The word stress is everywhere and highly overused. Everyone is stressed, it seems, all the time. Looking into the meaning of stress in the natural science and the humanities, this book explores cellular stress as cause of and in correlation with what humans experience as stress. When do we psychologically feel stress and when do we show physiological evidence of stress in our brain? Stress is a deviation from what feels normal and healthy. It can be created by social or economic factors and become chronic, which has substantial impacts on the individual and society as a whole. Focusing on poverty as one chronic inducer of stress, this book explores how the lack of pressure-free time, the hardships and unpredictability of everyday life and a general lack of protection lead to destructive toxic stress. This pressure affects cognitive and social functioning, brain development during childhood and may also result in premature aging. How can the sciences inform our understanding of and our response to stress? What can be done about toxic stress both on a personal level and in terms of structures and policies? The book is written for anyone interested in stress, its causes and consequences, and its relationship to poverty.

Die AutorInnen des Bandes untersuchen aus den Blickwinkeln der Philosophie, Sozialgeographie, Politikwissenschaft, Kommunikationswissenschaft, Theologie, Sozialpsychologie und Padagogik die Wirkung von Wissensproduktion und Wissensvermittlung bzw. Padagogik auf Armutssituationen und soziale Ausgrenzung. Sie reflektieren verschiedene Ebenen der Armutsforschung von der Herausforderung lokales Armutswissen zu fassen bis hin zu internationalen und kulturvergleichenden Perspektiven. Neben den empirischen Befunden zeigen die Erkenntnisse die Relevanz einer, fur die Armutsforschung besonders bedeutsamen, Sensibilitat gegenuber Begriffen und Diskursen auf: in der Wissensproduktion ebenso wie im Feld gesellschaftlicher Praxis.

Auf welche konkreten und gesellschaftlich relevanten Fragestellungen lasst sich der von Amartya Sen und Martha Nussbaum formulierte Capability Approach anwenden? Eignet er sich als Grundlage fur Studien und Projekte, die sich mit der Konzeptualisierung und Minderung von Kinderarmut beschaftigen? Die Autorinnen und Autoren gehen diesen Fragen aus unterschiedlichen fachlichen Perspektiven nach und zeigen das Potential des Ansatzes auf. Dabei werden sowohl seine theoretischen Grundlagen reflektiert als auch methodische Herausforderungen aufgegriffen, die bei seiner Anwendung auftreten.

The word stress is everywhere and highly overused. Everyone is stressed, it seems, all the time. Looking into the meaning of stress in the natural science and the humanities, this book explores cellular stress as cause of and in correlation with what humans experience as stress. When do we psychologically feel stress and when do we show physiological evidence of stress in our brain? Stress is a deviation from what feels normal and healthy. It can be created by social or economic factors and become chronic, which has substantial impacts on the individual and society as a whole. Focusing on poverty as one chronic inducer of stress, this book explores how the lack of pressure-free time, the hardships and unpredictability of everyday life and a general lack of protection lead to destructive toxic stress. This pressure affects cognitive and social functioning, brain development during childhood and may also result in premature aging. How can the sciences inform our understanding of and our response to stress? What can be done about toxic stress both on a personal level and in terms of structures and policies? The book is written for anyone interested in stress, its causes and consequences, and its relationship to poverty.

We live in a world of constant and dynamic change. Change manifests in various guises ranging from small to big, local to global, individual to societal, or from subtle to sudden. It often comes out of the unexpected, yet people can also actively bring about change. Change can be for the better, but often reality means change for the worse. Preconditions for a contented and happy life, both material and intangible, are constantly challenged. Living conditions of individuals as well as communities are affected by inequality, exclusion, or poverty. Different kinds of challenge and change require different reactions.This volume results from a two-day conference in November 2011 in Salzburg, Austria, bringing together researchers and practitioners from different scientific disciplines in order to discuss approaches of poverty research, social inclusion strategies, and local knowledge applications with particular focus on transformation. The contributions shed light on appropriate theories, methodologies, and concrete applications of change concepts referring to poverty, place and identity at different temporal, social, and spatial scales. They address a readership ranging from social and political scientists, economists and statisticians, to philosophers, cultural scientists and geographers.