Building Resilience Research Articles

The Potential for Parametric Insurance Solutions to Build Resilience for Smallholder Farmers in Zimbabwe

This study explored the potential of parametric insurance solutions to enhance resilience among smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe, particularly in the context of climate change-related risks, such as droughts and floods. The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of parametric insurance as a risk management strategy for smallholder farmers, focusing on its potential to provide timely payouts based on predefined climate triggers. The purpose of the research was to understand how parametric insurance could offer a viable alternative to traditional insurance, which is often inaccessible for smallholders due to cost, complexity, and other barriers. The literature review highlighted the challenges that smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe face in accessing conventional agricultural insurance products, such as affordability, lack of awareness, and inadequate infrastructure. It also examined the advantages of parametric insurance, including its ability to deliver faster payouts linked to measurable climatic events, thus providing a more accessible and reliable safety net. A mixed-methods research approach was employed, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques. The study utilized a cross-sectional research design and focused on a sample of 150 smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe, selected through purposive and random sampling methods. Data were collected through surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions with farmers, insurance providers, and agricultural experts. Ethical considerations included ensuring informed consent, voluntary participation, and the confidentiality of respondents. The main findings revealed that while parametric insurance held significant potential for improving resilience, several challenges hindered its adoption, including limited awareness, trust issues, and affordability concerns. The study concluded that for parametric insurance to be effective, policy interventions, increased awareness campaigns, and partnerships among key stakeholders were necessary. Recommendations included strengthening institutional frameworks and providing targeted education on parametric insurance to improve uptake.

Security challenges on business and economy: „Entrepreneurship in a fragile state of Burundi”

Background: Burundi is a country which has been deeply affected by political instability, and low-intensity conflict causing a lack of jobs, slowing economic recovery, and poverty reduction with entrepreneurship playing a vital role in most Burundian entrepreneurs’ survival (IFC, 2022; Nintunze, Bigirimana, 2021). Nkurunziza (2022) argues that state fragility in Burundi is caused by poor strategies and policies of its political leaders, who are motivated by personal interests, such as state rent extraction which maintains a lack of security. Nziku and Bikorimana (2024) comment on poor policies and strategies that are gender blind and not fit for the purpose and lack support. The purpose of this study is to critically investigate the impact of security challenges on entrepreneurship in the fragile state of Burundi. To achieve this aim, researchers have designed three research objectives: a) to examine how the security challenges affect entrepreneurship in this fragile country post-conflict; b) to explore the strategies employed by entrepreneurs to start and grow their ventures; c) to provide key recommendations for policymakers to enhance peace, security, and good governance. Such actions can help to achieve stability and peacebuilding for all Burundians. The originality of this study lies in the investigation of security challenges faced by Burundian entrepreneurs due to state fragility. State fragilities are perceived as major barriers to entrepreneurship development because they add additional constraints and restrict the growth of ventures and entrepreneurs reaching their full potential. Research purpose: A qualitative study was conducted in Burundi using institutional theory (North, 1990 and Scott, 2003) with empirical data from semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with 20 respondents including 2 stakeholders. The interviews were conducted in two cities, Bujumbura capital and Cibitoke Province, less developed compared to other Provinces of Burundi. The study used a purposive sampling method to recruit 15 respondents (Ilker et al., 2016) and 5 interviewees using the snowball method (Saunders et al., 2016). The interviews were conducted in Kirundi (the national language of Burundi), audio-recorded, translated to English then transcribed using a Word document. A six-step thematic framework for data analysis was used in data analysis (Braun, Clarke, 2017). Findings and discussions: The findings of this study revealed that many Burundian entrepreneurs are affected by the lack of security, weak business environment and slow economic growth, lack of durable peace, poor governance, and lack of institution support. Addition challenges were linked to lack of finance, poor infrastructure, poverty, poor market penetration and lack of management and technical skills. Behind those challenges, many women, and young entrepreneurs face challenges due to lack of access to property ownership, and jobs to enter entrepreneurship. Other barriers faced by women in Burundi were related to gender inequality, violence, lack of education, low market, lack of suppliers, and lack of business support (Nintunze, Bigirimana, 2021). The result of this study found that Burundian entrepreneurs used different strategies to survive while trading in fragile states post-conflict and building resilience. Recommendations for peace dialogue to resolve conflicts, maintain peace, build social cohesion and better communication between different members of society. Researchers in this study recommend Burundian government focus on reforming its institutions, building, and restoring infrastructures, reinforcing regulation, providing better access to finance, developing human capital and markets as well and tackling corruption. The novelty of this study lies in the contributions to the literature related to security challenges for Burundi, a country which remains under-researched.

Exploring Financial Literacy in Higher Education with the Help of FinTech: A Bibliometric Analysis of Linkages to Access, Behavior, and Well-Being Through Digital Innovation

This study explores the dynamic interaction between financial literacy and higher education, focusing on the critical role of financial education in improving individual financial well-being. Using bibliometric analysis and the VOSviewer software, this research examines thematic clusters in financial literacy, categorized into access, behavior, health, and education. By analyzing 469 articles from the Web of Science database (2020–2024), this study identifies trends and key linkages between financial literacy and societal well-being, highlighting the role of digital innovation. While FinTech is discussed as a facilitator of financial inclusion and education, the primary focus lies in understanding how financial literacy drives behavioral change, capacity building, and economic resilience. This paper provides information for policymakers and educators to design inclusive, behaviorally focused educational programs that address specific demographic needs, ultimately contributing to societal and economic resilience.

Virtually Prepared: Using Virtual Reality to Build Trauma Awareness and Resilience in Journalism Students

Using virtual reality (VR), six journalism students were given training on how to cover a protest that turns violent. The goal was to investigate if VR could help increase awareness of and resilience to the physical and psychological dangers of journalistic work. Pre- and post-interviews were analyzed for themes associated with learning and resilience. Results suggest the VR simulation invoked a sense of realism and generated genuine reactions that were conducive to learning. Results revealed four themes associated with resilience including increases in emotional and situational awareness, professional awareness, and feelings of competence. Implications for trauma training are discussed.

Agricultural terraces of Dagestan: ancient legacy for climate change adaptation and building resilience of mountain communities

Agricultural terraces of Dagestan: ancient legacy for climate change adaptation and building resilience of mountain communities

Climate Smart Agriculture in Food Insecurity Mitigation in Nigeria: A Conceptual Evaluation

Climate-Smart agriculture and its impact on food security have been topical issues in policy and food security discusses by successive governments in Nigeria however, the extent of its awareness among the farmers as a food insecurity mitigation measure has not been adequately represented in contemporary local literature hence the need for this research to ascertain the extent of awareness through: an examination of literary works by scholars in the field, assessing the extent of climate-smart procedures in agriculture and suggest where possible ideas to enhance its adoption. The study therefore evaluated secondary data and studies on the impacts of climate change on agriculture and how it can be mitigated through the adoption of climate smart approaches. Climate-Smart Agriculture is an emerging agricultural strategy initiated to tackle the consequences of climate change in food security and sustain agriculture. It involves the combination of approaches in the management of agricultural lands, forests, fisheries and livestock. The study in this regard took a holistic view of the adoption of climate smart agriculture by the farmers, its benefits and approaches and considered objectives such as accessing and assessing other scholars works and views on climate smart agricultural practices utilized by rural farmers in parts of Nigeria, discussing climate smart agriculture and food security, deliberating on climate smart agriculture and resource use efficiency and, viewing the constraining factors hampering the adoption of Climate Smart Agricultural practices in Nigeria. This is because climate change presently is one of the challenges and problems facing the world and an important factor in agricultural productivity. Variations in climatic factors will have ripple effects on crop yield and animal production. Farmers may have been facing weather variability and uncertainty patterns, however, the increasing pace of these uncertainties caused by climate change exacerbate food insecurity and hunger incidences and will require some degree of flexibility and rapid response capacity that climate smart agriculture offers. Building resilience in agricultural and farming practices will reduce the risk of food insecurity outside increasing the adaptive capacity and coping capabilities of the farmers.

Author Correction: Typical and extreme weather datasets for studying the resilience of buildings to climate change and heatwaves

Author Correction: Typical and extreme weather datasets for studying the resilience of buildings to climate change and heatwaves

Common hazards and prioritisation of livelihoods resilience building in Malawi: a deterministic spatial approach

Common hazards and prioritisation of livelihoods resilience building in Malawi: a deterministic spatial approach

Building resilience in Canadian vineyards through grapevine selections

Building resilience in Canadian vineyards through grapevine selections

Building Resilience in Rural STEM Teachers Through a Noyce Professional Learning Community

Addressing the critical STEM teachers’ shortage in the rural United States requires not only recruiting new teachers but also improving retention and teacher resiliency. This study explores contextual protective factors through the Early Career Teacher Resilience (ECTR) framework. The major objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of the NSF Noyce Professional Learning Community (PLC) on rural STEM teacher resilience. Key components of the Noyce PLC included scholarship support, pre-service mentoring, attendance at local and regional educational events, active engagement in the program’s annual summer conference, and participation in a closed Facebook group. We developed an ECTR framework-based online instrument with 28 questions and sent it to 311 university alumni, including 44 Noyce alumni. The results suggest that the Noyce PLC has excelled in fostering collaborative learning environments, providing resources that enhance teaching and learning, accommodating new and different ways of thinking, and supporting teachers’ professional growth beyond graduation. The findings underscore the importance of integrating theoretical and practical knowledge, supporting ongoing professional learning, and building strong professional relationships. Several aspects of the Noyce PLC could be replicated in other STEM teacher preparation programs to enhance teacher resilience, effectiveness, and career development.

The COVID-19 impact: Insights into the pharmaceutical sector through 10-K reports

COVID-19 has lasting impacts on pharmaceutical companies, and it is crucial for managers to fully understand and monitor the impact areas to prepare for future organizational resilience building and transformation. However, the research on COVID-19 impacts is still discrete and anecdotal. Based on a textual analysis of 447 public pharmaceutical companies’ 10-K annual reports and statistical analysis of their financial data, this research systematically identifies major impact areas experienced by public pharmaceutical companies during COVID-19, the patterns of impacts (distribution and sentiment of impacts), and their association with firm characteristics. A topic modeling analysis reveals four impact areas, including new product development processes, sales and operations, COVID-19 treatment and prevention drug early development, and COVID-19 drug clinical trials. Companies reporting COVID-19 drug clinical trials are the most optimistic in the sample, while companies reporting sales and operations are the most pessimistic. Furthermore, firms exhibit heterogeneity in terms of the impacts they experience. Those whose primary business focus is on research and development are more likely to report impacts related to new product development processes, while those with diverse business focus tend to highlight issues on sales and operations. The impact areas uncovered in this research point out the domain for managers to watch for potential transformation, whereas the findings on firm heterogeneity guide managers to make efforts tailored to their firm characteristics.

Audiologists' Awareness and Use of Resilience-Building Strategies

Purpose: Audiologists face occupational stressors that put them at risk for burnout, which can impact personal well-being and lead to poor patient care. Resilience building can mitigate the impact of occupational stressors. The purpose of this study was to explore audiologists' awareness and use of various resilience-building strategies. Method: In this qualitative study, 12 audiologists completed a virtual interview focused on occupational stressors and resilience building. Results: Five of the 12 participants (42%) stated they understood the term “resilience building” when queried at the start of the interview. When provided with clarification, many limited their commentary to specific examples provided by the interviewer, without expanding their responses to more diverse resilience-building strategies. Participants described the ways they used strategies proactively to mitigate the long-term impact of stress (sleep, exercise, boundaries) and reactively for managing acute stress (psychotherapy), with some strategies used both proactively and reactively across participants (connections, mindfulness/meditation). Conclusions: All participants described using at least one strategy to combat occupational stressors, but there did not appear to be a clear understanding of the holistic nature of resilience building or an overall strategy to apply diverse strategies to build resilience. Barriers to the use of resilience-building strategies included exhaustion, lack of time, and motivation. Gaps in awareness and application suggest audiologists may benefit from education on resilience building as a holistic approach to combating occupational stress and decreasing burnout.

Building Resiliency in Community Development: The Experiences of Women in Rural Communities in Ghana

In Ghana, women face challenges such as poverty, illiteracy, restricted legal rights, and entrenched gender roles, impeding their empowerment. Despite these barriers, they exhibit remarkable resilience, often through active engagement in community development initiatives. Previous studies highlight the importance of collective solidarity and intergenerational support in fostering resilience among Ghanaian women. However, these studies frequently apply external frameworks that conceptualize resilience as an internal attribute. This qualitative study explores the intrinsic motivations and support mechanisms that underpin resilience among Ghanaian women (𝑁 = 12) actively participating in community development efforts. Thematic analysis of interviews reveals that their resilience is greatly influenced by concerns for their children’s future and strengthened by strong familial and community support networks. This research enriches our understanding of resilience by highlighting authentic sources rooted in the lived experiences of Ghanaian women, challenging conventional perceptions and emphasizing both individual and community‐level factors.

When East Meets West in Building Organisational Resilience: An Exploratory Study Among Bangladeshi Exporters

AbstractThis longitudinal qualitative study examines how globally operating readymade garment exporters from Bangladesh build organisational resilience in order to cope in the turbulent business environment. We found that at the time of crisis, such as the one caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the studied exporters lacked robustness, and were not prepared for unexpected external shocks. However, the companies built resilience by adaptation to the situation as well as possible. Their ability to build resilience was found to be partly rooted in the local culture. At the time of crisis, the companies combined jugaad—a regional cultural practice—with a Western mindset and management tools. In this study, this unique combination of regional and Western practices is labelled as jugalbandi. Interestingly, organisational resilience which is achieved in this way seems to be temporary: the exporters discarded the locally-embedded practices when the situation stabilised. Our study challenges the mainstream views on organisational resilience espoused in earlier research, and develops a context-sensitive, culture-embedded framework of resilience building.

The Influence of Parents on Adolescent Independence: A Study in the Context of Islamic Boarding Schools and Its Implications for Counseling

This study investigates the influence of parental attachment on the independence of students in Islamic boarding schools, with a focus on understanding how this attachment contributes to the development of autonomy among adolescents. The research, conducted with 181 students aged 13-18 years, examines the relationship between parental attachment and student independence, employing a quantitative approach with data collected through the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA) scale. The results demonstrate that parental attachment accounts for 10.4% of the variance in student independence, while the remaining 89.6% is influenced by other factors such as genetics, parenting styles, educational environments, and birth order within the family. The study highlights the critical role of parental attachment in fostering independence but also emphasizes the importance of a multifaceted approach to guidance and counseling that considers the complex interplay of various influences on student development. The findings suggest that counseling professionals should incorporate strategies that strengthen parental involvement, even in the context of limited interaction in boarding schools, through structured communication programs and family counseling sessions. Additionally, tailored counseling interventions that focus on building resilience, self-efficacy, and decision-making skills are essential for addressing the unique challenges faced by students in Islamic boarding schools. By integrating educational strategies with counseling practices, a supportive learning environment can be created that promotes critical thinking and autonomy. The study concludes that a comprehensive and holistic approach to guidance and counseling is necessary to effectively support the development of independent, resilient, and well-rounded students in Islamic boarding schools, maximizing their potential in both academic and personal spheres.

Building Resilience: A Holistic Approach for Revitalizing Existing Infrastructure Assets

This presented research delves into the challenges and approaches encompassed in allotting available resources for the maintenance and renovation of crucial infrastructure assets, focusing intently on buildings in Old Cairo earmarked for relocation to the new administrative capital, manipulating an integral empirical assessment and advanced modeling techniques. Amidst intensifying imperatives for robust infrastructure against a backdrop of financial constraints and hastened asset deterioration, this study proposes a cutting-edge, thorough approach to fund distribution. The developed approach incorporates asset hierarchy and classification, condition assessment via pilot survey, Markov chain model for degradation anticipation, stakeholder perception analysis through questionnaires for comparative analysis, and constructing an optimization model for fund allocation. The findings unveiled the dire condition of the selected infrastructure assets and the pressing requisite for strategic maintenance and renovation interventions. The developed approach offered a pragmatic evidence-based approach concerning decision-makers, improving resource allocation efficacy and fostering urban development schemes. This paper calls for protractible presented methodologies to a broad spectrum of assets and geographies and integrating incipient technologies for dynamic asset management approaches.

Building Resilience in a Crisis Through Boards – Exploring the Mediating Effect of Board Behavior

ABSTRACTThe present study examines two board behaviors, their antecedents and their consequences in the COVID‐19 crisis. The two behaviors are (1) board involvement in crisis management planning and (2) board creative effort in finding solutions. The antecedents are board expertise and cognitive diversity. The consequence is firm resilience. The study builds its theoretical argument using the classical and refined upper echelons theory, stating that the two board behaviors mediate the effect of board expertise and cognitive diversity on firm resilience. Survey data from the United States during early 2020 was used. We found strong support for our overall argument that board involvement in crisis management planning and board creative effort in finding solutions are critical mediators. Our study also shows that the context of a crisis matters. During COVID‐19, board cognitive diversity can negatively affect board behavior. We conclude the paper with discussions and future research proposals.

Building resilience: A promising approach to reduce anxiety in mothers and hospitalized children with burn injuries.

The psychological impact of pediatric burn injuries is profound, often resulting in elevated levels of anxiety for both children and their mothers. This quasi-experimental study was conducted to explore the effectiveness of a resilience training program aimed at reducing anxiety among mothers and their hospitalized children with burn injuries at a burn hospital in Shiraz, Iran. Fifty-six eligible mothers were initially selected through purposive sampling and assigned to either the experimental or control group in a 1:1 ratio through random assignment. The experimental group engaged in six sessions of the resilience training program. Anxiety levels were measured using the State Anxiety Inventory (SAI) and State Anxiety Inventory for Children (SAI-C) at multiple time points. Despite some dropouts, fifty mothers and their children were retained for analysis. The impact of the intervention on anxiety improvement was assessed using a Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) model.. The results indicated that the resilience training program significantly reduced anxiety levels in both mothers and their children over time (p < .001). This reduction in anxiety persisted for five days following the completion of six sessions for mothers and six days for children (p < .05). Resilience training effectively addressed the psychological needs of mothers and their hospitalized children with burn injuries during the acute phase, significantly reducing anxiety levels and sustaining benefits for up to five days for mothers and six days for children post-intervention. While the impact of the training appeared to lessen over time, this underscores its importance in providing immediate support during a critical period. These findings suggest that resilience training is a valuable addition to clinical practice for the acute hospitalization phase, aimed at enhancing mental health and overall well-being in this vulnerable group.

A highly effective mindfulness intervention for burnout prevention and resiliency building in nurses

&lt;sec&gt;&lt;title&gt;Objectives&lt;/title&gt;&lt;p&gt;Healthcare workers, most notably nursing professionals, face high levels of recurrent stress that lead to symptoms of burnout and other negative mental health outcomes. This indicates the need for greater individual and organizational health system support, including implementation of effective, evidence-based interventions for burnout reduction in this population. Organizationally supported mindfulness-based interventions can be used to build individual resilience, buffering the detrimental effects of occupational stress and enhance professional well-being. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of an evidence-based mindfulness intervention on perceived stress, burnout, resilience, and work engagement in nursing professionals.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/sec&gt;&lt;sec&gt;&lt;title&gt;Methods&lt;/title&gt;&lt;p&gt;A non-randomized single arm, pre/post design was used for this study. Healthcare workers (&lt;italic&gt;n&lt;/italic&gt; = 631), including Registered Nurses and Advanced Practice Nurses (&lt;italic&gt;n&lt;/italic&gt; = 128), physicians (&lt;italic&gt;n&lt;/italic&gt; = 105), social workers (&lt;italic&gt;n&lt;/italic&gt; = 21), pharmacists (&lt;italic&gt;n&lt;/italic&gt; = 8), chaplains (&lt;italic&gt;n&lt;/italic&gt; = 30), physician and occupational therapists (&lt;italic&gt;n&lt;/italic&gt; = 39), patient care assistants (&lt;italic&gt;n&lt;/italic&gt; = 13), other clinical staff (&lt;italic&gt;n&lt;/italic&gt; = 26), non-clinical staff (&lt;italic&gt;n&lt;/italic&gt; = 229), and 32 others participated in Mindfulness in Motion, an 8-week evidence-based worksite mindfulness intervention. Validated self-report measures assessing burnout (Maslach Burnout Inventory), perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale), resilience (Connor Davidson Resiliency Scale), and work engagement (Utrecht Work Engagement Score) were given pre and post program. Total burnout was determined by scores on the subscales of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment of the Maslach Burnout Inventory: Emotional exhaustion &amp;gt;27 or depersonalization &amp;gt;13 or personal accomplishment &amp;lt;31.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/sec&gt;&lt;sec&gt;&lt;title&gt;Results&lt;/title&gt;&lt;p&gt;Significant reductions in burnout (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; &amp;lt; 0.00001), perceived stress (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; &amp;lt; 0.00001), with significant increases in resilience (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; &amp;lt; 0.00001), and work engagement (&lt;italic&gt;p&lt;/italic&gt; &amp;lt; 0.00001) were observed among Registered and Advanced Practice Nurses comparing pre-post measures. Notably, the number of nursing professionals who no longer qualified as burned out was 10% higher than the other participants.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/sec&gt;&lt;sec&gt;&lt;title&gt;Conclusion&lt;/title&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our results suggest that nursing professionals could greatly benefit from organizationally supported mindfulness-based interventions such as Mindfulness in Motion and may benefit them most compared to other health system employees.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/sec&gt;

The Role of Family Planning in Enhancing Community Resilience: Insights from Drought-Affected Youths and Women in Ethiopia.

This study assesses the role of family planning (FP) in resilience building among youths and women in Ethiopia's drought-affected and food-insecure regions. A mixed-method comparative cross-sectional study design with a total of 1712 study participants with an equal 1:1 ratio of the intervention and control groups was used. Binary logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify factors associated with community resilience. More participants in the intervention districts (58.3%) than in the control districts (49%) were currently using FP services. Approximately 54.1% of the intervention group and 43.6% of the control group were able to pay for food and shelter. Two-thirds of the intervention respondents and half of the control respondents had good social cohesion. The food consumption scores for the intervention and control districts were 26.2 and 24.9, respectively. Additionally, 62.5% of the intervention and 53.5% of the control respondents were found to have a good level of community level resilience. FP use (AOR = 3.4, 95% CI: 1.78-6.49), good social cohesion (AOR = 7.9, 95% CI: 6.09-10.23) and productive assets (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.07-1.92) were significantly associated with community resilience. To enhance community resilience comprehensively, expanding FP services should empower women in decision-making processes, cultivate ties and promote collaborative efforts across different sectors.