GreaterGood World Values Survey Community resilience and adaptation Resilient communities are capable of bouncing back from adverse situations. They can do this by actively influencing and preparing for economic, social and environmental change. When times are bad they can call upon the myriad of resouces that make them a healthy community. A high level of social capital means that they have access to good information and communication networks in times of difficulty, and can call upon a wide range of resources. The papers and reports linked to here recognise resilience as being people-centered, and highlight the importance of thinking about the social actors involved and their agency - social dynamics, power and politics. A number of other papers that extend this ideas of community resilience to adapt to change through self-organization and learning can be found from related pages on the site. Portraits of resilience A number of other sections in the site follow-on naturally from a consideration of resilience.
Human Rights Watch | Defending Human Rights Worldwide Blood Water Mission Click To Give @ The Rainforest Site Hokey Smoke, A Flying Squirrel! The amazing flying squirrel doesn't need wings to soar. This aerodynamic rodent has flexible membranes connecting its front and hind legs that let it glide through the air with ease. The Mule Deer Whisperer Biologist Joe Hutto spent seven years bonding with a herd of mule deer, and now they consider him part of the family. During his research, Hutto noted the incredible intelligence and curiosity of the mule deer, and their mysterious ability to recognize meaning from language. Running on Water The basilisk lizard has one of the most unique abilities in all of the Amazon. Hatching Snowy Owls A young snowy owl pair has nested on the open tundra. The White Lions: The Cubs at Play In South Africa’s Kruger National Park, a small pride of white lions has their hands full with new cubs. Today's clicks have funded the value of 93,377.4 square feet of land.* Thank you! *Click total updates hourly. View more results
Scroogled! Blog | Scroogled! Blog Frances Westley, PhD Frances Westley joined the University of Waterloo as the JW McConnell Chair in Social Innovation in July 2007. In this capacity she is one of the principle leads in a Canada wide initiative in social innovation, SiG (Social Innovation Generation), a cross sectoral partnership to build capacity for social innovation in Canada funded by the J.W McConnell Family Foundation, University of Waterloo and the Ontario government. At University of Waterloo she leads a research team dedicated to understanding social innovation, and has designed both graduate and undergraduate curricula in social innovation. Dr. Westley is a renowned scholar and consultant in the areas of social innovation, strategies for sustainable development, strategic change, visionary leadership and inter-organizational collaboration. Her most recent book, Getting to Maybe (Random House, 2006) focuses the dynamics of social innovation, and institutional entrepreneurship in complex adaptive systems.
The Children's Project International Operation Beautiful: Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post-it Note at a Time: Caitlin Boyle Click To Give Print Friendly & PDF Resilience Alliance - Resilience Ecosystem resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to tolerate disturbance without collapsing into a qualitatively different state that is controlled by a different set of processes. A resilient ecosystem can withstand shocks and rebuild itself when necessary. Resilience in social systems has the added capacity of humans to anticipate and plan for the future. The amount of change the system can undergo and still retain the same controls on function and structureThe degree to which the system is capable of self-organizationThe ability to build and increase the capacity for learning and adaptation The amount of resilience a system possesses relates to the magnitude of disturbance required to fundamentally disrupt the system causing a dramatic shift to another state of the system, controlled by a different set of processes. Coral Dominance > > > > Algal Dominance Coral reefs are spectacular marine ecosystems known for their diversity of eye-pleasing fish and corals. Selected references:
88 Ways To Make A Stranger Smile post written by: Marc Chernoff Email Don’t wait for people to smile. Show them how. Let your guard down. Remember, your best friend was once a stranger too. Love whoever is around to be loved. Smile often.Hold a door open for someone.Pay for the person in line behind you.Send a hand-written thank you card to someone who assisted you with something.Clean out all your old clothes and donate them to someone in need.Give a compliment about a waiter, waitress, sales clerk, etc. to his or her manager.Compliment a stranger’s appearance. And above all, live proudly. Photo by: Thomas Hawk If you enjoyed this article, check out our new best-selling book. And get inspiring life tips and quotes in your inbox (it's free)...