophisticated understanding of the diversity within Eastern and Western spiritualities. It presents “Asian spirituality” as a misnomer, focusing on the plurality of spiritualties and the region’s multifaceted religiosity, and it also excavates interfaith terrains. It is of interest to social scientists, theologians and religious scholars, and students and researchers interested in Asian spiritualties and social movements

For the first time in modern human history, the response to a global health crisis was required among all countries no matter their wealth, size, or economic status. Every country was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and as it surged across the world, it took many lives with it. Thus, it is essential to study the ability of human societies to cope with the changes caused by pandemics. Societal Resilience and Response to Contagious Diseases and Pandemics adopts and maintains an interdisciplinary-transdisciplinary approach to investigating societal resilience. This book builds upon different insights of what has already been done for humanity to survive the spread of a deadly pandemic. Covering topics such as the role of healthcare professionals, political economy, and consumption culture, it is an essential resource for professionals, business leaders, policymakers, professors, graduate students, researchers, and academicians.

This book acquaints the reader with the critical changes in India’s economy and society amidst the unprecedented pandemic outbreak of COVID-19, which has been devastating by breaking all prior records of illness and fatality. The present crisis is shown to be more than an acute health hazard as it carries with it other threats associated with the economy, society, culture, psychology, and politics. The dynamic driving forces that have a significant bearing on life, space, and time are explored, providing a basis on which social scientists can understand the prevailing equations and project the unforeseen future to contribute to a policymaking mechanism. The Indian scenario presented here takes into account how the COVID-19-induced lockdown of transport services, closing of factories, and restrictions on mobilization have caused the economy to face a recession, affecting mostly the unorganized sector. Travel restrictions and quarantines affecting hundreds of millions of people have left Indian factories short of labour, causing havoc in the production system. Semi-skilled jobholders have lost their employment, and the country has witnessed the plight of large pools of migrant labourers returning on foot to their homelands hundreds of miles away with their families and belongings. Contributors to this volume are drawn from diverse disciplines, displaying the solidarity of academic knowledge in a physically divided world. This common platform is provided to the practitioners of relevant academic disciplines under the umbrella of regional sciences – a forum for the exchange of ideas that may be effective in the sustainable management of the crisis and a way forward after it is mitigated. Thought-provoking discussions regarding different facets of the crisis are relevant not only to the current times but also to being prepared for the unforeseen post-COVID economic and societal order.