Like a Fish Out of Water: Reconsidering Disaster Recovery and the Role of Place and Social Capital in Community Disaster Resilience

In this paper we draw on the findings of a critical, multi-sited ethnographic study of two rural communities affected by a wildfire in British Columbia, Canada to examine the salience of place, identity, and social capital to the disaster recovery process and community disaster resilience. We argue that a reconfiguration of disaster recovery is required that more meaningfully considers the role of place in the disaster recovery process and opens up the space for a more reflective and intentional consideration of the disorientation and disruption associated with disasters and our organized response to that disorientation. We describe a social-psychological process, reorientation, in which affected individuals and communities navigate the psychological, social and emotional responses to the symbolic and material changes to social and geographic place that result from the fire's destruction. The reorientation process emphasizes the critical importance of place not only as an orienting framework in recovery but also as the ground upon which social capital and community disaster resilience are built. This approach to understanding and responding to the disorientation of disasters has implications for community psychologists and other service providers engaged in supporting disaster survivors. This includes the need to consider the complex dynamic of contextual and cultural factors that influence the disaster recovery process.     

《淮南子》人性说探微

《淮南子》人性说之微可见于四个基本方面。道的根本意义是道的人性意义,主要通过圣人境界予以论述,旨在确保真人境界的至上性,为人们贯通了永恒的精神追求之路。人性特征可概括为人性虚静,又从中阐发出人性善;道的自然性表现为人的自然性,伦理当视这种自然的人性为善。由于心的精神性功能,人心才能够显现人性;而人心显现人性是人心通过自我修养与接受圣人教化相结合的两条途径实现的。由德福未必一致的观点推导出祸福由己,德福关系与祸福关系合而为一。     

Surviving the 2015 Mount Everest disaster: A phenomenological exploration into lived experience and the role of mental toughness

ObjectivesThe 2015 Nepal earthquake and subsequent avalanche at Mount Everest Base Camp is the deadliest mountaineering disaster to date. This study is novel in exploring the lived experiences of survivors and the role of mental toughness in their psychological responses to the disaster.DesignPhenomenological study.MethodTen mountaineers, who were on expeditions during the earthquake, participated in phenomenological interviews. Data were analysed inductively and thematically, while strategies to enhance trustworthiness were also employed.ResultsSeven dimensions emerged from the data, which captured climbers' psychological responses to the disaster, ranging from the moments the earthquake hit to reflections on the disaster after returning home. Contrasting emotional responses were described, and suggested to depend on experience and mental toughness. Negative emotional and behavioural responses were reported in the aftermath. Some climbers reported post-traumatic stress, but also a strong desire to return to Mount Everest and continue mountaineering.ConclusionsThese findings provide detailed insights into the lived experiences of climbers who survived the 2015 Nepal earthquake and Base Camp avalanche. Findings also shed light on the role of mental toughness in coping with and responding to a major natural disaster.     

Positive post‐disaster images: A daydream machine?

This study explores the impact of post‐earthquake images inserted in a vigilance task, in terms of performance, self‐reports of task‐focus, and cerebral activity using functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Vigilance tasks present a sequence of stimuli in which only a few are pre‐designated critical or target stimuli requiring an overt response from the participant. Seventy‐one residents participated (51 women, 20 men) by taking part in a vigilance task with task‐irrelevant images inserted in the sequence. There were three conditions consisting positive (emotive inducing), negative (emotive inducing), and control (devoid of meaning) images embedded in the vigilance task to assess possible impacts on vigilance performance. The images were obtained through crowdsourcing and represented parts of the city 3–4 years post‐earthquake. Task performance was assessed with signal detection theory metrics of sensitivity A’ and bias β’’. This enables the separation of an individual's ability to accurately discriminate critical signals from non‐critical stimuli (sensitivity) and shifts in their willingness to respond to any stimuli whether critical or not (bias). Individuals viewing the positive images, relating to progress, rebuild, or aesthetic aspects within the city, had a more conservative response bias (they responded less to both rare critical and distractor stimuli) than those in the other conditions. These individuals also reported lower task‐focus, as would be expected. However, contrary to expectations, indicators of cerebral activity (fNIRS) did not differ significantly between the experimental groups. These results, when combined, suggest that mind wandering events may be being generated when exposed to positive post‐earthquake images.     

Post-traumatic stress symptoms and post-traumatic growth in children and adolescents 12 months and 24 months after the earthquake and tsunamis in Chile in 2010: A longitudinal study

On 27 February 2010, Chile experienced one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history. The study aimed to evaluate post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and post-traumatic growth (PTG) in children and adolescents 12 months (T1) and 24 months (T2) after the earthquake and tsunamis in Chile in 2010. Three hundred twenty-five children and adolescents (47.4% girls; 52.6% boys) between the ages of 10 and 16 years participated in the study. The instruments included the Revised Post-traumatic Growth Inventory for Children by Kilmer et al., the Childhood PTSD Scale by Foa et al. and the Rumination Scale for Children by Cryder et al., as well as a scale to assess the severity of the event and a sociodemographic questionnaire. The PTSS and PTG scores decreased at T2. In addition, the main predictors of PTSS and PTG were disruptive experiences, losses after the event and intrusive and deliberate rumination during the previous year. These results enhance understanding of factors related to PTG, improve the ability to predict PTSS and PTG in children and adolescents following natural disasters, and inform the design of intervention strategies to promote better mental health in those affected.