Toby Gardner
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780197265536
- eISBN:
- 9780191760327
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265536.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The Amazon is a major biome for helping to stabilize the water and temperature of its region and possibly even the whole planet. But increasingly it is subject to droughts leading to the possibility ...
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The Amazon is a major biome for helping to stabilize the water and temperature of its region and possibly even the whole planet. But increasingly it is subject to droughts leading to the possibility of a runaway drying into a far less diverse forest and even an emergent savannah. In essence this is a highly complex socio-ecological biome which is experiencing global interconnections over carbon emissions and food price spikes. All of this makes predictions of the tipping points for the Amazon extremely difficult to model or to manage. Turning these disturbance factors around requires regional and local scale commitment involving all communities and real incentives to conserve ecosystem services with appropriate safeguards and payments. This is a tall order as at the level of land use and forest conservation, the incentives are perverse.Less
The Amazon is a major biome for helping to stabilize the water and temperature of its region and possibly even the whole planet. But increasingly it is subject to droughts leading to the possibility of a runaway drying into a far less diverse forest and even an emergent savannah. In essence this is a highly complex socio-ecological biome which is experiencing global interconnections over carbon emissions and food price spikes. All of this makes predictions of the tipping points for the Amazon extremely difficult to model or to manage. Turning these disturbance factors around requires regional and local scale commitment involving all communities and real incentives to conserve ecosystem services with appropriate safeguards and payments. This is a tall order as at the level of land use and forest conservation, the incentives are perverse.
J. Morgan Grove, Mary L. Cadenasso, Steward T. A. Pickett, Gary E. Machlis, and William R. Burch
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780300101133
- eISBN:
- 9780300217865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300101133.003.0004
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This chapter examines the interdisciplinary issues and strategies relevant to a patch dynamics approach as it is applied to urban ecological systems. Many of the issues are common to a wide range of ...
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This chapter examines the interdisciplinary issues and strategies relevant to a patch dynamics approach as it is applied to urban ecological systems. Many of the issues are common to a wide range of interdisciplinary research topics and fields. Some are specific to patch dynamics, and a few are specific to patch dynamics applied to urban ecological systems. Based upon this assessment, this chapter reviews the benefits and burdens of interdisciplinary research as practiced using patch dynamics. It suggests some practical mechanics or effective practices to encourage successful programs of research, in order to reveal how an interdisciplinary patch dynamics approach can invigorate studies of urban ecological systems and confront the essential issues of twenty-first century cities.Less
This chapter examines the interdisciplinary issues and strategies relevant to a patch dynamics approach as it is applied to urban ecological systems. Many of the issues are common to a wide range of interdisciplinary research topics and fields. Some are specific to patch dynamics, and a few are specific to patch dynamics applied to urban ecological systems. Based upon this assessment, this chapter reviews the benefits and burdens of interdisciplinary research as practiced using patch dynamics. It suggests some practical mechanics or effective practices to encourage successful programs of research, in order to reveal how an interdisciplinary patch dynamics approach can invigorate studies of urban ecological systems and confront the essential issues of twenty-first century cities.
Daniel B. Botkin
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195309454
- eISBN:
- 9780199871261
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195309454.003.0024
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
This chapter begins by outlining important advances in the science of ecology. These include the fundamental recognition that ecological systems are not steady state, but instead vary over time and ...
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This chapter begins by outlining important advances in the science of ecology. These include the fundamental recognition that ecological systems are not steady state, but instead vary over time and space. However, ecological research has failed in many ways, mainly because of the failure of ecologists to settle upon central questions. The relationship between basic and applied ecological research is discussed and it is argued that we need to eliminate the idea that basic science always precedes applications.Less
This chapter begins by outlining important advances in the science of ecology. These include the fundamental recognition that ecological systems are not steady state, but instead vary over time and space. However, ecological research has failed in many ways, mainly because of the failure of ecologists to settle upon central questions. The relationship between basic and applied ecological research is discussed and it is argued that we need to eliminate the idea that basic science always precedes applications.
J. Morgan Grove, Mary L. Cadenasso, Steward T. A. Pickett, Gary E. Machlis, and William R. Burch
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780300101133
- eISBN:
- 9780300217865
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300101133.003.0001
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Nature
This introductory chapter examines Baltimore as a key site for the development of a new approach to urban ecology: an ecology of cities. This approach is based on four propositions. First, the ...
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This introductory chapter examines Baltimore as a key site for the development of a new approach to urban ecology: an ecology of cities. This approach is based on four propositions. First, the ecology of cities addresses the complete mosaic of land uses and management in metropolitan systems. Second, the urban mosaic is complex: spatially, organizationally, and temporally. Third, an ecology of cities is an integrative pursuit utilizing midrange theories and is often designed to both enhance fundamental understanding and address practical issues. Ultimately, the book's goal is to develop a more general scientific understanding of urban ecological systems and to increase the practical capacity of decision makers to address the complexity and interdependence of urban ecological problems. Fourth, an ecology of cities can be useful for linking and advancing both practice and science. In addition, the chapter discusses the advantages of using a patch dynamics approach to urban ecology.Less
This introductory chapter examines Baltimore as a key site for the development of a new approach to urban ecology: an ecology of cities. This approach is based on four propositions. First, the ecology of cities addresses the complete mosaic of land uses and management in metropolitan systems. Second, the urban mosaic is complex: spatially, organizationally, and temporally. Third, an ecology of cities is an integrative pursuit utilizing midrange theories and is often designed to both enhance fundamental understanding and address practical issues. Ultimately, the book's goal is to develop a more general scientific understanding of urban ecological systems and to increase the practical capacity of decision makers to address the complexity and interdependence of urban ecological problems. Fourth, an ecology of cities can be useful for linking and advancing both practice and science. In addition, the chapter discusses the advantages of using a patch dynamics approach to urban ecology.
Kevin S. McCann
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691134178
- eISBN:
- 9781400840687
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691134178.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
Human impacts are dramatically altering our natural ecosystems but the exact repercussions on ecological sustainability and function remain unclear. As a result, food web theory has experienced a ...
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Human impacts are dramatically altering our natural ecosystems but the exact repercussions on ecological sustainability and function remain unclear. As a result, food web theory has experienced a proliferation of research seeking to address these critical areas. Arguing that the various recent and classical food web theories can be looked at collectively and in a highly consistent and testable way, this book synthesizes and reconciles modern and classical perspectives into a general unified theory. The book brings together outcomes from population-, community-, and ecosystem-level approaches under the common currency of energy or material fluxes. It shows that these approaches—often studied in isolation—all have the same general implications in terms of stability of the population dynamics. Specifically, increased fluxes of energy or material tend to destabilize populations, communities, and whole ecosystems. With this understanding, stabilizing structures at different levels of the ecological hierarchy can be identified and any population-, community-, or ecosystem-level structures that mute energy or material flow also stabilize systems dynamics. The book uses this powerful general framework to discuss the effects of human impact on ecological stability and sustainability, and it demonstrates that there is clear empirical evidence that the structures supporting ecological systems have been dangerously eroded. Uniting the latest research on food webs with classical theories, this book will be a standard source in the understanding of natural food web functions.Less
Human impacts are dramatically altering our natural ecosystems but the exact repercussions on ecological sustainability and function remain unclear. As a result, food web theory has experienced a proliferation of research seeking to address these critical areas. Arguing that the various recent and classical food web theories can be looked at collectively and in a highly consistent and testable way, this book synthesizes and reconciles modern and classical perspectives into a general unified theory. The book brings together outcomes from population-, community-, and ecosystem-level approaches under the common currency of energy or material fluxes. It shows that these approaches—often studied in isolation—all have the same general implications in terms of stability of the population dynamics. Specifically, increased fluxes of energy or material tend to destabilize populations, communities, and whole ecosystems. With this understanding, stabilizing structures at different levels of the ecological hierarchy can be identified and any population-, community-, or ecosystem-level structures that mute energy or material flow also stabilize systems dynamics. The book uses this powerful general framework to discuss the effects of human impact on ecological stability and sustainability, and it demonstrates that there is clear empirical evidence that the structures supporting ecological systems have been dangerously eroded. Uniting the latest research on food webs with classical theories, this book will be a standard source in the understanding of natural food web functions.
Carol t. Nixon, Bernadette Doykos, Velma Mcbride Murry, Maury Nation, Nina C. Martin, Alley Pickren, and Joseph Gardella
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780823268795
- eISBN:
- 9780823272518
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fordham/9780823268795.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
In this chapter, we assert that research, scholarship, and teaching in the fields of prevention and youth development can be greatly enhanced by extending the traditional scientific paradigm by ...
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In this chapter, we assert that research, scholarship, and teaching in the fields of prevention and youth development can be greatly enhanced by extending the traditional scientific paradigm by integrating ecological systems theory and collaboratively engaging community members and organizations. We frame this chapter by drawing on our department's mission and three recent research projects conducted by faculty and students in the department. We then discuss how the department’s mission and our action-oriented, ecological systems theoretical orientation permeates multiple aspects of the research process, including the conceptualization of projects, articulation of research questions, intervention design, research methods, project oversight and management, and use of findings. Using concrete examples from the projects, we highlight how research and action can be balanced and pursued simultaneously in community settings to generate knowledge and effect social change. As a result, community-engaged research, informed by ecological systems theory, will enable more relevant action and thus promote meaningful youth, organizational, and community development.Less
In this chapter, we assert that research, scholarship, and teaching in the fields of prevention and youth development can be greatly enhanced by extending the traditional scientific paradigm by integrating ecological systems theory and collaboratively engaging community members and organizations. We frame this chapter by drawing on our department's mission and three recent research projects conducted by faculty and students in the department. We then discuss how the department’s mission and our action-oriented, ecological systems theoretical orientation permeates multiple aspects of the research process, including the conceptualization of projects, articulation of research questions, intervention design, research methods, project oversight and management, and use of findings. Using concrete examples from the projects, we highlight how research and action can be balanced and pursued simultaneously in community settings to generate knowledge and effect social change. As a result, community-engaged research, informed by ecological systems theory, will enable more relevant action and thus promote meaningful youth, organizational, and community development.
CHERYL REGEHR and TED BOBER
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195165029
- eISBN:
- 9780199864089
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195165029.003.0003
- Subject:
- Social Work, Health and Mental Health
The field of trauma response has been influenced by a number of theories that contribute to understanding. Stress theories consider the cumulative impact of working and living in stressful ...
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The field of trauma response has been influenced by a number of theories that contribute to understanding. Stress theories consider the cumulative impact of working and living in stressful environments. Models for examining the influence of acute events include crisis theory, trauma theory, and secondary or vicarious trauma theory. As emergency responders work in complex organizations that have rules, norms, and cultures that also influence response to adverse events, occupational stress theory is also critical for a complete understanding. While each of these theories adds to our appreciation of the experiences of emergency service workers, they are too limited in providing a comprehensive understanding of the multiple forces that influence their response to events that occur on the job. This chapter reviews the ecological and population health frameworks in order to put trauma responses in the broad context of people’s lived experiences and use this broader understanding to direct efforts at intervention.Less
The field of trauma response has been influenced by a number of theories that contribute to understanding. Stress theories consider the cumulative impact of working and living in stressful environments. Models for examining the influence of acute events include crisis theory, trauma theory, and secondary or vicarious trauma theory. As emergency responders work in complex organizations that have rules, norms, and cultures that also influence response to adverse events, occupational stress theory is also critical for a complete understanding. While each of these theories adds to our appreciation of the experiences of emergency service workers, they are too limited in providing a comprehensive understanding of the multiple forces that influence their response to events that occur on the job. This chapter reviews the ecological and population health frameworks in order to put trauma responses in the broad context of people’s lived experiences and use this broader understanding to direct efforts at intervention.
Faye Mishna
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199795406
- eISBN:
- 9780199949687
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199795406.003.0012
- Subject:
- Social Work, Children and Families
This chapter will entail a review of theoretical frameworks that are typically utilized to understand and address bullying, including an ecological systems framework, social learning, cognitive ...
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This chapter will entail a review of theoretical frameworks that are typically utilized to understand and address bullying, including an ecological systems framework, social learning, cognitive behavioural, attribution, lifestyles exposure and resilience frameworks. The complexity of bullying demands that more than one theoretical lens be used to help understand this phenomenon and to inform effective prevention and intervention strategies and programs. An ecological systems theoretical framework serves as an overarching umbrella within which the complex factors and interactions that influence bullying behavior can be examined and addressed. Innumerable theories can be applied within an ecological systems framework—at different times, sequentially or simultaneously.Less
This chapter will entail a review of theoretical frameworks that are typically utilized to understand and address bullying, including an ecological systems framework, social learning, cognitive behavioural, attribution, lifestyles exposure and resilience frameworks. The complexity of bullying demands that more than one theoretical lens be used to help understand this phenomenon and to inform effective prevention and intervention strategies and programs. An ecological systems theoretical framework serves as an overarching umbrella within which the complex factors and interactions that influence bullying behavior can be examined and addressed. Innumerable theories can be applied within an ecological systems framework—at different times, sequentially or simultaneously.
Daniel M. T. Fessler
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195310139
- eISBN:
- 9780199871209
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195310139.003.0004
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
Socially-transmitted information allows humans to survive in diverse social and ecological systems, a pattern that is as old as — and perhaps even predates — our species. This suggests that natural ...
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Socially-transmitted information allows humans to survive in diverse social and ecological systems, a pattern that is as old as — and perhaps even predates — our species. This suggests that natural selection can be expected to have shaped the human mind to enhance the ability to acquire and exploit such information. After reviewing existing approaches to the question, this chapter argues for a dissection of the cognitive and motivational architectures underlying this ability. Key questions addressed include how models for imitative learning are selected; the ultimate benefits of conformism, normative moralization, and moral outrage; and the nature and function of internalization.Less
Socially-transmitted information allows humans to survive in diverse social and ecological systems, a pattern that is as old as — and perhaps even predates — our species. This suggests that natural selection can be expected to have shaped the human mind to enhance the ability to acquire and exploit such information. After reviewing existing approaches to the question, this chapter argues for a dissection of the cognitive and motivational architectures underlying this ability. Key questions addressed include how models for imitative learning are selected; the ultimate benefits of conformism, normative moralization, and moral outrage; and the nature and function of internalization.
Tim R. McClanahan and Joshua E. Cinner
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199754489
- eISBN:
- 9780199918843
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199754489.003.0009
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
In many places building adaptive capacity will be a critical part of preparing for climate change. This chapter discusses ways to build adaptive capacity in society, which is defined as attempts to ...
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In many places building adaptive capacity will be a critical part of preparing for climate change. This chapter discusses ways to build adaptive capacity in society, which is defined as attempts to improve people’s broad ability to cope with and adapt to change, and to take advantages of the opportunities provided by change. This chapter explores various strategies for building adaptive capacity, by reviewing key findings from the various academic disciplines that have long histories of application and research in building adaptive capacity, including human geography, development studies, agricultural economics, and understanding social-ecological systems. The chapter is focused primarily on the individual, community, and local institution scales, and provides examples related to natural resource use and management where possible. Specific strategies include avoiding or escaping poverty traps, creating robust and flexible institutions, improving governance through increased transparency, and fostering the ability of individuals and institutions to learn about climate change. Many of the policies and programs to build adaptive capacity will require external donor pressure and aid, as well as government support.Less
In many places building adaptive capacity will be a critical part of preparing for climate change. This chapter discusses ways to build adaptive capacity in society, which is defined as attempts to improve people’s broad ability to cope with and adapt to change, and to take advantages of the opportunities provided by change. This chapter explores various strategies for building adaptive capacity, by reviewing key findings from the various academic disciplines that have long histories of application and research in building adaptive capacity, including human geography, development studies, agricultural economics, and understanding social-ecological systems. The chapter is focused primarily on the individual, community, and local institution scales, and provides examples related to natural resource use and management where possible. Specific strategies include avoiding or escaping poverty traps, creating robust and flexible institutions, improving governance through increased transparency, and fostering the ability of individuals and institutions to learn about climate change. Many of the policies and programs to build adaptive capacity will require external donor pressure and aid, as well as government support.
Wayne C. Zipperer, Wayde F. Morse, and Cassandra Johnson Gaither
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- December 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199563562
- eISBN:
- 9780191774713
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199563562.003.0035
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
The reciprocal feedbacks between social and ecological patterns and processes define socio-ecological systems. In urban landscapes these systems can exhibit a high degree of complexity, be ...
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The reciprocal feedbacks between social and ecological patterns and processes define socio-ecological systems. In urban landscapes these systems can exhibit a high degree of complexity, be hierarchical, and vary by social and ecological context. To measure these interrelationships, this chapter proposes two field protocols — sense of place and land-cover analyses — to quantify feedbacks between social and ecological systems. Many current models of socio-ecological systems tend to be biocentric in focus, meaning that they emphasize the effect of social systems on ecological systems, but tend to simplify the effect of ecological systems on social systems. To account for the reciprocal interactions between social and ecological systems, this chapter proposes linking the concept of complex adaptive systems with structuration theory to create structuration of complex adaptive systems framework. The framework accounts for both social and ecological complex adaptive systems and links them at the point where human actions and landscape dynamics intersect. Through insights gained from how social and ecological dynamics can influence an individual’s decision on how best to manage one’s property in one time period, and monitoring how those decisions affect the social and ecological patterns and processes for the next period, we begin to gain an understanding of the tenets of sustainability.Less
The reciprocal feedbacks between social and ecological patterns and processes define socio-ecological systems. In urban landscapes these systems can exhibit a high degree of complexity, be hierarchical, and vary by social and ecological context. To measure these interrelationships, this chapter proposes two field protocols — sense of place and land-cover analyses — to quantify feedbacks between social and ecological systems. Many current models of socio-ecological systems tend to be biocentric in focus, meaning that they emphasize the effect of social systems on ecological systems, but tend to simplify the effect of ecological systems on social systems. To account for the reciprocal interactions between social and ecological systems, this chapter proposes linking the concept of complex adaptive systems with structuration theory to create structuration of complex adaptive systems framework. The framework accounts for both social and ecological complex adaptive systems and links them at the point where human actions and landscape dynamics intersect. Through insights gained from how social and ecological dynamics can influence an individual’s decision on how best to manage one’s property in one time period, and monitoring how those decisions affect the social and ecological patterns and processes for the next period, we begin to gain an understanding of the tenets of sustainability.
Amy Lauren Lovecraft
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262220842
- eISBN:
- 9780262285445
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262220842.003.0005
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Climate
This chapter examines the effect of climate change on Arctic ecosystems using social-ecological systems (SES) analysis. It also considers the effect of global climate change on the social dynamics of ...
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This chapter examines the effect of climate change on Arctic ecosystems using social-ecological systems (SES) analysis. It also considers the effect of global climate change on the social dynamics of people living in the Arctic and how it might continue to do so. The chapter examines the effects of rapid climate change on Arctic SESs by focusing on two examples of ecological processes: wildfire disturbance and sea-ice coverage.Less
This chapter examines the effect of climate change on Arctic ecosystems using social-ecological systems (SES) analysis. It also considers the effect of global climate change on the social dynamics of people living in the Arctic and how it might continue to do so. The chapter examines the effects of rapid climate change on Arctic SESs by focusing on two examples of ecological processes: wildfire disturbance and sea-ice coverage.
N. Thompson Hobbs and Mevin B. Hooten
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691159287
- eISBN:
- 9781400866557
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691159287.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This chapter sketches an approach to inference applicable to an enormous range of research problems—one that can be understood from first principles and that can be unambiguously communicated to ...
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This chapter sketches an approach to inference applicable to an enormous range of research problems—one that can be understood from first principles and that can be unambiguously communicated to other scientists, managers, and policy makers. In doing research, it is important that one is able to ask important questions and provide compelling answers to them. Doing so depends on establishing a line of inference that extends from current thinking, theory, and questions to new insight qualified by uncertainty. This chapter introduces a highly general, flexible approach to establishing this line of inference. It offers a somewhat abstract overview of this framework followed by a concrete example to properly illustrate this framework.Less
This chapter sketches an approach to inference applicable to an enormous range of research problems—one that can be understood from first principles and that can be unambiguously communicated to other scientists, managers, and policy makers. In doing research, it is important that one is able to ask important questions and provide compelling answers to them. Doing so depends on establishing a line of inference that extends from current thinking, theory, and questions to new insight qualified by uncertainty. This chapter introduces a highly general, flexible approach to establishing this line of inference. It offers a somewhat abstract overview of this framework followed by a concrete example to properly illustrate this framework.
West Stevens Joyce
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195121643
- eISBN:
- 9780199865383
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195121643.003.0002
- Subject:
- Social Work, Children and Families
This chapter critiques the psychoanalytic theory of adolescent development as undergoing fundamental revisions influenced, in part, by feminist theory and developmental research. A developmental ...
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This chapter critiques the psychoanalytic theory of adolescent development as undergoing fundamental revisions influenced, in part, by feminist theory and developmental research. A developmental life-span thesis is explored for its relevancy to the phenomenological person-process-context model which clarifies identity as complex, integral to social contexts and evolving over the life span. Key developmental domains that characterized the adolescent trajectory are defined. Maturational tasks and developmental markers are clarified in each domain.Less
This chapter critiques the psychoanalytic theory of adolescent development as undergoing fundamental revisions influenced, in part, by feminist theory and developmental research. A developmental life-span thesis is explored for its relevancy to the phenomenological person-process-context model which clarifies identity as complex, integral to social contexts and evolving over the life span. Key developmental domains that characterized the adolescent trajectory are defined. Maturational tasks and developmental markers are clarified in each domain.
Cang Hui and David M. Richardson
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198745334
- eISBN:
- 9780191807046
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198745334.003.0010
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Biomathematics / Statistics and Data Analysis / Complexity Studies
Biological invasions have served as an excellent natural experiment, allowing us to explore how species sharpen their weaponries (invasiveness), how recipient ecosystems respond to the intrusion ...
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Biological invasions have served as an excellent natural experiment, allowing us to explore how species sharpen their weaponries (invasiveness), how recipient ecosystems respond to the intrusion (stability and invasibility), and how invaded ecosystems reorganize their structure (architecture). Previous chapters have discussed the emergence of invasion science as a flourishing transdisciplinary field of study. Significant conceptual and theoretical advances have been made, but to achieve a holistic view of biological invasion, a systems approach is needed. This chapter draws on insights from previous chapters and on progress in network science and complex adaptive systems to offer a fresh view of invasions. In so doing, we shift the understanding of invasion as a linear process, along the introduction–naturalization–invasion continuum, to an adaptive network concept of multiplayer games.Less
Biological invasions have served as an excellent natural experiment, allowing us to explore how species sharpen their weaponries (invasiveness), how recipient ecosystems respond to the intrusion (stability and invasibility), and how invaded ecosystems reorganize their structure (architecture). Previous chapters have discussed the emergence of invasion science as a flourishing transdisciplinary field of study. Significant conceptual and theoretical advances have been made, but to achieve a holistic view of biological invasion, a systems approach is needed. This chapter draws on insights from previous chapters and on progress in network science and complex adaptive systems to offer a fresh view of invasions. In so doing, we shift the understanding of invasion as a linear process, along the introduction–naturalization–invasion continuum, to an adaptive network concept of multiplayer games.
Philip James
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- December 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199563562
- eISBN:
- 9780191774713
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199563562.003.0037
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
The concept of balance has emerged as a means to link social systems with ecological systems and to address a tricky ecological issue, that of scale. Behavioural economics tackles the perceived ...
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The concept of balance has emerged as a means to link social systems with ecological systems and to address a tricky ecological issue, that of scale. Behavioural economics tackles the perceived shortcomings of traditional economics and challenges the conventional assumption that people act out of self-interest, act independently of others, and make rational decisions. Behavioural economics emphasises the importance of framing the issue because it plays a significant role in decision-making. The main lesson that can be derived from this section is that we have the ecological knowledge to address the major ecological issues facing us at the start of the twenty-first century, particularly those related to human health, food shortage, and climate change.Less
The concept of balance has emerged as a means to link social systems with ecological systems and to address a tricky ecological issue, that of scale. Behavioural economics tackles the perceived shortcomings of traditional economics and challenges the conventional assumption that people act out of self-interest, act independently of others, and make rational decisions. Behavioural economics emphasises the importance of framing the issue because it plays a significant role in decision-making. The main lesson that can be derived from this section is that we have the ecological knowledge to address the major ecological issues facing us at the start of the twenty-first century, particularly those related to human health, food shortage, and climate change.
Karen Campbell, Kylie Hesketh, and Kirsten Krahnstoever Davison
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199571512
- eISBN:
- 9780191595097
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199571512.003.0017
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter reviews the link between parenting and children's obesity risk behaviours. The evidence reviewed and the structure of this chapter is guided by the Ecological Systems Theory, which ...
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This chapter reviews the link between parenting and children's obesity risk behaviours. The evidence reviewed and the structure of this chapter is guided by the Ecological Systems Theory, which embodies the premise that human behaviour cannot be understood without taking into consideration the context in which a person lives. In the case of young children, the family provides the key context in which socialization occurs and behavioural patterns emerge.Less
This chapter reviews the link between parenting and children's obesity risk behaviours. The evidence reviewed and the structure of this chapter is guided by the Ecological Systems Theory, which embodies the premise that human behaviour cannot be understood without taking into consideration the context in which a person lives. In the case of young children, the family provides the key context in which socialization occurs and behavioural patterns emerge.
Ruth Defries
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226422954
- eISBN:
- 9780226423142
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226423142.003.0011
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
Protected areas currently comprise a substantial land use and cover 14% of the Earth’s land surface. Their expansion in recent decades, combined with increasing economic growth and aspirations in ...
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Protected areas currently comprise a substantial land use and cover 14% of the Earth’s land surface. Their expansion in recent decades, combined with increasing economic growth and aspirations in high biodiversity areas, has brought the relevance of socio-ecological systems (also known as coupled human-natural systems) to the fore for conservation. Socio-ecological processes operate at multiple scales: within protected areas, for example resource use by people living inside protected areas; surrounding protected areas, for example poverty alleviation for communities on the fringes; and larger landscapes, for example conflicts between infrastructure expansion and corridors for animal movement between networks of protected areas. National-and global-scale processes such as climate change, shifting priorities of international donors, and market forces that lead to land use change influence outcomes for conservation and people at all of these scales. Protected area management faces several mismatches in addressing these socio-ecological dimensions: conflicting objectives for conservation and development; ecological and social processes that operate at larger spatial scales than protected areas; and governance of land use in the larger landscape in which protected area managers have no authority. The next step in the historical evolution of protected area management is incorporating socio-ecological dynamics and addressing these mismatches.Less
Protected areas currently comprise a substantial land use and cover 14% of the Earth’s land surface. Their expansion in recent decades, combined with increasing economic growth and aspirations in high biodiversity areas, has brought the relevance of socio-ecological systems (also known as coupled human-natural systems) to the fore for conservation. Socio-ecological processes operate at multiple scales: within protected areas, for example resource use by people living inside protected areas; surrounding protected areas, for example poverty alleviation for communities on the fringes; and larger landscapes, for example conflicts between infrastructure expansion and corridors for animal movement between networks of protected areas. National-and global-scale processes such as climate change, shifting priorities of international donors, and market forces that lead to land use change influence outcomes for conservation and people at all of these scales. Protected area management faces several mismatches in addressing these socio-ecological dimensions: conflicting objectives for conservation and development; ecological and social processes that operate at larger spatial scales than protected areas; and governance of land use in the larger landscape in which protected area managers have no authority. The next step in the historical evolution of protected area management is incorporating socio-ecological dynamics and addressing these mismatches.
Maclaurin James and Sterelny Kim
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226500805
- eISBN:
- 9780226500829
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226500829.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
This chapter focuses on local ecological communities, and on whether local communities are structured, organized systems; that is, systems whose organization has important effects on the identity and ...
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This chapter focuses on local ecological communities, and on whether local communities are structured, organized systems; that is, systems whose organization has important effects on the identity and abundance of the local biota. In analyzing the idea that communities are indeed structured systems, it considers the claim that communities control their own membership and the claim that they have biologically important collective properties. If these ideas are vindicated, we do need more than species information. We need information about organization and variation in that organization from community to community. In the chapter's “units-and-differences” framework, it asks whether local ecological communities are themselves units, and, if so, what are the relevant similarities and differences among them.Less
This chapter focuses on local ecological communities, and on whether local communities are structured, organized systems; that is, systems whose organization has important effects on the identity and abundance of the local biota. In analyzing the idea that communities are indeed structured systems, it considers the claim that communities control their own membership and the claim that they have biologically important collective properties. If these ideas are vindicated, we do need more than species information. We need information about organization and variation in that organization from community to community. In the chapter's “units-and-differences” framework, it asks whether local ecological communities are themselves units, and, if so, what are the relevant similarities and differences among them.
Tim R. McClanahan and Joshua Cinner
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199754489
- eISBN:
- 9780199918843
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199754489.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
Societies must choose how they wish to deal with climate change. Not doing anything or pursuing ‘business as usual’ is likely to lead down a path that will have devastating consequences for many ...
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Societies must choose how they wish to deal with climate change. Not doing anything or pursuing ‘business as usual’ is likely to lead down a path that will have devastating consequences for many people, especially the world’s poor. Using a focal lens of coral reef fisheries, upon which millions of people depend on for their livelihood, this book provides a tool box of options for confronting the consequences of climate change through building local-scale adaptive capacity in societies and improving the condition of the natural resources. Building adaptive capacity will require strengthening appropriate aspects of a society’s flexibility, assets, learning and social organizations. They ways of doing this are diverse and will, of course, depend on existing local capacities and needs. Improving the condition of resources tends to require restricting or limiting society’s actions. These two broad concepts, of building social capacities and limiting certain types of resource use, interact in complicated ways, requiring coupled actions. One of the central themes of this book is that adaptation solutions are context dependent, determined in part by aspects of local resource conditions, adaptive capacity, and exposure to climate change impacts, but also by people’s history, culture, and aspirations. This book develops a framework to help provide governments, scientists, managers, and donors with critical information about the local context and develop nuanced actions that reflect these local conditions. This information can help to identify key opportunities and narrow the range of potential adaptation options that may be suitable for a particular location.Less
Societies must choose how they wish to deal with climate change. Not doing anything or pursuing ‘business as usual’ is likely to lead down a path that will have devastating consequences for many people, especially the world’s poor. Using a focal lens of coral reef fisheries, upon which millions of people depend on for their livelihood, this book provides a tool box of options for confronting the consequences of climate change through building local-scale adaptive capacity in societies and improving the condition of the natural resources. Building adaptive capacity will require strengthening appropriate aspects of a society’s flexibility, assets, learning and social organizations. They ways of doing this are diverse and will, of course, depend on existing local capacities and needs. Improving the condition of resources tends to require restricting or limiting society’s actions. These two broad concepts, of building social capacities and limiting certain types of resource use, interact in complicated ways, requiring coupled actions. One of the central themes of this book is that adaptation solutions are context dependent, determined in part by aspects of local resource conditions, adaptive capacity, and exposure to climate change impacts, but also by people’s history, culture, and aspirations. This book develops a framework to help provide governments, scientists, managers, and donors with critical information about the local context and develop nuanced actions that reflect these local conditions. This information can help to identify key opportunities and narrow the range of potential adaptation options that may be suitable for a particular location.