Cities today have become a playground for man-made security threats. From terrorism, drug abuse, and different forms of physical violence that impedes the smooth functioning of the activities of those living within the city spaces. Considering the present day violence and insecurity in our cities, it is vital not only to embark on preventive measures, but also to learn how to cope with and adapt to them. Since it would be an illusion to think of eliminating violence, resilience becomes an important aspect, a gateway to move on with our daily activities without fear and with greater hope for a better future. It is in this respect that I decided in this thesis to talk about resilience within our municipalities with a special focus on the city of Johannesburg in South Africa.

Extreme weather events have become a common occurrence and coastal communities are adversely affected by it. Studies have shown that the changing climate has increased the frequency and severity of storms, surging sea levels, and floods, as was seen with Hurricane Sandy (2012) and Typhoon Haiyan (2013). The need to be proactive in preparing for these events, as a means of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, is evident. This study focuses on the formal definition, measurement and simulation of coastal community preparedness and response to severe storm events. Preparedness and response requires resources, emergency plans, informed decision making and the ability to cope with unexpected events. A suite of preparedness indicators is developed using a three level hierarchical framework in the construction of a coastal community preparedness index to evaluate resources and plans. Informed decision making for emergency management personnel in the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) is evaluated through a table-top exercise using a five-phase approach. Lastly, decision making with risk is introduced with a storm decision making simulation model. This study is applied to the case of the breakwater failure in the coastal community of Little Anse, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Diploma thesis "Vạn Xuân" - Ten thousand springs: Vietnamese journal in Czech republic deals not only with the magazine itself, but also with the Vietnamese press in Czech Republic in general. It is impossible to study Vietnamese press in Czech Republic without historical knowledge about this community on Czech territory. Hence, in the first part of this paper, the Vietnamese migration is fully explained. The aim of this work is to find out, how magazine Vạn Xuân reflects parallel Words in which it works - in Czech majority and Vietnamese minor. It is also important to know the range of information from Vietnam that the journal brings. Since most of Vietnamese do not speak Czech well and can not obtain information from Czech media, Vietnamese magazines are their primary, sometimes the only information source that they have. Thereby, Vietnamese press in Czech Republic has an important role in shaping knowledge and maybe even opinion of its community. Vietnamese community is quite isolated from Czech society, since it is its natural character. However, by and by, it is still more vivid that without adaptation, the Vietnamese community can not adequately exist. It is necessary for them to be conscious about Czech matters of policy, economy, but also culture. Without this consciousness, they can get...