Rebuilding Life Research Articles

Occupational transitions of leaving a cult: A study of publicly available accounts

ABSTRACT While the formation of cults worldwide has steadily decreased since the 1970s, there are still a significant number of former members who have been impacted by their involvement and face unique challenges transitioning out of these organizations. While research within the field of psychology is robust, little is known about the occupational transition of individuals who leave cults. This study utilized a qualitative interpretive description methodology. Data consisted of 11 first-hand accounts of former members across various multimedia sources (memoirs, podcasts, blogs, and social media posts). The frameworks of doing, being, becoming, and belonging were utilized to guide theme development and enrich the analysis. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and five themes were identified: Forbidden occupations, Fish out of water, Finding closure through occupation, (Re)Discovering self through occupation, and Rebuilding life. This study contributes to occupational science research by examining the occupational transition of leaving a cult. Increasing the knowledge base on this topic will not only increase understanding of this population but generates an opportunity to provide occupation-centered supports to enhance transitions. Additional research that embraces former members’ active participation across the research process and methods that allow for more feedback from former members, including interview-based methods, may further validate the findings of this study and amplify the experience of this population in transition.

Bjørn F. Stillion Southard. Peculiar Rhetoric: Slavery, Freedom, and the African Colonization Movement; Richard Peter Anderson. Abolition in Sierra Leone: Re-Building Lives and Identities in Nineteenth-Century West Africa.

B<scp>jørn</scp> F. S<scp>tillion</scp> S<scp>outhard</scp>. <i>Peculiar Rhetoric: Slavery, Freedom, and the African Colonization Movement</i>; R<scp>ichard</scp> P<scp>eter</scp> A<scp>nderson</scp>. <i>Abolition in Sierra Leone: Re-Building Lives and Identities in Nineteenth-Century West Africa</i>.

Abolition in Sierra Leone: re-building lives and identities in nineteenth-century West Africa by Richard Peter Anderson Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. Pp. 306. $99 (hbk).

Abolition in Sierra Leone: re-building lives and identities in nineteenth-century West Africa by Richard Peter Anderson Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. Pp. 306. $99 (hbk).

Existential Angst and Meaning Making in Narratives of Lithuanian Survivors of Soviet Political Deportations

Experiences related to forced deportations of ethnic Lithuanians as part of Stalin’s political genocide were explored in the narratives of six survivors. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was chosen for its idiographic and interpretive focus on the meanings and individual sense-making of lived experiences. Semistructured interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed for emergent superordinate themes and subthemes. The results revealed three superordinate themes, which reflect three stages of the participants’ experience of Soviet political persecutions: the Existential Shock of Arrest and Deportation, the Angst of Survival and Identity Negotiation during the Exile, and Rebuilding Life and Seeking Meaning after Amnesty. Subthemes highlighted various dimensions of the effects of political repressions as well as coping mechanisms employed by the survivors. Additionally, the results examined how the participants made meaning of their experiences and explored their perceptions of long-term consequences of trauma associated with political repressions. The article provides an existential and liberation/postcolonial theoretical framework for understanding political violence and concludes with implications for clinical practices with survivors of political persecutions perpetuated against ethnic groups around the world.

Saving and Re-building Lives: Determinants

Saving and Re-building Lives: Determinants

Re-building life after ICU: A qualitative study of the patients’ perspective

To explore former ICU patients' views on what the key components of a post ICU rehabilitation programme should be. Thirty five participants completed an online questionnaire accessed via a link to the study from two support groups' websites. Adults (>18 years) who had been patients in ICU were invited to take part. Participants were asked open questions about their ICU experience and their views on ICU rehabilitation. Participants were: aged from 22 to 70 years; from the USA (22), the UK (8), Canada (2), Australia (1) and other (2); 30 female and five male. Findings were analysed using a thematic approach. Three themes were identified: 'Information and education', 'Personal support' and 'Assessment and therapy'. Analysis suggested that for participants the aspects of rehabilitation covered by each of the themes were of equal importance. Healthcare professionals in ICU, acute ward and community settings need to be aware of the broad array of physical and psychological challenges faced by patients who have been critically ill. Healthcare professionals need to ensure a holistic approach is implemented to coordinate and facilitate rehabilitation, to address identified patients' needs.

Special Issue on Crisis Management and Recovery Following Tokyo Metropolitan Near Field Earthquake Disaster

It is expected that Tokyo Metropolitan area and her vicinity may be jolted by a devastating earthquake with a 70% chance for the next 30 years. The worstcase scenario for Tokyo Metropolitan earthquake is a M7.3 earthquake beneath northern Tokyo Bay. According to the Central Disaster Prevention Council, A total of 12,000 people will be dead and economic losses will exceed 112 trillion yen. Areas with a seismic intensity of JMA 6 – and more will include Tokyo, Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa, resulting in 25 million victims – 20% of Japan’s total population. No country has not experienced such a large-scale earthquake in recorded history, but it does not mean such a disaster will not occur. In order to cope with such an unprecedented disaster, we must face and solve a lot of new problems in addition to all of existing problems appeared in the past disasters. Thus it is mandatory to take a holistic approach to implement effectively and seamlessly emergency response, relief, and long-term recovery. With the severity of possible consequences due to this earthquake, a special project, entitled as “Special Project for Earthquake Disaster Mitigation in Tokyo Metropolitan Area” (2007-2011), is commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan (MEXT), This special project consists of three subprojects; Seismology, Earthquake Engineering, and Crisis Management and Recovery. This subproject considers Tokyo Metropolitan Earthquake as a national crisis occurred in the Tokyo metropolitan area. All the available knowledge of disaster researchers should be gathered from nationwide, including both emergency response and long-term recovery to minimize damage and losses. This project examines measures for improving the capacity for the people from disaster management organizations to react to crisis and help rebuilding life recovery of disaster victims. An information-sharing platform will be proposed to comprehensively manage individual disaster response and recovery measures. “Training and exercise systems” will be introduced to empower local capacity to mitigate and recover from disaster by integrating all of the project achievements among stakeholders. The final goal of this project is to make ourselves prepared for help the anticipated 25 million victims at most due to Tokyo Metropolitan earthquake. In this issue of JDR, we will introduce 10 papers from the subproject on Crisis Management and Recovery as a part of the achievements of this subproject for the last five years.

Rebuilding lives after domestic violence Hilary Abrahams Rebuilding lives after domestic violence Jessica Kingsley 208pp £18.99 9781843109617 1843109611

Rebuilding lives after domestic violence Hilary Abrahams Rebuilding lives after domestic violence Jessica Kingsley 208pp £18.99 9781843109617 1843109611

Documentary on the web between realism and interaction. A case study: From Zero—People Rebuilding Life after the Emergency (2009)

ABSTRACTFrom Zero—People Rebuilding Life after the Emergency (2009) is an ongoing serial documentary project for the web, part of an online platform which webcast daily episodes for six months until Christmas Eve 2009 from the Italian region of Abruzzo, focussing on its recovery from the terrible earthquake it suffered in Spring 2009. In this web documentary production (also known as interactive documentary, cross-media production and docuweb) the audience moves through the material and gains access to information through participation in the digital space, thus becoming cognitively engaged whilst interacting with the interface. Using a pragmatic approach, I will investigate the relationship between film-maker, spectator and performance through From Zero interactive texts, and will show how this ‘film’ succeeds in directly involving its viewers in diegetic terms.

Special Issue on Crisis Management Following Tokyo Metropolitan Near Field Earthquake Disaster

1. Introduction It is expected that Tokyo Metropolitan area and her vicinity may be jolted by a devastating earthquake with a 70% chance for the next 30 years. If it happens, an unprecedented scale of damage and losses may follow. With the severity of possible consequences due to this earthquake, a special project, entitled as “Special Project for Metropolitan Earthquake DisasterMitigation in Tokyo Metropolitan Area” (2007-2011), is commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan (MEXT), This special project consists of three subprojects; Seismology, Earthquake Engineering, and Crisis Management and Recovery. In this issue of JDR, we will introduce 10 papers produced as a series of the achievements from the subproject on Crisis Management and Recovery. This subproject considers Tokyo Metropolitan Earthquake as a national crisis occurred in the Tokyo metropolitan area. All the available knowledge of disaster researchers should be gathered from nationwide, including both emergency response and long-term recovery to minimize damage and losses. This project examines measures for improving the capacity for the people from disaster management organizations to react to crisis and help rebuilding life recovery of disaster victims. An information-sharing platform will be proposed to comprehensively manage individual disaster response and recovery measures. “Training and exercise systems” will be introduced to empower local capacity to mitigate and recover from disaster by integrating all of the project achievements among stakeholders. The final goal of this project is to make ourselves prepared for help the anticipated 25 million victims at most due to Tokyo Metropolitan earthquake.

Housing reconstruction and rehabilitation in Aceh and Nias, Indonesia—Rebuilding lives

Reconstruction and rehabilitation of housing in Aceh and Nias, Indonesia, which were destroyed by the dramatic earthquake and tsunami of 26 December 2004, has become a major effort of a large number of international and Indonesian organizations. An unprecedented wave of pledges for assistance was made available, and numerous agencies, some of them without prior experience in construction of housing, have contributed to reconstruction. As could be expected, the reconstruction process has been affected by numerous bottlenecks, and has been much slower than intended, particularly in the case of multilateral agencies. As the speed of implementation has picked up during 2006, there is growing concern for more quality of finished products, for more integration of housing with residential infrastructure, and for additional livelihood support, as it is not only habitat which matters but reconstruction of lives and communities. The experiences of Aceh and Nias are also a testing ground for the massive application of community-driven development, which is meant to be the backbone of a sustainable development effort by the people themselves.