scholarly journals Hope and Hopelessness through the Lens of Myths. A Comparison Based on Short Texts by Kafka and Camus

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-44
Author(s):  
Vilma-Irén Mihály
Keyword(s):  
Natural Catastrophes

Abstract Not only do myths stand at the beginning or represent the birth of literature, but they have been present all along ever since. In times of havoc caused by natural catastrophes, wars or pandemics, people look for answers to the uncertainties that surround them. While often presenting such chaotic states themselves, myths can give an answer or offer a solution to these problems. The aim of the present paper is to compare and analyse short texts mainly by Kafka and Camus that deal with ancient myths (e.g. that of Prometheus, Odysseus, or Sisyphus) focusing on the type of answer they bring to the questions raised amidst and after the two world wars. The paper mainly focuses on the connection between hope and hopelessness.

Examining perceptions of stress, wellbeing and fear among Hungarian adolescents and their parents under lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabor Csikos ◽  
Krisztina Dr Törő ◽  
Judit Mokos ◽  
Sandor Rozsa ◽  
Hadházi Éva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Relationships ◽  
Parental Stress ◽  
Significant Negative Correlation ◽  
Post Traumatic Stress ◽  
Natural Catastrophes ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Wellbeing Index ◽  
The Family ◽  
Post Traumatic ◽  
Open Question

Intensified anxiety responses and even symptoms of post-traumatic stress are commonly observed under quarantine conditions. In this study, the effects on fear, anxiety and wellbeing of the recent pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 were investigated in a sample of otherwise healthy Hungarians. Taking the family as a microsystem, differences in gender, age, family relationships and time spent in isolation were the main focus of this investigation. 346 parent-child dyads were examined; the children were 11-17 years of age. Standard psychological questionnaires (Perceived Stress Scale, WHO Wellbeing Index), and an open question test (the Metamorphosis test) were used, and the results analysed with the aid of basic statistical methods. Stress levels and wellbeing displayed a significant negative correlation with each other in both parents and children. Parental stress and levels of wellbeing had a weak but significant impact on the wellbeing of their children. Among the demographic variables examined, none of them was found to explain the wellbeing or stress level of parents. Natural catastrophes, such as pandemics, create a stressful social environment for parents, and therefore directly impact the psychological wellbeing of all family members.

PHYSICS OF THE MIND: OPINION DYNAMICS AND DECISION MAKING PROCESSES BASED ON A BINARY NETWORK MODEL

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (25n26) ◽  
pp. 4482-4494 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. V. KUSMARTSEV ◽  
KARL E. KÜRTEN
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Chaotic Behavior ◽  
Opinion Dynamics ◽  
Human Mind ◽  
Critical Parameters ◽  
Opinion Formation ◽  
Natural Catastrophes ◽  
Risk Condition ◽  
Binary Network

We propose a new theory of the human mind. The formation of human mind is considered as a collective process of the mutual interaction of people via exchange of opinions and formation of collective decisions. We investigate the associated dynamical processes of the decision making when people are put in different conditions including risk situations in natural catastrophes when the decision must be made very fast or at national elections. We also investigate conditions at which the fast formation of opinion is arising as a result of open discussions or public vote. Under a risk condition the system is very close to chaos and therefore the opinion formation is related to the order disorder transition. We study dramatic changes which may happen with societies which in physical terms may be considered as phase transitions from ordered to chaotic behavior. Our results are applicable to changes which are arising in various social networks as well as in opinion formation arising as a result of open discussions. One focus of this study is the determination of critical parameters, which influence a formation of stable mind, public opinion and where the society is placed “at the edge of chaos”. We show that social networks have both, the necessary stability and the potential for evolutionary improvements or self-destruction. We also show that the time needed for a discussion to take a proper decision depends crucially on the nature of the interactions between the entities as well as on the topology of the social networks.

Peacemaking Rituals in the Context of Natural Disaster

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 286-299
Author(s):  
Urte Undine Frömming
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Social Values ◽  
Belief System ◽  
Social Function ◽  
Reciprocal Relationship ◽  
Space And Place ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
Natural Catastrophes ◽  
The People ◽  
Clan Identity

This article is based on ethnographic fieldwork in Indonesia and will raise questions about the meaning that cultures ascribe to potentially dangerous natural spaces. By tracing the mythological and ritual life of the local clans of the Lamaholot and Ngada people, one can note that the entire cosmology and belief system of the people of Flores is tightly interwoven with the religious perception of space and place. Volcanoes play a key role in this belief system because the different clans see volcanoes as places of origin, though they also have a practical social function This article emphasizes the importance of volcanoes for individual and clan identity, and their function in the ideology of association and spiritual linkage between people, ancestors, and natural features. It furthermore examines the phenomenon of public confessions of guilt. These coincide with local interpretations of natural catastrophes as a result of the failure to respect local social values and norms and to fulfil religious duties. Consequently, the article argues, the idea of a dualism between humans and nature becomes irrelevant. Within this context, their reciprocal relationship with volcanoes enables clan groups in Flores to reconcile the unpredictability of nature with the dangerous and sometimes violent aspects of society.

Natural catastrophes

2005 ◽  
pp. 235-253
Author(s):  
John Lancaster
Keyword(s):  
Natural Catastrophes

The Impact of Reinsurance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niels Viggo Haueter
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Natural Catastrophes ◽  
Security Interest ◽  
Environmental Deterioration ◽  
Stabilizing Effect ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Impact

Reinsurance is perceived to have a stabilizing effect on the direct insurance industry and thereby on the economy overall. Yet, research into how exactly reinsurance impacts various areas is scarce. Traditionally, studying the impact of reinsurance used to be in the domain of actuaries; since the 1960s, they have tried to assess how different contract elements can provide what came to be called “optimal reinsurance.” In the 2010s, such research was intensified in developing countries with the aim to deploy reinsurance to support economic growth and security. Interest in reinsurance increased when the industry became more visible in the 1990s as the impact of natural catastrophes started being linked to a changing climate. Reinsurers emerged as spokespeople for climate-related issues, and the industry took a lead role in arguing in favor of implementing measures to reduce environmental deterioration. Reinsurers, it was argued, have a vested interest in managing the impact of natural catastrophes. This triggered discussions about the role of reinsurance overall and about how to assess its impact. In the wake of the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, interest in reinsurance again surged, this time due to perceived systemic impacts.

Migration and Refuge

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Patrick Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
The Political ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Haitian Literature ◽  
Political Crises ◽  
Natural Catastrophes ◽  
The World ◽  
Over Time

This book argues that contemporary Haitian literature historicizes the political and environmental problems brought to the surface by the 2010 earthquake by building on texts of earlier generations, notably at the end of the Duvalier era and its aftermath. Haitian writers have made profound contributions to debates about the converging paths of political crises and natural catastrophes, yet their writings on the legacies of colonialism, imperialism, and neoliberalism are often neglected in heated debates about environmental futures. The earthquake only exacerbated this contradiction. Despite the fact that Haitian authors have long treated the connections between political violence, social and economic precariousness, and ecological degradation, in media coverage around the world, the earthquake would have suddenly exposed scandalous conditions on the ground in Haiti. Informed by Haitian studies and models of postcolonial ecocriticism, the book conceives of literature as an “eco-archive,” or a body of texts that depicts ecological change over time and its impact on social and environmental justice. Focusing equally on established and less well-known authors, this study contends that the eco-archive challenges future-oriented, universalizing narratives of the Anthropocene and the global refugee crisis with portrayals of different forms and paths of migration and refuge within Haiti and around the Americas.

From Earthquake Geophysical Measures to Insurance Premium: A Generalised Method for the Evaluation of Seismic Risk, with Application to Italy’s Housing Stock

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Cesari ◽  
Leandro D’Aurizio
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Risk ◽  
Housing Stock ◽  
Insurance Premium ◽  
New Technique ◽  
Probabilistic Assessment ◽  
Natural Catastrophes ◽  
A New Technique ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Housing Units

Abstract Following the increasing necessity of quantitative measures for the impact of natural catastrophes, this paper proposes a new technique for a probabilistic assessment of seismic risk by using publicly available data on the earthquakes that have occurred in Italy. We implement an insurance-oriented methodology to produce a new map of the seismic risk and to evaluate, under various hypotheses, the costs of insuring all the Italian housing units against it. The model is compared with two main privately developed models, well known in the reinsurance industry, providing fairly similar results.

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