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The 2014 China Ludian 803 Earthquake left a devastating impact on the lives of the affected population. In the aftermath of the disaster, a dedicated Occupational Therapy (OT) team known as Postdisaster Rehabilitation Action (PDRA) and We Care We Care Share from Sichuan University and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU HK) emerged to provide crucial support and rehabilitation services. Over the past 10 years, this team has played a pivotal role in the recovery and rehabilitation of the quake-stricken areas of Yunnan. This article delves into the journey of the PDRA and We Care We Share Occupational Therapy team, highlighting their efforts in transitioning from disaster rehabilitation to community rehabilitation. Their work has not only restored functionality and independence to individuals but has also fostered a sense of resilience and hope within the communities they serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pandemics pose an existential threat to large segments of the human community. They differ from similar threats to large communities, such as natural disasters and wars, in the character of uncanniness. Dangers activate the attachment system and, at the societal level, initially lead to a tendency toward closer union with a strengthening of the respective leadership. The feeling of uncanniness also awakens a strong need for quick explanations that are as simple as possible, while at the same time bringing clarity and options for action. Together, this requires and promotes trust in leadership, as was evident in the first phase of the current pandemic. However, it then also awakens opposite tendencies, which are discussed in the context of Joseph Lichtenberg's Motivational Systems. They appeared in extreme form in the second phase of the pandemic with the „Querdenker" (lateral thinking) movement. Deciding who can be trusted and what explanation is actually trusted leads to the concept of Epistemic Trust. In a final consideration, the danger of radicalization and polarization is addressed and the possibilities of exerting influence from within the psychoanalytic and group analytic community are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a conference on material culture and everyday life from the perspective of ethnology, convened in Nuremberg, Germany, from September 26-28, 2013. Topics of discussion included avalanches, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, sustainable technologies and infrastructures, and anonymity.

The article presents a report from a February 21-22, 2013 conference in Tübingen, Germany on the history of natural disasters in Eastern Europe. Topics of presentations given included a proposed dam in Leningrad, Russia, forestry protection measures around the North and Black Seas, and the 1966 earthquake in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

A report is presented from a May 18-20, 2012 conference in Munich, Germany on natural and technological disasters. Topics of discussion included the 1947 nuclear reprocessing facility accident in Tatysh, Russia, chemical spills in Ludwigshafen, Germany in the early 20th century, and mass media depictions of natural disasters.

A report from a June 15-16, 2011 conference in Essen, Germany on the social and cultural impacts of natural disasters is presented. Topics of presentations given included the flooding of Hamburg, Germany in 1962, flooding of the Mekong river delta in Vietnam, and the eruption of the volcano Kuwae in 1453.

The article offers information on "Umweltgeschichte der Frühen Neuzeit - Experiment und Perspektive," a conference that focused on the environmental history of Europe during the early modern period. It took place in Munich, Germany from February 17-19, 2011. Papers presented discussed topics such as the study of natural disasters in the early modern period, the environmental history of rivers in Europe, and the agricultural knowledge and use of land during that time period.

The article presents the summary of a conference that focused on natural disasters and catastrophes that was held from May 4-6, 2011 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Topics under discussion at the conference included a comparison of the apocalypse as described in the Bible and the natural disasters in the 21st Century, a talk on how to predict a catastrophe, as well as a discussion on the role of the media during a catastrophe.

The article presents the summary of a conference that focused on natural disasters and catastrophes that was held from May 4-6, 2011 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. Topics under discussion at the conference included a comparison of the apocalypse as described in the Bible and the natural disasters in the 21st Century, a talk on how to predict a catastrophe, as well as a discussion on the role of the media during a catastrophe.

The article presents a report from a February 5, 2014 conference in Kassel, Germany on the medieval history of the environment. Topics of presentations delivered included the lessons to be learned from past natural disasters, the historical geography of human interaction with the environment, and the role of medical research on skeletal remains in determining past environmental and epidemiological influences on humans.