Filling in the human systems node can include a number of systemic strategies that are process- or structurally-based. One type of process model would take account from prior to the event through to following the event and be able to delineate resilient versus vulnerable pathways. This could be quite specific pathways linked to natural hazard events specifically or more generally delineating resilient versus vulnerable “risk and uncertainty” pathways. This could then be accompanied by guiding questions and connection keywords to help students understand vulnerable versus resilient pathways and how one is more likely to be on one pathway versus another. These guiding questions and connection keywords could be drawn from those of the ESS model:
(1)
What changes are related to being on risk versus resilient pathways?
(2)
How and why does change happen to be on one path versus the other?
(3)
Connection keywords:
Causes, effects;
Increases, decreases;
Changes, impacts;
Parts, parts-whole.
A more structural human systems model would delineate between different human systems, making links between them similar to the ESS’s event-spheres diagram. This structure could be anything from individual- to more community-level focused and become increasingly sophisticated over time, congruent with children’s development and increasing understanding. Thus, for younger children, connections could be made to help them understand themselves and their families more systemically. Thus, an event (e.g., storm with high winds) could first be understood in terms of child nodes (thoughts, behaviours, feelings, bodily reactions). Over time, with increasing development, they could then be further connected to “outside the child” nodes (e.g., schools node, friends node, “family and home” node). Thus, as the child develops more mature thinking (see next section), more community-level models can start to be introduced. For example, Norris and colleagues [29] have a community-based model that has four main nodes: economic development, social capital, community competence, information and communication. While Norris et al. developed their model in relation to disasters, these main nodes have more general application. Each node can have any number of sub-nodes in relation to a particular event being mapped. In terms of promoting resilience to disasters, the sub-nodes that Norris [56] emphasises are the following:
Economic development;
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Resource level;
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Resource equity;
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Resource diversity.
Social capital;
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Social support and networks;
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Social participation;
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Bondedness and commitment to the community.
Information and communication;
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Trusted sources of information that are linked together;
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Responsible media;
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Good information infrastructure.
Community competence;
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Collective sense of control and efficacy;
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Sense of empowerment;
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Collective and cooperative decision-making and actions.
Reflecting systems thinking, Norris herself states that “resilience to disaster… rests not only or even primarily on traditional preparedness activities but on building economically strong communities whose members can work together and use information to make decisions and act” [56]. In moving to systemic educational approaches, Ronan and Johnston’s Strengthening Systems (SS4R) model ([2]; see also [3]) emphasizes an educational platform involving the strengthening of relationships through “spreading activation networks” within communities. An important network in any given community is the school-youth-household network, one that generally involves the majority of residential households.