You are here

Resilience

IT and Information Sharing Environments for Community Health Resilience

Information Technology (IT) and Information Sharing Environments (ISEs) are crucial to the evolution of community health resilience.  Most people working to improve community health resilience do not understand the nuances of Information Sharing Environments, and how the rapid shifts in IT, mobile devices, social media, cloud computing, peer to peer parallel processing, smart grids, and the linking of millions of people, mobile devices, computers, and sensors are creating a societal mind, which is transforming community health resilience and the health and human security of Americans.

If you have thoughts on these topics, please comment within this collaboratory thread.

Meeting / Event Tags: 
Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

The Power of the 21st Century Librarian

Michael D. McDonald, Dr.P.H.

It can be argued that libraries have their origins in the swarm behavior of individuals and groups acquiring and sharing cultural artifacts (e.g, pictographs, books) as the fundamental repositories of knowledge within a community and the broader society.  Librarians have played a key role in the founding and differentiation of  America at its origins.  Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, for example, played key roles in deepening and broadening the tradition of knowledge sharing within the early United States. 

 

Meeting / Event Tags: 
Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

The Economics of Rapidly Emerging Cities

As the human populations of our small planet exceeds 7 billion on its way potentially to 9 million or 10 billion by the mid-21st Century, migrations of millions are becoming common place -- some out of desperation, others out of seeking opportunity and a better life.  According to a large percentage of climatologists and other scientists that are studying global change, the social ecologies of many large cities will become non-viable for their human populations and many other species due to climate change, the drying up of water supplies, the lose of food sources, natural disasters, wars, and other factors.  In other cases, new cities of opportunity or attractive culture will draws those seeking a better life and way of being.  

Tens of millions, and perhaps hundreds of millions will be forced to leave their homes in search of more viable communities.  Millions more will create new communities with intentionality, exploring new economic, social, and political models that improve health, human security, resilience and sustainability for the new citizens.  In some cases, simple shared principles will shape new, fast growing economies, and, in other cases, rules and conditions will be imposed on inhabitants of new communities and cities.

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

When Capitalism Converges With Resilience

It is hard to argue against that fact that the U.S. and even "Communist" China, for that matter, have great influence in global markets and on health and human security -- for their own people as well as human populations world-wide. The power of capital within global, regional, national, and local markets has been transforming the world since the growth of the industrial revolution, which has only accelerated since the broad introduction of global communication and computing in the 20th century. That said, there has been growing criticism of the destructive nature of market fundamentalism and laissez faire economics in the face of a growing awareness of ecosystem carrying capacities, and the problems inherent in growth economies in decline.  So what happens when capitalists become aware of the destructive nature of growth economies, where populations are exceeding the carrying capacities of ecosystems and mass consumption economies begin to collapse?

Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Key Success Factors

Please list out what you perceive as the key success factors for the Global Resilience System to win the Buckminster Fuller Challenge Award. 

 

Meeting / Event Tags: 
Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Mob Rule: Iceland Crowdsources its Next Constitution

submitted by Theresa Bernardo

Guardian News and Media - June 9, 2011

Country recovering from collapse of its banks and government is using social media to get citizens to share their ideas.

It is not the way the scribes of yore would have done it but Iceland is tearing up the rulebook by drawing up its new constitution through crowdsourcing.

As the country recovers from the financial crisis that saw the collapse of its banks and government, it is using social media to get its citizens to share their ideas as to what the new document should contain.

"I believe this is the first time a constitution is being drafted basically on the internet," said Thorvaldur Gylfason, member of Iceland's constitutional council.

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

The UVA Bay Game - Global Watershed Sustainability Simulation Projects

submitted by Theresa Bernardo

The UVA Bay Game is a large-scale participatory simulation based on the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Game allows players to take the roles of stakeholders, such as farmers, developer, watermen, and local policy-makers, make decisions about their livelihoods or regulatory authority; and see the impacts of their decisions on their own personal finances, the regional economy, and watershed health. It is an adaptable educational and learning tool for raising awareness about watershed stewardship anywhere in the world; a tool for exploring and testing policy choices; and a tool for evaluating new products and services.

Developed by a multi-disciplinary faculty and student team, the UVA Bay Game combines a video game format with current demographic, economic, and scientific data to create a powerful tool with real-world applications and impact. It has been hailed by federal and state agency, NGO, and corporate and education leaders as "the first of its kind."

Country / Region Tags: 
General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

U.N./Brookings Meeting: Good Practices for Humanitarian Response in Complex Security Environments

To Stay and Deliver: Good Practice for Humanitarians in Complex Security Environments Tuesday, June 21, 2011, 9:00 am - 10:30 am The Brookings Institution, Falk Auditorium, 1775 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC Humanitarian assistance providers have always acknowledged the risks inherent to their line of work, yet recent statistics demonstrate that this is a particularly hazardous time to be an aid worker. Within the past decade, casualty rates have tripled, reaching above 100 deaths per year. Since 2005, hundreds of major attacks have been reported on aid workers in Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia and other countries, prompting aid agencies to limit their presence in areas where assistance may be most needed. In response to the growing tension between maintaining humanitarian access and ensuring humanitarians' safety, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has documented strategies and practices for upholding effective operations in high security risk contexts. On June 21, the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement will host the launch of the OCHA- commissioned study, "To Stay and Deliver: Good Practice for Humanitarians in Complex Security Environments," with a discussion exploring risk management strategies to protect humanitarian operations and personnel.

Meeting / Event Tags: 
Country / Region Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Pakistan Resilience System

The Pakistan Resilience System working group is currently focusing primarily on the humanitarian challenges associated with the flooding.

General Topic Tags: 
Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?: 

Workshop Overview

Two-Day Workshop August 11-12, 2010 At East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii Launching a Global Resilience Initiative in Asia: Case of Pandemic Influenza We will hold a two-day workshop, Launching a Global Resilience Initiative in Asia: Case of Pandemic Influenza in August 11-12, 2010 at East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii. The Global Resilience Initiative in Asia is a long term and policy oriented effort to create an integrated framework and roadmap for “resilience” in Asia under a Global Disaster Risk Management (GDRM) approach (see “Background Paper”). Pandemic influenza was chosen as the topic of the first workshop as it is emblematic of the type of emerging global disaster risks that urgently requires the GDRM approach and the development of “resilience.” Recognizing that “resilience” is an elusive term and understood in different way the workshop will focus on identifying the key defining features of “resilience” that address the following four major policy issues: 1. While the “resilience” has recently received much attention, few national, regional or international institutions have provided guidance as to what constitutes “resilience” and how to implement it. 2.

Pages

Subscribe to Resilience
howdy folks