Parents of children with disabilities confront numerous challenges from childbirth, sorted into five types. First, emotional hurdles, emerging during childbirth, involve denial, guilt, anger, depression, anxiety, bargaining, fear, exhaustion, and stress. Second, financial burdens, encompassing treatment expenses, medications, equipment, and employment obstacles, significantly impact parents. Third, educational challenges faced by disabled parents include funding gaps, school barriers, ac-commodation shortages, negative attitudes, scheme unawareness, communication barriers, and power dynamics. Fourth, social obstacles, such as stigma, support deficiencies, loneliness, and community bias, affect parents directly and indirectly. Lastly, health challenges, like physical ailments, stress, weight management, and neglecting self-care, affect both parents. These challenges intertwine, necessitating comprehensive understanding and targeted assistance. This chapter explores these complexities, assesses their impact, and examines potential solutions.

'Poverty is well-being deprivation', declares the World Bank. There is no clear, widely accepted definition of well-being, although the World Bank provides some clues, 'to be impoverished would be to be starving, to lack shelter, to be unwell and uncared for, and to be illiterate and untutored'. Poor people are subject to uncontrollable situations and denied voice and influence. Psychological empowerment (PE) and gender equality are among the emphasised areas which need to be catered. 'Psychological' empowerment, abbreviated as 'PE', denotes empowerment at the specific intensity of analysis. It is a multidimensional concept derived from the integration of various dimensions determined by three realms: (a) personality, which includes self-attribution and internal locus of control, (b) cognitive, that contains self-efficacy perception, (c) motivational, which describes the interest in participating in the activity and control of the factors involved. PE shows that people believe their actions are manageable and controlled, that they are transitioning from a condition of learned helplessness to a state of logical hope and optimism. Gender equality is the equivalent involvement of males and females in utter facets of a lifetime. Women's civil rights activities affiliated with the rights movements worked to establish gender equality in place of an essential human right. In many nations, indicators such as the gender-linked development indicators, the gender break index and the gender fairness index provide measurements of complete gender equivalence. This chapter discusses the positive impact of PE and gender equality on human well-being based on evidence.

No study to date exists regarding resilience in the context of armed conflict in Kashmir, India. Therefore, this study intended to understand the factors that predict resilience among young adults affected by the violence of the protracted conflict in Kashmir. The data were collected from 656 students, who experienced stress, related to the conflict. Findings showed that more than a quarter of the respondents (35.8%) were exposed, from 7 to 10, less than a quarter (16.6%) of participants reported 2–6, and almost half of the respondents (47.6%) were exposed to 11 or more stressful events related to the conflict in Kashmir. Multiple hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the role of conflict exposure, social support, and demographic variables in predicting resilience. The results of the final regression model revealed that exposure to armed conflict, social support, level of education, monthly family income and gender, emerged as significant predictors of resilience. The study recommends the formulation of programs to sensitize people living in the areas affected by the armed conflicts, regarding the importance of social support and resilience, to help them withstand various adverse life experiences.

Green smart cities are the collaborative hub linked with business, government, education, and the public to generate comfortable living in urban environments by encouraging change with scientific-based problem-solving. In simple terms, green smart cities are technologically advanced in solving problems without harming the environment. For implementing green smart cities, developed and developing countries are collaborating and signing a memorandum of understanding with one another. Government representatives, educators, and the general public should cooperate to successfully make a green smart city. Global connectedness, productivity, efficiency, and revolution are possible through green smart cities. Meanwhile, poorly regulated green smart cities will result in environmental difficulties such as socioeconomic inequalities, poor public safety, and conservational destruction. Furthermore, implementing green smart cities is not a simple strategy. This chapter discusses the challenges and issues in green smart cities' implementation.

Cyberbullying refers to using digital technologies such as cyberspace, societal broadcasting platforms, direct messaging, and email to bother, intimidate, or harm others. This chapter provides an indication of cyberbullying, including its definition, incidence, and impact on individuals and society. Firstly, the chapter reviews the existing research on cyberbullying, exploring its different forms and characteristics and the psychological and social consequences for both victims and perpetrators. Secondly, the role of technology in facilitating and exacerbating cyberbullying is also examined, focusing on the anonymity and distance that online platforms provide. Thirdly, legal and ethical considerations surrounding cyberbullying including the challenges of enforcing laws and policies online are explored. Finally, the chapter highlights the importance of a comprehensive and collaborative approach involving parents, educators, policymakers, and online platforms to address cyberbullying.

Objective: Studies on the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in Kashmir, India, are yet to be conducted. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of ACEs among young adults across all the ten districts of Kashmir Valley. Methods: A cross-sectional research strategy was used to assess the prevalence of ACEs by employing a multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected from 800 students studying in different colleges and universities in Kashmir with the help of the “Adverse Childhood Experiences” (ACEs) scale. Results: Findings disclosed that less than a quarter of the respondents reported high exposure to ACEs (15.4 %), more than one-tenth of the participants reported extremely high exposure to ACEs (13.4 %), over a quarter of the sample reported moderate exposure to ACEs (26.3 %), one-third of the youth reported low exposure to ACEs (33.0 %) and over one-tenth of the respondents reported no exposure to ACEs (11.8 %). The prevalence of ACEs was found to be 88.2 % (females: 82.7 % and males: 90.8 %) in Kashmir. The ACEs with the highest level of prevalence were “often or very often sworn at, insulted, or put down” (49.8 %), followed by “often or very often acted in a way that made them afraid that they would be physically hurt” (47.6 %), “often or very often pushed, grabbed, shoved, or slapped” (41.6 %), “often or very often hit so hard that they had marks or were injured” (28.3 %) and “touched or sexually fondled” (25.3 %). Thirteen out of 21 adverse events during childhood were significantly associated with gender. Conclusion: The findings suggest the need to advocate early targeted interventions, reduce ACEs and their impact, and design efficient measures to improve the health and well-being of young adults in Kashmir.

The study examined the status of the children of the fishing community in terms of general care from parents, nutrition, education, health care and safety. Four clusters from Puducherry and Tamil Nadu were randomly selected by considering the geographical spread of the location. 103 children, 46 from Tamil Nadu and 57 from Puducherry were found from these clusters. The study combined both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods like semi-structured questionnaires, informal interviews and case studies. About 44.7% children reported to have not received proper care from the parents, solely because of poverty, family violence and father’s personality and/or alcohol dependence. 63.1% reported not getting adequate nutrition. All the children from the present study are attending school regularly and 63.1% reported getting support from parents for school tuition fees, uniforms and study materials. 83.5% reported that they were not able to understand the lessons taught in the class. All the children were immunized. Only one-third (30.1%) of children were fortunate to get quality time with parents for discussing personal issues and problems. About two-fifths (41.7%) reported to have not shared personal problems with parents. Female children were found to get better care as compared to their male counterparts (p <.01). 86.4% experienced physical abuse, and 22.7% had experienced psychological abuse and sexual abuse. Male children experienced more physical abuse (p <.001). 42.7% witnessed family violence. The case studies provided a clear picture about the status of the children. Children from the community need healthy family environment, quality education and sense of security.